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"Seney was burned, the country was burned over and changed, but it did not matter. It could not all be burned. He knew that."
Heading Upstream - "Big Two-Hearted River Day 1 - Group Work : I begin the Group Work by saying "This is SO cool if you do this right..." And I mean it - it is very cool and it is very different than anything the students do all year. For starters - it's a Jigsaw Group Work. The students will leave their groups after doing some initial close reading of the text - and they will compare what they came up with (each group member will be taking a different "aspect" of the story: its geography, style, Nick's interaction with living things, and chronology), and then go back to their original groups to share that new information. By answering a few questions (that do some scaffolding) and applying their expertise on the text - they will - on their own - make a huge discovery about "Big Two-Hearted River". Though it seems to be about a simple fishing trip that Nick takes through the Upper Michigan wilderness - it is even more about a shell-shocked veteran coming to grips with the life he used to lead - and trying to get back to some sense of normalcy. The next class will beautifully knock down that view of the story - but for today - it is more than enough.
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 on the back of the Solo/Group Work handout so the extra credit is just about the reading.
Please see the actual Solo/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. As I mentioned in the introduction above - this particular incarnation of this assignment is designed as Solo Work. An in-class series of short essays, if you will. However, by changing the directions this can easily be transformed into the more traditional (for my course) Group Work.
In any case, these are due at the end of the period.
Some main points of the Group Work
The relationship between the waitress and Nick's wife (and the situation)
Hemingway's own anxieties with being a father and those of Nick.
How "something" can be too good to talk about - with the fear that talking about it, will diminish the experience.
How memories and experiences are like ripples in a pond.
The connection between these characters and the seniors (in my class) that are reading it - looking back on their lives.
Connecting this story to much of what we've done.
An analysis of Hemingway's writing style.
Group Work
Group Work
Most Recent Handouts
Most Recent Handouts
Solo/Group Work "Cross-Country Snow": Docx PDF
Solo/Group Work "Cross-Country Snow": Docx PDF
This is a two sided Group Work. The handout contains biographical material (on the flip side) as well as the next novel that we will be reading in class. See my page on Group Work for more and the above Lesson Overview for more specifics on the Group Work. Though this is designed as Solo Work (We may have been remote or I may have been absent (Group Work can be problematic if you are not there), it can easily be altered to become Group Work (which in fact it was every year until this one).
Quiz
Quiz
Most Recent Quiz
Most Recent Quiz
Reading Quiz "Cross-Country Snow" : Docx PDF
Reading Quiz "Cross-Country Snow" : Docx PDF
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.
"Cross-Country Snow" etext
"Cross-Country Snow" etext
etext of the story - Docx PDF
etext of the story - Docx PDF
I try to leave enough room in the margins for students to take extensive notes. If possible, I preferred that students had their own copy of the novel that they could write in. The work, published before 1930, is in the Public Domain.
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".
Thoughts on the Lesson
Thoughts on the Lesson
I love when the texts we are reading coincide so closely with the lives that my students are leading. Things get really close here. As Nick looks back on his life in this story - with apprehension of the big changes that coming ahead - my own students (seniors) cannot help but do the same.
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