Wednesday, November 12th

Today's Learning Goal
Identify an overarching theme in Sherman Alexie's short stories (i.e. a theme that seems to bind all the stories together)

Starter
Review your group's google doc from yesterday's class and Ashley's comments.

• Add at least one quote from the story to provide evidence for your claims and/or revise one of the questions that Ashley suggested needed improvement.
  

Agenda
1. All-class discussion

•  Juxtaposition definition
  
• Read aloud pages 171-174 of "Indian Education" and look at the one-liners Alexie uses-- how concise yet loaded with deeper meaning. What is the deeper meaning?

2. Gallery Walk Activity (5 groups)
Round 1: Identifying key quotes- 10 minutes per poster

• Pick 2-3 more passages from your assigned short story that seem to be loaded like the ones we looked at as a whole class. Write them down around the edges of the poster
  
• Switch! Add to the new poster.
• Switch!  Add to the new poster.

Round 2: Move back to your original poster-- 15 minutes

• Write down the key phrases that stand out from the full-length passages.
• Decide on the theme

3.  Journal #4 work time 

• Circulate around the room and pick at least one quote from 3 stories.
• Using the quotes you chose, write 5-7 sentences through which you explain what you think the overarching theme across all of these stories seems to be and why you think that.  What does Alexie seem to be suggesting or trying to share about his experience as a Native American?

Ashley's Example:
Theme: Finding an Identity as a Native Youth
Quote 1: "You see, the car looked mean.  Mostly we just parked it in front of the Trading Post and tried to look like horsepowered warriors. Driving it was a whole other matter, though.  It belched and farted its way down the road like an old man. That definitely wasn't cool" (13). 
Quote 2:_______________________
Quote 3:_______________________

Analysis: In these quotes, the overarching theme is the struggle to find an identity as a Native youth amidst stereotypical and/or traditional roles for Native Americans and the reality of reservation life and the 21st century.   For instance, in "A Drug Called Tradition" the boys are intoxicated by the visions of tradition but ultimately decide to throw the drug away and live in the present moment- not forgetting tradition but not clinging to it either.  In "Crazy Horse Dreams" Victor and the women seem to seek out an authentic Indian in the other person only to be disappointed when she realizes Victor is not Crazy Horse.  Also, in _______________________, __________________________________________________________________.  Ultimately, it seems that Alexie is trying to show the challenges of walking between two worlds and how Native youth are influenced by stereotypes and tradition in forming their identity.  He seems to argue that "walking with your skeletons" but living in the present, is the best way to overcome this struggle.

4. Ticket out the door:  

• 1-3: How confident are you on your ability to identify a theme in a piece of literature?
• Write down one clarifying OR thought-provoking question based on one of Alexie's short stories (ideally this question should be based on a specific line or passage that you don't understand OR that sparks a bigger question for you you'd like to discuss as a class)
• What is your impression of these stories? Do you like them? Why or why not?