Friday, April 27, 2012

Apr. 30 - May 4: Romeo and Juliet / The Chrysalids

***DUE Fri. May 4: Wedding Vows (10); Advice letter (10); Graphic novel sheet (20)

Fri. May 4/12 - The Chrysalids
- Run-on sentence exercise #1
- Start reading The Chrysalids novel by John Wyndham. Complete the questions for chapters 1 and 2.

Tues. May 1 - Thurs. May 3/12 Romeo and Juliet Online Play
- Participate in EN 11 surveys
-  The lab is booked for these three classes.
-  Start work on the Superheroes In Love project. (You will have 3 lab classes to work on this).
- Complete the following 6 tasks in the order below:
  • Juliet image (sketch or use the HeroMachine)
  • Romeo image (sketch or use the HeroMachine)
    • Printing on school computers: K - Graphics - KSnapshot and print. 
  • Fill out assignment sheet in point form (a description for every bullet point on sheet)
  • One typed paragraph describing your Juliet
  • One typed paragraph describing your Romeo
  • Revise the prologue with at least ten changes to the text (highlight the changes made). Copy and paste prologue onto new document to make revisions.

Mon. Apr. 30/12
- Finish writing a page of Wedding Vows for Romeo and Juliet (10 marks). Include at least four different literary techniques (metaphor, simile, personification, alliteration, apostrophe, etc.). Underline and label each of these techniques.
- Write an advice letter to Romeo (specifically respond to each of the 5 problems identified in his letter) (10 marks). Acknowledge each problem and provide your best advice for each issue.
**Both assignments DUE this class**

Friday, April 20, 2012

Apr. 23 - Apr. 27: Romeo and Juliet

***Intro. theatre / Romeo and Juliet quiz on Wed. Apr. 25***
***Romeo and Juliet Wedding Vows (10 marks) DUE Mon. Apr. 30***

Fri. Apr. 27 - Romeo and Juliet Online Play  Simplified Romeo and Juliet
- Finish viewing Romeo and Juliet (1968 Franco Zeffirelli version).
- Finish work on the Wedding Vows for Romeo and Juliet (must include at least four literary techniques). Hand this in for marking.  

Thurs. Apr. 26 - Romeo and Juliet Online Play  Simplified Romeo and Juliet
- 15 min. silent reading
- Act 2 notes
- Continue Romeo and Juliet (1968 Franco Zeffirelli version).
- Start work on the Wedding Vows for Romeo and Juliet (must include at least four literary techniques).

Wed. Apr. 25 - Romeo and Juliet Online Play  Simplified Romeo and Juliet
- Quiz on introduction to theatre and Romeo and Juliet.
- Romeo and Juliet plot summary video
- Overhead notes: Prologue (in iambic pentameter)
Overhead notes on Act I
- Watch Romeo and Juliet Act I Scenes 1-3 (1968 Franco Zeffirelli version).
 
 
Tues. Apr. 24 - Romeo and Juliet Online Play  Simplified Romeo and Juliet
Today, we'll take a virtual tour of the Globe Theatre (Source). View the Interactive Globe.
Make notes on the handout. Read Shakespeare: What's Your Sign?
After the tour, see:

See also:
Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet (A Kennedy Center video)

Mon. Apr. 23/12 - Romeo and Juliet Online Play  Simplified Romeo and Juliet
- Finish the movie Shakespeare In Love. Note: This film is not historically accurate.(It is a fictional comedy of how Shakespeare's life may have been while he was writing Romeo and Juliet). Observe the settings, costumes and theatre structure.
- Use the remaining time to read from the graphic novel Romeo and Juliet books.

Monday, April 16, 2012

Apr. 17 - 20: Animal Farm / Romeo and Juliet

***Animal Farm Test on Tues. Apr. 17 (100 marks)***

Fri. Apr. 19 - Romeo and Juliet Online Play  Simplified Romeo and Juliet
- Continue the movie Shakespeare In Love. Note: This film is not historically accurate.(It is a fictional comedy of how Shakespeare's life may have been while he was writing Romeo and Juliet). Observe the settings, costumes and theatre structure.

Thurs. Apr. 18 - Romeo and Juliet Online Play  Simplified Romeo and Juliet
- Mrs. Hopkins is away today.
- Today, view the Globe Theatre video in class
- Read up to Act II of Romeo and Juliet
- Start the movie Shakespeare In Love. Note: This film is not historically accurate.(It is a fictional comedy of how Shakespeare's life may have been while he was writing Romeo and Juliet). Observe the settings, costumes and theatre structure.

Wed. Apr. 18/12 - Romeo and Juliet Online Play
- Mrs. Hopkins is away today.
- View DVD "Evaluating Sources."
- Finish the Introduction to Shakespeare and Elizabethan Theatre worksheet  questions.


Tues. Apr. 17/12 - Animal Farm Test today (no books or notes)
- 10 min. of study time
- Write Animal Farm test and hand in.
- When finished, pick up the Introduction to Shakespeare and Elizabethan Theatre worksheet and start working on the questions.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Apr. 10 - 13: Animal Farm

***Animal Farm Test: 100 marks on Tues. Apr. 17 (10 matching vocabulary; 10 matching character comparison; 10 T/F George Orwell; 64 multiple choice; 6 mark paragraph)***

Fri. Apr. 13 - Animal Farm online novel
- Review chapters 7 and 9 questions.
- Rotating themes exercise
- Review the Animal Farm test paragraph question.
Animal Farm Synopsis
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).
Who is Napoleon?
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)


Thurs. Apr. 12 - Animal Farm online novel
- Review the vocabulary and answers to the Ch. 4 - 5 chapter questions.
- Review the Animal Farm character comparison chart and watch the Russian - Revolution (Part 1) video.
Russian Revolution (Part 1)
What happened to Nicholas II and the Romanov family?
- National Geographic "Tsar's Family's Death."
- 2008 Russia Today news story.
- Read chapters 8 and 9.

Wed. Apr. 11 - Animal Farm online novel
- Read chapters 6 and 7 and work on the questions.
   
Tues. Apr. 10 - Animal Farm online novel
- Review ch. 1 - 3 Animal Farm questions. View George Orwell biography. Continue reading to the end of chapter 6.

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 and Handouts link):
George Orwell - Part 1
George Orwell - Part 2
George Orwell - Part 3
George Orwell - Part 4
George Orwell - Part 5

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Apr. 2 - 5: Poetry / Animal Farm

***Term DEADLINE for all assignments: Thurs. Apr. 5/12***
**Open book poetry test (43 marks) Thurs. Apr. 5**
***Homework: Complete the information form (6 marks)***
***Vote for Sierra in Why Media Matters contest***

Thurs. Apr. 5, 2012 - Animal Farm online novel
- Open-book poetry test (43 marks). You can use your textbook, The Poet's Craft.
- When you finish, finish term one assignments or read Animal Farm quietly until all students have completed the test. Finish reading ch. 5 for Tuesday.

Wed. Apr. 4, 2012 
- 15 min. of silent reading
- Review the Animal Farm character comparison chart
- Read chapters 1, 2 and 3 of Animal Farm.
- Complete the vocabulary and answers to the chapter questions. 


Tues. Apr. 3, 2012 - Final class on poetry blogging
- Complete all four poetry blogging assignments and finish the Louis Riel Poetry questions. If finished, use lab/library time for reading more poems or library materials.

***Email completed blog with your full name and block in subject line.
***Paste the link to your blog in the body of the email.

Mon. Apr. 2, 2012 - Class 4 of 4 on Poetry Blogging
- Sign into your blog at Blogger.com
- Work on poetry assignment #2 - Class 4 activity.  See an assignment example below:
***Email completed blog with your full name and block in subject line.
***Paste the link to your blog in the body of the email.
- If you finish early, help the United Nations World Food Program feed the world by playing Free Rice.

Nature and Invention


Instructions for Drawing:
- Sign into Google Docs. Select Create New. Select Drawing.
- Click Insert. Select Text box (type or paste poem into text box)
- Add other artistic elements. When finished, click the arrow next to Share. Select Publish to the Web.
- Copy the Embed Code. Paste the code into your blog's Edit HTML view (at the bottom).
- Change the dimensions near the end of the code to w=450 h=400 so it will fit your blog.
- Click Publish Post on your blog. See the sample below:

Friday, March 16, 2012

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                                             


by John Scott

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.

Friday, March 9, 2012

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.