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?