Literature Circle Check In

Get the details here.
Go the elevens.

International Poems

Group Collaboration and Presentations!

A global perspective day - the poems are from Austria, Korea, Mexico and Chile.

The Pablo Neruda poem is here.

For those of you who are away, see the handout and pick one poem to make notes on (annotate) and find a written way to present your understandings...

Passion Translations

It is time to find the PASSION in our journey into the wilds of poetry.

We'll look at two classics of poetry today. I'll discuss the first one, "The Windhover," working through all the questions to ask of a poem... and then present to you a plain language "translation."

You'll be in charge of discussing and understanding and translating "To His Coy Mistress." (For those of you who are away - there is an assignment in the linked document.)

So, basically, we are talking about a passion for a bird... and a passion for a "chick."

Due - Good copy of your Freedom Writers Poem.

Overdue - Make sure you are in the right book group in the elevens social network. Assign yourself a role.

Homework - Translation assignment. See above.

Online Literature Circles Begin

Today: we will be getting into our Online Groups - where we will discuss the novels you are reading.

Go to:

http://elevens.ning.com/




Tomorrow: Literary Paragraphs are due.

Poetry Paragraph

1) Silent Reading

2) Check Homework - imagist poem (hand it in) and examples of poetic devices (check with partner to make sure you have correct examples of each).

3) Literary Paragraph Assignment - handout here.

Consider this example: A sample six from a provincial exam. What is it doing right? Does it have all the elements of a literary pargraph?

Poetic Devices - the basic notes...

Alliteration - the repetition of sounds/letters at the beginning of words in a line of poetry.

EXAMPLE: seven stars go squawking

Allusion - a reference to something that most people are familiar with (can be literary, biblical, historical, popular, etc...).

EXAMPLE: "the Giant is enchanting to Jack" (as in Jack and Jill)

Assononance - the repetition of vowel sounds near to each other in a line of poetry (beginning, middle and ends of words).

EXAMPLE: "O look, look in the Mirror"

Consonance - the repetition of consonant sounds near to each other in a line of poetry (beginning, middle and end of words).

EXAMPLE: "

Hyperbole - deliberate exaggeration for emphasis.

Metaphor - a direct comparison. A=B

Onomatopoeia - when the pronounciation of the word imitates the sound of the word.

Personification - to give a non-animate thing human characteristics.

Simile - an indirect comparison that uses the words "like" or "as."

Symbol - an object that represents or stands in for something else.

Poetry Workout

Today's work is intense - we'll toughen up your poetry muscles.

Notes/Auden Examples - If you have not already done so, please take down the poetic terms notes on the board. After each term leave a blank for examples. Let's read the poem, As I Walked out One Evening. You are now responsible for finding at least one example of each device. Bonus marks for finding more than one. DUE MONDAY.

Imagist Poem - Please mount on black paper your imagist poem. See examples on the bulletin board.

Literary Paragraph - As promised, you can now choose any one of the poems we have studied in the first week of our look at poetry:

Terrance, this is Stupid Stuff.
Daddy
My Papa's Waltz
To a Sad Daughter
Barbie Doll
Paper Matches
The Preludes
As I Walked out One Evening

The Topic:

In a paragraph of 8 - 12 sentences, discuss your understanding of the poem's speaker OR use of language.
- you will need a thesis statement that includes the title and author.
- select specific words or phrases to use as support for your ideas. Integrate those quotations into your paragraph.
- remember to use transitional phrases
- play with sentence variety
(18 marks)

Wild Brainstorm

Is this what poetry really is?

lawless
wilderness
rebellion
OMG!
anger
scary
adventurous
frustration
rush
AC/DC
turmoil
sugar
insanity
extreme
crazy
motivation
imagination
despair
competitive
drunk
frank

Imagery

Silent Reading

Mini Writing Challenge: evoking the senses!
When writing creatively, or even when writing an essay, you can add flair and interest to your ideas by making your reader see, hear, taste, feel, smell whatever it is you are writing about.

Barbies vs. Chickens - In two sentences describe a barbie doll - yup, a nod to yesterday's poems. Okay, okay, if you really can't manage describing a barbie... then what about a chicken? Alive or cooked... your choice.

Homework Check:

Imagery: T.S. Eliot Preludes

Writing Work: How to Write an Imagist Poem We'll work on this tomorrow.

Connotation vs. Denotation

Silent Reading

Mini Writing Challenge: Sentence Variety
** In five minutes of silent writing, produce two sentences about the speaker in one of the poems from yesterday; you'll remember that we read and discussed "Daddy," "Papa's Waltz" and "To a Sad Daughter." Make one sentence short and simple. Make the other complex and long. (Peer review and mark on a six point scale... Discuss: what do we notice?)

Denotation vs. Connotation - the next question to ask about a poem is, "What language is used?" Etc... Language = WORDS

Denotation - the dictionary definition of the word. (Multiple meanings can lead to puns).

Connotation - the ideas/impressions that the words make you think of.

The connotations of a word are what we react to most strongly. Poets love connotation as it leads directly to symbols and themes.

Today's Poems: Two old feminist rants: Barbie Doll, by Marge Piercy and Paper Matches, by Paulette Jilles.

Connotation Word Discussions

Homework: War Poem Handout and Questions - due tomorrow - be prepared to discuss.

New Books and First Poems

1) RCE Essays/Stories are due.

2) Lit. Circle Books - Who is reading what and off to sign out from the library... (no mini-writing lesson today as our time will be taken up with getting books out.)

3) Silent Reading.

4) Questions to ask of a poem.

5) First Poems -all about fathers... let's put our questions to work.

Daddy, by Sylvia Plath - I will model how to use the questions to garner ideas and understandings about a poem.

Papa's Waltz, by Theodore Roethke
To a Sad Daughter, by Michael Ondaatje
In pairs, you will be responsible for determining the speaker, setting, tone, plot.
In groups you will discuss the remaining questions. Your group will select three of the most significant quotes to write on the board... with some annotations about what these quotes reveal.

Discussion.

Writing Topic: Nothing today... I know you wrote all weekend. :)

Into the Wild - our poetry unit begins...

Book Talk first.

Unit handout. No textbook. Return The Kite Runner.

Discussion:

What do we think of, when we think of "The Wild?" Think of the wind last night...

What do we think of when we think of poetry?

What do the two share in common?

I didn't always like poetry. Until I came across Batter my Heart Three Personed God. What did I see and hear and feel in it?

There's a storm inside us all. The sounds. The feelings. We are poetry!

So, now, let's read some... first a poem that offers a persuasive argument - Tara, this is stupid stuff!

Terrance this is stupid stuff.

Online Lit Circle - Book Choices

Catcher in the Rye

Deniro`s Game

Lord of the Flies

Oryx and Crake

Obasan

Of Mice and Men

The Secret Life of Bees

A Complicated Kindness

Into the Wild

pdf of notes

Kite Runner Notes

Here they are.

Friday, November 18th

1) Reminders/Finish yesterday's presentations - test on Monday. I'll email you all the notes. Lots of multiple choice and an essay. Project and journal due.

2)Royal Commonwealth Essay Competition:
CLASS A Born 1992 - 1994 1400 - 1750 words
All questions can be answered by writing an essay or story which explores the topic in an interesting and relevant way.

1. Who should sit in judgment for those charged with “Crimes against humanity”?

2. There are those who believe that it is the control of natural resources that leads to conflict. What do you believe?

3. “The despair of youth with limited opportunities is the major reason they turn to violent conflict.” Take a position on this statement and defend it.

4. To what extent will migration from the developing world to the developed world become a greater social and political issue in the future?

5. What do you think is the major cause of Global Terrorism?

6. The Commonwealth Question: The Commonwealth Heads of Government will meet in Australia in 2011 to discuss global issues. There are also regular meetings to consider foreign affairs, finance, justice, education, health, youth, tourism, gender, environment and sports. Choose one of these topics and explain why you think it is important and what decisions you feel the Commonwealth representatives should attempt to reach.

3) Compositions
What the heck is a composition?
Look at the photo -->
What do you notice about it?
What is it trying to do?
Why is it effective?


Why should I care?
English 12? Seriously?
Essays vs. Narratives - handout.

4) Library
CMap back --> decide narrative or essay --> decide on main idea --> submit to teacher--> begin research --> find five sources that inform your topic --> online articles, interviews, videos, books, etc... --> make notes and keep track of your sources--> all this rough work will be submitted/handed in.

5) Homework: STUDY!

SKATEISTAN: and indie documentary...

SKATEISTAN: TO LIVE AND SKATE KABUL from Diesel New Voices on Vimeo.

Our Class Calendar

You can keep up with deadlines and see where we are heading by following our class calendar - scroll down to the bottom of the page. You can also add this to your calendars on your Google Apps page.

Friday, Nov.4th

I'm sick. I'm sorry to be away again...

Catch Up Day

Here is a list of the most recent stuff that is due. After Monday, all old term 1 work will be given a ZERO (with the exception of the creative project).

• Kite Runner Creative Project - you had a choices like a letter, psych report, character CD, etc...


• Kite Runner Visual Project - the Wordle or Postsecret card.


• CMap Brainstorm for Essay Project


• KR Bulleten Board Contribution - a group thing.


• KR Notes (if you were responsible for one of the chapters from the first half of the book)


• Short Story

Reading Log should also be in progress... you ought to be half way through.

Reading Homework: Read to the end of Chapter 20.

Have a productive day and a happy weekend.

Thursday, November 4th - Taliban Tutorial

1) The Taliban Rules - Discussion and Activity

2) Case Studies - hand them in.

3) Read Ch. 17 in class, read to the end of Chapter 20 for Monday.

4) Tomorrow - whole time to work on Term 1 assignments.

Tuesday, November 2nd - A note from Ms. Colborne...

I'm away today - please keep up your good work on The Kite Runner without me. Here is today's plan.

1) Quiz

2) Library

• You must complete your Cmap brainstorm today. It is due at the end of class. This is just your starting place for your big essay topic but it will give you something to work with. If you do not know what this is, ask another student who does. Problems with Cmap? Ask Ms. Gerome, the librarian.
• You should have at least 10 entries in your reading journal. Remember - be reflective and analytical - share your thinking and your feeling. Your reader response matters.
• Notes are due up to Ch.13 now - have you submitted your notes? Have you noticed all the significant details and literary elements?

See you tomorrow! I'm in Vancouver today visiting some other high schools to learn about the International Baccalaureate program. We hope to offer IB course at Highland in the future.

PS - Only 32 school days left before Winter Holidays...

Monday, Nov. 1st

Quiz Tomorrow!! So let's start with Chapter 9 - 12 Review Questions - in Groups answer the following Q's. You have 15 minutes. Go! Look to each other and to the book for answers.

1. What is inscribed in the pomegranate tree in the back yard? Why is it significant that Amir and Hassan have a fight in front of this tree?


2. What does Amir put under Hassan's mattress? Why does he do it?


3. What does Baba than do that shocks Amir?


4. What happens to Hassan and Ali?


5. Who is Karim?


6. Why do Amir and his father flee Afghanistan?


7. Why does Baba challenge the Russian officer who is obviously high on drugs?


8. In Chapter 10 several things happen that are ironic or foreshadowing. Explain each of these:
   - The only way Amir can survive the long ride in the tank truck is to remember flying kites with Hassan.
   - Baba gathers p the dirt of his homeland and places it next to his heart.
   - Kamal's father commits suicide after Kamal dies from breathing th fumes of the truck.
   - Kamal, one of Hassan's attackers has been raped and has not spoken since.
   


9. Chapter 11 has a new setting? What is it?


10. "America was different. America was a river roaring along, unmindful of the past. I could wade down this river, let me sins drown to the bottom, let the waters carry me someplace far." Who says this? What does it reveal? What does the metaphor mean?


11. Who is Soraya (Ch.11)?


12. What are Baba and Amir doing in San Jose on the weekends?


13. Who is General Taheri?


14. What is Baba's reaction to what Amir says he wants to study in college?


15. Baba says, "It may be unfair, but what happens in a single day can change the course of a whole lifetime." Whom is he speaking to? Why? How is the quote significant?


16. What does Amir observe about a double standard in Ch.12?


17. What is Baba diagnosed with?

Teacher Reading - Starting at Chapter 13


Discussion - Women in Afghanistan - the extreme double standard.

Article #1 - Afghanistan Online Magazine
Article #2 - CBC News Online
Article #3 - Journal of International Women's Studies
Article #4 - Wikipedia
Article #5 - TIME Magazine
Article #6 - The Globe and Mail

CMap Video

These old videos embarrass me more than my hairdo today. However, this one has a good overview of what you can do with Cmap.

Please laugh on the inside. :)

Video - Hosseini hopes for a better future...

Wednesday, October 27th

1) Teacher Reading - in D block I'll read Chapter 10, in B I'll start at page 123.


Discussion


2) Silent Reading?


3) Ch. 5 - 8 review and notes...


Ch.5 - Before Amir can respond to Hassan's Q's about his story, gunfire erupts outside. "Afghanistan changed forever." Fear was everywhere. Even Baba was terrified. This was the July 17th, 1973 coup that followed with the Russian occupation.



We meet Assef, the young sociopath, that worships Hitler, calls Ali "Babalu", and threatens Amir for being friends with Hassan and Hassan for being a "Flat-nosed, donkey Hazara." Brass knuckles = symbol of brute force and domination by force. Hassan uses a slingshot to intimidate and get him and his friends to walk away.

"This isn't the end for you..." More foreshadowing.



Hassan's birthday- plastic surgeon to correct harelip. Could finally smile... but shortly after would never smile again.



Ch.6 - Winter. Kite flying season. 1975 - the biggest kite season ever... the competition was fierce. Baba really wanted Amir to win. The promise of the TV. Hassan: "I like where I live." Hassan, in all things remains the subserviant one. He is the servant, he is the kite runner/servant... he is happy to be who he is.



The importance of the title - who is the kite runner? Why is the book really about him? What does kite running represent?



Ch.7

Self Evaluation Rubrics

Here are the rubrics for The Kite Runner (more to come soon...)

Journal Rubric

Notes Rubric

Tuesday, Oct.25th - Chapter 1 to 4 review...

1) Reading - Ch. 9, followed by a bit of silent reading.

2) Discussion and Notes - review beginning themes and developments.

3) Hand back group presentation marks - finally! :)

4) Rubrics

5) Time to work...

Help! The bulletin board is naked! Fill it up. Find articles, maps, photos, timelines, images, essays related to our novel study. It is our collaborative project. At the end of the unit, I will ask your group to submit a list of all the items you submitted for up to 10 marks total.

Notes and Review

Ch.1 - Sets the tone. The past cannot be forgotten. A single moment defines Amir. "There is a way to be good again."
Two focal points: the past and redemption.

Ch.2 - Hassan and Amir - two "brothers." A metaphor for all divisions.

Both boys are motherless... nursed by the same woman.

Fathers are vastly different... religion and ethnicity a barrier.
First words: Amir said, "Baba," and Hassan said, "Amir."

Ch.3 - Baba is described. "Huge." Intimidating. Powerful.

Disgusted by his son's weakness. He cries at the site of a man trampled by a horse.

Some foreshadowing: "God help us if Afghanistan ever falls into their hands..." [religious fundementalists]

Ch.4 - more tragedy and violence is detailed --> Ali's parents killed by drunk driving young men.

Baba's father takes him in and they are raised as brothers. Like Amir and Hassan ethnic/religious/social barriers keep them from being real friends.

Amir's Story - about the man whose tears turn to pearls. AMir turns it into a dark and tragic story. Hassan = innocence and goodness and asks why he has to kill his wife and why he could not cry tears of joy or just cut onions to make himself cry.

Rahim Khan - offers praise, "Bravo!" And he says: "But the most impressive thing about your story is that it has irony."

Irony: A literary device where the appearance of things differs from reailty, in terms of meaning, situation or action.

Verbal Irony (Sarcasm): When what is said is the opposite of what is meant.

Dramatic Irony: When what is intended and what actually happens is opposite. In the case of a play, we often experience this when we know more than a character... and we want to tell them to stop what they are doing because the outcome will not be what they desire.

Situational Irony: What is thought about a situation and what is actually the case is opposite.

Developing Motifs:

Sin - Redemption

Loyalty and Goodness

Silence and Secrets

Tragedy and Violence

Betrayal - Retribution

Political vs. Personal

Thursday, October 21st

1) Teacher Reading - Ch.7
2) Silent Reading - Ch. 8

3) Pashtun vs. Hazara Activity
4) Review History Handout - Reminder: quick quiz on Monday. Library day Monday, too.

4) Time to work on projects
Collaborate!! "We're better together!"

Chapter One Notes

You can link to the Google Doc here.

Kite Runner Vocabulary Help

This link has most of the words that you might not know the meaning of. All of these are testable and quizable.

Wednesday, October 19th

In response to a student's smart suggestion, I am reversing the order of things a little. I'll read first and then silent reading will follow.

1) Teacher Reading - Chapter 5
2) Silent Reading - finish at least up to Chapter 6 tonight. I'll read Chapter 7 tomorrow.
3) Discussion -->
4) Notes - Chapters 1 -4 --> Template in Google Docs
5) Review all the major projects. Questions.
6) Time to work. Your choice - the journal, the bulletin board, the creative and visual projects... get out your schedule and set up some deadlines. I'll come around and sign them.

Kite Runner Project Choices

See them here.

Kite Runner Unit Overview

You can see the Google Doc version here.

Tuesday, Oct. 19th

Silent Reading - Read Ch. 3

Teacher Reading - Read Ch. 4?

Notes - Character List
Brief History of Afghanistan = SETTING
About Hosseini

Discussion - Who are Amir, Hassan, Baba??? What are they like? How do we know?
Is it possible to be good again? Do you believe in redemption? Examples?

Time to Work - Projects/Writing

The Kite Runner begins...

1) Take out The Kite Runner
2) Discussion: Are there absolute rights and wrongs?
Terms to Know:

Hedonism - pursuit of or devotion to the pursuit of pleasure.

Altruism - Unselfish concern for the welfare of others. An altruist is not concerned with pursuing pleasure.

False Dichotomy

3) Read first two chapters

4) Unit Overview and Personalized Completion Plan - see it here.

Friday, Oct.15th

1) Silent Reading in B block, Presentations in D block

2) Get out your draft response to the Q's about My Left Foot

3) Sentence Variety Handout

4) Netbook Lab - Google Apps Page

5) Type up your My Left Foot Draft

6)Edit it with a partner - create a Google Doc, upload your response, and share with tara.colborne@sd71.bc.ca If you do not get this done during class-time, it is homework. You will be marked out 0f 12 with special attention to sentence variety.

7) If you get done, start to do some research on Afghanistan - explore their history, religions, culture.... Monday - we begin The Kite Runner. Tests will be returned on Monday, as well.

Have a great weekend!

My Left Foot - Writing Topics

1) "Hope deferred makes a heart sick." Christy quotes this and Dr. Eileen knows the proverb, as well. How is it that hope can be both a positive and negative emotion?

2) "To Be or Not to Be..." Hamlet's famous soliloquy about whether or not to be alive or dead is repeated by Christy over and over. What would you have said to Christy when he was suicidal? What reasons might you have given him to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune?"

3) Tell your own story about empathy/compassion - it can be about a lack of empathy or about someone who exemplifies empathy.

Remember that a movie is like a text. You must use the title and refer to specific parts of the film as evidence.

300-500 words

Rough copy due Friday.

Thursday, Sept. 30th - Meet the Netbook Lab!

No silent reading today.

The Netbook Lab!

- Meet the babies! Each one is delicate and easily broken. They are little babies who need to be loved and treated with TLC.

- Clear your desk. The only thing you need is your rough copy of the short story you have begun working on.

- Listen to Ms. Gerome's instructions about signing out the netbook.

- Playing around with the webcam, and checking FB, and hotmail, etc... is totally not going to be okay. I'll take the netbook away and ask you to watch someone else work on theirs. Ya. I'm grumpy like that.

Daily English 11 - Our starting place...

I keep our daily notes and assignments here. Follow along as I tour you through some of what we'll be working with online this semester.

Grou.ps
FB Group - Colborne's Classes

Google Apps

Welcome to the new way that School District 71 is going to deliver email services next year. It's a gmail-like service offered by Google. You are one of the first groups of students to try it out.

TO DO:

• Log in - username and password is your student ID#


• Forward your email to an account you actively use


• Open up Google Apps and begin to type up your story.
  

Wallwisher Page What do you think of the netbook lab. Contribute a sticky note here. This page will be open for days... feel free to come back if you think of other ideas to add.

Wednesday, Sept. 28th - Short Story Writing Begins!

1) Silent Reading

2) What are the Elements of a Terrific Story? Group task. Put ideas on the board.

3) Stay in groups. Share the setting you brainstormed last night. Discuss. Each group will be asked to share the best one and explain why it's intriguing. Las minute changes? Grab a giant sheet of paper and staple this to it.

4) Sticky Note Characters - everyone must now develop a quick sketch of a character of their own invention. Include name, age, height, weight, hair style, eye colour, skin complexion, facial features, build, mannerisms, back story. (After activity sticky note goes on your sheet).

5) Three random words from a dictionary - drum roll please... write three words down in bold.

6) Draw a Point of View and a Conflict. Tape these on your sheet.

7) Now you have all the pieces to begin writing a story. Brainstorm on your working sheet. Begin writing... no suggested word length.

8) Have your rough draft ready for tomorrow.

"It takes a certain amount of nerve to be a writer." Margaret Atwood

Listen to Maggie or she'll come yell at you.

Tuesday, Sept. 27th

1) Silent Reading

2) Survey Says:

How many of you have a Facebook account?

How many visit the site at least 5 times per week?

Computer in house?

More than one computer in house?

Computer of your own?

Cell phone?

Bullied online?

Approached by a stranger online?

Looked at stuff your parents would rather you didn't?

How many of you want more tech toys in your life?

How many of you think technology defines your generation?

3) Vids and Q's

Lost Generation video - What's your generation all about???

What do you think the future looks like? Check out the possible future of tech.

4) Notes: Science Fiction, Genre, Dystopia, Utopia

5) Read: I Saw the Best Minds of my Generation Destroyed by Google

6) Homework: Brainstorm an idea for a futuristic setting.

See/Smell/Touch/Feel chart. Plus short descroption. Rough draft fine...

Friday, Sept. 24th

DUE: Gender Identity Response

We've talked about gender identity at great length... we've read the story "Boys and Girls," by Alice Munro, and now it is time to embark on your second literary response.


250-500 words
Respond to one of the following topics:

1) What is the conflict of our "just a girl" protagonist? Use supporting quotes from the story to prove your thinking.

2) How do the mother and father represent gender stereotypes? Use supporting quotes to prove your thinking.

3) What is the central theme of the story. Use supporting quotes.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 - Critical Q's Cont'd

1) Silent Reading - return "The Liar" paragraph...

2) Back to your groups.

Remember our discussions about gender identity and stereotypes from yesterday - look at your question - checking the critical thinking questions on the back, write down in clear sentences your "answers," your ideas. Use the large white sheets and big print so that we can see some of your ideas. You will recieve a mark according to the following criteria:

Answers had depth, breadth, accuracy, etc... 1 2 3 4 5 6

Consider this: the horrific story of the gang-rape images on FB.

3) Library - now tell me what you think as an individual. Pick ANY ONE of the questions and produce a 250 - 500 word response.

THINK.
WRITE.
EDIT.
THINK.
WRITE.
EDIT.

Make it good. I'm upping the marks ____/12

Tuesday, Sept. 21st - Critical Questions about Gender Identity

1) Silent Reading

2) This is a Critical Thinking Day! One of many days where we will grab a really BIG topic and ask some tough questions. We might not figure out all of the answers but we will definitely do some serious thinking. First, we will need to consider the basic elements of critical thinking - Clarity, Accuracy, Precision, etc... see handout. Make posters to put up on the wall to remind us how to think critically every day.

3) Today's Issue: Gender Identity

Introductory videos. What do I mean by gender identity? Gender socialization? Had things changed much in 40 years? Have they changed today?

I love Lucy 1950's Friends 1990's

4) Groups - sort by numbers... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Introductions.

5) Critical Thinking Elements - distribute and explain... your group will be in charge of policing this element throughout our discussions.

6) Remember that it is PEACE day... be respectful and peace-loving during our discussions.

7) Board Work: Sugar and Spice vs Puppy Dog Tails

What are we really made of?

8) Critical Thinking Questions - each group must come up with an answer and present their thinking

9) Homework: write a one page response to this topic - think and write critically. Edit!

Monday, September 20th - Review a Story!

Writing a story review in a group.
It's importnat to be able to articulate your ideas out loud.
Talk. Negotiate. Write a two pargraph review.
See handout.
/6

Tomorrow - gender roles

Friday, Sept. 17th - Identities Cont'd

I am away today... but I'm still watching you... be good to the "sub!"

1) Silent Reading for 10 minutes

2) Group Think for 15 minutes - Okay, so yesterday we did not get to finish our discussion about the short story, "Identities," (p.3) BUT today you have to put your ideas together and find a visual way to answer the following questions.

- What are the five most interesting qualities about the central character?
- What do the contrasts between the two settings represent to our protagonist?
- Why is the title important?
- What is the theme, the central idea, of the story? (There are many possible answers...)

Grab a little white board (at the front on the floor) and a dry erase marker (in my drawer), or a big sheet of paper and a marker, and find a way to draw/sketch/label your way to a visual version of your answer. Leave them for me to view on Monday. Also, be prepared, on Monday, to explain what they mean.

3) To the Library to Write a Narrative
Keeping in mind, the feedback I recently gave you on your writing, and considering the expectations of the six-point scale, write a 250 - 500 word response to ONE of the following topics:

If figuring out who you are is necessary, then who do you think you are so far? What are your values? What are your goals? What really matters to you?

OR

Describe what Fall makes you think of. What memories come back? What hopes, desires, feelings surface when the air becomes crisp and the leaves turn.

A personal response like this will be written in first person, "I." You may opt to write a narrative/story or a personal essay.

DUE MONDAY!

Have a happy and safe weekend, people! :)

Thursday, Sept 16th - Identities Mistaken

1) Silent Reading

2) Return Descriptive Paragraphs - discuss... (common errors - a lot, apostrophes)

3) What is it about the smell of Fall? What does it make you think of?

4) Short Story - Identities... use the Elements of Fiction handout...

5) A group "get" on the white board - present to all.

6) Homework - Personal Essay or Narrative: If figuring out who you are is necessary, then who do you think you are so far? What are your values? What are your goals? What really matters to you? 250 words minimum

OR

Describe what Fall makes you think of? What memories come back? What hopes, desires, feelings surface when the air becomes crisp and the leaves begin to turn?

Wednesday - Time to Work on Paragraphs

Don't forget they are due tomorrow.

Tuesday Sept. 14th - A Literary Reponse

The Liar Paragraph - Library Block
DUE: Thursday!

What is going on with James' identity? Why is he lying? What is your theory? You may want to use the psychological terminology we considered in class. (Identity crisis, moratorium, role confusion, etc...)

Use your armchair psychologist ideas to develop a Thesis Statement that will guide the shape of your paragraph.

Your paragraph should:

- be at least 8 - 12 sentences long
- contain three supporting quotations
- have a detailed thesis statement that includes an organizational plan
- begin with a catchy opening (primacy effect)
- end with a strong conclusion (latency effect)

Your paragraph should not:
- re-tell the story
- use first person

Monday, Sept. 13th - The Liar and Adolescent Identity

1) Silent Reading - The Liar, by Tobias Wolff, pg.310

2) Adolescent Identity Handout - Discuss in groups...

3) Finish reading The Liar - I will read it out loud.

4) Discuss

5) Paragraph...

Friday, Sept. 10th - First Writing Sample

1) Silent Reading - if you have not read the last part of A&P, please do so now.

2) Another Literary Term: Theme - What do you think this story is all about? How do you know? The importance of finding supporting quotations. Group work - write a one sentence theme statement.

3) Understanding the Characters - The Narrator and "Queenie"

Graphic Organizer - In pairs and then share...

4) Silent Writing - you've had a chance to get to know me over the last few days... what is it you would like me to know about you. What do you like to read? What concerns do you have about this course? What makes you happy? What are your interests?

5) Weekend Homework - Write a descriptive paragraph of at least 8 sentences.

Describe what it is like to be a teenager growing up in the Comox Valley.

OR

Describe one of your workplaces.

OR

Describe one of the most interesting people you have ever met.

The description can be poetic, humourous, factual, whatever.... DUE MONDAY

Wednesday, Sept. 8th - Icebreakers and Intros

Okay, you have likely been up all night reading and re-reading the epic outline so today is mostly about having a little bit of fun and getting to know one another better. We have to work together, so let's find out who we are first.

1) Welcome to the Daily English 11 blog...

2) Attendance! Argh!

3) Silent Reading - we'll save this for the end of the class, if we have time...if you do not have a book to read, borrow a book or magazine from the front.

4) TP talk

5) Three Words - Collaboration presentation

- Think of three words that can represent you well.

ex.
creative,
intense,
ridiculous.

- Pair up and discuss your three words. Any last minute changes?

- Groups - about 5 people - share all of your words...

- 10 minutes to create a way to share all of those words - a poem, a sculpture, a song, a rap, a game, a mime, a chant, a story, a quiz, an interview, a whatever... I will even give each group up to six marks for it.

Day One - Sept. 7th

The Course Outline. It's epic.

The Grade Threes Visit

Most of them are eight years old. Most of you are sixteen.

Only eight years ago, you were just a short little kid at an elementary school too.

It was such a joy today to see how each one of you really took the time to be kind and caring and open with your grade three guest.

I was proud of you! Thank you! Today made me realize how much I will miss you over the summer.

Check out this little slideshow I made from the photos I took.

The Macbeth Mash-Up Videos!!

They have started coming in! They are so diverse and fun...


A Bloody Puppet Production

A Flash of the Witches

G-ster Skillz Macbeth Rap

Old Age Macbeth

Witchy Scene

Part 1 Mash Part 2 Mash Part 3 Mash End

It's About Time Video and Writing Review

5 classroom days left! See the review schedule on the board. C-block, remember that the Brooklyn Elementary students are coming on Wednesday. B-block, remember that the awards assembly is on Friday.

How are your Macbeth Videos Coming? What do you need to get them in for tomorrow? We want to watch them Wednesday - Friday.

B Block Review:
1) Watch The Secret Powers of Time

It is about how people see the world, their work, their past, their future, their education and each other.



2) Brainstorm a writing topic - using the video as a springboard.

(What are the characteristics of a good topic?)


3) Write a thesis statement.
(What does a brilliant thesis contain?)

4) Silent Free Write - 15 minutes.

5) In a pair or trio read your work aloud. Look at the list of things to think about on the board.

6) Redraft and rewrite - piece by piece - teacher instructed. Final product. Woo!

Macbeth Mash Up Videos

How to use the Flip Camcorder Video

Another video - about what to think about while filming

Macbeth Review - Thursday, June 2nd

Watch the remaining 20 minutes of Polanski's film version.

Mark the Act One, Two, Three Packages...

• Go over review notes... (they are still in progress... to be finalized Thursday morning).

Friday, May 27th

Ooops! I put our work for this day inside of a different blog! :)

Have I mentioned that there are only 16 instructional days left until exam week! Hooray!

Summer is coming!

Summer is coming!

Act Three Macbeth

Wednesday, MAY 25th

Return some old marked assignments. Discuss.
(just C Block - finish reading Act Three)
Introduce Compare and Contrast Approaches

Library - Act Three Assignment

Tomorrow - Watch Act Three - Possibly Introduce Final Project

Act Two Macbeth

Here are the Review Q's and Composition Topics for Act Two of Macbeth.

Our Free Verse Poetry Photos

Poetry
was
in
the
sky!

I
swear
I
saw
words
fly!


I love the variety and the wit and wisdom of your words.
Check them out on our Picasa Web Albums. Bravo!
B Block
C Block

Macbeth Unit

I just realized that I have not blogged in ages! We are well into out Macbeth Unit.

I will put our Act by Act handouts and assignments from Macbeth in here soon.


"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself..." Macbeth


Check out these Macbeth Resources:
Macbeth Navigator
Video Introduction via Enotes

Wednesday, May 11

1) Silent Reading

2) The Problem of Evil - Discussion

3) Movie - Looking for Richard

Thursday, May 5th

The Really Big Essay.
Here we go...

Essay Handout

Wednesday, May 5th

1) Silent Reading

2) Announcements

• Wrap up novel discussions/literature circle today. Tomorrow we start writing a BIG paper with the whole deal - cover page, citations, research, quotations, works cited page and 750 word minimum (3 typed pages).
• June upcoming story telling unit - working briefly with a Brooklyn classroom. Your first task is to think of a book or story from your childhood that you never forgot, and that you could argue you learned something from. The idea came from this book.
• Macbeth is coming, Macbeth is coming...

3) Bookable Lab - Wrapping up Lit. Circles - notes in the NING.

Literary Terms Link

If you are having trouble remembering what all those literary terms mean, then check out these links:

http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/literature/bedlit/glossary_a.htm

Monday, May 3rd

Poetry Review and Wrap-Up

• Message from Matt Rader
• Share some of your Modern Love poems.
• The Fish - review of terms - see the Unit Handout for list.
• Seeing the Extraordinary in the ordinary...

Parody Poem

Parody - a humourous imitation of another text that is usually serious.
Dover Beach vs. Dover Bitch http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AW_H3hKK6a0zZG5xemQza18yN2NwZ2RobWd0&hl=en

Parody Poem - due on Wednesday.

Week of April 25th

Monday - the Romantics and The World is too Much With Us

Tuesday - guest speaker: Matt Rader Don't forget about the Poetry Cafe @ 7pm.

Wednesday - Free Verse Project Bring your cameras! Poem pararaph due.

Thursday - Rennaisance and Review of Terms - more TBA

Friday - Post Modernity and Parody - More TBA

NEXT WEEK: Poetry Test, Finishing Lit. Circles... and a really big essay

Friday, April 23rd

Word of the Day - Kaizen - a Japanese word for continuous improvement in business, manufacturing and all manner of industry and management. The term can be used in other contexts, as well.

1) Silent Reading

2) Hand-in Poetry Journal

3) Where is your poem paragraph at?

What makes for a powerful paragraph anyway?
Pairs: Write down three things

What are some common errors that you can look for?

Pairs: Write down three things.

4) Six Point Scale - Grading Examples

5) Delve In Model

6) Time to re-draft your paragraph with a partner.

HOMEWORK: Rough draft and paragraph due Monday.

Earth Day! Thursday, April 27th.

Quote of the Day:

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
there is a rapture on the lonely shore,
there is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, byt nature more."
~~Lord Byron, from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

In honour of Earth Day, 2010, I have pledged to go paperless. So, today everything you need to do is posted here and inside our elevens network.

Today is our Literature Circle Day in the library. Many of the groups have lit up with discussions. PARTICIPATE. SHARE YOUR THINKING.

Take a look at the Rubric and the Discussion Starters for ideas. Remember that we will only check into our Lit. Circles one more time online. Then, the groups will close and you will have a final assignment to complete. By next week, you need to have finished reading the entire novel.

Today's Tasks:

1. All
   Online discussion forums are more and more the way of the future of education. Colleges and universities, in particular, are heading towards more and more online work. Given this, take a look at your group participation so far. Think about how you could do more. Then, do it. Discuss more, say more, read more. If your group members are not participating, talk to them, email them...
2. Peruse your shared resources - find the best two quotes about the book or something related to the book. Put them in the Resources Discussion.
   
3. Roles

Discussion Director - Look at all of the discussions so far and post a discussion that will really shake your group up. You can be controversial, inflammatory... whatever works to spark some new ideas about the book you are reading.

Connection Maker - What are the connections we are missing? You should have thought about text-to-text connections, text-to-self connections and text-to-world connections. Add in a new layer of connections. One possible new connection, is to look at the author's life and make connections.

Passage Picker - for the 1/2 - 3/4 check in on the novel, decide what quotes/scenes are most important to note. Explain why they are important.

Summarizer - summarize the novel from the halfway point to 3/4 of the way through.

TOMORROW: Hand-in your journals and your paragraph about the poem you have selected to read.

Wednesday, April 21st

Word of the Day:

1) Silent Reading

2) Let's get the poetry journal organized. Here's the rubric.
Let's figure out all the work you should have in it so far... I'll take it in on Friday, for a first round of marking. Then, again, at the end of the month.

3) Understanding the poem you will read aloud. Mark up one copy to answer the questions to ask of the poem. The other copy as a "script" for how you will read.

4) Poem Paragraph - writing about poetry is not easy. Your task is to write a 8-12 sentence paragraph about the poem you have selected - you must organize your thesis around your understanding of the theme. /12 Let's do tell the truth but tell it slant on the over head together....

Example #1 Example #2

Library time to work today - bring it in on Friday...

Tomorrow: Lit Circle tasks.

Tuesday, April 20th

Silent Reading

The power of sounds...

Finding a poem to read aloud...

Wednesday, April 13th

Library Day - Literature Circle Tasks

Tuesday, April 13th

Quote of the Day: "Take away love and the Earth is a tomb." ~ Robert Browning

1) Silent Reading

2) Test Marks and Homework from Friday...

3) Victorian Generation

• This includes all literature produced during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837 - 1901).
  
• The link between the high antics of Romanticism and the more bleak poetry of the modernists.


• It was really the novel that was getting all the attention at the time - Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, Charles Dickens, the Bronte Sisters were producing some of the first mass printed and mass consumed novels ever.
  
• The Victorians liked the finer things - ornate decorations, ornate clothing, a life of imagination... party games like charades and group story-telling were invented in this time period.

One of the most famous love stories between two poets comes out of this era. The Brownings - Elizabeth Barret Browning and Robert Browning.

Elizabeth's most remembered poems are her love sonnets. Anyone ever written a love poem? (She wrote 44 for her husband and kept them in secret for years).
Let's take a look at one:
Before we do - Speed Dating Lines Activity.

How do I Love Thee? Use the Questions to ask a Poem handout. Class Discussion.

4) Sonnet types (on board). Look at your nonsense poem from yesterday... can you turn your 14 lines into a structured sonnet?

5) Sonnet Worksheet - I hate worksheets. Blah. But, the poem is good...

Tomorrow - Lit. Circles in Library
Thursday - Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" and dramatic monologues, in general.

Monday, April 11th

1) Silent Reading - 15/20 minutes... no napping or mp3 day-dreaming. Remember you have to be half way through your novel by Wednesday.

2) Watch Video - Just for fun, on the Highland Poetry Month Website, watch the teen poetry slam. Remember - soon, you will be looking for a poem to record your reading of...

3) Victorian Poetry - tomorrow we will start looking at some of the classics of Victorian Era Poetry (1837-1901). Victorians loved an elegant, rich life of fine things and imagination and play. One of the most playful poems ever written was, "Jabberwocky," written by Lewis Carroll in 1872 as a part of the novel, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There.
The nouns and verbs are made up of nonsense of words and yet make a sort of funny sense.

Your work: Read it out loud to a partner. Discuss what you like about it.

Reflective Question: What rhymes or stories or poems or songs do you remember from your childhood? Why do you remember them? See if you can jot down one. What does it remind you of?

Creative Writing: Write your own nonsense poem. Give it a title. Make it sound fun to read out loud. Must be 14 lines long.

Friday, April 9th

1) Silent Reading - remember you need to be at least half way through your Lit. Circle novel by next Wednesday.

2) Wrap Up Modernist Poetry

• Influence of Eastern Religion (see Buddhism Basics below)
  
• People and speaker as problematic


• Free verse, free verse
  
• Imagery, Imagery


• Divergent, complex imagery
  
• Wallace Stevens' Poem Title: "The Ultimate Poem is Abstract."
  

Buddhism Basics - Buddhism has a rich and complex history and system of beliefs - this little summary is just the beginning...

The 4 Truths

4) Finish Reading The Waste Land - Groups: What images/words/ideas/problems stand out? Discussion.

5) Homework: The Emperor of Ice Cream - see handout.