English 10: Revise and complete the good copy of your paragraph on the story

Use the checklist I gave you to ensure that all the criteria are met for the paragraph. If you forgot your checklist at school, or you want to use an electronic checklist, I have pasted it below.

If you can't hand it in on Monday, you have already spoken to me and asked for an extension. Do not arrive to class without your paragraph, your draft, and your completed checklist. Thank you!

Need help? Come in at lunch. Arrive with specific questions so that we can target the area that has you stumped.


I handed out the USSR response forms. Please do not read a second book before you complete your response form.

You worked well today.

Thanks to Julie and Isaiah for volunteering to get the class reading if I am ever late to class.

Appreciate your help.

Improving Literary Paragraph Writing

STYLE ____ All verbs are in the present tense ____ No contractions are used. ____ I do not re-tell the story ____ Quotes are incorporated well ____ Sentence beginnings vary ____ Sentence length varies ____ I have a least one short sentence ____ My tone is persuasive ____ My vocabulary is decisive and accurate ____ I use precise synonyms ____ The hook is impressive ____ The thesis answers the question in an insightful manner and makes the reader think ____ I have planned my work so I can focus on how I want to express my opinions, not on what I have to say ____ I use blue or black ink or it is typed ____ I double space ____ I proofread my work to catch annoying errors or typos ____ I use great verbs such as reveals, demonstrates, elucidates, offers, emphasizes, portray, depicts, exposes, represents, etc.

CONTENT ____ I have found three really good examples from the story and at least one of them is a quotation ____ I link all my examples to the thesis so that I answer the question directly ____ I make sure I explain my examples clearly ____ I use transition words or phrases between points ____ I have a hook, a thesis, three pieces of evidence which I explain, transitions, and I conclude by repeating my thesis ____ I make sure I use synonyms for words that I have to repeat a lot during the paragraph ____ I always use my literary “must-have” list ____ My thesis is a 6! ____ I stay on topic ____ I feel confident that I can answer the question because my opinion / evidence chart is elaborate ____ I have read and re-read the story until my answer is crystal clear ____ My response is PAGE PERFECT – no rips or tears, no wrinkles. I have a title, a date and my first and last name at the top of the assignment

GRAMMAR AND SPELLING ____ I know the difference between a comma , and a semi-colon ; and use them correctly _____ I know the difference between a plural and a possessive: boys (pl.), boy’s bike (poss.) ____ I read my work aloud so that I catch any incomplete sentences ___ I correct any run-on sentences ___ I never use a comma to join two complete sentences ____ I replace the word “this” with a noun or a phrase. For example This shows how frightened the character is. (We don’t know what you mean by this. Replace it with a phrase: By hiding in the cupboard, the character reveals her fear or a noun: Rebellion shows how vulnerable the character feels). ____ I replace pronouns such as it, he, she, they, this, that with nouns _____ I use nouns not pronouns

INSIGHT _____ I have found several pieces of evidence to use in my paragraph and I cite correctly _____ I have made inferences for each piece of evidence and I explain my quotes expertly _____ My thesis goes beyond the obvious _____ My opinions about the story offer the reader of my paragraph a deeper understanding of the story _____ I do not re-tell the story _____ I use transitions well so that I clearly prove my thesis _____ My paragraph proves my thesis _____ I organize my evidence so that the link between the question and the answer is clear _____ My answer stands out from the crowd _____ I offer a view of the story that required me to think a lot about the significance of the events _____ My opinions are inferences. I don’t re-tell. _____ I surprise myself and I enjoy the story more now that I have spent time thinking about it

English 11: Learning from writing . . .

I returned the paragraphs today. Tonight, re-read your paragraph, read all my comments, and make sure you understand my suggestions and/or how to correct the errors. Do the check-list. Check any item you forgot to put into the paragraph and/or check the items you had no idea needed to be in the paragraph.

We will use this checklist for the next paragraph that you write.

Staple your paragraph to this checklist, please.

If you were absent today, be sure to get the notes from a partner.

We discussed allegory and we made notes on chapter 2.

Tomorrow is picture day. Dress up nicely and brush your teeth. he he he

Several students have finished one book so far for USSR. Tonight, read ahead. Read for an hour. Finish that book. It feels so good!!

Writing 12: Laisha Rosnau tomorrow . . . two items due Monday

Check yesterday's blog to find links to Laisha's biography and poem samples.

Arrive tomorrow prepared to listen and to ask questions.


Write up a response to Laisha's presentation and bring it to class on Monday, please.

Also, create a new political poem for Monday. You may use today's exercise done in class or you may start a brand new poem. Use the poems in your text book for ideas.

Thanks for handing in today's poems on time. I will edit them and return them to you on Monday.

Keep writing.

English 10: Finish the second part of the paragraph . . .

Arrive tomorrow having written the following parts of your paragraphs:

Thesis
First Point (usually 1 to 2 sentences)
First Example (usually 1 sentence)
First Explanation (1-5 sentences for this section)

Transition

Second Point
Second Example
Second explanation

Be ready to complete the final three sentences and edit your paragraph during class Friday.

You will take the paragraph home, do a good copy, attach it to your draft.

Good copies must be typed, double spaced, include all our literary must-haves, and answer the question with style and insight.

The question, in this case, is proving your thematic statement. Prove why you think your sentence is the theme to this story.

I marked your found poems today. They are beautiful. I've made a display outside our classroom door and it really brightens the hallway.

Vocabulary quiz on the first ten words has been postponed until Monday due to picture day tomorrow.

Have a great night.

English 11: How many pages have you read?

You should have completed 115 pages by today if you are just reading at school and many more pages if you are aiming for a B or an A in the class. As soon as you finish a book, ask for a response form. Fill it out in great detail to show what you loved about the book's ideas, the author's style or the attitude toward its topic.


Today: If you need more time to finish the paragraph, you will have 30 minutes. All paragraphs are due today.

Read chapter 2: A lot goes wrong in this chapter. Post-it note all the things that go wrong and post-it note all the reasons for these mishaps. Arrive with at least 8 quotations post-it noted.

Be ready to discuss chapter 2 on Thursday.

Spartan Day Thursday. Dress in your house colours. Bring money to support the Cops for Cancer initiative. Twoonies will be collected at the door but you may bring more money if you want to contribute to teacher and student head-shaves.

English 10: Found Poem is due, Spartan Day tomorrow, first four sentences of your paragraph are due . . .

Spartan Day and Cops for Cancer Tomorrow: Be sure to bring a twoonie or more for our fundraiser. Dress in your house colours.

Found Poems: Can't wait to see these beauties.

Literary Paragraph on Theme:

Follow the template, the literary-must-haves, the how-to-cite sheet and you will be fine!!

Add style! Sentence variety. Rhythm. Vocabulary usage (diction). Integrate quotations using method number 3!! Try a new beginning for each sentence to remove dull writing. 


Sample:

In the short story, "The Lamp At Noon," by Sinclair Ross, a loss of faith eradicates hope and a loss of communication destroys a family.

First Point: Faith is difficult to maintain when the farm fails year after year and the soil erodes before your eyes and springs into your lungs.

First example: As a result, Ellen cannot acknowledge Paul's affinity with the land because he refuses to share it with her. Consequently,  the "impenetrable fog" (Ross 109), clearly exemplifies the silence between the alienated couple and Ellen's vast isolation, symbolized by the window she stares through while she waits for Paul, continues to grow.

First explanation: Due to the lack of shared vision for the farm and for their family, both characters live isolated lives which drives the shattered wife to deliriously kill her child. The fact that she loses her way in the dust storm symbolizes her need to leave and her lack of power to do so. Her only way out is to lose her mind.

(YOUR EXPLANATION MAY BE 1 TO 5 SENTENCES DEPENDING UPON YOUR INSIGHT AND HOW COMPLEX THE QUOTATION IS THAT YOU ARE EXPLAINING).

First transition: Similar to a lack of faith, pride also erodes . . . . (a transition can be a word from our sheet or one that you make up based on your thesis)

Writing 12 . . . Two poems due tomorrow . . . Happy Editing . . . Spartan Day tomorrow, dress up, bring money

Be sure to follow the criteria for your best shot at achieving a satisfying poem and a good mark. For the next three weeks focus on experimenting. Read a lot of poems. Find ones you like. Imitate what they do. Use the how to edit suggestions on the reverse side of our Criteria sheet. Great suggestions there.

If you need more ideas, use your life. My bat walk this morning. Chelsi's annoying line in the girls' washroom. Write down bits and pieces of what you overhear on the bus, in the lounge or learning commons, while listening to your family talk.

Make time to write. Away from social media, the pressure of more math problems, projects. Write at the beach, on the roof, in a cafe, on the bus, in the shower (be creative here), in math class. You get the picture?

Writers write. The worst thing on paper is better than the best idea in your head. Put it all down. Let the voices float through your head. Pay no attention to the "OOOO, I'm a great writer"  and pay no attention to the "OOOO, I'm a terrible writer" voices that will inevitably arise.

Tonight: Edit two poems. Check the criteria. Edit some more. Choose a title. Put your name on it. Type it up. Print it out. Arrive tomorrow ready to submit two new poems.

Also, Laisha Rosnau will be our first writer this year. Here is a link to read a little about her: The writer, Laisha Rosnau

Here is a review of her second volume of poetry entitled Lousy Explorers Poetry Review

Here is a sample poem: Sample Poem

Someone Else’s North
We mark papers and hire sitters and drink to once upon
when we ranged north, spent summers in tents, biked
from Yukon to Alaska alone. Now, we apply for more grants,
allow ourselves to be stream-fed scraps of gossip.
Even in daydreams, we have the same décor: the animal skull
hung off-centre on a white wall, an iconic chair, vintage globe,
the taxidermied bird, for godsake—all ironic, or not.
Who is this we? you ask. Why am I roping you into this?
This is no mountain I’ve climbed alone, this dailiness,
these details. We are all complicit. A friend closes a door
behind a grad student and you don’t say anything, then or later.
Before we documented everything, I had nothing but memory
to mark my solo ascents. Halfway up Montana Mountain,
I heard the rasp of breath first then hooves severed
the icy skein of snow before I looked up from my climb
to catch the sidelong glance of a caribou as it ran by.
I can see its large, glossy eyeball roll toward me,
hear the whir of insects alighting on my exposed skin
until I climbed high enough that I was through them.
That is someone else’s north now; my polestar shifting
as my compass trembles like a pulse. Friends appear
onscreen, well-linked and adorned with witticisms.
Our time-lines flicker, back-lit. We’re all amateurs—
our history, our cartography as looped and twisted as string.

- See more at: http://arcpoetry.ca/?p=7421#sthash.AxoW8brU.dpuf

Someone Else’s North
We mark papers and hire sitters and drink to once upon
when we ranged north, spent summers in tents, biked
from Yukon to Alaska alone. Now, we apply for more grants,
allow ourselves to be stream-fed scraps of gossip.
Even in daydreams, we have the same décor: the animal skull
hung off-centre on a white wall, an iconic chair, vintage globe,
the taxidermied bird, for godsake—all ironic, or not.
Who is this we? you ask. Why am I roping you into this?
This is no mountain I’ve climbed alone, this dailiness,
these details. We are all complicit. A friend closes a door
behind a grad student and you don’t say anything, then or later.
Before we documented everything, I had nothing but memory
to mark my solo ascents. Halfway up Montana Mountain,
I heard the rasp of breath first then hooves severed
the icy skein of snow before I looked up from my climb
to catch the sidelong glance of a caribou as it ran by.
I can see its large, glossy eyeball roll toward me,
hear the whir of insects alighting on my exposed skin
until I climbed high enough that I was through them.
That is someone else’s north now; my polestar shifting
as my compass trembles like a pulse. Friends appear
onscreen, well-linked and adorned with witticisms.
Our time-lines flicker, back-lit. We’re all amateurs—
our history, our cartography as looped and twisted as string.

- See more at: http://arcpoetry.ca/?p=7421#sthash.AxoW8brU.dpuf