Week 10, Semester 2

Their Eyes Were Watching God

This week we'll read chapters 7-15 of TEWWG.  Please make use of the glossary and audio (tab above); I promise it will help you get more out of your experience and the story.

HERE'S the study guide for this week, follow the directions.  I realize that the study guide slows down your reading process. In fact, that is the point; I want you to digest the text thoughtfully and not just plow through it. Slowing down gives you more time to ponder, revisit, and apply.  I know some of you still don't believe me about this, but please try it my way. ; )

The questions for these chapters will push you past toward WHAT is happening to HOW and WHY Hurston uses language, tone, and diction to convey the WHAT.

HERE are the slides that will help you 1) review the material from class 2) help you fill out your study guide and prepare for reading  3) help you prepare for next week's quiz.  Along the way there are videos and links to read, so look for them.

That's it for this week....we'll get to the local history revision stuff soon but not this week.

Questions?  Email me--happy to help!

Mrs. Price

Week 9, Semester 2

Here's the complete work for this week. Enjoy listening to Ruby Dee's narration while following along in the book.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

This week we'll read the first six chapters. Please notice and use the "Their Eyes Resources" tab at the top of this blog.  Here you'll find a helpful glossary and an excellent audio reading of each chapter.  

Before each chapter, read through the glossary words for that chapter so that you'll understand them.

Here are the study guide questions for chapters 1-6. Make your own copy of the document and answer the questions as you read. Keep all of your work for this unit in one place so that it's all together when it's time to turn it in.

Please listen to Chapter 1 as you follow along in the text.  It's good to have both your eyes and ears taking in the words and sound of the vernacular.  It will help you become accustomed to the feel and sound of the language.  Each chapter has an audio link, so you may wish to listen throughout your reading. It's a great audio version.

We will have some vocabulary to define related to this book and Zora Neale Hurston.  Please look up and define each of the following:

vernacular

colloquial

aphorisms

folklore

anthropology

idiom

Harlem Renaissance Video Component

Watch the following videos on the Harlem Renaissance Movement.  Take notes of specifics while you watch.  Afterwards, use your notes to create a Writer's Notebook entry with at least four well-developed paragraphs. Here are the topics you should address in each paragraph:

Paragraph 1: A description of the movement  (think: who, what, when, where)

Paragraph 2: The causes of the movement  (think: why? what conditions precipitated it?)

Paragraph 3: Characteristics of mov't, some important figures and art forms

Paragraph 4:  Impact and legacy

Videos to Watch

The Great Migration & The Harlem Renaissance (12 minutes)

The Harlem Renaissance's cultural explosion, in photographs (5 minutes)

Great Gatsby Work Submission

Here's the document where you should submit links to all of your Gatsby unit work.  You can take pictures of elements or scan them and compile their images into a Google Slides document.  Or you can share Google documents as links as well.  Be sure to change the permissions so I have access and ability to comment. All of these are due to be submitted by next Tuesday.

Week 8, Semester 2

Oh, wow, we are entering Week 8 not Week 7!  A few remarks before the specifics:

After further research, I learned that each of us will need to rent the movie to view it, whether we participate in a Watch Party or not.  Sorry about that--thought I might be able to reduce expenses, but regardless, you can find the movie online inexpensively ($3.99) on Amazon Prime, but also at:

There may be other places too--Netflix? Anyway, I still like the idea of watch parties so that our experience can be more communal.  So, if you host or participate in a watch party, you can count that as party of your Gatsby unit work.

Either way, it's your choice--watch on your own or with others, but WATCH. : )  

I hosted a Gatsby watch party Thursday night. If anyone else would like to host an "open-invitation" the-more-the-merrier kind of watch party, let me know, and I'll share that here.

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Regardless of how you watch,  BEFORE YOU WATCH, do the following.  Note: sorry in advance about some of the mic/muffled sound in the Preview Prep 2, my headset was pulling in and out, so just bear with.  

Watch Preview Prep 1--Art & Film Terms (15 min)

Watch Preview Prep 2--Intro to Baz Luhrmann (15 min)

PRINT this Gatsby Search and Find and use it focus your viewing.  Read the categories beforehand and take notes about aspects as you watch.

Here are the slides from the Preview Prep above for reference.

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Gatsby Character Poem

Yes, you will be writing a poem this week.  Don't stress---it will be fun!  I'm going to give you a specific structure to follow and you should make use of words/descriptions/images from the actual text (in addition to your own word choices).

Here is the format/brainstorming prompt, except you will be writing about your choice of CHARACTER from The Great Gatsby. There are many interesting characters in this book, so be open to less obvious choices too.  It'd be nice to have a mix of characters to share next week (yes, we will share these).

Use the text to inform your descriptions and word choices.

Do not make it rhyme--I forbid you. : )  Follow the format closely--I insist. : )

Once you brainstorm on the sheet, read it aloud to yourself and notice how the words sound together.

Tweak and revise. Use a few words Fitzgerald used.  Copy or type it out in a separate document.

These always turn out great---so enjoy!  Write one about yourself too if you like---you may find out something new about yourself. ; )

Here is one as an example---do you recognize the character and book?

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That's it for this week---keep all of your Gatsby work in one place (except your Writer's Notebook entry). We'll talk about ways to submit it all next week!

Hey--a few of you have forgotten to take the Gatsby Quiz---get it done before you incur penalty.

Today's Google Doodle

 Look whose birthday is celebrated today with a Google doodle:

Can you connect the images they included back to what you know about her? Try to remember how the images in the drawing are fitting. 🎂

Here's a link to the Google Doodle entry--look at the Q & A with the artist too, thoughtfully done!

Week 7, Semester 2

Below you'll find the work for this week. Feel free to touch base with any questions-- always happy to help! 🙂

Gatsby

We'll finish reading Gatsby this week, chapters 7-9.  Don't forget to learn, identify, and review the vocabulary. You'll only continue to grow in your reading skills if you read more challenging texts and make an effort to "meet" and "know" new words. ; ) 

Continue with your "Coloring Gatsby" activities---tracing motifs, annotating, drawing.  I'll be asking you to summarize and submit activities you have completed on March 2nd (after we finish the book and film).

This week, I would like you to complete this specific symbols and motifs activity as well:

Symbols and Motifs

STEP 1--Choose two items from the Symbolism & Motifs section of your Coloring Gatsby that you'd like to explore more in depth.

STEP 2--For each motif, find and type out three passages from the text that make a point or illustrate the motifs. Include a chapter and page reference for each.

STEP 3--For each motif, write a summarizing paragraph that shares how you think Fitzgerald is using those motifs in those passages to make a larger point.

In terms of format, this is how I would structure the work:

Motif/Symbol A:  

Quote #1  (Chapter #, page #)

Quote #2  (Chapter #, page #)

Quote #3 (Chapter #, page #)

Paragraph explaining how these quotes demonstrate the motif/symbol and how they connect to Fitzgerald's larger purposes and message

Motif/Symbol B:  

Quote #1  (Chapter #, page #)

Quote #2  (Chapter #, page #)

Quote #3 (Chapter #, page #)

Paragraph explaining how these quotes demonstrate the motif/symbol and how they connect to Fitzgerald's larger purposes and message

Keep this with your other Coloring Gatsby work and be ready to share it with your breakout groups next class.

Symbolism & Motifs from your "Coloring Gatsby" document

Vocabulary Work

You'll meet the last of your new vocabulary this week before you read chapters 7-9. This week you will also have a specific review exercise to help clarify and cement these new words.

Please complete pages 18-25 in your vocabulary sheets.  These exercises will help you review and apply the vocabulary we are learning. You may do this in one of three ways: 1) in a separate Google document 2) print it out and complete it or 3) write out the answers on a piece of notebook paper. 

Next Class 

Next class we'll spend the bulk of our time discussing the book together as a class with breakout groups for some specific focus points of discussion. We'll also have a quiz that will cover vocabulary, slides, and the book as a whole.  

Here are the slides from last class for your review.  Note that the last three slides are NEW and will help you contextualize some aspects of the last three chapters, so preview them before you read the last sections.

Note--I'm foregoing more timeline work this week. We'll add more in the coming weeks but not this week.

Feedback/Assessment

I had a good question in my 11:15 about assessment/feedback this semester.  As we have stepped away from Google Classroom as our primary source of communication, I have moved more toward accountability taking place in group settings and in-class assessments where students report their progress privately in "chat."

I am also using the "writing feedback" document for major projects/units to communicate letter grades along with comments about specific strengths and areas to improve upon.  This second semester I will likely use this document even more, collecting your work in "units," then grading and commenting upon them within this document.  Students, you should have a copy of this document in your Google Documents under "Writing Feedback + Your Name."  If you can't locate it, search the drive, and I am happy to send another link if you still have trouble after this.

Right now, I'm working on your local history projects and hope to finish them up this week.  Keep an eye out for comments I make directly within those documents and also for my comments and grade within your writing feedback document.  Evaluating writing and research takes a lot of time, energy, and a certain "head space." So, I work on these bit-by-bit as I am able. To give you an idea of the time commitment, each student's work requires at least 30 minutes for me to appreciate, evaluate, and comment upon. It's "slow food" for sure. ; )

You'll also be receiving a mid-semester progress report mid-March via email.  

Also, please know that I am always happy to talk with you after class or during the week about your performance in class and ways that you can improve your efforts.  I'm available via email throughout the week as well.  Hope that helps clarify the feedback/assessment question. 

I look forward to finishing up our discussion of Gatsby next week and preparing you for the movie!

Mrs. Price  

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One final addition---I've been working on a global schedule for the rest of second semester for my long-range thinkers and planners.  It's subject to tweaks, but here it is as of today.  Print and put in your class notebook for reference.

A common area within the Plaza Hotel, New York City

The Plaza Hotel is the setting for Chapter 7 in The Great Gatsby (a pivotal chapter). 
It first opened in 1907.

Week 6, Semester 2

More Gatsby

This week we'll continue to read The Great Gatsby, chapters 4-6.  Since it's Valentine's Week, remember to think of our reading as a rich expensive chocolate truffle. It's been hand-crafted and labored over.  It's full of depth and dimension.  Respect Fitzgerald's work and appreciate it with small thoughtful bites. 

 

Review your vocabulary before the chapters and look for how those words are used in the passage.

As one of our goals for this unit is to deepen and expand your reading habits and skillset, I've decided to make a more official "reading" assignment with specific ideas.  

HERE it is--print it out, keep it with your book, and complete some of the suggested activities. Next week I'll check, to see what you tried.  At the end, you will receive a global grade based on effort, thought, and quality, so invest.

Suggestions: Consider revisiting Chapters 1-3 before you move on. I often do this before beginning a new section. What might you have whizzed past in your initial reading?  What did you miss? Gatsby is like a "look and find," the more you look, the more you'll find. 

Start figuring out the specific time and chronology of events.

More than anything else, I want to see you thinking, noticing, connecting more of the dots between language, narrative, history, and culture.

Along those lines, here are the slides from class to review as well:  Semester 2 Week 5 Slides  

Review the concepts of Modernism and look for them in the text.  Think about how we just entered the 2020's and the 1920's was a 100 years ago.  What has changed? What remains the same? How are our challenges different?  

We touched upon how women's magazines have changed. Here's the February 2021 Cosmopolitan cover spread--it's better than I would have guessed. It looks like they are embracing the "body positivity" movement.  How else do the covers reveal different values?

The February cover reminded me of a clip I found in an 1896 Asheville Citizen Times the other week when looking for something else. Believe it or not, women were discussing the health and shape of their bodies back then too in different ways.  I suppose this was the late 19th century concept of "body positivity" at least for young women. 🙃

20th Century Modern Era Timeline Work

Here's the events to add to your timeline this week. I'll most likely use this same document and add as we move along.

To help you avoid procrastinating (like some of you did last semester) we'll add some every week, and I'll have you check them in your groups to keep everyone accountable.  So work on your timeline and bring it to "class."  

Remember to use your space--some of you have lots of white space and the text all crunched up in a corner.  Add visual elements--they can be simple. If drawing is not your thing, you can incorporate other elements--scrapbooky type stuff or images from online if they are incorporated nicely and thoughtfully.

Have your timeline, book and your "activities" from above ready to share with your breakout groups.

Week 5, Semester 2

Note: If you recorded the Zoom session for your breakout group on Wednesday, remember that you need to convert the file and send it to me.  You should be able to do this via your Zoom. Thanks! ~Mrs. Price

The Great Gatsby

This read we'll read chapters 1-3 of The Great Gatsby.  

Note: Gatsby is NOT a big thick book, but that doesn't mean it's a book we should rush.  Take your time reading. Be present. Notice the nuances of language and character; it's full of rich diction, word pictures, and subtleties of meaning. 

In this exposition stage, notice how Fitzgerald chooses to bring us into the novel and set forth the characters.  What do you notice about the narrator, Nick?  What does Fitzgerald wish us to make of him?How and when does the chronology and time shift in these beginning chapters?

Also, I will warn you that this is a book full of interesting characters but not necessarily likable characters.  You will be able to relate to some aspects of many characters, but you won't find a hero to fully embrace. Fitzgerald intended it to be this way.  Why?  That's your job to figure out.  So, know this going in and let go of that expectation. Think of this more as a novel for "people watching" and studies in character.  Fitzgerald wants us to be slightly uncomfortable with all of these people.  Why? What does Fitzgerald wants us to feel or wonder?  

Please learn the vocabulary words for each chapter as you read.  Look at the definitions and examples before you read those chapters.  As you read, look for the words in their proper context in the text.  It's this type of thoughtful reading that will help your vocabulary and reading comprehension skills to grow.  Otherwise, you will just get stuck at a certain level.  YOU must take initiative to work and learn to read at higher and deeper levels. Anticipate that you may be quizzed on any of the words from the reading next class.

Vocabulary List for Gatsby

Below are a few maps to help orient you as you read.

Remembering in Riverside Article

I enjoyed your presentations this week and look forward to seeing what angle you take as you write your article this week.  

Here is a slideshow with all of the basic information.  Read through it very carefully and read several model pieces to get a better idea of what such an article might look like.  Here is a video I've created to elaborate upon the slideshow instructions. Again, please watch it mindfully.  Hint: I've noticed a tendency for some of you to be multitasking too much lately--I think this comes with Covid & Zoom fatigue---focus and be sure you are mentally AND physically present! 🙃

Be sure that you locate and utilize an editor at home.  They may be able to help you think of a good angle, should give you feedback on how to improve your first draft, and should point out grammatical, phrasing, and spelling issues.

Source: NC Room, A W.O. Wolfe angel marking the grave of Miss Anne Elizabeth Sales Willis (12/15/1902-9/9/1908) at Riverside Cemetery. Print via Vivian Staton material, 1997.