Short Story Assignment

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Just a quick heads up ladies that your task sheet for the short story assignment will be distributed during class tomorrow. If you are absent, you will be able to access the task sheet via Blackboard.

Once the task is distributed we will need to start looking at why Atticus is a hero so be aware that there will be plot spoilers in class very soon!

Chapter Questions - Alternative

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Ladies, as mentioned by a few people in class today, it appears that a number of you are finding the chapter questions tedious and this may be one of the reasons why you are resisting the book. As a compromise, may I suggest that rather than continue battling with these, you instead take the time at the end of each chapter to write a summary explaining what you have learnt/discovered/etc as you progress through each stage of the novel.

If you decide to do this, ensure that you are taking the time to really reflect on what you have read and how it adds to the story's progression and ultimately, how it affects your journey as a reader.

Show Don't Tell Exercises

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Here are the 'tell' elements for your show don't tell writing task. The worked examples and explanations can be found on Blackboard.

In each of the following replace the description with a paragraph in which you use the characters’ actions and words to convey the same message:

1. The hero was strong and handsome. He was admired by the townspeople. He was brave and wished to help those in need.
2. The wizard was ugly and evil. The people of the town were terrified of him. He enjoyed threatening them, especially the children. He was cruel and greedy.
3. The Knight was arrogant and greedy. He did not want to help others. He only wanted to be viewed as the most handsome and talented warrior in the land.
4. The peasants were kind and helpful. They were hard working and honest people. They were scared to drawing the attention of the wizard.
5. The land was beautiful, but harsh. The town was safe from the elements, but outside could be dangerous if one did not take precautions.
6. The reward that the hero was given was very valuable. It would allow the hero to continue protecting the less fortunate.

Show Don't Tell Homework

Ladies,

It is incredibly disappointing to see that your homework task over the long weekend has not been completed. As well as this, a number of you are once again significantly behind in your work with regards to other posts.

As a result, we will postpone any further viewing of the film adaptation of the novel and you will instead work on chapter questions for this lesson. There is a clear expectation that all homework tasks be completed. Mrs. Grehan and I will be checking up on this in the next couple of days. If you are behind in your work, I am expecting that you will make your way to the library during lunches to ensure that you rectify this issue.

To the one individual who has posted the work from the weekend, well done.

Reading Assistance

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Just a reminder, ladies, you need to be vigilant about keeping up to date with your reading.

To assist you in reading To Kill A Mockingbird, you may wish to consider downloading an audio version of the novel. There is a free copy of the book, set out chapter by chapter, on iTunes in the Podcast section. Each chapter is read by a different voice but hopefully that will not cause too much difficulty.

Make sure that you look up words you are unfamiliar with as you progress through the novel.

Maycomb County 1930s vs Our Home Towns in 2010

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In the opening chapter of To Kill A Mockingbird, Haper Lee (through the eyes of Scout) describes Maycomb County. The vivid description is included to give the reader a clear picture of the community in which the story is going to take place.

Imagine that you are writing a story that is set in your home town. Could you describe your home town and it's inhabitants in a way that allows for the same level of imagery that Lee creates?

Try to include the use of metaphors, similies and personification into your description in order to make it more interesting for your reader. Have them thinking about the way things sound, feel, smell, look and maybe even taste!

Once you have written a draft description, read over it and see whether there is anything you want to change. Once you are happy with it, pass it onto a peer to proof-read. You will want them to not only check for spelling, punctuation, expression and sentence structure issues, but also to comment on whether you have effectively given them a clear mental image of your home town.

Once you have feedback from your peer editor, transfer your description onto your blog.

Chapter Questions for "To Kill A Mockingbird"

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By Monday morning of Week 2, you need to have completed the chapter questions for Chapters 1-7.

These chapter questions can be found in Blackboard in the "Welcome to Scout's World" folder.