Monday, February 23rd:
The classes are taught by Mr. Alex Fox
1st Period:
Gatsby Themes Intro
What is the American Dream?
Definitions
Lecture
Whole Class Discussion
Period 2:
The Bluest Eye Intro: Self-image, Gender and Race
Music Video: Summarizing sentences of themes found in music videos
Compare/Contrast paragraphs on themes, images and messages found in music videos
John Legend. Callie Caillais, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Nas, India Arie, Christina Aguilera
Tuesday, February 24th:
The classes are taught by Mr. Alex Fox
1st Period:Preparation for THE GREAT GATSBY
Questionnaire Handout: "Values in American Culture"
Students work in pairs to answer the questionnaire
Power Point:
The American Dreams and the American Character (Values)
Gap Fill Reading and Discussion
2nd Period:
The Bluest Eye Introduction: Self-Image: Gender and Race
Explicit Instruction: Grammar, Formal Academic Discourse Markers
Music Video: Summarizing Sentences and Compare/Contrast Paragraph on Themes, Images and Message from two of the videos they chose
Videos: John Legend, Callie Caillais, Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars, Mas, India Arie, Christina Aguilera
Wednesday, February 25th:
Turn in books and check out new books
The classes are taught by Mr. Alex Fox
1st Period:
The American Dream
Kurt Vonnegut's speech on America's poor's Self-loathing
Discussion
American Values and Culture Handout
Writing assignment
Gap fill on American Values
2nd period:
Warm-ups:
"Self-Identification: Race and Gender"
Students defined race and gender
Discussion
Critical Analysis
Introduction to THE BLUEST EYE
Critical Summary and Analysis of Video: Self-Image, Race, Gender, and Beauty
Stevie Wonder - "Isn't She Lovely"
John Legend - "You and I"
India Arie - "Video" and "I Am Not My Hair"
Colbie Caillait - "Try"
Thursday, February 26th:
1st Period:
Power point: Wealth Inequality
Video: what wealth distribution really looks like in America
Discussion
Power point:
The Roaring Twenties
Discussion
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Read the first five pages of The Great Gatsby
2nd Period:
Discussion of Beauty: what does a beautiful man and woman look like?
PowerPoint: examples of female beauty in the media: Disney heroines
Video: Whoopie Goldberg's One Woman a Show
Watch video and summarize the main message of each:
Author's name plus academic verb plus 7 - 10 word summary of the main point:
Academic Verbs:
Assert, claim, report, attest, argue, purport, deny, imply, suggest, demonstrate, etc.
Read a passage from THE BLUEST EYE
Discussion:
What do we learn about the book, the characters, the possible themes, etc. from this passage.
Questions: is this a child?
Making connections:
1. How are the themes addressed in Whoopie Goldberg's show addressed in the passage from THE BLUEST EYE
2. How has your race, gender, ethnicity shaped your understanding of beauty?
Friday, February 27th:
1st Period:
Excerpt from Ken Burns' "The Jazz Age"
Vocabulary game from "The Great Gatsby
Students are divided into three teams. Twenty difficult words from the first chapter are written on the board. Students are given a handout with the words, their definitions, and the excerpts from the THE GREAT GATSBY from which the words were taken; however, the vocabulary words are deleted from the excerpts. Mr. Fox reads an excerpt aloud, but makes a funny sound rather than saying the vocabulary word in the excerpt. The students are to put a mark next to the word they think should go in the blank. The exercise is designed to help students learn vocabulary through the use of context.
Students are to read the first ten pages of THE GREAT GATSBY.
2nd Period:
A paragraph from THE BLUEST EYE is shown on the screen. Students read the excerpt and a class discussion is held.
Video: "A Girl Like Me"
Write down responses and any questions you may have about the video.
Small group discussion follows about the video.
Guiding Questions:
1. How do the ideas presented in the music videos, the Whoopie Goldberg monologue, and the documentary, "A Girl Like Me"connect to the ideas expressed in the excerpt from THE BLUEST EYE and the character of Pecola Breedlove?
2. How did your gender, race, or ethnicity shape your self-image?
Power Point: Pictures from THE DICK and JANE series. Discussion regarding gender and race stereotypes.
Analyze the prologue from THE BLUEST EYE. Why does Toni Morrisson lay out the print on the page in that manner? What thematic point do you think she is making?
