YOU HAVE FINISHED READING YOUR NOVEL by and at this point, have completed some preliminary, thematic research. Now the real work of writing and thinking begins. This week you will draft a TQS (topic-question-significance) for your novel. Now that you have read it, what is your novel principally about? What question does your author seek to answer through the novel? And why does this question matter to the American audience?

Monday

We will start with the TQS for the essay "Shell-Shocked--and After." What is the essay about? What question does the author seek to answer via the article? And why is this question important to the American public? Students should complete a first draft of their TQS to share with their research group on Wednesday. We will begin the chapter from Hemingway's novel.
HW: Finish reading Hemingway's "Soldier's Home."

Tuesday

No class today for ACT testing.
HW: Read the Tim O'Brien short story, "On the Rainy River."

Wednesday

IN research groups, you will write a TQS for the O'Brien short story. Then, in your research groups, you should read the following poems on WWI and WWII: "The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner," "i sing of olaf," and "Beaumont to Detroit." What do these poems tell us about the soldier's experience at war, and what should the American home-front realize about that experience? Finally, you will share copies of your TQS with each member of your group, getting feedback on how to improve it.
HW: Revise your TQS for an in-class meeting with Mr. Easton tomorrow or Friday.

Thursday

In class conferences on TQS. While I am conducting these, research groups will look at four Vietnam era poems, numbers 28-31 in the war materials packet.
HW: After discussing your TQS, you should write a working draft of your claim: After reading [title of your novel], the most important idea that the author explores is__________. Knowing this, the American audience comes to realize that ____________________. Take these ideas and combine them in several sentences, expanding and explaining where needed, cutting out the language of the prompt. This will become a working claim for your further research.

Friday

In class conferences on TQS. Research groups will look at modern poems on war, looking at poems numbered 32-35 while I conduct meetings.
HW: After your conference with me, you should write a working draft of your claim. See Thursday's homework for direction on that. The working draft of that is due Monday.