English Literature 12 » course updates

Updates and Spam Stopping…

Mr. N — Sat, 27 May 2006 16:10:06 +0000

Hi everyone,

I am really frustrated to hear some of you are recieving spam emails that are coming via this and the team blog…how it works: basically, someone has a program running that goes out and puts comments or ‘trackbacks’ (- in short a link to a site -usually a blog- that appears as an excerpt or quote from that site…) on posts at random. They seem to target a site once they get in…any of you who have subscribed to comments on the blogs will more than likely get these spam messages in your email with my address on them….

In order to help put a stop to this, I have deactivated the commenting ability on posts on this blog that are more than 21 days old.

I would also suggest you block the email address that comes with any spam you get. I know it is mine, but I don’t use that address anymore and I only recieve emails at that one (ie I don’t send from it…) So, please block it!!

I hope that helps….Spam sucks…

Onto updates….
This one is a bummer…Remember I mentioned about questions for the first section of the exam (multiple choice) being in chronological order, and the site passage questions being in random order??? Well…I wasn’t sure I trusted that knowledge, so, yesterday afternoon I wrote the multiple choice questions of the most current Lit. exam. The good news is I did great and I think you will too…that portion is easier than I thought it would be…so if you were in class and read the stuff, then I think you should do really well!
The bad news is that the chronological order thing worked great until you got to the section where they have quotes you have to identify…then it broke down. The chronological thing doesn’t work with the ‘identifying quotes’ section of the exam (which was only about 7 questions on the one I wrote…).
So, I went back to re-check that information on the exam specs….and it turns out I misread it. My bad….terribly sorry about that mixup. Here’s the truth on it:

1. The first section is chronological
2. The recognizing authors and titles section (where you identify quotes…) IS NOT –
Thinking about it now, this totally makes sense, as it would be way too easy if they put them all in order…

I will clarify this in class as well…

BUT…I want you to know that the multiple choice section was way easier than I expected, and I hope that you will find it the same. The quotes they put in aren’t hugely tricky – they make sense…and I think writing that part with the reading list in front of you would help jog your memory…They even put in at least one from when I was away with our new baby, (and I didn’t read that poem…) and I was able to guess it no problem…

So…hope that clarifies a bunch for you.
Monday we will start reviewing Hamlet , as was requested in Friday’s class. I think this is a good move, as you are guaranteed to be responsible for at least 18 marks for this play on the exam, whereas which poems you have is a toss up…

Hope you have a stellar weekend and that your exam anxiety is very low. From what I have seen with your ‘mock essays’ in class and what you’ve done with practice exams so far (and all that other stuff we have done…), I think you will do more than fine!!

A Head’s Up…Exam prep time…

Mr. N — Fri, 12 May 2006 21:34:31 +0000

Hi everyone, and thank you for participating in the class brainstorm essay session today. I am hoping to get you all primed for that provincial essay, which will be similar to what we did in class.

I just wanted to remind you that we will be doing exam prep from here on out, and that I am hoping to get through a total of 3 practice exams before the final. That being said, on Monday we will do a cite passage in class- this is where you are given a random poem you have probably never seen. You have to answer several multiple choice questions, then write a multi paragraph response. We have done this in class before, so hopefully you are somewhat used to this process. The site passage will take approximately half of the class time, then you will be free to work on your essays and I will be available for any help or to run things by.

There isn’t really a ton you can do in terms of studying for the site passage, your studying has been the course up until now…working with poems and ripping them apart. You can study terms if you want, but that is about it.

So, have a great weekend, be working on your essays (they are due Monday, May 22nd) , and relax! Summer is almost here!!

Easter Weekend Reading…Not a Lot of It!

Mr. N — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:05:06 +0000

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder to read Arnold’s “Dover Beach” pg. 884 for Wednesday.

I hope you all have a great weekend, spend some time reflecting on what an awesome historical event this weekend marks, and spend some quality time with family.

Mr. N

Handout test…the basic timeline thus far…

Mr. N — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 22:20:24 +0000

Here’s hoping this works! You should see a link so you can download the timeline up to the Enlightenment….give it a try and let me know (ie drop a comment here) if it works!

timeline

Handout test…the basic timeline thus far…

Mr. N — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 22:19:55 +0000

Here’s hoping this works! You should see a link so you can download the timeline up to the Enlightenment….give it a try and let me know (ie drop a comment here) if it works!

Updates from Today’s Class…(getting locked in a classroom…)

Mr. N — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 22:08:28 +0000

Hi Everyone,

A strange class today, what with the ‘waiting for the lockdown’ and all…

Thank you for working through this and for letting us burn through a few poems. I will post my reading notes to them after this.

Assigned for Monday (no lit. class on Friday):
Read: Milton’s Sonnet XIX (”On His Blindness”) and blog an answer to either question 2 or 3 –>pg. 467.

Read: Pepys ‘The Fire of London’ –> pg. 498+

Your Poster Assignment has been extended and will now be due Monday, Feb. 20th .

Next week, we will read through Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” If you want to get a jump on this, I suggest you read the intro. to this work on pg. 462-3.
I will also give you time in Monday and Wednesday’s class to work on your posters (about half the class).

Have a great rest of your week!

Weekend reading: (3 poems for three days…if you count Friday!)

Mr. N — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 23:00:50 +0000

I suggest you read them in the following order:

Herrick – “To the Virgins”
Donne – “A Valediction, Forbidding Mourning”, a pretty cool one if you read it real close
end with: “Death Be Not Proud” it is a great one that will lift your spirits!

Come to class on Monday ready to talk about these.

Poetry Anatomy assignment…

Mr. N — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 22:59:19 +0000

Poem Exploration Assignment
After a lengthy and in depth consultation with some of my trusted, top level advisors (thanks Angelina and Ellie!), you are to complete the following assignment (Ok, so it wasn’t all that lengthy, or in depth, but they gave the nod anyways!):
Your assignment is to work with one of the poems we have explored thus far (fancy that, there are 7 in all!). You will be given a blown up photocopy of the poem and some poster board. My advice, cut up the poem and paste it onto the poster, cite the line numbers, and you have quotes!
Requirements
You should try to talk about/ explore / represent each line or couple of lines if they run together. Your poster must include the following to help aid your classmates with understanding the poem:
images (and/or magazine clippings)
definitions of key words/ poetic devices that you are responsible for on the exam (if the author uses them. These should include a definition of the type of poetry and anything unique to that form ex: what is a sonnet, how do you identify it, what makes this one unique {is it Petrarchan or Shakespearean, etc.)
your interpretations of the meaning of the poem, (you can use a combination of images and text for this, but images should be self explanatory) and an explanation of how this poem reflects the age it is in
Purpose
1. To keep you involved in a dialogue with the works we have read thus far.
2. To get you into the guts of the poems we are reading and give you some time to look around.
A more formal definition is from the BC government’s requirement for this course that you, “ demonstrate an understanding of [...] literary works and an awareness of how they reflect the attitudes, values, and issues of the Renaissance, [...] 17th century and the Middle Ages [(for ‘Barbara Allan)]” (BC Lit.12 IRP, 22, 24).
Due Date
You poster will be due Monday, Feb. 13th at the beginning of class. Students will peruse your work as if we were in an art gallery. You will act as the docent for your work, and explain any necessary details. Your critics will submit a peer mark. This, combined with my own mark, will constitute your mark. This is a study aid for you and your classmates, so don’t let them and yourself down!

Shakespearean Sonnets, Quatrains, Couplets, Rhyme Scheme…

Mr. N — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 21:18:00 +0000

Shakespearean Sonnet: A twist on the sonnet…Shakespeare’s sonnet is composed of 3 quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet. Usually, the third quatrain will alter the general direction the poem is taking, and the rhyming couplet (two rhymed lines of poetry) will sum it all up.
rhyme scheme (the breakdown of how the poem rhymes) = abab cdcd efef gg

Shakespeare’s Sonnets are usually written in Iambic Pentameter.

See pg. 251 of your text for this information.

Hamlet updates…

Mr. N — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 22:15:10 +0000

Hi everyone,

In today’s class we wrote the Act III-IV quiz. I think all of you will ace it, especially because of our review beforehand…

Assigned for Thursday: Act 4 blog/log post.

On Thursday we will begin experiencing Ethan Hawke’s version of the play (that is, assuming I can get ahold of a copy!)

For Tuesday you should have your Act 5 log/blog post done.

After we complete the film, I would like to have you do some kind of written reflection on the film, something along the lines of what you would do if you were to modernize it, or what you would change, or who you would cast in the roles of the major characters and why…

I am looking forward to reading your blog posts, but, as the sun is out, I will put it off…
Enjoy the rest of your day