Unit Two: Life of Pi

Teacher: Jaimie Crawford

Syllabus KEY:  Here is your syllabus for the second book and unit.  I will ask you to read about 50 pages per week (there are 100 chapters in Life of Pi, so to finish at the end of 6 weeks, you will need to read about 16 chapters a week). The best way to avoid book quizzes is to keep journaling about your given character and show me that you are up to date in class by participating and adding thoughtful responses about assigned reading.

The majority of your grade for the six weeks will come from four assignments, each worth 100 pts:
your journal, your personal essay, your group skit on the book, and your final book test.

You will keep a journal for each book (100 pts)—you should have two entries per week.  Journals will be checked weekly.  List the entries as follows:

My name:
My book and character:
Pages covered:
(2 pts ) My character’s point of view on 3 things of importance that happened during these pages:
(2 pts) What I expect will happen next to my character:
(2 pts) Choose one question from the 23 in the back of the book (pp. 323-326) to answer. You may not answer the same question twice.  
(2 pts) A picture or graphic of the events, people, or animals introduced during these pages

You should have ONE notebook or spiral for your journals for all six books throughout the year. Journals can be typed on computer or hand-written; each book section can be decorated to reflect that book; you should add one appropriate picture or graphic to each journal.

WEEK ONE (9/25-29): Life of Pi, Groups read and answer questions about: Yan Martel's  How I wrote Life of Pi

HW: Read to pg. 50

A Day 10/2: Turn in two journal entries
B Day 10/3: Turn in two journal entries

WEEK TWO (10/2-10/6): Interactive Life of Pi website

HW: Read to pg. 100
A Day 10/6: Turn in two journal entries
B Day 10/5: Turn in two journal entries

**If you have difficulty answering the discussion questions after having read only 50 pages, here are some alternative discussion questions you may choose. Remember you need one per journal:

JOURNAL THREE:
1. What religion is Pi? How did he meet Christianity? Explain. pg. 50
JOURNAL FOUR:
1. What makes a person move? Why did Pi move? pg 78

WEEK THREE (10/9-13): Rhetorical fallacies: begging the question, circular reasoning, bandwagoning, overgeneralization, red herring, straw man, ad hominem, post hoc, either-or, induction, deduction, syllogism; read Name Papers in class; Life of Pi.

Life of Pi --WHAT'S IN A NAME PAPER ( Papers should have four paragraphs and be typed and MLA formatted).
NOTE: Students who are planning to apply to a college that requests a personal essay may also turn in that college essay in lieu of this assignment--same due date.

In chapter 2, Pi writes, "I was named after a swimming pool. Quite peculiar considering my parents never  took to water..." How were YOU named?

Objective: Students will learn more about the etymologies of their names (Reading 1.1). Students will write an essay in which they explore their parents' decisions for naming them and connect family histories and their own histories with their names (Writing 2.3). Students will read these papers aloud to their classmates (Listening 2.0).

Provide the following information in each paragraph:

PARAGRAPH 1:  Tell your full name and why your parents decided to name you what they did.  You should include at least one direct quote from a family member.  If you were named after someone else, explain your relationship to this person or just describe the person. 

PARAGRAPH 2: What is the origin/etymology of your first name? Use the following website or any other name origin website to find the nationality of your name. Tell how popular it was when you were born and how popular it is now. Read the comments about your name and describe how others view this name. Who else in the past or present has had this name?

PARAGRAPH 3: Tell at least 3 nicknames you have had at various times in your life and the reasons for these nicknames.  Who gave you the nickname? What was the situation? Did you like the nickname or hate it?

HW:   Read to pg. 150
A Day 10/12: Turn in two journal entries and your Name Paper or College Essay
B Day 10/13: Turn in two journal entries and your Name Paper or College Essay

WEEK FOUR(10/16-20): E Book discussion and questions; 30 Days on Muslim religion

HW:   Read to pg. 200
A Day  10/20: Turn in two journal entries
B Day  10/19: Turn in two journal entries

WEEK FIVE (10/23-27): SAT Grammar/Writing errors  Life of Pi scenes read by Yan Martel

In Class Life of Pi "Survival Skits":  Read the list of Pi's 15 Shipwreck Survival Technique's. 
Objective:  Students will connect the text to their own "survival" at high school and graphically list techniques as well as writing, rehearsing, and putting on a skit that conveys these techniques to the rest of the class (Listening 2.3).
In a group, create your own list of 15 ways to survive at Windsor High School.  Provide graphics and a list on the computer.  Present these "survival techniques" to the class and compare a shipwrecked boy to a new student at high school.  What are the obstacles each face?  Write a skit in which you demonstrate "how not only to survive but to thrive" as a high school student and present it to the class. Please refrain from reference to substances or ditching school.

HW: Read to pg. 250
A Day 10/26: Turn in final two journal entries (9 and 10)
B Day 10/27: Turn in final two journal entries (9 and 10)

WEEK SIX (10/30-11/3): Finish the novel; Test in class on Life of Pi/ My Story narratives/ Logical Fallacies (fallacies: begging the question, circular reasoning, bandwagoning, overgeneralization, red herring, straw man, ad hominem, post hoc, either-or, induction, deduction, syllogism--see my WHS website link for definitions and examples). 
HW: Read to pg. 300
A Day 11/3: Test on the novel
B Day 11/2: Test on the novel