Great Expecations: The First Stage

The last sentence in chapter 9 reads:

Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.

Respond to this quote.

• What is Pip referring to? 
• How has this day altered him?
• How has Pip's character developed on this "memorable day?"
• Think of a memorable day in your life that began your "chain." How can the formation of your character or the person you are now be traced back to one life-altering day?

Write two paragraphs.  The first paragraph should discuss Pip's experience and the second paragraph should describe your own personal experiences.

Post and comment by Friday, February 26.

Great Expectations - Annotations

We are starting Charles Dickens' Great Expectations next week. You will be required to read and annotate the novel for homework on a daily basis. I will not be providing post-its for annotating. Please acquire some sticky notes over the holiday weekend. You may want to consider purchasing your own copy of the novel so you can annotate directly in the text without needing sticky notes - it's faster and easier that way.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Collaborating on Your Group Essay: Commentary and the Three-Fold Transition Sentence

Before you begin your post, please keep in mind that you need to have the core of your paragraph (all concrete details and commentary) complete or nearly complete.

Post: Write a post to your group members describing the three points you are making in your body paragraph and the commentary you are writing to tie the concrete details to your group’s thesis. In other words, tell your group members what you are writing about. By now your group should have made sure that you are each using different concrete details within your own paragraph, so this post should focus on the commentary. Discuss how your commentary specifically supports the thesis.

Comment: Read each of your group members’ posts and comment back to them. Your comment should include your critique of how their commentary supports the thesis and give them ideas for their three-fold transition sentence. Give each member of your group an idea for how they can transition from or to your paragraph and refer subtly to the thesis without being overly repetitive. *The comments are each worth 10 points and need to be substantial and thoughtful.

The Three-Fold Transition Sentence:

1. Refers subtly to the idea discussed in the previous paragraph
2. Refers briefly to the overall thesis idea
3. Refers more specifically to any new ideas to be discussed in the next paragraph.

See the back of your body paragraph graphic organizer for helpful examples of the three-fold transition sentence.