Responding to "Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction"

Write about any ideas or facts that surprised you, angered you, delighted you, or evoked any strong reaction as you were reading. Write about anything that stays on your mind after reading.

Refer directly to the text using quotation, but only quote about 10 to 15% of your total word count. Write a minimum of 150 words and a maximum of 250. You may use multiple paragraphs if that suits your comments.

Bring your completed work, printed and double spaced, to class next Wednesday.

Appreciating a Line, an Idea, an Image

From today's notes, identify a line or an idea or an image that sticks with you. No need to refer to the poet by name, but please do say why (at least as much as you know) that it has reached you as a reader. Write about at least two (and as many as four).

List Poem: "A Note"

Beginning with "Life is the only way," write your own list poem using "A Note" as a model. Your poem must use the same number of words and structure as Szymborska's.

Try to find a rhythm to the words you choose (note the number of syllables as well as the number of words). Be careful to punctuate exactly the same way and be aware of how the poet has used punctuation to divide and compare ideas.

Post a copy of your poem to the blog before coming to Wednesday's class.

Be prepared to do a recital of your poem (please practice ahead of time!) and give some short remarks on the process you followed and any difficulties you experienced.

My Experience with Poetry

Write a 50-word paragraph that refers to your personal experiences with poetry. The experiences do not have to be at school, although they may be if you wish. Be specific please.

We will discuss your comments at the beginning of Wednesday's class.

Groundhog Day: Recommend or Not?

The assignment is simple (150 to 200 words). Would you or would you not recommend the film, Groundhog Day, to a friend? Give your reasons clearly and please refer to the events and characters in the film in your comment.

Plot Synopsis for Groundhog Day (characters etc. at IMDB.com)

Please remember to bring a copy of your blog comment, on paper, to class on Wednesday.

Looking Closely at Film: A Favourite Scene

Choose a favourite scene from a film. Mention two film elements used in the scene. Why are they used in your opinion? Write a short paragraph and post as a comment to “Favourite Scenes” at the blog. Bring a DVD copy of your film to class next Wednesday. If you have no copy, try to find the scene on YouTube so you can share it with us. Paste your URL (link) into your comment to this post.

See some examples from last year's class.

Film Analysis (Yale University): film vocabulary with short examples to view. *Note: Only use the left side menu and do not try to use the "go to" box (it won't allow you in!)

Link to Rewritten Sentences

Link to rewritten sentences from Wednesday's exercise

Responding to Barry Schwartz: Our Loss of Wisdom

Answer one of the following questions in paragraph form:

1. How do you feel towards the lecture and why do you feel this way?

2. Does the lecture confront or confirm your personal beliefs? Explain.

3. Write about something important you learned from the lecture.

4. What stayed in your mind after the lecture was over? Why do you think that happened?

5. What made the lecture effective (or ineffective) in your opinion?

Write between 100 and 150 words. Provide a word count, please.

If you would like to read some published narrative essays from last year's class, visit these links.
Powerful Blood Ties Rosemary recounts the tale of her brother's death on Christmas eve.

Home, Sweet Home Rita's terrifying experience of the Kobe earthquake in 1995 leads her to a new appreciation of home.

Remembering the Folly Maryann remembers a fateful meeting with a good friend and regrets her actions that day.

The Railroad Man: A New Journey Marc writes of the death of the "backbone of his life," his father.

Disguised Donors In the aftermath of monsoon floods, Jatinder discovers that not all is what it seems on first glance.

Responding to "The Woman of the House"

Choose one of the following questions and answer in a 150 to 200 word paragraph.

1. Explore a social or ethical issue raised in the writing. Judge the behaviour of the characters or the views of the author. Are they right or wrong in your opinion?

2. Tell about how you feel toward this writing or its author and why.

3. Write about something that surprised you, angered you, delighted you, or evoked any strong reaction as you were reading. Write about anything that stays on your mind after reading.

Please NOTE

Post your "Here I Am" as a comment to my post and not to the front page of the blog. I've moved your work back to its proper place.

Here I Am

Write your version of "Here I Am" here as a comment to this post. Remember to follow the format of my examples exactly (use the same punctuation and word forms etc.).

I will provide a third example here as well.

NOTE: Be sure to post your "Here I Am" here as a comment and not to "post" to the blog.

Link for Friday, September 17 Homework

Something New; Something Interesting; Something Puzzling (Read each student's response and then choose three different students. For each of the three, choose a single sentence that interested you in some way. Write your response as a paragraph with three examples. Write about 150 words or so and be sure to explain why you found the sentence interesting. Bring your paragraph to class, word processed, on Friday. You'll need it to participate in that day's group work)

Welcome everyone! I look forward to helping you achieve the highest possible score in English 11 and, more importantly, to making you all better writers, readers and thinkers.

Saying Goodbye at the Blog

Here's your chance to wish us well or say anything you like. It's been a fun year!

List Poem

Put your list poem here as a comment before Wednesday's class. Remember to prepare brief remarks on how you wrote the poem.

My Experience with Poetry

Write a 50-word paragraph that refers to your personal experiences with poetry. The experiences do not have to be at school, although they may be if you wish. Be specific please.

We will discuss your comments at the beginning of Friday's class.

First Reaction to the Story, "A Man Like Him"

Choose one of the topics below and write a response in paragraphs (not an essay). Write a minimum of 150 words and a maximum of 200 words. Include at least one direct reference to the story through the use of a short quotation but do not quote more than 20 words total in your answer. Link to "A Man Like Him" full text at NewYorker.com

1.Write about something that surprised you, angered you, delighted you, or evoked any strong reaction as you were reading. Write about anything that stays on your mind after reading.

2. Explore a social or ethical issue raised in the writing. Judge the behaviour of the characters or the views of the author. Are they right or wrong in your opinion?

3. Does this work confront or confirm your personal beliefs? Explain.
NOTE: Please finish all work before your class on Wednesday, May 5.

Four Punctuation Demonstration Sentences

Choose four different sentences from your persuasive essay or travel article and revise them to include the following: a dash used to introduce; dashes used to enclose; parenthesis to enclose; semicolon to combine. Post your sentences at the blog before class.

Travel Article (First Draft; Unfinished and Untitled)

Two slips of paper flutter to the floor of the tram, jam packed with Amsterdamers heading home after work. Without delay, at least two riders have pointed it out, politely tapping on my wife’s elbow, informing her in Dutch.

Welcome to Amsterdam. It would happen twice more, as we juggled cameras and scarves, tickets and tram passes, the kindness of strangers saved us from losing something we’d dropped. Often, I watched multiple passengers quickly offer help—to the old, to mothers with bulky strollers—in a way that seemed natural and routine. Only once did I see slight annoyance, when a crew of mothers and strollers had blocked access to standing room further up the tram.

Visiting the city of Amsterdam fills the senses with delightful sights and sounds and, best of all, introduces one to a uniquely public-oriented citizenry, people who do many things that make city living more tolerable for all.

Despite being built on sand, the city has an underground metro line, along with extensive tram lines that make getting around easy. Visitors may buy an hourly pass, available in one day increments (24, 36 hours and so on), to match the duration of a stay. At seven Euros per 24 hour period, the radio frequency pass is a bargain.

And, that flexibility in the passes (unlike, say, Paris, where you need to commit to a weekly pass at minimum) typifies the attitude of Amsterdamers—practical minded and tolerant yet still friendly towards the hordes of tourists in their midst. Which brings me to something rare and wonderful about Amsterdamers: their bicycles.

I heard the ring of bicycle bells often, many times because I had again blundered on to a bicycle pathway, which is very often wider than the sidewalk. In Amsterdam, the bicycle has the right of way. It fits with the prevailing attitude: clearly, bikes are the fastest, most ecological and healthiest way to get around, so they take priority.

The bikes are everywhere. Every street has bunches of leaning bikes, mostly black, single speed and basic. Our Amsterdam tour guide told us most local people own two bikes: one for everyday use left locked out front of the apartment and the other for the weekend, when riding into the countryside is easy, especially since bikes are allowed on the metro (with handy hooks for stability and tire guideways that make stair bumps obsolete).

The biking scene seems fantastical to someone from Vancouver (and not only because there are no hills to climb in Amsterdam!). No one wears a helmet, adults nor children. Yet everyone rides— white haired grandmothers, guys in suits, women in mini skirts and heels—and parents carry children on special bikes with wheelbarrow-like carriers on front. Often, I saw two children strapped in and enjoying the ride and wondered to myself if we were in Vancouver whether the mom would be arrested for endangering her children!

The highlights of my experience of these civic-minded citizens of Amsterdam came when I heard about the Second World War on my tour and on a subsequent visit to the Anne Frank House.

Joe, our capable guide, had majored in history and ended his tour in front of a house where a Jewish man had been sheltered, successfully, for four years. Thousands of Jews were saved by fellow citizens, who thought of them as Amsterdamers first. Joe told us of the uprising, the only one in any European city already occupied by the advancing Germans, that took place over two days in June 1941. Amsterdamers wanted to let it be known that they supported the Jews and objected to their treatment in the city.

The results were predictable: the Germans separated women from the men and then executed the women, publically. Amsterdam paid a heavy price for its resistence.

After I heard this story, I knew I had to visit Anne Frank House. There, we wandered through the rooms (emptied of goods to respect her father’s wishes) and watched various video installations that explained the history that led to Anne and her family hiding there for over two years.

It was when I heard Miep Gies that I fully understood Amsterdam and her people. She related the tale of her employer coming to ask her if she could help the Franks (and others) by obtaining food for them using counterfeit ration cards (an act that could have lead to her execution).

Her answer, given without hesitation? “Of course I will.”

—748 words

Something New; Something Interesting; Something Puzzling

Share with us your thoughts on new, interesting and puzzling things you've encountered since we began our study in February. Write no more than 200 words in a single or multiple paragraphs. Due before class on Wednesday, April 21.

A Funny Thing Happened: Travel Anecdote

Travel often leads us into funny or humorous situations. Write about a time something funny happened to you while travelling. Keep it very short (no more than 200 words) and use story telling style: have people talking in dialogue, for example. Brad intends to offer a fresh anecdote from his computer in Europe. Make sure your anecdote is submitted before class on Wednesday, April 14.

Something "Socially Unacceptable": Your Wishes

Write about something that you wish would become “socially unacceptable” for people in society in a short paragraph of about 125 to 150 words. Describe the behaviour you dislike and explain why you would like it to stop.

Here are some sample topics:

cosmetic surgery; overusing limited resources; shopping for "recreation"; use of cell phones in public; paying too much attention to celebrities; loud Ipods on SkyTrain etc.

Online Resource on Quotations at University of Toronto

Courtesy of Linda: See if this resource seems clearer.

Using Quotations

Working with Quotations

Base your examples on works studied this term. Remember that you may quote words from Temple Grandin's speech at Ted.com, for example. Try using the interactive transcript at the right of the video window. I will post samples this weekend. In the meantime, try writing a few examples of your own for practice.

Write three examples as follows:

One sentence that introduces a quote, uses a comma to separate the quote and has the quote end the sentence.

One sentence that introduces a quote with a colon.

One sentence with the quoted words in the middle of a sentence.

Learning to See: Facebook Album

Learning to See

Understanding Composition

Here's a slide show on taking better (and more influential) photos to communicate your ideas.

Composition and Impact

Guidelines for Better Photographic Composition

First Reaction for the Story, "Ghosts"

Choose one of the topics below and write a response in paragraphs (not an essay). Write a minimum of 150 words and a maximum of 200 words. Include at least one direct reference to the story through the use of a short quotation but do not quote more than 20 words total in your answer. Link to "Ghosts" full text at NewYorker.com

1.Write about something that surprised you, angered you, delighted you, or evoked any strong reaction as you were reading. Write about anything that stays on your mind after reading.

2. Explore a social or ethical issue raised in the writing. Judge the behaviour of the characters or the views of the author. Are they right or wrong in your opinion?

3. Does this work confront or confirm your personal beliefs? Explain.

NOTE: Please finish all work before your class on Wednesday, February 24.

The Effect of Culture (100-Word Paragraph)

In what way has culture had an effect on you? Choose one good example and write a paragraph of about 100 words that follows the structure of a body paragraph (as in “A Unique Culture”).

Note that "culture" means the often unwritten rules we follow. For example, how long, in your culture, should a goodbye after a party take? In some cultures, goodbye may take an hour or more. In others, we say goodbye more quickly.

Corrections File for this Exercise

A Class Introduction

Put your "Here I Am" introduction here before next Wednesday's class. I will provide you with my second sample as the first comment.

Link for Friday February 5 Homework

Something New; Something Interesting; Something Puzzling (for homework assignment)

Group Work Notes from both English 11 and 12 Classes (Word file)

Detailed Information on Joining the Blog (Word file)

NOTE: I've written a sample for Friday's homework and include it in a comment to this post. Click on comments to see it.

Link to Sir Ken Robinson's Lecture

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html