Tuesday, June 19, 2012
REVIEW: EXAM - Tuesday, June 26 9-10:30
PART A: ‘sight passage’ - K/U
- 10 multiple choice questions
- study your short fiction question sheets
- review logic unit (power point; syllogisms)
- review literary terminology (OSSLT sheet)
- review your deconstruction of "12 Year Old Blasts Banks" by Victoria Grant and “I Have A Dream Speech” by Martin Luther King Jr. These are both available on the blog.
- review how to answer a question about significance
PART B: ‘essay’ T/I and COMM
- series of organized paragraphs based upon the given sight passage and another passage which you will have time to read through
- review the expectations for organized paragraph responses and good answers
PART C: ‘short response’ APP
- personal response based upon the sight passage
- review your personal responses completed throughout your justice journal
- review the structure of a good personal response (topic sentence, body, closing sentence)
Thursday, June 7, 2012
WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE COMPLETED ON YOUR BLOG BY JUNE 15
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
7. LAST POST: An Inductive Leap too far
Friday, April 27, 2012
6. Style
After the death of her ally Rue, Katniss covers the body of the young girl with flowers as a symbol of Rue's humanity and a tribute to her short life. By calling attention to the sacrifice that Rue made during the Hunger Games, Katniss challenges the idea that Hunger Games – and the people who play them – are mere entertainment for the audiences back in the Capitol. For Katniss, Rue isn't simply a character on a television show. She is a human being who is worthy of respect, admiration, and mourning.
As Katniss says: "I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do that there is a part of every tribute they can't own. That Rue was more than a piece in their Games. And so am I." (Collins, The Hunger Games 145)
Covering Rue with flowers is an intense act of rebellion against the Capitol. The experience of witnessing Rue's death inspires Katniss to go on and win the Games – and to prove to the Capitol that they can't strip the tributes of their humanity, however they might try; the symbolism of the flowers is not lost on the Capitol.
Friday, April 20, 2012
5. Social issues
"Snake" by D.H. Lawrence is about man's relationship, and ultimate control over nature; the guilt felt by the boy at the end of the poem reveals this: "And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords / Of life./ And I have something to expiate:/ A pettiness." (71-74). As well, the author is able to present a commentary about what our education system is teaching us in terms of what it means to be a man: "The voice of my education said to me / He must be killed" (23-24), "And voices in me said, If you were a man / You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off" (27-28). The guilt felt by the speaker, upon reflection of his act of violence towards the snake, reveals to us that we must act according to our own conscience, rather than the teachings of society sometimes.
This week you will be examining: What social issues are present in the novel you have been most recently reading? (ie. poverty, justice, inequality, crime, discrimination, human rights, disrespect, moral or value struggles, misuse of power etc.) and What purpose do these social issue serve in the novel itself?
INSTRUCTIONS:
In your blog post this week, describe ONE social issue present in your current novel, prove it exists with direct reference to the text and then explain its purpose to the story.
NOTE: To satisfy the last requirement of this week's post, you will need to return to your lessons on SIGNIFICANCE as you are really answering, "Why has this social issue been presented in your novel?".
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Comment on a peer's blogs - take two
This week, instead of creating your own blog post, you will again be writing comments on four of your peers' blogs. Everyone will write one comment on each of the two posts written most recently by their classmates this week (4 peers x 2 posts = 8 comments in total).
WHOSE BLOGS?: Select the blogs that belong to the four students whose names are listed ABOVE your name on the CLASS BLOGS list found in the sidebar to your right.
HOW DO I DO THIS?: You need to comment on what the person has said in the blog post you are commenting on selected. Read the rules below before proceeding......
Do not be rude.
Do not be sarcastic.
Do not just tell the blogger they are awesome or that it is the best blog post you have ever read. Do not make an inside joke.
Do not insult or otherwise demean the writer.
DO. . .
Genuinely look at what they have said about their books and respond accordingly.
Make an intelligent comment on the book, the topic or the ideas presented by the blogger.
Extend the blogger's thinking by linking their ideas to something else (another text, your personal experiences or the world).
Ask the blogger a question about what they have read or what they have said.
Offer a suggestion for another book they might like based on what they have read and the themes and ideas presented in the blog post.
Give the blogger tips for improvement based upon the expectations for each post (using quotations; checking for punctuation, spelling or sentence structure; adding length through further description or support; organization of elements on the blog).
You may also comment on the style or form of the blog itself (the design of it; the visual elements: colour, organization, font style and size; use of gadgets; readability; title and description etc.).
As a blogger, you should read these comments and respond accordingly to what your peers have posted. Fix what they have suggested, start a dialogue.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
4. Significance of. . .
For blog post #1-3 did you. . .
1. Properly identify the novel you wrote about (you can do this through an image; at the least provide the title and author; an MLA style citation is preferred)?
2. Check that you used proper language conventions (punctuation, spelling, grammar, sentence structure) after you posted each?
3. Organize your response into a coherent paragraph by writing a topic sentence, developing the details fully in the body, and concluding with a closing sentence rather than a list of items?
4. Use the text as support for your ideas by providing a direct quotation from the novel(with proper MLA style citations) ?
5. Make sure that you gave short responses (between 60-100 wds) and answered each of the tasks you were required?
If you did not say yes to all of these go back and edit your first three blog posts and only then proceed with this week's assignment described below.
In class we have begun to work on figuring out how to describe the significance of elements of fiction we have found in our reading.
This week I want you to identify two significant elements from the book you are currently reading. You may choose an element of setting, a character, an event, a quotation or really anything 'important' in the text thus far.
Use a direct quotation (with a proper citation) to first identify the element in the book.
Then, after you have consulted your significance list, describe how the element you picked is significant, making specific connections between elements of fiction.
Use the supports given to you on the page entitled "Significance Support".
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
3. Define and Describe a character
GET CAUGHT UP!!!
This week you will be spending time with a CHARACTER in your current novel.
As always, begin your blog post by identifying your novel - correctly using the MLA format for citations. Many of you have discovered easybib.com - a great tool for creating correct MLA bibliographic entries.
See an example of a properly formatted MLA citation below:
(You may also choose to add a visual for the novel using the 'Add Image' icon found on your NEW POST toolbar. Be sure to include a citation for your borrowed image.)
Now begin your third post:
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Comment on a peer's blog posts
Each of you should have TWO blog posts complete as of today. If you do not have this done, it needs to become a priority over the weekend to get caught up!!
This week, instead of creating your own blog post, you will be writing comments on four of your peers' blogs. Everyone will write one comment on each of the two posts written by their classmates this week (4 peers x 2 posts = 8 comments in total).
WHOSE BLOGS?: Select the blogs that belong to the four students whose names are listed BELOW your name on the CLASS BLOGS list found in the sidebar to your right.
HOW DO I DO THIS?: You need to comment on what the person has said in the blog post you are commenting on selected. Read the rules below before proceeding......
Do not be rude.
Do not be sarcastic.
Do not just tell the blogger they are awesome or that it is the best blog post you have ever read. Do not make an inside joke.
Do not insult or otherwise demean the writer.
DO. . .
Genuinely look at what they have said about their books and respond accordingly.
Make an intelligent comment on the book, the topic or the ideas presented by the blogger.
Extend the blogger's thinking by linking their ideas to something else (another text, your personal experiences or the world).
Ask the blogger a question about what they have read or what they have said.
Offer a suggestion for another book they might like based on what they have read and the themes and ideas presented in the blog post.
Give the blogger tips for improvement based upon the expectations for each post (using quotations; checking for punctuation, spelling or sentence structure; adding length through further description or support; organization of elements on the blog).
You may also comment on the style or form of the blog itself (the design of it; the visual elements: colour, organization, font style and size; use of gadgets; readability; title and description etc.).
As a blogger, you should read these comments and respond accordingly to what your peers have posted. Fix what they have suggested, start a dialogue.
Friday, February 24, 2012
2. Identify and Sort
1. First, identify five main elements of your novel. Use your note "Elements of the Short Story" as a reference. (NOTE: Because this hand out is talking about good fiction - we can transfer our understanding from short fiction to longer pieces.)
2. Then, sort these elements according to importance for your engagement in your reading. Put the most important element to you at the beginning of your sorting list.
3. Once you have identified the most important element for your enjoyment, describe how this element has been used (or is lacking) in your novel.
4. Use a direct quotation from a section of your book as evidence. Be sure to include a properly formatted MLA style citation following your direct quotation. Do not leave the quotation standing on its own - make sure that you explain its significance to the element you have selected as your top engagement feature.
MLA STYLE CITATION: (Author, Title page)
Thursday, February 16, 2012
1.Your first post - identify
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Welcome
" The Joy of Books - YouTube ."YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. . N.p., 9 Jan. 2012. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.