Great discussion today everyone!  Here is the updated homework assignment due tomorrow.

HW: Read and annotate The Bluest Eye, pp. 23-32 (“some coal”).  Pay attention to Pecola Breedlove’s home and family, her appearance, and definitions of “ugliness.  Writer’s Journal #14: Images of beauty. Please use your freewrite and notes from the films to complete at least 2 pages of thoughtful, focused writing on this topic.  Due Thursday.

And here are the links to the various videos and images we have discussed:

• Anna Dorothea Foster And Charlotte Anna Dick from American Stories exhibit
• Shirley Temple/Bojangles video clips: Stairs and Plantation
• “A Girl Like Me” (2006)
• “Barbie and Ken 101” (2010)
• New Dora

Monday 4/5 – Discussion: Review The Bluest Eye, pp. 9-23.  View images from American Stories exhibit and Shirley Temple clips.

HW: Bring in an image of “beauty”, either current or from your childhood memory.  Be prepared to share in class tomorrow.

Wednesday 4/6- Discussion: Share images of beauty.  View “A Girl Like Me” (2006) and “Barbie and Ken 101” (2010).  Links available on blog.  Take notes on both films to prepare for in-class writing.

HW: Read and annotate The Bluest Eye, pp. 23-44. Pay attention to Pecola Breedlove’s home and family, her appearance, and definitions of “ugliness.

Thursday 4/7– Discussion: The Bluest Eye, 23-44.  HW: Read and annotate The Bluest Eye, pp. 44-58.

Friday 4/9- Discussion: The Bluest Eye pp. 44-58. HW: Read and annotate The Bluest Eye pp. 61-80.

Monday 3/15 – Discussion: Setting goals for Trimester 3.  Introduction to Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye: Dick and Jane primers of the 1940s. If time allows, begin reading The Bluest Eye, pp. 3-6 together in class.

HW: Writer’s Journal #12: Goals for Trimester 3 (at least 3 specific goals about writing, reading, writing, with explanation for how you will achieve them!)

Tuesday, 3/16 – NO CLASS

Wednesday, 3/17 – Discussion: Share writing.  Read aloud The Bluest Eye, pp. 5-23.  Discuss characters, parents, ways of showing love, Mr. Henry, etc.

HW: Finish reading The Bluest Eye up to page 23.  Then write Writer’s Journal #13: respond to the novel so far, especially regarding perceptions of beauty/ugliness.

Thursday, 3/18 – Discussion: Read aloud The Bluest Eye, 23-32.  Examine & define outdoors; dolls, Shirley Temple, definitions of beauty; how different characters show love and seek love.  Return Gatsby essays, debrief the essay process, and discuss writing assignments for the rest of the year.

HW: No homework over vacation – but I encourage you to enjoy a good book!

The deadline for the Gatsby essay has been extended to Tuesday, March 9 at 11:30.  This deadline is not negotiable and late papers will be severely penalized.  Please plan ahead for how you will complete all the revisions and compile the portfolio before Tuesday morning.  Even if you do not have a 9:00 am exam on that day, you must still come in to school to turn in the essay portfolio.

Please refer to the essay checklist for specific details.  And don’t forget to include a process piece!

Wednesday 2/17: Quiz: Chapters 7-9.  WJ #9 revisions due. Discuss The Great Gatsby – ending, cyclical form, time, what makes Gatsby great?
HW: WJ#10: What makes a good essay? (see handout) due Thursday 2/18.

Thursday 2/18 – Writing Workshop #1: Essay as Genre. Share writing.  What makes a good essay?  Discuss the form and function of the analytical essay.  Introduce essay assignment.  Gatsby Essay 2010. In class writing: What aspects of The Great Gatsby interest you most?
HW: WJ #11 – Quotations & analysis (see handout) due Monday 2/22.

Friday 2/19- No class

Monday 2/22 – Writing Workshop #2: Intro and thesis statements.
HW: Write the introduction and thesis of your essay, due Tuesday, 2/23.

Tuesday 2/23 – Writing Workshop #3: Body paragraphs.
HW:  Write the first two body paragraphs of your essay, due Wednesday 2/24.

Wednesday 2/24 – Writing Workshop #4: Conclusions.  How to deepen argument and form conclusions.
HW: Write the third (and fourth) body paragraph and conclusion for your essay.  Complete first draft due Thursday 2/25.  MUST BE TYPED AND PRINTED OUT before class.

Thursday 2/25 – First Draft Due.  Individual conferences. Revision in class. (Bring laptops)
HW: Continue revising your essay.  Save first draft for submission with portfolio.

Friday 2/26 – No class

Monday 2/8 Class: Discuss Chapters 6-7,  The Great Gatsby.  WJ #8 due. Share motifs.

HW: Read and annotate Chapter 8, The Great Gatsby.

Tuesday 2/9 Class: Discuss The Great Gatsby Chapter 8.

HW: Read and annotate The Great Gatsby Chapter 9.

Wednesday 2/10 Class: Discuss Chapter 9, The Great Gatsby.

HW:  WJ #9: What makes Gatsby “great”?  What makes the novel “great”? How does the greatness of the novel (or perhaps lack thereof) contribute to your understanding of why it might be on Bloom’s list of American canonical works? What would A.O. Scott think of Gatsby? What would Morrison think of Gatsby?

Thursday 2/11 Class: Share writing. Turn in WJ #6-9.

HW: Review The Great Gatsby Chapters 7-9 in preparation for quiz on Wednesday 2/17.  Rewrite WJ #9: What makes Gatsby great? How did Gatsby strive to make himself “great”? How does Fitzgerald strive to make the novel “great”?  Are they successful?  You must include textual evidence and analysis in support of your opinions.

Friday 2/12 – NO CLASS

Monday 2/15-Tuesday 2/16 –SCHOOL CLOSED

Wednesday 2/17 – Quiz on Gatsby Chapters 7-9.  WJ #9 revisions due. Discuss/share writing. Handout essay assignment.

HW: WJ#10: What makes a good essay? (see handout) due Thursday 2/18.

Monday 2/1 Class: Quiz on Chapter 3-4.  Discuss the party scene and stories about Gatsby.  Watch film clip.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW4WJ6tpZeA

HW: Read and annotate chapter 5, The Great Gatsby. Then trace the pattern of Daisy’s voice from the beginning to the end of chapter 5 in your Writer’s Journal. What  does the pattern reveal about her feelings regarding this reunion with Gatsby?  This is WJ#6.

Tuesday 2/2 Class: Discuss Chapters 4-5.  WJ #6 due.  HW: Read and annotate chapter 6, The Great Gatsby. Begin writing WJ #7: Close reading (see handout).

Wednesday 2/3 Class: Discuss Chapter 5-6.  HW: Finish WJ #7, due Thursday.

Thursday 2/4 Class: Discuss Chapter 6.  WJ #7 due. Begin reading Chapter 7 in class (TIME).  HW: Read and annotate Chapter 7.  WJ #8 – Time (see handout).

Tuesday 1/19 – FINAL PERSONAL PORTRAIT PIECE DUE TODAY.    Turn in WJ#1-2 and first draft with your portfolio.
Class: Sharing of personal portraits.  Handout A.O. Scott quotation and assignment.

HW: WJ #4 – Close reading/response to A.O. Scott.  See Great American Novel handout for details.

Wednesday 1/20 – Class: Discuss A.O. Scott quotation, focusing on language, theme, and image.  How do we define the “great American novel”?   Talk about the lists we created about middle and high school texts. What makes these texts American? Share Harold Bloom’s list of American canonical works. What do you recognize on this list? What don’t you recognize?  What have you read? What would you like to read?

HW: WJ #5 – Close reading/response to Toni Morrison.  See Great American Novel handout for details.

Thursday 1/21- Class: Discuss WJ #5.  How does Morrison add further complexity to the conversation about American literature?  What might she mean by “empire building” and “national defense” in relation to talking about literature?
Introduction to F. Scott Fitzgerald (one of the authors on Bloom’s list).  Watch Ken Burns documentary on New York and the 1920s.
HW: Read and annotate “Cosmopolis 1919-1931” from New York by Ken Burns and “My Lost City” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Friday 1/22 – NO CLASS

Monday 1/25 – Discuss “My Lost City,”  New York City and the American Dream. Begin reading The Great Gatsby out loud in class.
HW: Read and annotate Chapter 1, The Great Gatsby.

Tuesday 1/26 – Discuss Chapter 1. Hand out map.
HW: Read and annotate Chapter 2, The Great Gatsby.

Wednesday 1/27 – Discuss Chapter 2.
HW: Read and annotate Chapter 3, The Great Gatsby.

Thursday 1/28 – Discuss Chapter 3.
HW: Read and annotate Chapter 4, The Great Gatsby.

Friday 1/29 – NO CLASS

Mon 1/11: In-class revisions and/or peer editing of personal/American portrait drafts. Field trip preparation – view and discuss selected images from American Stories exhibit – image analysis, art history overview. HW: Finish draft of personal portrait, due Tuesday 1/12.

Tues 1/12: First draft of personal portrait due. Field trip prep continued.  Discuss museum etiquette, what to bring/what to leave at home. How to use the American Stories website. http://www.metmuseum.org/special/americanstories/exhibition-images.aspx HW: Go to http://www.metmuseum.org/special/americanstories/exhibition-images.aspx and view the assigned paintings. Remember to click on “Read more” on the post to read the relevant article(s). See field trip handout for details.

Wednes. 1/13 – FIELD TRIP to the Met: Use the note-taking handout to observe specific paintings during the trip. Choose two paintings for your detailed image comparison. HW: WJ #3 – Image comparison. Choose two paintings from the exhibit and write a detailed analysis in which you compare and contrast the visual aspects as well as the cultural/historical significance of the two paintings. What themes or ideas do their share?  How do the artists differ in the way they choose to portray these themes? In the final paragraph, write your personal reactions to two images and your reflections on the exhibit as a whole. 2 pages, typed.

Thurs 1/14: Reflections on exhibit, sharing image analysis. How does the American Stories exhibit fit together as a whole? What larger “story” is being told? How does this connect to the tributary themes of the course and/or your American portraits? [Discuss Black-Jew dialogues, time permitting.] HW: Finish personal portrait, due Tuesday, 1/19. Bring in completed portfolio including first draft (with revisions), final draft, and WJ #1, 2, and 3.

Fri 1/15 – NO CLASS

Mon 1/18 – SCHOOL CLOSED – MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY

Tues 1/19 – FINAL PERSONAL PORTRAIT PIECE DUE TODAY. Turn in WJ#1-3 and first draft with your portfolio. Share personal portraits. Handout A.O. Scott quotation and assignment. HW: WJ #4 – Close reading/response to A.O. Scott. See handout for details.

Here are the links we will use in class and at home for the American Portraits project.

1. First Lady Portraits to compare/contrast

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2009-02-27-MrsObamaPortrait.jpg
http://www.vanityfair.com/images/style/2009/06/jackie-michelle-0906-ps01.jpg

2. Girls and Boys

a) Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, John Singer Sargent

http://jssgallery.org/paintings/Daughters_of_Edward_Darley_Boit.htm

b) Snap the Whip, Winslow Homer

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/homr/ho_50.41.htm