May 24

May 24/16 B7 Consequences of decisions

Here are the steps for this section:

  1. Before Viewing
    Split the class in half (2 rows in each group) and discuss and come up with the following: Make sure someone is your group’s Notetaker.

    1. Identify the pros and cons of Rainer Wenger’s teaching, the teacher from the movie Die Welle who convinced his students to become Nazis. What were the positives of this influence on his students and the obvious negatives.
    2. Discuss whether you really make many big decisions in your life to choose your own path or whether you mostly follow along with what’s expected of you. How much do your family circumstances, financial limitations, marks and school capabilities etc narrow or widen the types of choices you can make after graduation? If your circumstances limit your choices, do you still have choice? (Example: Maybe your don’t have the marks or money access to choose post-secondary training.)  If your circumstances allow for any learning/work opportunity after graduation, do most people follow the same path anyway – head to University or SIAST?
    3. Do you believe it’s better to live life fully or just do life well? Should you do what’s expected of you by society and others and enjoy what you’ve got or should you aim for more and find what you’re passionate about, even if it may not afford you a comfortable life or approval of friends and family?
  2. During Viewing
    You’ll watch this film – it’s just over 2 hours long. After it, you’ll identify common elements of literature from it as part of your Comprehend and Response skills. This section will count towards your course mark.
  3. After Viewing
    We’ll get to this later.
Category: ELA B10 | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 13

May 13/16 Getting ideas for your Journal Writing

Other Kenaston students have completed the same type of journal writing as you are going to soon. Their entries are only in response to “The Michelle I Know”. You’ll be able to get an idea of how they took on the persona of a character to create these fictional writing pieces along with some creative techniques like:

  • spreading out the dates of when the entries were written
  • deciding which character’s perspective to write from
  • school appropriate language but you can be creative with your language choice
  • explore the emotions the character may be feeling – the highs and lows
  • you can play with writing using inference – things hinted to for the reader but not expressly told
  • you can vary sentences – their length and formation, include some for dramatic effect and others for narrative use
  • you can think of a creative ending – something to surprise a reader
  • you can write as if these entries happen along with the storyline plot or they might occur and foreshadow their beginning or you could explore what happens once the storyline portion has ended
  • Lots of potential in this type of writing assignment.

 

I’ll post these examples as comments below.  Thanks to Bethany, Bernice, Kaity, and Eve for giving permission to use these blog entries.

 

Category: ELA B10 | 4 Comments on May 13/16 Getting ideas for your Journal Writing
May 12

May 12/16 B5 Short Story Options – Choose One

For this next section, you’ll have the choice between reading one of two short stories. They both focus on a character faced with a decision, but it’s a decision that’s based on Values.

“The Michelle I Know” is a story about a young girl battling an illness in the hospital. She’s scared her boyfriend will find someone else to spend time with and is befriended by another patient.

“Just Lather, That’s All“ is a story about a young man whose community is disrupted by a war. The leader of the opposition group enters his store for a shave and the young man must decide whether to take this opportunity or let it pass.

Open the Google Doc here with both stories in it. Make a Copy for yourself and follow the instructions below.

Pick one of the stories and complete the following steps:

  1. Open the Google Doc file linked above to access both stories. 
    1. Once you open it in Google Docs, you’ll be able to highlight a portion of the text you want to respond to or make an observation of and add a comment that includes your observation/analysis.
  2. As you read through the story, watch for the following qualities of the text and identify any 20 as a comment.
    1. Make a connection to yourself
    2. Make a judgement – what do you think about… ?
    3. Make a connection to the world or society
    4. Share what you visualize
    5. Identify a single phrase or sentence that is significant for some reason to you and explain the reasoning
    6. Share what puzzles you
    7. Clarify something
    8. Identify something that you feel is irrelevant or relevant
    9. Identify something that you feel is irrelevant or relevant
    10. Summarize what’s happening
    11. Ask a question about something related to the plot
    12. Ask a question about something related to the plot
    13. Identify something unique about the writing
    14. Identify what is motivating characters right now
    15. Identify what is motivating characters right now
    16. Make a connection to another text you know of (story, movie, tv show)
    17. Identify an example of inference (what is hinted at that the reader needs to read-between-the-lines to understand)
    18. Identify an example of inference (what is hinted at that the reader needs to read-between-the-lines to understand)
    19. Share what puzzles you near the highest point of tension; what is unclear to you for the moment
    20. Clarify something relevant to the falling action or resolution
    21. Make a prediction
    22. Make a prediction
    23. Make a prediction
  3. Let me know when you’ve completed these comments/observations in your document.
Category: ELA B10 | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 10

May 10/16 AR Task: Reflecting on Blended Learning Model in ELA

To finish off this section, you have an Assess and Reflect task to complete. Remember these tasks are meant for you to look back at how you’re learning, evaluate which tasks you can be more successful in completing, what your stronger skills are and what are the skills you need to develop. The Assess and Reflect sections are also worth 20% of your ELA B10 mark and are assessed not on a right or wrong answer but on how thoughtful and well-considered your self-reflection is.

For this AR task, follow along in the blog post and read along while listening to the audio recording. I’ve recorded the explanation of this AR task to help you understand well the background to this reflective question and the question itself you’re being asked to consider and respond to.

Write out and attach your paragraph response to submit with your section B5 work. If you feel it will help you to represent this self-assessment in an additional way, like a pro/con t-chart you can add that along with your reflective paragraph.

 

Listen to the recording as you follow along:

In review of Section B5 our Poetry studies, you had:

  • Choice
  • Pace
  • Path
  • collaborative work in small groups to generate and share learning
  • identified your own skills – strengths and weaknesses
  • used technology for part of the learning
    • apps for recording speaking/doing representing
    • instruction was given on the blog posts for section activities
    • comprehension responses were added to the blog post
    • resources for enriched learning given to challenge students at a higher level

These characteristics are what blended learning looks like in an ELA classroom.

Our division and school wants to incorporate more blended learning.

I want you to really consider what you learned or gained, if anything, from this method of ELA study of the poetry in section B5.  In contrast, when studying Poetry we have typically done some smaller group activities, but largely studied the text as a whole group. For example, when we studied “The Raven” or other poems like “Frankenstein” or “The Listeners”, we:

  • worked through the poem together with a partner or small group first to try to make meaning of the poem
  • identified responses to questions related to the poem to consider
  • shared what you’d learned together as a whole class
  • small activities like piecing together a stanza from “The Raven”
  • going up and down the rows asking everyone to contribute something to the learning

You have to think about this. We are not abandoning the whole group learning in ELA, but I’d like your reflective feedback on what you like about the blended learning model in ELA and what you don’t like. This is your Assess and Reflect (AR) Task for this section. It is not marked on what answer you give; it is marked on how well-considered and thoughtful the response developed is. Mull over the question, jot some ideas down or maybe make a pro/con list, and develop your personal reflection of the question in an informal paragraph.

Write it up (can type and print) but submit together with your Section B5 work.

Don’t forget that you had to add a comment response to each of the Poetry tasks and also submit your Speaking/Writing/Representing work done with your partner through a Google Doc.

 

Category: ELA B10 | LEAVE A COMMENT
May 3

May 3/16 Studying “The Road Not Taken” – Frost

In your group or in smaller pairs, work through the questions given below:

  • Read the poem together
  • Summarize the stanzas/find the poem’s literal meaning
  • Identify the poem’s theme and purpose
  • Analyze specifically the most famous line
    “two roads diverged in a wood, and I / I took the one less traveled by” for meaning

    • debate meaning – personal choice or destined fate
    • Any other lines in the poem significant in hinting at meaning?
  • Analyze Ford Commercial –
    • summarize what is inferred by the commercial/ how does the commercial interpret the poem? Is it the same as your interpretation?
  • Read the Article “The Most Misread Poem in America” (link below)
    • What’s the error everyone makes in understanding this poem?
    • What’s the poem’s true meaning? Do you see it/understand it? Were you correct in your own understanding?
  • (Each) Write a blog post Comment reviewing what you’ve learned from studying this text and media. Formal paragraph writing
  • After: View any 2 of the student videos representing the poem (below)

The Road not Taken – Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

 

 

Article: The Most Misread Poem in America

 

Viewing Activity:
Below are student video representations of the poem. If you have time after studying the poem and writing your comment below, you can watch the two videos and leave a second comment to this blog post explaining which you feel is a better representation of the poem. Be sure to support your answer with a specific reason. 

 

Category: ELA B10 | 9 Comments on May 3/16 Studying “The Road Not Taken” – Frost
April 28

Ap 29/16 Station D: What did you think of “The Woman in This Poem”?

There is a lot of variety in the types of poems written, differing by their format, attitude they approach a common topic with, word choice, etc.

The following poem will likely be a poem unlike any you’ve read so far in school ELA classes. It’s another sample of what poetry can be like.

B5 Poem - The Woman in this Poem

Task- Either alone or with a partner you will:

  1. read through the poem
  2. add comments/questions/insights on the Right-Hand side of the poem. Underline or circle the part of the poem that triggers your comment and draw a line from it to your comment on the right. 
    • As others rotate through to this Station Activity, they will read the poem, read your comments left on the right, and then add their own comments/questions/insights either directly to the poem or to the comments left by the ones before.
    • There will be additional slips of paper added to the right for these additional readings/annotations of the poem. (See image)
  3. What kinds of things can you comment on?
    • if you can visualize what’s described in the poem, mention it and explain what you see
    • if reading a phrase reminds you of something from another story, your own experience, something you’ve heard, write down that connection
    • if there’s a phrase that infers/hints at something and you recognize it, identify and explain it
    • if you’re surprised by something, write down what triggered your response and how why
    • if you like a certain pairing of words together, using plays on sounds of words like Alliteration, Consonance, Assonance, Repetition, or Rhyme, identify and explain what you like about it
    • if you have questions for the author – why did they word it this way, what are they hinting at here, is there a phrase missing at the end of this line, etc write them out
    • if you develop predictions of how things will end, explain what you anticipate and why
  4. When you’re done, before moving to the next station:
    • Individually (each in the partner group) needs to add a comment to this post to share what you thought overall of the poem you studied. Try to develop at least a 3 sentence response.

Below is an example of what it may look like as groups rotate through this station.

20160428_113941

Category: ELA B10 | 19 Comments on Ap 29/16 Station D: What did you think of “The Woman in This Poem”?
April 28

Ap 28/16 Station C: Comparing Poems – are they more alike than not?

A lot of poems can be written about the same topic, though the author’s approach can be very different. Pick any topic and you could write a poem that celebrates it or complains about it.

You’ll review two poems and try to decide if they’re more similar or more different.

Task: With a partner or on your own

  1. Read through each poem and summarize its meaning. Depending on the difficulty level and whether there are any unfamiliar words, you could consider breaking the longer one down into pieces to summarize each before you decide on a general summary of the whole poem at the end.
  2. Make a t-chart with room to identify their Similarities (on the Left) and Differences (on the Right).
  3. Review both poems with your partner (if you have one) and try to identify what about the poems can be compared. It may include things like:
    • the tone or attitude towards the topic – whether it is positive or not
    • the formatting of each – a typical type of formatting or more unique/specific
    • language used – familiar words, general words, combinations of words used together for effect
    • punctuation use – did they use it or not, how did it change/affect reading the poem
    • is the poem narrative (tells a story) or more figurative (hypothetical)
    • is the purpose of the poem clear or obscure
    • does the poem make meaning clear (explicit) or do you have to infer a lot (implicit)
    • is there a clear speaker for the poem? whose voice is it told through? is a character established as the speaker?
    • what point of view is it told from? 3rd person omniscient, 3rd person limited, 2nd person, or 1st person?
    • use of plays on sounds of words: alliteration, consonance, assonance, rhyme, repetition
    • what is the poem asking of the reader?
    • other – what else can you recognize of importance in the poem?
  4. After studying and comparing the similarities and differences between the two poems, add a comment below in this post As a Team and explain what your final conclusion is: are the two poems more alike or more dissimilar from each other? What is your reasoning/proof?
  5. Be sure to leave your name(s) in your comment.

 

The poems to compare are given below.

B5 Poem – Life

B5 Poem – Whatll It Be

 

Category: ELA B10 | 18 Comments on Ap 28/16 Station C: Comparing Poems – are they more alike than not?
April 28

Ap 28/16 Station B: Is the poem positive or negative? Prove it.

With all types of literature, authors can actually play around developing their own style or a style for a particular text. This is true for the next poem in this station.

What’s unusual about this poem is  it speaks in double negatives; by the pairing of words, it seems a bit tricky to really clarify what the poem is saying.

It’s also very fitting because of what the speaker of the poem is dealing with – not having many opportunities to make their own decisions.

Task: With a partner or on your own

  1. Make a COPY of the poem in this Google Doc file. In your Copy, read the poem through and on the right-hand side summarize in your own words what the stanzas say. This will take it from the double negative talk to a straightforward explanation.
  2. Discuss with your partner and try to figure out what purpose and/or main point the speaker is trying to make clear through their narration.
  3. After reading the poem, decide if it’s mostly a positive or negative poem and explain your opinion below as a comment. Be thorough in your explanation of your choice.
  • Each group will submit one comment.
  • Make sure you identify the members of your group.

The poem is provided below. A digital copy of it to comment on online or to print a copy from it is given above in Step 1. 

B5 Poem – Choices nikki giovanni(pdf copy)

Category: ELA B10 | 18 Comments on Ap 28/16 Station B: Is the poem positive or negative? Prove it.
April 28

Ap 28/16 Station A – Individually – find a poem about Choice

Do some online digging and find a poem that stands out to you related to our common topic of Decision-making. 

Task: on your own  (each)

  1. Look online for a poem that suits the following criteria:
    1. is at least 10 – 15 lines long
    2. is of an appropriate difficulty level for Grade 10
    3. is related to the theme of choices/influences of decisions/decision-making
  2. Copy the poem text to a document (Word/Google Doc/Email)
  3. Identify 5 qualities of the poem that stand out or draw a reaction from you. For each of the 5, write one sentence explaining what you recognize or what stands out as being important to you. Number each sentence and try to make your points specific about this particular poem you’ve selected.
  4. Once you have your poem and 5 points made about it, copy and paste that into the comment space to this post. Make sure you leave your name.

Note: If your comments are general enough that they can be applied to another random poem about Choices, your point is not specific enough.

 

You can search for this on Poetry Websites or even by images.

 

Category: ELA B10 | 21 Comments on Ap 28/16 Station A – Individually – find a poem about Choice
April 28

Ap 28/16 Exploring Decision-making Poetry: rotation stations

In this section, we’re going to focus more on shorter texts, poems, rather than articles or short stories. There will be several stations set up and you can work through them in the order you want and on your own or with a partner. If you’re not able to finish within a certain amount of time, you’ll be able to complete from home as well.

The paper copies are posted in the different corners of the room to work through if you like, or the same information is available online if it’s your preference to stay in one spot and chose the order you’ll work through the tasks.

 

Note: After completing each section, make sure to leave a comment on the blog post. Follow the directions for what the purpose of that comment will be for each.

Before Reading Either Story – Reminders on Theme vs Tone:

  • Theme is the moral of the story, the message an author wants to leave readers with. Theme can be a single word or a phrase that relates to the ideas developed in the story. Examples of themes include:
    • Vulnerability of people
    • Family relationships & conflicts
    • Struggles
    • Isolation & loneliness
    • Mentoring of old to young
    • Regret
    • The role of women in families
    • Here is a Huge List of Themes online
  • Tone is the mood developed in a story. By the events and language the author uses in the story, how is it intending to make readers feel? Tone is expressed as an “emotion”; if your tone answer isn’t an emotion, a feeling, you’ve misunderstood tone. Examples of tone include:

Station A: Choose your own poem 

Station B: Judgement – is the poem negative or positive?

Station C: Comparison of two poems – mostly similar or different?

Station D: Layered Annotations – add your thoughts and respond to others Continue reading

Category: ELA B10 | LEAVE A COMMENT