The Grapes of Wrath
Schedule of Reading and Main Assignments
Reading
1/7 - Chapters 1- 8 (up through page 85)
1/14 – Chapters 9 – 14 (up through page 152)
1/29 – Chapters 15 – 18 (up through page 230)
2/4 – Chapters 19-21 (up through page 284)
2/8 – Chapter 22 (up through page 324)
2/12 – Chapters 23 – 25 (up through page 349)
2/25 – Chapter 26 (up through page 405)
3/1 – Chapters 27 – 30 (up through page 455—the end)
Reading quizzes - on every due date of all of the assigned chapters (100 points each)
For example, your first reading quiz will be on Jan 10 and will quiz all of the chapters 1-8 (that’s
chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8—all inclusive)
You are allowed (and encouraged) to use one side of a standard 8 ½ x 11 sheet of paper for notes
Font size and spacing is up to you
Note names, ages, places, events
These quizzes are Did You Read This (DYRT)
If you are absent the day of the quiz, you will make up the quiz the next class period (in the hall)
Postcard Assignment for Route 66 (100 point assignment)
Illinois - 1/9
Missouri - 1/10
Kansas - 1/11
Oklahoma - 1/14
Texas - 1/15
New Mexico - 1/16
Arizona - 1/17
California - 1/18
Essay (300 point assignment; no rewrite)
Interest - 1/18
Central Idea - 1/31
Initial Thesis - 2/6
Notes/Outline/Drafts - 2/14, 2/28, 3/8
First drafts- 2/13 – 3/8
Second/third/etc. drafts – 2/12 – 3/8; specific questions until 3/14
Essay - 3/15
Other Assignments
Other assignments will pop up in class as needed to further your understanding of the reading, and you
will need to respond and meet these additional deadlines. Be prepared.
Discussion
Not a day will go by when we’re not discussing. Typically, we will discuss student questions and topics
of interest first, then there will be a list on the board, and we will tackle these topics and quotations one by
one. This unit is enormously labor intensive in and out of class. Stay on top of deadlines. Ask questions
when you have them—speak up!
Rationale for the way this essay is assigned
Book (such as The Grapes of Wrath)
Face time discussing in class - 6 weeks
(given 4 months – Dec. 12 – March 16)
Narrow - based on one book – but many
different ideas (history, character
evolution, Humanism, Naturalism, Bible
imagery, Persuasive Communication,
etc.)
Narrow - this includes only the one book
and only the one focus from that book
you decided to write about
Students are highly encouraged to read
ahead (as notes are allowed on the
reading quizzes) and make appointments
with the teacher to discuss ideas not yet
discussed in class
This isn’t devastating but is slippery—it
is highly recommended to stick with an
interest from early on to complete a good
essay—if you still have the other
interest, research and write about it on
your own (you don’t need a grade to
learn something, and you can discuss
your new ideas with the teacher since
you still have another 3 ½ months with
that teacher).
Specific schedule given to you with
points awarded/detracted at mandatory
deadlines to force students to stick to a
plan. This schedule can be used for
projects as well as essays for any class,
any book, any topic.
Semester Course
Similarities
Takes an amount of time to get through
Go through lots of ideas
Paper is due at the end (just days after
the discussion phase has ended)
Paper is expected to be long, wellwritten, and original as well as include
in-depth thinking, analysis and synthesis
Paper is expected to include specific
details from the beginning of discussion
to near the end of discussion
Might not have all of the answers until
the end
*Ask questions in class, secretly about
your topic—see if the class can help you
solve your conundrums (your teacher
did this all the time in college and grad
school—only one professor admitted to
catching on)
Interest might change by the end
Something in class discussion might
change the essay a bit. Since you
already have most of the essay written,
tweaking shouldn’t be a problem.
Students need to schedule/budget time
to work on long term assignments
About 4 months
Broad – centered around an entire
course
Broad - this can include several
different topics acting upon the one
topic you’ve decided to write about
Students need to read ahead and make
appointments with professor to discuss
ideas not yet discussed in class; if
professor refuses this, students must
wait until the end of the course to have
all of the answers
This could be devastating as the course
has ended, and you have no other
grades to look ahead to that will
counterbalance a low essay grade.
Specific schedule not given and
assignment not mentioned in class at
all.