Writing Tips and Shane Koyczan

Today I read out several paragraphs from last day and highlighted their strengths.
We discussed the following 4 writing tips:
1. Avoid simple words (big sad mad bad glad happy nice things stuff fun kids)
2. Use connecting words (moreover, however, although, furthermore, In addition, consequently, as a result etc. . . )
3. Use the present tense when referring to literature
eg. Hannah's father decided that she should have made up her own mind (INCORRECT)
Hannah's father decides that she should make up her own mind (CORRECT).
4. Avoid using contractions in formal writing (I also remarked that could've, would've, should've are not actually words that should ever be used).

Then I introduced students to Shane Koyczan, one of the few famous poets in Canada (he could also be called a "spoken word artist").  We watched two of Shane's spoken word performances. 

Idioms, Frogs, and "The Bicycle"

 Updated marks HERE
Last day we completed a pink handout on idioms.
We learned that when given a writing task, you must use the main topic word in your essay -- often several times.  I put it this way:
if you're told to write an essay on frogs, you have to use the word frogs -- often.

Today we reviewed our work on idioms and began reading the short story "The Bicycle" by Jillian Horton.  Once students were finished, we wrote a quiz on the story.

After a break we worked on the following paragraph assignment from "The Bicycle" (this was handed in):

“Tante Rose said it was time for you to . . .”

“Because she’s angry at me?” I said . . .”

“No,” he said softly.  “Not because she’s angry.  Just because it’s time Hannah.”

Explain in a paragraph what Tante Rose and Hannah’s father mean by “because it’s time”. 10 marks  

Students were requested to use at least TWO of the following connecting words: furthermore, moreover, in addition, eventually, consequently, similarly, nonetheless, in contrast, for instance, as a result.

Nonconformist

Today we began with a review of last day's work on synonyms, homonyms, and the play "This is a Test."
Words of the week, in order, are 'pithy,' 'narcissistic,' and 'nonconformist.'

Today we read the poem "NonConformist" in our textbooks.
We did our best to understand the poem together
Then we discussed what good literary writing looks like (this took some time).
Finally, we began working on question #1 on p. 31 -- a literary response to "Nonconformist." This was handed in at the end of class.

Here are the two example paragraphs I went over during class.  (guess which one is the better one)
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Topic: Discuss how the John Donne uses the ‘island’ metaphor in Meditation XVII.

     The author talks about a lot of things. He says that nobody is an island and that’s pretty famous and also so true. Like, WTF!  Of course no one is an island, duh!  My dad once challenged me to swim out to Copper Island when we were camping on the Shuswap and I almost made it but I had to turn back because I got a cramp.  OK, back to the topic. So, yeah, John Donee is a famous author and he probably uses an island as a metaphor and says nobody should be one because we are all continents and when a part of a continent gets washed away, a clod, then the continent is a bit smaller and that’s why we are all like islands and continents. Sometimes I feel like an island, tho, like last night when I was babysitting and I felt all alone because I got Becka to sleep but Netflix wasn’t working so I just sat there.  Then at the end of the poem he talks about a bell tolling (that means ringing).  I think he’s probably saying that sometimes when bells ring that signals something you should do but I’m not sure what that means.  Islands are like metaphors.

 

      In “Meditation XVII” John Donne compares all of humanity to an island to reinforce the theme that all of mankind is connected to one another.  The famous line “No man is an island” effectively conveys that people cannot isolate themselves from one another, and that, no matter how hard some may try, the connection people have for one another is a really key part of being human. Donne reinforces that connectedness by extending the metaphor; that is, he uses the continent of Europe as a metaphor for all of humanity.  It’s ironic that while Donne’s message to the reader is that we need to be inclusive of everyone in the world, he only refers to one continent, “Europe”, by name. Of course in the 17^th Century, when this was written, the Euro-centric view of the world was anything but inclusive of all mankind. John Donne uses metaphor effectively to explore the theme of the connection of mankind and, no matter who we are, our humanity binds us all together into one tapestry.

Synonyms, This is a Test

Today we completed work on Synonyms and Antonyms -- a worksheet. It was completed in class by all students and then we went over answers.
We had some quiet reading time.
We read the play This is a Test from our Sightlines textbook.

We reviewed some key terms: drama, genre, poetry, prose, dialogue

Students hopefully realized that the surreal (unreal) elements of the play were present because they represented the main character's state of mind. Moreover, Alan the protagonist became anxious and almost paranoid as he was writing his test -- probably a result of some poor study habits.

Marks are now posted!

Click here to see your grades and which assignments you might be missing!

Self-Portrait

Today we reviewed the following terms:
Venn Diagram
Vanity
Pride
Narcissim

The main part of the lesson was looking at the picture "Self Portrait" by Buffy Sainte-Marie on p. 30 of Sightlines 10. Our focus was to go beyond the literal image and make interpretations.

Together, through a guided discussion, we learned that the imagine goes well beyond being a literal picture; the imagine has depth and feeling.  Specifically, it reveals the inner spirituality and connection with nature that Sainte-Marie has. The imagine even shows the contrast between Sainte-Marie's connection with the world and how the world has treated her.

Exit Slip Assignment:
In a mini paragraph, discuss "Self Portrait" by Buffy Sainte-Marie. Remember, go beyond the literal image and discuss what can be interpreted.

Face in the Pool

On Monday we completed the front and back of the yellow grammar sheet and handed it in (Suffixes and prefixes).
We discussed the difference between vanity and pride.
Students read the myth The Face in the Pool and completed the following seven questions and then submitted them:

English 10 – “The Face in the Pool”                                       Name:

1. What is another name for the character Jupiter?

 

2. Why does Juno become angry with Echo?

 

3. Why does Echo fall in love with Narcissus?

 

4. Why can’t Echo communicate with Narcissus?

 

5. In what manner did Narcissus most likely die?

 

6. Whom does Narcissus try to kiss?

 

7. What do you think the word ‘Narcissism’ means?

I am a Rock

Quiet reading.
Two stickie notes:  on one write out a metaphor -- on the other write out one difficult vocabulary word.

Mediatation XVII quiz was completed (all of you got great marks!) and we learned who Simon and Garfunkel are. We also learned that Dennis Pfeiffer, my nephew, might try to teach you guys something in an upcoming class.

We learned that poetry and literature CANNOT mean whatever you want it to mean -- there is a range of meanings that are correct.

For example, in the poem/song I am a Rock, the author believes that the walls he's built around himself are beneficial.  Really, though, as readers we know that no one can live a fulfilling life by isolating themselves.

No homework was assigned.

Kees, Andrew, Erin, and Jordan B need to hand in their assignment from last day.

No man is an island

Today we studied Meditation XVii by John Donne.  We learned about Donne's belief that there is a connectedness in humanity and that every man's death diminishes all of mankind.
NOTE:  There will be a quiz next day on Meditation XVII!

We discussed the words meditation (and marsupial).  We also reviewed how metaphors can be straightforward, implied, and extended.

We learned the difference between poetry and prose.

We worked on the assignment below (it's due for homework):

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English 10 -- “Meditation XVII” Sightlines 10 p. 2

Although “Meditation XVII” by John Donne seems to be a poem, it is a piece of prose.  Your assignment is to change the prose format of the poem into poetry, keeping in mind that line divisions are important to create meaning.  Consider line length, word size, spacing, justification, font, colour, overall shape, and background illustrations

Criteria

            creative

            neat

            white, unlined paper

Welcome to English 10

Click here to see the course outline.

Today we got our Sightlines 10 books from the library (along with a reading book).
We discussed metaphors and learned that some metaphors are simple (The road was a thin ribbon bathed in the moonlight), some are implied (Brett barked out the answers), and some are extended (Melina became entangled in a web of her own emotions and the more she struggled, the more she was trapped in the threads). 

We also completed some work on prefixes and suffixes.
Remember to bring your reading book with you to each English class!

Word of the week is "pithy" which means thoughtful or effective.  It's not uncommon for Brett to offer a pithy remark during class.

Final marks

Remember, in this class we agreed to NOT have term marks; that is, your final grade is an accumulation of all of your work from the entire year (not just from Term 2).  As a result, on your report card  your Term 1, Term 2, and Final Grades will all be the identical.  Your report card will also show your "final exam" % -- which wasn't really a final exam. . . it was just your last unit test.

Final Marks -- click HERE

Danke schoen for the awesome semester in German class.

Tschuess!