Monday 9 May 2016

Essay

Literary Essay for Of Mice and Men

This literary essay will have a minimum of four paragraphs, will be in MLA format, and will require quotations from the novel, of course.

The introductory paragraph will have a thesis statement.

Each body paragraph will have at least two quotations from your primary source (i.e., the novel), as well as at least one quotation from a secondary source.

Your concluding paragraph should be at least three sentences long.

The essay should be double spaced and in 12 pt, Times New Roman or Courier font.

Here is a link to the scoring rubric.

Here are some resources for writing an essay. Please ensure that you look at the "Editing your Paper" Powerpoint within these resources.

If you are unsure of how to write a literary essay, please visit the following website.

Here is a brief order of operations for writing an essay:

Order of operations for writing a literary essay:


-          Decide on a topic

-          Gather quotes from the novel about your topic

-          Gather quotes from secondary sources about your topic

-          Organize quotes into groups/paragraphs

-          Introduce quotes (eg: “At one point in the novel, our narrator tells us that, “

-          Explain quotes (eg: “This shows us….”   “Here, we see that …)

-          Insert quote from secondary source (eg: “As the experts at Sparknotes tell us…)

-          Write your intro (with thesis statement) and conclusion.

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Independent Novel Study

Independent Novel Study

Part A - Keeping a Notebook (GLO3)  50 marks



Directions:             Students will create and maintain a well-ordered notebook. Students will have a page for each of the following:

Characters -             Keep an ongoing list of important characters. For each character, provide a brief description and a quotation either said by the character or said about the character (with a page number).

Symbols -             Keep an ongoing list of important symbols and a brief explanation of what each one symbolizes.

Concepts (Ideas) -            Keep an ongoing list of important concepts. These concepts will later be turned into themes.

Events -             This will be the largest section of your notebook. After each section (usually a chapter), write down a brief description of at least one important event that happens. Find and write down a short quotation about the event (with page number). Then write down the related concepts for that event. Finally, write down any important symbols related to that event and a very short analysis of those symbols.



Part B – Presentation (GLO4) 50 marks  - Here is the rubric

Directions:            Students will create an online presentation using a format of their choosing. The presentation will be approximately 5-10 minutes in duration.  The presentation will cover the following aspects of the novel:
The Genre:             What genre does the novel fall under? How does it fit the criteria of this particular genre?

The Plot:            Give a VERY BRIEF description of what happens in the novel, and tell us about the main characters.

The Main Themes:            What is being said about the concepts that you’ve listed in your notebook? What is the a main message that comes across through your study of the novel?

The Symbols: Find and display images that represent the main symbols in your novel, and talk about what these symbols represent.

Tuesday 8 December 2015

Novel Study Final Project

The Outsiders Final Project

50 marks
Complete ONE of the following:

Movie Poster (Here is the Rubric)
                  Create a movie poster that represents ONE OR MORE of the MAIN THEMES in The Outsiders. Your poster must include the following:
·       A title
·       An artistic representation of a symbol or motif that represents one of the main themes
·       Director, Producer, 3 major Actors
·       A release date for movie
                  Posters must be done on poster paper. Along with the poster, you MUST include a paragraph that outlines a description of your movie poster and an explanation of how your movie poster represents the main theme. Please use reference from the play for description and explanation. Your paragraph must be at least 10 sentences long.

Event Timeline (Here is the Rubric)
                  Choose 7-10 significant events in the novel. Place them on a timeline. Each event must include a description what was happening during the event.
·       Title
·       Visible timeline of events  - Chapter and Page #
·       Descriptions of each event
                  Timelines must be done on poster paper. Along with the timeline, you MUST include a paragraph that outlines a description of how and why these events are important to the main themes in the novel. Your paragraph must be at least 10 sentences long. 

Comic Strip - (Here is the Rubric)
                  Create an 8 panel comic book strip of a significant event that happens in the book. Comic strips include:
·       Title on Page
·       8 comic panels
·       An event that is significant to plot and main themes
·       Illustrations of characters and setting
·       An explanation of what is happening in each comic panel - USE REFERENCE FROM NOVEL  - Chapter & Page #
                  Along with your comic strip, you MUST include a paragraph on why this event was important to the novel as well as the main themes. Your paragraph must be at least 10 sentences long.


Tuesday 27 October 2015

Creating an Online Persona

As part of a Career Exploration unit, we're going to explore the idea of "persona construction." At the end of the unit, every student will have created a professional persona that potential employers will want to hire. Please follow the steps below to complete the Unit. At the end of the Unit, please post a comment on this post and paste in your About.me link. Of the many apps that you can attach to your About.me page, you should have at least three apps linked to your page.

Part 1:

First, let's see what kind of a person you are. Self-awareness is one of the keys to leading a good life, or at least that's what Socrates said...  Anyway, you can find out your personality type here. The results of this test are pretty reliable. After you've taken the test, record your four-letter personality type and do a Google Search for "Careers for (your four-letter type)". E.g.,  Google: "Careers for INTP". and you should be able to find some possible career paths for you. This is an example Personality Page for an INTP. Notice the possible careers listed at the bottom.

Combined with the Authentic Happiness questionnaires, you should now be starting to really get to know yourself.

Part 2:

Now for the construction. You are going to need a Gmail account just to make things easier. Eventually,  you are going to have to create a professional network; having a Gmail account to centralize everything makes things efficient.

Let's make an About Me page, and construct the image that you want potential employers see. This will be your electronic business card. From here, you'll want to link to external apps that are following people in your chosen career path.

You'll probably want to connect with people on Linkdin, make a resume and start to create a network of professional contacts. These should be people who know you and could even be a reference for you. Link this account to you About.me page.


Your resume itself can take various forms, but one great one is on VisualCV. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say; the images that you put on this service can have a powerful way of getting what you could potentially contribute to a company.

Another way to publish your personal awesomeness is with a VERY short YouTube video. This can be as short as a Vine (6 seconds) and up to 1 minute, but any longer would be less effective. Here is an explanation of why video is an important, powerful tool in building your online persona. And, of course, there are numerous examples of video resumes that you can look at yourself to get some ideas.

These are the most important things that you can do, but remember that even on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, or any social media website, you are accountable for your image. If you want to have a good public face, it needs to be cultivated. All of the social media websites can be useful for employers to get to know you, but they have to contain only things that you would want employers to  know about you.


Part 3:


Finally, you need to write a cover letter. Here are some examples of three different styles of cover letters. You should address your letter To Whom it May Concern, and then write your letter to a potential employer in the field that you've chosen to pursue as a career. Your first paragraph should be about your personality and what makes you a good employee.. Your second paragraph should be about what makes you suitable for the career you've chosen.

You should write this in a word document, save as a .pdf file and upload it to your Dropbox account. Then share the link to that document, and copy and paste that link to your About.me page.

Monday 19 October 2015

Possible Test Questions for In the Heat of the Night



Questions for the novel study In the Heat of the Night

1.    Explain the importance of the character Delores Purdy to the novel.
2.    Explain why Sam Wood is a dynamic character.
3.    Compare and contrast Sam Wood and Bill Gillespie.
4.    What is the main message of the novel?
5.    What is the main conflict in the novel?
6.    What is the significance of the title, In the Heat of the Night?
7.    Explain the importance of Duena Mantolli to the story.
8.    Explain the importance of the setting of the story.
9.    Compare and contrast Delores Purdy and Duena Mantolli.
10.                        


Possible Test Questions for GDIB



Questions for the novel study Generals Die in Bed


1.    What is the significance of the fireworks at the beginning of the novel?
2.    What is the main message of the novel?
3.    What does the war itself ultimately symbolize?
4.    Who is the main character of the novel? Explain.
5.    Is there a climax in the story? What is the novel’s resolution?
6.    Explain the importance of how the soldiers react to Brown’s death.
7.    Explain the importance of the scene with Karl.
8.    Explain the symbolic importance of the river bathing scene.
9.    How were the trenches important to the war? How are they important to the story (symbolically)?
10.  What is the importance of Gladys in the story?
11.   Describe and explain some of the comforts the soldiers found during the war.
12.   Explain the importance of the title of the novel.