Warm Up, Deconstructing a Prompt, English Basics

Warm Up

What is the purpose of deconstructing a prompt or essay question? What are you trying to achieve by doing this?

Deconstructing a Prompt

The differences that exist between people often bring them together.

When deconstructing a prompt, what you are trying to do it get a clear understanding of what the prompt is about and what you will need to focus on in your writing as a consequence.

In order to do this, you will need to know:

  1. What is the main verb?
  2. How is this seen in the film
  3. How will you explore this creatively?

Context Writing – Form

View the PowerPoint that is embedded below and write either letter, jounral entry or descriptive narrative from the perspective one character from BILB. Explore a particular emotional moment in the film to write about.

 

Assumptions in BILB, Point of View

Warm Up

What expectations are placed on you as a male or female that you will not place on your children and why? Write a paragraph.

A cultural assumption is when we assume that a person has particular values and attitudes based on their cultural background. In the film BILB, there are two main cultures that are shown: the English and Punjabi/English.

An example of a cultural assuption is seen when Mr and Mrs Bharma expect that Jess should be happy to marry a young man that they choose, rather than choosing a boyfriend of her own. This is an assumption about Punjabi culture; although, arranged marriages are common, not all Punjabi families follow this tradition.

Make a list of the assuptions that are made about gender, education and sexuality within each culture.

Context Assessment

  • You will be writing your context piece during next Friday’s double.
  • You are expected to choose a character from BILB and write about something that brings up strong emotions for them.
  • You are expected to explore the things that are bringing these strong emotions in the character you choose
    • What are they conflicted about?
    • What is casuing this conflict?
    • What changes in the mind of your character that helps them resolve this conflict?
  • You can write either a letter or a short narrative.

Imaginative Writing

There are three perspectives that you can write a narrative from; we will take a look at these perspectives here.

 

 

Holiday Homework, SWOT Analysis and Essay Feedback

Warm Up

Conduct a SWOT analysis on Term 4, the last term before VCE.

Strength — What have you done well that you should continue and improve?

Weakness — What have you not done well that you need to change?

Opportunity — What ideas do you have for creating noticeable and sustained change in your scores next term?

Threat — What risks are out there that might threaten your scores next term?

Conclusion and Introduction

Warm up

Can you explain what the most important feature of a good conclusion is? What does this feature tell the reader about you?

Today

  • Swap the introduction and conclusion you wrote for homework with the person behind you
  • Highlight
    • the background, contention and sign posting in the introduction
    • the contention and synthesis of deeper meaning in the conclusion
  • Write a plan and one body paragraph for the following question. Remember to highlight the key concept in each sentence of you main body paragraph and draw the thread running through it.

To Kill A Mocking Bird is a novel that teaches us many things. What do you think is the most important lesson it has to teach us?

  • Write a revision sheet based on the notes we have taken. You might want include information on:
    • Structure of introduction/conclusion
    • How to write a coherent body paragraph
    • Information on Atticus, Scott and Boo Radley
    • Information on the theme of belonging and injustice
      • Example from the text that illustrates each theme
      • Ideas of what Harper Lees want us think know about each

Main Body Paragraphs and Essay Planning

Warm Up

What is heavy forward and not backwards?

The importance of storytelling in the human experience is developed by Malouf through Priam and  Somax. Storytelling is one such way to improve a connection between two strangers, because of their journey a connection is formed between Somax and Priam because of how both of them find similarities in their experiences. Somax and Priam start as strangers, during their journey they communicate stories to each other about their past, hence deepening their connection with one another. Their connection is deepened by the sharing of stories they realise, that they both suffer from similar emotions, and that loss is a constant in their experiences. Stories extend our human experiences out so that other can understand what we all have in common. Being understood is core desire of human beings.

This technique of highlighting the main concept in each sentence and then eloborating on it is a great tool for ensuring your paragraphs remain coherent throughout. It is important to understand, however, that this process isn’t fool proof and that you need to be able to identify concepts as being the same, even when they are described with different words. In the above example, ‘we all have in common’ and ‘similarities’ mean the same thing.

This leads to another important point: you should be using different words to describe the same concept, as this will make your writing more engaging to read.

Now lets look at Essay Planning – Lotus Diagram.

Practice writing an essay plan for the following questions:

  1. It is impossible to feel sympathy for Mayella Ewell. Do you agree?
  2. To Kill A Mocking Bird is a novel that teaches us many things. What do you think is the most important lesson it has to teach us?

029 — What is ‘Presentism’? Bravery, Folio Writing Task

Warm Up

What is ‘presentism’ and how is it a problem when interepting TKAMB?

Today

  1. Theme: Bravery
  2. TKAMB crossword
  3. Folio Task

BRAVERY

‘It was at times like this when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been in any wars was the bravest man who ever lived’ (p. 111).

Lee presents two opposed examples of bravery back-to-back at the end of Part One, just before Tom Robinson’s trial dominates the narrative.

  1. The incident of the mad dog (Chapter 10) comes at a time when Scout is particularly uncomfortable with her father’s position.
    1. Tom Johnson’s rabies can be read as metaphor for the town’s endemic racism: in the preceding chapter (Chapter 9), Atticus says to his brother, ‘[w]hy reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand’ (p.98).
  2. Atticus presents Mrs Dubose as a different example of bravery.
    1. After her death, Atticus reveals that she was addicted to morphine, which she had come off just before her death. ‘I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand’ (p.124)

028 — Warm UP, Radio Broadcast

Warm Up

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.” (Robin Williams) Why do some people think that words and ideas can’t create change? How is Robin Williams’ claim proven true in TKAMB.

Post your response on your blog.

Today

Begin preparing your radio broadcast. The task sheet for this has been sent to you through Classroom. You have written your news report already, so the first thing you need to do is convert that into a script that you will read out as the news presenter for your radio show. To do this you need to consider:

  • Which bits of the report will you say and which bits will be spoken by an expert/witness/reporter at the scene

Other things your radio broadcast must include:

  • Introduction to the name of the show and presenter
  • Include a full news report with the weather, sport, etc
  • Include and vox pop (interview from person on the street)
  • Include and sign off, sting (memorable tagline for the show)

027 — Radio Broadcast

Warm Up

Read Chapter 21

Miss Maudie tells Jem that he is too young to understand what she means when she says ‘some men is this world [are] born to do our unpleasent jobs for us. Your father’s one of them.’ Do you understand what she meant by saying this? Explain your understanding of this statement in a full length paragraph.

Today

  • Read chapter 25
  • Answer the questions I shared with you thorough Google Classroom.
  • Begin working on your radio broadcast it must:
    • Introduce the name of the show and presenter
    • Include a full news report with the weather, sport, etc
    • Include and vox pop (interview from person on the street)
    • Include and sign off, sting (memorable tagline for the show)

 

 

 

026 — News Report & Chapter 20

Warm Up

If you read a news report about Mark Brandon (Chopper Read’s) first ever trial for murder, where he got acquited, what details would you like to know? Explain why these details are important to you.

Today

Period 1 – progress check on news report

Period 2 – Chapter 20 TKAMB