WEEK TWELVE: UPDATE

This week we began our study of The Great Gatsby. Students watched a documentary titled The 1920’s: A Decade of Contradictions. 

SUMMATIVES:

• KU (Chapters 1-3, 4-6, 7-9)
• Unit Test: T, COMM, APPL
• Seminar Presentation

We have read Chapters 1 and 2. All the story elements have a uniqueness to them: the story is told in retrospect (2 years after the summer of 1922), each setting plays a significant role, some of the characters cause a strong emotional response in the reader, the personal struggles become tangible, and while the plot is quite simple, it weaves between time periods. It all comes together at the end – which are the first two pages of the book 🙂

There are many thematic concepts in this text. Students have created their own seminar groups and will be tracking their chosen concept as they read. Individually, each student will create a mind map for their concept. Students will then create a theme (turning their one-word concept into a complete sentence that “says” something). Each group will make a presentation explaining how their theme is revealed throughout the book.

• Concept: Love
• Theme: Unconditional love withstands any obstacles

The author’s writing style is a second strong focus. Students have already experienced Fitzgerald’s powerful use of visual and auditory imagery, as well as his application of similes, metaphors, personification, polysyndeton, syntax, and diction.

Students do have homework this week-end. Also note that the ISU essay outline is due Friday, May 10th. This task in the writing process must be completed.

 

WEEK ELEVEN: UPDATE

This week students completed an in-class essay. I love this summative as it allows students to measure their own thinking and creative abilities without the use of secondary sources. This is a great skill moving forward, as it is a necessary requirement to think and write under pressure for university midterms and final exams. Practice leads to increased confidence and decreased stress. A win-win combination 🙂

This week-end students should finish reading their ISU novel – if they have done so, they are encouraged to begin the essay outline.

Our final unit of the year is the study of The Great Gatsby. Although this is a novella, only 180 pages, the diction is sophisticated, and the vocabulary is extensive. Students will need to read with focus and intent. It is a beautifully crafted book!

Experts say ‘predatory’ essay writing firms are thriving, and there’s no law to stop them

Nick Boisvert · CBC News · Posted: Apr 25, 2019 4:00 AM ET  

A CBC News investigation has revealed how fast and convenient it is to purchase a custom academic essay that can go undetected by university professors and plagiarism software.

The term paper was purchased through a self-described custom essay writing service that is based in Toronto but serves post-secondary students across Canada.

The real-life assignment was provided by the Ryerson University school of nursing, which agreed to analyze the purchased essay.

“It was very disturbing to me, because I would expect to see this paper,” said Corinne Hart, an associate professor of nursing at Ryerson, who assigns the essay in a third year course. “Now I feel really suspicious about other papers.”

Academic integrity experts say businesses that sell custom-written papers are proliferating across the country. There are also concerns that the companies are becoming bolder and more sophisticated as they grow.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/contract-cheating-nursing-investigation-1.5109322

WEEK TEN: UPDATE

This week students wrote the Macbeth Unit Test. It was divided into two parts: quotation analysis and sight passage.

The quotation analysis is an excellent tool for assessing a student’s understanding of overriding skills. Students need to understand the play to describe the context, language analysis (elements of style) to determine the author’s purpose and effect in choosing specific devices, and theme recognition to understand the overall message the author is trying to reveal.

The sight passage allows for students to demonstrate their ability to apply what they have learned to something new – the ultimate goal 🙂

Next week we go “old school”

Students will have four days to write an in-class essay. Students must demonstrate “their” thinking by putting pen to paper.

No Google searches allowed:  Schmoop, Pink Monkey, SparksNotes, CliffNotes, Cummings Study Guide, Wikipedia, Enotes, GradeSaver, Litcharts, No Sweat Shakespeare, . . . are all out-of-bounds.