British Literature Archive - The Winsome Scholar - page 23

Relaxing Reading

AP Language, British Literature

October 30th, 2007

I know you guys are busy with finals coming and all, but I think you might enjoy this fiction series by Slate.com.

Make some cocoa. Have a seat. Do some reading. Relax.

Novel Presentations

British Literature

October 21st, 2007

Literary Presentations of Brit Lit Students for Make Benefit Glorious Brit Lit Class

Because I want each of you to play to your strengths, I am not going to give you many guidelines as a class. On Thursday 25th, I will speak to each of your groups about how you would like to present your work. Here are some things to consider before Thursday:

How will you, as a group, present the novel?

If you want to work together on a single presentation:

  1. Decide which genre you wish to work within:
    1. Theatre
    2. Visual art
    3. Cinema
    4. Music

  2. Divide work appropriately. Ensure that each member of your group knows exactly what is expected of him or her. For example:
    1. If you have an artist and two essayists, create a graphic interpretation of the novel
    2. If you are actors, present a fast-forward version of the novel, with costumes and minimalist sets
    3. If you are musicians or musically inclined, create a compilation CD (complete with original cover art) for the novel
    4. Make a video highlighting important themes/scenes in the novel

If you want to work individually on parts of the novel:

  1. Decide who will work on which part. Things to take into consideration:
    1. Will you divide it into parts (1st 1/3, 2nd 1/3, 3rd 1/3)?
    2. Will you each choose a character or theme to work with?

  2. Once you have divided the novel, choose how you will present your individual section. Here are some ideas, but you are free to come up with your own:
    1. Painting/collage of character, including aspects of his or her personality and symbols of his or her life
    2. Graphic work of your portion of the work
    3. Essay exploring themes, characterization, or historical importance of your part of the novel
    4. Written interpretation of your part (new ending, new beginning, part from a different point of view)

Remember, this project is worth 120 points—enough to make or break your grade—begin work on your presentation as soon as you make your plan.

Reading Groups

British Literature

October 18th, 2007

Here we go, the final leg of this semester. Our next project will be worth a total of 300 points, with 180 of them going to your Discussion grade (quizzes, etc), and 120 going to the Paper section of your grade (essays, etc). This means that the rest of the year should look something like this in your calendars:
So, for Monday, each member of your group should fill out the worksheet for his or her position in the discussion. We’ll talk about the final presentations on Monday.

Lord of the Flies Essay Friday

British Literature

October 10th, 2007

Tags:

Here is the plan for the rest of the week:

Tonight (Wednesday)—If you have not completed your journal for this book, please do so. Consider the three possible essay topics and choose one tonight. Make a note of pages from the book that might support an argument. You do not need a thesis statement yet—just research your chosen question. We will compile this into an outline in class tomorrow.

Thursday in class—We will workshop ideas and each person will come up with a thesis statement based on his or her chosen prompt. We will write topic sentences and begin finding support for each paragraph point.

Thursday night—With your outline nearly completed (I will grade based on progress in class Thursday), refine the outline, making sure every point is filled out (with evidence from the text) and supportive of your thesis.

Friday in class—We will write the essay, turn in the journals and outlines. Writing should be easy by this time as the thesis is clear, the points are organized, and everything is supported from the text.

If you have any questions, let me know.

The Simon Discussion

British Literature

October 8th, 2007

will continue tomorrow. We will be writing over his impact on the novel and how his death helps illustrate a negative view of mankind’s innate motivations.

Keep reading; we will finish the novel before Wednesday (for the quiz).

If you are confused by the grade on your essay, come talk to me. If you are upset by the grade, come talk to me and re-write it for more points. If you are happy with your grade, keep up the good work!

I only received ONE entry for the extra credit assignment. I will accept no more for this one, but I may assign more in the distant future. (Awk, but you know what I mean.)