"You never loved him." -Gatsby

Good morning,
   I do hope you read the 8 whole pages you had for homework. Did you notice which car Tom was driving and what happened when he stopped for gas? Did you notice where Myrtle was?
   The showdown is coming. Who are you betting on, Tom or Gatsby? Who will Daisy choose?

Things to notice as we read more of chapter 7:

1. What does Gatsby believe about Daisy's feelings toward Tom?
2. Why does Daisy need Gatsby? Why does she need Tom?
3. What happens on the way home from New York?

**Note: for some inexplicable reason this particular post gets a lot of visitors. I really can't figure out why. If you think you might know please leave me a comment. The curiosity is killing me.

"Who wants to go to town?" -Daisy

Good morning,
   Your homework was to finish the last bit of chapter 6 and write about the quote from page 116-117. Did you do that? Check the Homework Page if you didn't for more information.
   Time to take the Chapter 6 Quiz. This includes some short answers. Use your notes from your English Journal and you book if you need to. Note: Some of these questions are deeper thinking questions. Answer in complete sentences and show your thinking for full credit.
   Today we begin Chapter 7. I want you to notice a few things as we read.

1. What is Gatsby's reaction to Daisy's daughter?
2. What's going on with George and Myrtle Wilson?
3. Which car does Tom drive when they go into the city?

1. 
   

"I know your wife" -Gatsby

Good morning,
    Today we read almost all of the rest of chapter 6. Your homework is explained on the homework page (link on the right). Here are the slides we were writing from today. Don't forget to visit Our Awesome Class Forum (link above) and post a comment about Daisy's choice.

Chapter 5 and 6

Good morning,
   I hope you did your homework and read the end of chapter 5.
Take the Chapter 5 Quiz now.

Please notice that I added some links on the right. There is a link now to Homework which should help you keep that straight. There is a link to Gatsby Quizzes which has all of the quizzes we've done so far, except 5 which I will add next period. There is also a link now to the full text of the novel. Click that. Scroll down and click on chapter 6! Let's read.

Presenting Gatsby Characters

Good morning,
   Today you will present your work about the characters from The Great Gatsby. After you view each presentation please visit the form to grade what you saw.
Presentation Grades Form.

Thought you might enjoy this image of the New York City skyline from 1931. The large building in the left foreground is the Empire State Building, famous for being the tallest in the world when it was built.  Since September 11, 2001 it is again the tallest building in New York and the third tallest building in the United States.

Gatsby Characters

Good morning,
  To help you understand the characters in The Great gatsby better, today you will create a persentation (think power point) about One of the characters. A good teacher would let you choose your character, but we need to get all the characters in there so....

Slides

1. Title Characters name
2. Character's physical description
3. Character's personality
4. Something the character says (quote, include page number)
5. Something other people say about the character (quote, include page number)
6. An image of someone you think looks like your character

Finishing chapter 4

Good morning,
   Today we will finish reading chapter 4 and then take the chapter 4 quiz. (I'll give you a tinyURL for the quiz when we finish the reading, but I'll put a link to the quiz on the blog later for absent people.)

Chapter 4 
When you get to chapter 4 do a ctrl-F and search for the word "succulent". It will take you to the paragraph where we will resume.

Chapter Three Quiz

Good morning, Thank you for getting your homework done. You've done yourself a favor and now you get to take the chapter 3 quiz on line.

Chapter 3 Quiz
Read the Bulletin

When the people who chose not to do their homework catch up with their written quiz we will read the beginning of chapter 4.  Here are the chapter 4 questions:
1. Who is Klipspringer?
2. What does Gatsby tell Nick about himself?
3. What "matter" did Gatsby have Jordan Baker discuss with Nick?
4. Who is Mr. Wolfshiem? What does Gatsby say he did?
5. What does Mr. Wolfshiem tell Nick about Gatsby?
6. What does Jordan tell Nick about Daisy, Gatsby, and Tom?

Link to Chapter 4

Note: I'm not planning to give you homework tonight. You will read the rest of chapter 4 in class on Wednesday. I say YOU because I will be at a meeting. Ms. Brandecker has agreed to cover your class for me so she will read it with you. She will tell you your homework for Wednesday night and the Chapter 4 quiz will be Thursday.

Gatsby Chapter 3- Let's Party!

Good morning,

Here is a cloud of words from chapter 3. Take a look at them and make a guess what might be happening in this chapter. Hint: The larger words appear most often in the text.



Questions for chapter 3. Copy them into your English Journal and answer them as you read.

1. Describe Gatsby's wealth. List some of the things that represent his wealth.
2. What kinds of people come to Gatsby's parties?
3. Why did Nick Carraway go to the party?
4. How does Nick meet Gatsby?
5. What are some of the stories about Gatsby?
6. Is Gatsby a "phony"
7. Describe Nick's relationship with Jordan?

Link to Chapter 3
Homework: Read the end of chapter 3, pages 54-64. Write 1/2 page about what you think Gatsby said to Jordan when they were alone. Chapter 3 quiz tomorrow.

Chapter Two Quiz: The Easy Way

Good morning,
   If you are reading this then you did your homework. Your diligence has earned you the right to take the chapter 2 quiz on line. Chapter 2 Quiz
   Once you have finished the quiz you will likely have some extra time. Here are some suggestions:

1. Is your homework and reading from chapter 1 complete?
2. Check your English Journal is it up to date?
3. Do you have revisions to make to your nature paper?
4. If those are all practically perfect in every way try reading the Wikipedia page about the novel for some interesting details.
5. I need images of polo players, a Georgian mansion and other pictures that relate to the novel. What can you find and send to me?

Chapter Two: Tom's got some woman in New York.

Good morning,
   By now you have turned in your homework and reviewed for the quiz. You have no more than 10 minutes to get it done. Chapter 1 Quiz

   Today we start Chapter 2. Either use the link our get your book ready. You also need your English Journal.
The questions for chapter 2 are:

1. What is the valley of ashes?
2. What are the "eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg"?
3. Who did Tom take Nick to meet?
4. Who are George and Myrtle Wilson?
5. What did Mrs. Wilson buy while she was out with Nick and Tom?
6. Where did they go? What was at 158th Street?
7. Who are Catherine and Mr. and Mrs. McKee?
8. What does Mr. McKee tell Nick about Gatsby?
9. What reason does Myrtle give for marrying George Wilson?
10. What did Tom do to Myrtle when she mentioned Daisy's name?

Homework: Read the end of chapter 2. (The more we read in class the less homework you have.) Then write a diary entry about the events of chapter 2 from another point of view. You can pretend you are any character but Nick. (Write on paper, or type and print.)


Link to Chapter 2

The Great Gatsby Chapter 1

The Great Gatsby takes place in the 1920's in a part of New York known as Long Island and also Manhattan. The map above shows a detailed view of the area. The map is also in your book on page 206.

The text is accessible online. Please click this link to go to Chapter 1. I will also link to the whole book in the Important Links section on the right.

Open your English Journal now and copy and paste the questions below into it. We will answer them as we read chapter one.

1. How does the narrator describe Gatsby?
2. From where does the narrator come and why?
3. Describe the narrator's house.
4. Describe the Buchannans' house.
5. How does Nick know Tom and Daisy?
6. Describe Tom. What is our impression of him in chapter 1?

And for those of you working on your homework: 1. Good job checking the blog. 2. Here are the last four questions from chapter 1 for your quiz tomorrow.

7. What kind of person is Daisy?

8. What did Miss Baker tell Nick about Tom?

9. What did Daisy say about her daughter?

10. How is Gatsby introduced in the novel?

Pre-Gatsby Quiz and Book Check Out

Good morning,
   By now you should have your very own (checked out) copy of The Great Gatsby. You can keep that at home or bring it to class. The text is available on line, so you don't need your book, but some students prefer to read on paper.
   Before we start reading you need to assure me (and yourself) that you have sufficient background knowledge to tackle this book.
   Please take the Pre Gatsby Quiz.  This is an "open net" quiz, meaning that if you don't already know an answer I encourage you to go find out. There are a few tricks on the quiz so read the directions and the questions carefully.

Thinking Deeper

Welcome back. Before break we spent our class period answering some interesting questions. Those questions (and the pages with your answers) are posted in the back of the room. Please follow the directions below.

1. Choose one question that you have something to say about.
2. Open your English Journal.
3. Write a three paragraph answer to the question you chose. (200+ words)
4. Include examples, elaborate on your thinking.
5. If the question you are answering has more than one 'side' write about why the other 'side' is wrong.

After you finish the short essay above you need to find some information. I would like to you know more about F. Scott Fitzgerald before we being reading his most famous work. Please check the site below and make sure you can answer questions about him.

Fitzgerald. 
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the book we are about to read. Who was he? What was his life like? When and where did he writeThe Great Gatsby? take a look at his biography.http://www.sc.edu/fitzgerald/biography.html

For those of you who asked these are the questions you passed around in groups that are now posted on the back wall.

1. Which is more important, love or money? Explain why.

 2. Do you think you would continue to love someone if you found out that person had lied to you about their past?

3. Do rich people have a responsibility to the rest of society?

4. How much money would you need to be rich?

5. If your boyfriend or girlfriend cheats on you is it alright for you to cheat on them?

6. Have you ever wanted something that you could not have?  Explain.

7. How do rich people get rich?