Fishbowl #4: The Great Gatsby, chapters 7-9

Let's have one last great discussion of The Great Gatsby!  First, a couple of reminders of what I'm looking for in your writing in addition to just having had posted 5 good ideas/ questions.

1.  Be sure to carefully proofread your ideas.

2.  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.

3.  For each comment you make or question you ask, contextualize or support your thinking with text.  Be sure, too, that you introduce the relevance of that comment to your thinking, thoughtfully incorporating your passage into your ideas versus throwing out the quote & leaving it to your audience to infer why you're using it.  Please cite these quotes as well.

Here are a few good examples of posts from last class that did an excellent job meeting these requirements:

Here's a great question from Kenny:  "On page 105 'I've never met so many celebrities,' Daisy exclaimed. 'I liked that man - what was his name?- The sort of blue nose.' Gatsby identified him, adding that he was a small producer.(Fitzgerald 105) Do you think Gatsby invited famous people intending to impress Daisy?"

A another from Darby:  "On page 98 it talks about Gatsby changing and 're-inventing' himself. It says, 'So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.' So my question is, what was Gatsby's true motivation in going through with this."

And one more from Mason:  "On page 109 Gatsby says,'And she doesn't understand,' he said. 'She used to be able to understand. We'd sit for hours.....' Gatsby seems to hint that Daisy has changed. If you agree that Daisy has changed, in what ways do you think she has?"

Happy posting!

The Great Gatsby fishbowl #3: chapters 5 & 6

Great questions & responses last discussion, group.  A few reminders of what I'm looking for your your work.

1.  Be sure to carefully proofread your ideas.

2.  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.

3.  For each comment you make or question you ask, contextualize or support your thinking with text.  Be sure, too, that you introduce the relevance of that comment to your thinking, thoughtfully incorporating your passage into your ideas versus throwing out the quote & leaving it to your audience to infer why you're using it.  Please cite these quotes as well.

Here are a few good examples of posts from last class:

Grant asked, "On page 66 Nick says 'He reached in his pocket, and a piece of metal, slung on a ribbon, fell into my palm' while Gatsby is explaining his past accomplishments to Nick. Why do you think Gatsby came prepared with proof of his past accomplishments?"

And James commented, "I think that is a good interpretation of that quote. I think Gatsby knows that he chopped up on his description of his past like when on that same page [N]ick says, 'He hurried the phrase educated at Oxford, or swallowed it, or choked on it." So he says that to cover it up.'

And a good question from Austin: "Nick says, 'There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired.' What does Nick mean? How does this connect back to the characters? And How does this represent the secrete society?"

Happy posting!

The Great Gatsby fishbowl #2: chapters 3 & 4

Great start with our first fishbowl, you guys.  Your questions and comments showed good critical thinking about a variety of elements from chapter 2.  You also did well proofreading your work & posting polished responses.

A couple of thought's for today's discussion:
1.  Use the "reply" button to let people know what question you're responding to.  At times, comments seemed a bit out of place.

2.  Challenge yourself to craft at least 3-5 thoughtful questions and/ or responses during our discussion time.

3.  Continue to work on incorporating textual evidence into EVERY question & response.  Here are a few of your classmates' terrific posts.  You'll notice that each uses a quote that is  clearly relevant to the question or comment, which is made clear by the way that quote is incorporated into their posts.  Use this as your model moving into today's discussion.

A great question from Cory: "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 this big of a lie and why did he do it?

A thoughtful reply from Niki: "I feel like he is showing her how much money he has, and she is using him for money, because in page 37, it says, 'Tom broke her nose with his open hand.' He is so abusive but she is not doing anything! I think Tom's money is a big part of it all."

And another great comment/ question from Trent: "Well I think that Tom just knows how that business goes, because he was able to say what the sex of the dog was even though the man selling the dogs didn't know. 'Is it a boy or a girl?' she asked delicately. 'That dog? That dog's a boy.' 'It's a bitch,' said Tom decisively. But along the lines of buying her love, then yes. Why else would he really buy the dog if not for that reason?"

The Great Gatsby: fishbowl #1 (chs 1 & 2)

Today we'll primarily focus our discussion on chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby.

You should feel comfortable, however, to also ask questions about previous sections.  I especially encourage you to do so if you have comprehension questions; use this discussion as an opportunity to understand the reading.

Be sure you...

• Are an active participant throughout our discussion time.  Dormancy suggestions you're doing other things and may mean you write a written response for ensuing discussions in lieu of participating on the blog.
• Provide a quote to contextualize each and every question and response.  Be sure to cite these quotes with author & page number.
• Indicate to whom your question or comment is posted by using the discussion thread.
• Carefully proofread your work.  This is a writing assignment.
• Refresh your page often so you can see new posts & ideas.

Happy posting!

Research Project Topic Selection

Here are the parameters for your first post. Remember topics should be unique, so be sure to read through the responses before yours both to add to your understand of the project's concept and also to determine if your topic has already been selected.

If you are unable to sufficiently answer these questions, you may have to chose an alternative topic. 

If you're feeling stuck, refer to the project handout for possible topics. Also, Mrs. Binney & Ms. Hancock's classes are working on the same project. Feel free to refer to these teachers' websites & blogs for more inspiration.

1. Briefly summarize your topic. How does it capture the concept of cultural hysteria?

2. In addition to the provided research questions, what questions will you ask when researching this topic?  What else intrigues you about your topic?

3. Describe your research process. Where will you begin? What types of sources will you use? What are the criteria for choosing and evaluating the quality of those sources? If you get stuck, how might you refine or narrow your search for information or sources related to this topic?