Review

Today we spent the period answering the four questions below as part of the OMM warm-ups we've been working on throughout the unit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. What two visions does Lennie have down by the river? Why do you think Steinbeck includes these visions?
2. What surprises Lennie about George's behavior when he meets him by the river? What does Lennie want from George? Why?
3. Explain the reaction of the men when they reach the scene. How is Slim's reaction different from Carlson's? Why?
4. Finally, do you agree with George's decision to shoot Lennie? Explain.

The Day Before Break...

We began the day working on the notes and chapter summary for chapter 6. Afterward, students prepared their notes for collection and handed them in. There is no new homework over break.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday we began the day by reviewing the notes for chapter 4. Students then had the rest of the period to silently read chapter 5 and take notes. Students should have finished the chapter summary for homework.
Thursday we discussed chapter 5 and then finished the book out loud in class, briefly discussing the ending.

Monday and Tuesday

Monday we finished the partner quotation assignment we began Friday (see below) and I collected both the resulting posters and the initial written work.

• Choose one of your quotations and write it up using one of the theme frames from the back of your tan handout.
• Once you are happy with the sentence, write it up neatly in poster form. 

Tuesday we got news seats and then spent the rest of the period reading and talking notes on chapter 4 of Of Mice and Men. Students should complete the chapter summary for HW. 

I have posted a copy of OMM here for student use.

A Focus on Theme

I began the day by checking student notes for chapter 3 while students worked a short quotation analysis assignment. After a short discussion of chapter 3, students spent the rest of the period working with partners on the quotation analysis activity below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Choose two quotations from your notes on chapter three. For each quotation:

• Copy it down neatly with the correct punctuation and citation.
• Paraphrase the quotation.
• Explain why it matters.

2) Choose one of your quotations and write it up using one of the theme frames from the back of your tan handout.

Both partners must have their own written work.

Tuesday

Today we began with a review of phrases and clauses (independent and dependent) on page 70 of the grammar book. I checked the chapter two notes and we talked through the chapter. We wrapped up the period reading some of reading D aloud.
HW Finish reading D, including notes and quotes, due 11/10

Chapter 2

Today students completed the sentence frame below for their warm-up. After discussing it, and the first half of chapter 2, students had the rest of the period to finish chapter 2 and work on their notes.
HW Finish reading C (through the end of chapter 2) and notes (including a chapter summary), due 11/9
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 When George says, “With us it ain’t like that. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go,” what he means is paraphrase quotation (14). This illustrates a theme from the handout because explain what the quotation says about the theme.

Chapter 2

We began the day by writing a summary of reading A at the end of the notes students had taken for homework (I also checked for complete notes and planners). After students shared their summaries, we read much of reading B in class. Students had some quiet reading/ note-taking time to wrap up the day.

HW Finish Reading B (through page 26) with notes and quotes.

Finally, George and Lennie

Today we did some quick work with misplaced phrases on page 64 of the grammar book. We spent the rest of the day reading aloud from Of Mice and Men, sticky notes in hand, preparing to take notes on theme, character, setting, POV, foreshadowing, conflict, etc. We completed reading A in class and students should write up their notes, including at least two quotations in the sentence frames provided on the handout, for homework.

Almost OMM

Today we started with a rather lengthy grammar warm-up focused on appositives (pp. 53 and 54A). We then re-focused on the first two paragraphs of Of Mice and Men and introduced the note-taking procedure we will use for the book.

Sniping at Prepositions

We began the day with a look at prepositional phrases on page 49 of the grammar book. We spent the rest of the period going over the notes from yesterday (which were collected) and then we had a quick look at the first two paragraphs of Of Mice and Men.

Unit 4: Theme and Symbol

We spent most of today taking notes on theme and symbol from Literary Analysis Workshop that begins unit 4 (pages 402 to 407). Students also read the example stories and did the margin questions in their notes. Students should finish this for homework if need be. At the beginning of the period, we also checked out copies of Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, which we will be study starting tomorrow.