American Novels, Semester I

Week 08 - Journals and Homework

2008-10-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

We will be focusing on how to interact effectively with our texts this week. Plan to spend your time in class reading and thinking about responses; each night you will be writing out your responses, and each day you will have to choose a couple responses to expand upon in your journal. With a little effort, we should be able to make this a nearly automatic process that takes almost no effort on your part, but that helps to vastly improve your understanding of anything that you read.

10/13 - Free Write

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp. 105-107

10/14 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp. 107-114

10/15 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp. 115-123

10/16 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Reading Responses on pp.

10/17 - Expand on 2 of your reading responses from last night.

Homework: 3 Extended Reading Responses on pp.

Week 07 - Homework and Journals

2008-09-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

9/29 - Describe how Jurgis and his family might have been cheated in their house purchase. Detail as many ways as you can think of. Hint: set this up as a category game- T=House Purchase; * Housing Scams; -/. methods and details.

Homework: The Jungle pp. 61-72

3 Reading Responses for journal

9/30 - Reading Response. Choose two of your reading responses from last night's reading and expand them.

Homework: The Jungle pp. 73-83

3 Reading Responses

10/1 - Jurgis and Ona have been struggling desperately to make ends meet. With winter coming on, predict what new sorts of hardships they will have to cope with. Will any of their difficulties from the summer months be reduced? What ones and how? Will any become more difficult? Again, which ones and how?

Homework: The Jungle pp. 84-95

3 Reading Responses

10/2 - Free Write

Homework: The Jungle pp. 96-104

3 Reading Responses

10/3 - Quote: "In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends." -John Churton Collins.

Have a great fall break!

Consider possible topics for a 2-3 page paper on The Jungle

Week 06 - Journals and Homework

2008-09-22T08:31:00.001-07:00

This week is conferences, so the actual written work will be fairly light. We will, of course, still have daily journals and we will be trying something new with our reading assignments. Try to stay current with all your work- everyone is doing a good job at the moment and I'm proud of you as a class.

9/22 - Reading response from Chapter 1. After a brief class discussion, write out three separate responses (different kinds and different events) to things that you read in Chapter 1.

Homework: The Jungle pp. 22-31

9/23 - Imagine you are writing a script for a Civil War movie for modern audiences. What themes do you think would appeal to people your age and how could you make them relevant and new within the context of your movie? How would you make a historical event seem fresh and interesting to people living in the 21st century?

Homework: The Jungle pp. 31-33

9/24 - Jurgis is strong, young and healthy. He is almost certain to be able to find a job in Packingtown. Predict the kind of job he will secure and, based on that, how well he will be able to support his family. What do you think the other members of his family will do to help make ends meet?

Homework: The Jungle pp. 34-46 (due by 9/26)

9/25 - Free Write

9/26 - Quote: "Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat." - Socrates (469 BC-399 BC)

Homework: The Jungle pp. 47-60

Week 05 - Journals and Homework

2008-09-15T08:46:00.000-07:00

9/15 - Quote: "It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value." -Arthur C. Clarke.

Homework: Study for RBC Final Exam

Return permission slip for Platoon

9/16 - Free Write. Please be certain to return permission slips- failure to return your permission slip will result in being unable to watch the movie. Do not expect the substitute to allow you to call your parents.

Homework: Return permission slip for Platoon

9/17 - The defintion of an epiphany is "a sudden striking understanding of something." (Merriam Webster Dictionary) Give an example of an epiphany that you have experienced- what was it, when did it happen, and how did it affect you?

9/18 - Make a list of the similarities and differences you see in Chris Taylor (Platoon) and Henry Fleming (Red Badge of Courage). Chart them on a Venn diagram. Write a short (~3 paragraphs) explanation of how the characters are similar and how they are different.

9/19 - Jurgis Rudkus has several jobs throughout The Jungle- meat packer, tunnel digger, political hack, con man and union organizer. Which job do you think would be most interesting? Which would be most rewarding? What do you think the job would entail? Which job do you think you would be best suited to?

Homework: The Jungle pp 1-22

Week 04 - Journals and homework

2008-09-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

The goal this week is to complete the Red Badge of Courage. Expect a final exam next week around Wednesday. Propaganda projects are due this week and will be presented in this order:

Monday: Ryan Bickford and Jacob Sprague
Tuesday: Aaron Lilla and Michael Weatherby
Wednesday: Lauren Bower and Rebecca Dewey
Thursday: Kyrene Anderson and Tyler Fallis
Friday: Nathaniel Merrill and Erica Quebral

Journals:
9 / 8 - Free Write

RBC 157-164

9 / 9 - Henry overhears officers talking strategy and is upset by the assertion that the 304th fights "like a bunch of mule drivers" on page 145. Later, the 304th is drawn into combat and, with that assertion still in his head, Henry and a friend capture the enemy flag. This is in contrast to how Henry has comported himself throughout the novel previously. Think about your own accomplishments. Give an example of a time that you achieved something despite criticism and negative comments.

RBC 165-172

9 / 10 - Quote: "We improve ourselves by victories over ourself. There must be contests, and you must win." What contests does Henry fight with himself? What victories does he achieve? How are these similar to the internal struggles that you have contended with in your life?

RBC 173-179

9 / 11 - The next book we will read in class is Upton Sinclair's The Jungle. Consider what you know about this story from class discussions, from the title, and from popular culture. What expectations do you have about this story? How do you think this story has impacted your life? How do you think reading it will change the way in which you see the world?

RBC 180-186

9 / 12 - Consider the class projects that you saw this week. Which project did you think was most creative? Which project was most topical? How could the projects have been improved within the contexts of their individual formats? How did your own project compare to the best project that you saw? To the worst? What made your project better or worse than the others that you saw? Be specific and try to use analytical language; avoid subjective or metaphorical words.

RBC 187-193

Week 03 - Journals and Homework

2008-09-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

Monday (Labor Day): No school = no work! ...or at least nothing new...

Tuesday: Quote: "America's greatest strength, and its greatest weakness, is our belief in second chances, our belief that we can always start over, that things can be made better." -Anthony Walton

RBC pp 89-106

Work on class project: PRESENTATIONS M-F next week

Wednesday: Make a prediction regarding how Henry will be received by his unit. How do you think Henry has changed and how will he change as the rest of the novel progresses?

RBC pp 107-121

Work on class project: PRESENTATIONS M-F next week

Thursday: Free write

RBC pp 122-141

Work on class project: PRESENTATIONS M-F next week

Friday: Write a poem about one of the following themes: courage, coming of age, nature's indifference to man.

RBC pp 142-156

Work on class project: PRESENTATIONS M-F next week

Journals and Homework, Week 2

2008-08-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

8/25 - Imagine that you lived during the Civil War. What would your position in society have been? Did your family live in a Union state or a Confederate state? Would you have been a soldier? What position would you have taken on states' rights vs. the federal government? On slavery?

HW: RBC pp 62-67

8/26 - Discuss a situation in which someone you know displayed unusual courage. What, in particular, made this an act of heroism as opposed to just normal bravery?

HW: RBC pp 68-75

8/27 - Quote: "Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes." -Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881) How does Henry embody this quote? Does he confirm it or refute it? How?

HW: RBC pp 76-88

8/28 - What is the farthest you have ever travelled from home and family? What did you do and how did you feel? If you have never been away from your family, where would you like to go and what would you like to do there?

HW: Review RBC 1-88

8/29 - Write a poem describing the experiences of Henry's mother during the Civil War.

Week 01 - Journals and Homework

2008-08-18T17:36:00.001-07:00

Monday: Rules, Procedures, and Grading Policies

HW: RBC pages 1-4

Tuesday: Class Expectations: Write down your expectations for this class. Be specific. Talk about what activities you would like to do and how they would help to further your understanding of class themes and information. Discuss what you believe your role should be as an active participant in your own education. Describe your responsibilities to yourself, your class, and your teacher. Express what you believe your teacher's duties are to you and your class, and how you see them being best met and fulfilled.

HW: RBC pages 5-15

Wednesday: Novel Reading: At this point, you should begin to have an understanding of what the central theme of this novel is. Briefly describe the setting of the novel and the characters you've met so far. Identify a central theme and talk about how the young man, Henry, relates to it.

HW: RBC pages 16-26

Thursday: Quote: "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." --Anais Nin (1903-1977), The Diary of Anais Nin, Volume 3, 1939-1944. Discuss how the quote relates to Henry's experiences and beliefs about life and the nature of combat. Do you agree with him? Why or why not?

HW: RBC pages 27-38

Friday: Free Write

HW: RBC pages 39-52