Saturday, October 31, 2009

Animal Farm: Nov. 2 - Nov. 6

Fri. Nov. 6/09

Watch the Animal Farm Movie
Prepare paragraph response for the Animal Farm test on Monday, Nov. 9th.

Thurs. Nov. 5 / 09

Review ch. 6 -7 questions.
Read chapter 9

Wed. Nov. 4/09- Who is Napoleon?


Read ch. 8

Napoleon, a Berkshire boar, is the main tyrant and villain of Animal Farm and is based upon Joseph Stalin. He begins to gradually build up his power, using puppies he took from mother dogs Jessie and Bluebell, which he raises to be vicious dogs as his secret police. After driving Snowball off the farm, Napoleon usurps full power, using false propaganda from Squealer and threats and intimidation from the dogs to keep the other animals in line. Among other things, he gradually changes the Commandments to allow himself privileges such as eating at a table and to justify his dictatorial rule. By the end of the book, Napoleon and his fellow pigs have learned to walk upright and started to behave similarly to the humans against whom they originally revolted. Napoleon's name adds to the novella's themes of totalitarian dictators rising from a vacuum of power and absolute power corrupting absolutely. The character's namesake, Napoleon Bonaparte, forcibly took control from a weak government in 1799, installed himself as First Consul and eventually crowned himself Emperor (Wikipedia).
To understand Stalin, the historical figure Napoleon the pig is based on, view Parts 1 to 5:
Joseph Stalin: The Real History (Part 1)
Joseph Stalin: The Real History (Part 2)
Joseph Stalin: The Real History (Part 3)
Joseph Stalin: The Real History (Part 4)
Joseph Stalin: The Real History (Part 5)

Tuesday. Nov. 3/09

Computer lab class to catch up on all term one assignments. If you have finished all assignments:
- Review Animal Farm notes for test.
- Try practice quiz questions to test your knowledge of Animal Farm.
- If finished, work on online grammar tutorials.

Monday. Nov. 2/09

Read chapters 6 & 7. Complete questions and vocabulary.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Animal Farm: Oct. 26 - 30

***Mon. Oct. 26 - Open Book Poetry Test & 3 Quatrain Comics***
Due Wed. Oct. 28 - Poetry Assignment #2
Due Fri. Oct. 30 - Glossary slides #16-30

Computer Lab classes: Blk A (Wed. Oct. 28) Blk C (Fri. Oct. 30)
**If you are caught up on all assignments and reading try:
- Writing a picture poem with Phrasr
- See the example

Fri. Oct. 30
- Animal Farm (read chapters 4 and 5)
- Complete the summary worksheet, Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution (under Handouts and Assignments link).
- Review poetry test papers

Wed. Oct. 28 (Blk. C) - Thurs. Oct. 29 (Blk. A)
Review the Animal Farm political allegory, character comparison chart and watch the Russian Revolution (Parts 1, 2 & 5) and Animal Farm Synopsis videos.
Russian Revolution (Part 1)
Russian Revolution (Part 2)
Russian Revolution (Part 5)
Animal Farm Synopsis
Parts 3 and 4 of the Russian Revolution, dealing with the period of the provisional government, are omitted because Orwell didn't include two phases of revolution in his story. This is one example where there isn't a tidy parallel between the book and the real history of the revolution. Animal Farm seems to lump together the Russian Revolution (February 1917) and the rise of the Bolshevik party (October Revolution 1917).

Tues. Oct. 27
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a novella that can be described as a roman à clef (French for "novel with a key"), which is a work describing real-life behind a façade of fiction.
Although Animal Farm is short, it can be read and interpreted on several levels:

A "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can mean any far-fetched story that may feature folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and talking animals, and usually enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events (Wikipedia).

A fable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, that features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson (a "moral"). Fables can be described as a didactic mode of literature. They frequently have as their central characters animals with the ability to reason and speak (Wikipedia).

In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improvement.Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humour in itself so much as an attack on something of which the author strongly disapproves, using the weapon of wit (Wikipedia).

An allegory is a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in the narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself (Microsoft Encarta).

To appreciate the deeper satirical and allegorical elements within Animal Farm, it is important to have an understanding of the author, George Orwell, and the historical and political dynamics of his time.

View parts 1 -5 of George Orwell's biography and complete the questions (see Assignments & Handouts link):
George Orwell - Part 1
George Orwell - Part 2
George Orwell - Part 3
George Orwell - Part 4
George Orwell - Part 5

Mon. Oct. 26/09
- Open book poetry test.
- Start Animal Farm by George Orwell

Friday, October 16, 2009

Poetry: Oct. 19 - 22

Due Tues. Oct. 20 - Poetry Assignment #1

Thurs. Oct. 22/09
- Canadian Poet Profile: Leonard Cohen (1934 - )
- Watch Cohen recite the poem Democracy is Coming to the USA
- Compare the mood and tone against the music video of Democracy.
- Then read his poem "Tower of Song." Watch Cohen's speech at his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008.
- Watch the Tower of Song performance (Cohen and U2).
- Use words, sketches and your imagination to interpret and illustrate the Tower of Song. (substitution assignment)
- Start watching the QTV interview with Cohen at 6min45sec.

Wed. Oct. 21/09
- British poet profile: Percy Bisshe Shelley
- Poem analysis: Ozymandias (sonnet)
- Computer lab project work

Tues. Oct. 20/09
- Review these poetry slam examples. Then, work toward completion on poetry assignment #2. A poetry slam is a competition at which poets read or recite original work (or, more rarely, that of others). These performances are then judged on a numeric scale by previously selected members of the audience.

Mon. Oct. 19/09
- Review the quatrain poetry form.
- Lab exercise: Write three quatrain comic strip poems on three different feelings or emotions. Use Strip Generator to create your three comic quatrains. See the example.
- Printing in J219 Lab: Click on the K->Graphics->KSnapshot->Print
- Continue work on poetry assignment #1 and #2














Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Poetry: Oct. 15 - 16

Thurs. Oct. 15/09 (J219 Computer Lab)
- DUE TODAY: Excuses Poem (5) - Literary Term Glossary Slides #1-15 (30) - Louis Riel error free complete sentence answers (20).
- Continue work on: Poetry Assignment #1 (25) DUE Tues. Oct. 20

Friday, October 9, 2009

Poetry: Oct. 13 - 16

***Tues. Oct. 13***Short Stories Unit Test (33 marks) Closed book. No notes allowed.
***Thurs. Oct. 15**Literary Terms: Slides 1-15 due (30 marks)
***Fri. Oct. 30 *****Literary Terms: Slides 16-30 due (30 marks)

Wed. Oct. 14/09
- Introduce the poetry unit.
- Watch an example of poetry slam to understand that poetry is an evolving art form.
- Life and death theme exploration. Read Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven and watch the Simpson's version.
- View the peer editing slideshow. Peer edit 2 or 3 letter samples.

Tues. Oct. 13/09
- Short Story Unit Test (33 marks)
- Write an "Excuses" poem using the online form. Print your poem and hand it in for 5 marks.
- On February 17th, 2009, the Canadian Press reported that Louis Riel's final poems had been made public for the first time. Read the story and watch the video to learn more.
- Answer all 18 questions with error-free complete sentences (pay special attention to capitalization, spelling, punctuation, and structure) 20 homework marks.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Short Stories: Oct. 5 - Oct. 9

Fri. Oct. 9/09 - Short Story Unit Review (J219 Lab)
- Go through all of the Interactive Short Story Unit to review the terminology and plot diagram. You will need to know these for the quiz.
- Decide which 3 stories you will write paragraphs on. For Practice: Write your 3 paragraphs. Review the example paragraph.
- Continue work on your Visual Glossary of Literary Terms using Empressr.com
- If you have time, you can continue watching the Harrison Bergeron Movie.


Thurs. Oct. 8/09 - Forgiveness in Families
- "Forgiveness in Families" was written by Canadian author Alice Munro (see Still Perfecting Her Craft). Munro is considered one of the world's best short story writers.
- Munro won the prestigious Man Booker Prize this year. It is the biggest international award for short story writing.
- Read the story on p. 93 and complete notes on the terms from the blue handout.

Wed. Oct. 7/09 - The Metaphor & North End Faust
"The Metaphor" is a short story written by Nova Scotian writer Budge Wilson. Wilson has been in the news recently for writing the prequel to Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. Before Green Gables was published in February 2008. In a YouTube video, Wilson explains how it felt to take on such a formidable writing task.

"North End Faust" by Ed Kleiman
The title of the short story "North End Faust" contains a double allusion. These two allusions relate to the main character's place of residence in Winnipeg and to his faustian behavior as a university psychology professor. See the definition of faustian.

Tues. Oct. 6/09 - Literary Terms Visual Glossary Project
- Work in the Computer Lab J219 today.
- Create a free account on Empressr.com
- View the sample below and create your own visual glossary of literary terms and devices. *** Literary Terms and Devices: A Visual Glossary
- Read "The Metaphor" by Budge Wilson (page 65)

Mon. Oct. 5/09 - The Tell-Tale Heart
- Review these two video interpretations of Edgar Allan Poe's story:
- The Vincent Price performance of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" -Part 1 - Part 2
- The Tell-Tale Heart adaptation
- Listen to the Tell-Tale Heart song from the Allan Parsons Project concept album Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976), based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. - Watch Edgar Allan Poe's biography.