Trailer for the film adaptation for Harper Lee's novel, "To Kill A Mockingbird".

Suggestions for Assignment Prep

Image taken from: http://www.smfc.k12.ca.us/images/school_assignments.jpg on 05/03/10


Girls,


As suggested in class today, here is a breakdown of how you may wish to approach the planning/drafting of your assignment:


1. You need to ensure that you have completed a thorough SPECS and SLIMS analysis of your poem.


2. You should ensure that you have completed background research on the war that is being discussed in your poem, the public reaction to that war, any information you can find regarding the reaction of the public to the poem/song, the way people view war today and, lastly, the background of the poet, along with any involvement they may have had in the war.


3. You should have brainstormed several ideas for headlines, bylines and pictures to support your article.


4. Plan a dot point response to the first main body element as described on your task sheet - you can utilise your information from SPE of SPECS to achieve this.


5. Plan a dot point response to the second main body element as described on your task sheet - you can utilise your information from SLIMS to achieve this. (Note, you will need to be discerning about which elements you include. They will not all fit in, nor be relevant.)


6. Plan a dot point response to the third main body element as described on your task sheet - you can utilise the research you have done on the war and social reactions to the war, and, if possible, the reaction to the poem/song.


7. Plan a dot point response to the fourth main body element as described on your task sheet - you will need to utilise a combination of research regarding the way people view war today and your personal observations. Remember, if you are looking at a recent song/poem, you will not necessarily need to do this section.


8. Plan a dot point response to the fifth main body element as described on your task sheet - you can utilise the research you have done on the poet.


9. Plan a dot point overview of your intro (lead) and conclusion (clincher).


10. Start trying all of your elements together and extending on your dot points to actually write your article.


11. Go back over what you have written and check that you have included all the structural/stylistic elements that need to be included in the feature article genre.


12. Proof-read and edit your draft.


13. Have at least 2/3 people complete a peer evaluation/proof-read of your draft (we will have time allocated for this in class on Monday).


14. Take on board the suggestions made during the peer evaluation and edit your article accordingly.


15. Proof-read and edit your marking draft for a final time.


16. Fill out the drafting recommendations sheet, indicating what elements of your draft on which you want me to focus.


17. Upload your article onto Blackboard via SafeAssign.


18. Once I have looked at your draft and provided feedback, read over the notes I have written, making your own notes as your progress through the article and jotting down any questions you have about my comments.


19. Ask for clarification on any elements of feedback of which you are unsure.


20. Begin to work through your draft, correcting and using the feedback that you have been given. A good idea is to tick each error/suggestion off as you go through.


21. Once you have finished addressing the errors and suggestions, go back over and proof-read and edit your work.


22. Ask a peer to proof-read your work.


23. Make any corrections that were picked up through peer-editing.


24. Complete final proof-read and edit.


25. Hand in final assignment package. The submission should include: SPECS and SLIMS analysis of your poem; peer presentation sheet; research notes; planning; all drafts; teacher's drafting recommendations sheet; final draft (situated at the front of assignment package); and, lastly, your task sheet. Your assignment needs to be handed in via the library drop box.

Reading Reflections

Image taken from: http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/4900000/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird-to-kill-a-mockingbird-4995613-404-480.jpg on 03/03/10


As you have been instructed, the weekly reading reflection is an ongoing part of your homework in Grade 10.



By the end of this week, you should have at least five reading posts on your blog.



For those of you who have not been posting your reading reflections, you are doing yourself a disservice as we have discussed the benefits of extensive reading.



If you have not posted up to this point, and you do not have a book to read, I strongly suggest that you commence reading the novel for next term, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.



Girls you are currently reading a book, once you have finished, I would also encourage you to read the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird.



This is a wonderful book and you will find some interesting parallels between this novel and the unit you have been studying this term in History. It tells the story through the perspective of a young girl who is growing up in a small town in Alabama and I am sure that once you have finished the story, you will be unlikely to forget the central characters.

Consequences for Incomplete Homework

Image taken from: http://steveroesler.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/18/noexcuses_2.jpg on 03/03/2010


Ladies,



It is quite disappointing to see that so many of you are still disregarding your responsibilities when it comes to completing your English homework.



I have spoken to individuals and the entire class at length, yet, there are still eight students who are behind in their homework blog and an additional eight who, while up to date with set tasks have not posted reading reflections (either for last week or, in some cases, at all).



As we have discussed, you are now in Senior School and it is imperative that you take control of your own learning. I am not setting you homework simply because I want to give you extra work. The items that you are being asked to complete are directly related to the content we are looking at in class and that you need to be familiar with in order to complete your assessment to the highest standard.



Those girls who are not up to date (you will be made aware of who you are in class today) will be attending the library at lunch times until the work is completed to a satisfactory standard.



Girls who are up to date, with the exception of their reading posts, you will also need to go to the library at lunch time today, find a book and make a post that reflects on your novel by no later than tomorrow morning. If you cannot achieve this, you will also spend lunch times in the library catching up on the requirements.



Names of those girls who have fallen behind will be provided to Mrs. Grehan and I will be asking her to check your blogs by no later than Friday morning.



I hope that it will not be necessary to post a similiar message again this year.

Getting Started On Your Feature Article

Image taken from: http://pimm.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/journalism.jpg on 03/03/10


After having discussed the various elements of a feature article in class, you need to complete the following tasks in order to begin constructing your feature article:



While considering how the concept of war is represented in your poem, create the following:
1. At least three different options for a title
2. A byline
3. A lead
4. An image with a caption


You should ensure that all of the above elements represent war in the same way as your poem.



Just because you have these as options now, does not mean that you have to use them in your final article. It is simply to help you start the article and think about what it is you are trying to achieve.