Spring into Break! But first . . .

1. Share colormarked passages.

• What is the effect of the imagery
• What is the effect of the nature references?
• "    " other literary devises, symbolism, etc.

Commentary sounds complicated, but it's not. In short, you do what you have always done but just better!

• Come up with your interpretation of the passage (what is Fitzgerald saying)
• State your interpretation as a thesis
• Support your interpretation by referring to specific, quoted examples
• Examples are typically word choice, imagery, metaphor, symbolism, "sound"
• Note: your analysis needs to focus on showing HOW the author has created the idea that you are discussing.

2. Homework:

• Finish Gatsby if you haven't already read the book in its entirety.
• Work on the Hemingway rewrite if you'd like (due 4/8)

Fitzgerald's Style

Share the stories that you wrote in Fitzgerald's style. Fun!

Homework assignment: Follow the directions on the "Written Commentary" handout and color mark one of the passages I gave you today. You will write the commentary in class tomorrow and you have to staple your color-marked passage to the commentary.

March 17

How did you like Gatsby? It's #2 on the Modern Library list of all-time great novels.

Today: discuss Daisy's voice (127) and Gatsby's announcement to Tom that "she never loved you" (138) To what extent is Gatsby a fool for believing in the dead dream? To what extent is he noble?

To prepare you for the Fitzgerald/Hemingway rewrite, you will attempt to write in Fitzgerald's style today.

Creative short story.
Write your own short story in Fitzgerald's style. Feel free to use the book as a model.

Have fun!

March 12 (Beware the Ides of March!)

In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, the soothsayer (prophet) warns Caesar to "Beware the Ides of March!" Caesar was assassinated on March 15, proving the prophecy true. Most people say that the Ides of March is March 15, but actually "Ides" meant "middle part of the month" to the Romans. So, today you can start worrying about just what might happen to you between now and the 18th or so of March!

HOMEWORK: Finish chapter 7 of Gatsby by Friday
Note: Read this book carefully. It's a very rich work.  Like Prufrock, the simple beauty of the language makes it a must read.

Great Gatsby Vocabulary for Friday's quiz: Gatsby vocab chapters 5-9
The best way to study vocabulary is to read the words in context. The best example sentences are found at:
yourdictionary.com (you have to scroll down pretty far)
collinsdictionary.com has good ones, too. 

Here's a basic calendar of reading for The Great Gatsby:
By Tuesday, March 11, finish chapter 6
By Friday, March 14, finish chapter 7
By Monday, March 17, finish the book
Watch movie after finishing reading the novel. 

GATSBY/HEMINGWAY REWRITE DUE TUESDAY, APRIL 8

Today:
Discuss Gatsby, pages 52, 78, 116
Watch Gatsby Redford movie and DiCaprio 


"The best thing a girl can be in this world is a beautiful, little fool" (Gatsby, p. 21)
Sadly, this idea was still around when I was born. For a disturbing peek into the world of the oppressed woman of 1963, read these 10 quotes from 
Fascinating Womanhood

March 5

HOMEWORK: Finish chapter 7 of Gatsby by Friday
Note: Read this book carefully. It's a very rich work.  Like Prufrock, the simple beauty of the language makes it a must read.

Great Gatsby Vocabulary for Friday's quiz: Gatsby vocab chapters 5-9
The best way to study vocabulary is to read the words in context. The best example sentences are found at:
yourdictionary.com (you have to scroll down pretty far)
collinsdictionary.com has good ones, too. 

Here's a basic calendar of reading for The Great Gatsby:
By Tuesday, March 11, finish chapter 6
By Friday, March 14, finish chapter 7
By Monday, March 17, finish the book
Watch movie after finishing reading the novel. 

GATSBY/HEMINGWAY REWRITE DUE TUESDAY, APRIL 8

Today:
Finish district reading assessment (are you having fun yet?  B^}


"The best thing a girl can be in this world is a beautiful, little fool" (Gatsby, p. 21)
Sadly, this idea was still around when I was born. For a disturbing peek into the world of the oppressed woman of 1963, read these 10 quotes from 
Fascinating Womanhood

The Tragic Love Song of Prufrock

See various readings of the poem below.
At the bottom of your questions from page 869, I'd like you to write three of your favorite quotes from Prufrock. Simple as that. Just write them.

HOMEWORK: Finish chapter three of Gatsby, if possible (no reading quiz, but . . .)
Note: Read this book carefully. It's a very rich work.  Like Prufrock, the simple beauty of the language makes it a must read.

TOMORROW YOU WILL TAKE THE DISTRICT READING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT. 
Here's a basic calendar of reading for The Great Gatsby:
By Tuesday, March 11, finish chapter 6
By Friday, March 14, finish chapter 7
By Monday, March 17, finish the book
Watch movie the rest of the week
GATSBY/HEMINGWAY REWRITE DUE TUESDAY, APRIL 1 (no joke)


Submit poems and short, short stories to INK at Clypian.com

Read To His Coy Mistress in class.
Homework: Read Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock in The American Experience, pages 864-868
Answer questions 1-3 and 9, 10 on page 869. Be prepared to share in class tomorrow.
The Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock  Gottfried Gauss reading
The Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock Anthony Hopkins reading
The Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock T.S. Eliot reads his own poem
Analysis  Even though this is from Gradesaver.com, it is really very good

If Prufrock's life has been measured in coffee spoons, we must ask ourselves, "How do we measure our lives?'
Seasons of Love from Rent

Gatsby
As you read, doubtless you will find lines, passages, and even general ideas that you don't quite understand. Everyone does. Here's your assignment for the day:
Divide your paper in half, down the middle.

Write three (3) good questions dealing with      Then divide into groups of three and work together
the first two chapters of The Great Gatsby.      to find answers to your own questions.
                                                                    Today you will answer one question per student

1.                                                                 1.                                                       

2.                                                                 2.

3.                                                                 3.
By the time you finish the novel, I'd like you to have a total of nine (9) questions with answers. The book has nine chapters, but you don't necessarily have to have one question per chapter--that's a rough guide. You will then type a 1 1/2 page double-spaced response to one of the questions, citing the novel in at least two spots.

Monday, March 3

Submit poems and short, short stories to INK at Clypian.com

Read To His Coy Mistress in class.
Homework: Read Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock in The American Experience, pages 864-868
Answer questions 1-3 and 9, 10 on page 869. Be prepared to share in class tomorrow.
The Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock  Gottfried Gauss reading
The Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock Anthony Hopkins reading
The Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock T.S. Eliot reads his own poem
Analysis  Even though this is from Gradesaver.com, it is really very good

If Prufrock's life has been measured in coffee spoons, we must ask ourselves, "How do we measure our lives?'
Seasons of Love from Rent

Gatsby
As you read, doubtless you will find lines, passages, and even general ideas that you don't quite understand. Everyone does. Here's your assignment for the day:
Divide your paper in half, down the middle.

Write three (3) good questions dealing with      Then divide into groups of three and work together
the first two chapters of The Great Gatsby.      to find answers to your own questions.
                                                                    Today you will answer one question per student

1.                                                                 1.                                                      

2.                                                                 2.

3.                                                                 3.
By the time you finish the novel, I'd like you to have a total of nine (9) questions with answers. The book has nine chapters, but you don't necessarily have to have one question per chapter--that's a rough guide. You will then type a 1 1/2 page double-spaced response to one of the questions, citing the novel in at least two spots.