Friday, December 16, 2011

Today, I introduced the two short stories you will read over the holiday ("Paul's Case", and "One the Rainy River"), as well as the questions and notes on them.
Everyone was here so I am not posting them here. Get the questions completed for the first day back in 2012. Have a great break!!!!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Today, you wrote your in class critical/analytical essay using Gran Torino as your evidentiary source. If you were not here, you will have to write it tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Today, we discussed the exam you will write tomorrow. Basically, we went over the symbols sheet you answered and then discussed visual analysis. I ended up photocopying the symbolism answers (if you weren't here, they are in your portfolio.
In our discussion about approaching visuals, whether in English or Social, we came up with the following "attack" plan:
1. Wrtie down what you see - specifically. This includes all of the five ws, as well as angles, lighting and colours.
2. Based on what you have written, determine what it could mean. It is at this point that you also look for symbols. Here is where you will also come up with similes, look at juxtapositions, use disclaimer words.
3. based on all this, you should be able to establish a thesis (the point the image is supposed to get across as a whole).

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Today, we discussed teh essay in more detail. We also discussed parallelism, active and passive sentences, the concepts of objectivity and subjectivity, andthe importance of presenting information not embellishing a paper. You will write your in-class essay on Gran Torino on Thursday.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Today, I had you all break into groups of three or four. I instructed each group to have a pen, highlighter, and paper. Each group was then given four introductory paragraphs from previous marking sessions. Your task number each paragraph for reference, read each one out loud, and then examine it to see if it contained the following (which you would describe on the paper you have):
1. Does it have an attention getter? If so, what kind have they used?
2. Does it effectively introduce the text?
3. Does it effectively summarize the text?
4. What is the thesis of the paper?
5. What are the main points the paper will attempt to prove in order to prove the thesis?
Finally, as a group, you had to rate the four paragraphs on their effectiveness (the best to worse).

These were then handed in.
After this, you had the rest of your class time (we used about a half hour for this) to work on your Gran Torino assignments. Keep in mind that you have an in-class essay on Thursday.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Today, we finished watching the clips from Gran Torino. This also means the questions are due for Monday. In addition, you will have aqn in-class essay on Thursday of next week in which you will use this film for your evidence. The other work you have been given (the visual responses and the symbols questions) will be due for Tuesday, though much of this will need to be completed in your own time as we will be discussing the essay in class during the first part of next week.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Today, we viewed more clips of Gran Torino and answered questions. You are expected to have them completed fully up to and including question 36. One of the interesting concepts we discussed was the stages of grief. Look these up if you were not here.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Today, we watched more clips from Gran Torino. You are to complete questions up to and including 28 for tomorrow. Again, while we discuss them in class, you need to embellish them in your own time. I will examine these at the beginning of class tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Today, I reviewed your answers to questions 1 - 10 of Gran Torino. Keep in mind that there will be work after classes in this unit if you want to do well. This might mean extra work at lunch, during a break in classes, at night or even in the morning, depending on your work schedule.

Today, we again watched clips from the film to help us answer questions. I expect you to have all the questions up to and including 21 completed for tomorrow. You also need to go back and fix the answers that I said needed "more."

Monday, December 5, 2011

Today, we went through questions 1 to 10 of Gran Torino. I expect these to be handed in tomorrow at the beginning. Keep in mind that you also have additional questions on symbolism, images, and quotes to memorize.

Friday, December 2, 2011

I read over your journals this morning as well as your plot summaries for the film Gran Torino. As a result, I stressed to the class that "a lot" is TWO words (I am still seeing it put together as one word in journals); the pronoun "I," whether used as part of a contraction (eg: "I've" for "I have") or not, MUST be capitalized.
I also handed out Symbols questions and Images questions to look at.

I then had the students do the following:

On a sheet of paper, write down the following:

The Edmonton Journal Of Mice and Men
“Man Fights Legislation” The Simpsons
The Taming of The Shrew Night
“The Lottery” Harry Potter
“Mary Had a Little Lamb” “The Raven”
The Glass Menagerie Animal Farm
Life is Beautiful American Pie
The Lovely Bones Romeo and Juliet
The Lord of The Rings Lord of the Flies
“Miss Brill “ “The Painted Door”

Then, in brackets to the right, put down what kind of literature each is.

Attribution rules:

When writing by hand: Major works are to be underlined
Minor works are to be placed in quotation marks

Now, either put quotation marks around them or underline them.

When typing on the computer: Major works are to be italicized
Minor works are to be placed in quotation marks

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Today, we finished viewing Gran Torino. I then instructed you all to sumarize the story in its entirety (what you remember). I then gave you the following to research. I expect to be able to discuss any of these tomorrow.

· Post traumatic stress disorder (cause/effect)
· H’mong people: what we can find out about their cultures (including religious beliefs)
· H’mong people: their involvement in the Korean war (cause/effect)
· The impact of gangs amongst immigrants in the U.S.