Fishbowl #4: The Great Gatsby, chapters 7-9

Let's have one last great discussion of this lovely novel.

A couple of thoughts for today:

Aim for 5 thoughtful posts, as a minimum, during today's discussion.  A thoughtful post...

• Is carefully proofread. (We're doing a great job with this.)
• Incorporates a cited quotation from the text.  To incorporate suggests one leads into, and out of, that quote versus referencing the quote & leaving it to your audience to infer how it relates to your comment or question.  See your classmates' great posts below as examples of how this looks.
• Demonstrates good reading comprehension & critical thinking

Also, a couple reminders:

• When asking a question, avoid leading "did" or "does" constructions in favor of more open-ended ones.
• Use the thread feature to indicate to whom you're replying.  If you're beginning a new line of thinking or questioning, use the general post feature.

Felipe commented, "On page 98 Nick reveals about Gatsby's parents and his college life, 'His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people... He stayed there two weeks, dismayed at its ferocious indifference to the drums of his destiny, to destiny itself, and despising the janitors work with which he was to pay his way through.' I would say that Gatsby is embarrassed about the "failures" that he had in his past such as dropping out in school and the embarrassed of having to work as a janitor to pay his tuition. Now he has a way to start over a new life or start over as a new character."

And here's a great question from Ally:  "On page 102 Gatsby is almost rubbing in the fact that he knows Daisy to Tom. 'I know your wife,' continued Gatsby, almost aggressively.' Is Gatsby trying to show Tom how above him he is? Is Gatsby jealous of Tom? Does Tom already know in some way?

Happy posting!

Fishbowl #3: The Great Gatsby, chapters 5 & 6

I concur with the peanut gallery that our discussion from last class was much improved.  Most were actively involved in the discussion & I could see you were thinking about how the text informed your thinking.

A couple of thoughts for today:

Aim for 5 thoughtful posts, as a minimum, during today's discussion.  A thoughtful post...

• Is carefully proofread.
• Incorporates a cited quotation from the text.  To incorporate suggests one leads into, and out of, that quote versus referencing the quote & leaving it to your audience to infer how it relates to your comment or question.
• Demonstrates good reading comprehension & critical thinking

Also, a couple reminders:

• When asking a question, avoid leading "did" or "does" constructions in favor of more open-ended ones.
• Use the thread feature to indicate to whom you're replying.  If you're beginning a new line of thinking or questioning, use the general post feature.

Here is a great post from Manual from last class: "On page 70 Gatsby bring up a rather dark scene when it comes to the topic of going to war to take his own life. '...I tried very hard to die but I seemed to bear an enchanted life.' What does this make you wonder about how Gatsby thinks his life worth? Does he think that he is not worthy of a life?"

Manual did a great job not just referencing the quote, but also making it clear how it relates to his thinking.  I love, too, how he has a couple of layers to his questions, allowing many responses.

Let's make it another great discussion day!

The Great Gatsby fishbowl #2: third hour

Hmmm...not going to lie.  We're off to a rough start with this text.  Let's see if we can step up our game today.

Here are some things I'm looking for from you.
1.  That you are participating.  Aim for at least 3-5 thoughtful posts during discussion, throughout discussion.  At least.  My folks who are dormant will begin writing 1 page essay responses to the reading next class.

2.  Please proofread your work.  

3.  For EVERY question you ask and EVERY response you make, provide a quote that contextualizing that question or comment.  Be sure that you don't just throw it out there for your reading to infer why you're using it, but rather, makes its relevance clear by discussing that quote.  

Here are a couple great examples from your classmates to model your posts after.

Zoe asked, "On page 33 Catherine Myrtle's sister is whispering to Nick the details of Tom's and Myrtle's relationship. Tom has come up with such an elaborate lie about Daisy being Catholic so he can not divorce her. How come Tom has created such an elaborate lie not to leave Daisy when he "loves" Myrtle?"

And Sam asked, "On page 33 "Neither of them can stand the person they're married to." Why is there a reoccurring theme of unhappy marriages? Is it the time that's preventing them from getting a divorce or is there something bigger going on?

The Great Gatsby: fishbowl #1 (chs 1 & 2)

Today we'll primarily focus our discussion on chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby.

You should feel comfortable, however, to also ask questions about previous sections.  I especially encourage you to do so if you have comprehension questions; use this discussion as an opportunity to understand the reading.

Be sure you...

• Are an active participant throughout our discussion time.  Dormancy suggestions you're doing other things and may mean you write a written response for ensuing discussions in lieu of participating on the blog.
• Provide a quote to contextualize each and every question and response.  Be sure to cite these quotes with author & page number.
• Indicate to whom your question or comment is posted by using the discussion thread.
• Carefully proofread your work.  This is a writing assignment.
• Refresh your page often so you can see new posts & ideas.

Happy posting!

Research project topic selection

Here are the parameters for your first post. Remember topics should be unique, so be sure to read through the responses before yours both to add to your understand of the project's concept and also to determine if your topic has already been selected.

If you are unable to sufficiently answer these questions, you may have to chose an alternative topic.

Be sure to carefully read through the project handout, which includes many example topics, before posting below. You are welcome to use one of these topics for your project if you'd like. Also, Mrs. Binney & Ms. Hancock's classes are working on the same project. Feel free to refer to these teachers' websites & blogs for more inspiration.

1. Briefly summarize your topic. How does it capture the concept of cultural hysteria?

2. In addition to the provided research questions, what questions will you ask when researching this topic?  What else intrigues you about your topic?

3. Describe your research process. Where will you begin? What types of sources will you use? What are the criteria for choosing and evaluating the quality of those sources? If you get stuck, how might you refine or narrow your search for information or sources related to this topic?