WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT, least obvious lesson within Dickens' Great Expectations? Besides crafting a claim (debatable thesis statement) that answers this question, students will also generate supporting reasons, identify supporting evidence, and write a sentence outline for a paper on the Victorian novel. Additionally, students will finalize their selection of a novel to read independently, and we will begin a viewing of the recent Dickens bio-pic, The Invisible Woman.

Monday

Overview of the week. Reading Robert Newsom's essay, "Fictions of Childhood" and analyzing it for argumentative structure: What does the author believe, and why does he believe it? During this analysis, I will meet with paired students to finalize independent novel choices.
HW: Finish reading and analyzing the essay. What is the author's claim? What reasons explain the author's position? What type of evidence does the author use to support his reasons?

Tuesday

Starting with paired analysis of structure. What is the author's claim? What reasons does the author provide in support of that claim? Are there any subjects (or sub-subjects) that the author includes for clarification, or counter-arguments the author provides? Are there other techniques or parts of the argument that aren't quite reasons or evidence? Paired students will submit their analysis via a google sheet.
Hw: Read everyone's postings for class tomorrow. You should likewise develop a claim for your own paper on the novel. What is the most important, least obvious lesson in the novel? Remember, your claim should be SEVERAL sentences. The more complex the idea, the more room you will need to explain it. This should be TYPED and you need a PRINTED copy of your claim to share.

Wednesday

Small group trouble shooting of claims. Three questions to ask: Is it obvious (Yes. And...)? Is it debatable (Would someone possibly and reasonably disagree...)? Is it bigger than the book (Does it get to a 'so what?' statement, address life outside the novel...)? You want a claim that is debatable, is provable, and (at least hypothetically) is important to your audience. These questions should have answers that the writer can address in the paper. If not, the claim might not be insightful enough, might too generally state the obvious about what the book's about. If the claim isn't at least hypothetically important to the audience, it doesn't explain WHY the claim matters (or the big picture).
HW: Order your book. Though you want a clean text so you can annotate, that does not mean you must purchase a new book. Try used book stores, like Half-Price Books. There's also online storefronts like Alibris.com that offer books at significant discounts, even with shipping. Amazon should NOT be your first go-to, per se. Tonight, you should begin mapping out your claim, the language you will use to refer to your claim in body paragraphs, and your reasons (that will become topic sentences in body paragraphs).

Thursday

First day of watching the film, The Invisible Woman.
HW: Add evidence to your outline. Which quote (or quotes) best illustrates your reason? Choose the best passages, the most elloquent and beautiful language from Dickens. You should be using his writing thoughtfully, so that you borrow his style and credibility.

Friday

Second day of film.
HW: Create a sentence outlline for your paper. This outlined paper is due on Monday.