Day: February 22, 2011

005 – RE-CAP & LOOK FORWARD (11ENG)

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Over the last four lessons we have discussed the context of encountering conflict. We have looked at synonyms for the word conflict to improve the quality of our writing.  We have explored the idea of point-of-view and looked at three specific types of point-of-view (first person, third person controlled consciousness and third person omniscient). We have practiced writing about an imaginary conflict from two different points-of-view. We have gathered images that will form the basis of the descriptive narrative you will write for your SAC. (The purpose of which was to make thinking of an idea easier and to provide you with actual images of your characters, setting and the conflict they encounter so as to give you lots of specific details you can include in your descriptions.)  We have practised using similes, metaphors and personification by building from prompt questions that forced you to think about what your character could smell, see, hear, taste and touch and how they respond to the conflict they encountered. We also had a go at writing our similes, metaphors and personifications into a full paragraph in the first person and third person omniscient.

Using all of this, you now need to make a firm commitment about what you are going to write. You must now the following:

WHAT TYPE OF CONFLICT ARE YOU GOING TO DESCRIBE?

  • Where did the conflict occur? (image)
  • Which specific location(s) will your character(s) encounter this conflict? (image)
  • Which groups are involved in the conflict? (image)
  • What is the history of this conflict?
  • What kind of damage was done by this conflict? (image)
  • How exactly was this damage caused?
  • What kinds of injuries were caused by this conflict?
  • What exactly did these injuries look like? (image)

WHICH INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERS WILL YOU FOCUS ON?

  • What did they look like before the conflict? (image)
  • What do they look like during their encounter with this conflict? (image)
  • What is their opinion of the conflict?
  • What is their response to the conflict? Do they fight back, run, organise protests?
  • What is their opinion of how they handled themselves in this conflict?
  • Where did this character spend their childhood? (image)
  • What was life like before they encountered this conflict? (image)
  • Is this character trying to save something? (image)
  • Is this character with anyone when they encounter the conflict? (image)

WHERE DOES YOUR CHARACTER ENCOUNTER CONFLICT?

  • Geographically, where does this conflict occur? (image)
  • What size area is affected by the conflict? (image)
  • Which specific locations does your character find themselves in when they encounter this conflict? (image)
  • Is where your character encounters conflict a place that is important to them? Why/why not? (image)
  • What does the setting of the conflict look like before and after? (image)

WHAT MOMENT OF THE CONFLICT ARE YOU GOING TO FOCUS ON?

  • What happens during this moment?
  • What does the character sense during this time? (smell, see, hear, etc)
  • What bits of the images that you have gathered are you going to describe in detail? Is it the injured? Is it the blue and whit mosaic pattern on the inside dome of the temple? Is it her purple satin shawl with the black ink stain?
  • What similes, metaphors and personifications are you going use to describe these things?
  • Which other point-of-view can you include in this descriptive narrative to illustrate the fact that conflict impacts people in different ways?

004 – Concept mapping: theme, character & setting (10ESL)

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Now that we have finished watching Dead Poets Society we need to learn how to write a text response. This is an essay that explores the three aspects of a film: character, theme and setting.

Before we do that, however, we need to be sure that we understand what the important themes are and how the director uses the characters and setting to communicate them.

Activity One: Concept mapping

You are going to create a poster that shows what the main themes are and which characters and parts of the setting illustrates each one.

  1. Get into groups of four.
  2. Write out the four most important themes on four separate post-it notes.
  3. Arrange these four themes on the A3 sheet provided. Place them near the centre and leave a gap between each one.
  4. Focusing on one theme at a time, try and think of characters’ (traits and experiences) and setting (time and location) that prove you have correctly identified the theme the director wanted the audience to understand.