Gatsby Ch. 5 & Great Depression Essay

Gatsby Chapter 5 quiz this morning when you arrive.  Then we will discuss what we learned in this chapter and predict where we think the novel is going.  We will have a quiz on chapter 6 on Friday when you arrive.

Continue to work on your Great Depression Essay.  Make sure to use your own words and perspective.  I am not interested in you copying facts out of the book.  Make sure your paper has structure and flow to it.  Make sure you have a strong introduction and conclusion.  Many of you have lost points on assignments (book reviews, etc.) based on poor intros or conclusions.  Many of you are giving up all together on these parts of your essay.  An introduction or conclusion paragraph with only 3 sentences will not cut it.  Intro's and conclusions are often the most difficult part of a paper (which is why many of you avoid them) but remember this is the first and last impression the grader will get of your work.  This is the time to practice your writing in these areas.  An intro should contain a topic sentence, sign posts that inform your reader where your essay is headed and a thesis statement.  Conclusions should wrap up or explain your thoughts, tell why it is important or why the reader should care, and express your opinion.  You can find a rubric here.

Students need to show me a hard copy of the book they plan to read for the last 6 weeks of the semester.  There are some issues with students who are not completing their reading or not reading at all.  I am also concerned with the quality of the book reviews being turned in.  This is an American Literature class and there should be no issue finding a book out of the more than 100 on the list for you to read.  You have 6 weeks to complete your reading; that is 42 days.  Therefor, if your book is 400 pages this requires you to read less than 10 pages per day.  I do not want to hear that you lack the time needed to complete the assignment, more accurately some students have simply been lacking in effort.  You need to bring your book to school everyday and read when you have down time in IWT.  For college bound students such as yourselves reading a book and following the book review rubric will not be a problem in the last 6 weeks.

Are there any students who are interested in working at graduation?  If so please see me or Mrs. Villegas if you plan to help out your school and see graduation.

Grades have been updated.  Please check online at powerschool.  I will put them up on the board later in the today.

Gatsby Ch. 4 & Great Depression Essay

Today we have a quiz on chapter 4 of the Great Gatsby.  After the quiz is completed we will have a class discussion on what we read.  We have discovered a lot more about Gatsby and are finding out what is driving the story.  We will discuss what we now know and predict where we think the story is headed.

We will have a quiz on Great Gatsby Chapter 5 on Wednesday (4/30)

We are finishing up our unit on the Great Depression and will be writing an essay for our assessment.  You can read the prompt and see and outline here.

Its time for you to start thinking about what classes you would like to take at Mesa next year.  Please take a look at course offerings to see what classes you are interested in.  Please speak to me or Mrs. Hosking ASAP regarding classes.  Mrs. Mathis is available on Monday and Wednesday from 3-3:30 for Met students, please e-mail her to schedule an appointment and I will let you go and meet with her.

Speaking of Mesa college classes, I have a progress report form for all students taking Mesa classes.  If you have not received one or have not gotten yours signed please get those to me ASAP.

Finally, for those of you taking the SAT or ACT soon and are looking for test prep there are webinars available online.    These are an inexpensive way to get test prep online at your convenience.

Assignments Due!!!

Great Gatsby Chapter 4 quiz will be on Monday (4/28) when you arrive in class.  Setting analysis is due this Friday (4/25).  Prompt and template for the setting analysis assignment are available to assist you.

Guided reading for your last section on the Great Depression, Impact of the New Deal, is due on Friday (4/25).

Book reviews of your independent reading book are due Friday (4/25) as well.  These are a large part of your English grade so make sure your books are complete and you have written a well thought out review.  You must choose on last book from the reading lists for your final book review of the year.  There will be a book check on Friday (5/2) to make sure you have a new book.

Internship displays must be completed!!!!!  Anyone who has an internship must create a display for the class.  Instructions are available or simply look at the examples in class.

ANY late work must be turned in by Friday.  NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!  You will not be able to turn in any work due before (4/25) after Friday.  Make sure all book reviews or any other large assignments are turned in.

We have 6 weeks remaining before the end of the year.  Make sure you set yourself up for the final grades you want on your transcript.  This last push before the end of the year is important for all of you.  Junior year is weighed heavily by universities for all of you planning on continuing your education at the next level.  You don't want to miss out on the college of your choice based on a few assignments.  For those of you in danger of failure at the semester understand you may be asked not to return to the MET high school next year and will instead report to your neighborhood school.  If you do not meet the necessary requirements (internships, schoolwork, attendance, etc.) you may not be given the opportunity to attend here next year.

Gatsby Chapter 3 & Other Info

College fair is this Wednesday.  Remember that you must arrive at 8:30 on Wednesday to make the bus to the convention center.  Permission slips, from both parents and 2nd & 3rd period teachers, must be turned in by Tuesday.  If you do not have a permission slip you will stay at school and work on Gatsby or independent reading.  If you are attending please fill out this pre registration info.  If you do not do it now you will have to wait in line to fill one out at the event when we arrive.  The link also contains a list of the over 300 colleges that will be at the fair.

On Friday we will have a presentation from MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) at 9am in Room G101. Meet here in class and we will walk over together.  If you arrive late go straight to G101.  There will be a sign on the door to remind you.

For those of you looking to boost your SAT or ACT scores, here are 7 apps to build your vocabulary.  These apps for your phone are a good way to practice vocab when you have a minute.  Maybe during commercials while you are watching TV or just set aside 10 minutes everyday to work on vocab.

Your setting analysis of the Great Gatsby is due on Friday.  Please ask me if you have any questions.  Look at the template for help getting started on your writing.

You have a quiz on Chapter 3 today.  Afterwards we will have a discussion on what we read, themes we see, and predictions for the future.  You will have a quiz on Chapter 4 next Monday (4/28).

Your history assignment New Deal Affects Many Groups & Culture in the 1930's is due on Wednesday (4/23)

Gatsby Ch. 2 & More New Deal

Reminder: College Fair is next Wednesday.  You need to have your permission slips and permission from your second and third period teacher in by Tuesday (4/22).  The bus will be leaving at 8:30 on Wednesday so you will need to arrive a school a few minutes early and MUST be on time or you will be left behind.

Harvey Milk Essay Contest.  There is an essay contest with $2,500 reward for the winner.  Students are asked to create a 300 word essay on why it is important for the LGBT and justice community to work with other social movements.

ADA due today for those of you with PE or Computer Science

As a class we did a very good job on our quiz on the great depression.  Keep up the good work.  Your next guided reading will be on two chapters New Deal Affects Many Groups & Culture in the 30's. 
The guided reading will be due next Wednesday (4/23).  We will finish up the chapter Friday then move onto our assessment on Monday.
 
Today we will continue our reading and discussion of The Great Gatsby.  First, I will hand out your quiz on chapter 2.  After we will discuss the events from the chapter and get your thoughts on so of the themes we are recognizing and predict where the story is headed.

There will be a quiz on your reading of chapter 3 when you return on Monday.  We will be doing another close read for chapter 3, this time it will be on the setting.  As you read please think about Gatsby's party and the setting.  You will also have to think back to Tom's house is East Egg from chapter 1, and the Valley of Ashes which you just read about in chapter 2.  An excerpt will be provided for you here to help you.  Please underline any information that informs you about the setting.  You will use the information you have underlined to write 2 paragraphs about what the setting reveals about our characters.  Your prompt can be found here along with a template that may help you get started and organize your writing.  This will be due next Friday (4/25).  Remember that most of you will have college fair on Wednesday.

Gatsby Close Read & Great Depression Quiz

Continue your close read of the Chapter 1 excerpt of the Great Gatsby.  You should be finished with your annotations and character map and can move on to writing your response.  You will use your character map to write 2 paragraphs (one for each character).  Take a look at this template if you need some help organizing your writing.  Make sure you have chapter 2 read for our quiz on Friday.  If you would like to read further we will have a quiz on chapter 3 on Monday.

 Today you have a history quiz on the information we have covered so far on the great depression.

I will be passing out a permission slip for a field trip to the College Fair at the convention center.  You will be back by around 11:30, but it is a Wednesday so make sure you will be able to make it to your Mesa class if you have one.  This is a great opportunity to get some information on schools you may be interested in or find out about schools you haven't considered yet.  All schools will have reps that you can talk to about admissions or other questions about the campus.  Please come up with at least 10 questions you may want to ask.

Second New Deal & Chapter 1 Great Gatsby

 Please turn in your work from Friday when you enter class.  The next section we will study is the Second New Deal, which created more programs after the popularity of the New Deal among Americans.  Please have this Guided Reading due Wednesday.  You will have a quiz on the what we have learned so far in this chapter on Wednesday.

Today we will have our first quiz on Chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby.  After your quiz we will have a brief discussion on what happened in the chapter and our first impressions of the book and its main characters.  After our discussion you will be doing a character analysis from the first chapter.  I have taken an excerpt from Chapter 1 for you to do a close reading.  Please read the excerpt closely; circle any names of characters and underline any information that reveals info about the characters Tom and Daisy.  Once finished you will complete this character map about Tom and Daisy.  Fill out that character map using quotations from the excerpt.  Once finished please write a character analysis (one paragraph for Tom and one for Daisy).  Here is a template that may help you get started; the template is not required but may help you organize your paragraph.  This will all be due on Monday (4/21).  Please read chapter 2 for Wednesday.

Finally, there is a photo contest with a cash prize for the winner for the artsy students or instagram enthusiasts in class.  Just take a photo that represents California to you and follow the directions on the flyer.  Good luck!

Yearbook order forms are available to anyone who is interested

College Presentations, The Depression & the Great Gatsby

College Presentations are today.  Please e-mail me your powerpoint as soon as you arrive in class

Please turn in you homework from Wednesday regarding the Dust Bowl and other issues Americans faced during the depression.  Today we will look at the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) and his new deal to fight the depression.  Your assignment will be due Monday (4/14).

Today we begin our reading of The Great Gatsby!  Not only is it a tragic love story, but a commentary on America in the 1920's and the American Dream.  I'm sure you're excited to get started after the pre reading questions I asked on Wednesday.  Also, before you begin reading think back to our presentations you all gave on the 1920's and the attitudes during this time.

1. What was the role of women during this time?  How did this change from previous generations?
2. What did people think about changing morals?
3. What was happening to business and wealth?
4. Why was this generation considered the "Lost Generation"?
5. What was prohibition?  What did it give rise to?

Please read chapter 1 before you enter class on Monday

On Monday, you will have a quiz on the vocab and reading.  This quiz will same as all the subsequent quizzes you will have after each chapter.  Quizzes will contain 4-5 vocab words from anywhere in the chapter.  You will be given a sentence or so from the text with the word underlined.  You may look at the sentence for context clues.  Then you must describe to the best of your ability what the word means.  For example:

"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since."

Make sure you look up any words you come across that you do not understand or know the meaning of.  Even if you are unsure about a word take the few minutes to look it up.  Since many of you are reading the book online it will be easy to simply copy and paste any words into google or dictionary.com you can have open in another tab.  If you do not like to stop in the middle of your reading perhaps make a note of any words you dont understand and look them all up at once when you are finished.

After vocab you will have about 5 questions about the text.  These could be questions about larger themes or smaller simple questions that may not come up on things like sparknotes.  If you have read the chapter in detail you should have no trouble.  These will be a good opportunity to improve your grade in English before the semester; or possibly lower it if you do not keep up with the reading.

Great Depression & Pre Reading Gatsby

Today we will continue our unit on the Great Depression.  Monday we looked at the causes of the depression and today we will look at the Hardships people faced during this time and the governments reaction to the depression.  Please click here for your guided reading on sections 1 & 2.  This will be due Friday (4/11) when you arrive.

Before we move on today we will do a pre reading activity for The Great Gatsby which we will begin reading on Friday.  I will pose some, possibly controversial, questions about issues that come up in the book.  I want you to briefly write (3-6 sentences) your opinion and an explanation.  You will have a chance to debate these questions with your classmates.

Announcements: April 25th will be the last day for you to turn in any missing or late work.  Any assignments up on the posted grades that are highlighted may be made up for credit.  Please see that you get these assignments into me as soon as possible.

Your book reviews for your independent reading books are also due to me on the 25th.  You should be about half way through your novel at this point.

Grade notices for students in danger of failure are going home to parents this week.  If you are failing or on the cusp you should see your teachers ASAP to get in any missing work.

Finally, if you would rather have a hard copy of the Great Gatsby you need to pick one up from the public library or purchase one.  A digital copy will  be available to you online.  You will need to read the book in class and at home so make sure you will have enough access to a computer and the internet that this will not be a problem.

College Project & Great Depression

College presentations will be due this Friday on 4/11

We will also begin our unit on the great depression.

Here is the guided reading for Chapter 14 Section 1 

This will be due on Wednesday (4/9)