Read the short story, “The Stone Eater” (Modern Morsels, pg 56). From the short story, note what the old woman and the boy symbolize. Find a quote for each as evidence of what you believe they symbolize. Write a sentence or two that links the quotes to what each character symbolizes.
Monthly Archives: February 2016
Little Red Riding Hood – A Plot Assignment
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SrvbjoEM9M
Break down the short film into the five plot elements discussed in class.
Ode To Tomatoes Poster
Odes are poems that are directed at objects the poet loves or feels passionate about. These could be living or non-living things, including objects or ideas. Read Pablo Naruda’s “Ode to Tomatoes” and make a poster for an upcoming event. The poster can be for ANYTHING: a dance recital, a film, a book cover, etc. The poster much include the following items:
- A title
- A nice, effort-filled design.
- One simile
- One metaphor
- A theme
Remember the poster is in response to the poem, so it should connect in some way with tomatoes or a section of the poetry’s words or theme.
The street
filled with tomatoes,
midday,
summer,
light is
halved
like
a
tomato,
its juice
runs
through the streets.
In December,
unabated,
the tomato
invades
the kitchen,
it enters at lunchtime,
takes
its ease
on countertops,
among glasses,
butter dishes,
blue saltcellars.
It sheds
its own light,
benign majesty.
Unfortunately, we must
murder it:
the knife
sinks
into living flesh,
red
viscera
a cool
sun,
profound,
inexhaustible,
populates the salads
of Chile,
happily, it is wed
to the clear onion,
and to celebrate the union
we
pour
oil,
essential
child of the olive,
onto its halved hemispheres,
pepper
adds
its fragrance,
salt, its magnetism;
it is the wedding
of the day,
parsley
hoists
its flag,
potatoes
bubble vigorously,
the aroma
of the roast
knocks
at the door,
it’s time!
come on!
and, on
the table, at the midpoint
of summer,
the tomato,
star of earth, recurrent
and fertile
star,
displays
its convolutions,
its canals,
its remarkable amplitude
and abundance,
no pit,
no husk,
no leaves or thorns,
the tomato offers
its gift
of fiery color
and cool completeness.
Due: March 2nd
Rumi – Only Breath
Rumi’s Poem “Only Breath”, which was written over 800 years ago, still has a lot of power when it’s words are read today.
Read and Listen to “Only Breath” and answer the following questions:
- Summarize it (in your own words).
- Do you like the poem – why or why not?
- In your life and/or today’s society, is this poem relevant?
Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion
or cultural system. I am not from the East
or the West, not out of the ocean or up
from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all. I do not exist,
am not an entity in this world or in the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve or any
origin story. My place is placeless, a trace
of the traceless. Neither body or soul.
I belong to the beloved, have seen the two
worlds as one and that one call to and know,
first, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human being.
Grade 12 Syllabus
Ira Cooper
Vancouver Tech Secondary
February 2016
Email: iratheenglishteacher@gmail.com
Measure for Measure
A Grade 12 Unit on Shakespeare
In this unit we will be exploring Shakespeare’s work, Measure for Measure. Written around 1603 or 1604, it is considered one of his comedies, and yet, once we get into the thick of it, you might start to realize that it’s not as lighthearted as many of his other humorous plays. Rather than focusing on the words, a line by line analysis of the meaning of the text, we are going to attempt to bring The Bard’s work to life, discovering how his themes and subjects are still very relevant today. The play will be a jumping off point for discussion and classroom work.
Class Structure
Shakespeare can be a dreadful subject, if it simply looked at as an old piece of literature. It can also be a lovely tool to promote classroom dialogues, which is what I am hoping it will be. This means that participation is important. We are not Shakespearean scholars, we are simply explorers. So let’s explore! Let’s find joy in bringing his words to life. I am not asking you to love Shakespeare, but to be open to the possibility that it isn’t just an old, boring relic that you are being forced to read. We will watch Shakespeare, we will interact with his world through different mediums, and we may even have a guest or two dropping in to aid us in a Shakespearean performance.
Taking Notes
Taking notes about key terms is important for doing well on later assignments, quizzes and participating in class discussions. But it’s not just a pointless high school activity. In your future careers, in filling out future applications, in university or simply making a grocery list, taking notes is crucial. You are out of milk, pickles and dog food, but instead you bought Oreo Cookies, Sour Keys and a DVD of Frozen. Why? Because you didn’t take notes!
Shakespeare on the Internet
http://www.folger.edu/
The Folger Library in Washington, D.C. is the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare materials (they also edit the Folger editions of Shakespeare’s plays that you probably read at school). Their website is as useful and information-packed as the library itself, with resources for both the casual and serious Shakespeare scholar.
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/
Basically, a one-stop shop for Shakespeare knowledge. Lots of discussions on themes, his plays and the man himself.
http://www.shakespeareswords.com/
The best online glossary to all the strange, confusing, and beautiful words that appear in Shakespeare’s works. Based on David and Ben Crystal’s incredible book, also called Shakespeare’s Words, it lets you look up any word instantly. It even features full-text editions of the plays with the definitions linked in!
http://www.gutenberg.org/
Looking for other older works, besides Shakespeare? The Gutenberg Project could be your one stop shop destination for out of print or beyond copyright texts. You don’t even have to shop, because everything on this website is free for download in a series of different formats.
Missing Assignments – February 25th, 2015
Dear Grade 11s,
If you are missing the following assignment, please come see me. It is your responsibility to make up these assignments outside of class:
- Little Red Riding Hood: Plot Elements
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SrvbjoEM9M
Break down the story into Plot Elements: Introduction, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Conclusion.
- The Stone Eater: Theme
Read The Stone Eater (pg 56 in Modern Morsels).
Make a list of ideas that the story covers.
From that list, write a paragraph that includes a THEME based on your ideas’ list (“the author believe that…).
Find ONE quote to connect the THEME to the story.
Missing Assignments – February 25th, 2016
Dear Grade 9s,
If you are missing the following assignments it’s your responsibility to come see me, please!:
- Rumi Poetry Response Assignment
Please make sure you come see me about this, so you can get caught up!
Bathing Like a Royal
Historians are always interested in the not simply the names and dates from the past, but how life was lived, how people felt and what were they thinking. One thing that we as history learners RARELY discuss is the hygiene of historical figures. In this article, a historian does just that. Check it out:
https://newrepublic.com/article/129828/getting-clean-tudor-way
Grade 9 Syllabus
From Shakespeare to Kendrick Lamar
_______________
A Grade 9 Unit on Poetry
In this unit we will be exploring the world around us and beyond through poetry. Many of these stories talk about distant lands and lives that may seem unfamiliar to us. Through this unit we will explore the poetic devices to understand the poetry we are reading as well as look into how poetry and identity are intertwined.
Class Structure
The interpretation of poetry is based upon how the reader responds to it. That means that the reader, which in this case is yourselves, must talk about how the poem makes him/her feel, why does it make him/her feel this way, what does he/she think the poet is trying to say and what poetic devices help the poet say these things. There will be a lot of discussion in this classroom, which only works if we DISCUSS. I ask that everyone tries to speak at least once every two classes. Of course, you can speak more, but I would like to hear everyone’s voices, as it fuels this class, as well as the assignments that go along with it. It also tells me that you are following what is being said in the class and that you understand what is being taught.
Taking Notes
Taking notes about key terms is important for doing well on later assignments, quizzes and participating in class discussions. But it’s not just a pointless high school activity. In your future careers, in filling out future applications, in university or simply making a grocery list, taking notes is crucial. You are out of milk, pickles and dog food, but instead you bought Oreo Cookies, Sour Keys and a DVD of Frozen. Why? Because you didn’t take notes!
Poetry on the Internet
www.poetryfoundation.org/
Great source to find lots of poems from all ages and places. There are also poet biographies as well as information of poems’ themes and use of poetic devices. They also publish the Poetry magazine. You can browse poems (a collection that’s 10000+ strong), and refine your search by subject, occasion, holiday, and a few more handy options like filtering poems that are good for children, have related audio, or related video.
www.poetfreak.com/
Read upcoming poets’ poetry and review their work.
www.poets.org/
The web face of the Academy of American Poets is the place to head to if you are interested in contemporary poetry. They launch events like National Poetry Month. There is also Poetry Audio Archive, that has over 500 recordings dating back to the 1960s.
Syllabus
Ira Cooper
Vancouver Tech Secondary
February 2016
Email: iratheenglishteacher@gmail.com
The World in Words
_______________
A Grade 11 Unit on Short Stories
In this unit we will be exploring the world around us and beyond through short stories. Many of these stories talk about distant lands and lives that may seem unfamiliar to us. What we will try to do continually focus on through the course of this unit, are the connections between these short stories and our individual lives here in Vancouver, Canada.
Class Structure
Short stories are all about the reader’s response to it, meaning that the reader, which in this case, will be yourselves, must talk about how the poem makes him/her feel, why does it make him/her feel this way, what does he/she think the storyteller is trying to say and what literary devices help the writer say these things. There will be a lot of discussion in this classroom, which only works if we DISCUSS. I ask that everyone tries to speak at least once every two classes. Of course, you can speak more, but I would like to hear everyone’s voices, as it fuels this class, as well as the assignments that go along with it. It also tells me that you are following what is being said in the class and that you understand what is being taught.
Taking Notes
Taking notes about key terms is important for doing well on later assignments, quizzes and participating in class discussions. But it’s not just a pointless high school activity. In your future careers, in filling out future applications, in university or simply making a grocery list, taking notes is crucial. You are out of milk, pickles and dog food, but instead you bought Oreo Cookies, Sour Keys and a DVD of Frozen. Why? Because you didn’t take notes!
Short Stories on the Internet
http://www.gutenberg.org/
Just a great source of many free e-books. Over 50,000 and counting. Digitizing and archiving cultural works to give them a greater global audience.
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/
Short stories that are sorted by ages. From professional to amateur, from classic to not-so-classic, you’ll find it all here.
http://www.short-story.net/
A place where you can publish your own stories and read other user published short works. A great place to get critical feedback on your work or read up and coming writers.
Marks
Comparative Essay on Themes – 35%
Personal Response Journals – 20%
Speaker Assignment -20%
Quizzes – 15%
Participation – 10%