Love/Spin

Today we read and discussed the story truth of the stories "Love" and "Spin".

The Things They Carried

Today we discussed the importance of tangible and intangible items carried by soldiers and students.

The Things They Carried

We continued reading and discussing the story in class. Students are to finish reading the story for HW and complete the following questions: The Things They Carried Study Questions The Things They Carried: 1. In what sense does Jimmy love Martha? Why does he construct this elaborate (mostly fictional) relationship with her? What does he get out of it? 2. When is Jimmy most likely to think about Martha? Why is he thinking about her while one of his platoon members is in the tunnel? 3. Why did Lieutenant Jimmy Cross feel guilty about Ted Lavender’s death? In what sense is Ted Lavender’s death his fault? 4. Here is his excuse for allowing his men to be lax: “He was just a kid at war, in love.” Why does Jimmy use this excuse? In what sense does it excuse him? In what sense, doesn’t it? 5. Why do the soldiers tell jokes about war, about killing? Why do they use profanity? 6. How is the idea of weight used and developed in this story (“Jungle boots, 2.1 pounds.”)? How do you, as a reader, feel reading those lists of weight? What effect does it have on you? 7. If this is a story about sacrifice, what does Jimmy sacrifice, and why? 8. How has Jimmy changed by the end of the story? How will he be a different person from this point on? What has he learned about himself? Or, to put it another way, what has he lost and what has he gained? 9. Do you think the war will affect him in a different way now that he refuses to think about Martha? How will it be different? What did “Martha” save him from?

Division and Classification essay

On Friday, students continued working on the D/C essays in class. I also returned their Why I Write essays along with a goal sheet that they will continue to fill out as the year progresses. The D/C essay is due Tuesday.

Division/Classification

Today we discussed tone, audience, purpose, effectiveness, and structure regarding the assembly the students attended yesterday. We then continued brainstorming ideas for a division/classification essay which is due Tuesday 10/9.

Division/classification essay

Today the students began brainstorming topics for their essay. We read a sample essay and then discussed hobbies/interests and began breaking them down.

Division and Classification

Students continued brainstorming topics that I gave them. They had to classify them according to their personal views. We then began putting them into an outline form.