Introducing . . . Ackley!

In chapter 3, we meet Holden's neighbor in the dorms, Ackley. We want to use Salinger's characterization of Ackley to understand Holden's character better. (Tricky I know!) Using the same method we did for Holden in chapter 2, we took notes on Ackley and made inferences about both Ackley and Holden. Create a three column T chart and insert the following topics.

Quotes from Chapter 3
1.

2.

3.

This shows that Ackley . . .
1.

2.

3.


This shows that Holden . . .
1.

2.

3.

This is due on Monday, March 3. There will be a quiz!

Vocab: conceited (adj.)
Janet is so conceited when she won't accept any criticism. She always thinks she does everything right and knows everything.

Holden's Attitude and Personality

For Chapter Two of Catcher in the Rye we want to gather quotes that show Holden's attitude and personality. We will collect them in a T-chart with two columns in our notebooks. The left column will contain quotes copied from the text. The right column will contain inferences about what we imagine is true for Holden based only on that particular quote.

*Intermediate step: Circle key words that show attitude and personality. Then in the right column find synonyms for those words.

Here's an example.

Quote (left column)
“I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy” (p. 1).

This shows me that Holden . . . (right column)
is not completely sane, may even be crazy ("madman stuff"). He is tired and may be running away from something ("run-down"). He also needs to relax and chill out ("take it easy").

Block D wins the Rock Star Quote Notetaking Award of the day. Congrats!

Homework: Finish reading Chapter 2. Find at least 2 more quotes (for a total of 4) that show Holden's attitude and personality. Maker sure you make some inferences about him in the second column!

Vocab: adapt (v)
I always have a hard time adapting to school after a vacation. I can't ever get up early and I always forget my backpack.

REMINDER: Vocab quiz on Monday, March 2nd!

Introducing . . . Holden Caufield!

Today we met Holden Caufield in Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. While reading the first chapter we recorded our first impressions of Holden in the following chart.

I know . . .
1.
2.
3.

I imagine . . .
1.
2.
3.


Record as many observations as you can.

Block E won the Most Prolific Notetakers Award for this activity! They had 10 in each column! Congrats!

Creating Teen Character Art

Defining Adolescence (or Teenagers)

In our notebooks we wrote 5 sentences to help us define a teenager. Copy the following sentences and fill in the blanks.

1. A teenager is between the ages ________ and ________.
2. A teenager can be described as ____________, ___________, and ___________.
3. One thing that distinguishes teenagers from kids is _________________________.
4. Something that teenagers do/have/are that is different from adults is ______________.
5. One reason teenagers are like this is ______________________________.

Vocab: ambivalent (adj.)
Callie fell head over heels in love with Troy even though she knew he was bad for her. She struggled with her ambivalent feelings for weeks before she decided to stop seeing him.

What Makes a Teenager?

Visual teenager characterization posters are due today! Please see earlier post from February 9.

Have a great vacation everyone!

Character Advice

Independent Reading today. Keep track of your stamina. How many pages did you read in about 20 minutes?

Reading Response Notebook Entry:
What advice would you give the protagonist (main character) in your book? Why?

What Makes a Teenager?

This semester is all about teenagers! Teenagers in literature and film. So to start our brains thinking about the image of the teenager, we created visual characterizations of typical teenagers. Due on Friday, February 13, 2009.

Here's what to do.

Grab a Characterizing a Teenager planning sheet from Heather. In it you will brainstorm the following characteristics of teenagers (in general, not necessarily specifically for you!):

1. SPEECH: What do teenagers say? How do they talk? What kind of dialogue do they have?
2. THOUGHTS: What do teenagers think about? What do they know or feel that they don’t tell others?
3. EMOTIONS: What do teenagers feel? What kind of emotions are typically teenager?
4. APPEARANCE: What do teenagers wear? What styles? What colors? What fabrics?
   
5. STUFF: What accessories are important to teenagers? Why?
6. ACTIVITIES: What do teenagers do? How do they spend their time?
7. SETTING: Where do teenagers – especially in NYC – go? What places are specifically teenager places? You may want to think about what places adults never go.

After you have A LOT of ideas, translate them into a visual (aka picture) characterization of a teenager. Make sure you include as many of the characteristics on your planning sheet as possible.

Here's are some examples: