Embedded Files
"None of it was important now. The wind blew it out of his head. Still he could always go into town Saturday night. It was a good thing to have in reserve."
Something was Gone out of Him - Group Work for "The Three-Day Blow" : This story naturally follows and continues "The End of Something" and our discussion about that story. Nick is changed and he will never be the same. Again, for seniors in high school (the majority of this class) this is such a familiar feeling that they are experiencing all the time at this juncture in their life. The metaphor that Hemingway uses to describe Nick's post-Marjory-breakup period is the long autumn storms that come to Upper Michigan - stripping the trees and heralding in autumn from summer. The group work includes on the back a number of quotes from the story and the Hemingway poem - "Along with Youth" to help the students focus their discussion.
Lesson Overview
Lesson Overview
Begin with the quiz - sometimes the Extra Credit question will have to do with a biographical handout that I gave the students in addition to their fictional reading (the theme of fact and fiction that began in the first lesson continues). In this case, the biographical material related to this story is found in the opening of the Group Work handout, so the extra credit is just about the reading.
Please see the actual Group Work below for precisely what's in it and my page on Group Work for more of the "why" do it. Here are some of the points that the Group Work goes over. After they are done they begin the Group Work. Please see my page on Group Works for more - but the usual procedure applies - one person writes (that should be switched from lesson to lesson). They are due at the end of the period. It is intense and designed to utilize their group knowledge and differing perspectives.
Some main points of the Group Work (please see the Group Work for more)
Small talk replacing talking about the real issue
Not wanting summer to end
"Second growth trees" and "The End of Something"
Nick feeling his father has "missed out' and not wanting to repeat that
What is Nick keeping something in reserve for?
A comparision to Tim's experience at "Rainy River" in The Things They Carried.
Group Work
Group Work
Most Recent Handouts
Most Recent Handouts
This is a two sided Group Work. On the first side are the Group Work instructions and questions - on the back side are some focused quotes from the story - as well as a Hemingway poem, "Along with Youth" (which we read on our "Poems Before" day). See my page on Group Work for more and the above Lesson Overview for more specifics on the Group Work. See my Lesson Overview for more on the Group Work - and of course, the Group Work itself.
Quiz
Quiz
Most Recent Quiz
Most Recent Quiz
The reading quiz - like most my quizzes - is designed simply to see if the students did the reading - not, if they understood it. As always, I ask the students to first answer if they did the reading or not - if they didn't - they are expected to not guess.
In Our Time - online copy
In Our Time - online copy
This is a complete copy of the book - found at the Internet Archive , complete with the Interchapters. The book was originally posted by the Harold B. Lee Library. The work, published before 1930, is in the Public Domain.
Remote Enhancements
Remote Enhancements
Group Works can be done wonderfully using remote "rooms".
"Cat in the Rain" - Drowning - A Class Discussion: "Cat in the Rain" is an amazing story about a woman who is completely fed up with her husband's patronizing attitude. It is told from her perspective - and I often hold it up as an example to those who claim that all of Hemingway's writing contains toxic masculinity. This story certainly doesn't. The story is short enough that it can be read aloud in class (by the students) and discussed after the reading. I've also included a Group Work that I used once or twice when it was impossible for me to be in class. This is the story that inspired the first-ever Illuminated Text. After it was assigned, a student handed me a cd with the Illuminated Text (a Power Point animation) on it - and asked me to take a look at it. It was amazing, and started a revolution in explicating text.
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
WHAT CAME BEFORE:
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
Sometimes it is tough - as a teacher - to sit back and let the students do the Group Work, without joining in. There is a kind of "meta" state to this Group Work. The story, "The Three-Day Blow" is about two teenagers sitting around and chewing the fat and talking about life. I always felt it was important to let the Group Work proceed in the same manner.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse