Week of December 20, Letters to J. D. Salinger

Hi everyone,

This week we are going to write letters to J. D. Salinger, telling him our opinion of The Catcher in the Rye.

This is a formal letter, and it should be typed. Please use the format below. In your letter, please do the following:

Begin with a formal greeting, “Dear Mr. Salinger”

Paragraph 1: Introduce yourself, name, country of origin, grade in school, how long you’ve been in the US, and why you’re writing to him (in my ESL class, we just finished your novel, The Catcher in the Rye)

Paragraph 2: Tell him what the book meant to you. Tell him what you enjoyed about it and why, how it made you feel and why, and any text to self connections you made as you read. Be specific. Refer to actual quotes from the novel (go back to your reading logs to do this, and look at your double entry journals).

Paragraph 3: Ask him questions you have about the book. Make sure you are respectful and only ask appropriate questions.

Then thank him for reading your letter and writing the memoir. Close with “Sincerely” and then print your name and sign the letter.

Layout for a formal letter:

Your name

Street Address

City, State Zip Code

Today’s date

Dear Mr. Salinger,

My name is…(see above for all details from Paragraph 1).

Your memoir The Catcher in the Rye meant so much to me… (see above for all details from Paragraph 2).

I have some questions about the novel…(see above for Paragraph 3).

Thank you for your time reading my letter and for writing the memoir.

Sincerely,

Sign your name

Print your name

Week of December 13, Critical Lens Quotes

Today we are going to think about critical lens quotes and practice for the regents.

Read the quotes below. Pick two and in google docs, please do the following:

1. What does it mean? Paraphrase it in your own words?
2. Do you agree or disagree and why?
3. What literature have we read this semester could prove it? Explain the connection. One must be the Catcher in the Rye.
4. Post your answers to our blog.
5. Read two other students posts and write a response about what you learned from them.

• “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” Albert Einstein
• “We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anais Nin
• “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

• “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Maya Angelou
• “...there are two types of people in the world: those who prefer to be sad among others, and those who prefer to be sad alone.”― Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

Week of December 5 , Explore NYC with Holden

Hi everyone,

This week we will search the internet to visit places in NY that Holden has visited so far. Please click on the links below to visit these places on the internet.

• Grand Central Station
• The American Museum of Natural History
• Central Park and the lagoon at Central Park South
• Radio City Music Hall
• The Ice Skating Rink at Rockefeller Center

Now pick one place and answer the questions below in Google Docs about that place.

1. When was this place created?
2. Who built or designed it?
3. How big is it? How many floors does it have? How many people can fit inside?
4. How is it used today? Who uses or visits it? Why?
5. Find pictures of this place from today. Describe what it looks like.
6. How was this place used in the 1950's? Did it look different then? How?
7. Find pictures of this place from the 1950's. Describe what it looked like then.
8. Write five interesting facts about this place.
9. Why does Holden go to this place? In which chapter and scene is it mentioned in the novel?
10. If you were planning a trip to this place this weekend with your friends or family, what would you do there? Is there anything special happening there this weekend?

Now post your responses to the comments section of our blog.

Finally, check out this great map: Walking in Holden's Footsteps