Part time Indian #3

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 3

Today's goals

"The absolutely true story of a part-time Indian"

- I can show I can empathise with the main character by writing a personalised instagram post

- I can answer questions about the book in detail and share my opinion

- I can analyse each chapter and am able to pick out the most important information

At the end of class:

Write an instagram post

Part-time Indian

Step 1:  You have an instagram post in front of you

Step 2: Pretend you are Junior 

Step 3: Read up in the book what this cartoon is about (see page number)

Step 4: Write an appropriate post.  Use minimum 20 words to describe how Junior feels and why he has drawn this specific cartoon

Step 5: Be prepared to share your post with the class.  

WORK QUIETLY PLEASE - you have 4 minutes to complete this task

Write your instagram post here.
Be sure to mention the page number of your cartoon.

Reading Group Questions

Part-time Indian

Step 1:  Have a look at the reading group questions on p. 233

Step 2: Partner up. 

Step 3: You and a partner will be assigned a question to answer.  (if working from home, you will do this alone).  Please fill in your answer on the next slide

Step 4: Work together to answer the question fully.  You will need to share your answer with the class. (see next slide)

Step 5: Finished? Read your book (specifically chapters 29 & 30)

WORK QUIETLY PLEASE - you have 10 minutes to complete this task.  We will discuss the answers classically.  

All: Answer your "Reading Group question" on p233 here. Be sure to indicate the number of the question you are answering!!!

Summary: My Final Freshman Year Report Card

Chapter 28 # 1

This section is a cartoon of Junior’s report card. Junior gets A’s in English, Geometry, P.E. and Computer Programming, an A- in history, a B+ in Geology and a B- in Woodshop.

Summary: Remembering

Chapter 29 # 1

Junior and Junior’s mom and dad go to the cemetery to clean graves. They clean Grandmother Spirit’s, Eugene’s, and Mary’s graves, and they have a picnic. Junior’s dad brings his saxophone. He tells his family that the world is all about love and death. Junior’s mother tells Junior she is proud of him. Junior cries for Mary, but he realizes he is also crying for his tribe. Junior says that somehow or another Indians have forgotten that reservations were meant to be death camps. Then, Junior lists the other tribes that he feels he is a member of. These other tribes include the tribe of cartoonists, of chronic masturbators, of poor people, and of tortilla chips-and-salsa lovers. Junior says the realization that he is a part of these larger groups is hugely important for him. It reminds him that he is okay, but it also reminds him of those who aren’t okay. He thinks of Rowdy and misses him.

Summary: Talking About Turtles

Chapter 30 # 1

Junior describes the reservation. It’s filled with ponderosa pine trees. Some of the trees are ninety feet tall and 300 years old. One tree past Turtle Lake is the tallest, at least 150 feet tall. He remembers how, when he and Rowdy were ten, they climbed that tree. One hot summer day, Rowdy pressures Junior to go swimming at Turtle Lake. Junior says no one has been able to measure the depth of Turtle Lake, not even scientists with a small submarine. Once, Junior’s dad told him that, as a kid, he watched a horse, nicknamed Stupid Horse, drown in Turtle Lake. A few weeks later Stupid Horse washed up on the shore of Benjamin Lake, ten miles away. Everyone thought someone moved the carcass as a prank. Some people took the horse to the dump and burned it. Then, a few weeks after they burned the body, Turtle Lake caught on fire. People stayed away from Turtle Lake for a few days, then they found Stupid Horse washed up on shore again. Before long, people forgot and started swimming in Turtle Lake again.

Summary: Talking About Turtles

Chapter 30 # 2

On the way to swim in Turtle Lake, Junior points out the big tree. Rowdy says they should climb it. They climb almost to the very top, as far as the branches can support their weight, and they see the whole reservation. Rowdy let out a big fart, and the boys climb back down the tree. They never go swimming. Junior says he can’t believe he survived his first year at Reardan. He misses Penelope. Gordy, he says, is going to stay with him for a week on the rez over the summer. Roger has left for Eastern Washington University on a football scholarship. Then, Junior’s reminiscences are interrupted. Rowdy shows up at Junior’s house. Junior says he thought Rowdy hated him. Rowdy says he does, but he is bored. The two go to play one-on-one. Junior invites Rowdy to come to Reardan the next year.

Summary: Talking About Turtles

Chapter 30 # 3

 Rowdy says he won’t, but he was reading a book about how Indians used to be nomadic—they used to move from place to place without settling. Rowdy says Junior is the only nomadic Indian left on the rez. Junior cries, and the two play one-on-one for hours. They don’t keep score.

Analysis

Chapter 28 - 30 (# 1)

Junior is proud of his freshman year report card, and for good reason. Not only are the academic standards at Reardan higher than those at the reservation schools, Junior has done well despite being forced to miss classes because of deaths, funerals, and many other unforeseen incidents. He manages to get mostly As, his lowest grade is a B-. Just as Junior’s report card gives some positive closure to his first challenging year at Reardan, Junior and Junior’s parents’ visit to the cemetery marks a turning point in the family’s grieving process. The family is beginning to heal. Junior takes these moments of closure as a chance to reflect on the way that his people and their culture have been oppressed by American society at large.  

Analysis

Chapter 28 - 30 (# 2)

 In the light of the original purpose of reservations—to isolate and disempower native groups—Junior begins to wonder if his tribe has turned its back not on him, but on itself. Junior also asserts his freedom and individuality by listing the other tribes, the other communities, to which he feels he belongs. Some of them are serious—such as the tribe of people below the poverty line—other are more comical—like the tribe of people who like tortilla chips and salsa. Humor helps Junior heal.