English 12: Ms. Tewksbury
School Year 2011-2012 Room 211
Emailetewksbury@sad55.orgwww.sad55.org/~etewksbury
Office Hours: Mondays & Wednesdays 2:15- 3:00 or by appointment

The Great Gatsby Unit

The Roaring Twenties brought a time of great carelessness and recklessness to the forefront of American history. While reading The Great Gatsby we will explore the reckless and careless behavior as we examine the “American Dream” during the coming quarter. Were the 20’s the rise or demise of the Dream?

Essential Questions: Were the characters successful in pursuing the American Dream? How does the social class they were in influence their success in life? How do conflicts that arise from social classes influence change in class? Is it possible for a person to change social classes? How does the deeply embedded American dream affect our choices and actions?

Part I: What is the American Dream? What were the 1920’s like?
To kick off our unit of the 1920’s we will start by exploring what culture was like in this time period. We will discuss the American Dream and decide if it still exists. What is your American Dream?

Part II: Vocabulary
So that you can better understand the text, you will be tested on 25 vocabulary words from the novel. This quiz will be sometime in early October.

Part III: Reader Responses
One of your literature projects this quarter will be Reader Responses over The Great Gatsby. You will be given a prompting question for each reading of the novel (there are nine chapters, so there are 9 reader response topics). You must respond to each question in TWO well-developed paragraphs (so at least 10-12 sentences). The final draft you pass in with the portfolio must be typed and free from grammatical/.spelling mistakes.

You should offer your OPINION and offer EXAMPLES WITH PAGE NUMBERS from the book to support your opinions.

Reading #1 (Chapter 1): What observations can you make about the green light? What do you think it might mean?

Reading #2 (Chapter 2): Look at the poignant first scene on page 27. Paying attention to the valley of ashes and the eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg, comment on the descriptive words used to describe each and discuss the emotions and feelings they evoke in you.

Reading #3 (Chapter 3): Why are such elaborate parties thrown? What social class is invited? Why are real pages in books (page 50) so extravagant?

Reading #4 (Chapter 4): Gatsby says to Nick on pg. 71, “I didn’t want you to think I was just some nobody.” Discuss ways Gatsby tried to portray a different image. Does this have anything to do with his social class? In