Sept. 28 - Oct. 2: Short Stories

Marking cut off for Sept. assignment work is Fri. Oct. 9th
Complete student information form (3 marks)

Fri. Oct. 2, 2015  - House
 
- You'll be reading "House" (Inside Stories II p. 20), a story written by Jane Rule.
"House," the short story written by Jane Rule, is about a young couple and their two children who live a little differently than other families in their community. The parents, Harry and Anna, decide to change their lifestyle, and finally buy a house.
- Read the story and complete terminology notes according to the long sheet instructions.
- Stephen King discusses short story writing.

 
Thurs. Oct. 1, 2015 - The Tell-Tale Heart

- Use the first 25 min. for group discussions.
- Today we're reading the classic gothic horror, The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe. Complete terminology notes for this story according to the long sheet instructions.
- View The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe.

  

Wed. Sept. 30, 2015 - Ashes For the Wind

- Crossword puzzle completion (25 min.)
- Read "Ashes for the Wind" and complete terminology notes according to the long sheet instructions.
"Ashes for the Wind" was written by Colombian journalist and author Hernando Téllez. Although Téllez wrote this story around 1945, the problems of Colombia's internally displaced persons (IDPs) persist today.
Current news connection: Canadian mining companies in Colombia 2013 article.
This Refugees International YouTube clip, produced in 2008, outlines the scope of the IDP problem in Colombia.
An April 2008 news agency report provides another view on Colombia's IDP crisis.
In 2009, LinkTV produced a documentary, Stories That Kill, about the state of journalism and freedom of expression in Colombia.

Tues. Sept. 29, 2015

- 20 min. for paragraph revisions OR silent reading.
- The lab is booked for students to type their two strongest paragraphs for marking.
- When the two paragraphs are typed, staple them to the front of all four rough copies.
- These will be marked:  Each good copy is out of 6 marks (2 x 6); each rough copy is worth 2 marks (4 x 2); total assignment score is out of 20 marks.
- Please include your full name and block on each good copy sheet.

Mon. Sept. 28, 2015 - Harrison Bergeron

- 25 min. for paragraph revision OR silent self-directed reading.
- Start short story unit:
  Read Harrison Bergeron (see stories link). Complete terminology notes according to the long sheet instructions.
Harrison Bergeron was written by American author Kurt Vonnegut. In this YouTube clip, Vonnegut offers advice for short story writers. After reading "Harrison Bergeron," do you think that Vonnegut has followed his own advice?
- Vonnegut offers eight rules of short story writing.

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.