English 9: Welcome . . .

Tonight: Review classroom expectations. Arrive to class Monday at least one minute before the bell. Bring all of your materials.

USSR: If you are currently in the middle of a book, bring it to class. If not, have a book in mind that you can sign out from our library on Monday.

THE YELLOW SHEET: Read all of the possible books. Choose your three favourite titles. Circle them on your sheet.

Monday: We will have time to go to the library to pick out a book.

Homework: Circle three books on the yellow sheet that interest you. Finish your Lollipop Moment Paragraph.

Film Link: Leading with Lollipops


 Ideas: Leading with Lollipops   ______ ________ Jan. 31, 2014

Describe in 100 to 150+ words someone or something or a book or film that influenced you. Describe who it was or what happened and how you feel it has affected you. Or, describe something that you did that influenced someone else. You may write about an actual event or imagine an event.

Good writing: Use details: people, places, things, colours, comparisons

Make a good first impression!! Edit the English.

AP Literature and Composition

Welcome:

To preview a copy of the AP Lit exam, please go to the link below:

Exam Outline and sample questions

Mark the exam date on your calendar:

Thursday, May 8, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Starting Wed. Feb. 5th, you have an AP Lit class after school in order to write practice exam sections. Arrange for a ride home or plan to take the bus.

USSR: You will write an in-class essay on each book. One book per month is mandatory but you are welcome to read widely. See the AP book list. You need to read these books thoroughly and post-it note key scenes. If you can, buy the books so that you can write in them.

Feb: The Great Gatsby Focus: Setting, theme, The American Dream
March: 19th century novel: Choose Jane Eyre (social realism, bildungsroman, Victorian),  Frankenstein (Gothic (horror and Romanticism), Great Expectations or David Copperfield(social realism, Victorian, bildungsroman), Tess of the d'Ubervilles,(Modernism, feminist, fate)
April:Drama: Othello, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, etc
May: Canadian novel or play
June: Memoir or poetry

You need to know a comedy well. Review The Importance of Being Earnest or Twelfth Night or A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

Review from English Lit:

Know the themes and writers of each era studied. 
Know all of the literary terms from last year. 

Literary Terms from English Literature 12 
English Lit 12 Reading List 

English 12: Work due if you missed today!

In 300 words or more, choose one BIG idea from your USSR book and explain (using at least three quotes) how the idea is unveiled in the book. For example, in The Outsider, one of the ideas is that we are condemned to be free and that idea is illustrated by Meursault's imprisonment, his epiphany, the newspaper article, the extra four shots, the gun just "giving way" etc. We are also going to be watching a video called leadership with lollipops and I bought lollipops for everyone.

Here is the link Leading with Lollipops

Using this video as a guide, write a short 300 word composition in Section D style on the following: 

Being yourself makes a difference. 

Your synthesis essays were FANTASTIC!! Way to go. 

I'll be here tomorrow. If you want any help, do pop in. 

Exam: Monday. Arrive by 8:45. Be sure to have eaten breakfast, with protein. Bring water. Two pens. Two pencils. Dress in layers. You do not want to be cold. 

Return any extra books to the gym on test day. 

All the best. 

Keep reading. 

Ms. Stenson 

English 12: STUDY! Finish reading your USSR book tonight.

Today: We read over the poem and story from yesterday and focused on reading closely by paying attention to diction and any changes in tone. We made a gigantic and wonderful list of tone words. If you were absent get the list from a friend. I collected the synthesis essays and all text books. Please bring any texts from home to school tomorrow and HAND to me.

Thank you.

Tomorrow: We will complete a response to your USSR novel and work on section D: the original composition.

Writing 12: Last Day . . . Tie Up All Loose Ends!

1. Have you submitted your manuscript and emailed me a copy?
2. Have you submitted work to the BCTELA contest, Polyphony, Aerie, Claremont Review contest and the Claremont Review spring issue submission?
3. Have you returned all books to the library and any books you may have borrowed from my room such as Naming the Baby or books off of my shelves?
4. Have you got a copy of your manuscripts in safe places--at Uncle George's house, on your harddrive, stored on icloud, etc?
5. Have you made a list of what you have sent where so that you DO NOT publish something twice. Magazines will be really upset if you neglect to respect their rights to publish you first!! Be honest.
6. Have you thanked your classmates for listening and editing your work all year? For letting you whine or shine?

Good. Then we are ready for our reading tomorrow.

Thanks to all the students who signed up to bring goodies and juice and cups etc

Please prepare a 3 minute reading. Any combination of fiction and poetry is wonderful. Introduce the work. Own the podium! You have done what very few people ever attempt. You've written down your ideas. 

English 10: Poetry Cafe, Vocab Test, USSR sheets due

Today: If you were absent today, ask for the package I handed out on preparing you for writing the original composition. Important to prepare for this section well in advance by re-reading all the notes from the short story unit, your story, and your poems.

Tomorrow: Vocabulary Test 1-75

Poetry Cafe: Each student will read a poem aloud to the class. Please remember to bring the item that you said you would bring: snacks, fruit, juice, veggies, cups, serviettes or plates.

Thanks!!

Overdue Work: Hand in any outstanding projects tomorrow.

USSR form for January: You must have read at least one book this month. Please submit your form tomorrow. 

Writing 12: Big Day Tomorrow!!

Remember:

Bring a hard copy of your manuscript. Email me a copy as well. Send it to aurora@shaw.ca Put your name in the subject line.

Make sure you have a cover page for your manuscript.

Also, bring a copy of THE story you plan on submitting to The Claremont Review contest. Make sure you do NOT have your name on this one.


Bring the remaining stories or one story or postcard story to submit to the Claremont Review's spring issue.

For this one you need:

A double spaced, impeccably edited copy of the story with your name on it.
A cover letter. See their website for guidelines or use the one you sent them in October. Submission Guidelines The Claremont Review

AND YOU NEED A STAMP. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A STAMP, BRING 85 CENTS. IF YOU BRING A DOLLAR, IT WILL COST YOU A DOLLAR AS THE OFFICE DOES NOT HAVE CHANGE. (HA HA) As I re-read these bolded statements I laughed as they reminded me of the story, "Orientation" that we read. I'm still laughing (just not as well as Prasant).

I will provide the envelopes you need.

Today: We sent a story to Polyphony H.S. and one to Aerie electronically. I will need to see your "sent" files by Thursday, please.

Wed: Sending all our work to The Claremont Review, catching up on marks, etc. BCTELA, Aerie, Polyphony etc

Thurs: Reading: Prepare a piece to read to the class. You will have 3 minutes each so it can be a couple of poems, a post card, an excerpt or scene from a story and a poem, etc. Think about what you will read.

We can bring in refreshments to share. Sign up during class tomorrow.

English 12: Don't miss one day this week.

Those of you who missed today MUST bring a note to class tomorrow and the reason must be substantial in order for you to have permission to complete today's assignment.

We reviewed the synthesis section, read for 15 minutes, and wrote an in-class essay response to a story and a poem.

Wed: Multiple choice practice. (All assignments will be marked and recorded).
Thurs: Section D response writing.

I am in the school Friday so if you need any tutoring prior to the exam, you are welcome to come to our room.

There are several practice exams on line. Do all of them. Know which distractors get you!!

Those in attendance today worked well. Great job.

English 10: Animal Farm Essay due tomorrow

Submit your essay, peer-edited draft, and cover page on the novel Animal Farm tomorrow at the beginning of class. If you need to print, please do so before class starts.

Writing the synthesis essay:

Remember:

1. Spend time reading and re-reading the question so you know exactly what to look for BEFORE you begin reading. RE-WRITE THE QUESTION IN POINT FORM SO YOU KNOW FOR SURE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.  Circle facts and circle parts where you can make an inference (a character's evasive speech, his/her thoughts, actions, dreams, symbols etc). This section is testing your reading comprehension. 

2. Spend time creating a fabulous, provocative thesis statement that offers and insightful and unique response to the question. YOUR FIRST TWO SENTENCES MUST IMPRESS THE MARKER. SHOW HIM/HER THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION. SHOW HIM/HER THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO WRITE A PROVOCATIVE THESIS. SHOW HIM/HER WHY THEY SHOULD READ YOUR ESSAY!!!

For example:

Both Teresa and Jordan (____________________________________) put your main similarity here (how are they both helped or not helped by support?) ; (semi-colon is needed to join two sentences)however, Teresa (______________________________________) put your main difference here. NEW SENTENCE. In contrast, Jordan (____________________________________). Put your main difference here.

Both Jordan and Teresa benefit from the support of others in order to achieve thier goals and overcome adversity; however, Jordan's acceptance of this sustenance from family, friends, and community enhances his performance. In contrast, Teresa's well meaning parents sometimes make her feel completely outcast.

Remember: Both . . . . (main similarity) ; however, (main difference of one character). In contrast, (main difference of second character).



For exam practice, visit the site below:

BC English 10 exam practice

Click on the e-exam link. Create a login between 1 and 100000. Choose a number no one else will choose. If you open the exam and the answers are there, it means the login you have chosen is taken so simply go back and choose a different number.

English 12: Exam preparation

If you were absent Friday, you missed an important test on the novel.

Today: We will review and practice for section D.

Tonight: Write an original composition which uses unique detail to focus on ONE angle or ONE emotion throughout the piece. Marks awarded for engagement, (keep it interesting), mature style (know your audience) style (sentence variety, in medias res, showing and not telling, similes, symbols, metaphors, etc).

Choose one of the prompts below: (Your angle does not have to agree with the prompt).

1. Role models influence our lives.
2. Certain events change our impressions of life.
3. Experiences shape relationships.
4. Our views of the past change as we mature.
5. Challenging circumstances lead to positive actions. 

Tomorrow: We will write a synthesis essay. Bring the sample synthesis essays that I handed out last week when we were reviewing the mock provincial.

Wed: Multiple choice practice. Let's find out how distractors actually work.

Thurs: one more poetry practice, literary term and vocabulary review.


YOUR FINAL EXAM IS MONDAY AT 9 A.M. IN THE GYM. DO NOT BE LATE. BRING TWO PENCILS AND TWO PENS. YOU WILL DO WELL IF YOU PREPARE. Focus this week. Focus on the exam. It's worth 40% of your hard-earned mark. Aim to score highly.

Manuscript due Wednesday. No lates accepted. PLUS . . . . PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Manuscripts: Remember to email me a copy to aurora@shaw.ca I must receive the e-copy in order to mark the hard copy.  DUE WED.

Tomorrow: Sending stories to Polyphony and to Aerie. Go over your stories tonight and make sure you can access them electronically so you can send them off tomorrow. If you have already submitted a picture to Aerie, you probably don't need to submit another one. Aerie seems to like shorter stories. Polyphony likes all sizes.

Thursday: TWO STORIES DUE EDIT EACH ONE CAREFULLY!! 

1.

Bring a story for The Claremont Review Submission and a SASE (if you don't have a stamp at school, you can get your envelope stamped in the office) REMEMBER, DO NOT SEAL THIS ENVELOPE. I will give you a larger envelope for your cover letter, SASE, and story.  Make sure your name, address, city, postal code and email is on the story and write a cover letter. See www.theclaremontreview.ca for guidelines.

2.


Also, bring a different story of The Claremont Review's contest. This story must be attached to a cover sheet. Ask me for one. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THE STORY. You have already paid for the story to be entered. If you did not submit poetry to the contest, bring 3 poems as well and a cheque made out to The Claremont Review for 25.00.



Your manuscript needs to include one long story, one shorter story, and one postcard. If you have more writing, you may include it.

THIS WORK NEEDS YOUR ATTENTION. YOU CAN DO IT.

English 10 Animal Farm Essay due Wednesday

Today: We talked about all of the fabulous English courses offered at Claremont. Below is a quick summary and a link to our website course listings.

AP English courses

Grade 11 English Courses

English 11 E / AP Language and Composition: a course for students planning to attend college or university who wish to focus on improving essay writing, research skills and who prefer to read non-fiction. The focus here is on modern non-fiction: speeches, personal essays, magazine articles, editorials, and memoirs. You take the AP Language exam in May and if you do well, you get first year university credit. You take the English 11 E exam in June.

English 11: A challenging course similar to English 10. You should have a strong C+ and commitment to reading and writing to succeed here.

Communications 11: A course designed for students who need to upgrade their skills and who want an English course to suit their needs. The focus here is on letter writing, resume writing, basic grammar and paragraph structure. The literature for this course suits teen interests.

Writing 12: A creative writing course for anyone interested in exercising their creativity. No experience is necessary but you do need to plan on attending all classes and handing in all assignments. Think of this course as an art class using words instead of paint. It's relaxing and fun and you bond well with the other young writers in the class.

Journalism 10, 11, 12 is a wonderful course where you create the school's yearbook. You learn desk top publishing, photoshop, photography, creativity and how to meet deadlines. A fantastic way to acquire new skills.

English 11 Summer School for the month of July. Take this course if you want more room in your timetable but be prepared to work hard. You go to class all morning and you do homework all afternoon and evening in order to fit five months of work into one month.


Grade 12: Not too late to plan for grad!

AP English 12 is worth 12 credits. You get credit for the university course Advanced Placement Literature and Composition, English 12 and English Literature 12. You take three exams. One in Jan. One in May and one in June.

This course is similar to English 10. You study fiction, write essays, and do creative responses to the literature you read. This course is a must for any avid reader or writer or anyone considering teaching, psychology, history, anthropology, art or theatre after high school. This course teaches you to be a better person and to understand people well.

Writing 12: Complete the BCTELA form and get it signed by MOM or DAD

BCTELA fiction contest entries are due tomorrow.
You need to choose a piece that is fewer than 1500 words. You need to edit it until it sparkles. You need to print it out. MAKE SURE YOUR NAME IS NOT ON IT. STAPLE IT TO YOUR ENTRY FORM. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ENTRY FORM, PICK ONE UP FROM ME TOMORROW.

We are in the lab Friday, room 225. You will have time to edit your manuscript and time for USSR.

Remember: Editing / revising needs the same creative impulses, drive and intention as the original draft. The great part is though, that you have a shape, so editin, is like a sculptor sculpting the finest details of the face, the robe, the sandals, etc.

English 12: Finish reading The Outsider

Today, we discussed Part 2, chapter 2. Marie's visit to the prison and how Meursault is adjusting to prison life.

Tomorrow, during class you will be writing a paragraph on the novel. Be sure to bring your novel, with all the key quotations marked by a post-it note.

Criteria:

Insight: Demonstrate your understanding of the novel, absurdism, and the ending. Be sure to be able to explain key events such as shooting an extra four times at a lifeless body, examples of justifying one's actions, absurdism, sun motif, the indifferent universe, etc.

Literary Must-Haves: how to cite, how to integrate quotes, strong verbs, sentence variety, formal, accurate diction

Structure: THESIS, UNDERLINED NOVEL TITLE, AUTHOR, FIRST POINT, FIRST EXAMPLE, FIRST EXPLANATION OF HOW THE EXAMPLE PROVES YOUR THESIS, TRANSITIONAL WORD OR PHRASE, REPEAT WITH THE SECOND POINT, TRANS. REPEAT WITH THE THIRD POINT. CONCLUDE

Thesis: Must answer the question in a way that makes the reader think. It cannot be too vague or too broad. Focus.

Aids: You may use a thesaurus and a dictionary.

You need to handwrite and double space your answer. Please use ink.

Next week: Finishing your USSR book and exam preparations.

Please return all English texts to the learning commons.


SPOILER ALERT: READ BELOW ONCE YOU HAVE FINISHED THE NOVEL

If you are unsure of the last lign, speak to Cayden. No idea how to contact Cayden. Re-read the preceding sentences on page 117.
WHY DOES MEURSAULT WANT THE PUBLIC TO HATE HIM? How can you make sense of that last line? It's obvious if you think about it in terms of all the absurdist philosophy and the Myth of Sisyphus that we have discussed this week. Re-read your notes. Google it. Read Absurdism for Dummies. Do whatever you must to be prepared for this final test.

Study our vocabulary list so that your diction is elevated, yet accurate. 

So, Meursault wants the public to hate him, eh?

What is his epiphany?

He has faced death, relinquished anyone's ability to define him, and now he is ready to live. He is ready to embrace life, knowing that death cannot be avoided, knowing that he robbed the ARAB of his life. He never realized the importance of life before until it was all taken away from him. He loved the sea, Marie, a good meal, a smoke, a walk. He liked observing people. He refused to play the game but as a result of that refusal he was able to define himself, not as a member of a consensual reality, but as an individual, as heroic as Sisyphus.

Go back and read your definition of absurdism. Study.

Good luck.

English 10: Good luck with the poetry contests!!

You worked hard today. Good job. Don't forget to submit your signed BCTELA forms attached to your poems. AND PLEASE PROOFREAD. I HAVE AT LEAST 6 THAT HAVE TO BE RE-TYPED DUE TO ERRORS!!!

Animal Farm Essay (Below are yesterday's notes)

Friday: Write body 2 and body 3 paragraphs. Create the conclusion at home and follow the steps below. 
Bring a typed, edited draft to class Monday for peer editing. If you need to print, please do so before class begins. Thanks.

Topic: Evaluate why Animal Farm fails.

Find the best examples from your post-it notes (the ones on rules, breaking the rules and acquiring power) AND look elsewhere for the following examples:

• satirical elements: irony, sarcasm, wit, hyperbole and understatement
• symbols or repetitions (motif)
• character flaws
• propaganda, lies, evasions, prevarications
• a lack of questioning, accepting illogical conclusions
• rationalizations
• danger of group identities 

All 9 quotes are due tomorrow. You may simply number off the best 9 from the ones you have already chosen or you may write them out so they are easier to organize during tomorrow's class!! 

Tomorrow:

Colour code your 9 quotes. Create a strong thesis and your 3 body paragraph statements. Write the introduction and first body paragraph. 

Bring your Mockingbird and your Romeo and Juliet essays to class so that you DO NOT make the same errors as last time.

Thursday's Homework: Write body paragraph 2.

Friday's Class: Write body paragraph 3 and the conclusion.

This Weekend: Type up your essay. Double space it. Print it out. Edit it. Make the corrections. Re-print a second copy. Bring that second copy to class for peer editing.

Your Animal Farm essay is due next Wed.

English 12: Study for the final exam and keep reading The Outsider

We read chapters 2, 3, and 4 during class yesterday and we placed post-it notes on three key areas:
1. sun imagery (heat, light, indifferent universe etc)
2. absurdist actions, words or thoughts
3. actions, words, thoughts that make excuses or look for hope

Today, I read chapter 5 and 6 aloud. If you were absent, (SPOILER ALERT) EXPLAIN WHY MEURSAULT KILLS THE ARAB.

AND WHY HE ADDS 4 EXTRA SHOTS INTO THE LIFELESS BODY.

What might those extra four shots at the lifeless body mean in the context of absurdist philosophy, and Meursault's understanding of his place in the world? Be sure to get all the notes and the quotes we did during class today.

If you were absent yesterday, click onto the link to provincial exams below. Do the 2012-13 e-exam multiple choice section and submit your marked test.

Follow the instructions carefully. Make up a number between 1 and 100,000 for your PEN. Doesn't have to be your real PEN but use an uncommon number or you'll connect to someone else's test.

Take the E-exam practice test here

OBSERVE SOME ADULTS TONIGHT. ARE THEY HAPPY? WHY OR WHY NOT?

LA LA LA

Writing 12: Workshop Tomorrow . . .

Please arrive with THREE DOUBLE-SPACED COPIES OF YOUR STORY. Please proofread tonight so that your group is not distracted by spelling and grammatical errors. You want your group to ensure the story works, right?

We will read and edit the stories tomorrow and then do the actual workshop whenever we are ready.

English 10: Poetry Manuscripts Due, plus BCTELA, plus e-contest

Arrive to class tomorrow with the following items:

1. Poetry Manuscript (See the criteria sheet) 4 poems plus at least one draft for each poem
2. Two extra copies of two poems from the manuscript but DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THESE TWO. We will mail them to the BCTELA contest. You will need to complete a cover sheet during class and attach it to your poems.
3. Have two of your four poems available on email or Google docs so that you can send them to the contest.

Youth Poetry Contest Instructions  You may click on the link for information; however, we will send in the poems during class tomorrow. PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE ELECTRONIC COPIES AVAILABLE AS TOMORROW IS THE CONTEST DEADLINE.

English 10: Cool Opportunity at U of Waterloo for a few days in May !!!

Please consider passing on this information about a unique high school enrichment opportunity for keenly motivated students from across Canada.

Waterloo Unlimited Grade 10 program
The theme of "Change"
Sunday, May 11 - Thursday, May 15, 2014 

Application deadline: postmarked by Monday, March 10, 2014

We live in the midst of change: technological change, social change, political change, environmental change. In modern times humankind has experienced an unprecedented rapidity of change. How do we adapt, or not adapt... and what are the consequences? Students will consider the perspectives of scientists, engineers, writers, and philosophers, as they examine the dynamics of “Change”.

Program fee: $450 
Supervised overnight shared residence accommodation: $160 

Details and a printable brochure for students: http://www.unlimited.uwaterloo.ca  

Thank you for helping to get the word out.
Kind regards
Rae


Rae Crossman 
Program Director, Waterloo Unlimited
Centre for Knowledge Integration
University of Waterloo
EV1 Room 206
200 University Ave. West
Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1
519-888-4567, ext. 35159
rae@unlimited.uwaterloo.ca

English 12: If you were absent today, I cannot help you . . .

We spent the entire lesson going over the Mock Exam and I returned the mocks. Those people present had the opportunity to re-write the multiple choice and upgrade their marks.

THIS WEEKEND: PRACTICE!! THIS EXAM IS NOT HARD BUT IT IS DEMANDING. IT DEMANDS YOUR BEST. AFTER ALL, IT IS ENGLISH 12. 

To prepare for the exam visit the link below:

Provincial Exam Practice On-line: Do these!!

Next week, we will be reading the novel, The Outsider. If you like to read slowly, get ahead this weekend and read to the end of chapter 4.

Writing 12: Bring money for the Belfry trip if you signed up . . . .

Be sure to bring your $6.00 Monday. Thanks.

Work on your stories this weekend.

Bring 3 copies for Wednesday to workshop.

REMINDER:

The following students have volunteered to read period 3 or 4, Tues. Jan. 14th.

Period 3: Olivia, Meghan, Prasant, Quinton and Emma (Read 1 fabulous piece (postcard, a story excerpt or a poem. Impress Carla Funk!!).

Period 4: Amanda B. Kylie, Bryn and Stephanie.

Please arrive at the beginning of the period. Be sure to have prepared your piece so you can read it well. Step up to the mic AND practice what you will say to introduce the poem.

THOSE OF YOU WHO NEED A LITERARY EVENT, MAY ATTEND ONE OF THESE EVENTS IN THE LIBRARY. I WILL NEED YOUR WRITTEN RESPONSE THE NEXT DAY.

The poets coming are Carla Funk, Jolene Heathcote, and Paulo da Costa!!

See the display in the learning commons.

Thanks to PAC for providing the funds for Winter Writes.

Final Manuscript is due the Wed. of our last week.
That Thursday, we will be submitting our work to contests and to magazines so please arrive prepared.

English 10: Two poems due Monday . . .

Poem 1: Type up a poem which imitates the ones in the package. You may write about an object, a person, a place or an animal. Focus on using specific, unique detail. Use adjectives sparingly. Try using a noun for an adjective.

Poem 2: You may write about any topic you wish. You may use the handout of poem ideas or create something from scratch. Same rules apply.

Avoid expected descriptions such as HOT sun or LOYAL friend or GREEN grass. etc.

Read your poetry text and The Claremont Review for inspiration.

Contest deadline is Jan. 15th. Visit: www.youngpoets.ca for inspiration.

STUDY FOR YOUR PROVINCIAL EXAM!!

Google BC English 10 provinical exam practice

Read at least 30 pages of your USSR book.

English 12: Mock Exam tomorrow. Please be early! Thanks.

Meet in Ms. Tong's room by 12:35 at the latest. Be sure to go to the bathroom before the exam starts as we don't have anyone to accompany you.

Bring water, two sharpened pencils, two pens, and dress in layers in case the room's temperature varies. It will be cool if you are in line of a vent, for example.

You cannot double space as there is not enough room in the booklet so clear writing is absolutely essential. You will have scrap paper to create what / so what charts or to revise thesis statements.

You will need post-it notes as you cannot write in the mock readings booklet.

You must stay the entire time or until you have finished each section completely.

If you leave early and you have not finished the exam, none of it will be marked.

Make arrangements to be picked up after school if you miss your bus.

The exam lasts 3 hours. 12:36 to 3:36 (depending on what time we get started)

Study.
Make sure you know:
1. our vocabulary words
2. our literary must-have lists
3. where you need to improve your writing
4. how to integrate and cite quotations
5. how to use sentence variety and verbs for a formal effect
6. how to show and not tell
7. how to punctuate dialogue (for the story you have to write on the exam)
8. how to make your story interesting (details, description, short paragraphs, accurate word choice, good character development, symbols, put the symbol in the title, show but don't TELL your theme
9. reading on and between the lines
10. how to create a what/so what chart
11. how to infer
12. how to go beyond the obvious
13. how to write a literary paragraph with a strong thesis
14. how to make your writing style stand out from the crowd. Never start with the prompt. Make your writing unique. Start with in medias res. You can even do that on the compare and contrast section C of the exam.

When you read the poem, do so slowly and carefully. It make take several readings to understand it completely.

Re-read all the work Ms. Moyes and I have marked so that you are confident going in.

Good luck.

Writing 12: Check the marks tomorrow . . . . keep writing

Please meet in the centre lab tomorrow. We will start with USSR. If you need to eat your snack, please do so during period 1 as we can't eat or drink in the lab. The centre lab was cold today so dress warmly, please.

Also, there is an opportunity to attend the Belfry Theatre performance with Mr. Plant's class next Thursday night at 8 p.m. It is called Homeless and it is set in Victoria. He says it is a wonderful show.

If you have missed any writers this term: Gaston, Renn, Wagamese or Belfry theatre, you need to make these events up by attending outside literary events.

You may also attend Planet Earth Poetry Friday Nights at the Moka House on Shelbourne St. across from the HIllside Mall. 7:30. $3.00 cover charge.

You have 2 weeks less a day as your manuscript is due on the Wed. of our final week to make up 25% of your final mark.

You can do it. The vital step for fiction is proofreading so you want to have a solid draft completed by the Monday after next and then have two days to revise.

Good luck.

English 10: Writing a paragraph, correcting the mock exam

Tonight, finish the paragraph which we began during class. Choose to write a strong, literary paragraph on either the poem, "Cherries" or "A Slow Fuse".
Marks awarded for literary paragraph structure, excellent diction and sentence variety, a strong, provocative thesis, and insightful examples.

Also, view the following pdf document so that you can read the differences between a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 response to the compare and contrast essay on the provincial exam:

Sample Marked Student Provincial Exam Papers

We also added four new words today: subsequently, unsullied, malevolent and disapprobation.

English 12: Albert Camus' The Outsider / Absurdism

If you were absent today, read at least 20 pages in your USSR book tonight. I will be checking. Visit the library tomorrow and sign out a copy of our new novel.

Get the notes from a friend on absurdism.
We are going to watch Meursault's transformation.
At the end of the novel, be able to explain how he changes. Is he heroic, an imitation of Sisyphus? Is he "condemned to be free"?

As you read the novel, post-it note examples of the following:

• sun motif (heat, blindness, seeing imagery)
• Whenever Meursault makes excuses
• Whenever Meursault acts like an absurdist

What are the three ways Camus suggests one can respond to the idea that life is meaningless?

1. Suicide
2. Hope (Putting meaning on events, relationships, making excuses, religion, etc)
3. Heroism: Like Sisyphus, one stares death and meaningless in the face and pushes that rock up the hill because one can. Despite not knowing what drives us or why we are here? Life has value because it exists. We get to love others, eat great food, drink great drinks, travel to great lands, test our limits, discover, learn, challenge, create!!!

A world with imposed meanings may suggest a collection of robots following a script. He says, we are We get into the habit of living before acquiring the habit of thinking.

The absurd: Life is meaningless. If we "value" life, then we impose meaning. We judge it---I will love you if you love me back. I will do my homework and enjoy it, if I get a good mark. These responses are conditioned. They do not require indvidual responses.

Consensual Reality: an accepted version of reality

So . . .

Absurdism as defined by the dictionary:

A philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the conequences of one's acts.

The only "certainty" is death.

All else is random. I may choose to love and marry you but I have no CONTROL over whether you will love me back. I may eat a healthy diet and exercise and STILL get CANCER. I may risk my life to save others, raise a family and NO ONE gives me a CIGAR . . . . .

Think of your own examples. 

Writing 12: Honing your observations . . . .

Stories come from everywhere. If you were absent today, you must read, Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain" and Debra Nikkel's "First Date" and at least one story in your USSR book. Also, write a scene between two people on a first date. The narrator must feel awkward. Use dialogue and description.

Writing well takes time and you have to keep your imagination in shape.

Do that by taking walks, listening to music, relaxing, getting out of the hustle-bustle world. All famous writers were "outside" of regular society either by social status, physical deformity, or by choice.

Take yourself outside of your normal routines and you will be surprised how many ideas will reveal themselves. A story about nothing, is truly a story worth attempting.

Your final manuscript is due Wed. of our last week because on the Thursday and Friday, we will be sending stories away to contests and to magazines and that takes a lot of organization, as you know.

Manuscript Criteria:
One longish story (3000 words)
One shorter piece (1500)
As many post card stories as you like

We will be workshopping your second story next week.

The next three days we are in the computer lab
Jan 8 room 225
Jan 9 and 10 in the main lab

Bring your USSR books and please arrive on time.
You need to use this time well, of course, or we will change our routine.

English 10: Reading Comprehension . . . How to get good at it . . .

If you were absent today, be sure to get the notes. We reviewed the criteria for a strong thesis statement and we assessed our "Cherries" statements against the criteria and we revised and revised them.

Get your partner to evaluate your thesis statement.

Tonight: Finish the TICK chart on the poem, "A Slow Fuse" by Jay Ruzesky and create a thesis which meets ALL of the criteria, which is best done by paying close attention to the words chosen.

I have now collected all of the Nov/Dec USSR sheets and the mock exams.
If you have not submitted these items, they are now overdue.

Be sure to finish reading, Animal Farm, if you haven't yet.

English 12: Welcome Back . . .

We are finishing the personal essay unit today. Tomorrow, we start our novel.

We have also started USSR so please pick a book you haven't read from the Book Club shelf in the libary. Read daily. Enjoy it. You don't have to post-it note it or write an essay on it but you do have to read it, enjoy it, learn from it, increase your reading speed, discover a new author, etc. YAY.

Our next novel is the famous one, (voted best book of the 20th century) called The Outsider, sometimes translated as The Stranger, by Albert Camus, translated from the French. YOU WILL LOVE IT. IT WILL MAKE YOUR THINK.

WHEN MY GIRLFRIEND READ IT, SHE QUIT SCHOOL.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

I returned the essays, quote logs, and the narrative essays today. I'll mark the satirical essays and return them to you by Wed.

If you have not submitted the satirical essay, please do. 

Writing 12: How do they do it?

Today, we grabbed new books for USSR, we read them, we wrote two scenes and a piece of description and I read Quinton's story aloud.

YES, WE DID DO ALL OF THAT. I KNOW YOU CAN SLEEP WITH EYES OPEN BUT IT'S NICE TO REVIEW WHAT WE DID WHILE HERE.

Those of you who have not submitted the fiction report, the Gaston report or your completed short story must now accept a 0 per missed assignment. I will post grades later in the week.

Post card story: if you did not submit that before the holiday, please bring it in tomorrow.

WE HAVE THREE WEEKS TO CREATE THE BEST FICTION MANUSCRIPTS EVER.

English 10: Welcome Back!

Today,  I collected all remaining mock 10 exams. If you took it home, bring it in tomorrow so I may mark it during USSR.

Today: We completed our Nov/Dec USSR form. Please complete and submit tomorrow.
We finished reading the novel, Animal Farm. If you have not yet completed your reading, you have until Wednesday to finish it.

Tonight: We read and discussed the poem, "Cherries" during class.

Your assignment tonight is to create a vibrant, honest thesis statement which takes into account all aspects of the poem (the obvious and the subtle points) in response to the question below:

What is the attitude toward war revealed in this poem?

Be sure to take into account the title and that last line. What do they imply?


Mwah: Evil laugh here.  You are rested, well fed, and happy so now it's time to re-fill the brain by THINKING, READING, AND RESPONDING.

THREE WEEKS TO GO BEFORE YOUR FINAL EXAM.