We wrote an essay imitating the style of the one studied yesterday: "In The Trenches". A narrative essay is a story with an implied thesis.
IF YOU WERE ABSENT TODAY, YOU MUST ARRIVE WITH YOUR NARRATIVE ESSAY, HANDWRITTEN, DOUBLE SPACED. You choose the topic. You may wish to write about a memory of a time you were frightened.
Next, I read aloud the Joy Kogawa essay, "Grinning and Happy". We discussed the use of dissonance and the chicken coop motif.
Tonight, complete the following:
Thesis: implied or direct?
Write out the thesis in your own words
Add three facts which support the thesis. If you quote, cite properly.
Choose 1 literary device. Name it. Quote it. Explain how it supports the thesis.
Tomorrow we will be editing our narrative essays and learning about the four types of sentences in English:
1.simple
2. complex
3. compound
4. compound-complex
Lucky you.
We'll also be reading an essay entitled, "The Dirtiest Job" by Pierre Berton. Some of you may already have dirty jobs. We'll be writing about your worst job during Thursday's class.
To get ready for the holidays, we will be reading an essay on hockey called, "Man, You're A Great Player".
For each essay, complete the list above.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Writing 12: Postcard stories continue . . .
Today, we each wrote a postcard story from a title and a last line. We also listened to at least 7 stories. Which one was your favourite? Why?
Think about what you need to have in your story.
Type up a story for Friday. If you will be absent, you must email it to me or hand it in early. Thanks.
Wed: Emi and Mia present the short stories of Margaret Atwood. Lucky us.
IF YOU HAVE NOT SUBMITTED YOUR FICTION REPORT. GET IT IN.
Think about what you need to have in your story.
Type up a story for Friday. If you will be absent, you must email it to me or hand it in early. Thanks.
Wed: Emi and Mia present the short stories of Margaret Atwood. Lucky us.
IF YOU HAVE NOT SUBMITTED YOUR FICTION REPORT. GET IT IN.
English 10: Study all your notes and marked assignments . . .
Tomorrow's practice exam will be a great way to learn what you do not yet know, right?
Study tonight.
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
14. how to study for an exam!!!
We won't have USSR tomorrow but if you finish the exam early, you'll be able to read all of Thursday and Friday. YOU MUST FINISH THE NOVEL, ANIMAL FARM, BY JAN. 6TH. Be sure to post-it note
1. examples of rules
2. examples of breaking the rules
3. how to acquire power
4. Bonus: examples of satire: hyperbole, understatement, wit, sarcasm, and irony (verbal, situational, and dramatic).
La la la
You are learning soooo much!!!
I am loving your poems.
If you write poems over the holiday, I will edit them when you return.
Study tonight.
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
14. how to study for an exam!!!
We won't have USSR tomorrow but if you finish the exam early, you'll be able to read all of Thursday and Friday. YOU MUST FINISH THE NOVEL, ANIMAL FARM, BY JAN. 6TH. Be sure to post-it note
1. examples of rules
2. examples of breaking the rules
3. how to acquire power
4. Bonus: examples of satire: hyperbole, understatement, wit, sarcasm, and irony (verbal, situational, and dramatic).
La la la
You are learning soooo much!!!
I am loving your poems.
If you write poems over the holiday, I will edit them when you return.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Writing 12: Postcard Stories or Flash Fiction
I collected the stories today. If you were absent, be sure to email me the story TODAY. No stories accepted tomorrow unless accompanied by a note explaining how deathly ill you were today.
I also collected the Fiction REPORTS and the Bill Gaston responses.
We read our stories for 15 minutes. We wrote our Bill Gaston responses for 15 minutes. We started a new genre today: the postcard story!!
We wrote a short one today (250 words). If you were absent, stay in at lunch tomorrow to
make up the time. You need to read the two stories, read your USSR book, and write the postcard exercise.
We read Monika Lee's story, "Dizzy" and we discussed the elements of postcard stories. I also read the story, "The Boy with the Duck on His Head".
You have one postcard story due FRIDAY. If you will not be here, either submit it Thursday or email it to me Friday. It must be fewer than 750 words. It can be anywhere from 200 to 750 words. It must WORK. It has to feel as if something happened, some epiphany or shift occurs for the character or for the reader, be concise and precise in style, and be based on a FABULOUS idea.
Read through Claremont Reviews to see what great ideas you can steal. It's TRADITION.
Tonight: Think of an idea for a postcard story. This genre is also called Flash Fiction. Think of a photograph. A lot can be happening in a photograph but it's is captured in that one moment, somewhat like a scene but everything has to be finished, cleared up, by the end of the scene.
We will read some brilliant ones tomorrow and practice write.
Wed: Emi and Mia present.
Thurs: Time to write your postcard story which is due Friday.
Friday: Hand in the postcard story. Start thinking about the long story that will be due the second Thursday in January. Finish reading the book you have and sign out a new one for the holidays.
I also collected the Fiction REPORTS and the Bill Gaston responses.
We read our stories for 15 minutes. We wrote our Bill Gaston responses for 15 minutes. We started a new genre today: the postcard story!!
We wrote a short one today (250 words). If you were absent, stay in at lunch tomorrow to
make up the time. You need to read the two stories, read your USSR book, and write the postcard exercise.
We read Monika Lee's story, "Dizzy" and we discussed the elements of postcard stories. I also read the story, "The Boy with the Duck on His Head".
You have one postcard story due FRIDAY. If you will not be here, either submit it Thursday or email it to me Friday. It must be fewer than 750 words. It can be anywhere from 200 to 750 words. It must WORK. It has to feel as if something happened, some epiphany or shift occurs for the character or for the reader, be concise and precise in style, and be based on a FABULOUS idea.
Read through Claremont Reviews to see what great ideas you can steal. It's TRADITION.
Tonight: Think of an idea for a postcard story. This genre is also called Flash Fiction. Think of a photograph. A lot can be happening in a photograph but it's is captured in that one moment, somewhat like a scene but everything has to be finished, cleared up, by the end of the scene.
We will read some brilliant ones tomorrow and practice write.
Wed: Emi and Mia present.
Thurs: Time to write your postcard story which is due Friday.
Friday: Hand in the postcard story. Start thinking about the long story that will be due the second Thursday in January. Finish reading the book you have and sign out a new one for the holidays.
English 12: Personal Essay Unit begins . . .
Today I collected the Catcher essays, edited drafts, checklist and quote log. If you have not yet emailed me your essay due to your absence, you must do so today, or bring it tomorrow with a note explaining why you could not meet this deadline.
If you were absent, please go to the library as soon as you arrive at school tomorrow. Return your post-it note free Catcher and Inside Poetry. Sign out a book of essays entitled The Act of Writing.
Read the narrative essay entitled: "In the Trenches" on page 13. Write down the author, the title, the thesis (it is implied so you have to put it in your own words). Three details (paraphrases or quotations cited correctly with line numbers). Finally, write down one main literary technique. In this essay the following techniques dominated: simile, understatement, personification, motif of insanity, motif of bestiality and pathetic fallacy. Choose one. Write down the name of the technique. Write down your example and explain its effectiveness.
We read this essay aloud and discussed its merits. We predicted the thesis as we went along, looking for supportive details.
Tomorrow: YOU WILL WRITE A NARRATIVE ESSAY IMITATING THE STYLE OF ESSAYS IN THIS SECTION OF THE TEXT. YOUR TOPIC SHOULD BE SOMETHING PERSONAL AND EMOTIONAL SUCH AS A FRIGHTENING MOMENT, AN UNRESOLVED DISPUTE WITH A FRIEND OR COLLEAGUE OR FAMILY MEMBER, A TIME WHEN YOU FELT DISRESPECTED. Choose an event that you think would appeal to your readers.
Your job is to narrate the story and imply the thesis. You will have one hour to complete this task. Work on it tonight so you feel prepared. You can read other essays in that narrative section of the text. Re-read the essay we studied today. How does one scene move to the next? How well are the characters created? What details do you remember? Why? ETC
Once you have chosen your topic. Brainstorm several thesis statements that you could imply in through the use of description.
Eg: Fight with a sibling: Possible thesis statements
If you were absent, please go to the library as soon as you arrive at school tomorrow. Return your post-it note free Catcher and Inside Poetry. Sign out a book of essays entitled The Act of Writing.
Read the narrative essay entitled: "In the Trenches" on page 13. Write down the author, the title, the thesis (it is implied so you have to put it in your own words). Three details (paraphrases or quotations cited correctly with line numbers). Finally, write down one main literary technique. In this essay the following techniques dominated: simile, understatement, personification, motif of insanity, motif of bestiality and pathetic fallacy. Choose one. Write down the name of the technique. Write down your example and explain its effectiveness.
We read this essay aloud and discussed its merits. We predicted the thesis as we went along, looking for supportive details.
Tomorrow: YOU WILL WRITE A NARRATIVE ESSAY IMITATING THE STYLE OF ESSAYS IN THIS SECTION OF THE TEXT. YOUR TOPIC SHOULD BE SOMETHING PERSONAL AND EMOTIONAL SUCH AS A FRIGHTENING MOMENT, AN UNRESOLVED DISPUTE WITH A FRIEND OR COLLEAGUE OR FAMILY MEMBER, A TIME WHEN YOU FELT DISRESPECTED. Choose an event that you think would appeal to your readers.
Your job is to narrate the story and imply the thesis. You will have one hour to complete this task. Work on it tonight so you feel prepared. You can read other essays in that narrative section of the text. Re-read the essay we studied today. How does one scene move to the next? How well are the characters created? What details do you remember? Why? ETC
Once you have chosen your topic. Brainstorm several thesis statements that you could imply in through the use of description.
Eg: Fight with a sibling: Possible thesis statements
- Sibling rivalry must be accepted but a brother always forgives a brother.
- There is no such thing as sibling rivalry. Accepting it means accepting bullying in the home.
- Fighting with siblings is a direct result of parental mismanagement. Parents must treat siblings equally.
- Sibling rivalry occurs less often between siblings of the same gender because it is easy to compare two brothers' athletic abilities but less easy to compare the athletic skills of a sister to her brother.
- Sibling rivalry occurs for power. It is a direct reflection of society.
- Canadian families should not have more than one child.
- Only children create imaginative brothers and sisters so they can fight with them.
Are you getting the idea? You need to know what it is that you want your readers to take away when finished reading your essay. It's a little more directly created than a short story. It relies a lot on strong, descriptive details: the rat, the sounds of the artillery, the colours of the sky, mud in the mouth, the blood in the sock, praying to a God you don't even believe in etc.
English 10: The Child Who Walks Backwards
Make sure that your notes on Lorna Crozier's poem is up to date.
Be able to define theme.
Memorize this method of writing a poem.
1. Choose a topic that bugs you or an incident that you have not yet resolved: an argument, not getting a spot on the team, a divorce in the family and new step siblings, parents, someone ill in the family etc
2. Create at least 10 opinions about this topic: families should stay together, families are repressive and abusive, families always have one kid who doesn't quite fit, families are an economic invention of the 19th century to replicate serfdoms etc
3. Make a list of interesting nouns: seagull, slipper, canvas, midnight, egg, church steeple, the blue of prayer, silk socks, etc
Write the poem to reveal your THEME but without stating the opinion directly. Using action, concrete detail, sound, and narration, write a narrative, lyric (emotional) poem similar to Lorna Crozier's poem, "The Child Who Walks Backwards". WE WILL WRITE THE POEM DURING CLASS TOMORROW.
Homework: Read and post-it note chapter four of Animal Farm.
Wed, Thurs, Fri: BC exam preparation
We will be writing the exam during class. If you are unable to be here, you will need to finish it at home but your parents must supervise you as you cannot use a dictionary or on-line help.
You must bring in a note to say that the exam was taken under supervision.
Thanks.
Be able to define theme.
Memorize this method of writing a poem.
1. Choose a topic that bugs you or an incident that you have not yet resolved: an argument, not getting a spot on the team, a divorce in the family and new step siblings, parents, someone ill in the family etc
2. Create at least 10 opinions about this topic: families should stay together, families are repressive and abusive, families always have one kid who doesn't quite fit, families are an economic invention of the 19th century to replicate serfdoms etc
3. Make a list of interesting nouns: seagull, slipper, canvas, midnight, egg, church steeple, the blue of prayer, silk socks, etc
Write the poem to reveal your THEME but without stating the opinion directly. Using action, concrete detail, sound, and narration, write a narrative, lyric (emotional) poem similar to Lorna Crozier's poem, "The Child Who Walks Backwards". WE WILL WRITE THE POEM DURING CLASS TOMORROW.
Homework: Read and post-it note chapter four of Animal Farm.
Wed, Thurs, Fri: BC exam preparation
We will be writing the exam during class. If you are unable to be here, you will need to finish it at home but your parents must supervise you as you cannot use a dictionary or on-line help.
You must bring in a note to say that the exam was taken under supervision.
Thanks.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
English 12: Bring a typed, double spaced copy of your essay to class . . .
Today: We wrote body three and the conclusion. I handed out a checklist for our body paragraphs and reminded the students present that a body para. is just like all the literary paragraphs we have written this year, except, be SURE to repeat your thesis or refer to your overall thesis in each body paragraph.
MAKE IT CLEAR THAT EACH BODY PARAGRAPH PROVES THE THESIS.
Tomorrow: You get a mark for arriving with a printed copy of your essay. If you need to print it, do so at lunch.
You also get marked on your peer editing so bring all the handouts.
You'll need the bodyparagraph checklist I gave you today and the package on how to write the essay. At the back of that package is an overall essay checklist. You must check off each point in order to do well on this essay.
BECAUSE YOU HAVE HAD ALL WEEK TO WRITE THE ESSAY, THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSIONS. IF YOU ARE NOT HERE ON MONDAY, YOU MUST EMAIL ME THE ESSAY BY 3:30.
DueMonday: Good copy plus cover page, peer-edited copy, quotation log.
After the peer editing during Friday's class, you will have time to work on your essay.
At this stage, you will be revising awkward sentences, improving quote integration, ensuring each body topic sentence covers the topics in the paragraph, etc.
This is an essay at the grade 12 level. It needs to be the best thing you've written in four years.
HOW TO WRITE THE COVER PAGE IS EXPLAINED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BODY PARAGRAPH EDITING SHEET (THE YELLOW ONE)
ASK ANITA IF YOU ARE CONFUSED.
MAKE IT CLEAR THAT EACH BODY PARAGRAPH PROVES THE THESIS.
Tomorrow: You get a mark for arriving with a printed copy of your essay. If you need to print it, do so at lunch.
You also get marked on your peer editing so bring all the handouts.
You'll need the bodyparagraph checklist I gave you today and the package on how to write the essay. At the back of that package is an overall essay checklist. You must check off each point in order to do well on this essay.
BECAUSE YOU HAVE HAD ALL WEEK TO WRITE THE ESSAY, THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSIONS. IF YOU ARE NOT HERE ON MONDAY, YOU MUST EMAIL ME THE ESSAY BY 3:30.
DueMonday: Good copy plus cover page, peer-edited copy, quotation log.
After the peer editing during Friday's class, you will have time to work on your essay.
At this stage, you will be revising awkward sentences, improving quote integration, ensuring each body topic sentence covers the topics in the paragraph, etc.
This is an essay at the grade 12 level. It needs to be the best thing you've written in four years.
HOW TO WRITE THE COVER PAGE IS EXPLAINED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BODY PARAGRAPH EDITING SHEET (THE YELLOW ONE)
ASK ANITA IF YOU ARE CONFUSED.
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