Scribe - 4/19

Today was my group's most productive meeting. We mainly discussed how the book ended. We spoke about Jim's visit to Antonia, Antonia's husband and family, and the book as a whole. Everyone asked their questions, even though most were answered:
Brendon asked, "What company does Jim work for?"
Suinn asked, "How old is Leo compared to his siblings?"
I asked, "Does Ambrosch have kids?"
And Zoë didn't have any questions.
One of our debates today was how old Leo was. Another debate was Antonia's children and how many of them there are. We discussed how they are named after people in her family. Our main debate was whether or not JIm met Mr. Cuzack. This confused us because the book said that Mr. Cuzack was away, and one of the children has the same name as Mr. Cuzack. Eventually we found out that Mr. Cuzack and Jim did meet; Jim called Mr. Cuzack just "Cuzack."
A questions that was raised was, "Why did Jim go back?" We found that the answer this was that Jim was traveling through Nebraska on business and he decided to take some time to stop and visit old friends.
An opinion that everyone had was that we didn't like the ending of the book. It was very vague. We wanted to know more about Jim, such as if he has a family or wife. We also agreed that we don't like the introduction to the book and it is still confusing. By the end of the book, all of our questions are answered.
Our talk did stall. We got off topic twice--we talked about vocab and Romeo & Juliet. Although today was the most productive meeting we had the most stalls during conversation. I think this occurred because we finished the book and ran out of things to talk about.

Meeting - 4/6

Today was a very productive literary circle. I asked all of my questions and got answers for them. I also answered some of my group mates questions. This literature circle meeting REALLY helped my understand this part of the story. The events were clarified with the help of my group mates. Everyone shared their questions and passages, and everyone helped to find answers. Everyone in the group worked hard during today's meeting, even though we got off track for a short time. We were luckily able to quickly pick up the discussion again. Today, we had a good meeting.

Meeting - 3/30

Today I read the wrong section. I don't know how, but I started read the section that is due next week. I got a summary of what I was supposed to read and it was enough for me to understand what was going on during the meeting. Even though I didn't read the correct section, I helped to find answers, and I shared my questions and passage. After my group mates discussed what happened in the section we were supposed to read, I got a better understanding of what I read--I was very confused while i was reading.
Even though I didn't read the correct section, I used my knowledge of the next section to answer some of my group mate's questions. We used the time well and didn't get off track for very long. When we did get off track, we talked about what happened earlier in the book.

Meeting - 3/24

Today, in literature circles, my group used the class time well. Everyone asked their questions. I asked my questions too and I answered some questions. My whole group had a weakness today--we couldn't carry out the discussion. We all said what we thought and didn't discuss or dig any deeper. Everyone also shared their passages; I thought about how other people's passages contributed to the building of the story. I made an inference that Lena might have something to do with Jim's schooling, which may be mentioned more in the next book, "Lena Lingard." Today I gave my view on questions and passages shared by my group members. Even though we had a major weakness today, the group used the class time well and everyone got a better understanding of the book.

Scribe - March 17

Today in our literary circle, we had a very deep discussion. The main points we discussed was characters who were working, characters who were moving away, and events in the chapter. Everyone asked their questions:
Brendon asked, "what happens to their old house?"
Zoë asked, "Is Jim in love with Antonia?"
Suinn asked, "Who's Lena?"
There was also a small debate about whether or not Jim and Antonia love each other and if they will date later in the book. We settled on the decision that we'll answer the question later in the book.
During this discussion, we got off topic for a little while when the substitute teacher explained some things about Willa Cather and the book. He told us that Willa lived in Virginia and moved to Nebraska, much like Jim, and he said that it was believed that this book was based on how Willa lived the "American Dream." He also told us that Willa was a closet lesbian. After hearing these things, everyone in the group agreed that we achieved a MUCH better understanding about the book.
Our literature circle discussion was very productive today.

Third Meeting - March 12

In this meeting, my group and I worked very well. I asked my questions:
1. What did Otto write about to his mom? How did he have "his own language?"
2. "There were always odd jobs to be done about the barn on holidays, and the men were busy until afternoon." Why did they work on holidays?
3. Why did Mr. Shimerdas kill himself? Did he not like his American life? Were the troubles at home just increasing? Was there a problem with his marriage?
... and i help to answer some of my group-mates' questions. Again, the meeting helped clear up a lot of confusion about the reading. Events of the book were clarified. I shared my passage about Antonia stepping up to take responsibility and work. I said that I think that girls will start working in the next part of the book. The group worked well at this meeting even though we got off track for a little bit. We were able to pick up the conversation again in no time. Everyone shared insight about the book and asked and answered questions.

2nd literary circle meeting

In this literary circle meeting, my group and I worked well to answer each others questions about the book and to clarify things for each other. i answered a few questions or helped to find answers during this meeting. I answered all three of my questions:
1. How old is the narrator?
2. Is this Jim Burdon's story? Is he narrating it?
3. If the Shimerdas's were able to pay in excess for their home, why don't they eat good food and are "famished for fruit?",
and i got answeres for all of them. I also explained the that I think the meaning of my chosen passage will come up later in the story. Through this meeting, I got a better understanding of the story. My group and I used the class time well and worked diligently.

First Literary Circle

Today was the first literary circle meeting. I was slightly confused but my group members knew what to do. We gave reading assignments and assigned scribes for each meeting. Today was a very productive literary circle meeting.