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

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

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.

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.

Short Story Elements Fjc

View more presentations from Schoodic.

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.

Short Stories: Sept. 29 - Oct. 2

Fri. Oct. 2/09
Review:
"House," the short story written by Jane Rule, is about a young couple with 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:
"God is Not a Fish Inspector," by W.D. Valgardson, is a story about family conflict and issues related to aging (or ageing). The story is set in Manitoba, and it has been developed into a film.

Thurs. Oct. 1/09 - Work in the Computer Lab J219 today.
-Read "House" by Jane Rule on p. 20 of Inside Stories II.
-Complete terminology notes on this story (from the long blue handout). Get information from the Glossary of Terms. You can write or type your notes on the computer.
-When finished, you can start watching the movie version of Harrison Bergeron.

Wed. Sept. 30/09
"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.

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.

Tues. Sept. 29/09
- Today, we begin our short stories unit.
- Review the short story plot diagram activity.
- Read Harrison Bergeron.
"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?

Media Literacy: Sept. 21 - 25

Fri. Sept 25/09 - Projects - We are using the library computer lab to work on journal responses, My Media projects, and video postcard projects. See previous posts for details.
DUE DATES:
"My Media" project (Due Fri. Sept. 25)
"3 Journal Responses" (Due. Tues. Sept. 29)
"Dear Compy" letter assignment (Due Tues. Sept. 29)
"Video Postcard" (Due Fri. Oct. 2)

Thurs. Sept. 24/09 - Cyberbullying
- Review the Cyberbullying videos Parts 1, 2, and 3 from Real Life Stories.
- Select one of the letter response choices from the activity sheet. Write a two page double-spaced response to "Betrayed" or "Undecided." In your letter:
--- Analyze the problem
--- Offer strategies and/or advice
--- Provide encouragement and support
--- Use complete sentences with proper grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.
*Do NOT put your name on the letter. I will give you a writing code for this exercise. (Due Tues. Sept. 29). We will be peer editing these letters.
Wed. Sept. 23/09 - Cyberbullying
- Review the Terrible Text video. Review types of cyberbullying. Work in groups to analyse one case study and prepare a presentation about the case. Each student should present at least one question and response. (5 mark group participation task)

Tues. Sept 22/09 - Projects - We are using the library computer lab to work on journal responses, My Media projects, and video postcard projects. See previous posts for details.

Mon. Sept. 21/09 - Advertising
- Read the booklet "Scams to Avoid" and complete the crossword puzzle.

Media Literacy - Sept. 14-18

Friday. Sept. 18/09 - Video Postcard
-We are in the computer lab today. You should work toward completion of your media literacy projects:

• Video Postcard - Due. Oct. 2/09
• Three 1/2 page typed double-spaced journal responses (any media-related topics we've touch on in class). - Due Sept. 29/09
  
• My Media: Consumer/Producer (image and text collage). Details on these projects can be found on previous blog posts. - Due Sept. 25/09
  
• If you have completed everything, sign into the provincial exam site and access the 2005/2006 e-exam to practice online. The provincial exam is worth 20% of your final English 10 mark.
  

Thurs. Sept. 17/09 - Advertising
- Self-Evaluation on group advertising strategy session (10 marks).
- Review the Video Postcard assignment that we will be working on Friday in the computer lab.
Wed. Sept. 16/09 - Advertising
- Killing Us Software 3 (video in class) looks at the portrayal of women in advertising.
- Discussion of film.
- Continue work on your three journal responses

Tues. Sept. 15/09 - Creative Commons / Advertising
We will discuss Creative Commons and copyleft licensing, which is now a popular means of sharing creative work on the Internet. Many people are sharing their work through copyleft license terms, while others select copyright and public domain options. Students will participate in a group advertising activity to come up with a strategy for promoting a male or female oriented product to the opposite gender.

Mon. Sept. 14/09 - Advertising Techniques

• Today, we're learning about advertising techniques. We'll be looking for examples in print media and reviewing a video example. Please continue working toward completion of your three journal responses (each 1/2-1 page double-space typed on any three media-related topics) and the MY MEDIA project. See last week's blog entries for specific details on this assignment.