Roberts American Literature

Switching to 9th Grade

2011-08-14T10:17:00.000-07:00

At this point it looks like I won't be teaching American Lit next year. I'm switching to 9th grade. I thought about continuing on with this blog as a 9th grade class, but I've decided for now to create a new blog to use with the 9th graders. If you are looking for our latest classroom adventures you can find them here http://9thenglish.blogspot.com/
In the past few years the bulk of American Lit related material here has drawn many visitors besides my own students. I've always felt very strongly that a blog I was using with students should not contain advertising material. Since I won't be using this blog daily with students I've decided to go ahead and add, well ads, to it. My previous experience with putting advertising on other blogs tells me that this move may someday net me as much as perhaps forty three cents. Like most teachers I already spend a lot of my own funds on books and materials for my classroom. If putting adds here offsets that a bit it would be nice.
If you found something you could use on the blog help me make it forty four cents by clicking on one of the ad links.
Thanks,
Jen

Starring 4th Period

2011-06-10T11:31:00.000-07:00

Check out our video. This is a one minute video I produced with the help of my students to apply for the 2011 Google Teacher Academy. It's posted here because students wanted to be able to see it easily.

The Paperless Final

2011-06-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
As you know your final is digital. You may use any online resource you wish, but the thoughts and ideas you express in your writing must be your own.

Create a new presentation in Google Docs.
Answer each question on a separate slide in your presentation.
Number your slides to match the question numbers.
You may ask for help with the technology but not the content.
Share your presentation with me.

You must follow these directions exactly. ANY missing pieces will lower your grade.
Hint: Use F11 to get more work space on your screen.
I’m deliberately NOT giving you any helpful links. You need to be able to find these things for yourself.

#1 Slide: Title, name, date, period. The title is up to you, be creative

#2 Slide: Explain the difference between Assumptions and Beliefs. Use a quote from the Journals of Lewis and Clark and explain why it is an assumption or belief.

#3 Slide: Insert an image of Chief Red Jacket. Include the URL for the image you insert. Explain who he was. Summarize briefly what he told the missionaries in his Lecture to a Missionary speech.

#4 Slide: Nature has been an important theme in our study of American Lit. Find an image that represents nature. Write a short poem (can be bad) about the image that includes two forms of figurative language. Highlight the figurative language.

#5 Slide: Use a two column slide. In one column list the important authors of the Harlem Renaissance. In the second column list the important musicians.

#6 Slide: Insert a map to show how the Great Migration affected African American populations.

#7 Slide: Review A Flapper’s Appeal to Parents. Use a two column slide again. List three things parents complain about on one side and three things she suggests to parents on the other.

#8 Slide: Write a thesis statement for the beginning of an essay about your opinion on prohibition. List three points you would use in your essay.

#9 Slide: Paste this analogy on to your slide and explain the relationships between the words. Doctor:Hospital:: Professor: College make sure you thoroughly explain how the analogy works.

#10 Slide: Write your own analogy and explain how it works.

#11 Slide: Describe a moment in The Great Gatsby that was memorable to you. Explain why it was memorable. Include a quote from that moment. (Extra point if the moment involves dramatic irony and you explain how.) You can also include an image IF YOU HAVE TIME.

#12 Slide: Write three IMPORTANT questions about The Great Gatsby.

#13 Slide: Select your favorite quote from everything we read this year. You can go back to first semester if you want to. Include the quote and make a PERFECT citation for the quote. Hint: Use Citation Machine.

#14 Slide: Create a slide about your favorite INDEPENDENT reading book this year. Something you chose to read on your own. Find an image and include your review of the book. If you already reviewed the book in goodreads you can paste that review here. If you write a new review here then paste it into goodreads.

#15 What would you write in my yearbook?

This is an example of the slides you should have. Think of it as an outline.

Last day of class before finals :(

2011-06-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

Hard to believe this is out last day of real classes before finals tomorrow. Please remember that you final for American Lit is TOMORROW. Yes, the finals schedule is out of order.

Today, please open your English Journal and fill in this statement:
I have earned a ____ on my English Journal because........
Hint: Use the Scoring Guide! (Yes, you can copy and paste in the statement.)

Under that ^^ please answer these questions honestly and seriously.

What have you learned as a result of being in this class? Write a full paragraph (or more) for each item.
1. About literature-tip: write about something we read that you really enjoyed.
2. About writing- Think about what you may have learned from being in a writing group.
3. About technology- That should be easy.
4. About school- What will you do differently next year?
5. About yourself- What have you learned about yourself this year?
6. About life- What have you learned about life in general this year?

You can still submit questions for the final.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/5026716018_80b8b4af2e.jpg

Finals are coming

2011-06-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Your final for American Literature is Thursday. The final will be comprehensive and cover the entire second semester of material.

Your job today is to review the material we have covered this semester using the blog archive and your own internet search skills.

Work with your writing group
Create a new document (4 gp# Study Guide)
Share it with me and each other (hint: use group shared folder)
You decide who needs to look at what and how to organize your study guide.
Include example questions for important material.
You get a group grade for this. Make it comprehensive.
If you think there is not enough information about a topic on the blog you should add more from other sources.
The way it looks and reads matters, use headings, links, color even images to enhance your guide.
All study guides will be posted for all of you to review from. (This is public work.)

And while you are working on your study guide you will probably think of some pretty good exam questions. You can suggest exam questions here. Suggest an Exam Question

Richard Cory

2011-06-07T09:28:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

Period 3: There is a poem shared with you in your writing group folder. It's called Richard Corey.
Find it and read it. Then have a chat discussion about the poem with your group (without talking).

Completion and Controversy

2011-06-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

Lots going on this week before finals. Many of you still have a lot of work to do. Allow me to suggest a prioritized list for you.

Make sure your Gatsby Project is completed. Check it in PaperRater.
Make sure your English journal is great.
Make sure your group's study guide for the final is excellent.
What do you think about teachers using Facebook? Post a reply here. (A college student doing some research on this would really appreciate your thoughts.)
An article published over the weekend in the Wall Street Journal provoked a lot of controversy about teen reading and young adult literature. #YASaves became a top trending topic on twitter when many people responded with stories of how YA Lit saved them in some way. Here is just one response, there were many. This is about some adults wanting to censor what teens read and others saying teens should make their own reading decisions. What do you think? Read the articles and then comment on this post to reply.
Add some books to your "to read" shelf on Goodreads.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/2656043491_86083bceff.jpg

Finals are Approaching

2011-06-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

Your final for American Literature is one week from today. The final will be comprehensive and cover the entire second semester of material.

Your job today is to review the material we have covered this semester using the blog archive and your own internet search skills.

Work with your writing group
Create a new document (3 gp# Study Guide)
Share it with me and each other (hint: use group shared folder)
You decide who needs to look at what and how to organize your study guide.
Include example questions for important material.
You get a group grade for this. Make it comprehensive.
If you think there is not enough information about a topic on the blog you should add more from other sources.
The way it looks and reads matters, use headings, links, color even images to enhance your guide.
All study guides will be posted for all of you to review from. (This is public work.)

And while you are working on your study guide you will probably think of some pretty good exam questions. You can suggest exam questions here. Suggest an Exam Question

Great Minds Think Alike

2011-06-01T08:30:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
Yesterday you met with your writing groups to share your papers and get feedback. Several of you asked if you could also meet with people who chose the same project option that you did. Today is the day for that.

Because some options are being done by many people and some are being done by just a few, our grouping will be flexible. I will help you find people working on the same option you are.

With your group do the following:

Reread the description of your assignment
Share work with each other (if appropriate)
Examine each piece of writing
Does it complete the assignment?
Does it need anything?
What would make it even better?

It is also time to consider what questions you might see on your final exam. You can once again suggest questions you think should be on the test through this form. Suggest a Question for the Final!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U_5ImGlp_ek/TZUDZiGqVcI/AAAAAAAAADg/rqPxF0vfVyc/s1600/the_great_gatsby.gif

Still working on chapter 9

2011-05-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

All right, enough of these interruptions. We are reading chapter 9 today!

Two reminders:
Return your netbook use contract
Gatsby Project draft is due Thursday. If you don't know which project you want to do see me.

If you think you want to propose your own option (#7) you should check out these projects done by the students of a friend of mine. Gatsby Student Projects

Here's one of them:

The Great Gatsby- Themes and Symbols on Prezi

Thursday Periods 3 and 4

2011-05-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

Finish reading chapter 9
Explain Gatsby Project Options

Wednesday Period 4 -Demonstration Lesson for i21-

2011-05-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome Visitors. This is a demonstration lesson of educational technology in our i21 classrooms.

Good morning,

Please begin by pasting the prompt below into your English Journal and writing your answer.

Who do you think is most responsible for Gatsby's death? Explain your answer and use evidence from events in the novel. (Aim for 5-6 sentences.)

Yesterday we read the very end of chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby and for the past week you have been working on asking important questions about the novel. Briefly today I want to ask you some questions again and we are going to try it with the response system built into your netbooks.

Look for the icon on your task bar like the one below and please follow my directions closely.

Open Active Engage (grey circle your task bar like the icon above)
Click "select a hub"
Scroll to the bottom and select Room 864.
Enter the three letter code I will give you.
Click the button that turns green (on the right)
Enter your first name and last initial.
Click the green button.
Wait for my question (Please just wait and be patient if this takes a few minutes.)

When we are done discussing these questions we will read a bit of the beginning of chapter 9 and you will have another chance to ask more important questions in your English Journal.
Link to chapter 9

Period 3 Wednesday 5/18

2011-05-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

Welcome to the back of the library. I'm sorry I can't be with you. You know my expectations.

1. Please copy and paste this prompt into your English Journal and answer it. This is the prompt we were going to work on yesterday before the network went down.

Who do you think is most responsible for Gatsby's death? Explain your answer and use evidence from events in the novel. (Aim for 8-10 sentences.)

2. Read this article about the demolition of the house that Fitzgerald used as the inspiration for Daisy and Tom's house.
3. After you read the article respond to it using this Google form.
4. If you have done your best work on both of those tasks you may: update your status on Goodreads, read the bulletin, check your English Journal for other work you need to catch up on, make sure you have completed all the Gatsby quizzes or read your independent reading book.

http://www.afewstrongwords.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gatsby-mansion-demolished.jpg

"...I remember the rest of that day..." Chapter 9

2011-05-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

Are you shocked? Were you upset? Do you know what happened?
Take the chapter 8 quiz and find out.

When you finish the quiz open your English Journal and write 2-3 important questions about the end of chapter 8.

Link to chapter 9.

Blogger is back

2011-05-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, so today was eventful.

Blogger was down for a while and it took a few hours for some recent content to get restored.

For those of you here in class we read more of chapter 8. You need to finish reading chapter 8 for homework.

Then in the middle of 4th period our new netbooks got delivered.

Are you asking the important questions?

2011-05-12T09:15:00.000-07:00

Chapter 7 Quiz

Chapter 8 Text.

Important (open ended) questions often start in these types of ways:

Why...
How has ______ changed?
What will happen to...
What does ______ mean when he/she says "..."
Why did the author...
What does xxx symbolize?

These kinds of questions have complex answers and require the person answering to explain their answer.

"I never loved you." A little more work on Chapter 6

2011-05-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Chapter 6 Quiz << Start with this.

After the quiz paste this prompt into your English Journal and respond to it please:
Daisy says the following to Tom at Gatsby's party: "Go ahead ," answered Daisy genially. "And if you want to take down any addresses here's my little gold pencil..." She looked around and after a moment and told me the girl was 'common but pretty'..." Explain what is happening here. What does this quote tell us about Daisy?

Chapter 7

"I know your wife." Chapter 6

2011-05-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Start by taking your chapter 5 quiz.

Link to chapter 6
I want you to work with a partner today to read chapter 6. I want you to continue to stop every few pages and make notes in your EJ about what is happening in the novel. You can take turns reading aloud or read silently, but agree ahead of time about where you will stop to talk.

You are going to get some more background on Gatsby's past. Pay attention to that.
Also Daisy and Tom are going to attend one of Gatsby's "little" parties. Watch what happens there. How does Daisy like it?
Finish reading chapter 6 for homework. Keep making notes.

"You always have a green light that burns all night at the end of your dock."

2011-05-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

We are going to read more of chapter 5 today. You'll need to continue taking notes as we read. How could you use this strategy in the future? Why might it be helpful?

Link to chapter 5

"Don't bring Tom" Chapter 5

2011-05-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Chapter 4 Quiz

Make sure your English Journal is open.
I am not giving you the questions for chapter 5.
I will ask you to stop and write in your English Journal several times.

If you aren't here ask a friend what he or she had to write about.

Chapter 5 Link

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_e9cy1-9KyxU/TILxYqHrjrI/AAAAAAAACHA/_A0hW1EXB-g/s1600/gatsby.jpg

"educated at Oxford," Chapter 4, The Great Gatsby

2011-04-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Good morning,

We will start with your chapter 3 quiz and then read chapter 4.

Read the Daily Bulletin
Paste these questions for chapter 4 into your EJ.

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

Did you get a phone call?

2011-04-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

I used a district voice mail system to send out calls about how students are doing in my class. If you came to the blog because you got one of those calls THANK YOU!

The grading period ends next Friday. Students in my classes need to make sure they have:

Completed all the work in their English Journals. (These are on-line in google-docs. Ask your student to show you theirs.) The scoring guide is permanently linked on the right side of the blog and also here.
Make sure they have taken the quizzes related to The Great Gatsby. Pre-Gatsby Quiz, Chapter 1 Quiz, Chapter 2 Quiz.
Study for the Chapter 3 Quiz. (Hint: The questions are in the post below this one.)
You can check on the specifics of the grade through Parent Connect.

Getting back to the party...

2011-04-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

Good morning,
Great job on your answers yesterday. Today we get to get back to Gatsby.

Link to chapter 3 text.

You should already have these chapter 3 questions in your English Journal.

How does Fitzgerald show us how rich Gatsby is?
What kind of people come to Gatsby's parties?
Why did Nick go to Gatsby's party?
How does Nick meet Gatsby?
What are all the stories about Gatsby?
How are some ways you might describe Gatsby?
Describe Nick's relationship with Jordan?

If We Must Die...Poetry analysis

2011-04-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

Good Morning,

Yesterday you did some research about the life of Claude Mckay. Today I am asking you to look very closely at one of his poems. Please use the Poetry Analysis From to enter your responses. Please remember that the usual expectations for short answer questions apply here as well.

I will be grading English Journals Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Please make sure yours is up to date and includes all the work listed on the chart in our room.

Update your status on Goodreads.

We will continue reading The Great Gatsby tomorrow. Bring your book.

Claude Mckay Quick Research

2011-04-20T09:06:00.000-07:00

We need to take a break from Gatsby and do a quick side project. Needs to be finished today.

Work with your writing group.
Create a new document for your answers to the questions below, (share it with each other and me.)
Divide up the questions as you search out the answers.
Write about what you find in complete sentences so they will make sense to the other members of your group.
You should include a citation with EACH answer. Use Easybib or Citation machine.
Copy this work for yourself into your English Journal.