Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Today’s Menu

Brainstorming - on the subject/topic (NOT THESIS) - what can be said? what are the big ideas here? what are the elements that we can learn?

Find references from the book that fit the subject/topic

Start refining into your thesis - general to specific - the thesis is an argument that you need to prove - your ideas and references need to be combined to do that

Plan an essay skeleton

(bolded is done in groups - COLLABORATE)

A rough draft - which you show Mr. The Lobb! This is for marks! (CONFERENCE)

ONLY THEN will you start writing a final.

Get it checked by a nice peer. (could be group, or just one peer)

Submit the final KNOWING the entire process was part of your mark - IN FACT, it was the BIGGEST part of your mark.

Reminder of Theses:

Humankind will only succeed through perseverance.

Exodus shows us the cost of cruelty. Prove that this is true comparing the story with our own world. (cruelty means behaviour that is evil and doesn’t take another person’s feelings and health and life into consideration)

Selflessness can be difficult, but it is almost always worth it.

Desperation can be said to be the root of all evil.

Rebellion can sometimes be an important, and necessary response to a terrible situation.

Article is spelled “article” NOT artical!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Cole - short story questions? news article?
Erin - Poetry Assignment wouldn’t load
Mitch - Poetry Assignment, News article
Abby - Poetry Assignment
Caitlyn - Short Story questions, Social Media
Lauren - Poetry Assignment
Laine - ALL CAUGHT UP
Courtney - Poetry Ass Prob, send blog addy again,
Julia - Poetry Ass, News
Jachelle - Poetry Ass, News Art
Sean - Poetry Ass, News Art, Soc Media short
Cameron - is absent
Rachel - Poetry Ass, Social Media, News
Rosaleigh - Poetry Ass, News Art
Caitlan - send blog addy again! Still can’t load it! (THEN you get the list...)
Lee - Poetry Ass
Neil - Short Story Qs!, Redo Social Media, News
Meghan - Short Story Qs, News
Robyn - Poetry Ass (same prob - mine), news?
Abigail - I Am Poem?, News
Ashley - News
Devon - lose the computer, which is distracting you every period, Poetry Ass, News
Kyle - Poetry Ass, News
Laura - I Am Poem, Poetry Ass, News
Nick - Poetry Ass, News

Find a poet
Pick a poem and read it
Analyse it by STRUCTURE and MEANING
Find any links between poet and poem (bio on poet)
Write your own poem in a similar vein (similar theme or idea)

Monday, May 27, 2013

ENG1D Essay

Your thesis statement will be one of the following:

Humankind will only succeed through perseverance.

Exodus shows us the cost of cruelty. Prove that this is true comparing the story with our own world. (cruelty means behaviour that is evil and doesn’t take another person’s feelings and health and life into consideration)

Selflessness can be difficult, but it is almost always worth it.

Desperation can be said to be the root of all evil.

Rebellion can sometimes be an important, and necessary response to a terrible situation.

Each person will choose ONE of these thesis statements.

You will write a 3 page essay with a 10-12 point font every line or so that looks at the novel Exodus and compares what you see in it with what you see in our own world.

We will be looking at one of the concepts above and comparing how that concept is shown, treated and dealt with in the novel and the real world. KEY to this is looking at what the effects of that concept might be.

What would this essay look like?

There will be an INTRODUCTION that has those specific elements we discussed.

There will be TWO areas of discussion

Intro - Rebellion can sometimes be an important, and necessary response to a terrible situation.

Area 1 - EXODUS

Paragraph 1 - (point 1) - Mara in Wing telling people they have to leave - rebelling against her culture and her leaders and even her family

Explain how this rebellion she does is beneficial.

Paragraph 2 - (point 2) - Mara goes into the university library even though the Treenesters say she should not

Area 2 - real life

Paragraph 1 - (point 1) - Syria - the FSA is a civilian group fighting against a ruthless dictator to be free

Paragraph 2 - (point 2) - people protesting against religions that don’t allow same sex marriage - Civil Rights

Conclusion

You will try to find TWO proofs for each of the above areas.

SO, you will need TWO proofs showing (for example) rebellion being positive in the novel and explaining how it is.

And then TWO proofs showing (for example) rebellion being positive in the real world and explaining how it is.

NOTE - this is NOT a three paragraph essay. It is a TWO paragraph essay, with TWO parts of each.

SO, it is a SIX PARAGRAPH ESSAY

Friday, May 24, 2013

Read book.

Work on group work.

More essay talk.

Doners -

Find two scenes in the book that you can use to do TWO things

Make a poster in any way you can - draw, cut out, collage, design on computer, etc, and show me the drama of THAT scene

Make a little play script of that scene WITH action, dialogue and character description. WRITE it. (GOOGLE how to format a play script - NOTE you can use a movie script format too) (a couple pages is lots)

We need to write a class essay:

Mara uses her perseverance to save her people.

Mara makes multiple rebellious decisions in the book that people do not agree with.

Mara uses her intelligence to try and save herself and the people of her city.

Mara deals with hardships that change her as a person.

Intelligent people weren’t always looked at as positive.

Mara is a selfless hero throughout the book because she tries to save other people before herself.

Possibilities:

Can we focus on something besides Mara, but talk about Mara in the topic?

Can we combine what we know about our own world and experiences?

Topic Ideas:

Rebellion

Perseverance

Intelligence

Selflessness (giving of oneself - making sacrifices for others)

Status

Cruelty

Global warming

Realistic elements

Try to combine THREE of the topic areas above with a value statement that causes you to look at HOW the subject is treated in the book and allows you to look at stuff in the real world.

eg - rebellion can be a good thing and have a positive outcome.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

1) The Hook

GENERAL - you need to introduce the general AREA that you are talking about

In the case of the one we worked on, the general area is -

What do we say about ducks to start this essay?

2) The thesis would be - Mara, in Exodus, is a reluctant saviour, and is not allowed to be a normal girl because of the expectations put on her by a dangerous world.

(Notice how the thesis is an argument statement, where the hook is a topic area)

All that’s left in the intro is to briefly state our THREE areas of discussion (or, ways to prove that argument)

Body Paragraphs

The next skill we need is to make Areas of Discussion from our thesis statement.

Three is pretty common in a starting essay.

One thing you would maybe have to prove is that she’s a saviour!

Another thing is to prove that she is reluctant to be a saviour!

A third thing you could prove is that there are expectations on her!

Working on that third possible area:

She is considered to be the face of the character in the stone telling that the Treenesters use as one of their core beliefs.
She feels like she HAS to save the Treenesters and, specifically Gorbals, by going up to the upper world.

Etc. SO, this is just one step in trying to prove this area of discussion.

We’ll pick one reference and then what?

We EXPAND on what that reference means, how it fits this idea of expectations being put on her, and THEN we have to show how these expectations stop her from being a normal girl.

THAT is what level 4 is all about - explaining the connection to the thesis.


Step 1 - What is the argument being made? (thesis)

Step 2 - What are three ways we could prove that argument? Look at the thesis statement to figure out what needs to be proven.

Step 3 - Find references from your source material that SHOW your area of discussion is true. EXAMPLES from your book. (or RESEARCH from some other source)

Step 4 - EXPLAIN your reference. Be sure the reader knows how it fits what you think it fits. Be sure that your thinking is on the page. Not too much, but enough to show that you get it.

Step 5 - MAKE THE CONNECTION TO THE THESIS.

How does the reference that you just explained prove that thesis that you noted up in the intro? You need to make this logical link.

Example - giving a reference of Mr. Lobb kicking Laine’s chair IS NOT explaining how he is a bad teacher. IT ISN’T!

You need to SHOW HOW that makes him a bad teacher. SPECIFICALLY!

What the heck would be a good thesis on this novel? (Exodus)

A thesis is a statement that has an attitude - it has a YEAH or a NO - VALUE STATEMENT

Your thesis should be able to have a point of view that is the opposite of yours.

Example - listing attributes of Mara has no opposing point of view -

Don’t let the teacher say SO WHAT?

Example - Mara has X, Y, Z attributes - teacher says So What?

So, we add - Mara has these attributes and they make her a great hero.

This answers the so what?

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Writing An Essay!

Five Paragraph Essays

INTRO -

BODY PARAGRAPHS (3) -

CONCLUSION -

Some people were taught about the hamburger paragraph style. We’re going to change that.

We will learn a way of thinking and forming body paragraphs that will last us all the years of high school, as well as make the OSSLT a LOT easier.

HERE IS THE PATTERN!

What goes in an intro? (THREE PARTS)

The hook. The lead. The general introduction to the subject NOT the thesis.

Hey! What’s the difference between subject and thesis?

Subject is a topic area - teaching and education

Thesis is a specific argument point within that subject - marks culture is worse than learning culture

A thesis is an argument that has TWO sides at a minimum!

A thesis has to be PROVEN.

A thesis shouldn’t be so obvious that everyone would agree.

A thesis is specific and requires some support through references and explanation.

HEY! Maybe a body paragraph is all about REFERENCES and EXPLANATION!

Back to the general introduction - you start an essay by telling your reader about the general subject about which you will be writing and for which you will have a specific argument

Thesis Example - Mr. Lobb is a terrible teacher and should NOT be allowed near the fragile young minds of tomorrow’s adults. (this is a specific argument)

The opening of an intro about the above should focus on the general topic, which could be teaching, good teaching, good teachers, bad teachers, Mr. Lobb in general, etc.

If we’re going to spend several paragraphs discussing and PROVING the thesis, we should use the intro to establish who this terrible teacher IS, so that we can talk about him!

That opening sentence is GENERAL and introduces the topic and THEN you go specific INTO THE THESIS, in the next sentence! (or, you could explain a bit more about how you are getting to that thesis) ie Mr. Lobb is this guy in this school and he’s been there for this long, and it hasn’t been good. That part in italics would be the piece IN BETWEEN the intro and the thesis.

The Specific - we state the thesis and briefly outline HOW it will be proven

eg - Mr. Lobb is a terrible teacher and should NOT be allowed near the fragile young minds of tomorrow’s adults. By looking at Area of Discussion 1, Area of Discussion 2, and Area of Discussion 3, it becomes obvious that this man is a danger to those unfortunate enough to be placed into his class. 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Issues that we will be discussing (these involve our essay topics) that come from Exodus

refugees

slavery

human rights

Global Warming

the danger of learning (and progress)

In random groups you will be choosing THREE sources of information for each of the above topics and just coming up with some general ideas, facts, opinions, resources and background data that you could use to explain a point of view. 

Definition of:

Historical Background:

Key Attributes:

Current Events/Refugees in the News Today:

Photos/Imagery/Videos:

A Classic Case Study (one person’s story that is typical):

AND THEN - How does this intersect with the story Exodus?

Sims and Diffs with Mara’s people

Compare and Contrast

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Exodus

Wing -

it’s an island that has no trees left on it
the islanders burn peat to make fire - this is something common to SCOTLAND!
however, it could also be something common to Iceland, which also has very few trees
it looks like Wing MIGHT be Iceland - they also burned peat there
stone houses
sinking into the sea (or, more correctly, the sea is rising)
not many people left there
the people have to leave it after there was a killer storm and a tsunami
they use small fishing boats to leave
the tragic thing that happens in Wing when they leave is that Tain and the old people stay behind to die on their home island - He says, I was born here, I will die here.

cyberwizz

this is kind of complex for some people who read the book
there is a big section where Mara goes into a strange kind of imagination space or something
she has a device that uses solar power - she charges it on her window
it is a small device that she has hacked to show on a laptop screen
she kind of “goes into” some space or something
she sees a strange kind of landscape with “infostacks” and towers and then, one day, a “cyberfox”
all of this comes from a kind of fiction that started with a book called Neuromancer (William Gibson) and there is a similar kind of book called The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
these books predicted that computer technology would create imaginary worlds using data and graphics and the Internet and tech that allowed people to see a representation of that data and the network
she’s in a virtual world - she is literally in a big, dead Internet that is like a game, that projects straight into her brain, instead of her eyes
when she sees things, they are all SET - they were designed, and they are left and she figures out that the whole place is like a graveyard - it’s dead - it’s a machine left running somewhere
HOWEVER, when she meets the cyberfox, it’s REAL - it seems to be someone else wandering through that “world”
you know what an Avatar is? That is probably what the fox is

The Weave - the Internet IS the weave
the thing that she goes into is just a graphical representation of the Web
a future Web where you “see” instead of read

Why is the Weave only available to Mara? Why is it gone?

Monday, May 6, 2013

Exodus

Character
Setting (mood, place and time)
Plot (events and action)
Theme - (The Big Picture, the main idea, a book could have different themes, the GIST, THE MEANING)

The way that a novel is studied can kind of break down into:

Explicit information - easy - who, what, where, when

Implicit information - more complex - you need to think some

Making connections to our lives and the real world  - most complex - it requires that you know stuff and this is where things can get ugly

ie remember our Bible conversation?
ie remember our Global Warming conversation?

This is where WE need to bring our thinking into the story.

Working on Explicit Info - Reading Circle -

Pick 5 characters and briefly get them into a graphic organizer of relationship.
For each, have ONE sentence to EPITOMIZE each. Put it into the character map.
Jot down FIVE facts about Wing.
Write down THREE plot events that you think are crucial (up to the point where you are)
What are the concerns, worries and ideas that they characters are thinking about, talking about or dealing with? List THREE. THESE might have something to do with theme.
Find any ONE thing that you don’t understand (individual) and try to help each other figure out what those things are. NOTE: some people don’t have one.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Exodus

We already have a PRE-READING STRATEGY

we discussed some content that we can keep in mind before we get to the meat of the book
we have some ideas about the THEMES that might come up (Biblical allusion)
we have an idea about the CONTEXT for the story (post-Apocalyptic world)
we might also look at the problem that came up yesterday

Here is the Problem - Reading is not fun

We already have a pre-reading strategy, so we should probably come up with some possible READING STRATEGIES.

What is the difference between someone who reads quickly and someone who reads slowly?

sometimes a quick reader might miss things
a slow reader might understand more of the content as a result
a fast reader will be through in a hurry
slower reading can improve remembering
what makes one person a faster reader?
some faster readers literally skip sections and get the main idea - GIST
some faster readers don’t even really notice the words, they’re watching a movie in their heads - some slower readers do the same
these faster readers will do MUCH better with a novel that has characters and an interesting storyline - THIS is where you get the movie in your brain

The reading strategies can come from the observations above

Try reading sections ALOUD, or get an audiobook and read along with it.
What if there’s no audiobook? Get a reading buddy and read aloud in groups. OR do the Lauren Doherty - read it aloud in the basement. If you don’t have a finished basement, don’t be such a baby, get down there!

Keep and maintain a character web. A character web will help you to keep the characters in your mind as distinct and interesting story line generators.

Maintain a Lobb Plot Line (you can and it can help)

this is a very special thing invented by a very brilliant and wonderful man
this is a way of keeping track of story events that are IMPORTANT
How do we know if something is important? IF IT IMPACTS ON THE PROTAGONIST and CHANGES HER IN SOME WAY - keep track of things that have a major impact on Mara. (in any form)
Form a small group, like a READING CIRCLE - get together to read and compare what we learned and we can have COMMON NOTES. We can also read aloud to each other, at times. We can also have common Qs and As as we’ve done.

Teacher reading aloud

Repeat reading (which can be disheartening)

Think about characters in movies and APPLY those faces to the characters

Make a MAP of the area where the story takes place (or some of the places)

9. Make a movie poster of this book (or a trailer, if you like)

Friday, May 2, 2013

Exodus

this is the title of the book, but it is also a word that has a very specific meaning - this word means “a mass departure of people from one place”
it is usually a result of something terrible happening
the most famous use of the word exodus is linked to Biblical history
there is a book of the Bible that is called Exodus and it is about the Israelites being cast out of Egypt
the idea is that an author who calls his/her book Exodus is CLEARLY trying to make you think about that very well known (by some) old story
this title is LOADED with meaning - it’s very significant
the ideas in the book MUST be linked with some concept from that Bible story
when something in a book, story, poem or movie refers to some other form of art it is a kind of text to text connection that is called an ALLUSION
the title of this novel is a Biblical allusion

Why would an author WANT to use a Biblical allusion?

maybe the author has some religious idea to get across OR a comment about a religious idea
it might give the readers extra meaning and information that HELP THEM CONNECT
it might make for some layers of meaning - a little more, a little deeper - this gives us something to chew on and think about - it might give us some questions and this is always good in a book

We should be reading this book and thinking about what exactly would the link be to the Bible story? - ASSIGNMENT

How could you do this?

By stopping after each chunk of book (chapter, a few pages) and THINKING about possibilities
Find out about that Bible story - you could read that chunk, or you could listen to it, or you could read something on the internet about it -
You could ask someone else about it - churchgoers could ask a pastor or priest or minister or whatever
Read a comic book version of the Bible and you can read that

PICK ANY ONE WAY TO FIND A FEW THINGS OUT ABOUT THE BOOK OF EXODUS

Laine Fincher asks What about the Bible?

It is open to interpretation by many and there is a LOT of controversy as to who is right about what.

It is about what each person believes.

Post-Apocalyptic (after the apocalypse)

Exodus takes place in a future where the people live in a post-global warming world
this story is about people in the future grappling with the problems that WE are literally creating now
it’s a warning in a way, it’s a scary future, it’s a world where people are dealing with enormous problems with the sea level
this is not unrealistic