June 20

ELA B30: June 19 Last class… and a final review…

  1. It was understandably difficult for the class to really settle in and focus today; it’s their last day of English (ever, for some!) and they were all leaving in fifty minutes to go bowling for the day. How can English compete with that?! We did get things settled, though, and were able to have a fairly productive class.
  2. I gave students a handout with two poems on it. We have already studied / analyzed these poems but they weren’t given a copy at the time. (We looked at them using the projector and they wrote out their responses / phrases on their sheet.) Both of the poems given (though one was not the one I intended to give them) can be used for either of the two parts for this course. Finding literature that will be able to adapt to either possible theme will be of value to them.
  3. I also gave them a handout that had essay questions from the last three years of Dept exams. The benefit of this, I think, is that they should get a Reheheally good idea of the kinds of questions they’ll be asked and prepare them better for what to expect and how to plan to respond.
    For example, we read through six different possible questions they may be asked for the One Paragraph Personal Response question. For each question, we discussed possible responses as a class. I made it emphatically clear that they ‘must’ refer to a personal issue being sure to use the words “I” and “my” etc.
    For the first of the two Five Paragraph Formal Literary Essays, they can only refer to small literature selections. This was made absolutely clear to them!! We read through the six essay questions and roughly pieced together which stories / essays / poems we could use in answering.
    The same was done with the last Five Paragraph Formal Literary Essay. They have to decide (maybe even before going into the final) which major story they are most comfortable with – Night, Hamlet, or Animal Farm. Their entire essay must only refer to ONE of these.
  4. We wrapped things up after a few sporatic questions. We reviewed quickly the Tips for Exam Writing that I had shared with them back in January. Bring a drink (keeps you motivated and your stamina to keep writing is extended), chew gun (maintains a greater focus on your task / fewer distractions), and bring a snack of some sort that won’t make a lot of noise to open.

I’ve done my best to make sure you all are as prepared for this exam as possible. Beyond that, though, I’ve done all I could to make this class interesting, create an engaging environment where you felt like you “wanted” to participate, and tried to give you assignments and projects that had some real value. It’s been a great six months getting to know you and work with you. I wish you all the best of luck out there in the “real world”. Don’t feel shy about looking me up, please. I’d love to hear how you’re doing out there or lend an ear.
Good luck!!

Here’s a treat for you that goes along the lines of writing exams. lol You’ll enjoy it!


Posted June 20, 2008 by Waldner in category ELA 30

2 thoughts on “ELA B30: June 19 Last class… and a final review…

  1. Holly

    Hi, just trying to do some studying, and I was wondering if any of the eleven poems on love ( “A Widow’s Lament in Springtime”, “Watching My Lover”, “Thinking With the Heart”), the last poems we did (“I am Out of Love With You For Now”, “Roots”, “For an Expatriate Friend”) or “No Man is An Island” can be used for the departmental?
    See you tomorrow!

    Reply
  2. Waldner (Post author)

    Hey Holly,

    I’m sure your studying is going just fine. Any of those poems can be referred to on your final, and it’s wise of you to check. I had mentioned to the class several times that I only gave you literature to study that you could use, other than videos and that Oprah article. lol Based on your review of that article, though, I’m sure you won’t miss being able to use it!

    I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I am sure you are all much more prepared for this final than your last dept.

    Reply

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