In-class planning time for Gatsby presentation. Following planning, there is time to read the novel.
Wednesday: Have read Chapters 1-3 in preparation for presentations.
Thursday: Quiz, Chapters 1-3.
The Great Gatsby
Chapter
Experts Presentation
Assignments
You
will serve as Gatsby experts for one
chapter, as assigned below. Experts will
lead a 10 minute class presentation/discussion about the chapter. It is your job to keep the discussion moving
and keep the focus on the text. You must
be prepared for your discussion and knowledgeable about your chapter. Though you may discuss anything of note from
your chapter, you must be prepared to discuss whatever you classmates would
like to discuss from your chapter.
Plan
your Presentation! Phone, e-mail, or
meet at Caribou! No standing in front
of class, fumbling about! No saying, “We did Chapter 4.” Do something
fun and interesting! How about a
game? A quiz? Acting out a portion of the chapter? How about prizes? All group members must
participate!
Plan to include a discussion of the
following:
·
author’s style and rhetorical techniques
·
important quotations
·
characterization/character development
·
symbols
·
themes
Note: Do not discuss any information for the
chapters that follow your chapter, but you may discuss events leading up to
your chapters. For example, if you are
assigned a discussion of Chapter Six, you may discuss anything leading up to
Chapter Six, but avoid mentioning anything from Chapter Seven.
On
the day of your discussion, you will each show your preparation by turning in a
written copy of a minimum of ten questions you had planned to use during your
discussion. Your questions should be
thought provoking and open ended. Do not
ask any questions that would elicit monosyllabic responses. Your partners will also turn in the questions
they have prepared.
Each chapter expert must turn in the
following:
·
two specific questions about the author’s style
and rhetorical techniques (effect, intent, etc.)
·
two questions about meaningful direct quotations
(significance, purpose, effect, etc.)
·
two questions about characterization (technique,
effect, development/change, etc.)
·
two questions about symbols (weather, the ash
heap, eyes of T.J. Eckleberg, green light etc.)
·
two questions about themes (cynicism, idealism, decline
of American dream, materialism, hollowness of upper class, etc.)
Note: The suggestions in parentheses are just that
- suggestions. It would be beneficial to
you, as a chapter expert, to have more questions prepared and to delve more
deeply into the text to find the keys to understanding your chapter.
Grading
You will be graded on the following:
- individual
preparation for discussion of assigned chapter (written questions)
- individual
role in leading an engaging and knowledgeable discussion (15 minutes)
- individual
participation in all chapter discussions
Note: There may be other in-class assignments
related to the novel, but these are the planned activities at this point.
Schedule
and Groups
Experts
must be prepared to present and all students must be prepared to contribute to
discussions according to the following schedule:
·
Chapter One Wednesday,
4/9
·
Chapter Two Wednesday,
4/9
·
Chapter Three Wednesday, 4/9
·
Chapter Four Tuesday,
4/15
·
Chapter Five Tuesday,
4/15
·
Chapter Six Tuesday,
4/15
·
Chapter Seven Tuesday, 4/22
·
Chapter Eight Wednesday,
4/23
·
Chapter Nine/final Thursday, 4/24
Note: The final group will be expected to cover
Chapter Nine briefly, but they should also plan for a final discussion of the
novel as a whole. They should be
prepared to look at themes and symbols that appear throughout the novel, and to
look at how characters are developed throughout the novel.
Other
Fun Stuff
- Explore,
if only briefly, the historical context of the novel. As you look for themes and the
importance of symbols throughout Gatsby,
an understanding of the time period in which Fitzgerald was living and
writing will be helpful.
- Consider
the narrator of the novel – what he knows and when he knows it (How
reliable is he?).
- Think
about how readers of today might view the novel in a different light due
to what is known about the historical events that followed the time period
in which this novel is set. How
might the audiences of Fitzgerald’s day have reacted differently to the
novel?
- Examine
some of the other working titles for the novel – “Among the Ash Heaps and
the Millionaires,” “Trimalchio in West Egg,” and “Gold-hatted
Gatsby.” How fitting is
Fitzgerald’s final choice?
