English 11: Vocabulary TEST! STUDY

Study all 75 words. This is the real thing!

BCTELA contest entries are due tomorrow. If you were absent today, bring two good copies of your poems and a copy of your short story or your personal essay.

I returned the Section B essays today. Some of you need to study the format. Go to yesterday's blog and read the sample. Read peer samples. Review the template on yesterday's blog.

Focus on Style, content, format and proofreading.

Section A: We started section A today with the two poems on education. Tomorrow, we will read the poems together, make notes, create an introduction together and then you will write the first two body paragraphs and the conclusion.

Friday's class: We will go over all of the stories, Othello, L of Flies, and your novel so that you have a gigantic chart with all the themes, characters, conflicts, events and quotes ready to study over the weekend.

You can start studying now by reviewing essays and paragraphs you have written this year and the corrections. Don't make the same mistake twice.

Today: I collected the USSR forms and all overdue work.

Well done.

Writing 12: All submissions and contest entries due . . .

You will have tomorrow's class to finish your contest and submission entries. We are not in the lab, however. There are 13 computers here. If you can complete all the work tonight, you will be ahead of the game and be able to focus on studying for exams.

TONIGHT: Complete the Aerie and Polyphony Assignments. Key here is to

ALL SUBMISSIONS DUE TOMORROW BY THE END OF CLASS.

I WILL HAVE YOUR MARKS READY FRIDAY.

English 10: Study for your provincial exam! Big Vocab. Test.

You have completed at least two practice exams. More exams available on-line. Practice. Practice. Practice.

Tonight: Re-read your section C composition, the criteria, the corrections, and the topics. Check to see if the sample that you wrote would fit all the topics listed on the sheet. (These topics are from former examinations). A new topic will be somewhat similar but worded differently.

Think of another story that you could write so that you have all of the topics covered. If you would like, write a new one so you feel really prepared.

Dialogue: Re-read how to punctuate speech. If you cannot find the handout, there are extra handouts on my desk. Grab one.

Tomorrow: BIG VOCAB. TEST! ALL 75 WORDS. Plus, we will prepare for section B. You will feel ready to study for the big day. Make sure you know obvious terms such as metaphor, symbol, simile, personification, onomatopoeia, irony, alliteration. Other terms will be there to distract you. For a complete list, visit this link: Literary Terms

Most of these terms we have covered. We have covered all of the key terms. Check your notes.

FRIDAY: Music and Poetry and Treats to relax our way into the provincial exam. If you have not already signed up to bring refreshments, please do so. Prepare two poems to read to the class or bring your guitar and sing a song. Marks awarded for eye contact, audibility, flexibility in tone, enthusiasm, talking to the audience, introducing the poems etc.

Exam Day: Tues. Feb. 3rd at 9 a.m. in the big gym. Arrive 15 minutes early. Bring any English texts or USSR texts that you are finished reading and return on the cart at the door to the gym. 

Bring water. 
Wear layers. 
Be comfortable. 
Make sure you have eaten. The exam is 3 hours long. 
Bring two pens and two pencils, an eraser, all in a plastic bag. 
Get a good sleep. 

 

English 10: Finish reading the end of Act 5, Scene 3

If you were absent today, you need to finish reading all of Act 5 and get all the notes you missed today.

All overdue work must be submitted by Wed.

USSR forms are due Wed. No lates accepted as I must complete the report cards by Friday.

We will watch Romeo and Juliet tomorrow. I do like the modern version but I think to understand it in terms of Shakespeare's time, it's best to see the original film version first. You can watch other versions on Netflix.

Writing 12: Prepare for you THREE MINUTES OF FAME

We have a list prepared. We are not going to have an MC so each reader will announce the next reader. Please sit at the front. The first five readers sit facing the audience. After you five go, we'll have the next five come up and sit facing the audience, etc. and proceed through all 25. I know it can be scary but once you do it, you will want to do it again. Support your peers by reading your work.

That is the Spartan spirit.

There will be prizes.
Please be prepared and do not go over your three-minute limit. Time yourself tonight as you practice. Know what you will read and how you plan to introduce it. Please talk to the audience as you would a friend. Nothing to fear. We will be there snapping and clapping and appreciating your work.

Wed: Manuscripts due. They must also be emailed to me. Thanks.

After I collect the manuscripts, we go to the computer lab to send a story to Aerie International and one or more to Polyphony H.S. You could send two 1500 word or less stories to each magazine.

I will give you all the cover pages for the BCTELA contest, the Claremont Review contest and the Claremont Review submission.

You may double submit to most magazines except do not send the same story to The Claremont Review and to the Claremont Review submissions as that could be embarrassing.

C.R. Contest:You send 1 story or 3 postcard stories to The Claremont Review contest. (no name on the story) Attach the story to the entry form. You have already paid for this contest so be sure to get this in.

C.R. Submission: You send up to 5 post card stories (not used for contest) or any combo of long and short stories (again not sent to contest). Let me know if you need a small envelope or a large envelope. (All items for publication must be submitted by Thursday to get the marks). You will have all Wed. and all Thurs. to accomplish these tasks. Put your name on these stories.

BCTELA (one story, 1500 word max. You may double submit) No name on story. Attach the story to the contest entry form. Contest is judged anonymously.

Aerie International (1500 word max. Not a good idea to double submit unless you are really organized and keep track of what you sent where so you can say contact the mag. to say, sorry, My DOG story is no longer available as the CR just took it. Some folks hate that as they put a lot of effort into reading and editing your story and just when they are about to contact you, you contact them and say, Sorry, Mac. I'm choosing another magazine).

Polyphony H.S. 1 to 3 stories (depends on how many poems you sent them. You are allowed to submit a maximum of 5 pieces, I believe. Check their guidelines.

English 11: Preparing for the in-class essay and for the exam

In-class essay tomorrow: Bring all notes and quotations that you plan to use. The topic is below. You will have the entire period in which to write and revise and polish your essay. This essay imitates section B on the final exam.  Length: 700 to 1000 words. A sample student in-class essay is below.

Part B of the exam is a course-content essay. 

You need to choose a thesis from the list and write a formal, literary essay that discusses both pieces (Othello, L of Flies, short stories or the novel you read in January). You will be given a list of the titles and the authors.

To get a good mark on this section, it is a smart idea if you can quote from the stories. If you cannot quote, be sure to paraphrase as you must provide evidence for each opinion and you must explain how the evidence proves your thesis.

To Prepare:

Study your literary must-haves list. Study all the works we read. Know the names of the characters, the themes, symbols, conflicts, motifs. Re-read the literary paragraphs you have read, your notes, re-read synopses on-line, etc.

You must study for this section. It is worth 50% of the exam.

Tomorrow's topic: We do not see what is really there. We see what we want to see. Without a firm grasp of reality, one cannot make reasonable, humane decisions. Chaos reigns.
Introduction: 5 sentences (75 to 100 words)
Hook: Excellent wretch or damned whore? A fun-filled island or a place of death.
Thesis: We do not see what is really there. We see what we want to see. Without a firm grasp of reality, one cannot make reasonable, humane decisions. Chaos reigns.
First Body Summary: In Othello, by William Shakespeare, Iago convinces the moor that Desdemona is an adulterer and as a result, Othello can no longer conceive of her goodness and chaos results.
Second Body Summary: (based on your understanding of the book read)
Repeat the thesis in an emotional way: Outrageously, perception is guided by belief. Until we are able to see the truth, lies and deceptions evade reality.

IT WILL BE A FOUR PARAGRAPH ESSAY.
THE INTRODUCTION:HOOK, THESIS, FIRST BODY SUMMARY PLUS AUTHOR AND TITLE, SECOND BODY SUMMARY PLUS AUTHOR AND TITLE, REPEAT THESIS

FIRST BODY PARA. IS ALL ABOUT ONE story, play or novel Length: 300 words
THESIS
FIRST OPINION
FIRST EVIDENCE (QUOTE OR PARAPHRASE)
FIRST EXPLANATION
TRANSITION
REPEAT
TRANSITION
REPEAT
CONCLUDE
TRANSITIONAL SENTENCE TO THE NEXT BOOK

SECOND BODY PARA (300 words)

(SAME AS THE FIRST BUT YOU DISCUSS A DIFFERENT BOOK)

CONCLUSION: 50 words
THESIS
FIRST BODY SUMMARY
SECOND BODY SUMMARY
END WITH A HOOK OR REPEAT THE THESIS EMOTIONALLY

STYLE:

• persuasive tone
• formal diction (Use vocab. list. signifies, elucidates, illustrates, portrays, depicts)
• literary must-haves
• sentence length (short, medium, and long sentences)
• Vary how the sentences begin
• have good transitions
• use the #3 style for incorporating quotes
• Use synonyms for nouns (The ignorant general, the suspicious moor, the insolent aunt,
• don't use THIS< THAT< HE< SHE Use persuasive nouns, synonyms, explanations)
• use brackets, dashes, semi-colons, colons

Sample In-class essay: The sample uses three stories. You may use three but are required to discuss TWO.

Sample Student In-class Essays

      It is not easy to maintain an imaginative, colourful society. Society, according to the stories, we studied, is often a violent, or uncommunicative wasteland. The adult world has little to offer its children. The story, “The Fall of a City”, by Alden Nowlan has a kid being parented by two drab, unimaginative adults who corrupt his mind and destroy his ambition for the future. “Want to Play House?”, by Leon Rooke, has two nameless children, representing all children, acting out the horrible lives of their parents as if it is just a game—they think violence is a way of life. “First Date”, by Debra Nikkel, has a young man discovering the truth about society and how it can be very incommunicative and “fake” while on a date with a girl. Without good role models for our children, we have no future.

      “The Fall of a City”, by Alden Nowlan has an ambitious child at the prime of his childhood being overruled by his unimaginative, ridiculing aunt and uncle. When Teddy plays with his mini-civilization in the attic, he is on top of the world; he literally and figuratively is better than his guardians because he values and uses his imagination, but when his aunt calls him “down” to dinner, the interruption ruins his thoughts. The aunt’s appearance with a stooped posture and red, swollen hands implies that she is a stereotypical housewife trying to get all the day-to-day work done and she wants Teddy to be the same. She cannot imagine a different future for herself or for Teddy. When Teddy stares at his uncle at the table, the rain pelts gloomily like white marbles in the gray sky behind him and he relates the face of his uncle to that of Duke Zailkla, the tyrant of his civilization. Teddy understands that his imagination is important but is too young to put this understanding into words. Teddy’s uncle is also the tyrant in Teddy’s real life, especially when he laughs at Teddy for playing with “paper dolls”. Teddy’s ambition and imagination is being corrupted by his aunt and uncle so that he becomes like them. They are the only vision of the adult world presented in the story. Teddy’s imagination, which is the key to his future in society, is now reformed. Ruined. His aunt and uncle, being stereotypical guardians, have nothing but boredom to offer for his future—they are making society incommunicative and unimaginative. Parents greatly affect a child’s outlook.

     In the story, “Want to Play House?,” two children are attempting to act out the lives of their parents as if violence and abuse are a mere game, a way of life. The narrator is telling “you” what to do, and when she instructs the little boy to come in and not worry about kissing, it shows just how unaffectionate adults can be, and how kids pick up behaviours easily, accept as normal what they see—miscommunication between their parents offer nothing but future harm for the children. Again, the little girl instructs the boy to “do whatever you want. Strangle me if you want.” It is compelling the boy to take on a violent activity as part of the game. The future for this boy may bring harm to others because the example his parents set assure him violence is “okay”. It is especially violent when the little girl instructs the boy to take the butcher’s knife and chase her with it. What kind of world is it where children grow up thinking society accepts harmful people? This violent attribute could have only been influenced by the parents. Children are impressionable and when they see their parents do something, they think it is okay. Society, to these children, is portrayed as violent through the parents’ examples. The “game” of playing house becomes more and more abusive and strange resulting in planning a murder of the mother in order to show just how far we as a society have come in our acceptance of family violence. The wasteland is evident in this story as these two innocents live in such a corrupt environment they think it normal to imitate it. Another story that questions society’s corruption and complacency is “First Date”.

     “First Date”, by Debra Nikkel, is about an average man discovering how shallow people can be. He makes this discovery while on a first date with a woman who represents the fake and superficial values that some people accept. When she tells the narrator that her thoughts on politics is how her work schedule is decided, she is unknowingly revealing her lack of depth. She also says that she goes to the tanning salon to soul search which implies two things. She, herself is fake, represented by her fake tan. Also, how traditional values of soul-searching have, in present day, been overrun by material and superficial tasks. Nikkel’s hilarious depiction of Daphne allows the reader to laugh his/her way to the conclusion that we do indeed live in a desolate and unmeaningful wasteland—nothing much of value to inspire our children. We must set a better example. Paco, the Mexican waiter with blonde hair, is a prime example of how people think they can succeed through a superficial altering of one’s appearance. With society thinking that blonde hair and sun tanning is the way to find one’s soul, the narrator is flabbergasted. He can no longer tolerate this plastic society. He must question his own motivation for the date—he is in fact there to prove his masculinity to his friends who cannot understand his heartbreak for a previous girlfriend. He leaves the restaurant but at the end of the story the reader is not sure if he will be able to withstand the pressure to become plastic and superficial. Society is still an incommunicative wasteland at the end of “First Date.”

      During the reading of all the short stories, the world is not portrayed as an ideal location for our children to grow up in. Society in these stories is unaffectionate, incommunicative and violent. “The Fall of a City” shows how children can be corrupted and forced into thinking society is boring and incommunicative; Alden Nowlan was right, losing one’s imagination is “The Fall of a City.” “Want to Play House?” portrays society as being accepting of violence—through bad examples set for children, they have nothing but harm and depression to look forward to. “First Date” forces children to think you can be more successful through superficiality, which is the complete antidote of how one should succeed. Children are the future, but there will be no future when we allow them to become corrupt. We cannot allow what we think is normal to affect the ever-growing minds of children, for, they will only turn out like us—the violent, unimaginative, fearful adults.

English 11: New poem on a person (typed) due Tuesday . . .

Monday: Your paragraph is due. Double spaced. Be sure to check yesterday's blog for details. Today we read poems in the package and poems in our text to get into the mood for writing a poem on a person. Due Tuesday.

Monday: Bring your novel and all your post-it notes. What does your novel say about appearance versus reality? We will discuss it on Monday. You will choose a book to compare it to. Tuesday: In-class essay.

Bring all your notes from the year to class on Monday. Thanks.
Next week will be fun.

Writing 12: Prepare for Tuesday's readings . . .

Pick poems suitable to grades 10 and 11. Think about how you will introduce the poems. Time yourself.

Work on the manuscript this weekend. Edit. Edit. Edit.

Manuscripts due Wed. Check yesterdays' blog to discover what we have to do next.

English 10: Read Act 4!

Pay attention to all of Juliet's lines. Take notes on Act 4, Scenes 1 and 3 (analyze Juliet's speeches). For the rest of the act, ensure you know what is going on and why.

Next week: We finish the play, watch the play, review for the exam and our last day is our poetry cafe. Choose two poems to read and bring some goodies to share!

You can study for the exam by looking on-line and re-reading all the works I have marked for you this year. Know your strengths. Improve any weak areas.

Book Drive! Last day . . .

Please donate a book before Friday. Last day for essays is Friday unless you have asked for an extension.

I collected the sky poems today. We did the vocab. test on 1-70. Marks were lower than they should be. Some students will need to work hard before next week's final test. Study.

We read a poem by John Updike called, Ex-Basketball Player. You can google it if you were absent. Ask me for a poetry package.

Due Monday: A formal, literary paragraph on the Lorna Crozier poem about the abused boy or the Updike poem about Flick.

Crozier poem question: Discuss the attitude toward child abuse revealed in the poem. Be sure to support your thesis with sufficient proof and follow our literary-must haves sheet, cite correctly, incorporate quotations, and discuss the quotations in detail so there is a clear connection between the evidence and your thesis.

Updike question: Discuss the character of Flick. Create a thesis that defines the attitude toward this young man revealed through the poem's imagery.

Also due Monday: HAVE YOUR NOVEL READ. HAVE YOUR 25 POST-ITS CHOSEN. BE READY TO DISCUSS THE APPEARANCE VS REALITY THEME.

Writing 12: Focus--Manuscript! Due Wed. Pick up the guidelines.

I collected two new pages of fiction today. The ones I have read so far are brilliant.

You should be hearing from The Claremont Review in the next few days so be sure to check your email.

Next Wed. in the lab, you will be sending pieces to Aerie International and Polyphony H.S.

Fiction for Aerie must be 1500 words or less.

Know what you wish to send where and keep a list:

Claremont Review submission for spring or fall issue (Via envelope). Up to 5 pieces.
Claremont Review contest (your longest story) Fill in a cover page and hand in. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THE CONTEST STORY. ALL ITEMS ARE JUDGED ANONYMOUSLY.
BCTELA contest (less than 1500 words. No name on the story).
Aerie International (Up to five pieces)
Polyphony H.S. Depending on how many poems you sent them, you will have 2 or 3 spots left for short stories.

Best not to double submit the same pieces to Aerie and The Claremont Review.
Don't send the same story to the C.R. contest as you do to the C.R. submission as that will look awkward if a poem they have already published or plan to publish gets picked as a winner. YOU GET DISQUALIFIED. OUCH.

This is the business of writing. Take it slow. Be prepared though.
Know what you want to send where.
Meet in the lab on Wed.

Friday and Monday are work blocks. Get your work edited. Let me see anything new that you want to put in the manuscript. Monday is the last opportunity you will have to edit as we are in the Learning Commons for our reading on Tuesday.

English 11: BOOK DRIVE!!! Typed poem due tomorrow!

Bring in books by Friday for Claremont's Book Drive. Bring books you think kids or teens or adults would enjoy reading. THANKS!


Thanks for being such a great audience for Amy and Allie today. It's not easy to present to one's peers and you really made them feel welcome. Thanks to Selena, Pharyn and Jon for reading their poems to the class.

We practiced writing 20 lines, replacing adjectives with nouns.
Instead of saying the red sky, say the Charlie Brown sky or the Boo Radley sky or the Hitler sky or the good-cop-bad-cop sky etc.


After you create twenty of them, choose one for your title.
Under that title (the title will create a mood for your poem) write a memory of something that happened to you or you witnessed on a playground. Write and write and write. When you have finished writing, you are ready to write a poem using some of the lines from your quick-write.

Now, create a typed draft of a poem. Use the sky title. Include at least two of our three sound devices (alliteration, assonance or dissonance), don't have rhymes at the end of lines, you may have rhyme within the lines or scattered throughout the poem, use nouns instead of adjectives throughout.

Example:

The Mr. Rogers Sky

She remembers summer.
Empty swings, silence like grasshopper wings
origami wings, paper wings. Summer.
No one home. No babysitter. No brother.
She remembers summer.
Grandfather's funeral.
The stink of garbage after the city strike,
no trucks swaggering in cul-de-sacs,
empty streets and houses.
Grasshoppers, brothers, prayers.
The swollen streets, empty.

Today: I collected the personal essays, the checklists, the drafts and the MLA Works Cited sheets. Good job everyone.

So much to explore.

If you have any questions about Writing 12 or English 12 Enriched / AP Literature, let me know. 

Writing 12: Computer Lab Today . . .

Have you chosen your pieces yet for next Tuesday's reading?

We have Ms. G-C's English 10 class coming to watch and probably one other English class, plus do invite your friends, family, teachers, admin. Don't let Uncle Harry miss this event!!

I have put all of the marks into the computer. Be sure to check the list and check it twice.

Two pages due tomorrow. Two postcard stories or two pages of a new story.

Manuscript is due Wed. You will have Thurs, Friday, and Monday to prepare, edit, and revise your manuscript. Next week, Wed, Thurs, Friday, we will send your work out for publication and talk about ways to continue writing and publishing while not in a class.

Yay.

English 10: Vocabulary Test . . .

If you were absent, read Act 2, scenes 5 and 6 and get the notes.

Tonight: Finish reading Act 3, Scene 1. Study for your vocabulary quiz tomorrow on 1-70.

If you had an extension on the section C composition, please submit with the peer-edited draft.

English 11: Poetry . . . . Personal Essay is due tomorrow . . .

Submit: the good copy, the peer-edited draft, the personal essay checklist which is in your package, your MLA style Works Cited page (in alphabetical order using hanging indentation). If you were absent today, call you homework buddy for explanations.

Vocabulary Test is Thursday. Study.

We studied and discussed and took notes and wrote a thesis statement on Lorna Crozier's poem, "The Child Who Walks Backwards".  Get a copy of the poem and the notes from a peer. You can find the poem on-line.

Also, we read 15 pages of our independent novel. You must have the novel read by Monday, Jan. 26th. Have twenty-five post-it notes on the appearance vs reality theme so you will be ready to discuss the novel and create a modest quotation log.

Writing 12: Two pages or two post card stories due Thursday . . .

If you were absent today, we spoke about writing magic realism type stories for a North American audience, how to stretch the truth but still keep the reader believing in the fictional dream (e.g. this situation could really happen).

We couldn't book the last day for our reading but we were able to book the learning commons for Tuesday, January 27th. Everyone choose two poems, or one longish post card story and think of a way to introduce it and we'll present. You have three minutes on "stage" so please time your reading as you practising.

Two pages of a new story or two new postcard stories are due Thurs.
Please meet in the computer lab tomorrow.

English 10: Surprise Test Tomorrow on Act 2, scenes 3 and 4

Be sure to read the two scenes. You will meet Friar Laurence.
What might be the significance of the Friar in the garden as this scene opens?
Why is the Friar shocked that Romeo is in love with Juliet?
Do you agree or disagree with the Friar's lines: "Young men's love then lies / Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes (2. 3. 67-68).
Why do you think this entire scene is in heroic couplets?
Why does the Friar agree to marry the young couple?

Act 2, Scene 4

Romeo has not seen his friends since the party and Mercutio is not pleased.
What has Tybalt done about having seen Romeo at the Capulet party?
Why is this scene written in prose and not in iambic pentametre?
The men tease the Nurse. How does she react?
Name the two people in the play that know about Romeo and Juliet's secret marriage?

Tonight: Finish off section C. Attach the good copy to your peer-edited draft. Read the two scenes. Come to class ready to answer the questions above. You may use your notebook so find the answers tonight and write them down.

English 10: Peer Editing of the Creative Composition (Part C)

If you did not have your piece peer edited yet, be sure to have a peer edit the piece, using our criteria sheet, before you submit it on Wed. for marks.

Vocabulary Test on Thursday this week. Study all words from 1-70

Get the notes on Act 2.

Hand in your Queen Mab drawing if you have not already.

Get the notes on how to succeed on Section C from a peer.
Get the notes on the summary of Act 1. Learn the term: soliloquy.
Review earlier terms. See previous blog posts to check if you have the correct list.

We made notes on Act 2, the Prologue and Act 2, Scene 1, and then we started reading Act 2, scene 2, the famous Balcony Scene.

What does it mean when Romeo says, What light in yonder window breaks?

Writing 12: O What a Wonderful World!!

Thanks to all the readers and supporters of poetry who showed up at Planet Earth Poetry last Friday night. You are the topic trending on FACEBOOK and the talk of the town for those who do not indulge in social media, eh!

We cannot get the learning commons on the last day. We'll discuss how to end the year with you all in front of a microphone.

This Thursday: Two new post card stories or the first two pages of a longer story.

No one was absent today. Yay.

English 11: Peer Editing . . . Well Done!

If you were absent today, you must do two things:
1. Edit someone's paper using our rubric.
2. Have your paper edited by a member of our class using the rubric.

Once you have had your essay, edited, use the checklist inside your package.
Ensure that your essay has all the criteria.

On Wed. Submit the following items
1. Good copy of the personal essay (make sure it has a title)
2. MLA Works Cited Page
3. Peer-edited copy
4. Essay Outline

Tomorrow: We start poetry.

Independent Novel: Read and analyze this novel by Mon. Jan. 26th so that you are ready to write a compare / contrast essay on the appearance versus reality motif.
Monday, we will choose key quotes from the novel, choose a story, play or novel studied this year, find quotes from it and create a strong thesis.

Tuesday next week: In-class essay comparing the two works. Be prepared by studying the essays and paragraphs you have written this year. Memorize your literary must-haves.

This week?

Poetry. We will focus on reading and writing poetry. You will have to read and poem and a story during the exam. You will be asked to discuss both pieces in relation to a question. We will prepare for this question on Thursday and Friday next week.

When you walk into the examination room, you will be prepared. Write well. It's worth 20% of your mark.

English 11: Personal Essay outline due today . . .

Monday: Bring a rough draft (typed and double spaced and edited as best you can (following the criteria) for peer editing.

You don't want to lose the marks nor the experience of having others tell you if your jokes are working, etc.

We will review the MLA style works cited page today. If you are absent, call your homework buddy for the notes.

We are starting poetry today. If you are away, google Lorna Crozier's poem, The Child Who Walks Backwards.

Wed: Final copy plus edited draft plus outline plus the MLA style works cited page are due.

Yesterday, I collected the essay notebook.

We are getting there.

Poetry for a week and a half and then exam prep and then you are ready for English 12 or Communications 12 or AP Lit Enriched English 12. Lots of options next year. Ask me which one you might want to consider. 

Writing 12: See you tonight!

Can't wait. It's called Hillside Coffee Tea 1633 Hillside Ave at the corner of Scott St. one block west of Shelbourne. (near the DQ).

Open mic volunteers get there by 7. Otherwise, the spots will get taken and we want to hear you!!

Featured readers. Please get there by 7:15 and check in with Yvonne Blomer, our host.

All students check in with me at some point in the evening so you get your marks.
If you can't come, I am sorry. We will miss you. We will put your pictures on our tables and smile at you and you can go next week. Heck, maybe we will go with you and listen to you read at the open mic.

Yay.

Get started on a new story. Two pages due Thursday. If you prefer to write more post card stories, 4 stories equals one long story. Long equals 1500 words to 3000 words.

Smoooze tonight. Introduce yourself to the SMUS kids. Their parents may have more money than God and they can sponsor you to be a writer!!! Introduce yourself to Jody Carrow, Editor-in-chief of The Claremont Review. Tell her how much you love the magazine and you appreciate her keeping it alive, etc. Tell her you are looking forward to hearing about your poems. Yay. Yay. Yay.

Look for other writers. Talk to Yvonne Blomer. Say, what's your story, Yvonne? She's a poet. She is also a cyclist who has ridden all over the world and she teaches at Camosun. You may have her for a teacher one day so get to know her now, eh?

English 10: Two items due Monday . . .

1. Bring a typed, double-spaced copy of a section C composition. Focus on the criteria. Your story need only connect to the prompt indirectly. Do not mention the prompt directly. Why?

2. Your Queen Mab depiction from Mercutio's speech in Act 1, Scene 4. If you were absent, call your homework buddy to get the notes and/or use No Fear Shakespeare on the web to help you interpret the passage. You want to show through your drawing, collage, etc how love is viewed in this Queen Mab speech. You don't need to write any words on the picture. If unsure, you can write your thesis on the back.

If you do not have a clear understanding of the following terms, please study this weekend:

1. unrequited love
2. sonnet
3. iambic pentametre
4. in medias res
5. oxymoron
6. heroic couplet
7. motif


Also, we will be having a vocabulary quiz soon. Be sure to study.

If you will be busy this week, read ahead. Read Act 2.

Writing 12: Literary Event is mandatory!!

Address:Planet Earth Poetry Night

1633 Hillside Avenue #103, Victoria, BC V8T 2C4

(250) 370-2077 If you attend this literary event, I will be there so you  DO NOT HAVE TO WRITE A RESPONSE.  However, if you can't attend (and you were asked in Nov. to set this date aside so  if you are not here you need to assess your planning skills, eh?) there is an alternative.  You need to go to an event outside of class and write a response.  Use the same criteria we use for our in-class responses, please.  Planet Earth Poetry series is every Friday from 7:30 to 9.  You must stay until 9 for it to count. Attending a literary event is a key one for the course and it is worth 5% of the grade.   Don't throw away marks because you can't organize your schedule.  Thank you. I will stop lecturing now.

English 10: Romeo and Juliet

We read and discussed Act 1, 2, and 3 today. Be sure to get the notes. 

Read Act 1, Scene 3: Write down a key quote to encapsulate the Nurse, Juliet and Juliet's mother, Lady Capulet. Notice the cool (distant) relationship between Juliet and her mom. It's a very formal. But we also know that Juliet is close to her dad because in the last scene, he refuses to let Paris marry her because he thinks she is too young, even though he and Juliet's mom were married young. He wants to protect her from the hardships of life.

If you were absent: We read for 15 minutes, added two new words to our vocab. list. Reviewed the Section C assignment due Monday. Wrote copious notes (so get them from a friend).

Terms: oxymoron, motif, in medias res, heroic couplet, unrequited love, iambic pentametre (Get the notes).

BE SURE TO KEEP GOOD NOTES AS THE FINAL TEST IS AN OPEN NOTEBOOK TEST.
Know: Benvolio, Tybalt,Prince, Romeo, Juliet, All the parents, Verona's citizens, but also treat Love, Hate and the Feud as characters.

Due Monday: 600 word Section C response. If you have been absent, get the topics and notes from your homework buddy.

English 11: Essay notes due tomorrow . . .

If you missed an essay presentation, you will need to complete the notes on your own and create a creative writing response that reflects a technique you find in the essay.


Today: three essays presented and I handed out the personal essay criteria sheet. Be sure to ask for one if you are away.

You need to write a personal essay of 1000 to 2000 words. It needs to be persuasive in style, include a MLA Works Cited page, use stylist techniques (diction, hyperbole, understatement, non sequiturs, higher authority etc), have a direct or indirect thesis, include narrative elements such as character, point of view, dialogue and description. Include a strong title.

Topic is open. Choose something that interests you. You must have an OPINION about this topic, however.

Writing 12: This Week . . .

Today: Presentation by Adam and Madeline on Kurt Vonnegut. Remember "Harrison Begeron" from grade 10? That's Vonnegut. Look him up. Read him. Do the exercise if you were away today which is to write dark comedy.

Friday: The Friday Literary Event is Mandatory. You have saved the date since October. This can be our happening event. Your words will be savoured here. Be sure to get there early to sign up for the Open Mic. There are 12 spots. You may read one poem or a short postcard story that you call a Prose Poem. he he he

Planet Earth Poetry takes place every Friday night. They have open mic every Friday followed by a featured reader. Claremont's readers are Sage, Gabriel, Amy, Annie and Selena and I hope at least 6 to 12 more students at the Open Mic. Show 'em what we got.

Tuesday: Winter Writes in the Learning Commons. There will be four poets reading, all UVic graduates from the writing program. Be sure to ask questions to keep the presentation lively. You will meet Melanie Siebert, Ali Blyth, Garth Martens and Maleea Acker (Claremont Grad). Also, if you are free period 5, come back to the learning commons to hear and meet Lorna Crozier and to see Patrick Lane read again. If you are free period 4, pop in to hear Wendy Morton and Carla Funk.

It's going to be a great day. Come to class first for USSR and then we will go down.

Wed: The Planet Earth Readers meet in my room. Open mic folk, you are welcome to stay and practice as well. The rest of the class will be in the computer lab with Ms. Moray.

Thursday: I will be introducing you to a genre called magic realism. We are going to read this fabulous story from the writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Yay.

TWO POST CARD STORIES DUE THURSDAY.

Friday: Melanie and Priscilla present.

Next week you will be writing and workshopping a new story in the 1500 to 3000 word range. First two pages of this story are due that Thursday.

Manuscript is due Wed. Jan. 28th. We will spend that day in the lab sending stories to Aerie and Polyphony.

Thursday of the final week, Jan. 29th, we will send a story to The Claremont Review Contest and to the Claremont Review Submissions and to BCTELA.

Friday is our final farewell. What happens from here? What is next?

Lots of fun!!

English 10: ACE the EXAM . . .

The way to ACE the exam is to accept it for what it is, do what it says, MOVE slowly through the questions and show the province how amazing you are.

That's it.

Tonight: Using the mock exam, create a strong chart that demonstrates your ability to find the evidence to answer the question.

You may use a VENN diagram format to show the similarities and differences or a chart listing the main points for each story and then highlight similarities in one colour and differences in another.

They are not TOO concerned about similarities and differences. They want to know if you can read. And, yes, you can!

Next: Create a THESIS statement to answer this question.

Tomorrow: We will correct these charts. Talk about how to write it; e.g. how to get it started and review our formal, literary must-haves.

Bring any questions you have about this section to class.

Section C is a little more challenging. We will focus here and you will re-write your composition, peer edit it, and submit it on Friday. Length 600 words.

The key is to enter that gym, Feb. 3 at 8:50 a.m. with confidence and pride.

You have worked hard. Do not give up now. Stay there for the three hours and get your money's worth.

English 10: Scroll down to read yesterday's blog . . .

Today we took a lot of notes on characters, setting, and tone. Be sure to get them from a friend if you were absent.

This weekend, go on-line and do a provincial exam practice. You can do the multiple choice on line and it marks it for you and then do the two writing practices and bring them to class on Monday.

Yay.

Writing 12: John Gould

Impressive questions and comments today. Thank you. If you were away, be sure to read about John Gould and read his works on line.

John Gould responses due Mon. or Tuesday.

Two new postcard stories are due Thursday. Can't wait!!

English 11: Two More Great Presentations . . .

I collected the USSR forms and checked post-it notes. You need to be at 175 by Monday. Tuesday: We will start writing the essay.

This weekend: Get the novel read by Jan. 19th which means you need to figure out how much to read. You will have 90 minutes of class time during USSR so balance the rest of the novel out to be read at home.

We start poetry next week and exam preparation.

You will be writing an essay on your independent novel, comparing it to at least one other novel, play, or short story read this year as preparation for the exam.

Be sure to choose strong, evocative passages that demonstrate the appearance versus reality theme and decide what the point of these two different viewpoints is.

Vocab: We added two more words today opiate and pandemic. We had two essays presented today so be sure to get the notes from a friend if you were absent.

English 11: Great presentations today. Well done!

We had three groups present today. We also added words 63 and 64 to our list. We read for 15 minutes.

Due tomorrow: 

150 words of your independent novel read and 10 post-it notes on the appearance versus reality theme. 

December USSR forms. 

I want to hear all about the great books you have read.   

                   WE ❤️ READING!!! 

Writing 12: Two new postcards due next Thursday, Jan. 15th

I'm really enjoying today's crop.

You have three weeks to go. What do you want to write? How do you want to write it?

Write it. Go. Hand it in. Let me see it and a few of you need to learn how to punctuate dialogue before Jan. 28th. Make this manuscript your best and your brightest.

The last two days will be busy. We will be sending your stories to the contests and magazines where we have already sent your poems. Yay, world. They get to read you.

Now go have an adventure and write about it.

English 10: USSR forms due today . . . Shakespeare Begins . . .

If you were absent today, be sure to get the notes on the Renaissance, Shakespeare's theatre, the sonnet, and Shakespeare's sonnets.

Get the USSR form for Dec. completed and hand in. Check the mark book to ensure that all poetry and Animal Farm assignments are complete and marked.

For the next month, focus on preparing for your provincial exam. You need to be comfortable demonstrating all of the skills you have developed and practised.

Skills

1. Reading comprehension (answering questions, looking for context clues to understand vocabulary or to interpret character motivation).
2. A few literary terms such as point of view (first person, second person, third person, omniscient, objective, limited omniscient), figurative terms: personification, metaphor, simile, allusion, etc
3. Writing a compare / contrast piece. Use your literary must-haves rules, cite correctly, incorporate quotations using number 3 style, strong thesis statements, add insight, answer the question well, focus on sentence variety, strong verbs, use vocabulary from our list
4. Creative Writing: You may use any style you wish: Write a short story, a personal anecodote, a descriptive piece, a literary essay. However, adding unique details and insight to the topic is key as well as strong vocabulary and written expression (focus on style).
5. You need to know the basic conventions of English usage. How to punctuate. How to form sentences. How to spell. How to cite titles etc.

You have all written a mock exam. I suggest you go on-line and do practice exams as well. The exam is worth 20% of your total grade. Here is a link to practice exams:

English 10 Practice Exams

English 11: How many of these terms do you know?

1. allusion
2. empathy / sympathy
3. flashback
4. imply / suggest
5. diction
6. hyperbole
7. direct quote
8. irony
9. anecdote
10. non sequitur
11. understatement
12. frame tale
13. appeal to a higher authority
14. alliteration
15. pun
16. repetition, repetition
17. parallelism
18. Narrative Elements: characters, point of view, detail,
19. imagery
20. rhetorical questions
21. incongruity

Tonight: Finalize your presentation. Your job is to teach the essay to the class in an animated and enthusiastic manner by highlighting the essay's components and thesis and by getting the class to try writing a personal essay using your author's style.

Writing 12: Great work today . . .

Tomorrow: Two post card stories due. I'll return your long stories and discuss where to go from here. We will focus on post card stories for two more days and you will have

TWO more post card stories due next Thursday, the 16th.

John Gould is here Friday. Lucky us! Bring questions.

Start thinking of ideas for your next story. Aim for 1500 to 3,000 words.

English 10! Welcome Back. Great work today.

USSR forms for Dec. are due tomorrow. Thanks to those students who have already completed them. All overdue work should be submitted tomorrow unless you have spoken to me and arranged an alternate deadline. If you were absent today, email a friend, and then email me to set up a plan. Thanks.