Explore 2020

Welcome to Explore,

This is the 20th year of the program and we are all very excited to experience a great year together. From time to time, I will post English work on this blog. Most of our work is done in class, but I will post English work before we head out for trips.

For information about the program, visit gpvanier.ca and click on programs. From there you will be able to find the Explore tab. Trip dates, gear lists, and a variety of other information can be found there.

Again, let's work together and have a fantastic year,

Mr. Miller

Explore English

"Saturday Climbing" by W.D. Valgardson

1. Give one example of conflict in the story. What type of conflict is it? Write two to three sentences and provide at least one quote to support your idea.

2. Why was Barry "full of fear" at the end of the story?

         3. The world seeks balance is a theme of "Saturday Climbing." Provide an example to support this.

Journal Question: choose one of the following statements  guide your response.

On page 55, Valgardseon writes, "Gradually, as a dozen Saturdays passed, what had seemed impossible was reduced to the merely difficult."

Think back to your own life experiences and make a connection to this statement by writing 2-3 paragraphs.

or

In this story, Moira and her father share some success, conflict and the tension between her moving on and her father not wanting to let go. Describe a recent experience you have had with your parents or guardians (2-3 paragraphs).

Explore English

Questions for the story "The Brass Teapot"

1. List the following details for this story:

• Protagonist
• Antagonist
• Conflict
• Climax
• Point of View

2. The final line of the story, "we could buy our way into paradise" is an example of dramatic irony. Explain why.
3. Can you think of anything in our society that would drive someone to act like John and Alice do in this story? What might the teapot symbolize in that situation?

Explore English

Questions for the story "the kayak"

1.   What is it that Teresa most desires? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

2.   Why did Teresa start to head for shore?

3.   What does the author's use of italics indicate?

4.   Which literary device is used in "you don't know what it's like being so helpless."

5.   What does Jamie's remark, "Bring the marshmallows" suggest about the way he thinks of Teresa?

Explore English

April 24th

Silent Reading  15 min.

Daily Grammar

Definitions/Literary term

Daily Dose # 31

Insert the correct punctuation in the following sentence:

In 1968 982 students came to sing dance and march 

 

 

 

In 1968, 982 students came to sing, dance and march.

Daily Dose # 32 

Insert the correct punctuation in the following sentence:

We dont however disagree to often

 

We don't, however, disagree too often.

Daily Dose # 33

Insert the correct punctuation in the following sentence:

Many books especially cheap ones are put together in haste however with proper care even cheap books can last for a long time

Many books, especially cheap ones, are put together in haste; however, with proper care even cheap books can last for a long time.

Literary Terms

Foil

In fiction, a foil is a character who contrasts with another character —usually the protagonist— in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character. In some cases, a subplot can be used as a foil to the main plot. 

Dilemma

*When a character has two choices which both have potentially bad results.

Dilemma is a Greek word, which means double proposition, or perplexing situation, which presents two different possibilities, and both of them seem practically acceptable.

 Test Prep:

Here is the what the test will look like:

Section A:  T or F (10 marks)

Section B: Multiple Choice (10 marks)

Section C: Fill in the blanks (10 marks)

Section D: Sequence of events (10 marks)

Finish reading. Test will be Thursday afternoon. I will give some clues on Thursday morning.

 

Princess Bride

After taking notes on character types, watch the movie The Princess Bride. Choose a character to follow.

Decide what type of character they are and provide examples from the movie to help make your case. 

Have this assignment along with your chapter questions prepared to hand in after Spring Break.

Character types

• Dynamic - A dynamic character is a person who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or facing a major crisis. Most dynamic characters tend to be central rather than peripheral characters, because resolving the conflict is the major role of central characters.

• Static - A static character is someone who does not change over time; his or her personality does not transform or evolve.

•  Flat - A flat character is the opposite of a round character. This literary personality is notable for one kind of personality trait or characteristic.

• Round - A rounded character is anyone who has a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a conflicted and contradictory person.

• Stock - Stock characters are those types of characters who have become conventional or stereotypical through repeated use in particular types of stories. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to readers or audience members (e.g. the femme fatale, the cynical but moral private eye, the mad scientist, the geeky boy with glasses, and the faithful sidekick). Stock characters are normally one-dimensional flat characters, but sometimes stock personalities are deeply conflicted, rounded characters (e.g. the "Hamlet" type).

• Anti-Hero - A major character, usually the protagonist, who lacks conventional nobility of mind, and who struggles for values not deemed universally admirable. Duddy, in Mordecai Richler's The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, is a classic anti-hero. He's vulgar, manipulative and self-centered. Nevertheless, Duddy is the center of the story, and we are drawn to the challenges he must overcome and the goals he seeks to achieve.

Explore English

Hi gang,

Here are notes for this Friday and the following Monday.
Start off with your daily dose of grammar and some literary terms. Write your journal responses and work on chapter questions. Be sure to spend the rest of the class reading. I'll be around to say hello.

Friday

Daily Dose # 17

Define the dash and describe its uses.

The dash is an emphatic mark that usually indicates an interruption of thought, a sharp break or a shift in thought. Uses are to: introduce a word or group that you wish to emphasize; a break in thought; to set off distinguished parenthetical material.

Daily Dose # 18

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 period 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.

Monday

Daily Dose # 19

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).

Daily Dose # 20

What is a verb?

A verb is a word that specifies actions or events that take place in time or a relation between two things.

Literary Devices

Friday

Symbolism

Symbolism refers to any object or person which represents something else.

"Finally, doves fly over the fields of war" (doves symbolize peace)

Tone

Tone refers to the attitude that a story creates towards it's subject matter. Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, or many other possible attitudes. Tone is sometimes referred to as the mood that the author establishes within the story.

Imagery

Imagery is used in fiction to refer to descriptive language that evokes sensory experience. Imagery may be in many forms, such as metaphors and similes.

"First day of school smells like new books."

Monday

Metaphors

Comparing something to something else.

"The ocean is a bowl of dreams."

Simile

A comparison using like or as.

"He smells like a gym shoe."

Personification

Making an object act like a person or animal

"The ducks complained all day."

Chapter Questions (Be sure to answer in complete sentences)

Friday
1. Why is Ralph elected chief?
2. What is the "scar" that is repeatedly mentioned?
3. Why is Jack unable to kill the pig?
4. How is Piggy revealed as most closely tied to the world of adults?

Monday
5. What question does the littlun with the birthmark raise?
6. How do Ralph and Jack answer the question about the beast?
7. How do they start the fire?
8. What two groups with differing goals are emerging?


Journal Questions (write for 10-15 minuets)

Friday
Have you ever been manipulated? How/why? Have you ever manipulated someone?

Monday
Have you ever been scared? What were the circumstances? Tell me the details.