December
15
ELA A30: Dec 15
- Students were given back the question sheets they were to complete in yesterday’s class. They were given the hour to answer 14 questions, rereading portions of the story they’d read the day before, if necessary. Several students failed to complete the questions within that hour. There was a homework check mark given out of a possible 10 marks to show their productivity and work efforts during class time.
- We reviewed the story, for those who still found portions of the reading confusing. The story focused on the perspective of a Brazilian immigrant who is seeking political refugee status with Immigration Canada. He waits, “on the eve of his uncertain tomorrow”, trying to keep his emotions and hopes in check to not get too sure of his fate. He observes other immigrants living in the same house as he who occupy their time in different ways waiting, also, for their fated day. The main character, Joaquin, has several flashbacks that reveal a violent past and severe torture he was subjeted to in his former country. His fear of the dark, because of this, even is accentuated by his relief in using a Mickey Mouse nightlight, formerly owned by a small girl, to keep the darkness at bay,
“for he has had too much darkness”. Will he be accepted as a new citizen of Canada? What will his fate be? - We discussed the questions together with students taking turns offering answers or elaborating on some. (Some students need to hold back on answering all the questions and let the ones I’ve asked have time to come up with their personal response. Some people just need a bit of time to pull their thoughts together.)
- Students were then given their next writing assignment. Write one body paragraph with an integrated quote for a formal essay. Pretend your body paragraph is part of the essay discussing ‘some of the Diverse Voices in Canadian literature.’ This is due, typed, on Monday. Students should follow the exact same outline as the other integrated formal paragraph they did previously, following the steps of the six sentences. They are to include a quote from any of the literature we’ve discussed so far in this sub-unit on Marginalized Voices. (Anything AFTER the play, Mirage.)