The Adventures of Tom Sawyer -by Mark Twain

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer-by Mark Twain

• Background knowledge

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What do you know about the author Mark Twain?

• On Nov. 30, 1835, Samuel Langhorne Clemens was
  born in Florida, Missouri.
• Born the same day that Halleys Comet was visible
  in the night sky
• 4 years later his family moved to
• Hannibal, Missouri.

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Where is Missouri?
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Where is Hannibal?
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• When Samuel was 12, his father died of pneumonia.
• At 13, Samuel left school to become a printer's
  apprentice.
• After two short years, he joined his brother
  Orion's newspaper as a printer and editorial
  assistant. It was here that young Samuel found he
  enjoyed writing.

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Mark Twains boyhood home
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vU6zd1FqJN6A
http//earthcam.com/marktwain/ http//www.youtub
e.com/watch?vO0fhh2p_NUY
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• At 17, he left Hannibal behind for a printer's
  job in St. Louis. While in St. Louis, Clemens
  became a river pilot's apprentice.
• He became a licensed river pilot in 1858.

• Clemens' pseudonym, Mark Twain, comes from his
  days as a river pilot. It is a river term which
  means two fathoms or 12-feet when the depth of
  water for a boat is being sounded. "Mark twain"
  means that is safe to navigate.

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• Because the river trade was brought to a stand
  still by the Civil War in 1861, Clemens began
  working as a newspaper reporter for several
  newspapers all over the United States.
• In 1870, Clemens married Olivia Langdon, and they
  had four children, one of whom died in infancy
  and two who died in their twenties.
• Their surviving child, Clara, lived to be 88, and
  had one daughter.
• Clara's daughter died without having any
  children, so there are no direct descendants of
  Samuel Clemens living.

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• Twain began to gain fame when his story, "The
  Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavaras County"
  appeared in the New York Saturday Press on
  November 18, 1865.

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• Twain's first book, The Innocents Abroad, was
  published in 1869.
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in 1885.
• He wrote 28 books and numerous short stories,
  letters and sketches.
• http//www.pbs.org/marktwain/index.html

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

• When does the book take place?
• 1830-1840
• What significant event came after this time
  period? (20 years)
• Civil War

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

• What does Antebellum mean?
• Ante before
• Bellum war

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Did you know?

• In the years before the Civil War (18611865),
  Missouri and other southern states allowed
  slavery. Enslaved African Americans were a common
  sight in Mark Twains boyhood home of Hannibal.
  However, even though many people in Missouri were
  immigrants from southern states and supporters of
  slavery, many others opposed it. Missourians
  mixed feelings about slavery prevented the state
  from joining other slaveholding states in the
  Confederacy and made Missouri a battleground
  during the Civil War.

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Language/ Dialect Change Over Time

• What is dialect?
• a particular form of a language that is peculiar
  to a specific region or social group.
• Language
• Some language in the book is not appropriate for
  modern-day audiences. (It wasnt really
  appropriate then either, but it was more commonly
  used.) At NO time should I hear ANYONE using this
  language in or out of class.

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

• What was life like back then?
• Imagine Winston Salem in the 1800s. Do you think
  your life would be the same?

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Tom Sawyer Rules

• Arrive to class with your Tom Sawyer book
  EVERYDAY.
• Stay up-to-date with your Tom Sawyer Portfolio.
• Save all of your answers because you will use it
  as a study guide at the end of the unit!
• Constantly use your vocabulary preview as a guide
  when reading Tom Sawyer.
• Be prepared for pop quizzes on the previous
  nights reading assignment.

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Tom Sawyer Rules Continued

• You have NO EXCUSE if you forget your book at
  school. There is a copy of the book on my
  website!!!
• If you like to LISTEN while you READ, iTunes has
  a free copy of the story that you can download.
• Its so simple!! Just go to the iTunes store and
  search The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and it should
  pop right up!