Stenson English 321: September 2014

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

English 11: Read 15 pages tonight of your USSR book

You must have read at least 90 pages by tomorrow.

If you are behind, please devote some time tonight to your book. It is relaxing, enriching, empowering and fun!

Tomorrow: You will have 30 minutes to complete your paragraph. If you realize you will need more than 30 minutes, please work on the paragraph this evening.

Use all of your handouts.

Edit for strong verbs.

Here is a sample paragraph if you are worried that you are not on the right track:

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the boys symbolize a beast on the island because of their destructive, naïve, and impulsive demeanor. Immediately after realizing that he is stranded on the island, one of the main characters, Ralph, enjoys bullying another child named Piggy, making cracks about his weight, the way he talks, and the way he conducts himself. Golding uses the critical nature of Ralph to portray a generalized discontent among society, and the far too common judging of others. Ralph is generally accepted as the leader even though Piggy makes all the decisions due to an inacceptance of Piggy's chubby, logical nature. In the middle of choosing leadership, the group of boys notice a “creature [stepping] from the mirage on to clear sand” (15). This “creature” turns out to be a marching group of boys. Through this symbolism, Golding makes the point that, in fact, society is the monster here. Earlier in the novel the removal and replacement of clothes portrays detachment from society and freedom, and conformity to societal customs and insecurity respectively. Furthermore, Golding reinstates this message when the boys find a boulder while exploring and decide to heave it down the mountain, “[smashing] a deep hole in the canopy of the forest” (25). On the same page, the forest “shook as with the passage of an enraged monster” (25). Ralph and the other boys are disturbing the natural order and flow of the island just to have some momentary enjoyment. By the same token, after the boys tear themselves away from the triumph, they climb further up the hill to discover a cirque on the side of the mountain where “the air was thick with butterflies, lifting, fluttering, settling” (25), which further contrasts with the man-made destruction that occurred only moments earlier. All things considered, Golding makes incredible use of symbolism and irony to show that the real menace on the island, in fact, are the boys who have just arrived.

Thanks, Nathan. A great analysis of chapter one.

Writing 12: Working with description and the narrative poem form

We finished the exercise from yesterday. The next three prompts are I remember on that day I was thinking only of . . . and But now I remember and then But now I remember . . .

Do you happen to have your Naming the Baby book with you?

We will look at five narrative poems in there today, pages 190, 195, 197, 205, 223 and then we will write a narrative poem. It tells a vivid story with a sense of character/pt. of view but it opens up at the end instead of closing down . . . . makes you read it all over again

Narration in a poem keeps the reader engaged in the wild language and exquisite themes.

Tonight: Read the poems on pages 190 and 195. Use these examples to coach you through writing a narrative poem. Also, use our criteria sheet.

If you were absent today, ask me for a criteria list.

Bring your draft of your narrative poem to class tomorrow.

English 10: Creating a Found Poem on either

Found Poems are due Thursday! Choose either Paul or Ellen. Search for appropriate words and phrases from the story which you feel represent these characters. Your job is to find interesting uses of language and re-arrange them freshly to symbolize your interpretation of the characters. You may add some of your own words, too, if needed to ensure the poem makes senses.

Marks awarded for the design, the title, the "photograph in words" and how your poem makes us see the character in new ways.

You should have read at least 90 pages of your USSR book. Several people have finished a book. When you finish one, ask me for a response form.

Tomorrow, we start writing a paragraph on the "Lamp At Noon" story.

Make sure you like your thematic statement. You may need to do more research on key events in order to find three really striking quotations to use in your paragraphs.

Monday, September 29, 2014

English 11: Preparing to Write an in-class paragraph

Review all of today's handouts and notes. It is mostly review but it may have been a while since you have been in an English class.

ABSENCES: You need to be prepared if you miss a class. Check the blog. Call homework buddies. Come in at lunch. Do not assume that because you missed a class, you are not RESPONSIBLE for the work. It is the learning and the practice that you need so DO all work missed. Be sure to ask for help when you don't understand something.

NOT UNDERSTANDING SOMETHING IS TOTALLY NORMAL.

DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT???? TOTALLY ABNORMAL.

Remember:

Paragraphs are marked for content (insight: your ideas), structure (literary must-haves), and writing style (vocabulary, sentence variety, length, sufficient explanation of your views, etc).

Have something important to say (re-read the sheet we went over in class for ideas) about the book.

Be able to show why you think so by using evidence from the novel, cite your quotations well and incorporate them into your sentence.

Use all the prep work you did today to be ready for tomorrow:

1. Literary must-have list. Memorize it.
2. Use the #3 style for making a quote from the book part of your sentence.
3. Cite correctly, double or triple quotation marks and page numbers.
4. Prepare the quotations by thinking about what they suggest. Read between the lines. Know what technique is being used: irony, juxtaposition, pathetic fallacy etc.

The question is

In a literary paragraph of 300 to 500 words, discuss how the author suggests that the real beast or creature on the island is the boys themselves.

After you have chosen your three quotations/techniques, and written down your ideas, you are ready to create a thesis.

Sample:

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the real beast is symbolized by the boys because their innocence has been corrupted by exposure to war and they do not yet realize that imitating the adult world will have its consequences.

Tomorrow you will USE the template below to complete your paragraph:

Thesis
First Point
First Example
First explanation (explain how the example proves your thesis)

Transition (Similarly, in contrast to, additionally, as a result, consequently) etc

Second point
second example
Second explanation

Transition

Third point
Third example
Third explanation

Conclude (repeat the key points from your paragraph. Make sure they match your thesis)

Use present tense.
Use strong verbs: elucidates, exemplifies, reveals, supports, portrays, emphasizes etc

Use vocabulary words from our list: contrite, officious, ebullient, belligerent etc

Use sentence variety: long, short, medium length, start each sentence differently, avoid they, they they or the boys .... for each sentence beginning, use complex, simple and compound sentences, use subordinate clauses, which suggests that, because the boys laugh, although the island's beauty . . . , despite,

Writing 12: Two poems due Thursday . . .

Every Thursday two poems are do. I edit them and give you a mark. These marks are a form of formative assessment letting you know how close you are to meeting the criteria.

Tomorrow, we will write and write and write.

Wed: I'll go over the criteria with you and you will have the remainder of the period to write and edit in the computer lab.

All poems submitted must be typed.

No lates are accepted for Thursday poems. If you are absent, email them to me.

Be sure to pick up the grad transition forms from the career centre. Pick up your parking pass application. Join a club or team or grad council. Be sure to get onto the scholarship email list with Ms. Loukes if you cannot attend the meetings. There is a lot of money to be given to grads but you must apply. Try not to leave these applications to the last minute.

English 10: Creating a thematic statement

In the story, "The Lamp At Noon," by Sinclair Ross, unless people are pushed to their limits, they will rely on hope instead of facts to deny their problems; living so inadvertently equals ridiculous suffering. (YOUR THEMATIC STATEMENT MUST INCLUDE IDEAS FROM ALL PARTS OF YOUR TICK CHART IN ORDER TO NOT IMPOSE AN INCORRECT INTERPRETATION ON THE STORY. YOUR INTERPRETATION MUST BE FULLY SUPPORTED BY EVENTS, DESCRIPTIONS, AND CHARACTERS IN THE STORY).

Creating a TICK chart to fully examine the story in order to create a strong statement which is easily supported by evidence from the text.

Tonight: Review all of your notes on the TICK. Make sure you know what to do for each letter of the acronym TICK.

This lesson will be repeated. You will be tested on your ability to read between the lines and beyond the lines so using the TICK method really helps to keep you focused.

USSR min. # of pages read so far is 75. I will be checking tomorrow.

Friday, September 26, 2014

English 11: How to interpret a passage of literature . . . .

For Monday, finish reading chapter one. It is quite long so you will need a good half hour for this task. Complete the how-to-interpret literature sheet.

You did a fantastic job reviewing the vocabulary, and beating your reading goals today. Well done. If you are reading this blog, make it a habit as a way to review and you will increase your marks and interest in the course.

We added the words: avid and contrite to our list

Today we came up with a few steps to interpret a passage of literature:

The most important step is to read the passage a few times and take note of key words. Similar to what we did yesterday for para. one.

Next:

1. See if there is a literary technique in the passage as this technique will offer you a quick interpretation: irony, juxtaposition, pathetic fallacy, a change in diction (word-choice), a change in tone, a surprise response from a character

2. Look for repetitions of words

3. Make connections to other parts of the book (the weight of his clothes from page five is now the weight of the heat) How are they connected?

4. Look at what the characters are doing -- is this event a key one? How are they responding? Are all of the characters responding in the same manner?

We practised with the first quotation on the sheet:

page 9: juxtaposition In the beginning Ralph is happy. He takes off his clothes, dives into the lagoon, is glad there are no adults, imagines his father will find him etc

But Piggy's pronouncement that they could be stuck there forever changes Raalph.
It is a wake-up call and he asks for his clothes. The clothes represent security as they remind him of home, his dad, civilization, etc

Also, Golding makes the descriptions of the island more hostile. Ralph and Piggy react differently to the news.

If you have extra time this weekend, see if you can get 30 or more pages read of your USSR book.

Assignment is below:

INTERPRETING CHAPTER ONE

Authors use literary techniques to add depth to their work. As you read chapter one look for and examine the following: juxtaposition, pathetic fallacy, symbols, reading between the lines, key images, interpreting characters' actions or speech,

Quote: “ ' We may stay here 'till we die' . . . ' Get my clothes,' muttered Ralph (9).

Technique: ________________________________________________________________________