3.8 page updated

Hello 3.8,

Your page has been updated with the BBC punctuation game we played in class. We have only played the first of the games so far, but please do feel free to check out the others (this goes for other classes, too--how good is YOUR punctuation?).

New contact details

Hello all,

Please use ngreen639@highlandschools.org.uk to contact me by email rather than the gmail.com address.

Thank you,
Mr Green

S3 Homelessness Links

Hi 3.3,
Place your links for your homelessness projects here in the comments. Simply copy the web address in the white address bar (highlight and press ctrl+c) then paste it into the comments. You might want to mark it with your Group letter, for example:

Group A: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jun/09/homelessness-england-data

Higher Macbeth Work

Line #s	Character	Line(s)	Reference	Line(s)
22-3	Gentlewoman	She has a light by her continually, ‘tis her command	1.5, 50-5	And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,/ That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,/ Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark/ To cry, ‘Hold, hold.’
35	LM	One, two…	2.1, 31-2, 62	M: Go bid they mistress…/ She strike upon the bell M: Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell/ That summons thee to heaven or hell
36	LM	Hell is murky	1.4, 50-55	Macbeth: Stars hide your fires/ Let not light see my black and deep desires…
37	LM	A soldier, and afeard?	1.7, 39-41, 49
38-9	LM	power to account	1.7, 77-9
39-40	LM	old man to have had so much blood in him?	2.2, 52-3, 61
43	LM	No more o’ that my lord, no more o’ that: you mar all with this starting	3.4, 63	O these flaws and starts/ Impostors to true fear…
49-50	LM	Here’s the smell of blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.	2.2, 49-50, 70	Go get some water/ And wash this filthy witness from your hand. A little water clears us of this deed.
60-63	LM	Wash your hands, put on your night-gown, look not so pale. I tell you yet again Banquo’s buried; he cannot come out on’s grave.	x3 refs (2.2 3.4 3.4)
64-67	LM	To bed, to bed; there’s knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.	x3 refs (2.2 2.2 3.2)

Time for a new riddle?

No correct solutions yet... keep trying!

S3 Homelessness

Homelessness Project

You are currently working on a big project which involves two major outcomes: a written piece and a spoken piece.

The ultimate form of this project is up to you and your partners/trios.

For Monday, make sure you have caught up to the end of Activity 3 on your sheets.

S4 Homework

S4,
Your homework is to redraft (and in some cases, draft!) the essay we wrote in class on Owen's 'The Last Laugh'. Due TUESDAY 13th November. You have 'Tree of Knowledge' on Monday, so will not be in English.

No excuses!

The poem and essay plan are below:

The Last Laugh

'Oh! Jesus Christ! I'm hit,' he said; and died.
Whether he vainly cursed or prayed indeed,
The Bullets chirped-In vain, vain, vain!
Machine-guns chuckled,-Tut-tut! Tut-tut!
And the Big Gun guffawed.

Another sighed,-'O Mother, -Mother, - Dad!'
Then smiled at nothing, childlike, being dead.
And the lofty Shrapnel-cloud
Leisurely gestured,-Fool!
And the splinters spat, and tittered.

'My Love!' one moaned. Love-languid seemed his mood,
Till slowly lowered, his whole faced kissed the mud.
And the Bayonets' long teeth grinned;
Rabbles of Shells hooted and groaned;
And the Gas hissed. 

Wilfred Owen

ESSAY PLAN

‘The Last Laugh’ by Wilfred Owen

Task: Choose a poem which deals with the topic of war. Identify the poet’s message to the reader, and explain how this message is delivered.

Introduction

Include:

-          Wilfred Owen

-          ‘The Last Laugh’

-          A line or two describing what happens in the poem

-          The theme(s): shock and waste of youth/human life to the machinery of war

-          Owen’s message to his reader

-          The techniques he uses: personification and onomatopoeia

Paragraph One

Include:

-          What happens

-          Why the soldier says “O Jesus Christ! I’m hit”

-          Personification: What do the bullets and guns do? How does Owen make the bullets and guns sound? (hint: think about ‘guffawed’)

-          Owen uses repetition to emphasise the guns’ message. What do the guns and bullets seem to be ‘saying’ to us? (hint: think about “In vain! In vain! In vain!”/ “Tut-tut! Tut-tut!”)

Paragraph Two

Include:

-          What happens (Who is this soldier? Why is he calling out to his mother and father? What is Owen reminding us of?)

-          What does Owen tell us about his facial expression? Why? Why does he say the soldier’s face is ‘childlike’? (hint: is a battlefield a place for children? Is ‘being dead’ ok?)

-          The soldier is killed by a bomb and its shrapnel. What does the ‘Shrapnel-cloud’ do and say? Why does Owen have it do this?

Paragraph Three

Include:

-          Who is the third soldier calling for? What does this tell us about him?

-          Why is this soldier ‘kissing the mud’? Why might this be disturbing to the reader? Who should he be kissing?

-          Look at: ‘the Bayonets’ long teeth grinned’. Why has Owen described the bayonets this way? How does it make the reader feel?

-          There is a lot of noise in this stanza: ‘Rabbles of Shells hooted and groaned’. Why might the shells be described as hooting and groaning? (hint: think of them as spectators at a match).

-          Owen ends his poem with ‘the Gas hissed’. Explain why this is a powerful use of personification.

Conclusion

Who or what is laughing at the soldiers when they die?

What is Owen trying to say about the war?

Do you think his poem is effective? Did you like it? Explain why, or why not.

For more information, check out the following sites of interest:

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/education/pathways/path/5hn2it

and

http://www.wilfredowen.org.uk/poetry/the-last-laugh

S3 Holiday Homework

By the time you come back (have a happy holiday!), you should produce a very rough draft of your NGC story.

That's it!

Use the work we did today on character--think about it. You may not explicitly include all the details you created for your character, but it'll help that you 'know' them.

Neil Gunn Writing Competition 2012-13

Hi everyone,

Here is the link to the Neil Gunn Writing Competition for this year:

http://www.highland.gov.uk/leisureandtourism/libraries/neilgunn/

We'll be making a big effort this year to make sure we put our best pieces of writing forward for the competition. The aim is, of course, to make a clean SWEEP!

The theme this year for secondary pupils S3-6:

“Perhaps the only real treasures he possessed were his secrets.”

from Young Art and Old Hector by Neil Gunn

Writers are invited to interpret this theme in any way they wish.

The piece of writing does not have to be set in Scotland.

Read carefully the rules and the information about the theme (see the website above).

Maximum: 1000 words.
Deadline: mid-Feb, so we can organise our entries for the March competition deadline.

Get thinking. Get planning. Get writing.

Then rewrite.

You can do it!

Final S3 'What If' Redrafts

Hi S3,
Here's your homework reminder:

COMPLETE your redraft for Monday. This should be a good copy, remember!

Remember also: Check--> Correct--> Change--> Improve.

:-)

Advanced Higher

Today we spoke about your dissertation topics and your plans. We consolidated Christina's approach, discussed the 'living' nature of plans, changed Bruce's topic slightly to match his current line of inquiry, and spoke about Ronan's broad plan.

Remember--a number of you want to discuss the works you are studying as being representative of their times in particular ways. This is fine, but remember that your focus must be primarily on the literature, not the history.

For next time, bring written plans (Kirsten and Ronan!), and one paragraph of your writing. We will be analysing content and expression.

Keep up the hard work, and don't forget to also keep up with your Dickens and Creative Writing.

Space Cadets, ahoy!

Well done to the S3 Riddlemasters!

Check your status to the left.

I'll have another riddle up soon. In the meantime, don't forget your homework. And feed the fish.

Thank you.

Welcome to Green's Galaxy, S3!

Here's your updated homework:

1. Sign up for tweets and/or emails from this site

2. Complete the first draft of your 'What if?' piece

Don't forget to use your Success Criteria sheets as you're working.

Any questions, ask away.

3.3 'What If?' Homework

Well done today, everyone. Here's where we are 'at' for the What If? task:

PLANNING

Get the basics down in your jotter. You can do this using

• lists
• mind maps
• spider diagrams
• storyboarding
• and so on... you might even try a method new to you!

To help you along, you might want to spend some time researching your chosen What If--and by this I don't just mean on the internet. Try discussing it with peers, family and so on. Try to gather responses from different genders and ages.

Remember, those of you writing short stories are focusing on character development (thoughts and feelings), and those doing essays are ensuring a clear point of view.

Higher Macbeth Work

1. You are in groups sized according to the number of characters in the scene you are responsible for.
2. Task 1 is to prepare and perform a staged production of your scene.
3. Task 2 is to prepare and deliver a lesson for the class (you'll be experts! Don't forget to use your York Notes for help/online resources).

Due dates:

Group 1/ Act 2.2
Wednesday 19th September

Group 2/ Act 2.3
Friday 21st September

Group 3/ Act 2.4
Monday 24th September

Looking forward to your interpretations! Yes, Fergus, Star Trek would be particularly inspired. Live long and prosper.

 Errrr, sorry. Star Wars also fine!

AH Homework!

Hi everyone,

Remember to write out a rough plan for your dissertation (and bring it with you!) for next Thursday.

:)

S3 Homework--Lamb to the Slaughter

Hello lovely 3.8!

If you didn't manage to complete your story in class today, you should complete it for MONDAY 17th September.

No excuses now!

Welcome back!

Welcome back, everyone!

Welcome to a fresh new year at Dingwall Academy. I'd like to particularly welcome our new first year pupils. You may have already noticed a number of changes in the English Department, and a number of new faces. Welcome to Ms Fraser, Miss McCulloch and Miss Tweedie, who have all joined us this year.

Now down to business. On this blog you will find a page for your class, as well as a series of posts and resources which may be of use to you (check the record of posts at the very bottom of the page). If you are in one of my classes, you should consider signing up for email alerts. These come in 'digest' form between 3 and 5pm each day when there have been changes or additions to the blog. It can certainly be handy as a homework reminder! Alternatively, you could follow #greensgalaxy on twitter, as short urls to new posts are tweeted the moment I hit 'publish'. Please be aware, however, that at the moment I am not keeping an eye on twitter, so if you're trying to get in touch, use email.

Check it all out. Please do feed the Punctuationfish. They're hungry.

If you think of something you'd like on the page, please do visit the 'Suggestions Box' (look in the tabs above) and leave a message, or email me. In the interests of online safety, when you do post, please simply use your first name and year as your 'signature'. For example: John S4.

Looking forward to another fantastic year!
Mr Green

Revision time!

Highers and Int 1 folk:

If you have not begun revising independently, you MUST begin NOW. Start by gathering together your notes on all texts studied, as well as Close Reading notes. Organise them (remember the binders I asked to you get at the start of the year? Are they in order?). Check your materials against your study buddy's. Do you both have the same notes? If not, fix it!

Second, reread your big texts. All the way through. Stop after each chapter/scene to reflect on what you've read, perhaps jotting down notes about anything old/new you may have discovered.

Third, go over your notes. A highlighter is useful here.

Fourth, work on some past papers. You don't have to do every essay question possible, but it is useful to at least have a go at planning responses to several. You could then try writing a few under pressure. Higher: you could give yourself 45 mins to do an individual essay, or you could consider trying the two in 1.5hrs to make sure your hand will hold up! Past papers for all levels (both Essay and Close Reading) are available on the SQA website (see link at side).

Fifth, and possibly most importantly: take care of yourself! You'll have heard this all before, but DO get some sleep, drink plenty of water, and eat healthily in the run-up to exams. What you do with your body starting now will certainly have an impact on how you feel in 2 or 3 weeks' time.

Good luck!

The semicolon, for Higher pupils

Go to http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon for the following set of images and more!

Spring Equinox

Hurray!

Spring Equinox Heralds Official End of Winter

Exam dates

Get revising, everyone!

S4 Study Leave begins 23rd April
S5/6 Study Leave begins 4th May

Standard Grade: 26th April 
Intermediate 1: 16th May
Higher: 17th May

Intermediate and Higher folios go to the SQA shortly after the Easter Holiday, so be prepared to redraft during this time.

S4 Cinema trip permission letter

Hello lovely S4,
I hope you all got a copy of the permission letter (below).
If you didn't, please get this signed and bring in your £9 for Tuesday.

Woman in black cinema trip

View more documents from Mr Green.

Woman in Black trip

Dear S4: I'm still finalising the trip for next Wednesday, and hope to do so in the next couple of hours. Your permission letter should be up by late evening (the school's servers are still not completely sorted out for Websense, so I can't get into slideshare to upload the letter), and should be printed/returned for Monday, please. I will post again when it's uploaded.
See you Monday!

Int 1 Homework

Homework due 2nd March (tomorrow!)

Complete your persuasive essays (remember these can take the form of a letter if that'll help you imagine your audience).

Three more poems...

To make up for forgetting to post the poems up to Valentine's Day, including one of my all-time favourites:

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by W. B. Yeats

HAD I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.


ANIMALS by Frank O'Hara

Have you forgotten what we were like then

when we were still first rate 

and the day came fat with an apple in its mouth

it's no use worrying about Time 

but we did have a few tricks up our sleeves 

and turned some sharp corners 

the whole pasture looked like our meal 

we didn't need speedometers 

we could manage cocktails out of ice and water 

I wouldn't want to be faster 

or greener than now if you were with me O you 

were the best of all my days

She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron

1
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
2
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
3
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Love after love...

The time will come 
when, with elation 
you will greet yourself arriving 
at your own door, in your own mirror 
and each will smile at the other's welcome, 

and say, sit here. Eat. 
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart 
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you 

all your life, whom you ignored 
for another, who knows you by heart. 
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, 

the photographs, the desperate notes, 
peel your own image from the mirror. 
Sit. Feast on your life. 

Love's silence...

Silentium Amoris by Oscar Wilde

As often-times the too resplendent sun
Hurries the pallid and reluctant moon
Back to her sombre cave, ere she hath won
A single ballad from the nightingale,
So doth thy Beauty make my lips to fail,
And all my sweetest singing out of tune.

And as at dawn across the level mead
On wings impetuous some wind will come,
And with its too harsh kisses break the reed
Which was its only instrument of song,
So my too stormy passions work me wrong,
And for excess of Love my Love is dumb.

But surely unto Thee mine eyes did show
Why I am silent, and my lute unstrung;
Else it were better we should part, and go,
Thou to some lips of sweeter melody,
And I to nurse the barren memory
Of unkissed kisses, and songs never sung.

MoM...

If you're still smarting from the pressure of Prelims, or the NABs are really starting to niggle, or are just generally stressed out of your head these days, mindfulness might just be for you. There are huge numbers of studies to show that mindfulness techniques help people in a wide variety of ways... without drugs! It can help you with your confidence, concentration, stress, anxiety, and general sense of wellbeing. It's quick (although you can do techniques which take a little longer if you like), free, and, in a sense, easy.

Here are just a few of the published benefits:

1. Improve focus, concentration, and precision.
2. Enhance the quality of communications and relationships.
3. Heighten the clarity of our thinking and intentions.
4. Improve efficiency and safety.
5. Deepen peace of mind and sense of flow.
6. Master stress.
7. Deepen insight and intuitive wisdom.
8. Awaken more authenticity, heart, soul, and caring in our lives and work.
9. Increase resilience to change.
10. Strengthen self-confidence.

Read more here

The S6 group 'Ministry of Mindfulness' will now start up after the February break. Times are as follows:

Thursdays Period 2
Thursdays Period 5

Both in Room 202. Email me or see me in person to sign up, as there is limited space. Check the MoM tab above periodically, and the Senior Social Area for MoM 'Try-its'--techniques you can try yourself or during one of the periods above.

How do I love thee?

Continuing the series of love poetry, or poems of love, ahead of Valentine's Day... This one you may know already:

Sonnet 43 - How do I love thee? Let me count the ways by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,—I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Valentine, by Carol Anne Duffy

Valentine's Day is coming... here's something a little different...

 

Valentine

Not a red rose or a satin heart.

 I give you an onion.
 It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
 It promises light
 like the careful undressing of love.

 Here.
 It will blind you with tears
 like a lover.
 It will make your reflection
 a wobbling photo of grief.

 I am trying to be truthful.

 Not a cute card or kissogram.

 I give you an onion.
 Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips,
 possessive and faithful
 as we are,
 for as long as we are.

 Take it.
 Its platinum loops shrink to a wedding ring,
 if you like.
 Lethal.
 Its scent will cling to your fingers,
 cling to your knife.

-- Carol Ann Duffy

Not My Business by Niyi Osundare

They picked Akanni up one morning
Beat him soft like clay
And stuffed him down the belly
Of a waiting jeep.
                            What business of mine is it
                            So long they don't take the yam
                            From my savouring mouth?

They came one night
Booted the whole house awake
And dragged Danladi out,
Then off to a lengthy absence.
                           What business of mine is it
                           So long they don't take the yam
                           From my savouring mouth?

Chinwe went to work one day
Only to find her job was gone:
No query, no warning, no probe -  
Just one neat sack for a stainless record.
                           What business of mine is it
                           So long they don't take the yam
                           From my savouring mouth?

And then one evening
As I sat down to eat my yam
A knock on the door froze my hungry hand.
The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn
Waiting, waiting in its usual silence.

S1 Targets for chapter summaries

THIS Friday 27 JanuarySummaries completed up to chapter 12

NEXT Wednesday 01 FebruarySummaries completed up to chapter 16

NEXT Friday 03 FebruaryAll done! Hand in.

Higher Prelim

Good luck to you all on Monday! I will be thinking of you all as you revise, revise, revise this weekend.

Here's a very simple explanation of what happens in Fern Hill. Some of you might find it helpful.

Remember: revise both Macbeth and Fern Hill carefully, ensuring you've mastered the main quotations. Don't forget to eat plenty of healthy food, drink lots of water, and get some sleep. Those things all play a big role in success.

Int 1 Prelim

Good luck tomorrow, everyone!

Just a reminder: REVISE, REVISE, REVISE.

In particular, you should be revising Telephone Conversation, which is a very manageable piece which you know well. Look over your notes again, and try redoing the practice essay you first did about the poem, or look to past papers. Remember to start with a plan, and work from there.

You've had some more Close Reading practice, so just get there on time and give it your best shot!

You can do it!

PS. REVISE!