Oskar and the Falling Man: September 21, 2016

Focus: What is the significance of "The Falling Man," both to our history and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?

1. Warming up with Oskar's interest in The Falling Man (5 minutes)

• Describe what you're seeing on pages 59 and 62 / your gut reaction to this image.
• Why do you think Oskar is so interested in this image?
• What has fallen/is falling in this novel so far?

2. Viewing the intellectual debate over the photo (24:50-33:00; 1:08:18-end); discussing your thoughts in small groups

3. Reading and journalling pages 35-85 in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close with a few reminders about reading time

Tomorrow's leaders may use this time to create their syllabus.

HW:

1. Bring your journal to class each day.

2. First reading assignment: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Pages 35-85 for THURSDAY. You will have 30 minutes on Monday and 30 minutes on Wednesday to read. Like hearing the book out loud? Click HERE to hear it on audiobook.com (first book is free).

3. First memoir assignment: Next Friday (Sep 23), bring in a collection of items that have significance to you (ticket stubs, printed photos, hospital ID bracelet, etc.).

The Falling Man: September 20, 2016

Focus: What is the significance of the falling man?

Do you have a journal yet?

1. Warming up with two quick housekeeping items:

• Now that you have finished your first essay for this class, please take the following survey: Writing Routines, Take 2

• Want help staying on top of your work? Join Remind and get text reminders from me every now and then.

• 4th hour: Click HERE to join Remind (or see e-mail).
• 6th hour: Click HERE to join Remind (or see e-mail).

• Sign up for Fishbowl and Socratic dates!

• 4th hour: You must be a leader once and a discusser once (and they can't happen on the same day). Click HERE for a detailed overview of Fishbowl.

• 6th hour: You must be a leader once and an observer once (and they can't happen on the same day). Click HERE for a detailed overview of Socratic.

2. Freewriting on pages 59 and 62 of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: 

• Describe what you're seeing.
• Why do you think Oskar is so interested in this image?
• What has fallen/is falling in this novel so far?

3. Watching part of the award-winning documentary, The Falling Man with a focus on the big picture (click HERE for the guiding questions given in class)

HW:

1. Bring your journal to class each day.

2. First reading assignment: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Pages 35-85 for THURSDAY. You will have 30 minutes on Monday and 30 minutes on Wednesday to read. Like hearing the book out loud? Click HERE to hear it on audiobook.com (first book is free).

3. First memoir assignment: Next Friday (Sep 23), bring in a collection of items that have significance to you (ticket stubs, printed photos, hospital ID bracelet, etc.).

Directions to Where Thomas Lives: September 19, 2016

Focus: How do we make sense of this novel's different narrative voices?

1. Warming up with finishing Thomas' narrative

If Thomas is giving us directions to where he lives...

• What surprises you about his chapter?
• What patterns do you notice in his narrative?
• What adjective would you use to describe him?

2. Tapping into the mathematical part of your brain with a Venn diagram

• Where do Oskar and Thomas overlap? Where do they differ?

3. Offering you an overview of the journal; giving you time to read and start your journal

4. Signing up for discussions of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

HW:

1. Bring your journal to class each day.

2. First reading assignment: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Pages 35-85 for THURSDAY. You will have 30 minutes on Monday and 30 minutes on Wednesday to read. Like hearing the book out loud? Click HERE to hear it on audiobook.com (first book is free).

3. First memoir assignment: Next Friday (Sep 23), bring in a collection of items that have significance to you (ticket stubs, printed photos, hospital ID bracelet, etc.).

My first item: 

Friday Freewrite: September 16, 2016

Focus: How do we start writing memoir?

Please turn in your printed essays with the purple checklist stapled to the front. If you have not yet printed yours, you have until 3:00 pm to turn this in. 

1. Warming up with Friday Freewrite #1:  "Directions to Where I Live"

• Exploring a few student samples (printed copies only)
• Writing your own

2. Understanding what memoir is and how it works in this class; click HERE for the overview.

3.  Returning to Thomas's narrative: How does it overlap with Oskar's?

• What directions have these two narrators given us to where they live?

HW:

1. If you have not yet acquired a journal, make sure you get one by Monday and bring it to class. Select one that suits your tastes.

2. First reading assignment: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Pages 35-85 for THURSDAY. You will have 30 minutes on Monday and 30 minutes on Wednesday to read.

3. First memoir assignment: Next Friday (Sep 23), bring in a collection of items that have significance to you (ticket stubs, printed photos, hospital ID bracelet, etc.).

Figuring Out Our First Two Narrative Voices: September 15, 2016

Focus: What background do we need to understand our first two narrators?

1. Warming up by catching up (10 minutes):

• If you're not quite to page 15, please use these 10 minutes to get there as best you can.

• If you haven't yet generated a list of questions and inferences about Oskar, please do so now.

• If you got it all done yesterday, please skip to #3 on today's agenda and start perusing OR visit Autism Speaks to see if it helps you understand Oskar.

2. Playing "Save the Last Line" to start figuring out Oskar's narrative

Round 1: One question (What are you wondering?)

Round 2: One line (Which sentence or two caught your attention?)

Round 3: One inference (What ideas about Oskar are starting to form in your mind?)

3. Discovering background on Dresden; using a Venn diagram to consider 9/11 and Dresden side-by-side

• Click HERE to read about the bombing of Dresden.

• Click HERE for before and after pictures of Dresden (before the bombing and after).

• Click HERE to read a survivor's story (he was a POW in Dresden at the time).

• Click HERE to read another survivor's story (this one was a child at the time).

• Click HERE to watch an interview with a Dresden survivor (contains war footage).

4. Reading aloud Thomas's narrative (he's a Dresden survivor)

As we read...

• What are you learning about Thomas?
• What are you wondering?

After we read...

• How do Oskar's and Thomas' narratives relate?

HW:
1. Continue working on your drafts. You will walk into class this Friday, Sep 16 with a hard copy of your final draft in your hands, and we also discuss publication options at this time. Please continue showing up for your conferences. Click HERE for the online version of the Thursday night checklist.


2. New: Find a journal that suits your personality. Leather-bound classic? Sketchbook? Graphing paper notebook? Start bringing it to class ASAP. 

What The? Oskar's Voice: September 14, 2016

Focus: What the? What are we learning about Oskar, our unusual narrator?

PLC: Shortened Class Today

1. Warming up with reading Oskar's narrative; try to get to page 15, and generate a list of questions and inferences about Oskar (sticky notes or Google doc--up to you)

2. Exploring Autism Speaks

• Do you have any personal experience with and/or background knowledge of autism?

• What are some of your take-aways from this website? What are you learning?

• Many readers have diagnosed Oskar with autism even though this is never clearly established in the book. To what extent do you agree with this? Does it help you understand Oskar, or is it unnecessary? Explain your thinking a bit.

• Optional: Click here to read a review that claims the film version of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close discriminates against those with autism.

3. If time allows: Figuring out Oskar with "Save the Last Line"

Round 1: One question

Round 2: One line

Round 3: One inference

4. Offering you the Thursday night checklist on your way out (also attached HERE and under tonight's homework.

HW:
1. Continue working on your drafts. You will walk into class this Friday, Sep 16 with a hard copy of your final draft in your hands, and we also discuss publication options at this time. Please continue showing up for your conferences. Click HERE for a sneak peak of the Thursday night checklist.

Also, if you received partial credit on your rough draft and would like to receive full credit, finish your draft and e-mail me by 11:59 pm tonight.

2. New: Find a journal that suits your personality. Leather-bound classic? Sketchbook? Graphing paper notebook? Start bringing it to class on Thursday. Sep 15. 

9/11: Shattering and Rebuilding: September 13, 2016

Focus: What story of 9/11 can we learn from the images and voices from that time?

1. Warming up with Time Magazine's Photoessay: "Shattered"

• New Google Folder: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (inside 1st Semester)

• New Document: In-Class Thoughts (inside Extremely Loud...folder)

Take your time on these photos; if there are some too difficult to look at, move to the next one.

Get inside a photo: Select one photo that resonates with you. Spend some time describing it, imagining that you are the photographer. What are you trying to capture in this photo? What senses can you use to describe what's happening here? What's the tone, or emotion of this photo?

Step outside the photos: If this photoessay had a written thesis, what do you think it would be? What story do they tell about 9/11?

Face the book: The main narrator of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is Oskar. He's nine years old, and he has just lost his father to the 9/11 attacks. Based on the photos you've just spend time with, what three adjectives might you use to describe Oskar's state of mind?

2. Spending ten minutes listening to voices of resilience; click here for their stories, to be followed by small group discussions:

• What were your takeaways from these videos? What specific things struck you?

• What do you make of the cover of this book and the title page? Can you make some connections between what you've learned/seen today and the design of the title?

3. Flipping through the book: Throughout the book, you'll find items from Oskar's journal (photos, business cards, magazine clippings, letters, etc.). As you look through his journal items, try to make inferences about Oskar (you can just do this on your Google doc). In other words, what educated guesses can you make about Oskar based on what he puts in his journal? What questions do you have?

4. Starting to read the first pages ("What the?"): Continue adding to your list of inferences and questions about Oskar. I don't yet recommend going beyond page 15.

HW:
1. Continue working on your drafts. You will walk into class next Friday, Sep 16 with a hard copy of your final draft in your hands, and we also discuss publication options at this time. Please continue showing up for your conferences. Click HERE for a sneak peak of the Thursday night checklist.

Also, if you received partial credit on your rough draft and would like to receive full credit, finish your draft and e-mail by 11:59 pm Wednesday night.

2. By the end of class tomorrow, we will be through page 15 of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. No need to read tonight unless you fell behind in class today or were absent.

3. New: Find a journal that suits your personality. Leather-bound classic? Sketchbook? Graphing paper notebook? Start bringing it to class on Thursday. Sep 15.