Why the note?

Why do you think Matt receives the anonymous letter with the Blood Alcohol contents of the drivers? Who is it from and why did s/he send it?

What type of funeral would you like to have?

One like Bobby's, which is attended by hundreds of people, or one like Chris' that is a more intimate affair with a few friends/ family? Explain your answer!

Based on your reading...

Why does Bobby's dad want to talk to Matt?

What would be going through your mind...

..... if you were Matt and were sitting in Bobby's funeral? In Chris'?

Bobby & Chris' funeral

How do you think Bobby's funeral will be different than Chris'?

What would you do?

If you were in Mrs. Walsh's position, with everybody in the whole community blaming you for the death of the town's golden boy, even while you were grieving for the loss of your son?

What would you do?

If you were Matt (Bobby's best friend who wasn't in the car), would you accept the official story (that Chris had been driving), or would you search for the truth? Explain your reasoning.

Blame Chris

What do you think the "mystery" surrounding the car crash is? Why is officer Lee so curious as to whether or not Matt saw the boys leaving? Why is the mayor involved?

Matt's mind

What kinds of things do you think Matt is thinking about after finding out his best friend had been killed?

What happened in Chapter 9 of the accident? Who died, ho how did they crash, and who was responsible?

Which character...

Do you most identify with? Why?

Make a prediction

What do you think will happen at Chris' party? How will all of the major characters behave (Chris/ Bobby/ Jason/ Matt)?Publish Post

Based on the reading of Ch 5...

What kind of person is Bobby?

Mrs. Walsh - Make an inference

Based on what we know about Mrs. Walsh (Smoking, messy house, son in trouble, single, heavy make-up) what kinds of things do you think have happened in her life?

The Accident

Matt's friends, Bobby and Jason, are growing closer and Matt is feeling on the outs. Matt also thinks obsessively about how he "chickened-out" even when Bobby and Jason jumped the cornice. Make a prediction about what Matt might do to get back "in" with his friends.

Make a prediction

How do you think Matt's obsession with "chickening out" over not jumping the cornice might affect his future behavior?

Accident

Mr. Bernstein is fearful being in a car crash. Because of this fear, he has realistic nightmares about being in a fatal car accident, or about driving a car where the breaks to not work. He also drives very carefully. What accident are you fearful of? How does it affect your behavior?

Feeling the pressure

In Chapter 1, Matt will feel pressured to do something that he did not want to do. Reflect on a time where you were pressured into doing something that you thought, at the time, was a bad idea.

Make a prediction

Based on our conversation yesterday, what do you think the novel "The Accident" will be about? What will happen and who will it happen to?

The Accident

For English, we are going to read a story called "The Accident". Everyone, at one time or another, has been in an accident, whether it be in their home, school or a traffic. Reflect about a time someone you or someone in you family has been inolved in. How did it happen? What was going through your mind as it happened? How did it immediately affect your life and does it continue to do so?

Paragraph

Make a list of five purposes you will need to write paragraphs in and out of school.

What's in a paragraph?

What do you know about a paragraph? What types of information should be included in a paragraph? How long should it be?

Based on what you know about the story so far...

...what is the "sound of thunder"?

Prediction

What do you think the problem will be when they go back in time and "Sound of Thunder"?

We are about to read a story called the Sound of Thunder- make a prediction about what the story is about.

The Man from the South

Despite expressing disgust, both the Narrator and the English Girl in the bathing suit allow the competition to proceed, with the narrator even serving as referee. Why do you think they allow the competition to proceed?

Direct vs. Indirect Characterization

Based on what you learned on Friday, define the difference between direct and indirect characterization.

How do we find out about characters?

Think back to "Most Dangerous Game"- how do we find out about what type of person Zaroff is? How does the author provide us with the information that he is a sinister, sophisticated character?

Paintball

The wikpedia article on "Most Dangerous Game" states:

In 1976, Hayes Noel, a stock trader, Bob Gurnsey, and author Charles Gaines were discussing Gaines' recent trip to Africa and his experiences hunting buffalo. Inspired in part by The Most Dangerous Game, they created paintball."

How do you think that "Most Dangerous Game" inspired Paintball?

Any difference?

By the end of the short story do you think that Rainsford is any different than Zaroff? Explain your answer.

Do you think....

Early in the story one fo the characters says, "The world is made up two classes- the hunters and the huntees." Do you agree with that? Explain your reasoning.

What type of prey?

General Zaroff complains that he is growing bored with hunting humans and that they haven't presented a challenge. What qualities would a person have that would make them a challenge to General Zaroff?

Characterization

Based on how General Zaroff is described, what kind of person would you say he was?

Make a prediction

Rainsford and Whitney here three shots fired in the darkness of the ocean. Where do you think they're coming from? What will they find there?

Most dangerous animal

What do you think the most difficult animal to hunt is? What would make it so difficult to catch/ kill?

Landlady - Climax or not?

Does the story, "The Landlady" have a climax or not? Give evidence to defend your answer.

Creepy situation

Reflect on a time where you had to sleep in a creepy place. What made it so weird? What eventually happened?

Landlady

What do you know about boarding houses- homes were people rent out a room in their house? What would it be like to rent a room in one of these places?

Hitichiker- Exposition, Climax, and Resolution

1. What do you think the climax of "The Hitchhiker" was? Explain why.

2. Open the following link , click on "Get Started"
a. Label the project "The Hitchhiker"
b. Change labels to "Exposition, Climax, Resolution"
c. Fill in these plot elements for the hitchker

Why?

Make an inference: why might the hitchhiker have manipulated the narrator into receiving a speeding ticket?

Exposition

What is exposition? What is the exposition in the story, "The Hitchhiker"?

Alex

The Hitchhiker

Today we will read a story called the "Hitchhiker". It is written by the same author who wrote "Lamb to the Slaughter", Roald Dahl. Make a prediction as to what the story is going to be about.

Now that you've completed the story...

What character do you think ends up being the "lamb to the slaughter"? Why?

Lamb to the slaughter

Based on what you read yesterday, who is the "lamb to the slaughter" in the story? What do you think Mrs. Maloney's reaction to her husband's news will be?

Lamb to the slaugher

What does the expression mean? what do you think the story might be about?

Make an inference.

Read the following passage:


Arthur looked up from his dinner. “I don’t understand you.”
“What does that mean?”
“Let it go,” he told her.
Norma ate in silence. Suddenly, she put her fork down. “Suppose it’s a genuine offer?” she said.
Arthur stared at her.
“Suppose it’s a genuine offer?”
“All right, suppose it is?” He looked incredulous. “What would you like to do? Get the button back and push it? Murder someone?”
Norma looked disgusted. “Murder.”
“How would you define it?”
“If you don’t even know the person?” Norma said.


Inference: Who do you think, Arthur or Norma, is more curious about the button?

Prediction: Who is more likely to use the button?

Make a prediction

In today's class we are going to focus on two terms, prediction and inference. Based on what you already know about predicting, make a prediction about what the story "Button, Button" is about and what decision the characters will make.

Button, Button

Suppose you came home one day and found a box with a button in it. On the box there was a note saying ‘If you push the button, somebody will die, and you will get $50,000.’ What would you do with the box?
Don't just give your choice, but explain your reason!