Week of 8/31 through 9/4

Periods 1 and 3:

Summer reading of The Bread Givers and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn should be complete.

We will be discussing these books in class this week. There will be a graded discussion (test) on Friday as a culminating activity. There is also an essay due on these readings on Tuesday 9/8.

Some questions worth considering include the following:
1.      How could both books be seen as a rejection of the “old world”?
2.      How did physical environment impact characters and their developments?
3.      Do the two main characters successfully reinvent themselves by the end of their books?
4.      What do these books say about social justice? Is there justice in these books (during or by the end)?
5.      How does language, author’s craft and the structure of the books affect the reader’s experience?
6.      To what extent is the message of the book about obligation to societal norms vs. personal choice?
7.      Do these books show being alone as desirable or is being alone antithetical to happiness?



Period 5:

Summer reading deadline to submit or check submission is this week.

Poster Assignment is due Wednesday 9/2.

We will be reading "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty, and "Fear" by Terry Trueman for the purpose of studying language, word choice, and elements of fiction used in writing.




Period 6:

First essay assigned and will be due Thursday 9/10.

We will be working on the basics of writing essays and topic generation this week.




Period 7:

Students will be introduced to the idea of peer tutoring and discuss/reflect on themselves as writers.