English 9

Today we will complete reading Act II from A Midsummer's Night Dream. Students will then use the side notes to help them write a letter of persuasion to one of their peers. Find ten words that are new to you from the side notes and include them in letter. Highlight the words after you print your letter.

English 9

Today students will continue reading A Midsummer's Night Dream. We will look at themes and characters while making connections to the elements of the short story. We will also look at the literary terms fantasy, myth, and verse.

Section 1 # 27 and # 28

# 27 Describe the uses of the apostrophe.

The apostrophe is a mark of punctuation and a spelling symbol. It indicates omission of a letter or letters (wasn't, can't, he's); forms the possessive case of a noun (the horse's saddle, the boys' clubhouse).

# 28 Insert the correct punctuation in the following sentence: Joe asked politely May I borrow a dollar

Joe asked politely, "May I borrow a dollar?"

Themes for A Midsummer's Night Dream

• patriarchy

• law

• young love

• deception

• revenge

• rivalry

• magic

• reconciliation

• marriage

Notes

Fantasy

Imaginative literature that blends the real world with incredible characters, talking beasts, and unreal beings. May connect to symbolism.

Myth

Form of folklore that accounts for creation of all things, the origin of good and evil, and the salvation of the soul.

Verse

Highly compressed, literary works that appeal to emotion, rhythm, and sense.

Writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme.

Synonym: Poetry

Activity

Review the elements of the short story. Create a poster from the mind map on the white board. Add elements of the play to your poster. Include plot, characters, theme, point of view, and setting. Use specific quotes, imagery and examples to make your connections clear. This is an ongoing activity. Add to your poster as we progress thorough the play.

For a look at a somewhat modern show based on mixups and plot twists, check out Three's Company. Three's Company

English 9

Today students will take the opportunity to appreciate William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Before we begin, some house keeping.

1. Return your Crossroad and Inside Stories books to the library. While there, sign out your copy of the Play.
2. Complete Section 1, question 25 
3. Complete Vocabulary
4. Read introduction to Play
5. Complete Journal/Free Write 

Section 1—Grammar

# 25 Define quotation marks and describe the placement of end punctuation with quotation marks.

Quotation marks enclose words, phrases, clauses, sentences and paragraphs indicating the beginning and ending of material being repeated or quoted. The comma and periods always come inside quotation marks. Question marks, exclamation points and dashes come outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quotation. The semicolon and colon always go outside quotation marks.

Section 2—Vocabulary

Define the following terms:

Accustomed

Garments

Maiden

Senility

Symbol

Section 3—Journal/Free write

Write about the first lie you were ever caught in. Provide context (age, time, place) and descriptive language to help bring your story to life. As always, write 2-3 paragraphs.

English 9

Twisty Tales continued...

Trouble starting your story? Planning is the key. Here are some reminders and tips to writing:

1. Review notes from yesterday to reinforce: plot lines, traditional elements, character types, and twisted tales. 

2. Remember that fairy tales are just short stories. There are limited characters, description, and a focussed plot line.

3. Fairy Tales are short stories with a little magic. There is usually an evil antagonist. The plot line is typically the innocent overcoming evil or how someone is transformed.

4. Start with some basic structural elements:

a great quest or task

a series of tests

animals that can speak or do magic

set in certain time periods: "long ago or far away"

always have a moral

Finally...be sure to research and read. Use an existing story to model your writing. This is intended to be a FUN assignments that helps to develop your writing skills.

English 9

Let's get Twisted

Students will begin a project today which will see them understand, and then create, a Twisted Fairy Tale. Traditional fairy tales were told orally by storytellers.

Here are our steps (notes for class):

1. Plot line of Fairy Tales

2. Traditional Elements

3. Stock Characters

4. Writing a Twisted Tale

Plot Lines

A typical fairy-tales plot is:

• Initial Situation

• Introduction of a problem/complication/task

• Hero(ine) attempts to address the complication (rescue someone, find someone, slay a dragon, you get the idea)

• Successful resolution

Traditional Elements

• princess is a victim

• prince

• evil person

• magic

• positive resolution

• forest

• broken family

• moral or message

Stock Characters

A stock character is a universal type that appears in plays, stories, films, etc. They are often based on stereotypes. They are easily recognized. Here are some examples:

• Ancient Stock Characters (the show-off, the coward, the greedy man)

• Good guys (a humble servant, the wise old man, prince charming, etc.)

• Bad guys (the mad scientist, the evil stepmother, etc.)

• Neutral characters (the damsel in distress, the nerd, the town drunk, etc.)

Students will look at a variety of examples to help with ideas. After taking notes and watching some "Fractured Tales," research and read a fairy tale to help develop your style of writing.

Begin to formulate a plan for writing your own "Twisty tale." You have three classes to write, edit, and finalize your story. I look forward reading.....





English 9

Welcome back. I hope you all had a great Spring Break. Here is your next project. Please ask if you have questions, otherwise, have fun and tap into those creative juices.

Who am I?

For this project, you will be creating a representation of YOU. In order to do so, one must first gain a deep understanding as to who you really are, or, more importantly, who you want to be.

In order to do this, you need to answer the following questions to get an idea of who you really are (You may have to do some research before you answer the questions):

The basics:

What is you full name?

Do you have a nickname?

Describe your family. Who do you live with? Include pets, animals, that uncle who lives in the basement, etc.

Where have you lived in your life?

Who has influenced you? You can include positive and negative influences.

Favourite colour?

Favourite foods?

Favourite band?

Favourite song?

Favourite sports team?

Favourite activities (hiking, fishing, etc.)

Favourite place to visit (The bug zoo)?

Are you a lone wolf or a social butterfly?

Do you have a favourite artist or work of art? If not, I suggest the group of seven as a starting point.

Do you have a Growth mindset?

Do you suffer from Cognitive dissonance?

How do You see You?

How do Others see You?

How do YOU want the world to see you?

What do you want to be doing in 1year, 5years, 10 years, 20 years.

What masks do you wear? In other words, do you take on different personalities in different circumstances?

Do you have a brand? What does it look like? What would your symbol look like? Think Nike swoosh.

Find a quote or slogan that has meaning for you.

Is there anything I missed? Include it here.

Now that you have developed a profile, I would like you to pick a method of representing yourself. Poster, painting, power point, Prezi, Story/essay, picture story, short film, song, scene, photograph, sculpture, caricature, other, etc.

You representation MUST include the following details:

1.    Your brand. Can be in the form of a symbol, but must have a connection to your profile in some way

2.    At least five images. Again, there must be a connection to your profile.

3.    Your quote or slogan

4.    Three influences (facebook, friends, etc.)

You will have three classes to research, gather information, and create your representation. Be sure to use class time wisely.

Assessment:

Use of time                                                                /5

Creativity                                                                   /5

·         Depth and quality of ideas

·         Organization and combination of ideas

Completion                                                                /5

Your criteria                                                             /5