Term 4 week 5: Fear, Imagination and Creative Writing

In weeks 3 & 4, we studied the film Forrest Gump, looking at a range of historical events through the eyes of a sincere person who saw the world differently to others around him, but always showed loyalty to his friends and family.

Jenny's advice to Forrest in the film was always to run when anything got scary.  This week we are going to explore fear through creative writing.

DO NOW: 

• Choose a place you are scared of going to: the dentist OR the doctor OR the principal OR the police.
• You have precisely 63 words to describe this experience. 
• You must use at least one short, simple sentence.
• You must use at least one complex sentence.
• You must use at least one language technique (e.g.simile, metaphor, personification, onomoatopeia)

Here is my attempt:

Cold dread filled me.  Had they narked?  Would I be dragged into their drama in the worst ever situation - a robbery?  I approached the police station doors warily, feeling like I had "guilty idiot" written on my head in neon, glowing, capital letters.

The receptionist smiled and greeted me kindly.  Then her eyes brightened.  Mine didn't.  The next door neighbour.  I was doomed.

Go to https://b.socrative.com/login/student/ Room name: MSQUICK

Write your answer on Socrative.  I will see student names (and know you are working well)

but names will not be shown on the screen.

Learning objective: to develop ideas for creative writing

Success criteria:

1. I can use a variety of sentences (short, long, simple and complex) to describe going to the dentist, the doctor, the principal or the police.

2. I can use adventurous vocabulary and a range of language techniques to describe going to the dentist, the doctor, the principal or the police.

3. I can use the slide show (in your 10B English folder, called Assignment: Creative Writing) to help me develop an idea for the creative writing competition.

Forrest Gump: saving lives in Vietnam

 Watch the clip above from the film Forrest Gump.

1. What values does Forrest show in this scene? List the values, and describe how he demonstrates these values.

2. Why is Lieutenant Dan so angry with Forrest in this scene?

3. Using your knowledge from the full film, describe how the relationship between Forrest and Dan changes over time.

4. EITHER: Create a kahoot on the film Forrest Gump and share the link with Ms Quick

OR: research a topic from Forrest Gump (e.g. Vietnam, the shooting of JFK, Nixongate, AIDS, the antiwar movement, desegregation of schools and universities) and create a slide show to share with the class on what you have learned.  Use your own words rather then copying from your reading.

Writing paragraph responses to a poem

 Yesterday we explored the poem school sucks but at least ur friends are there.

We identified seven language techniques in the poem, and learned some new techniques in the process.

Today we are learning to write paragraph responses to a poem.  Our paragraphs will:

• use the wording of the question
• use the language techniques terminology
• include the effect of the language techniques

You have three questions to work on.  Everyone should complete ONE question, and many of you will do two or even three.  Focus on doing a really good job before you move on.

1. How does the writer show what it feels like to be a teenager at school?
2. What does the writer suggest about the feelings some teenagers ahve at the end of the school holidays?
3. How does the writer use the five senses to develop ideas about school and school holidays?

school sucks but at least ur friends are there

 

school sucks but at least ur friends are there, by Vanessa Mei Crofskey

u can only walk around the suburbs so often on bright days so hot
the concrete crackles n text ur friends at malls and fields and malls again

before u start to get bored of running
out of things to do &

miss the lush red first kiss of a fresh 1B5
and the girls in ur class with lip gloss scented stationery

& the boys who draw on their mates legs with sharpies &
also i guess learning new things every day

school sucks but all my friends are there
spreading colds as quick as climate change

no one shares germs with me in the holidays

in the holidays my outside voice wears jeans with grassy knees
& watches compilation youtube videos on the highest volume

& i walk around the suburbs on days so hot the ice block
drips down my wrist    with sticky fingers it feeds the crackling concrete

Find and label the following language techniques:
-onomatopeia
- simile
- alliteration
- enjambement
- deliberate subverting of writing conventions
- first-person narrator
- personification

Life is not fair: essay

Life is not fair - do you agree or disagree? Write an essay on this topic.


Planning:

Main argument: life is not fair in many ways

- such as what country you are born in, happiness of the home you are born into and the impact of weather, disease and discrimination.


- but we as humans have some good systems for making life less unfair. E.g. education, public health and the justice system.


It is utterly, undeniably true that life is unfair. Some people are born rich, talented and healthy, while others struggle to survive, born in cold damp rooms or even under a bridge. We can all feel a degree of despair at the parts of our lives that we cannot control, such as lockdown, compulsory schooling and the endless rain on the West Coast. However, I argue in this essay that although there are many aspects of life that are indeed unfair, we humans have also set up some excellent systems to make life less unfair.


Firstly, the aspects of life that are unfair. Where we are born, and whether we have legal citizenship of the country of our birth, makes a huge difference to our life opportunities. To be born in New Zealand to parents with New Zealand residency is to have access to medical care that is mostly cheap or free, to free pre-school education for 3-4 year olds and free schooling from ages 5-17. This is a great advantage compared to babies born to families who do not have residency where they are living, and are often not eligible for the same level of care as legally local families. It is a great advantage to be born in a rich country, and in a country where girls are valued as much as boys. In India, boys are preferred over girls because of the expensive dowry system, and sex-selective abortions means that many girls are never born only because of their gender. To be born in any country to parents who want you is an important advantage in life that not everyone is blessed with. The abandoned new-born baby in the Auckland rubbish dump earlier this year is a sad example of how unfair life can be.


Our world is not all darkness and despair though, and our health system in New Zealand is one way in which we can reduce the unfairness of life. Last year we went into strict lockdown to eliminate Covid19 so that lots of people didn’t die. This was in stark contrast to countries that did not take such strict measures, such as the UK, where 135 000 people have now died from Covid19. The UK is about 13 times the size of New Zealand, so that is the equivalent of over 10 000 people dying of Covid19 in New Zealand. We have good stocks of vaccines so that everyone over 12 can access the Pfizer vaccine for free. Additionally, New Zealand has bought vaccines for our neighbouring Pacific countries so that they have access also. While we do manage to make the world less unfair on our side of the planet, it is still pretty tough to live in India or the poorest parts of Africa during the Covid19 pandemic.


Education is seen all over the world as a stepping stone to better incomes and job satisfaction, and to making life less unfair. However, this is a tricky situation for many New Zealand teenagers, who do not like school, and wish they were at home sleeping all day (and possibly gaming all night!). While the girls in Afghanistan now face being banned from going to school, and children in many parts of Africa walk many miles to get to school, New Zealand children have mostly not known how tough it can be in countries without free education. I am not convinced that the parents of our current kiwi teenagers would want their children at home sleeping all day and not building a work ethic and learning skills so that one day they will earn their own money and hopefully leave home to follow their dreams.


In conclusion, while life is unfair, it is not all death and disaster. If we look at how we can help each other, and how lucky we are in New Zealand, we realise that we have much to be grateful for. While school is indeed a drag some days, it is better than begging on the streets for enough money to eat, or being denied an education on the basis of being a female.

Juxtaposition, Ho Ho Heil (poem) and symbolism

 Kia ora koutou

1. Today we are starting with an activity on juxtaposition.

Juxtaposition is when two very unlikely things are put together to make a sharp contrast and draw our attention to the unlikely pairings.  Here you can see a longer explanation and some examples from every day life and from literature.

Task: create three sentences and three collages that juxtapose two different things or ideas.

2. Looking at the poem Ha Ha Heil together. How to approach a poem and make sense of it.

Podcast Task

Learning objective: to create a podcast where one person interviews the other on their research for the nature vs nurture debate.

Success criteria:

1. As an interviewer, I ask interesting questions that draw out information from the speaker, including asking questions about evidence, examples and explanations.

2. As an interviewee, I share my research and ideas, adding examples and explanations, and consider different perspectives as invited to by the interviewer.

3. We both speak clearly and use respectful language.

4. We use a googlemeet code from the teacher and record the meet.  

Why a two-person podcast?

This gives us all a chance to connect with someone in the class about our learning during lockdown, and builds our skills at speaking and presenting in an online format.

How many interviews do we need to do?

Two.  One as the interviewer, and the other as the interviewee (person being interviewed).  That way, you get to: 

1. practise sharing your research and ideas when you are being interviewed.

2. practise your introductions and asking probing questions of others when you are the interviewer.

Can we choose who we do our podcast with?

Yes you can, so long as both of you are in 10B.

Who will see our podcasts?

Dr Hunter and Ms Quick at first.  Then you will get to share your podcasts with the opposing team in the debate, so they can make a rebuttal. I would like to put them onto our class English blog, but will check with you first.

Do you have some examples?

Yes we do!   Dr Hunter and Ms Quick made two especially for you!

Some additional examples to listen to are Science Friday on children and Covid19, an interview podcast with Six60, The Jump with Shirley Manson.

The Conversations that Count series includes interviews on a range of New Zealand-centred topics.

When is this due?

Wednesday 1 September.  By Wednesday 1 September, you will each have created your argument and made a recording of you being interviewed on your topic.  You will also have interviewed your partner on their topic.

What happens after we have made our podcasts?

The next stage is that you swap recordings.  Your opposition will receive 2-3 interviews (from the members of your debating team), and you will receive theirs.  Then you have until 7 September to create your rebuttal, based on what you have listened to.  

Please send Dr Hunter and I an update on your research for your debate

 Mōrena 10B!

Dr Hunter and I have been planning next steps so you can make progress with your debate preparation from home and also work with students of your choice.  We are recording two podcast interviews tomorrow morning, and will share them and the new task with you on or before Friday.

Today, please can you each write an email addressed to both Dr Hunter and myself, with an update on your progress.  Please copy and complete all of the following sentences:

1. My topic is______ and I am arguing for the nature/nurture side (delete one).

2. Here are the links to the articles I have read:

3. Here is a link to the notes I have made:

4. Something I am pleased with is:

5. Something I am stuck on is:

If you have not started, or don't know how to get started, write and tell us this.  We are keen to help you make progress.  

Full disclosure: I'm going to send this message to your parents as well :).

Lockdown Learning 18-20 August 2021

 Kia ora koutou

Some of you were really hoping for another lockdown yesterday, and indeed your prayers/hopes/dreams have been answered!

For now, I would like you to keep exploring your debating topic, thinking and researching about arguments you could make, and effective supporting examples.  Don't worry at all about who is in your team, or feel that you have to contact them this week.  I will talk with Dr Hunter about your feedback on the teams next week.  We do want you to develop your skills in researching and forming an argument, and you can do that at home over the next few days.

I would like to hear from as many of you as possible via email this week, or as a comment on this blog post, sharing what you have been reading on your debating topic and what ideas you have so far for your argument.  Fill my inbox!!

Ngā mihi nui, Ms Quick

Debating

Learning objective: to show understanding of the roles of nature and nurture in one of four topics, with supporting evidence.

Success criteria:

1. I can work in a group to develop ideas on the debating topic

2. I can research information on the topic and identify important ideas and examples.

3. I can make notes in my own words to show understanding of the roles of nature and nurture in my debating topic

Do now: silent reading

Then, in groups, working on your debating topic, collecting information and forming it into an argument.

Useful resources:

about debating

flawed arguments

arguments by analogy and from evidence

groups and topics

Thinking about nature vs nurture topics

Writing topic: what makes a great leader?

Mental Health

Leadership

Sports

Life Expectancy

Thinking about ethics and genetics

 Today we are exploring topics involving ethics and genetics.  Choose one to read about and then 

1. Pre-natal screening for Downs Syndrome.

Currently, pregnant people in New Zealand are offered scans for free to see if the foetus has any abnormality.  One 'abnormality' that they screen for is Downs Syndrome.  This article explores the pressure expectant parents have felt to abort their foetus when probably Downs Syndrome is detected on a scan, and how they feel about that pressure.  It looks at the joys of Downs Syndrome children and argues that these joys are not talked about enough.

2. Nature vs nurture in Basketball

This article looks at some of the great American basketball players, and how their different early playing experiences shaped their skill development.

3. Age group organisation in rugby league

This article looks at the practice of organising children and young people's rugby league teams by age, and the way that this favours players with certain birth months.

Choose one of the articles above to read, and then make a screencastify video of your thoughts on the article.  Include the topic, the problems and what you think is the best course of action.

Thursday 29 July: Hey You Down There, nature and nurture

Well done to everyone who wrote thoughtfully about what makes people commit evil acts on yesterday's blog post - I will write well dones for you this morning.  For those who did not complete this on time, you will get to do this at interval today. 

Connotation

Another definition: the ideas we have around a word that are not exactly what it literally means.

For example: The exact meaning of 'Fire drill' is where we all assemble on the field and have the roll taken and a check that all buildings are clear.  The ideas (connotations) that go with it are excitement (if you wanted a break from class), fear (if you are in the middle of an NCEA assessment, what will happen), suspicion (who set the fire alarm off this time).

What other ideas do you have when you hear the phrase 'fire drill'?