TTO VWO 3 USA Project 23/24

   Welcome to the USA blog! TIP: write your blog comments in a Word document first (which you save, of course) and then copy & paste your comment into the blog. If for some reason the blog is not working correctly at that moment, you won't lose your comment.  Each student is expected to post or comment on each of the short stories we will read during the USA project. You will have to write 3 blog posts in total.  Please ALWAYS start your comment with your name (first AND last name)  To comment, click on "comments" under the relevant post and leave your comment in the text box which will appear. Follow any other instructions and your comment will be visible on the blog under "comments" after a few minutes.  There will be a question or discussion topic posted on the blog each week and your challenge is to respond to it in 2 – 3 substantial paragraphs (~/+ 150 words).  You don’t need to do any research  (though you may, if you wish!); your own op...

    Project Goals At the end of this project you can: Write appropriate, cohesive paragraphs using the P.E.E.L method. Express your opinion and discuss with your classmates in class discussions. Use and understand all the conditional phrases Understand and discuss a variety of different short stories.

    The Lottery by Shirley Jackson In 1948,  The New Yorker  published the most controversial short story in its history: "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, a 31-year-old wife and mother living in Vermont. The simply told tale covers a ritual lottery in a sunny, rural town. Soon after the piece was published, angry letters poured in to  The New Yorker . Readers canceled their subscriptions. And while many claimed they didn't understand the story, the intense reaction indicated they understood it all too well.   You can read the story  Here  or  Here You can also watch the short (20min,) film HERE ! Choose ONE of the following questions. Write a paragraph of about 150 words.  - Use P.E.E.L and at least 2 Conditionals!  - Don't forget to start with your first name. - Shirley Jackson foreshadows the ending in multiple ways. How does she foreshadow the end? How do the character names (Mr. Graves, Mrs. Delacrois and Mr. Summers) play a ro...

   Story of an Hour  by Kate Chopin Kate Chopin 's  The Story of An Hour  (1894) is considered one of the finest pieces of Feminist Literature.  You can find the story here: https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/webtexts/hour/ Choose one of the following discussion questions for your P.E.E.L. paragraph and the conditionals (at least 2x)  1. Discuss the effect of  foreshadowing   in The Story of an Hour. How does the author foreshadow the ending and why is this important? 2. Discuss the effect of  irony   in The Story of an Hour. What happens in the end and how is this ironic? 3. Discuss why The Story of an Hour can be considered a work of  F eminist Literature .  4. Exlain how  expectations  and  reality  don't always add up by providing an example from the story and from your own life.  5. Why do you think Mrs. Mallard feels joy when she thinks about her husband's death? Use historical context in...

   Alice Walker  The Flowers Read Alice Walker's 'The Flowers' and answer one of the following study questions in a proper P.E.E.L. paragraph of approximately 150 words. Don't forget the Conditionals You can find the (very short!) story here:  Microsoft Word - Flowers.doc (weebly.com) Study questions: How does the author, Alice Walker, use the symbol of flowers to show Myop’s coming-of-age experience?          What is the significance of the final sentence, according to you? What clues in the text allow us to construct a historical context around this story?