Independent Novel Study

1) Long Silent Reading Today - 25 minutes

2) Library - sign on the elevens


3) Someone start a discussion entitled, "What Aren't We Talking About Yet?

Every student must contribute 8 - 12 sentences worth of commentary - what topics/ides/scenes do you really think you have not included in your previous write ups??

Poems/Themes to Pair

Terrance this is Stupid Stuff - life sucks but poetry/art helps you
As I Walked out One Evening - nothing lasts
My Papa's Waltz - fathers/love is complex
Those Winter Sundays - looking back with remorse - fathers and sons
To a Sad Daughter - a father who wants the world to be gentle
In the Waiting Room - an existential realization/identity awakening
Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night - Fight against death
Meditation xvii - we all matter
I am a Rock - I'd rather be alone/he has been hurt
They Shut Me Up in Prose - a girl who does not want to be limited
Barbie Doll - plastic visions of beauty hurt women
Ordinary Life - the ordinary can be beautiful
Tintern Abbey - a beautiful place can change us forever
Windhover - God is in all things, beauty is in all things
How do I Love Thee? - romance, idealized love
Anthem for Doomed Youth - war

Poetry and Song Pairing Assignment

Let's make a list of all the poems we have read.
Each one has a focus, themes, motifs...
Pick one poem and find a song lyric that you actually like, and listen to, that connects the ideas in that poem.


Your task: to write a 500 word (minimum) comparison/contrast of the two. How are they similar? How are they different?

How do you analyse two pieces and synthesize your ideas to write quickly?

1) Find out what the focus of your writing topic is first! Then, as you read both pieces you will know what kind of examples to look for.

2) Read each piece with a pencil in your hand. Underline important passages that will help you to explain the meaning you are making.

3) Plan before you write.Create a quick T-chart, using the titles of the pieces as headings.

“Title of Poem”	“Title of Song”
Quote or note 1            Quote or note 2            Quote or note 3            Etc…	Quote or note 1          Quote or note 2           Quote or note 3            Etc…

4) Think, think, think... until it hurts... and then, write the Thesis Statement that summarizes your main ideas.

Ex. Ruminating on mortality may not be an uplifting experience, but it can bring a heightened sense of appreciation for the life that we live; in the poem, "Meditation xvii" and in City and Colour's song, "Body in a Box" we are called on to live life fully and without judgement.

5) Decide on an approach. Will you use the Block Method or the Point by Point? (Explained in class)

6) Begin to write...

• Remember to focus on seamless "integration of quotes." 
• Moreover, use transitional words and phrases to help your ideas to flow.
• Play with your vocabulary - choose the most evocative words.
• Keep you thinking at the centre of your writing.

Online Novel Study

Here is a summary of our progress in the Online Novel Study.

All work is completed inside of the elevens at: http://elevens.ning.com/

Week One - Character:
Who is the central character(s)? What is the character like? What do you know about their personality, character traits, outside appearance, how others respond to him/her, etc...? What proof do you have?

Week Two - Conflict:What is the primary struggle at the heart of the novel? Is it internal or external or both? What are the secondary conflicts ( a great piece of literature always has more than one)? Use quotes to show what you know.

Week Three - Theme (and metaphor and symbol):
What are the general ideas about life, and how it is, that you can garner from your reading of the novel? A story is always about all of us and the themes, the big ideas are what we take away from our reading.
Debate the themes...
And, tap into the symbols and metaphors that are present in the novel. Ex. What does Holden's red cap make us think of? What is the beast in The Lord of the Flies really all about?

Be specific and detailed.
Use direct quotes.
Reply to other people's ideas.
See the rubric for details about the quality of posts and replies.

The end game is an essay - so stay tuned...

Thursday, May 10th

I'm away for a meeting this afternoon.

So.... here are the three things you have to do while I'm gone.

1) Silent Reading - you should be 3/4 of the way through the novel by next Wednesday.

2) Finish the Poem we started to discuss at the end of class yesterday.

3) Select ONE term from the list below and begin to create an 8.5 x 14 poster to put on the side bulletin boards. You poster needs to include the term in bold, large letters, a definition, an example and an image that is somehow related. Today you can just plan, tomorrow I will get you some computer time to print out and put it up.

• allegory
• alliteration
• allusion
• assonance
• ballad
• cacophony
• cliché
• connotation
• consonance
• couplet
• dramatic irony
• elegy
• epic
• euphemism
• free verse
• genre
• hyperbole
• imagery
• internal rhyme
• juxtaposition
• lyric
• metaphor
• mood/tone/atmosphere
• octave
• ode
• onomatopoeia
• oxymoron
• paradox
• personification
• pun
• quatrain
• repetition
• rhyme scheme
• sarcasm
• simile
• situational irony
• sonnet
• speaker
• stanza
• symbol
• theme
• understatement
• voice

Romanticism and The Place Poem

After our discussion about Romanticism, Tintern Abbey, Wordsworth and the places you have found profoundly moving, take on this creative writing challenge:

The Place Poem
- 14 lines (a sonnet of any style at all)
- free verse or try a rhyme scheme
- describe how the place is beautiful and how it moves you
- include the following figurative devices: simile, repitition, personification, alliteration
- remember to include an evocative title