Friday 14 December 2012

Thursday 13 December 2012

Something that Happened and Robert Burns

Here's the lesson on the change in title and the pessimistic view in the novel. There are some key words here you may want to use.
Consider how this title contributes and energises the themes within the text.
For those of you that weren't in the lesson, we looked at the opening to sections 1 and 6 and made comparisons. There a a range of links. How does this vivid description of setting contribute to theme?
Also, consider the significance of starting and ending in the same place.What is the impact of this cyclical narrative?
Leave a comment if you need any help...

Friendship and George and Lennie

Hi Y10
This is our lesson on Friendship and the contrast between George and Lennie's realtionship and everybody else's relationships... There are two people that aren't lonely and one of them shoots the other in the back of the head. How is Steinbeck presenting loneliness here? What is he trying to say about loneliness? What's he saying about understanding each other?

Friday 7 December 2012

OMAM Preparation

Hi Y10
Right, I'm glad everyone managed to get their books back (even if this did mean one of my children wailing around the school!).
You have got feedback on what you need to do with a personalised target (though most of you need to do the same thing). There is a model on the back of your feedback sheet of what I expect you to do to draw out meaning and link to theme. Essentially, you focus in on the very small aspects of language and then move out to think about themes and writer's intentions.
The important thing is not to panic. We've spent 5 weeks analysing quotations, but many of you seemed to forget that when you're told to write an essay.
You must have:

  • quotations
  • analysis with interpretation
  • comment and evaluation on writer's intention
If you feel like you are stuck with anything, leave a comment and it will email me. I'll be unable to respond tomorrow, but I will be able to on Sunday. 
As a recap - for your homework you should do a paragraph on Steinbeck's use of dialogue. This will be a useful paragraph in your assessment. You should also plan your essay. To do this use the model that is on the back of your feedback. If you've got this for every paragraph, not only is it excellent planning, you're on to a winner! 

Have a look at these sites for your own research. If you find a good one, leave it in the comment (don't leave your real name though please).
  1. sparknotes (a great site!)
  2. bitesize
  3. universalteacher (dense, but useful)
  4. shmoop (even the name's cool...)

Here is the lesson that we didn't do because of the computer failure. Note the analysis in the paragraphs.




Have fun,
Ms