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4359275170180Whole Group Focus Question: What are two words or phrases that help develop tone in the first section?00Whole Group Focus Question: What are two words or phrases that help develop tone in the first section?MondayWhole Group TextThe Dust Bowl: In the 1930s, the people of the southern Great Plains suffered through one of the worst ecological disasters in historySource: Junior Scholastic/Current Events.?115.18 (Apr. 15, 2013): p10.?From?Global Issues in Context.Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 Scholastic, Inc. after it was over, many people recalled how beautiful that April Sunday in 1935 started out. But that morning a cold front swept south from Canada through the Great Plains, picking up loose soil. Over hundreds of miles of flat land, the wind whipped up earth dried out by years of drought into an immense black cloud.By the time it got to a section of the Oklahoma Panhandle called No Man's Land, the cloud was thousands of feet high and 200 miles long, traveling 60 miles an hour. "It was like a tornado that was on its side," a farmer's son later told filmmaker Ken Burns.Close by in Liberal, Kansas, 11-year-old Lila Lee and a friend frantically sought refuge from the angry mountain of?dust?in a house. "I was sure I was going to die," she told historian Paul Bonnifield.While all over the region, people voiced a similar fear: "It's the end of the world."That day would come to be known as Black Sunday. Robert Geiger, an Associated Press reporter who witnessed it, knew how the area's farmers had already suffered from the long drought. "Three little words ... rule life today in the?dust?bowl?of the continent," he wrote. "'If it rains.'"In his article, Geiger coined a phrase that gave a name to a region and one of the worst ecological disasters in history: the Dust?Bowl."Wrong Side Up"The?Dust?Bowl?covered about 150,000 square miles--mostly in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and parts of Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. The tragedy that unfolded there in the 1930s had a number of causes. But most experts say it was the actions of humans that made it so bad.Work Period: Read the two passages and answer the following questions "What is the American Dream?":?In the essay "What is the American Dream", how does the author develop the idea that there are multiple definitions of the American Dream??Which sentence helps develop the idea that for some people, the American Dream is a statement about financial gain?Read this phrase from the text: "...regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position". What impact does this phrase have on the development of the author's ideas??What is the American Dream?James Truslow Adams, in his book The Epic of America, which was written in 1931, stated that the American dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller foreveryone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for theEuropean upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown wearyand mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of socialorder in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which theyare innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitouscircumstances of birth or position." (pp. 214-215)The authors of the United States’ Declaration of Independence held “certain truths to be selfevident: that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certainunalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Might thissentiment be considered the foundation of the American Dream?Were homesteaders who left the big cities of the east to find happiness and their piece of land in the unknown wilderness pursuing these inalienable Rights? Were the immigrants who came to theUnited States looking for their bit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, their Dream? Andwhat did the desire of the veteran of World War II - to settle down, to have a home, a car and afamily - tell us about this evolving Dream? Is the American Dream attainable by all Americans?Some say that the American Dream has become the pursuit of material prosperity - that peoplework more hours to get bigger cars, fancier homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families - buthave less time to enjoy their prosperity. Others say that the American Dream is beyond the graspof the working poor who must work two jobs to insure their family’s survival. Yet others look towarda new American Dream with less focus on financial gain and more emphasis on living a simple,fulfilling life.Thomas Wolfe said, "…to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity ….the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision cancombine to make him."Is this your American Dream? QuestionUsing Pages 1-2 we will answer the following question: What words or phrases most contribute to the meaning of the text, and does the author use these words literally or figuratively?4000020000Focus QuestionUsing Pages 1-2 we will answer the following question: What words or phrases most contribute to the meaning of the text, and does the author use these words literally or figuratively?Wednesday Focus Passage, Of Mice and Men, pp.1-2, A FEW MILES south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the yellow sands in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees—willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter’s flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool. On the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering if he runs among them. Rabbits come out of the brush to sit on the sand in the evening, and the damp flats are covered with the night tracks of ’coons, and with the spread pads of dogs from the ranches, and with the split-wedge tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark. There is a path through the willows and among the sycamores, a path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water. In front of the low horizontal limb of a giant sycamore there is an ash pile made by many fires; the limb is worn smooth by men who have sat on it. Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little gray, sculptured stones. And then from the direction of the state highway came the sound of footsteps on crisp sycamore leaves. The rabbits hurried noiselessly for cover. A stilted heron labored up into the air and pounded down river. For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool. They had walked in single file down the path, and even in the open one stayed behind the other. Both were dressed in denim trousers and in denim coats with brass buttons. Both wore black, shapeless hats and both carried tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders. The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely. The first man stopped short in the clearing, and the follower nearly ran over him. He took off his hat and wiped the sweat-band with his forefinger and snapped the moisture off.Work Period: Continue reading up to page 8, and answer the following questions. What tone does Steinbeck set when he uses words and phrases such as "willows fresh and green with every spring", "golden foothill slopes", "the water is warm", and "twinkling over the yellow sands"??The author describes Lennie as sharing characteristics with bears and horses. How does this word choice impact the tone of the passage??What is the effect of the repetition of Lennie's questions throughout the excerpt??How does Steinbeck's word choice aid in character development? What does this word choice convey about the meaning of the text??Friday Whole Group, Focus Passageright-23391Focus QuestionUsing Pages 8-9 we will answer the following question: How do the different words contribute to the author’s tone and how do the authors choice of words affect the meaning of the text?4000020000Focus QuestionUsing Pages 8-9 we will answer the following question: How do the different words contribute to the author’s tone and how do the authors choice of words affect the meaning of the text? “Give you what, George?” “You know God damn well what. I want that mouse.” Lennie reluctantly reached into his pocket. His voice broke a little. “I don’t know why I can’t keep it. It ain’t nobody’s mouse. I didn’t steal it. I found it lyin’ right beside the road.” George’s hand remained outstretched imperiously. Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again. George snapped his fingers sharply, and at the sound Lennie laid the mouse in his hand. “I wasn’t doin’ nothing bad with it, George. Jus’ strokin’ it.” George stood up and threw the mouse as far as he could into the darkening brush, and then he stepped to the pool and washed his hands. “You crazy fool. Don’t you think I could see your feet was wet where you went acrost the river to get it?” He heard Lennie’s whimpering cry and wheeled about. “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you.” Lennie’s lip quivered and tears started in his eyes. “Aw, Lennie!” George put his hand on Lennie’s shoulder. “I ain’t takin’ it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a little while.”Lennie sat down on the ground and hung his head dejectedly. “I don’t know where there is no other mouse. I remember a lady used to give ’em to me— ever’ one she got. But that lady ain’t here.” George scoffed. “Lady, huh? Don’t even remember who that lady was. That was your own Aunt Clara. An’ she stopped givin’ ’em to ya. You always killed ’em.” Lennie looked sadly up at him. “They was so little,” he said, apologetically. “I’d pet ’em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead—because they was so little. “I wisht we’d get the rabbits pretty soon, George. They ain’t so little.” “The hell with the rabbits. An’ you ain’t to be trusted with no live mice. Your Aunt Clara give you a rubber mouse and you wouldn’t have nothing to do with it.” “It wasn’t no good to pet,” said Lennie. The flame of the sunset lifted from the mountaintops and dusk came into the valley, widening rings on the water. Overhead the leaves whisked again and little puffs of willow cotton blew down and landed on the pool’s surface. “You gonna get that wood?” George demanded. “There’s plenty right up against the back of that sycamore. Floodwater wood. Now you get it.” Lennie went behind the tree and brought out a litter of dried leaves and twigs. He threw them in a heap on the old ash pile and went back for more and more. It was almost night now. A dove’s wings whistled over the water. George walked to the fire pile and lighted the dry leaves. The flame cracked up among the twigs and fell to work. George undid his bindle and brought out three cans of beans. He stood them about the fire, close in against the blaze, but not quite touching the flame.Steinbeck, John (2013-01-03). Of Mice and Men: Teacher's Deluxe Edition (pp. 8-10). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.Work Period: After reading pages 10-15 answer the following questionsWhat do the words?imperiously, snapped, sharply, scoffed,?demanded,?and?exploded?suggest about George's character?What does the phrase "Lennie's face was drawn with terror" mean?Examine George's way of speaking on page 11. How would you describe the way George speaks? Consider his words, slang, and manner of speaking.?What do the following sentences reveal about Lennie's character?"Lennie avoided the bait. He had sensed his advantage" (13)"Lennie spoke craftily..." (13)What does the phrase "Live off the fatta the lan'" mean, and why might that phrase be so important to George and Lennie? How does that phrase connect to some definitions of the American Dream?? ................
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