Speakeasy 2018

As the music plays you will mingle with other celebrities from the 1920s. For each celebrity you meet, note at least one fun fact, one accomplishment and at least one way he or she influenced trends in popular culture in the 1920s.

Celebrity / What trend are they associated with? / Fun Fact / Accomplishment
George Washington Carver / Scientific advancements / First African American to attend Iowa State Ag. College and taught at Booker T. Washington’s African American Tuskegee Institute / Agricultural researcher and scientist, testified before Congress regarding the possibilities of the peanut. Famous for his work promoting racial harmony and peanut growing.

The Great Gatsby Socratic Seminar Prep Sheet

On a separate piece of paper: Please respond to 8 questions of your choice with a minimum of one piece of text evidence (quote and page #), along with detailed analysis (bullet points is fine as long as there is detailed info).

  1. Do you think Nick's view on society has changed after Gatsby's death and if so, how?
  2. Why does Fitzgerald include Nick in the story? Why doesn't he just write it from Gatsby's perspective?
  3. What is the role of honesty throughout the book?
  4. How did The Great Gatsby symbolize the corruption in America in the 1920s?
  5. Does Tom actually love Daisy? Do you think he just wants total control of his life?
  6. Why do you think Nick is uncomfortable when Gatsby's father tells him that Gatsby would have helped change the world?
  7. How do the eyes of T.J Eckleberg affect Mr. Wilson?
  8. How did the American Dream play a role in The Great Gatsby?
  9. Why does Gatsby constantly lie about his past throughout the novel to people he doesn't know? What does he have to gain by making people believe he is something he is not?
  10. Is there any redeeming value to Daisy? What do you think of her and why? What do you think Fitzgerald intends the reader to think of her?
  11. What is the symbol of the pool and how does it relate to Gatsby?
  12. Is the novel an accurate representation of the 1920s? Why or why not?
  13. The inevitability of the American Dream- which characters achieves their dreams? Does the integrity/morality of these characters compromise their dreams at all?
  14. What does Owl Eye's presence at the funeral signify/foresee?
  15. How does Fitzgerald use sensory-oriented imagery (sight, taste, touch, smell, sound) to shape the story? What kind of atmosphere do these details help create and how do they affect the reader?
  16. What conflicts and contradictions about wealth and status are revealed in The Great Gatsby? How do these represent the historical decade of the 1920s?

Speakeasy Activity Reflection

Circle a score for yourself based on your self-evaluation of your contribution to the oral discussions today:

Participation is Outstanding
10 / Participant offers enough solid analysis, without prompting, to move the conversation forward
Participant, through his/her comments, demonstrates a deep knowledge of the text and the question
Participant has come to the seminar prepared, with notes and a marked/annotated text
Participant, through his/her comments, shows that he/she is actively listening to other participants
She/he offers clarification and/or follow-up that extends the conversation
Participant's remarks often refer to specific parts of the text
Participation is very good
8-9 / Participant offers solid analysis without prompting
Through his/her comments, participant demonstrates a good knowledge of the text and the question
Participant has come to the seminar prepared with notes and/or a marked/annotated text
Participant shows that he/she is actively listening to others. She/he offers clarification and/or follow-up
Participation is satisfactory
7 / Participant offers some analysis, but needs prompting from the seminar leader and/or others
Through his/her comments, participant demonstrates a general knowledge of the text and the question
Participant is less prepared, with few notes and no marked/annotated text
Participant is actively listening to others, but does not offer clarification and/or follow-up to others' comments
Participant relies more upon his/her opinion, and less on the text to drive his/her comments
Participation is not satisfactory
5-6 / Participant offers little commentary
Participant comes to the seminar ill-prepared with little understanding of the text and question
Participant does not listen to others, offers no commentary to further the discussion

Write one interesting point you learned through talking to the 1920’s characters and why you found it interesting.

Write one interesting point you learned during the Great Gatsby seminar and why you found it interesting. ______

Big question (requires more than 1 sentence response): What does it mean to be American during the 1920s?

What did you do to help others contribute to the dialogue? Explain.______

______

Self Assessment

How well did you:poorly with excellence

Participate in improvisation conversation? 1 2 3 4 5

Participate in GG Socratic conversation? 1 2 3 4 5

Embody your character? 1 2 3 4 5

Stay on task? 1 2 3 4 5

Communicate the significance of your 1 2 3 4 5

character through the visual poster?

What did you do to embody your character? Explain props, mannerisms, language, etc: ______

______

Grade yourself and provide a rationalization for your cumulative score (oral participation, poster): ______%

Extra Credit: I deserve ___/3 for my costume that went above and beyond symbolic representation because______

I deserve ___/3 for bringing in food for the party because I brought ______

______