"Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you will cease to live." --Mark Twain

Thanks to the heroics of Tom, our young couple is saved!  Just as the villagers begin to mourn his loss (again!), he makes his appearance, having saved Becky, and becomes the glittering hero (again!).   Injun Joe is not so fortunate, unable to find his way out of the dark labyrinth of the caves.  As Tom dreams up their next adventure, the final plot thread will be tied up:  what becomes of the treasure?

Tom embodies Twain's quote about illusions; he is forever searching for the next adventure, pursuing his dream of the moment.  Through him Twain conveys truths about the complexities of human nature and the notion that perhaps we never really "grow up"; or if we do, he implies the hope that we maintain the carefree illusions and dreams of childhood.

My parting wish for students is to hold on to your illusions, pursue your dreams, and don't just exist, but live!  Search for "buried treasure", try on different personas (well, maybe not a robber or pirate!), have fun with your friends, and try not to get into too much trouble!  Know that we are all a little bit grown up and a little bit childish, and that our dreams help to make us dynamic characters as we write the stories of our lives.

Homework:

Monday:  Rd. ch. 34; add to packets; check Aspen and turn in anything missing asap.
Tuesday:  Finish packet; turn in tomorrow.

Books and packets will be collected on Wednesday.

Oh, the twisted plot Twain weaves...."

Students are hot on the trail of the buried treasure--buried in #2 under the cross!  As they follow Tom and Huck on this new adventure, they're also wondering:  will Injun Joe follow through with the "revenge job"?  Will the boys escape his menace?  Is there hope yet for Tom and Becky?  Will the mischievous Tom ever "grow up"?  Despite being three quarters through the book with only a week left to read, there is still a lot of plot to unravel!

Students are wrapping up their vocabulary work with a mini-project due Thursday, along with their Personal Dictionary Logs.  Next week, upon completion of our reading, they will turn in their packets along with their books.  Then, we will watch the movie "Tom and Huck" to compare and contrast this film version of the novel.

HOMEWORK:

Tuesday:  Work on vocab project
Wednesday:  Finish ch. 29 if needed; finish vocab project--due tomorrow w/PD logs
Thursday:  Finish ch. 30 if needed; add to packets as needed
Friday:  Read ch. 31/32; add to packets as needed

Tom Sawyer Vocab Activity

"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow just as well."

Funny words from Twain, but ones I'm hoping students save for the lazier days of summer!  It seems that students are keeping up with the reading; I am trying to give them time each day to at least begin the chapters.  I've plotted them out on a calendar to finish the book by the end of the year, reserving two days at the end to watch the movie, Tom and Huck. 

At the same time, students have been adding words to their personal dictionaries and doing some activities around elements of fiction.  Our class discussions of the novel center around summarizing the story, analyzing characters, examining Twain's language, and identifying broader statements that Twain seems to make about human nature through the antics of Tom and his community.

On Thursday I will give a writing assessment based on the novel.  Students will have a choice of four prompts; they will write on ONE and share their short essay with me by the end of class.  On Tuesday I will give them the general topics of the prompts (Twain's language and character analysis) so that they can think about and perhaps decide which they want to do; if they wish, they could also make some notes on the general topic they choose.  The assessment will be open book and open note, if the student makes notes to use.

HOMEWORK:

Monday:  Finish rdg. ch. 13/14; begin "Escape to Jackson Island" page in packet.

Tuesday:  Finish rdg. ch. 15/16; add to packet pgs. Think about writing topics; make notes.

Wednesday:  Finish rdg. ch. 17/18; add to packet. Think about writing topics; make notes.

Thursday:  Read ch. 19, 20; Ch. 21: read first long paragraph and last section only.

Friday:  Finish rdg. 22, 23, 24; work on vocabulary activity (due Thursday 6/15).