Bring two pens and two pencils to the gym for your exam, Tues. Dec. 13th at 1 p.m. Be sure to get a good night's sleep and eat a hearty breakfast and a light lunch. Dress in layers so you are prepared for gymnasium temperatures. Be sure to keep your feet warm. Bring a watch so that you keep to the suggested times on the exam.
This exam tests your reading and writing skills. It particularly tests your ability to read directions. The directions explain exactly how you will be marked. The criteria are listed there for you so it is key that you match all of the criteria in your answers.
To study: Go on line and do the practice exams. Take home your blue folders and see if there are one or two typical errors that you seem to keep making. Correct them. I'll be in my office Monday before 10 and all Monday afternoon and Tues. morning if you'd like some help.
Key literary terms for this test are the ones you know well
personification, irony, metaphor, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia.
You may not use a dictionary or a thesaurus on the exam so study your vocabulary list and our verb lists so that you are prepared to elevate your diction. Memorize the literary must-haves list and memorize your favourite transitions from our list. The best way to prepare is to read as much as you can, especially your USSR books and To Kill a Mockingbird as a book trains your eye and your ear.
You are ready for this exam and I expect you to do well. Be confident. Be prepared. Write neatly. If I can't read your handwriting, you do not get the marks. You may not re-write this exam as it is a summative mark which should reflect what you can do after a term of advanced English 10.
If you plan to write a short story, study the sheet on how to punctuate speech. You will lose marks if you punctate it incorrectly.
Homework: Finish reading and post-it noting To Kill a Mockingbird as we will begin our quotation logs in January and use them to write the essay.
Update Shelfari by Dec. 14. Put your response under the November heading. Read as many books as you can over the holidays. We are starting a reading challenge (grade 9s against the grade 10s) and all of the books you've read since Sept. will count. Each book counts for one ticket for monthly book gift certificate draws and for our grand prize (to be drawn in June) of an e-reader. Lucky you!
I'm really proud of the work you have accomplished and I look forward to your literacy project presentations in May. Be sure to work on it as needed.
