Oskar's Inventions: October 9, 2017

Focus: What do Oskar's inventions reveal about his quest?

1. Warming up with Oskar's inventions:

(a) Make a journal entry on YOUR PERSONAL BLOG to generate a list Oskar's inventions.

Pages I found with Oskar's inventions (I may have missed a few): 

1, 3, 35, 38, 72, 73-4, 217-223 (the "Sixth Borough is really Oskar's dad's invention, but it works), 235, 250, 258-9

Oskar tells the renter, "I want to stop inventing. If I could know how he died, exactly how he died, I wouldn't have to invent him dying inside an elevator that was stuck between floors, which happened to some people, and I wouldn't have to imagine him trying to crawl down the outside of the building, which I saw a video of one person doing on a Polish site, or trying to use a tablecloth as a parachute, like some of the people who were in Windows on the World actually did. There were so many different ways to die, and I just need to know which was his" 

(Foer 257).

(b) According to Oskar's statement above, why has Oskar been inventing? Why does he want to stop?

(c) Pick two or three of Oskar's inventions that interest you. How do they relate to your answer to question (b)?

2. Taking a musical stroll with your blogging buddies:

• Read what they wrote and say hello.
• Ask a Level 1, 2 or 3 question about something they wrote (something you'd genuinely like answered). 

AND/OR

• Offer a meaningful reflection on something they wrote.

3. Reading, journaling, and conferencing

Tomorrow's leaders may use this time to touch base in the hallway.

HW:

1. Your penultimate reading assignment, pages 260-306 is due Tuesday. Let's do this. (If you're feeling daunted by the # of pages, don't be--many of the pages are weird). Compose your 7th journal entry; now is the time to catch up if you have fallen behind.

2. Reading conferences will continue next Monday and Wednesday.

3. If you're wondering about how journals are graded, you get two grades:

a. The first grade you get after you conference with me. This is a Growth grade. Although I hope you're caught up in your blogs, this grade has nothing to do with that. Instead, it's about the quality of what you're doing and to what extent your journals are preparing you for discussion. This is worth 40 points, and you have a say in your grade

b. The second grade is an Attempt and Completion grade; it reflects that you have completed each assigned journal entry (5 points per journal). This I grade these NEXT MONDAY, so that should give you plenty of time to catch up if you've fallen behind.