Writing 12

Thanks to Isabella and to Sophia for such a compelling look at Leonard Cohen's work. The exercises were wonderful.

Manuscript will be due the third week in January. I don't have the specific date yet. You have the manuscript guidelines which we will review in Jan.

Holidays are wonderful times to observe the world, read poetry, reflect on your life, maybe do some writing or editing. Email poems to each other. Ask for feedback. Be honest with which lines work and which ones don't.

Jan. 15th is the deadline for the national poetry contest. You may send them two poems (pick two you think you'd like to have published on their national website). Previous winners may be viewed at www.youngpoets.ca

We'll also be sending poems to three other contests and to three magazines so you really will want to polish them off. If you have time over the holidays, wonderful. If not, there will be time during classes in Jan. I've booked various computer labs for your convenience. Make sure you have all 11 poems in a safe and secure file as I will need both hard and electronic copies.

AP Lit

I forgot to give you the novel, Portrait of the Artist, our next novel study. I will charge the novel to your account and give it to you during the exam tomorrow.

I suggest you do a first read of it over the break so that you know the characters, settings, conflicts, key themes, and post-it note the passages that you think would be important for us to discuss.

Ms. Fraser is a Joyce scholar so I'm hoping she will be a guest lecturer for us. What luck!

It is also a coming of age novel so you will see a lot of similarities to Hamlet. If you have not yet read, J.D. Salinger's novel, Catcher in the Rye, I suggest you read that one as well. You want to have as many novels and plays under your belts, so to speak, as possible, in order to be really well prepared for the final essay question.

You'll notice in Joyce's novel that he uses stream of consciousness style so we will need to pay particularly close attention to style as well as theme this time.

Death of a Salesman: Thank you for your rapt attention during this quick unit. The wonderful thing about reading and studying plays is that you can get a lot of mileage out of them. This play will be very useful on the AP exam. We'll finish up the presentations in Jan. spend one period on discussing the set and the use of past and present, decide on the tragic character question, and then you'll write a test. I've put it in SDS for Jan. 11.

Next term, we need to study poetry and practice the mutltiple choice sections and continue to write fabulous essays. It will be amazing. If there is a particular poem that you would love to study, please let me know.

English 10 A

If you were away today, be sure to hand in your Alyson Rowe response. Define and write sentences for the next two words on our list, disapprobation and dispensation. Read your USSR book for at least 15 minutes and pick up the study package from me or copy it from a friend. Be sure to read through the sample C section compositions.

Homework: Write a complete composition on any of the prompts on the handout. Be sure to follow the criteria and re-read the samples several times in order to fnd a writing style and scenario that you can rely on. Think--examples, good style, engaging topic. Keep the topic in mind but you do not have to connect directly to the topic, nor must you agree with the topic. This section is testing your ability to write a multi-paragraph sample in any combination of descriptive, narrative, expository or persuasive style. If you neglect to do a minimum of 3 paragraphs, you are docked on letter grade.

Bring in a double-spaced copy for peer comments.
We'll also review the literary terms and section B, the synthesis essay next class. Read through the samples and be sure to visit the website. Google BC provincial exams. Try the e-exams listed there, too.

AP Lit

We meet Thursday, first period, yay. We will watch the end of the film and discuss the play. I can also answer any questions you may have regarding the provincial exam.

Writing 12

Wasn't Carla Funk wonderful? I loved how she taught us to embrace anecdote (the things that happen to us in our daily lives) and then add tension to it in order to find the poem. What were your favourites? I really appreciated the questions and comments you made. By doing so you make the guest feel really welcomed and listened to.

I'm really looking forward to reading your poems. It seems like it's been a long time since your last submission. I suspect Carla's reading will inspire you.

Please give me your response to Carla's reading on Thursday.
Isabella and Sophia are presenting to us on Thursday. Yay.

Lit 12

We managed to make our way through Paradise Lost. Well done!! Approach it as a piece of fiction, i.e. an epic poem and then put it into its Puritan perspective, your knowledge of Milton, the historical context and it's a majesterial piece, no?

Vocabulary test tomorrow. Study the words. They are listed in a previous blog.

Review days: Wed. and Thurs. Bring the review sheets from unit one, bring in your sets of cards on literary terms. We'll be playing literary term bingo on Friday. Amazing prizes!!

Pizza exam cram with Ms. Egan's class Monday at 10:00 in our room. Sign up tomorrow in class.

AP Lit

We watched the 1985 film version of Death of a Salesman today, directed by Volker Schlondorff, a member of the New German cinema. Here's a link to find out more about him here: Find out more about the director

The acting is extraordinary but what do you think of the set? We'll finish watching it next class and then we'll discuss Act 2. I hope you have read it thoroughly and have taken good notes or used post-its.

How is the studying for the English 12 exam going? Dec. 9th is Friday. 1 p.m.