Lord of the Flies Socratic Seminar #2 Questions

Be prepared to discuss these questions in class on Tuesday, November 9, 2010.

If you missed the seminar, submit well-thought out written responses to two questions (100%; one question=80%).

If you were in class and did not respond twice, use the back of your remaining half-sheets ("buns") to respond to the questions. If you respond to a question discussed in class, your response must add to the conversation we had. (+10 pts. each.)

WORLD CONNECTION QUESTIONS
Which character do you most closely identify with? Why? -- J.C. (1st)

When you are afraid, what do you do to overcome your fears? -- M.A. (3rd)


CLOSE-ENDED QUESTIONS
Why did Jack say "I'm Chief" after Piggy's death? -- R.V. (1st)

Why don't Jack and Piggy get along? -- M.M. (3rd)

What is signified by the breaking of Piggy's specs? -- R.R. (8th)


OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
If the pilot were to have survived, how would the story have changed? -- T.B. (3rd)

Why was it important to the story for the boys to believe in The Beast, even though there wasn't any real threat? -- N.G. (7th)


UNIVERSAL THEME / CORE QUESTIONS
What did you like about the book? What did you dislike? -- A.R. (7th)

How is evil represented in the story? -- J.N. (8th)


LITERARY ANALYSIS QUESTIONS
What details of the boys' characters did Golding alter over the course of the novel to show their descent into savagery? -- V.E. (1st)

How did Golding foreshadow Piggy's death? -- K.M. (7th)

What did Golding accomplish by choosing to make the weather a thunderstorm when Simon was killed? -- L.G. (8th)

In what ways is the ending ironic? -- Mr. Mikesell

IWA: Last Chance

Because Ms. Perry was administrating P.A. this afternoon, you have until 11:59 P.M., Central Time, to email me your IWA. Because district email is iffy right now, attach the file (.doc or .rtf, only -- .docx will not be accepted) to an email to my personal account: chris-dot-mikesell-at-gmail-dot-com (where -dot- is a . and -at- is an @).

This will not be allowed for IWA #3.

Socratic Seminar Question Types: Lord of the Flies, Chapters 4-12

Submit two (2) of each of the following by Monday, November 8. I will pick several and post them to the website prior to the socratic seminar. Be prepared to discuss them in class next week.

World Connection Question
Write a question connecting the text to the real world.

Example: How do you stand up to peer pressure?


Close-Ended Question
Write a question about the text that will help everyone in the class come to an agreement about events or characters in the text. This question usually has a “correct” answer.

Example: What was "The Beast"?


Open-Ended Question
Write an insightful question about the text that will require proof and group discussion and “construction of logic” to discover or explore the answer to the question.

Example: In what ways is Simon revealed as a Christ figure?


Universal Theme / Core Question
Write a question dealing with a theme(s) of the text that will encourage group discussion about the universality of the text.

Example: Do the boys truly escape the horrors of the island once they are "rescued"?


Literary Analysis Question
Write a question dealing with HOW an author chose to compose a literary piece. How did the author manipulate point of view, characterization, symbolism, imagery, metaphors, allusions, archetypal hero patterns, for example, to help the reader better understand the story?

Example: Golding characterizes Piggy as myopic or (literally) shortsighted. In what ways does he metaphorically behave shortsightedly?

Blowup/Storm King Mountain Timeline

If you didn't finish the timeline in class, finish reading the Storm King Mountain article at my.hrw.com. Use the login-ID you received in class and the password mikesell (all lowercase). The story begins on Page 558.

If you lost your timeline, the first item is:

July 2 - Lightning strikes hills, starting fire

You need nine (9) more significant moments on your timeline.

Alternate Email Address for IWAs

On my school email account tonight I've received several emails that were sent a week ago. It is possible that IWAs may be being held up, so please send them to my personal account: chris-dot-mikesell-at-gmail-dot-com (where -dot- is a . and -at- is an @).

Thank you.

Pre-AP: 8-Step Writing Process

Be sure to have the graphic organizer copied and ready to turn in on Thursday, November 4th.

In case we didn't get to finish in your class, here are explanations for the final three steps.

Rough Draft: Don't worry about getting it right the first time, just get everything you can think of down on paper as quickly as possible. "Once upon a time..." is a perfectly fine way to start out your Rough Draft.

Revise/Edit: Things to look for when revising/editing:

• That "Once upon a time" intro? Replace it. Start with dialogue, a flash-forward to an exciting moment two-thirds of the way through your story's rising action, or something interesting that happens early on in your story.


• If your story opens with you waking up, showering, getting dressed, and eating breakfast, scrap it. Start your story with something interesting happening.


• Look for places to add similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia, etc.


• Make sure everyone has a name. Only Mom and Dad should be generalized as "mom" and "dad" -- your siblings, friends, teachers, etc., should be named.


• Double-check your organized bubblemap to see if everything essential has been included.


• Other than a brief flashback or flash-forward, does everything flow in sequence? It should.


• Make sure you've mentioned or implied the prompt's keyword(s) toward the end of your introduction/exposition and during your "lesson learned"/conclusion.


• Plus, fix grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.

Final Draft: Make sure you re-copy your revised draft carefully. It's easy to make a mistake and think you're copying accurately because you know what you "mean" to write. Wait a half hour after you've written your Final Draft before you submit it so you can look at it with as fresh of eyes as possible one last time before you call it "done." (During the TAKS test you'll have the Revising and Editing section to do after your "essay," so look at your Final Draft again when you're done with that last section.)

Open-Ended/Crossover Questions for Haiti Article

Use the article on Haiti, "Amid Haiti horror, stories of survival and hope*," to answer the following question:

What similarity do the Prudhommes and the Schlenbakers share? (No, it's not "odd last names.") Support your answer with evidence from the text. (3-5 sentences)

Use the Haiti article and the "Man in the Water" to answer this crossover question:

How does the theme of this article (Haiti) compare with the theme of "Man in the Water"? Support your answer with evidence from both articles. (5-7 sentences)

*The article cuts off mid-sentence on the jump page. Click the "Show more text" tab to see the end of the article.