She drew a circle that shut me out...

Poetry is the expression of the soul, whimsy, and most often wit. ! Write a poem of rhyming couplets on a theme of your own choice. Your poem may be a simple 4 line stanza or it may be longer, but be sure you consider scansion as well as rhyme scheme. If you feel prolific, atttempt several stanzas.

She drew a circle that shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, thing to flout,
But love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that took her in.

I resolve to...

Sometimes, setting yourself up for success means setting goals. New Year's resolutions are goals that people set up at the beginning of each New Year to get themselves on track. Possibly because the New Year is a time of new beginnings - the days are getting longer, spring is on the way - people choose this time to evaluate their lives, and their priorities. Take a few moments to evaluate your life and the kinds of things that you would like to see yourself accomplishing in the coming year. Write a paragraph that explores some of the resolutions that you will make and try to keep. Remeber to focus on the areas of your life that are pertinent to you at this time in your life - education, occupation, relation, emancipation - and reflect on how you might enhance your life by setting some goals!

Novel Study: The Kite Runner?

In this day and age of globalization, is there merit in reading and studying the novel, The Kite Runner? In a paragraph, please justify your response with reasons for why you think this novel is or is not an appropriate novel for grade 11 students. Key words to consider: the novel's title, and author, Afghanistan, globalization, developing nations, manufacturing, trade, Canadian students.

Betrayal

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini: Amir betrays his friend and servant two times. Once he fails to save Hassan from Assef's brutal assault, and then he frames Hassan by placing a watch and money under Hassan's mattress in the servants' shack where Hassan lives with his father Ali. Explain why one of the betrayals is a greater betrayal of Hassan.

The Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies

Students of William Golding's book, The Lord of the Flies, have stated that the story reveals a lot about human nature. Often highlighted is the idea that all people have a dark side that is covered by a veneer of civilization. In other words we all have the potential to be evil. The degree to which we are influenced by our upbringing determines how thick the veneer of civilization is - how well we can supress the darkness within us. Choose two characters and in two separate paragraphs compare/contrast their respective veneer of civilzation. (Imagine that veneer is a coating - how thick is the coating that covers up the darker side of each character?) In a final, reflective paragraph write about your own feelings regarding the depth to which your  own dark side is buried.

IRP in CSI Style!

When you begin to compose your IRP think like a forensic investigator who is working backward… You are putting the analysis before the crime - the planning before the presentation! (Not to say that your presentation will be a crime!) THINK CSI!

C = Claim. Present a short speech where you include these points:

• Introduce yourself: “Good morning fellow students. I am ________________ …”
• State the topic you are presenting: “…and I’d like to present you with _______...”
• Explain your claim: “This is relevant because ___________...”

S = Support. Speak to your audience about your topic. This is the BULK of your presenation. 

§         Show your PowerPoint, ComicLife, or any other audio/visual aid. The following points you should either explain as the presentation is being given or should be part of the presentation:

1.      Prove why the topic you have chosen is important.

2.      Supply facts, anecdotes and statistics to strengthen your support.

3.      Include pictures, interviews, sound or video clips and tie these together to fully explore the topic you have chosen.

I = Impact. Tell your audience why your topic is relevant to them.

• State why the information you have shared is relevant to your audience.
• Explain how the information you presented might affect your audience.
• Thank your audience for their attentiveness and ask for questions.

The Coffee Write

The power of observation is only as good as the words you have to express what it is you see. Please transcribe your "coffee write" to your blog. Be sure to compose using Word and to spell and grammar check before uploading the file. You might want to have a peer read your work to ensure that it is both well written and engaging.

I stepped tentatively into the cafe, where the young woman was settled on a chair by the wall. Her gaze swept across the room to the door where I had just entered...