Parent plan · Week 20 · Research questions and Gatsby’s first chapter — English 11: American Voices, Identity & Public Memory

Parent teaching plan · 36 weeks

Units to teach or revisit

Chapter 5 · Research & Source-Based Writing

Assigned readings

Parent teaching schedule: assign the linked Chapter / Unit lessons alongside sustained reading and writing. Week numbers guide pacing; student lessons retain Chapter / Unit names.

This week’s goals

Read Gatsby Chapter I in full. Develop a bounded research question based on the completed historical texts; Gatsby connections remain provisional.

Five sessions of about 45–60 minutes plus 20–30 minutes of sustained reading most days. Divide longer readings and adjust for comprehension and writing stamina. Combine exam sessions to provide the full time stated on the paper.

Session 1 · Opening self-presentation

Establish literal understanding before interpretation. Identify speaker, event, source and location; distinguish observation from report and later explanation. Apply the linked unit method to the exact assigned text.

Your task

Test Nick’s account of reserving judgment against one judgment in Gatsby I.

  1. Prepare (5 minutes): retrieve the linked unit method and state the task.
  2. Read/study (10–15 minutes): locate and annotate relevant text, source evidence or draft.
  3. Apply (20–30 minutes): respond independently with precise references and explained relations.
  4. Reflect (5–10 minutes): check criteria, explain a choice, and record a next step.
Hint and response guidance

Start with an exact reference or before/after wording. Separate the source’s assertion from verified information and your interpretation. Test the strongest competing account.

His declared habit is a claim about himself, while his descriptions make evaluations. Explain a specific relation rather than immediately brand every event false.

  • Respond accurately to the stated task and purpose.
  • Use precise relevant references, evidence, or explained language changes.
  • Explain reasoning and preserve a meaningful qualification.

Session 2 · Question history

Test a claim against another relevant detail. Explain its scope and a contradiction. In a language task, identify the grammatical or contextual relationship and preserve meaning.

Your task

Draft three research questions on education, public voice, or identity in Douglass and Du Bois; narrow one.

  1. Prepare (5 minutes): retrieve the linked unit method and state the task.
  2. Read/study (10–15 minutes): locate and annotate relevant text, source evidence or draft.
  3. Apply (20–30 minutes): respond independently with precise references and explained relations.
  4. Reflect (5–10 minutes): check criteria, explain a choice, and record a next step.
Hint and response guidance

Start with an exact reference or before/after wording. Separate the source’s assertion from verified information and your interpretation. Test the strongest competing account.

A workable question names texts and an interpretive problem, such as how literacy gains change access to public voice. It permits evidence and disagreement without requiring a survey of all American history.

  • Respond accurately to the stated task and purpose.
  • Use precise relevant references, evidence, or explained language changes.
  • Explain reasoning and preserve a meaningful qualification.

Session 3 · Scope and feasibility

Organize the response around purpose and audience. Explain the evidence-to-claim relationship; a quotation, terminology label, or rule alone is insufficient. Compare functions as well as apparent similarities.

Your task

List the evidence you already have and the contextual information your selected question still needs.

  1. Prepare (5 minutes): retrieve the linked unit method and state the task.
  2. Read/study (10–15 minutes): locate and annotate relevant text, source evidence or draft.
  3. Apply (20–30 minutes): respond independently with precise references and explained relations.
  4. Reflect (5–10 minutes): check criteria, explain a choice, and record a next step.
Hint and response guidance

Start with an exact reference or before/after wording. Separate the source’s assertion from verified information and your interpretation. Test the strongest competing account.

Distinguish primary interpretation from factual context. Narrow a question that requires unavailable records; a source search should answer a stated need rather than collect loosely related pages.

  • Respond accurately to the stated task and purpose.
  • Use precise relevant references, evidence, or explained language changes.
  • Explain reasoning and preserve a meaningful qualification.

Session 4 · Initial proposal

Apply the method independently, request specific feedback, and revise reasoning and structure before editing. Retain first drafts and explain the purpose of an actual change.

Your task

Write a 300–400-word proposal stating the question, provisional claim, source needs, and a possible challenge.

  1. Prepare (5 minutes): retrieve the linked unit method and state the task.
  2. Read/study (10–15 minutes): locate and annotate relevant text, source evidence or draft.
  3. Apply (20–30 minutes): respond independently with precise references and explained relations.
  4. Reflect (5–10 minutes): check criteria, explain a choice, and record a next step.
Hint and response guidance

Start with an exact reference or before/after wording. Separate the source’s assertion from verified information and your interpretation. Test the strongest competing account.

A claim is provisional until sources are checked. Explain why the question matters and what finding could alter your interpretation; do not promise a settled answer before research.

  • Respond accurately to the stated task and purpose.
  • Use precise relevant references, evidence, or explained language changes.
  • Explain reasoning and preserve a meaningful qualification.

Session 5 · Reading notebook

Use criteria to evaluate the independent attempt. Explain a choice and record a supported next step. Consult response guidance afterward; keep unseen exam answers closed.

Your task

Record Gatsby I’s social relationships, a source-of-knowledge distinction, and an unanswered question.

  1. Prepare (5 minutes): retrieve the linked unit method and state the task.
  2. Read/study (10–15 minutes): locate and annotate relevant text, source evidence or draft.
  3. Apply (20–30 minutes): respond independently with precise references and explained relations.
  4. Reflect (5–10 minutes): check criteria, explain a choice, and record a next step.
Hint and response guidance

Start with an exact reference or before/after wording. Separate the source’s assertion from verified information and your interpretation. Test the strongest competing account.

Separate witnessed conversation from background supplied by Nick. The final image permits an inquiry about desire and distance but not an unsupported whole-novel thesis.

  • Respond accurately to the stated task and purpose.
  • Use precise relevant references, evidence, or explained language changes.
  • Explain reasoning and preserve a meaningful qualification.

Submit this week

Parent / teacher weekly conference

The research paper will use completed Douglass/Du Bois readings and verified context, so it can finish before Gatsby. Keep a separate novel journal and revise preliminary claims as reading continues.

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