Week 10 Semester 2, Work Due March 14th

Weekly Usuals

Reminder: bring Their Eyes Were Watching God next week.

A. SAT Grammar Concept: Fewer vs. Less

I know you are not "young children" but I like the visuals on this site.  Review all the pictures to make sure you can discern the correct choice.

Then take this quiz.

B. Poetry wall & journal theme of the week:   Folksongs

To celebrate Zora Neale Hurston's love of folklore and folk songs, this week we'll familiarize ourselves with some of the most well-know folk songs in America.  Here's what you'll do:

1. Choose one of the songs from the list.  Put your name in the comment box to choose it.

2. Explore videos/audio until you find a high quality version you like.  Post it to the wall.  

3. Research the history of the folk song and singer. What exactly is it about literally and figuratively?  Why is it significant? What are some of its themes?  Who is the singer?  When did he/she live? What is he/she know for?  If the song is "traditional" it means you can choose whatever singer/version you like. Write a well-developed paragraph summarizing these findings in your journal and then post that paragraph on the wall under the video of the song.

View the songs your classmates post.  Pick three you like, reference and reflect about what you like about each in your journal.

Rate the songs you like best on the wall too.

American Folk Songs 10:00
American Folk Songs 12:15

Other Work

Correct any and all grammar mistakes on your Gatsby critique.  Mark the category of the mistakes on the back of the sheet where I wrote your comment/grade.  Next week, turn in the old composition and your revised one.  You will earn back one point for each grammar mistake you fix.  

Finish reading Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Creating a hero's journey circle for our protagonist, Janie.  Label and describe the various events in the novel that comprise her journey.  List page numbers or short quotes when appropriate.  This should be colorful, neat, and thoughtful. Simple illustrations are encouraged.

When reading the second half of the novel, continue to track the motifs listed on your study guide.  Note pages in the novel where they appear. Think about how these images are used and what ideas they represent. We'll discuss these more next class.

Watch this video about Hurston's Eatonville.

Chances are we will have a brief quiz next week on the second half of this novel.  Most of you did well on the recent quiz, but some of you will wish to redeem yourselves on this second one. Pay attention to the imagery, plot, and voices of the characters. Take pains to identify how the motifs are used in the second half of novel. A stray SAT grammar question might find its way on there too.

Week 9 Semester 2, Work Due March 7th

Weekly Usuals

A reminder-----bring the following to class:

Their Eyes Were Watching God 

Your Poetry Journal

*We will have a quiz on the Fitzgerald background, Zora Neale Hurston videos, and chapters 1-10 of  Their Eyes Were Watching God. Also, there will be a poetry journal check.

A. Poetry Journal/Carl Sandburg Poetry Contest   (45 minutes)

Discuss with your parent(s) whether you'd like to participate in the Carl Sandburg Home poetry contest.  Entries must be faxed or postmarked by next Wednesday, March 7th. 

If you choose to participate, print and fill out this sheet, following the directions.  Remember that your parent is your teacher, so they will sign the release. 
General guidelines and information about the contest can be found here.

Participation in the contest is enthusiastically encouraged!  

If you choose to participate, that will count as your journal entry for this week.  Just write "I chose to participate in the poetry contest" and have your parent sign that journal entry.

If you would rather not participate, I'd like you to choose one of the poems on this week's wall and write an analysis of the poem in your journal.  You could discuss what the poem is about, the rhyme scheme, rhythm, meter, figurative language, theme(s), etc.  Be sure to identify the poet and name of the poem at the beginning of your analysis.

B. Poetry Wall---Harlem Renaissance

Harlem Renaissance 10:00
Harlem Renaissance 12:15

Other Work

Watch this TED Ed video on the hero's journey. Although this version of the hero's journey has 12 steps (there are many variations), the basics are quite similar (4 minutes).  Read through 8 stage handout I gave you about the hero's journey.  We will talk more about the hero's journey next week.  
You should begin to look for "stages" in Janie's journey as you read.

Watch this biography of Zora Neale Hurston

Read Their Eyes Were Watching God--Chapters 1-10

Here is a free audio version that may help you become accustomed to the dialect.   

Use this sheet to guide your observations/annotations while reading TEWWG. 

Here is the slideshow of Asheville history and the Fitzgeralds  for those who are interested/wish to review.  I regret we didn't have time enough for me to go through it with the 12:15. Look for my notes beneath the slides, or if you want the presentation bigger, go under "View" then select "Present" to click through. I wish I had time to talk you through all of it as I am fascinated by local history! Both Asheville and the Fitzgerald's flourished in the 1920's.  Sadly, both fell apart in ways during the 1930's.  The city of Asheville experienced economic depression when the booming real estate market collapsed and incurred staggering amounts of debt.  As we talked about in class, the Fitzgeralds' lives fell apart in the 1930's due to Zelda's mental illness and Fitzgerald's alcoholism. Maybe I could squeeze it in sometime if there is interest...

On a happy note, if you would like to learn more about a local man who worked hard and experienced success instead of tragedy, here's a link to an Asheville Citizen Times article about Mr. Ricker.  Mr. Ricker is Kelsey Walker's grandfather.  He hosted our Gatsby party and showed us his vintage cars.  I thought you might enjoy learning more about him because he's a great example of what perseverance and right priorities can accomplish.

Look what I found in the Buncombe Library news:
Who knew that there was an annual "Zelda Sayer Fitzgerald Day" in Asheville, and it's right around the corner!  As part of this, it looks like Pack Library will host a presentation on Highland Hospital where Zelda Fitzgerald stayed on and off for 12 years.

March 10th, 2018 marks the 70th anniversary of Zelda's untimely death in the Highland Hospital fire. Highland Hospital was located in Montford.

Gatsby Pictures

Hello Everyone,

Our Great Gatsby movie night was a "great" success!  Parents--thank you for taking time out of your busy weekends to shuttle your students to and fro---I know much driving we all do.  A special thanks Kelsey Walker's mom and her grandparents who hosted our evening.

Here are some pictures from the night.

The whole crew

Sparkling grape juice "champagne"

Marytaylor & Susanne

Zelda, F. Scott, & Scottie in Fitzgerald's sports coupe, 1923

Mr. Ricker showed us his Model A (1927-1931 production) and helped us into the rumble seat!

Love the lights and grill---sharp car!

Mary and Ellen ready to go...

F. Scott & Zelda

Catherine & Lori

Part of the crew

Eva & Nick

F. Scott & Frances "Scottie"

Week 8, Semester 2: Work Due February 27th

Weekly Usuals

Bring your Gatsby book next week for a final wrap up.
Also bring your copy of Their Eyes Were Watching God as we will dip into the beginning of it if time permits.

A. SAT Grammar Concept--

We skipped grammar this week to allow more time for Fitzgerald/movie introduction, so NO work here.

B. Poetry Wall and Journal 

Create your Great Gatsby character poem per the directions in class.  If you were absent, here's the directions and example.  Post this poem on the wall .  Print/copy the poem into your journal as well.  This is your only poetry assignment this week.

Gatsby Character Poem 10:00
Gatsby Character Poem 12:15

I apologize for falling behind on wall evaluations.   I have been busy with thinking through the Gatsby movie plans, plus putting together plans for classes next year.  Thank you for being patient with me--I will have them updated this weekend. : )

Other Work

See you Saturday at 6 pm  for our movie viewing.   Bring a pad where you can jot down notes if you like.  The address is:

Kelsey Walker's
108 Pine Tree Drive
Swannanoa, NC 28778

Here's a link to map.

If you have trouble or need help, let me know.

Here are some options for those who are unable to attend:

• Consider renting it on YouTube ($2.99) 
• If you have Netflix instant streaming, Jack Clayton's version (1974) with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow is available for streaming.
• Of course, both versions are available on Netflix on disc.  
• Here is the 2013 Baz Lurhmann version on Youtube with distracting framing.  It will do in a pinch or to review a scene.
• Here is the 1974 version on Youtube It's broken up into segments.

Film Critique

If you were absent from class, here are the directions for your film critique essay, a film terms glossary of sorts, and an example critique.

A few of you expressed concern on having enough time to write the essay, since we won't see the movie until Saturday, meaning you will need to compose the essay either Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday.  If this is a concern for you, please email me privately, and I'll work with you.  Normally we won't have this dynamic, but it's a unique situation with the Saturday viewing.

Also, another thought is that you could get a jump start by writing your introduction (except your thesis/slant of thesis) before the viewing.   And of course, you can work on your character poem late this week. 

And.....

Coming Soon!

Our next novel is Their Eyes Were Watching God (look at the right side bar for upcoming events).  So you can begin reading that novel as soon as you like. We'll talk more about it next week, but anticipate some dialect.  I'll see if I can dig up an audio version for next week which may be a help to some of you.

3/7 Chapters 1-10 due

3/14 Chapters 11-20 due (to end)

3/21 Spring Break

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zelda, and their daughter Frances "Scottie"

Week 7 Semester 2, Work Due February 21st

Reminder: If you are able to attend The Great Gatsby viewing party on Saturday, February 24th at 6:00 pm, please bring $4 next week to help cover pizza/refreshments. Dressing up is optional but fun. I saw some great 1920's style jewelry in the thrift store this week!  I will have directions/details for next class.

Weekly Usuals

A. Grammar Concept: Purpose and Audience

For grammar this week, we talked about keeping your purpose, audience, and medium in mind when communicating.  Please watch this brief video with email tips. 

B. Poetry wall theme of the week: ee cummings  (45 minutes)

EE Cummings 10:00

EE Cummings 12:15

C. Poetry Journal (30 minutes)

1.  Write a poem in the style of EE Cummings.  Then, visit this site and launch the visual poetry feature.  Paste your poem into the text box and play around with different ways you could make the poem a concrete/visual poem.  Do remember it needs to be readable.   Save the poem, print it and put it in your journal.

2. Take one of your previous poems that you'd like to experiment with/revise and use some of the other "Text Manipulation" options on the left side bar of this same website to give you new ideas of how you might rework, reorder, or reword the poem. You will need to poke through them--some are crazier than others, but you never know what might inspire you!  Revise your poem accordingly and include the revised version in your journal.

Other

Finish reading The Great Gatsby.

Everyone should think of one good Great Gatsby discussion question for next week's class.  Add it to this document.

For each of your categories (main character, minor character, symbol, theme, and background of era), write a well-developed paragraph summarizing your key findings from the novel.  Here are some brief questions to consider shaping each paragraph around:

1. In what ways does your character change during the course of the novel if any?  If he/she does not change, why do you think Fitzgerald chose that direction artistically?

2. Who is your minor character and how do they function in the novel?  Why is this person important enough to include?

3. How does your symbol function in the novel?  Give several examples.

4. How is your theme illustrated through the characters and events of the novel?  Give examples.

5. In what ways do you see your mini-research topic appear in the novel?

We will share some of these paragraphs next class.

Revise your mini-research paper according to the specifications we discussed in class.
Be sure to tally your grammar mistakes and analyze your sentence constructions, etc.

Here's the order for what you will turn in next week:

Staple the following together:
*Revised paragraphs
*Revised Works Cited
*Revised KWOS
*Editing Guide we went through in class

Then paperclip the rest of this behind the new:
*Original paragraphs
*Original Works Cited
*Original KWO

Feel free to email with questions that may arise, and I will do my best to help.   Note: on the right-hand sidebar under Helpful Resources, you will find a link to examples of the first page and works cites page of a MLA document.

Week 6, Semester 2, Work Due February 14th

Weekly Usuals

Mark your calendars---The Great Gatsby viewing  party will be Saturday, February 24th, 6:00 at the Walker's home.  More details coming soon!  Bling/dressing up is welcomed but not required.  

Reminder: bring your The Great Gatsby next week.

A. SAT Grammar Concept: Parallelism 

Play the following game to practice parallelism:

Parallelism Game

When ready, take this Parallelism Quiz---be sure to check and understand your answers.  Yes, I will receive your score. 

Parallelism Quiz

B. Poetry wall theme of the week: 

Dream Poems 10:00
Dream Poems 12:15

C. Poetry Journal 

Write two poems connected to the concept of dreams. Here's a site with some good ideas to get you started.

The poems can rhyme or be free verse.  They can be about someone or something that inspires you, dreams of others, your own dreams, or anything else related to dreams.

Also follow this link and read the guidelines for the Carl Sandburg Poetry Competition we'll participate in:

Carl Sandburg Student Poetry Contest

Other Work

Continue reading The Great Gatsby.  Read and track your items (major character, minor character, symbol, and theme/thread) for Chapters 2-6.

I want your pair to focus on generating information about your main character(s) this week.  You should be taking notes/marking  anything significant related to your character as you read.  This could be direct or indirect characterization.

Use the categories and directions on this sheet to guide your recordings.  You may record your findings on a separate document or chart where you have more room.

I also want you to thoughtfully fill out this "Fakebook" Profile for your main character.  Be imaginative but be sure the information you create reflects and credibly fits the details of the novel.

Note:  The sheet only has room for one status update, but I would like a total of FOUR.  You can write the other updates on separate paper.  Each status update should come from a different chapter, so list the chapter for each update as well.

You will create two posts on their "wall" from other characters and generate other details.   You can draw the person (more creative) or find an online picture of what you think the character might look like, but DO NOT take the easy route and post a photo of an actor from a Gatsby movie. ; )

I will check both of these pieces of work next class, will collect your FB profile, and you will share your work with your partner as well.

Week 5, Semester 2, Work Due February 7th

Weekly Usuals

Reminder: bring your copy of The Great Gatsby next week.

A. SAT Grammar Concept: Trimming Sentences (10 minutes)

Play this preposition game to help identify prepositional phrases.  Keep trying until you win $1,000,000.

B. Poetry wall theme of the week:  Imagist Poetry (30 minutes)

This week you'll read several short poems by early 20th Century Imagist poets. Enjoy their strong images and simplicity.   You'll also watch a video of a longer Imagist poem by T.S. Eliot.  Hang in with it--just try to feel the mood even though the imagery may seem fragmented. The video should help you.

Imagist Poetry 10:00

Imagist Poetry 12:15

C. Poetry Journal (30 minutes)

Week 4 Imagist Poems

Write two poems in the Imagist style.  Look on the wall under "Some Tenets of Imagism" for the basic principles of such poetry.   Basically, you should take a common object or scene (like wheelbarrow and a chicken or a plum in an icebox) and paint a vivid concrete picture of the scene with your words.  Use strong imagery and figurative language. Try to create a mood.  Push yourself to be a little abstract and mysterious, like the poem we read, "Washington Monument at Night." 

Other Work

Read the first chapter of The Great Gatsby

Look carefully for those items assigned to you (major character, minor character, symbolism, theme/thread, and general research topic).  Annotate/mark any significant references.  You should be an expert on those areas in particular.

Answer the following question:

*Who is our narrator?  What can you discern about him from what he says about himself and others.   Describe your initial impression of him and back this up with specifics.

*Look at these maps to help you get your bearings geographically and with regard to character relationships.

Student created map 

Another map

Mini-Research Paper

Here's a recap:

Step One: Find 3 sources you will use to create 3 key-word outlines.  You may use more than 3 sources, but use at least 3. 

            

Remember the key-word outline rules from class (4 lines/ideas max, 3-4 key words per line; symbols and numbers don't count).

Step Two: From those key word outlines, choose two subtopics, one for each paragraph.  For example, if you were writing about the Golden Age of Sports, you might choose to write one paragraph on baseball and one paragraph on the rise of celebrity sports figures.

Step Three: For each subtopic, create a key-work outline that blends ideas from your sources.  Note, all three sources do not have to be used in both outlines, but each outline should pull from at least two sources.

Step Four: Write your two paragraphs.  

Remember that both paragraphs will start with a topic sentence that is general enough to apply to all ideas in that paragraph.  The topic sentence should not be too obvious.  For instance, "Sports changed a lot in the 1920's" is too general.  "In the 1920's baseball became a national American pastime" is better.  

Use MLA format for your paragraphs.  Include at least 3 in-text citations (between the two paragraphs).  Check spelling and grammar.  

NEW ADDITION: Here is a specific cite to guide you in creating your in-text citations:

Purdue OWL In-Text Citations for MLA

Step Six:  Create a "Works Cited" page for your work cited.   You may use a works cited generator for this.  Sometimes the website will even include the citation info at the bottom of the article.

NEW ADDITION: Here is a specific cite to guide you in creating your Works Cited:

Purdue OWL Works Cited Info for MLA

To summarize, you will turn in: (from front to back, stapled)

Paragraph 1 

Paragraph 2

Works Cited Page

Key Word Outlines

Have fun researching your topic--the 1920's is a fascinating time in our nation's history.

Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald and F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in Metropolitan Magazine, June 1922