Welcome Post

Welcome to the online forum of blogging. You have an opportunity to create your own blog and to respond to suggested writing prompts. You might rather compose your thoughts on a computer because of the editing tools available. These tools will enable you to check spelling and grammar, and to research online resources including, but not limited to, a thesaurus or dictionary.

Here you will be writing for a wider audience, so there are a few pointers that you will want to consider.

• By composing your blogs in a word document you will be able to edit before posting, and you will have a saved copy of each blog in a file that you create.
• You are expected to write at a senior high school level - avoid abbreviations often found in text messages or chat forums.
• Your writing is accessible by your peers as well as the public - write appropriate posts that reflect your academic abilities and your moral integrity.

Your first blog will be to rewrite your personal essay with some consideration given to the structure that we outlined on the board in class.

Write a clear introduction and conclusion. Include three subtopics that are developed in the subsequent body paragraphs. Revisit the essay by Bertrand Russell. 

Throw a picture of yourself onto the post.

Your blog will be visited and graded as a significant component of your English 11 grade. Postings will include responses to what we read or view in class as well as personal reflections on suggested topics, such as the one above. 

 

Good luck and enjoy your blog!

Eng. 11 Course Outline

English 11                                                    

Mr. Wm. Laven                                                       blaven@summer.com                                                                          

Penticton Secondary School                                               Phone: 250-770-7750

158 Eckhardt Ave. E. Penticton BC V2A 1Z3 

Course Outline: 2014 - 2015 

English 11 encompasses an enlightening selection of literature as well as challenging writing assignments. The course is designed to encourage both a greater understanding of communication and an enthusiasm for expressing ideas. We will explore literature and language in the traditional medium of books as well as in the newer medium of the Internet. We will also explore newspapers, magazines, and audio and video sources for literary expression. In addition to writing assignments there will be an expectation that these media will also serve as a means of presenting your own creative compositions. Oral reporting will be a component of individual projects.

The encompassing theme for the course will be the exercise of Authority. 

 

1. English 11 Prescribed Learning Outcomes: Students should

·         Develop an appreciation for literary expression in a variety of forms

·         Synthesize ideas from thematically connected passages

·         Write effectively in a variety of forms (narrative, expository…)

·         Become reflective learners

 

  

 

2. Units & Resources

1. Drama - Macbeth by William Shakespeare - 10 classes

                  - Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - 8 Classes         

2. Short Stories -  Various Selections: 15 Classes              

3.   Novels  - Lord of the Flies by William Golding - 10 Classes       

                        - The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini   - 12 classes     

      4.  Compositions and Effective Writing - ongoing    

6.  Non-Fiction – Selected titles, & Night      by Elie Wiesel - 6 classes

7.  Poetry    - ongoing 10 classes

      8.  Film Study - Paranoid Park dir. Gus Van Sant - 4 classes

 - Angela’s Ashes from the novel by Frank McCourt - 4 classes

 - Short Films Film Festival - Canadian Short Films NFB 6 classes

 - Freedom Writers dir. by R. LaGravenese - 4 classes

 - The Great Debaters dir. By Denzel Washington - 4 classes

 - Lord Of the Flies dir. by Peter Brook - 2 classes

 - The Kite Runner dir by Marc Forster - 2 classes

     

 9. Accelerated Reader independent novel study - ongoing

 

10. Course Evaluation

            Class Work (including participation and attendance)        30%

            Projects                                                                        30%

            Accelerated Reader & Lit Circles                                    10%

Homework                                                                    10%

Tests and Quizzes                                                         20%

 

The course work will constitute 70% of the final grade with a final exam comprising the remaining 30%.

 

I hope to provide a course that is both intellectually challenging as well as engaging. Your success in this course will be dependent on being prepared for class. Nutrition and rest, and having a binder, paper and writing utensils are all components of being prepared to learn. There will be opportunities at lunch to catch up on missed work. Retests will be provided for those of you missing class for medical reasons, or scheduled trips with your family or team.

 

 

“Ozymandias”  by Percy Bysshe Shelly

           

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.