Investigating Blogs

Spend a few minutes on each of the following blogs. Read a couple of posts and try to get a feel for the language:

http://recoveringanorexic.wordpress.com/
http://www.challengecracknell.com/blog/day10/index.html
http://kendallandandrewswedding.blogspot.com/
http://www.gastrochick.com/
When you have familiarised yourself with these blogs, write a comment on this post explaining what they have in common. Try to comment on:


Use of language
Content- emotional and personal or distant and professional?

Structure of entries

Anything else of interest

Homework for Monday

Use the videos in the post below and this one from Mr Baxter to help you complete your rough version of the plan. You will have one more lesson next week in which to organise your notes and prepare to write.

Videos of the Set Scenes

Watch the following clips of the two scenes you have been studying. On post-it notes, jot down ideas of how the actors deliver key lines from the script to communicate their feelings. Stick your post-it notes to the which you began last lesson. Think about:


• Tone of voice
• Facial expression
• Actions/gestures Movement
• Anything else you notice

Homework due on Thursday 17th

Write Mercutio's diary entry following the scene in which Romeo goes to talk with the nurse rather than accompanying him. Think about:

 

• What Mercutio knows about Romeo's relationships with Juliet and Rosaline
• How he feels about this
• How he feels about Romeo's behaviour

At least a side of A4 or a comment on the blog please

 

Revision for Controlled Assessment

Your homework for next week is to revise for your controlled assessment on Wilfred Owen's poetry. These videos should help you to revise what it is you need to write and how you migth choose to go about comparing these two poems:

"Spring Offensive" and "Exposure": Presntations

Your next task will be to create a chroma key presentation on either "Spring Offensive" or "Exposure" by Wilfred Owen. To get started, choose a poem in your group then, using the techniques outlined in the video below, annotate your copy of the poem to gain a greater understanding of what it is about:



When you are confident in your understanding of the poem, prepare a PowerPoint and script for your presentation addressing the question: How do the soldiers react to the extreme sitatuons in the poem?
You should include the following:

• What is the poem about (its story)
• Analysis of at least three quotations covering the whole poem (including poetic devices)
• Explanation of the poet's feelings and intentions

Download a template for your background presentation below (and remember to save it to your documents):
PowerPoint Template

World War I Fact File

Each group should leave a comment on this post which gives a brief summary of everything they have found out about life in the trenches during the First World War. You can then use this as a handy online revision guide if there is ever anything you need to find out.

Homework due Monday 12th September

Welcome to GCSE English!

Your first homework is to compete your character's diary entry for the first week of May, 1914. Remember to include details of the values and lifestyle which we discussed in the lesson. Your writing should be at least 1-2 sides of A4.

Any questions, post them as comments here.

Extension Work For When C/A is Finished

Read the poem "Hitcher" by Simon Armitage (page 108 in the green OCR "Reflections" anthology and answer the following questions in as much detail as you can:

Simon Armitage


1) What do we learn about the murderer in the first stanza?
2) What impression do you get of the victim in stanza 2?
3) Which words or phrases give you this impression?
4) In stanza three, what do you think the murderer feels when he commits the crime? Again, find quotations to prove your points.
5) Why do you think that the murderer kills his victim?

Extension: Write a short newspaper story, including headline, reporting the events. Include:
 a description of the victim
 what the police think happened
 who they are looking for

Your Holiday Revision Work

1) Re-read the book (use the audio book to help)
2) Update all pages in your quote bank
3) Watch the revision videos and take notes on what you learn
4) Finish planning practise questions
5) Have a go at a practise essay in 45 minutes (choose one of the questions from the sheet)

www.wix.com/teacherinmypocket/ofmiceandmen

Video Revision Guides

Learning Objective: To learn to analyse the language and context of the novel in relation to its themes

Your task this lesson is to create the PowerPoint and script for a video revision guide on one of the themes of "Of Mice and Men" which we record on the chroma-keyer next week. Your video will end up looking a little like this one:



Click on the link below to download the template for your PowerPoint:

PowerPoint Template

Your presentation should include at least three quotations from the novel as well as a paragraph analysing one of them and explaining its language and context.

Friendship

Write a comment on the post which includes the following:

• A quotation from the novel which shows friendship along with its page number
• An explanation of what Steinbeck's language shows about the characters/situation
• An explanation of what we learn about the historical context of the novel from this quotations

Women

Write a comment on this post which includes the following:

• A quotation from the novel which shows how women are presented along with its page number
• An explanation of what Steinbeck's language shows about the characters/situation
• An explanation of what we learn about the historical context of the novel from this quotations

Conflict

Write a comment on the post which includes the following:

• A quotation from the novel which shows conflict along with its page number
• An explanation of what Steinbeck's language shows about the characters/situation
• An explanation of what we learn about the historical context of the novel from this quotations

"Of Mice and Men" Revision Website

Hello all,

As promised, the "Of Mice and Men" revision website is now up and running and it plays host to the full streaming and downloadable audio book in a slightly irritating American accent!

www.wix.com/teacherinmypocket/ofmiceandmen

Enjoy!