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?

 

 

A Rose For Emily

A Rose For Emily

Before we read more of the story today, open your English journal and make some notes about what you remember of the story from yesterday.

After we finish the story go back to your English Journal and write what you think now. What do you know and when did you know it? What clues were there? (That's called foreshadowing.)

Women of the 1920's -A Flappers's Appeal to Parents

Good morning, I have something very cool I want you to read today, but before we get to that I want you to talk. Specifically, I want you and a partner to discuss the questions below.


1. "Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new."  -Thoreau   What did Thoreau mean? What was he talking about? Is this only about clothing?

2. Look carefully at this picture of a woman. It was taken about 1900. Your discussion questions are below the woman.

What can you tell about her from her clothing and hairstyle? How old do you think she is? Would you say she follows the rules?  Flash forward 25 years; the woman has a daughter. What do you think her daughter would be like?

Reading: A Flapper's Appeal to Parents   Read on your own or take turns, but everyone needs to have their own answers in their English Journal.

1. What genre is this?

2. What is her point?

3. What advice does she give to parents?

4. What surprised you?

5. Can you make any personal connections to her point?

1919 World Series

Good morning everyone,

Last week we looked at a few pieces of literature from the Harlem Renaissance during the early part of the 20^th century. Today we are going to take a look at the 1919 World Series ‘fix’. I want you to keep in mind how this event is affected by the time period.

Look through the information on this website and answer the following questions in your English journal:

1. How did the White Sox get the nickname the Black Sox?

2. Who is Charles Comiskey? Describe two reasons why he was blamed for the Black Sox scandal?

3. What is the ‘reserve clause’ and how did it affect the Black Sox scandal?

4. Why was enthusiasm for baseball so high in America during 1919? How do you think this affected the Black Sox scandal?

5. Why would Comiskey post signs throughout the ballpark declaring, "No Betting Allowed In This Park?"

6. What part did Chick Gandil play in the ‘fix’?

7. What happened to the eight players, including ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson, who were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series? What is one reason for this outcome?

***Make sure you use complete sentences and go into depth with your responses***

The Poetry of Langston Hughes

Good morning,
   I'm glad to be back.
   Today we are going to look at some of Langston Hughes' poetry. I will play each poem for you and then give you a few minutes to write your impressions in your English Journal. (Like we did when we read Walden.) Think about what the world was like when Hughes was writing these poems. Consider how his poetry reflects the times he lived in.

You need tabs for:

1. Your English Journal
2. The poems we will read
3. This blog

If you missed class: (Do not click these links if you are in class.)

The audio clips I played for you come from http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/langstonhughes/av.html

Which is part of this site: http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/langstonhughes/web.html

How it Feels to Be Colored Me By Zora Neal Huston

Good morning,
    I'm sorry I can't be with you today. You can still be learning, though. Please show Ms. Brandecker and Ms. Livingston the same respect you give me. (Actually more.)

Today you will read a work by another famous author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neal Hruston. (She is the woman whose picture I gave you in the slide show on Monday and you had to figure out her name.)

1. Read How it Feels to Be Colored Me
2. Use Awesome Highlighter to highlight parts you like in GREEN, things that confuse you in YELLOW.
3. Paste the URL from your highlights into your English Journal.
4. Also answer these questions about the text in your English Journal:
1. Describe the town Hruston grew up in.
2. What was she like as a little girl? How did she see herself?
3. How does she feel about slavery?
4. What does she think about people who are racist toward her?
5. Explain what Hruston is trying to say in the last paragraph.

Note: The grading period ends this FRIDAY. This will be one of the last English Journal entries you make before I grade English Journals. Make it good. Also finish and turn in any work you still need to do for this class and any other class.

Tuesday's Reading- When the Negro was in Vogue

Good afternoon,
   If you are reading this then you probably missed class today to take the CAHSEE. Because our in class activity involved a lot of moving around I decided we should do it without having a lot of laptops to knock over. You missed that, but you should still read the text. When the Negro was in Vogue by Langston Hughes.
  Note: Mrs. R will be out on Wednesday. You will get to use the computers because Ms. Brandecker can help you with that.

The Harlem Renaissance

Good morning,
   As you look through the presentation below with your partners you will notice that there are questions on each slide. Work with your partners to find answers to those questions. You will submit your answers through THIS FORM.
Suggestion: Have one partner work the form and the slides while the other two of you search out the answers. Submit only one form for your group please.


HINT: To see the slide show full screen click the little grey box next to the slide counter.