The Great Gatsby with Literature Circles Expectations and Assignments

Objectives Students will analyze a classic American novel to better understand the human experience. Students will identify and evaluate the effect of the various literary elements that are present in the novel to understand the writing process. Students will develop and critique their opinions of the reading experience and as a form of analysis.

So, what? Does everyone have a “dark side”? Enduring Understandings Learners will understand all actions have consequences Learners will understand how greed and materialism can lead to moral decay Societal pressures may create conflict. Personal experiences with conflict may contribute to the loss of innocence. Motivation may be affected by human nature. Guiding Questions Does everyone have a “dark side”? What is needed to achieve the American Dream?

Deadlines Reading & Vocabulary Discussion Days & Deadlines Chapters 1-3 – Jan. 27th Chapters 4-6 – Feb. 2nd Chapter 7 – Feb. 9th Chapters 8-9 – Feb. 12th By the dates above, students need to have read the appropriate chapters. Vocabulary assessments for each set of chapters are also to be completed and submitted by these dates. Chapters 1-3 – Jan.28th Chapters 4-6 – Feb. 3rd Chapter 7 – Feb. 10th Chapters 8-9 – Feb. 16th During class on the dates above we will have a literature circle style discussion of the chapters read. Each group will be responsible for holding academic and analytical discussion as well as writing a discussion reflection

Literature Circles Literature Circles Assignment A literature circle is simply a book club comprised of students within the same class who are reading the same text. Each class will be divided into groups of three or four. During the literature circles, students will be assigned a specific role. Each student is required answer the questions associated with their role prior to their literature circle discussion. These answers will be the driving force behind their group’s discussion. Students will participate in each of the different roles throughout the unit. Students will use these questions to discuss the reading within their literature circles and when writing the forum response.

Roles – Discussion Director Discussion Director’s Role: The discussion director is in charge of facilitating the group’s discussion. This student must keep the group on task, ensure that all students present their answers to questions on the right, and participate in discussion. The discussion director’s questions are focused around the themes of the book. In other words, what are the messages the author’s creating through the story about what it means to be human. Questions to Answer: What did you find yourself thinking about during the reading process? Select one or two passages from each chapter read. Why did you pick these passages? What do you think about these passages? What are the most important ideas from this section? What is one question you would ask the author if he/she was in your literature circle? What overarching and minor theme(s) do you see so far? Explain.

Roles - Illuminator Illuminator’s Role: The illuminator keeps notes throughout the book chapters that recognize specific literary devices and their effect on the story. This student must select three literary devices to define, present the exact quote from the novel that represents this device, and explain to the group why the author used this device. Each group member needs to present a different set of literary devices during their role as illuminator. Questions to Answer: Describe an important symbol from this section of the book and what it stands for.   Describe the way in which the author creates a setting that you can clearly picture in your mind.  Describe one of the conflicts in these chapters. What type of conflict is it? How did the author make the conflict intense? How did the author solve the conflict? Why do you think it was solved this way?  How does the author create emotion in these chapters? What is the primary tone of this section? How do you know?  Find examples of three of these other elements to consider: diction, irony, imagery (olfactory, auditory, etc.), metaphor, simile, round/flat/dynamic character, connotation, motif 

Roles - Connector Connector’s Role: Questions to Answer: What connections can you make between the setting(s) and your home, school, or city?  What connections can you make between the conflicts in the text and those in your life? In our society? How are the characters in the text similar to people you have meet in life? People in the news? How is this story similar to other texts we’ve read in class or you’ve read on your own? Connector’s Role: The connector describes how the events, characters, conflicts, or settings of the novel connect to life in our town/city. This student connects the story to events in life, news events, political events, or pop culture.

Roles - Summarizer Questions to Answer: What are the settings of this section? Describe them, both in your own words and using textual evidence. What are the most important events that happened in these chapters? Why are they important? How do these events influence the plot or the characters involved? What was the tone or mood of this section? Predict what you think happens next. Why do you think that? Summarizer’s Role: The summarizer prepares a summary of the book chapters that are to be discussed in the literature circle. This student is to complete a written paragraph that describes the important details, characters, and events that take place.

At the end of the Discussion Day… …students will submit a reflection of the day’s discussion to Moodle, as well as type the answer to the specified question from his/her role for those chapters.

Forum Posts – Summative Forum Post Steps: Step 1: Summarize the discussion your literature circle had. Consider the different things you learned from your group members about the plot, the literary devices that were utilized, and the connections made to life as we know it. Step 2: Describe what you learned about what it means to be human or what it means to be a part of a community through this discussion. What life applications did you discover while reading this section of chapters? This is your philosophical moment; the time to exert your opinions about the book and the world around you upon your readers. Do not merely state that you learned that Gatsby is rich or Tom is a jerk. State why you think this is important and what this shows the reader. At the end of each literature circle discussion, each group member will create a forum post. In this post, the students will reflect upon what they learned during their literature circle discussion and from reading the text. Forum posts should be between 250 and 300 words in length and titled in one of two ways: The Great Gatsby or TGG.