Ms. Chaga
Spring 2014

• Welcome to Ms. Chaga’s English class!
• Daily Question (#1): If you had to lose one of your senses
(taste, touch, sight, sound, hearing), which would you choose? Why?
• Vocab (#2)
• Syllabus (#3)
• Letter of Introduction (#4)
• Summer Reading Reflection (#5)
• Chaga Cup Quizzo (+5 to winning team)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Letter of Intro due TOMORROW 2.
Syllabus, binder due FRIDAY 3. Summer Reading Reflection due on Google Drive (invite coming) for MONDAY

• Daily Question: How do you think human beings form their identities? Explain.
• Vocab
• Business items: Seats, Letters, Summer Reading questions?
• Finish Quizzo
• Themes Practice and Discussion (#6)– Pulse app or www.Pulse.me
• HOMEWORK: 1. Syllabus, Binder due FRIDAY 2.
Summer Reading Reflection (and summary/signature) due MONDAY (on Google
Drive)

30 January 2014
• Daily Question: Which of the course themes is most applicable to your life? Why?
• Vocab
• Themes Practice/Discussion (cont.) (#6)
• Minority Literature Circles (SSR): Pre-Reading
Activity (#7)
• Glossing (#8)
• “Story of an Hour” (#9)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Syllabus and Binder due
TOMORROW 2. Summer Reading due MONDAY

• Daily Question: Why do you think we “gloss” readings?
(other than your teachers force you in an attempt to ruin your lives ;) Explain.
• Vocab
• Check syllabus/binder
• Minority Lit SSR Pre-Reading/Choices (#7)
• SSR– 15 minutes
• Keystone Terms (#8)– (+) for KNOW,
IDEA, and (*) for MAYBE KNOW
Circle for NO
• Glossing (#9)
• “Story of an Hour” (#10)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Summer Reading paragraph w/ signature and reflection due MONDAY

4 February 2014
• Daily Question: Do you believe Mrs. Mallard (from
“Story of an Hour”– Friday’s reading) was happy that her husband was dead? Explain with evidence from the story.
• Vocab
• Business: Summer Reading Paragraph/Signature +
Summer Reading Reflection (?)
**I will check Google Drive tonight at 7. After that it is late.
• Re-read/gloss “Story of an Hour” (#10) with focus
• “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (#11) read aloud
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish reading “A Good Man is Hard to
Find” for TOMORROW 2. SSR TOMORROW 3. “Story of an Hour” OSCAR quiz FRIDAY

• Gloss with focus on…
– POINT OF VIEW (1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd limited, 3 rd omniscient)
– MOOD
– SYMBOLISM
– CONNOTATION/DICTION (word choice)
– AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
– IRONY
– TONE

6 February 2014
• SSR (make-up)– 30 minutes
– LOG= 1. Date 2. Pages read 3. summary (3-4 sentences) 4.
Choose one literary element on which to focus (example: point of view, tone, character development, conflict, diction…etc.)
• Daily Question: Reread page 1 of “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” Describe the grandmother using ONE adjective and justify that description using details from the story.
• Vocab
• Finish reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find” (#11)
• “AGMIHTF” Questions with partner (#12)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish questions for TOMORROW 2.
SSR TOMORROW 3. Practice quiz 4. Oscar Quiz
*changed* to MONDAY!

7 February 2014
• SSR (make-up)– 30 minutes
– LOG= 1. Date 2. Pages read 3. summary (3-4 sentences) 4.
Choose one literary element on which to focus (example: point of view, tone, character development, conflict, diction…etc.)
• Daily Question: What is the comment that the author is trying to make about human nature in “A Good Man is
Hard to Find”? Explain.
• Vocab
• Finish working with partner on AGMIHTF Questions
(#12)
• AGMIHTF Literary Elements Quiz
• HOMEWORK: 1. Literary Elements Common (80%) Quiz
MONDAY (#2 pencil needed!)

• Daily Question: What adjectives (try to come up with at least 2) best describe the tone of the note? Use evidence to support your choices.
• Vocab
• Partner Practice Lit Terms
• Literary Terms Common Quiz *use “Story of an
Hour” (#10)
• Gatsby Anticipation Guide (#13) *finish for HW if not finished in class
• HOMEWORK: 1. NONE!

Gentlemen: I received your letter today by post, in regard to the ransom you ask for the return of my son. I think you are a little high in your demands, and I hereby make you a counter proposition, which I am inclined to believe you will accept. You bring Johnny home and pay me two hundred and fifty dollars in cash,
I agree to take him off your hands. You had better come at night, for the neighbors believe he is lost, and I couldn ’ t be responsible for what they would do to anyone they saw bringing him back.
Very respectfully,
EBENEZER DORSET

Terms to Understand
• Author’s Purpose
• Characterization
• Climax
• Connotation
• Diction
• Inference
• Irony
• Mood
• Point of View
• Symbol/symbolism
• Theme
• Tone

• In partners…
• DEFINE YOUR TERM (ex: Protagonist—The main character in a literary work that the reader empathizes with.)
• INCLUDE AN EXAMPLE (ex: Peekay is the protagonist of The Power of One)
• CREATE AN IMAGE to help us remember!
• Be ready to explain!

11 February 2014
• Daily Question: Take out your cell phones! Write 1-2
appropriate, substantial text messages you have received recently. When you are finished, raise your hand to show them to me; I may ask you to write one of your examples on the board.
• Vocab
• What skills do critical readers use to make inferences?
• Discuss Gatsby Anticipation Guide (#13)
• Begin Chapter 1
• Gatsby Packet (#14)
• HOMEWORK: 1.Finish Ch. 1 reading and questions for
TOMORROW 2. SSR TOMORROW

• SSR– 30 minutes
• Daily Question: What is the relationship between
Nick and Daisy and Tom Buchanan? Why is it an oxymoron that Nick calls them friends “whom
[he] scarcely knew at all”?
• Vocab
• Finish Ch. 1/questions
• HOMEWORK: Chapter 2 + questions due Friday
(or Tuesday…whenever we’re here next)

• Daily Question: Write EVERYTHING you remember about the novel so far.
• Vocab
• Review/read chapter 2
• Hidden Rules of Social Class  #15
• Begin Gatsby film (if time)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Chapter 3 with questions due
THURSDAY (reading quiz) 2. Vocab quiz MONDAY

19 February 2014
• SSR– 30 minutes (LOG: date, pages read, summary, and analyze a lit term from the reading. Possibly tone, mood, diction, setting..etc. WHY did the author choose it? What purpose does it serve?)
• Daily Question: What methods of character development (direct/indirect) does Fitzgerald use to develop the character of Myrtle? How? Explain.
• *No vocab. Quiz Monday.
• “People Like Us” Day One (#16)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Chapter 3 reading due TOMORROW
*You will have a quiz! *Questions are optional but you will be able to use on the quiz! 2. “People Like Us”
Reactions due FRIDAY 3. Vocab quiz MONDAY

• MS. CHAGA @ Model UN
• Gatsby Chapter 3 Quiz
• Daily Question: Do you think that people’s names affect them? Why or why not? What do you think are some of the associations with your name (first and last)? Do they fit you?
• Gatsby Parties (#17)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish “Gatsby Parties” 2.
Vocab Quiz MONDAY

• MS. CHAGA @ Model UN
• SSR– 30 minutes
• Daily Question: Go back to your “Gatsby Parties” assignment. Considering the work you did, what do you make of the associations and connotations of the main characters’ names?
Explain (Nick Carraway, Jay Gatsby, Daisy
Buchanan, Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, George
Wilson, Myrtle Wilson)
• Marxism and Gatsby (#18)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Vocab Quiz MONDAY

• Vocab Quiz
• Daily Question: Nick comments that the people at
Gatsby’s party conduct “themselves according to the rules of behavior associated with an amusement park.”
What does he mean by this?
• Review Ch. 3, Gatsby Names, and Marxism
• Gallery Walk Discussion of “People Like Us”
– REACT to the first part of the documentary. Use specifics.
• Begin Ch. 4
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish Chapter 4 and reading questions for WEDNESDAY

• SSR – 30 minutes (with log– 1. date 2. pages read 3. summary 4. reaction to lit elements)
• Daily Question: Describe Wolfsheim. How does
Fitzgerald indirectly and directly characterize him?
• Vocab
• Check characterization page (yesterday) (#19)
• “People Like Us” Day Two (also #16)
• HOMEWORK: 1. “People Like Us” Day Two Reaction
Questions for TOMORROW 2. I will check Ch. 4
Questions TOMORROW

27 February 2014
• Daily Question: What are the relationships between race or ethnicity and class in
America? What is the conflict within the black community regarding class identity and racial identity (from yesterday’s viewing)? Your thoughts?
• Great Gatsby Ch. 2-4 Small Group Discussion
• Continue “People Like Us” Day 3 (#16)
• HOMEWORK: 1. SSR TOMORROW! 2. Gatsby
Ch. 5 and questions for MONDAY

• SSR– 30 minutes (log)
• Daily Question: Is there a way to reconcile the push to “be all you can be” with the pull to
“stay true to your roots”? Explain.
• HOMEWORK: Chapter 5 and questions due
MONDAY (if snow day, obviously they’re due
Tuesday!)

4 March 2014
• Daily Question: For the following quotation from the novel, identify the speaker, the context (who is speaking to whom, when), and the significance to the story:
– “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart” (96).
• Vocab
• Choose two of the following symbols from chapter 5 to explain. First, say what it literally means, then explain what it represents 
– A. Gatsby’s outfit “white flannel suit, silver shirt…”(84)
– B. The clock (86)
– C. The weather (89)
– D. Daisy’s reaction to Gatsby’s shirts (92)
– E. The green light (finally explained!) (92)
– F. The song that Klipspringer sings (95)
• Gatsby Chapter 6
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish questions for chapter 6 for
TOMORROW

• SSR– 30 minutes and log
• Daily Question: For the following quotation from the novel, identify the speaker, the context (who is speaking to whom, when), and the significance to the story:
• “Can’t repeat the past? He cried incredulously. “Why of course you can!” (110)
• Vocab
• Check Ch. 6 Questions
• Gatsby Film
• HOMEWORK: 1. We will be reading Chapter 7 in a Reader’s
Theater tomorrow.
• Pre-read if you get nervous reading out loud! Bring your book!

6 March 2014
• Daily Question: Do you believe Nick is a reliable or trustworthy narrator? Is he more trustworthy than the other characters? Explain using specific evidence from the text.
• Vocab (2 words– one from yesterday)
• Chapter 7 Reader’s Theater
– Nick’s Narration= Ms. Chaga
– Nick = Shane (to 128 “By the way Mr. Gatsby…) Joe M.
– Gatsby = Joe J. -- Ryan
– Tom = Ed -- Mike
– Daisy = Jess -- Camille
– Wilson = Jarrett
– Jordan = Morgan
• Whose Truth is True? (in your Gatsby packet)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish Whose Truth is True? for MONDAY 2.
Chapter 8 due MONDAY

• Daily Question: For the following quotation from the novel, identify the speaker, the context (who is speaking to whom, when), and the significance to the story:
• “Afterward he kept looking at the child with surprise. I don’t think he had ever really believed in its existence before” (117).
• Gatsby Film Continued
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish Chapter 7 for MONDAY.
DO IT! NO EXCUSES! It’s 10 pages. 2. Don’t worry about “Whose Truth is True?”

• Daily Question: What is the significance of the connotation of the word “Great” in the title, The
Great Gatsby? Think how it might change if it were instead, “Gigantic,” or “Fantastic” or
“Wonderful”?
• Vocab
• Chapter 7 Quiz
• “Whose Truth is True?” (in packet)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Chapter 8 with questions for
TOMORROW 2. If “Whose Truth is True” is unfinished– due TOMORROW

11 March 2014
• Daily Question: For the following quotation from the novel, identify the speaker, the context (who is speaking to whom, when), and the significance to the story:
• “’You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’ I’ve always been glad I said that. It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end” (162).
• Vocab
• Finish Ch. 9 and questions
• Gatsby Exam Review Sheet (#20)
• Gatsby Film
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish Review Sheet for TOMORROW 2.
SSR TOMORROW 3. Gatsby Exam THURSDAY

• Identification of literary devices (metaphor, oxymoron, simile, hyperbole, personification…etc.)
• Comprehension (inferencing)
• Vocab in Context (strategy to figure it out?)
• Tone

• SSR – 30 minutes **you have 6 SSR periods in class left before the midterm essay!
• Daily Question: Describe Nick’s “fantastic dream” near the end of chapter 9 (176). What does it say about how he views the East at the end of his time there? (Hint:
“In the foreground four solemn men…”
• Vocab
• Review for Exam (#20)/Discuss End of Book (#21)
• Gatsby Film
• HOMEWORK: 1. Gatsby Exam TOMORROW (Review sheet and chapter 7 quiz for format)

• Daily Question: Who is morally responsible for
Gatsby’s death? Explain.
• Vocab
• Review End of Book (#21)
• The Great Gatsby Exam– I will grade your multiple choice section during lunch.
• HOMEWORK: 1. Permission slips due
TOMORROW if you plan on attending the assembly on Tuesday!

14 March 2014
• SSR– 30 minutes
• Please don’t ask if we’re finishing Gatsby. We will on
MONDAY!
• Daily Question: What do you think Veteran’s and writers gain from telling stories of war? Explain.
• Vocab
• War Literature Unit Intro (#22)
• War Lit Circles Calendar (#23)
• Lit Circle Roles (#24) *Choose a role with your group for MONDAY’s Lit Circle.
• Veteran’s Interview Project (#25)
• HOMEWORK: 1. First Lit Circle MONDAY; complete your role! 2. Vet Project due April 6 th !

• DJ
• Jarrett
• Jess
• Ryan
• Eddie

• Joe M.
• Jack
• Morgan
• Steve
• GROUP 2
• Arden
• Peter
• Joe J.
• Tyler

• Chris
• Mike
• Esther
• Will?
• Camille

• Leah
• Alisha
• Alison
• Camille

• Shane

• Ms. Chaga Out Sick
• Daily Question: What are the rules of writing about war, and who should shape the story?
Those who serve? Those who observe? Can a novelist ever tell us things a forward-deployed soldier cannot?
• War Lit Reading Time
• War Veteran’s Interview Project (DUE Friday, April
4 th ) (#25)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Lit Circle #2 TOMORROW 2.
Veteran’s Interview Project due FRIDAY, April 4th

• Ms. Chaga Out Sick
• Daily Question: How do you think your war literature text’s author would reply to the following quotation about war? Explain.
• “Only the dead have seen the end of war.” –Plato
• “War Literature Article” (#26)
• HOMEWORK: 1. War Lit Circle #3 THURSDAY (with
3 rd role) 2. Veteran’s Interview Project due April
4 th

19 March 2014
• SSR– 30 minutes (if you are finished your SSR text, use this time for your War Lit novel)
• Daily Question: Which of the course theme topics do you see being presented in your War Lit text? Explain your choice. (Conformity vs. Resistance, Identity
Formation, Role of Morality/Religion, Perception of
Truth)
• Vocab
• Check-in
• Finish Gatsby Film
• HOMEWORK: 1.Lit Circle #3 TOMORROW (with third role completed for the section) ** I will check that you have THREE AND I will check the article from yesterday!** 2. War Veteran’s Project due April 4 th .
• .

20 March 2014
• Daily Question: Which of your five senses (sight, smell, sound, taste, or touch) do you think authors use the most in their imagery? Why?
• Vocab
• *Check all 3 lit circles AND “War Literature” Article
(#26)
• War Literature Unit: Concrete Details (#27)
– EQ: What was the author’s purpose for writing this literature?
• Review Veteran’s Interview Project (#25) and example
• Veteran Contact Sheet (#28)
• War Literature Circle #3 **Begin with the discussion director, have each person share after that.
• HOMEWORK: 1. Lit Circle #4 on MONDAY 2. Vocab Quiz
TUESDAY

• “The draft notice arrived on June 17, 1968. It was a humid afternoon, I remember, cloudy and very quiet, and I’d just come in from a round of golf. My mother and father were having lunch out in the kitchen. I remember opening the letter, scanning the first few lines, feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes. I remember a sound in my head. It wasn’t thinking, just a silent howl” (39).

• O’Brien uses sight, sound and touch in this passage. The humidity is something that is both seen and felt, and the quiet atmosphere after a round of golf helps him to point out how ordinary the day was before his draft notice arrived. Following his opening the letter, the contrast is clear: the sounds and feelings he describes are his head howling and blood thickening behind his eyes to show his deep physical reaction to having to go to war.

• SSR– 30 minutes (no log needs to be handed in)
**Remember– you have 4 more SSR days in class before the midterm)
• Daily Question: Describe the last argument you had. Did you win? If yes, how did you go about doing that? If no, why not?
• No new vocab– quiz TUESDAY
• Rhetoric Notes – (#29)
• View Ethos, Logos, Pathos Commercials
• HOMEWORK: 1. Lit Circle #4 MONDAY 2. War Vet
Project Due April 4 th 3. Midterm Essay April 8th,
Midterm April 9th

• Daily Question: How might Veterans today be different than those in past wars/conflicts?
• No Vocab– quiz tomorrow
• Midterm Essay Prep #1 (#30)
• War Lit Circles (*your 4 th )
• “The Wounded Platoon” (#31)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Lit Circle #5 TOMORROW 2.
Vocab Quiz TOMORROW

25 March 2014
• Vocab Quiz #2
• Daily Question: Write a reaction to the portion of the documentary (“The Wounded Platoon”) that we watched yesterday. *If you weren’t here, what do you know or want to know about PTSD? (Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder)
• Vocab
• Literature Circle #5 (I will check 4 and 5)
• Midterm Prompt #2 Brainstorm
– Write a thesis statement and think of 3 supports.
• Continue film
• HOMEWORK: 1. Lit Circle #6 THURSDAY 2. Veteran’s
Project Due Friday, April 4 th ! 3. Midterm Essay

• Daily Question: In the documentary we saw yesterday,
Col. David Clark says this in regards to David Nash’s cocaine use after his deployment in Iraq:
– “The Army can’t cure all the ills of society. The Army has go to be the Army and the Army has got to train on and be ready to fight our country’s fights. You’ve still got a mission to do. You can’t do that with this guy. He came from society. He needs to go back to society.
• What do you think of this response from the Colonel?
• SSR– 30 minutes
• War Lit Essay Prompt (Rhetorical Essay)  (#31)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish the steps for the Rhetorical
Essay prep 2. Lit Circle #6 due TOMORROW 3. Veteran’s
Interview Project due April 4th

27 March 2014
• Daily Question: Does your War Lit text use mostly
Ethos, Logos, or Pathos as its main rhetorical strategy? Explain.
• Vocab (new list)
• Lit Circles and Rhetorical Essay Prep (#31)
• Finish “The Wounded Platoon”
• HOMEWORK: 1. LAST War Lit Circle due MONDAY
2. Veteran’s Interview Project due Friday, April 4 th
3. Midterm Essay and Notebook Check Tuesday,
April 8 th 4. Midterm Exam Wednesday, April 9 th
**FYI– ALL late work is due no later than Monday,
April 7 th .

• SSR– read your War Lit text and answer the DQ during your reading instead of a log.
• Daily Question: WORK ON THE RHETORICAL
ANALYSIS OUTLINE– specifically finding QUOTES with page numbers.
• Vocab
• 2 nd half of class we will meet in the library. You
NEED to be productive today and I do NOT want
to see phones out. Type your thesis, start to document your points (quotations from the text)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Last Lit Circle due MONDAY 2.
Veteran’s Interview Project due FRIDAY 3. Rough
Draft for TUESDAY!

31 March 2014
• Finish last 5ish minutes of “The Wounded Platoon”
• Daily Question: What do you think was the purpose of “The
Wounded Platoon”? Did the director/producer/writers achieve this purpose? Why or why not? Explain.
• Vocab
• SSR-- *We will NOT have SSR on Friday (Veteran’s
Presentations), so we are having it today.
• LAST War Lit Circle – packets due TODAY for full credit.
• Lit Circle Quiz with partners and books (25 pts)
• Midterm Essay Prompt #2 (#30 along with Prompt #1)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Library time tomorrow for writing
Rhetorical Essay (rough draft due WED– 30 pts) 2. Veteran’s
Project due FRIDAY (50 pts) 3. Midterm Essay TUES 4/8 4.
Notebook Check (50 pts 80%) 4/8

1 April 2014
• No Daily Question today!
• Vocab
• **You will need your rubric, your outline, and your book for the library.
• Rough draft should be shared with me by 8AM tomorrow! (30 points!)
• REMINDERS:
• 1. No personal pronouns
• 2. Do not leave quotes “ALONE”
• 3. MLA citations– “(45).
• 4. 2 examples for each paragraph
• 5. Double-space!
• HOMEWORK: 1.Rough draft due TOMORROW by 8AM (30 pts) 2.
Veteran’s Project due FRIDAY (50 pts in 80%) 3. Midterm Essay
TUESDAY 4. Notebook Check TUESDAY (50 pts in 80%)

• SSR– 30 minutes (this is your LAST SSR in class before the midterm essay)
• No Daily Question
• Vocab
• Midterm Essay Prep/Prompt (#3 + 4)  (#30)
• Essay Outline (#32)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Veteran’s Project due FRIDAY (50 pts in the 80%) 2. Midterm Essay TUESDAY 3. Midterm
WEDNESDAY 4. Notebook Check TUESDAY
• **ALL late work must be handed in by TUESDAY for credit.

• No Daily Question
• Vocab
• Veterans Presentations– remember: try not to read off of each slide; just present your stories naturally!
• Finish “Wartorn” Doc (10 mins)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Notebook Check TUESDAY 2.
Midterm Essay TUESDAY 3. Midterm Exam
WEDNESDAY

7 April 2014
• Daily Question: Do you do well with the common
“Keystone-Style” quizzes and exams? Why or why not?
• Vocab
• Finish Presentations
• Questions about tomorrow’s Midterm Essay?
• Organize Notebooks
• Midterm Exam Review Sheet (#33) ** Please don’t write on the Eligible Content packets or the texts
(other than your own “Story of an Hour” (#10)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Midterm Essay TOMORROW in class
(novel, SSR logs, outline allowed) 2. Notebook Check
TOMORROW 3. All late work MUST be handed in by
TOMORROW for credit 4. Midterm Exam WEDNESDAY
5. Final Draft of Rhetoric Paper **changed to April 22 .

• Midterm Essay

9 April 2014
• Daily Question: What does it mean to be “apathetic”? (If you don’t know, you may use your phone to look it up or ask someone around you) . Do you think you are an apathetic person? In light of this, evaluate how well you think you did last quarter.
• Vocab
• Children of Men Permission Slip due TOMORROW! No excuses. Without the slip or an e-mail from your parent/guardian, I cannot let you watch the film tomorrow and Friday!
• Midterm Exam (Good Luck!  ) **Only finish through question #10 before lunch.
• Following the Midterm Exam, if you would like to read over your essay, you may do so!
• HOMEWORK: 1. Permission slip due TOMORROW 2. Final draft of the Rhetoric Analysis Paper due April 22 nd .
Comments will be made by Friday.

10 April 2014-Analyze the author’s
(director’s) intended purpose of a “text.”
• Daily Question: What do you make of the title
(Children of Men) of the film? How does it set up or inform your viewing and what questions does it leave you with?
• Vocab
• Children of Men Film Analysis Sheet (#34)
• HOMEWORK: 1. None! 2. Rhetorical Essay due
April 22 nd (check Google Drive for my comments over Spring Break)

10 April 2014--
Analyze the author’s
(director’s) intended purpose of a “text.”
• Daily Question: Do you see hope or hopelessness at the end of Children of Men?
Explain your choice. (**answer after the film, obvi)
• Vocab
• Pages to keep in binder
• Children of Men
• HOMEWORK: None! Have a safe and relaxing break 

• 3. Syllabus
• 6. American Lit Themes Practice
• 8. Keystone Terms
• 9. Glossing
• 29. Rhetoric Notes
• 32. Rhetorical Essay Outline
• 33. Midterm Exam Review Sheet

• Daily Question: What would you do if the world we all knew came to an end? There are no laws, no hospitals, and no stable source of food. Would you try to continue following the rules of society, or would you do whatever it took to survive? Why?
• Vocab
• SSR Drama Options/Groups (#35)– need books by TUESDAY
• The Road Anticipation Guide (#36)
• SSR – The Road (3-25) Questions (#37)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Don’t worry about the revised Rhetorical
Essay for now– revision date TBD 2. Finish reading The Road
Section 1 and questions for TOMORROW

• The Crucible: Steve, Jack, Shane
• Fences: Arden, Eddie, Peter, Joe
• Our Town: Morgan, Ryan, Jess, Camille
• Death of a Salesman: Mike, Chris, Joe, Will
• August: Osage County: Leah, Allison, Esther
• The Outsiders: DJ, Jarrett, Tyler, Alisha
• **Outsiders group  I need to keep your scripts today to use in my 4 th block

23 April 2014
• Daily Question: Are equality and fairness the same thing? Explain.
• Vocab
• Oprah and Cormac McCarthy Clip
• Take note of what you notice about Cormac McCarthy.
– What does he say?
– How does he act?
– How does he speak?
– What seems important to him?
– What do his mannerisms say about him?
• Review The Road Section 1 (#37)
• Creating a Utopia (#38)
• HOMEWORK: 1. The Road Section 1 (if late)

24 April 2014
• SSR—The Road (either section 1 or section 2
(#37))
• Daily Question: Can a “good” person be selfish?
What is a “good” person anyway? Why would anyone want to go out of their way to help someone?
• Vocab
• Selfishness vs. Altruism (#38)
• Utopia to Dystopia (#39) +Share
• HOMEWORK: 1. Section 2 of The Road due
MONDAY 2. Selfishness vs. Altruism Chart due
WEDNESDAY 3. SSR with drama texts begins
TUESDAY

• SELFISH (adj.) :devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others.
• ALTRUISTIC (adj): showing a selfless concern for the well-being of others; unselfish.

28 April 2014
• Daily Question: What do you think society gains from imagining a post-apocalyptic/dystopian future? How can you explain the recent surge in popularity of texts such as The Hunger Games and The Uglies, movies like
I Am Legend and TV shows like The Walking Dead and
Revolution?
• Vocab
• Check/Review Section 2
• Dystopian Literature Articles (#40)
• How, if at all, do the current dystopian and postapocalyptic themes differ from other “dark” or weighty themes in young adult books, like death, divorce, illness, poverty, teenage pregnancy and so on?
• Begin reading The Road Section 3 (#37)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Finish Section 3 for TOMORROW

Strongly Agree, Agree Somewhat,
Disagree Somewhat, Strong Disagree

[T]eenagers who are loving the dystopian themes are generally the ones who don’t have to face it. […]
Would we be so enamored with dystopian fiction if we lived in a culture where violent death was a major concern? It wouldn’t be escapism.

Schools are places where teens are subject to dress codes, have few free speech rights, and are constantly under surveillance, where they rise and sit at the sound of a bell. Is it any wonder that dystopian novels speak to them?

The more we understand how small and powerless we really are against the immense forces that control our existence, the more we yearn to feel meaningful. And so we read again and again about the child of dystopia who makes us feel hope for humankind.

1. Why are young adults interested in post apocalyptic or dystopian stories, according to this writer?
2. What, if anything, does he or she think makes the themes in today’s young adult stories different from those in the past?
3. After reading this writer’s thoughts on dystopian themes in young adult literature, do you agree or disagree? Why?

• SSR– Drama Unit Texts 30 minutes (5 minutes to plan reading schedule with group #41)
• Daily Question: When the man and boy say they are
“carrying the fire” they are referring to humanity and being the “good guys.” If society is destroyed and our way of life no longer exists, what purpose does humanity serve?
• Vocab
• The Road Section 4 (76-100)
• Possibly The Road Film
• HOMEWORK: 1. The Road Section 4 Questions (#37) due TOMORROW 2. Selfishness/Altruism Chart due
TOMORROW 3. Vocab Quiz FRIDAY

30 April 2014
• Daily Question: Would you be willing to sacrifice the happiness of someone else to be perfectly happy yourself for the rest of your life? Why or why not?
• **HW Check: The Road sections 3 and 4
• No Vocab– Quiz FRIDAY
• Complete reflection on Altruism/Selfishness chart. Do you think human beings are inherently selfish or altruistic?
Would this change in a post-apocalyptic situation like The
Road?
• The Road Section 5 (101-125) and time to work on questions.
• The Road Film (if time)
• HOMEWORK: 1. Section 5 AND the paragraph or chart (on a separate piece of paper) due TOMORROW 2. Vocab Quiz
FRIDAY 3. SSR Drama Unit TOMORROW– bring your script

• Vocab Quiz #3
• Daily Question: *Fun Friday* If your pet (or any animal) could answer 3 questions, which 3 would you ask him or her?
• New Vocab
• Check The Road sections 5-6
• Continue The Road film
• HOMEWORK: 1. Quiz on sections 1-6 of The Road on MONDAY

• The Road Chapters 1-6 Quiz
• Daily Question: Throughout the novel, the characters seem to draw conclusions about what constitutes a “good guy” versus a “bad guy.”
What distinction, if any, does the father seem to draw between the two categories of people?
What distinction does the son draw?
• Vocab
• Begin The Road Section 7
• HOMEWORK: 1. Section 7 due TOMORROW