Unit-Post War America/Death of a Salesman

Today's Agenda:


Finish: Death of a Salesman (Act 2)
Review: The Start of the Cold War
Read: CIA agent John Downey, the longest held American captive of war
Video: The Korean War

Death of a Salesman -- Act Two Review Sheets

• Act 2.1 Review Questions
• Up to page 64 ("Willy stares into space, exhausted.")
• Act 2.2 Review Questions
• Up to page 76 ("Charley stares after him a moment and follows.")
• Act 2.3 Review Questions
• Up to page 91 ("Stanley picks up a chair and follows them off.")
• Act 2.4, Requiem Questions
• Up to End of Play

Post War America/Death of a Salesman

Today's Agenda:

• Continue: Act 1 in Death of a Salesman
• Read: The American Family today (linked on the previous blog)
• Review: Research Papers (Final Drafts)

Death of a Salesman -- Act One Review Sheets

Death of a Salesman - Act One Review Sheet Links:

• 1.1 Review Questions
• Up to page 15 ("Music insinuates itself as the leaves appear.")
• 1.2 Review Questions
• Up to page 24 ("Few men are idolized by their children the way you are.")
• 1.3 Review Questions
• Up to page 37 ("I was right! I was right! I was right!")
• 1.4 Review Questions
• Up to end of Act One

Post War America

Today's Agenda:

• Continue acting out the play/Act 1 still
• The American Family: the 1950s stereotype portrayed on television
• The American family today
• The 1950s: A Retrospective View

New Unit-PostWar Americaa

Today's Agenda:

Research Papers are due today.


New Unit Introduction:


Amidst the "Post-War Optimism," there was a pervasive feeling of unease that was bubbling under the surface. Our next unit, where we study American life in the late 40s/early 50s, will explore these ideas; as well as thoughts on the "perfect American family," the "American Myth," and American consumerism. This will be done through reading Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, a play that ushered in a new era of theatre.

• Class brainstorm concerning themes, concepts, and vocabulary of the play
• Some Historical Context of the play
• A biography of Arthur Miller
• Analyzing the opening stage directions
• Death of a Salesman questions
• Track symbols in the play

Some more context: The Century: America's Time Best Years-1946-1952

Research paper

Today's Agenda:

• Research Paper Goal: Min. 3 Cited Body Paragraphs
• Reminder: Possible Snow Day tomorrow!
• Research Paper w/Work Cited Page due on Wednesday

Research paper

Today's Agenda:

• Intro Paragraphs and Thesis are due (Beginning of the Block)
• Body paragraphs are next (Do not forget to cite your sources!!!!)
• Check out the exemplars for guidance.

Research Paper

As we move forward, remember these:

• Thesis needs to be a claim, not a fact!
• Organize your information in a clear way--create your outline!
• Check out a terrific example of the whole process HERE.
• Here is an example of an outline.

As many of you are about to dive into the actual writing of the research paper, there are some important things to remember...

• In-text citations are a way to flag ideas that are not necessarily your own to connect to your Works Cited page. There are a few ways to integrate information. Online Writing Lab at Purdue breaks it down quite nicely.
• In addition, check out a full-exemplar of a *perfect* research paper from one of our Comp. classes a couple of years ago. That student received a 100%.