The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Absent? Here is what you missed.
USEFUL LINKS AND RESOURCES
1- Reading calendar- makeup work basket
2- Class website- fosteringenglish.weebly.com
3- Librivox- audiobook recording of Huck Finn
4- Sparknotes No Fear Huck Finn- modernized language version of story.

Day 1- January 26 & 27
o Fill out reading interest survey in the makeup work basket day 1
o Pick up a copy of the syllabus. Return it with a parent’s signature and with your signature.
o Sign up for a book club in your class

Day 2- January 28 & 29
o Day 1 DGP
o Huck Finn is a mix of several things: satire, irony, local color, & realism. Today we’re going to
discuss satire and local color
 Sarcasm- cut and wound. The person wants to hurt the target and doesn’t believe in their
ability to change
 Parody- a humorous exaggeration of something. No change is intended.
 Satire- a work that attacks something and is intended to improve society. You have to
believe that your intended target can improve.
o Satire has three audiences
 1. Those that are already on your side.
 2. The group that the author or artist is ridiculing.
 3. The group the author thinks they can change though their work. THIS IS THE
AUDIENCE THAT MATTERS
o Industrialism-Literary movement that responded to industrialism. Machines are making things
instead of people. People are moving away from their homes in the country to work in factories in
the city.
o Local color: Response to fear that local traditions will be lost because of industrialism. Reflects the
author’s home environment.
 Setting: focus on nature; frequently remote and inaccessible. Setting is sometimes a
character.
 Characters: marked by their adherence to the old ways, by dialect, and by particular
personality traits central to the region.
 Themes: hatred or fear of change, nostalgia for the past, tension between urban ways and
old-fashioned rural values is often symbolized by the intrusion of an outsider or interloper
who seeks something from the community.

Day 3- January 30 & February 2
o Day 2 DGP
o Realism
 After the civil war (late 1800’s).
 Depicts life as it really was.
 Ordinary and local can be good literature.
 Characters are complex and true to life. They are not all good or all bad.
 Readers enjoy because they see their own struggles.
o Qualities of Realism
 Character is key
 Complex moral choices
 Humans control their own fate
 Natural language and dialect
o Bildungsroman- coming of age story.
o Dialect- language specific to a certain region or group of people.

Day 4- February 3 & 4
o DGP Day 3 & 4
o Write your own coming of age story (bildungsroman)
 Should be 3 paragraphs
 Paragraph 1- what you were like before the decision or event that made you more mature.
 Paragraph 2- the decision or event that made you more mature
 Paragraph 3- What you were like after this decision or event.
 Here are some ideas to get you thinking about what to write about.
 Find out the truth about Santa, the tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, etc.
 Discovering that your parents/ teacher/ coach is a real person.
 Consciously choosing a religion, political stance, or other life view
 Maturation through a breakup, first relationship, or lack of these
 Leaving behind unhealthy friendships
 Standing up for something you believe in, or missing the opportunity to do so.
 Death of a pet or loved one
 Responsibility for a pet or sibling
o Mark Twain Bio- RESEARCH 10 FACTS ABOUT MARK TWAIN AND TURN IN FOR
POINTS.
 Born Nov 30, 1835 in Florida, MO
 Samuel Langhome Clemens,
 Moved to Hannibal at age 4
 Father died of pneumonia at age 12 – was a judge – at 13 became a printer’s apprentice
 17 became a river pilot’s apprentice
 Mark twain means it is safe to navigate- two fathoms or 12 ft deep- leadsman’s cry it was
safe for a steamboat
 Newspaper reporter in 1861 when civil war halts river traffic
 First major story- the celebrated jumping frog of calavaras county 1865
 Huck finn 1885
 William Faulkner called Twain “The father of American literature”
 Master of colloquial speech- word or phrase used in informal language
 Tom sawyer based on twain
 Hf based on Twain’s boyhood friend Tom Blakenshaw
 Has been called the 1st great American novel
o Check out Huckleberry Finn from the library.

Day 5- February 5 & 6
o DGP Day 5
o Pick up a copy of the reading assignment calendar
o Pick up a copy of the reading journal assignment
o Twain background
 “Lincoln’s Proclamation…not only set the black slaves free, but set the white man free also.”
Mark Twain

Twain paid for at least one black man to go to Yale Law and one to attend a Southern
university to become a minister.
 Was also an advocate for Chinese Immigrants, Native Americans, and Women’s Rights.
o Homework- Read chapters 1-5 tonight

Day 6- February 9 & 10
o DGP Day 1
o Reading Quiz #1 (chapters 1-5)
o Pick up a copy of the escape planning activity
o Read chapters 6-7 (don’t forget to do your reading journal)

Day 7- February 11& 12
o DGP Day 2
o Writing Prompt (6-8 sentences)-Write about an imaginary friend you had or a make believe game
you played as a kid. How does this compare to Tom Sawyer’s make believe games?
 Turn in when completed.
o Notes:
 Verbal irony- you say the opposite of what you mean.
 Situational irony- The opposite of what you expect happens
 Dramatic irony- the audience or reader knows something one or more characters do not.
o Pick up a copy of the irony worksheet. Turn in when completed.
o Read Chapters 8-11. Continue to fill in reading journals.

Day 8- February 13 & 17
o DGP Day 3
o Reading Quiz #2 (chapters 6-11)
o Read chapters 12-14 for homework.

Day 9- February 18 & 19
o DGP Day 4
o Reading Quiz #3 (chapters 12-14)
o We did book club today. Because you missed it you will need to do a small report to turn in for
points. Answer the following questions using complete sentences:
 What have you been reading lately?
 Write one thing that you have learned or found interesting in your reading.
 Write one thing that you didn’t like about the book that you are reading.
 What would you like to read next? (book or type of books)
o Writing Prompt: Have you ever played a trick on someone or lied to someone and later regretted it?
What changed your mind? Do you still play tricks like this today?
o Read chapters 15-17

Day 10- Feb 20 & 23
o DGP Day 5/ turn in
o Notes:
 Stereotypes- widely held belief that is fixed and oversimplified.
o Go to the Harvard implicit bias test online https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/selectatest.html
o Take at least 2 of these quizzes. At least one of them should deal with race (there are multiple tests
associated with multiple races). The other is your choice.
o Write a 2 paragraph (6-8 sentences each) response to taking these tests. Did the results surprise you?
Were they what you expected? Do you think that anyone is totally unbiased? Is it always bad to be
biased? Why or why not?
o Read Chapter 18

Day 11- February 24 & 25
o DGP Day 1
o Reading Quiz #4 (chapters 15-18)
o Registration packets for next year
o Writing Prompt: Respond to this quote from chapter 18, “We said there warn’t no home like a raft,
after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. you feel mighty free
and easy and comfortable on a raft.”(6-8 sentences)
 Where is your “raft”/ special place?
 Why is this your place?
 How do you feel when you are there?
 How does it make you feel when someone or something intrudes on your place?
o Read chapters 19 & 20

Day 12- February 26 & 27
o DGP Day 2
o Read chapters 21-22
o Start “We Wear the Mask” assignment

Day 13- March 2 & 3
o DGP Day 3
o We went to the library to register with the councilors. Meet with them to see how to make this up.
o Continue to work on mask project (finish this class)
o Read chapters 24-26

Day 14- March 4 & 5
o DGP Day 4
o Quiz #5 (Ch. 24-26)
o Writing response to “We Wear the Mask” project.-Take about 5 min to walk around the room at
look at the masks.
 Write down 10 things that you thought were interesting or unusual to include on masks that
you saw
 Write a 6-8 sentence writing response: What are some things that you thought were
interesting or unusual that people included on their masks? Which masks were your favorite?
Why do we make assumptions about people based on surface level judgments?
o Read chapters 27-29
o Pick up a copy of the new March reading calendar in the makeup work basket.

Day 15- March 6 & 9
o DGP Day 5/ Turn in
o Read chapters 30-34 (pages 205-238)
o Pick up a copy of the open book quiz for chapters 30-34 (Quiz #6) in the makeup work basket

Day 16- March 10 & 11
o Day 1 DGP
o Pick up a copy of “Unchained Memories” and the worksheet that goes with it.

On the back of the paper, write 6-8 sentences on these questions: What was interesting or
upsetting in this section? How does this emphasize the serious nature of Jim’s situation?
o Read Ch.35-37 (pages 238-258)

Day 17- March 12 & 13
o Day 2 DGP
o Look up facts on conditions in slavery (especially on the journey to America from Africa).
 Writing Prompt (6-8 sentences): What was slavery like? Why is it important to study slavery?
What are some similar situations in history or in current events?
o Read chapters 38-40 (pages 258-277)

Day 18- March 16 & 17
o Day 3 DGP
o Read chapters 41- End (pages 277-300)
o Pick up a copy of the map assignment and see me to find out what group you are in.
 Meet with your group to see what you can do to catch up on the work.

Day 19- March 18 & 19
o Day 4 DGP
o Reading quiz #7 (chapters 38-41)
o Pick up a copy of the fishbowl questions. Fill out and use in discussion on day 20.
o Work on maps in groups.

Day 20 March 20 & 30
o Day 5 DGP
o Pick up a copy of the fishbowl questions. Fill out and turn in for credit.
o Work on maps in groups. DUE AT THE BEGINNING OF NEXT CLASS.
o Finish reading journals. DUE NEXT CLASS!
o Return Huck Finn books to library.
o Prep for book club next class.

Day 21- March 31 & April 1
o DGP Quiz- can use all packets, notes, and previous DGP sentences.
o Turn in Huck Finn reading journals and group maps. Fill out a copy of peer review.
o Book club- pick up a copy of the makeup work in the basket.
o 5 levels of comedy notes Write definitions for each type of comedy
 Scatological- Jokes about bodily functions/ dirty jokes
 Slapstick- physical comedy, people falling and hurting themselves
 Plot device- misunderstandings, cross purposes, mistaken identities
 Verbal wit- one liners, puns, use words to create humor
 Satire – humor intended to change audience.
o Note: Shakespeare used all levels of comedy because his audience consisted of many levels of
education and social class.
 NOTE: LAST DAY FOR MAKEUP WORK FROM HUCKLEBERRY
FINN UNIT IS WEDNESDAY APRIL 8TH!