Mar. 26 - 30: Short Stories / Poetry

**Term Deadline: Thurs. Apr. 5** 

***Short Stories Quiz: Tues. Mar. 27 (33 marks) Label plot diagram (5); Match terms (10); 3 paragraphs (18).
***Homework: Complete the information form (6 marks)***  


Fri. Mar. 30 - Class 3 of 4 on Poetry Blogging
- Sign into your blog at Blogger.com
- Work on poetry assignment #2 - Class 3 activity.  See an assignment example below:
- If you finish early, help the United Nations World Food Program feed the world by playing Free Rice.

People and Places

Before Two Portraits of My Mother

I love the beautiful young girl of this

portrait, my mother, painted years ago

when her forehead was white, and there was no

shadow in the dazzling Venetian glass

of her gaze. But this other likeness shows

the deep trenches across her forehead’s white

marble. The rose poem of her youth that

her marriage sang is far behind. Here is

my sadness: I compare these portraits, one

of a joy-radiant brow, the other care-

heavy: sunrise—and the thick coming on

of night. And yet how strange my ways appear,

for when I look at these faded lips my heart

smiles, but at the smiling girl my tears start.

By

Émile Nelligan (1879-1941)

Born in Montreal

Thurs. Mar. 29 - Class 2 of 4 on Poetry Blogging
- Sign into your blog at Blogger.com
- Work on poetry assignment #2 - Class 2 activity. See an assignment example below:

                                         War and Hope                                             

I Hate That Drum's Discordant Sound

by John Scott

Outwitted

by Edward Markam

Although John Scott's poem "I Hate That Drum's Discordant Sound" certainly contains a relevant message about the turmoil and devastation that is brought about by war, Edward Markham's poem "Outwitted" has greater relevance to the lives of most people in the world today. "Outwitted" is a short poem with a simple message. The poem's theme of "love thy neighbour" has relevance to many kinds of relationships such as families, friendships and the workplace. Sometimes family members do not get along, and it can take months or years for them to resolve issues that have caused a "falling out." Similarly, friendships may be disrupted and later be repaired as a result of one or both parties' efforts to re-connect. Finally, workplace relationships can be restored through the efforts of a caring mediator. Even though "Outwitted" is a very brief poem, its universal theme has widespread relevance for many people around the world.

Wed. Mar. 28 - Class 1 of 4 on Poetry Blogging
- In the computer lab, set up your blog at Blogger.com (sign in with your Google Docs username and password. Do not make a new account). You can customize your blog's privacy and comment moderation settings through your Blogger Dashboard "settings" and "comments" tabs.
- Work on poetry assignment #2 - Class 1 activity. See an assignment example below:

Love and Loneliness

All you need is love.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.

Mother Teresa

Love and Loneliness

(a poem with borrowed lines)

Love and loneliness are two sides of that coin called emotion

(Of course there are others such as jealousy and devotion)

Love is a sailboat on calm blue seas

With sunny skies and a warm soft breeze.

I love thee with a love I seem to lose. *

Could it really be the end of this cruise?

Now loneliness is a submarine that hardly surfaces for air

It is a child, homeless man or woman with an outcast stare.

My false friends leave me here to die alone **

Where is that coin? All I have is a stone.

In life we spin the coin:

Love - we win; 

Loneliness - we lose.

*   Line borrowed from "Sonnet 43: How Do I Love Thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

** Line borrowed from "Wabanaki Song" translated by Charles G. Leland

 

Tues. Mar. 27/12 - Short Story Unit Quiz
- Short Story Unit Quiz (33 marks) *** allowed hand-written term notes only
- Start work on the Louis Riel historical poetry assignment. Answers must be in complete sentences.

• 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. Complete the questions (under the Assignments and Handouts heading in the right margin).

Mon. Mar. 26/12
 - Review the Interactive Short Story Unit to prepare for the quiz tomorrow. Be sure to cover the elements/components of the short story and terminology.
- Use the same web site to listen to and read "Never" by H. E. Bates on p. 120 of Inside Stories II.

- Complete terminology notes using the long sheet handout.

- Complete your literary terms slide show.

**Bring your story notes on Tuesday to support your paragraph writing.

Mar. 12 - 16: Short Stories

***Homework: Complete the information form (6 marks)*** 

Fri. Mar. 16 - The Tell-Tale Heart 
- We will be watching Edgar Allan Poe's biography. 
- Today, we're reading the classic gothic horror, The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. Chicago Public Radio has produced a stories of stage version.

Here is a film production of the story starring Vincent Price.


Thurs. Mar. 15 - Forgiveness in Families
- "Forgiveness in Families" was written by Canadian author Alice Munro Munro is considered one of the world's best short story writers.
- Munro won the prestigious Man Booker Prize in 2009. 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. Mar. 14 - North End Faust 
Today, we're reading "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. Mar. 13 - God Is Not A Fish Inspector
- You'll be reading "God is Not a Fish Inspector" (Inside Stories II p. 42)
- Read the story and complete the terminology notes according to the long sheet instructions. 
   
Mon. Mar. 12 - The Metaphor
"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.
Read this story and complete terminology notes according to the long sheet instructions.

Mar. 8 - 9: Short Stories

***Homework: Complete the information form (6 marks)*** 
 
Fri. Mar. 9 - Ashes For the Wind
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.

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.

Thurs. Mar. 8 - Harrison Bergeron
- 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.

Feb. 27 - Mar. 2: Short Stories

***Homework: Complete the information form (6 marks)*** 


Fri. Mar. - Dialogue Punctuation Review
- 20 min. silent reading
- dialogue punctuation review
- write one page of dialogue and hand it in this class (6 marks)

• Indent for each new speaker (1 mark)
• 1 page single spaced (1 mark)
• Quotation marks around exact words of speaker (1 mark)
• Vary position of dialogue labels (beginning, middle, end) (1 mark)
• Vary dialogue labels (said, remarked, announced, etc.) (1 mark)
• Use at least one mid-sentence dialogue label (properly punctuated) (1 mark)

- Lab time to complete missing work or Avoiding Plagiarism DVD

Thurs. Mar. 1- Freedom To Read Week Activity

***New Contest - Why Media Matters (Deadline May 1/12)

Review the Fundamental Freedoms (section 2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

Fundamental Freedoms

2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms:

a) freedom of conscience and religion;

b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;

c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and

d) freedom of association.

Freedom of the press is an important cornerstone of a democracy. In some societies, information access is much more restrictive than it is in Canada.

1. Find out where Canada currently ranks on the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index. Where did Canada rank in 2002?
2. Review 2012 Attacks on the Press
3. Review statistics on journalists killed

View the following videos:
Report on the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index


Learn about the most dangerous country for journalists.


Internet censorship in China


Blogging and its impact on traditional news media


Mon. Feb. 27 to Wed. Feb. 29 - Terminology
- Work in the Computer Lab today.
- Use Google Docs Presentation or 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
- Assignment should have: 1 title slide and 25 terminology slides. Select 25 terms you don't know from the list.
- Each slide should have: a prominent term; definition; visual element to illustrate term/concept. (26 marks)

Feb. 20 - 23: Media Studies

***Homework: Complete the information form (6 marks)*** 


Thurs. Feb. 23: Lab 120 is booked.
-Go to Socrative.com. Using your last and first names, sign-in to room 52231. Complete the 10 mark quiz on it's/its/you're/your.
- Then, type your two best media topic paragraphs. Include your full name and block on the papers. Staple the good copies to your rough copies and peer editing sheet.

Tues. Feb. 21 - Wed. Feb. 22: Advertising Media
- 15 min. silent reading
- It's / Its / You're / Your review. 10 mark quiz in the lab on Thursday.
- Work alone/with partner/or in a small group to develop a marketing concept (idea) to sell one product to the gender not typically targeted. See product examples:

• Sample Female products: diet beverage, detergent, air freshener, body lotion, sewing machine.
• Sample Male products: pick-up truck, beer, tools, fishing gear, motorcycle.

- Select one of these products (or your own idea) and list marketing concepts, sketches, and / or a logo that could help market this product to the opposite gender. Consider new media options in your discussions. Collect your rough ideas on a large piece of blank paper.
- You will complete a self-evaluation on your creative process worth 10 completion marks.



Mon. Feb. 20
- 20 min. of silent reading
- Peer editing - Today, we'll review the purpose of peer editing and practice editing first draft paragraphs from other classes.
- Finish "Scams to Avoid" crossword. Use the booklet.

Feb 13-17: Media Studies

Fri. Feb. 17
- DVD: Searching the Internet
- Start work on the Scams to Avoid crossword puzzle. Use the Scams to Avoid booklet to find the answers.
   
Thurs. Feb. 16

• We're in the new K-Library computer lab today.
• The assignment is a creative paragraph writing/video captioning assignment.
• Topic sentence idea: Winning a trip to _____________ was an amazing / unforgettable / disappointing experience.
• STEP 1: select a video (35 seconds or longer) from :
• Wikimedia Commons (Video Collection)
• WGBH Video Sandbox (Video Collection)
• Al Jazeera Creative Commons (Video Collection)
• Copy or save the video file (with extension such as .ogg) to your desktop. Upload the video to DotSub.com and caption the video with a paragraph (6 - 10 sentences long). ***Use your writing code to identify your video.
• (completion mark  /6)

Wed. Feb. 15 - Advertising Media
- 20 minutes of silent reading
- Killing Us Software 3 (video in class) looks at the portrayal of women in advertising.
- Discussion of film.  Continue work on crossword.


Tues. Feb. 14
- Video: Media literacy
- Start work on the Scams to Avoid crossword puzzle. Use the Scams to Avoid booklet to find the answers.



Mon. Feb. 13
- 20 min. of silent reading OR paragraph work

- Discuss recent protests against the controversial international ACTA treaty. ACTA is viewed by many as a threat to the open Internet and freedom of speech.

Feb. 6 - 10: Media Studies

Fri. Feb. 10 - Media, Participatory Culture, and You.
 Today, we'll finish watching the documentary film Rip: A Remix Manifesto

• Think about the question: Is remixing Internet content a legitimate form of creativity, or is it intellectual property theft?
• See the study guide for this film
  
• This film was made by a British Columbian, and it can be viewed on YouTube

Wed. Feb. 8 - Thurs. Feb.9
- Lab is booked.
- Continue work on the A Tale of Two Media project
- View some example slides
- The project template can be selected into your Google Docs account.
- You can use your school web mail account to set up a Google Docs account. Your school email is: first initial last name@skss.sd73.bc.ca

Tues. Feb. 7 - Media, Participatory Culture, and You.
 Today, we're watching the documentary film Rip: A Remix Manifesto

• Think about the question: Is remixing Internet content a legitimate form of creativity, or is it intellectual property theft?
• See the study guide for this film
  
• This film was made by a British Columbian, and it can be viewed on YouTube

Mon. Feb. 6 - Terms and Paragraphs
- 20 min. silent reading
- review terms: satire, parody, paradox, net neutrality
- Write one paragraph (Topic: Explain the Concept of Net Neutrality)
See examples:



Video on Net Neutrality