Lit 12

Answers to the matching
1. Wordsworth to It moves us not--Great God!
2. Swift I have no children . .
4. Keats Thou wast not born for death
5. Shelley The trumpet of a prophecy . . 
6. Burns  That wee bit heap o'leaves an 'stibble
8. Chudleigh And nothing act and nothing say
11. Burns  That wee . ..
12. Coleridge It cracked and growled, and roared and howled
13. Pope at every word a reputation dies
14. Bryon There is society, where none intrudes
15. Blake In what furnace was thy brain?

Answers to the literary terms
10
18
20
17
19
13
9
8
1`5
11
1
4
16
6
7
14
12
2
5
3

If you would like to begin the test early tomorrow, meet in room 233 as soon as you have eaten lunch. 12:30 ish.

If you have a spare period 5, you can finish the test in the English dept. office.

If you have a really good reason why you can't come at lunch and you feel you need more time for the essay section, only, you may come to room 233 at 3:25 to finish as I have a meeting in the library so I'll be here late on Friday.

For the essay section of the test, choose three poems from the Romantic section of the unit.
Find all the similarities in theme, tone, language, expression, memorize a quote from each and create  a thesis statement which brings the three poems together.

Read the sample essays I gave you. Study previous essays that you have written. Re-read the essay checklist sheets I gave you for Lear.

Review and memorize the literary must-haves sheet.

The key to a powerful, persuastive literary essay is to refer to specifc images, lines, or forms in the poem and to discuss how each one is key to your thesis. You must prove your thesis. You must provide evidence for all of your opinions. You must not simply re-tell the poem's plot or speak in platitudes about what the poem represents about Romantic poetry. I am looking for your personal views, supported by textual analysis.

Good luck.

English 10A

Romeo and Juliet essays continue. You all worked exceedingly well this morning.
Finish body 1 and 2 for Friday. Be sure to review body paragraph criteria sheets (the ones you used for the Mockingbird essays).

Friday: Please meet in the south computer lab. You will write body para. 3 and the conclusion during class. Take the essay home, let it sit for a day or two. Print it out. Edit it. Revise. Print it out again. Edit. Revise. Let it sit.
Take it out Monday night. Read it again. Check and re-check the lists of literary essay components.

Have you proven your thesis? Yes?
Then add a cover page. Print a final copy and submit it to me Tues. June 5.

SHELFARI UPDATES FOR MAY/JUNE
LITERACY PROJECTS

LAST DAY FOR BOTH: THURS. JUNE 7.

Literacy Projects--I sent you an email regarding what I need from you. You may hand in a written report/scrap book/ web pages etc or you may simply present a slide show or poster to the class explaining all your efforts and the results you are proud of.

BONUS: NEED HELP ON THAT LITERACY PROJECT? COME TO THE COPELAND THEATRE, MONDAY NIGHT AT 7 TO HEAR THE WRITING 12 STUDENTS READ THEIR WORKS. BUY THEIR CHAPBOOK FOR $5.00 WIN PRIZES. ENJOY THE LITERARY AMBIANCE. IF YOU HAVE ATTENDED A NUMBER OF OUR SPECIAL LUNCH TIME OR EVENING EVENTS, THAT'S AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF LITERACY AS YOU ARE TAKING PART IN THE LITERARY COMMUNITY.
Write up a report on all the events you have seen. Who read. What it impacted you, etc.

English 9

Homework: Read and re-read the poetry criteria sheet and previous blogs and your notes so that your poems match the criteria. Submit your four best poems (or more) and at least 2 edited drafts per good copy. Label each poem Good copy, Draft 1, Draft 2 etc. Thank you.

BCTELA Poetry Contest Deadline is Friday, June 1

Choose two poems, take your name off of each poem. Check for any errors. Revise. Check again. Print them out. Staple them to the contest cover sheet. Be sure to fill in the cover sheet expertly. Be especially neat with your email address as they contact you via email. Check your email this summer as they will contact you if your work is chosen for publication. Good luck.

I have to mail the entries on Friday so I cannot accept late work. Do your best to meet this deadline as your poems are fantastic and should be in every school library of this province!

Lit 12

We read and made notes on Tennyson's dramatic monologue, "Ulyssess" which you will love and then we read another dramatic monologue by Browning called "My Last Duchess". Read both poems and create a list of character traits for the speaker and explain how they are revealed.
Notice the use of literary techniques in both poems. Copy out key lines to memorize for the final exam.
Also, the following Victorian poems you will need to read and analyze on your own. (We will discuss them in detail at the pizza cram)

Bronte's "Song"
Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee?
Hardy's "The Darkling Thrush" (another bird poem)
Dickinson's "Because I Could Not Stop For Death" this poem is not in the text. Find a copy on-line.
Friday is the unit three test.
Tuesday is the in-class essay.

AP Lit

Please check the email I sent you earlier today regarding grad-write-ups which are due Thurs. May 31. I need an electronic version but I'd love a hard copy as well because they are easier for me to edit.
Thanks.

Writing 12

Great to see you all today. Take yourself out for a creative jaunt: visit the bug museum, pop into an art gallery, take your shoes off and walk along a beach, visit a stationery or toy store or music store. Take yourself on an artist's date to rejuvenate all those burnt-out neurons and get you back into your pre-term 3 state where writing was a part of your daily routine.

Final Daze:

Today: We wrote postcards. Sena, pop by to pick up your prompts and a criteria sheet for the final manuscript.
Thurs: Submit 1 to 2 postcard stories for editing. Time to revise your manuscript.
Mon: chapbook launch Mon. night. We will rehearse/set up today.
Tues: Sophia's group presents
WEd: Time to revise your manuscript.
Fri: Manuscripts are due. If we have time, Alexis and Ariel will present. (It's Leavers Chapel today).
Please please please follow the manuscript criteria closely as we are at the end. No time to go back now.

English 10A

Today's class is always a messy one but you attended to details effortlessly as usual.

It is a mess creating new thoughts. Your essay is not a regurgitation, right?
Your essay is an interpretation: a creative act. You are telling the reader how to interpret the play, similar to the way Zefferelli created and directed the film version that we watched.

If you neglect to move beyond plot or simple character traits, the essay will not inspire you.
If you are inspired to write it, your reader will be inspired to read it.

Next class, I will return your introductions and we will write the body paragraphs. Arrive ready to create.
Bring all your materials.
Essay is due Tues. June 5th. BONUS: Attend Writing 12s poetry launch the night before in the lecture theatre and I'll add that effort to your essay mark. It will be an inspiring evening and there is food and door prizes and you can buy the book.

Lit 12

You did an excellent job today. I have your quotation logs and you have scintillating thesis statements.

Next class: intro to Victorian and modern literary movements. We'll slash the core list to make it manageable for the exam on June 12th. You will need to read and make notes on a few poems on your own as we have run out of class time.

Thursday's class: Review of the 18th century and Romantic works.
Friday: TEST on Unit 3. 30 mulitple choice, and 1 literary essay min. 600 words.

June 5: essay on your novel in the computer lab

Next week: finishing unit 4

Pizza Cram: Sun. June 4 11 a.m. in my room. Sign up sheet next week.

English 9

We created a poem today based on prompts from a Patrick Lane poem. Please contact your homework buddy today to get the prompts. There were only 6 students in class so please contact one of the following:
Julia, Emily, Byron, Steven, Clara, Douglas, or Kim.

They all wrote exquisite poems.

Deadlines: Your 4 poems good copies (plus drafts) (see the handout I handed you today) are due Friday, June 1.

YOU SHOULD HAVE SUBMITTED FOUR POEMS TO ME SO FAR FOR EDITING. I HAVE RETURNED POEMS 1 AND 2 AND I WILL RETURN POEMS 3 AND 4 WEDNESDAY. DROP OFF NEW POEMS TO ME TUESDAY IN ORDER TO HAVE THEM RETURNED TO YOU BY WED.

THANKS.

BCTELA writing contest deadline is also Friday so bring two extra copies of poems you would like to submit. TWO poems are the max. number you may submit. Remember to take your name off of the poems. You will complete a contest entry form and attach it to the poems. I'll hand you the contest forms during Wednesday's class.

Final exam for English is Monday, June 11th. It is a two hour exam.
The English dept. meets this Thursday so I'll have a finalized outline for you by Friday, June 1.

KEY DATES FOR LIT 12

Homework: Prepare your section of the bookclub quotation log. Study for your unit 3 test. Make an appt. to see me if you missed class during this unit and want to discuss some of the poems. Create TICK charts for all of the poems in the Romantic section.

FINAL EXAM: TUES. JUNE 12 AT 8:15 IN THE GYM.

PIZZA CRAM: SIGN UP TO JOIN US FOR A COMPELLING CRAM SESSION WITH ALL THE PIZZA YOU CAN EAT. SUNDAY, JUNE 10 AT 11 A.M. IN ROOM 233.

DATES:

MON. MAY 28TH: QUOTE LOG IS DUE. THIS CLASS IS DESIGNATED AS BOOKCLUB TIME TO COLOUR CODE THE LOG AND TO CREATE A COMPELLING THESIS STATEMENT AND INTRODUCTION FOR YOUR IN-CLASS ESSAY. (You may submit one log per group).

FRI. JUNE 1: 18TH CENTURY AND ROMANTICS UNIT 3 FINAL TEST
30 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS AND AN ESSAY ON THE ROMANTICS
THERE WILL BE THREE CHOICES FOR TOPICS. CHOOSE ONE AND WRITE A COMPELLING ARGUMENT IN YOUR BEST LITERARY STYLE.
HINT: BEST WAY TO PREPARE? CREATE TICK CHARTS FOR BLAKE, BURNS, WORDSWORTH, COLERIDGE, BYRON, SHELLEY AND KEATS (I GAVE YOU A SAMPLE FOR KEATS) WE WILL HAVE A STUDY CLASS BEFORE THE UNIT TEST SO YOU'LL HAVE TIME TO CREATE THEM DURING CLASS.

TUES. JUNE 5: IN-CLASS ESSAY ON YOUR NOVEL: HAVE THE INTRODUCTION ON YOUR EMAIL. BRING THE QUOTES WITH YOU (BUT NOT THE RESPONSES)

Unit Four: 19th and 20th centuries (The poems in this unit are quite short and accessible so we will be able to finish the poems on our core list).

START REVIEWING DAILY NOW!
YOU DO GET A COPY OF THE CORE LIST ON THE EXAM. KNOW YOUR AUTHORS, TITLES, THEMES, QUOTES, TIME PERIODS, MAKE THEMATIC CONNECTIONS, REVIEW KING LEAR NOTES, RE-READ YOUR QUOTE LOG AND LEAR ESSAY, RE-READ YOUR QUOTE LOG FOR YOUR BOOKCLUB NOVEL, STUDY THE TERMS.

English 10 A

We watched the film to 1:37. We will continue the film next Thursday.,

Tues: I have booked the south computer lab. Do not come to class. Go directly to the lab.

Ms. Fraser will be teaching the class. She is an English teacher/scholar who loves Shakespeare and will be able to answer any questions you may have.

Homework: Begin to narrow your assessment of the love/hate themes and juxtapositions in the play.

Choose 9 quotations that you will respond to. Bring the quotations to class Tuesday.
Use Tuesday's class well by getting all your responses complete.

A 6/6 response demonstrates your ability to analyze text: diction, imagery, literary techniques such as allusion, caesura, metaphor etc and your ability to make connections to other passages in the play. Your responses should clearly state what this quote adds to your understanding of the topic and why you think so.

This essay is not about what you think about love/hate. This essay is an analysis of what is revealed in the play and how you discover and explain your revelations.

Good luck. Review your notes about the quote log from the Mockingbird unit.

Do treat Ms. Fraser respectfully by staying on task. Arriving on time with all of your materials and by having your homework completed.

Thank you. Have a great weekend.

Lit 12

Be sure to take notes on John Keats.
Today we read and made notes on his sonnet, "When I Have Fears that I May Cease to Be". Read and make notes if you were away. It's a Shakespearean sonnet so analyze the fears in each quatrain and then the volta is often in the final couplet.

Next, google the sound of a nightingale and imagine what it might have meant to Keats. Think what the ocean meant to Byron and what the wind meant to Shelley.

We read the "Ode to a Nightingale" by Keats but we did not finish our discussion. We made notes on the first three stanzas.

Important Dates: Tues. May 22: I will be away but you must be here. Ms. Gillett will be teaching the class. You will have 20 minutes in your bookclub groups to choose the theme and divide the book so that you can create a group quote log. Then you'll go to the south computer lab to start typing it up and writing your responses. YOU MAY NOT COPY AND PASTE RESPONSES FROM THE INTERNET INTO YOUR LOG. To do so is plagiarism and could jeoporadize the project.

I'm looking for your ability to analyze text, to make connections, and to write coherently.
Cite the quotations properly as well. Remember that speech uses a double and a single quotation. Novel titles are italicized.

Due date for the quote log: May 28th. You may hand in one log with all the group names on it or you may submit individually. It will depend on the commitment of each group member.

Wed lunch: PLEASE MAKE EVERY EFFORT POSSIBLE TO ATTEND A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE POETRY PRESENTATION IN THE THEATRE.

GOOGLE THE FUGITIVES AND LISTEN TO THEM ON-LINE.
If you write up a response to the event, I will add it to your grades or you may use it to replace a previous assessment.

Please respect Ms. Gillett's time on Tuesday by treating her respectfully and by using your time well.

English 9

Edit the two poems which you brought to class today. Save AS draft 2 on your computer because when you submit your final drafts I want to mark each stage so I can follow your process of understanding how to write and edit poetry.

HOMEWORK: Revise the two poems. Staple them to the originals and hand in.

Check last day's blog post so that you are following the criteria:
1. Title
2. Sound
3. Theme
4. Language
5. Shape/structure/form

We'll write new poems on Tuesday.
I will be away on Tuesday but Mr. Bateman will be here. Please treat him with respect and stay on task. Don't let the time go by as we have so few English lessons left. Every minute counts.
Thank you.

Lit 12

I checked the notes on Shelley. Be sure to read pages 542-543. Read yesterday's blog for notes on Shelley.

Today: We read and made notes on the Ode to the West Wind. Define ode, lyric, apostrophe, terza rima, paradox, juxtaposition, allusions to maenads, motif of death, music, enchantment, incantation, Biblical allusions, sonnet, caesura

Each section is a sonnet so look for the problem, the volta, and the solution in each section. Take notes on the tone of each section based on the images, rhythms, and diction used.

Read the commentary on pages 549-550.

Several Biblical images arise in section 5 from Book of Revelation, St. John the Divine:

"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this porphecy"

"I was in the spiriti on the Lord's day and heard in me a great voice, as of a trumpet"

"Behold he cometh with clouds?

The best way to put the themes of this poem into your own words is to create a TICK chart.
Do a thorough analysis of the title, the intro, the conclusion, and three key points and as you write your thematic statement, ensure that you say something from each section. In this manner you cannot go wrong.

HOMEWORK: Create notes on John Keats: page 556. His mother died when he was 14 and his father died when he was 8.

Keats believed that excellence in art resides in intensity and that poetry expecially "should be great and unobtrusive, a thing which enters into one's soul, and does not startle it or amaze it with itself, but with its subject."  He sought to subordinate his own personality in his work.

Be sure to read and make notes on his theory called, "Negative Capability".

Lit 12

I'm sooooooooooooo sad that so many of you were away today but I understand the reasons. I hope it was worth it. We all pretty much decided that we like Bryon best of all so far. Read and take notes on Bryon and ask me for the handout I shared today on the Bryonic and Romantic hero.
Next, we read and discussed and took notes on Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, the chapter called, "Apostrophe to the Ocean" by Lord Bryon.

We worked in groups after our discussion to create a dynamic TICK chart. Ask someone such as Jeffrey or Natrine or Anders etc who take great notes so that you have them all.

Once you have the notes, create a thesis statement on the poem's theme.

Mine is: In the poem, "Apostrophe to the Ocean" by Lord Byron, the omnipotent, unchanging ocean is a humble reminder to mankind that through pride and destruction our relationship to God is ruined: God becomes only the punisher of our sins instead of a natural support to man's imagination and inspiring humanity: God and ocean are a "pleasing fear".

You can always read interpretations of these poems on line but never use them to replace your own interpretation of the work.

The TICK chart method is fullproof.

HOMEWORK: To get into class tomorrow morning, you must show me the notes that you have written on our next poet, Percy Shelley. 542-543

Shelley believed in the power of poetry to change human beings and ultimately the political structures of the day. He called poets the "unacknowledged legislators of the world". He was a vegatarian, read Hindu texts, Ghandi quoted Shelley, and he was an atheist.

Beauty to Shelley was to a degree a repudiation of all that was fixed and placid. He loved contantly flowing energy. He travelled a lot so he saw avalanches, wind near Florence, Italy, which excited his imagination in a way that the placid English countryside could not.

His verses have been described as the most melodic and skillful in the English language.

He is unique as a member of the Romantic period because he is looking for a better world of liberty. Especially moral liberty. Felt constrained by conventional morality.

He fought against oppression and injustice.

Read his bio.

Bonus Marks:
Create a phrase to typify the works of the poets below:
Robert Burns
William Blake
William Wordsworth
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Lord Byron
Percy Bysshe Shelley (believed poetry could change the world by changing the herarts and minds of its readers)

English 9

If you were absent today, you missed a KEY lesson in our poetry writing development. Be SURE to call your homework buddies tonight and get the exercises that we did and the explanations for why we did them.

Homework: Write and then type up two poems for Wednesday's class. Use the criteria which we created in class at the beginning of the unit. Our goal is to get these poems published so read and re-read The Claremont Review and www.youngpoets.ca and The Aerie International and Polyphony H.S.
All four publications require the best in student writing.
Write what is important to you and develop your understanding of poetry.

1. Titles are key. (they set the tone, invite the reader in).
2. Use of language (Tessa's example of the dinosaurs curled in a feotal position says soooo much). Be unique in your use of language. If you have heard the expression before don't use it. Make the reader think and feel and experience the subject of your poetry in a new and profound way.
3. Sound (alliteration, assonance, dissonance, rhythm, rhyme, repetition, onomatopoeia,) At the editing stage, choose the words carefully to add the right tone through sound and diction.
4. Theme (it's not only how well you say something but how committed you are to your vision--angry at death? Make us angry. Angry at hypocrisy in government leaders? Make us see why. Madly in love with your dog? Make us see that relationship in a new way. Avoid Hollywood themes (dog as saviour (Lassie, Rin Tin Tin) or dog as confidant/loyal etc).
5. Form--line break, enjambement, caesura, stanzas, line length, pantoums, haikus, glosas, lyrics, sonnets, list poems, narrative poems. Which form works best for your topic?

We will be editing the poems in class on Wednesday so make sure that you have two poems to share and be ready to cut, revise, re-shape, start again, praise, etc.

Great work today. The poems you created during class may be used as part of your portfolio.

The goal is to create 4 publishable poems. If we hurry, we can still send some in to the BCTELA contest and you can submit them on-line to Aerie International and we can mail them to The Claremont Review and email them to Polyphony.

Good luck. Your stories were great so I suspect your poems will be too. As a class, you have a sensitivity to language and to ideas and you also have the perseverance to be willing to edit and you are not afraid to share your opinions. These attributes mean you are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. (Percy Shelley). You have the visions of artists.

English 10A

We finished reading Act 5 and making notes so if you were absent, be sure to get the notes.
We started watching the Zerrerelli version of the play. Remember that a director interprets the work so you are watching an interpretation (biased by his views). You are not watching the "true play". With this idea in mind though, notice how he interprets the play. Does it match with your interpretations? Which key scenes does he skip? Why does the play open with a close up of the sun? What do you make of the costumes and the music? Do the actors portray Romeo and Juliet in the way that you would depict them? Why or why not?

Keep your essay and quote log in mind. We will finish up the film Wednesday before the long weekend. When you return, Tues, May 22, I will be away so you will have another teacher cover the class. I will book the computer lab for that class so you can finish your quote log.

Homework: Start the quote log. You will need 9 quotations plus responses completed and ready to submit, Thursday, May 24.

AP Lit

Please bring your texts to the English office. Put a piece of paper with your name on it on the top of the pile.

Return: Lit Text, The Outsider, Gatsby, and Earnest.
Plus any other texts you may have borrowed for your independent projects.
Thanks.

Writing 12

If you were away today, google this story: Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff. Print out the story and as you read and re-read it, notice how the author maintains and sustains tension. Also explain why the ending works so well.

I collected the two strangers stories today. Tuesday, we'll do the kissing pages for the chapbook so bring lipstick. We'll also go over the criteria list and deadline for you fiction manuscripts and we'll start looking at postcard stories, sometimes called flash fiction.

We will also need to prepare for the chapbook launch, June 4. Who have you invited so far?

English 10A

Make sure that you have read and understood Act 4 (in terms of plot). We discussed two key passages from that act and a motif of death as "lover" and "heir". Be sure to get the notes from a friend if you were absent.

We read Act 5 during class and the homework is to finish reading the play.

There will be a quiz next class on Act 4 and 5 (sadly) because several students arrived to class today who had not done the homework. Read. Read. Read.

After the quiz, we will start the film.

We also read our USSR books for 15 minutes today so if you were away, please make up that time.

AP Lit

Congratulations. You did it.

Writing 12

Short story is due Friday unless you ask well in advance for an extension until Tuesday.

We will be starting post card stories on Friday. Yay.

Bring lipstick to class (the crazier the colour the better) for our lipstick page for the chapbook.
Gabe has no idea what I'm talking about.

Put June 4, 7 p.m. on your calendar so that you don't miss the chapbook launch.
This event is mandatory. You must attend as part of the learning outcomes for the course.

Class is cancelled on Tues. May 22 because you MUST attend The Fugitives performance at lunch on Wed. May 23 in lieu of Tuesday's class.

Adam, email Liam regarding your presentation date. Alexis, speak to Ariel as your date has changed.

AP Lit

We only had three people in class; however, I believe what we worked on is worth repeating here.

The best way to prepare for the open-reponse essay.
One: Prepare Hamlet and 1 to 2 other works that you enjoyed this year.

1: Predict all the possible questions they are likely to ask about these works. That way you are already planting seeds in the unconscious mind to leap onto the brainstorming page tomorrow once you actually see the question.

2. Choose three key passages from each work to annotate today. Not the obvious scenes but KEY scenes.
Annotate, annotate, annotate. As you do so make connections to the overall themes of the work and more scenes will arise to connect with your notes.

Once you feel you really know the scene well, memorize quotations.

3. Go back and read your notes. Make sure you know all the characters' names, the settings, the period in which the work was written, and the key stylistic aspects of the piece.

You will feel completely prepared by focusing on key passages rather than the entire play or novel.

During the exam:

1. Read the question. Cover up and ignore their list of suggested books as most of them you will not have read and it will waste time.
2. Work the question--make a chart out of all the key items you are being asked to discuss so that you respond to all the aspects of the question. THINK OF SYNONYMS FOR THE KEY WORDS AS YOU WILL BE REPEATING PARTS OF THE QUESTION THROUGHOUT YOUR ESSAY.
3. Choose your work 3 to 5 minutes--do you have three key scenes to discuss? If not, choose another work.
4. Spend 10 to 15 minutes preparing. Do a gigantice what/so what chart so that your evidence and inferences are clear--you want to focus on your style as you write rather than on what you plan to say so PLAN.
5. Spend 20 minutes writing the essay.
6. Spend 3 minutes proofreading. Check for the pesky apostrophes. No contractions in formal writing. Check that the verbs are accurate and dynamic and in present tense of the verb. Check that you have included the author and the title and that the title is underlined. No "" for novel or play titles.

Once you feel really prepared for this section. Practice multiple choice questions.

Finally: sleep well. Hydrate well today. Drink a lot of water today as water is brain food.
Eat an adequate breakfast which includes some protein.

Bring pencils and blue or black pens.
Dress in layers.
Bring water.
Be rested.
Get up early so that you are actually awake by 8:05.
Do a little exercising, stretching before arriving at the gym.

You are prepared. Show them what you know.
English exams are creative. You are adding to our understanding and appreication of great art in the world. Good for you. I'm proud of what you have accomplished.

YOU ALL NEED TO BE IN CLASS ON FRIDAY. PLEASE RETURN ALL TEXTS.

English 9

Today, I collected 10 favourite poems from each of you. I look forward to reading them.

Be sure to take a book with you on your trip. You will have time to relax and read and it will help the 9s to beat the 10s in SMUS reads. However, the tens are ahead of the 9s now--by 20 books. Talk to your friends. Share good book titles.

Emily's Idea:

Next day back we will read all class BUT to make it really fun, bring food to share. Be sure to bring a book that you love....

English 10A

Good job on the paragraph today. Thanks to all the students who read books on the weekend as the SMUS reads competition is heating up!! The official record says that the grade 9s are two books ahead of the grade 10s but I see at least 15 forms in our bucket so we are unofficially ahead now.

But . . . I see my 9s next period and they have three days on gradeout to read . . . the gauntlet has been thrown. Read my pretties, read.

Homework: Read all of Act 4. What is the role of Act 4 in terms of plot? Most of this act is plot based on Juliet's fake death. However, read her speech on page 63 and notice the change in her speech, particularly all of the morbid, frightening imagery: chapless skulls, rekky shanks, rattling bones of dead men!! What has gotten into her? Be prepared to discuss it next class.

We'll read Act 5, watch a film version and then begin our essays.
Yay.

Lit 12

Thanks for entering into the spirit of Lit 12 today--with love's light wings we shall make it to the final exam but it will take a lot of energy and enthusiasm in order to really engage with the material. Follow the core list. We will be doing a new author each day. You are responsible for understanding the key elements of the author's bio and the works: theme, tone, literary devices.

Book club: You will need to have 10 quotations and responses for your novels in class May 28th. That day we will colour code them, create an introduction and prepare for the in-class essay.

June 1 is the test day for Unit 4 - 18th century and Romantics.

Today we did William Wordsworth's two poems, and his bio. If you were absent, read the poems and borrow the notes from a friend.

Homework: make notes on Samuel Taylor Coleridge, prepare to read his literary ballad, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, next class.

For each author of this period, be sure that you understand their relationship/contribution to the Romantic movement.

Keep reviewing the elements of Romanticism.

AP Lit

Today, we watched the end of the film, The Importance of Being Earnest. Be sure that you can find examples from the play to match the comedic elements on the handouts I gave you.

Free-response essay questions and rubrics are available at the link below:
 Free Response Questions and Rubrics

As you prepare for the free response essay, focus on the works we studied together because the notes we took during class and the discussions we had focus on literary interpretation that is unique and well developed, unlike the notes you find on sites such as Spark Notes, for example.

For each work we studied: Hamlet, Death of a Salesman, your independent novel/play, Portrait of the Artist, The Outsider, The Great Gatsby and The Importance of Being Earnest

choose three key scenes that you know inside/out. If you know these scenes well, you will be able to adapt them to several questions.
For example, think of the bedroom scene in Hamlet:

Re-read it. List all the themes that it touches on: power, sex, passion, reason, order/disorder, appearance and reality, murder, regret, remorse, The Great Chain of Being, the climax of the play, character development, relationship between Hamlet and his mother, madness, ghost, father's role, love (I could go on).

Know what you want to say about each theme. Support yourself with evidence from the text.

Wednesday's class we'll go over the key scenes.
Thursday, 8:05 is the exam in the gym. Bring black and blue pens and at least two sharpened pencils. Bring water. Dress in layers. Wear comfortable clothing.

Lit 12

Book Club

We spent the first half of the period writing a literary paragraph on our novels and the last half of the class was devoted to the discussion. If you were away, I expect to receive your paragraph next class.

Topic: We discussed the value of a good question. A really strong but open-ended question drives our understanding of a passage or a chapter. Create an excellent question that will allow discovery.

For example: Discuss the role of pride in Hardy's novel. Why does Winston say that orthodoxy is unconsciousness? How is the motif of a palimpsest important in Atwood's novel? What are the key factors which make Elizabeth Bennet believable? How does the first sentence of Bronte's novel create a key motif for Jane's growth as a character?

Create a fabulous question. Answer it in a formal, literary paragraph of 250 to 350 words.

I collected these paragraphs after half an hour of writing. Next, we presented in our book club groups.

Homework: Keep making headway on getting the novel read and the quotations chosen for your quote log.
Review the Romantic Period notes, Burns and Blake and their poems.
Understand the similarities between innocence and experience.

English 9

Good work in the lab today. Remember--you will be creating/writing poems based on the poems you put into your anthologies so don't put anything in there that you do not really love or appreciate.

At the end of Tuesday's class, submit all 10 of your favourite poems. I am looking for variety in form and theme, concrete imagery, interesting use of language and imagination.

Use only the sites suggested on the criteria sheet and/or the poems in The Claremont Review.

Typing out the poems gives you a chance to absorb the sound and shapes of poetry--you want to train your ear and eye.

Homework: Work on the anthology. At the end of Tuesday's class, submit all 10 poems and then you can go on your trip. I've booked the lab for Tuesday if you need it. If not, you can get a USSR book finished.

English 10A

We read and discussed Act 3, scenes 1 and 2 and then you read scene 3 with a partner. For homework, finish reading all of Act 3 -- to page 61. Take notes on the changes in Romeo and Juliet.
Since they decided to marry, what has happened? Why?
Highlight key speeches by both characters to demonstrate what they have learned through the pain they have both experienced in Act 3.

We discussed Blake's notion of innocence and experience. If one were purely ALL innocence that would equal ignorance yet ALL experience can equal cynicism. It is in combining the two where heroism is discovered. Facing our betrayals and hardships with understanding and grace is true experience.

Arrive to class Tuesday prepared to write your ideas into a formal paragraph.
You may bring in notes that you have prepared and you may use your text.
Review how to cite.

Writing 12

Thanks again to Liam, Alexis, Gabe, Kaylaa and Jackie for reading their works yesterday in the theatre. You made a big impact on our audiences, promoted Writing 12 and your wonderful work.

Today, I read aloud Debra Nikkel's story, "First Date." We are working to add more imagination to our stories, putting pressure on our characters, focusing on keeping suspense throughout the story not just at the climax.

Your short story using the two characters is due May 11.
If you need an extension, do let me know soon and I'll try to accommodate your requests.

AP Lit

What makes us laugh?

Find good examples of "thoughtful laughter" from each key scene in The Importance of Being Earnest so that you will begin to work with the gigantic list of comedic elements on the handout I gave you. We'll continue to watch the film next day.

English 9

Great work today! I loved your short stories. I promise to return them next class.

The 10 poems typed are due on Tuesday. I can give you Friday's class to type but you will need to ensure that you have 10 poems chosen before Friday.

The remaining parts of the project will be due the week after you return from your trip.

The BCTELA deadline has been extended until June 1 so we may be able to get a poem or two written to send. Yay.

Writing 12

Sandy Mayzell gave her "Off The Page" seminar today and several of you were able to transform your reading techniques in seconds under Sandy's careful and kind guidance. Thanks to those of you who are able to read or attend tomorrow's festivities in the lecture theatre.

We've got Jay Ruzesky and Yvonne Blomer reading in period 4 and Carla Funk and Jay Ruzesky reading in period 5.

Lots of great activities this week. Friday: Sena and Harrison will present their interpretation of the great writer, Bill Gaston, and then WOW HOLY COW BATMAN, the Bill Gaston will be in our class on Monday reading to you. You will need to take notes and submit a Bill Gaston response.

You do not have to submit a response regarding Sandy's workshop. I do have a handout from her to give you and we will practice her techniques over the next month to prepare for June 6th. Have you sent home invitations to Mom and Dad and Uncle Harry and Aunt Judy yet? Have all your friends marked it down on the calendar? Hope so.

Lit 12

Be sure to read and re-read each poem that we do so that you are really clear about its form, its themes, how it fits into the time period and biographical information about each poet. Also, usually each poem relies on one or two key poetic devices. For this unit, read and re-read and put into your own words the key elements of Romanticism and how do Blake and Burns fit some of those descriptors.