Seriously... what does it mean to be male/female?

After we discussed the conclusion to Lord of the Flies, as well as Jack's tyrannous rule and the story as an allegory... we went back to our poems/prose pieces about what it means to be male/female.  Because... let's be honest... we weren't all that focused last day, were we?

Students wrote for twenty minutes, and then they were asked to participate in two "support sessions" where they read their piece to a peer, and asked for feedback: one celebration and one suggestion.  We will refine these pieces next week.

A reminder that presentations are next week.  There are three groups presenting on Monday, and three groups presenting on Wednesday.  Lookin' forward to them!

What does it mean to be male/female?

To begin yesterday's class, I returned in-class paragraphs and your responses to the Reena Virk article.  Please come see me if you still need to write the paragraph.

We then had a Writer's Workshop, where we listened to a slam poet deliver his poem on what it means to be male.  You can listen again here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYg9Z5VspSY

Then, I shared two poems written by young females, about being female.  Students were then asked to consider one or more of the following questions, and to write, in either prose or poetry, in response to them.

What does it mean to be male/female?
What is tough about being male/female?
What is to be celebrated about being male/female?

Students are free to choose the gender they wish to explore, or they could choose to explore both.  We will continue with our writing on Thursday.

Piggy! Nooooooo! Conch shell! Nooooooo!

We decided today that future Writer's Workshops will occur in entire blocks and not just in the first fifteen minutes of each class.  Thank you for your input on this matter!

Groups were given fifteen minutes to complete their symbolism charts, and then each group shared their findings.  I appreciated that you all paid attention to how the symbol evolved and changed as the novel progressed.  This is an important facet to understanding how symbols work in literature. 

Then, we discussed the events of Chapter Ten and Eleven.  We were sad about Piggy.  And the conch.

I assigned Chapter Twelve to be read for next Wednesday's class.  Bring POT with you.  To share.

I returned poems.  They are brilliant and you should all be entering them in writing contests.  See me if you'd like information on these.

Friday's class is devoted to dramatic presentation preparation.  Please come prepared to prepare.  Right.

The Sweetness of Symbolism

Today's class began with a debrief of the article students read for homework.  Specifically, we talked about how the events of Chapter Nine parallel (and how they don't) the Reena Virk murder.  We talked about common factors such as motivation, mob mentality, celebration and premeditation.

We then discussed how to identify and analyze symbols in a piece of literature.  Students were provided with a handout which explains what symbols are and how they work in literature.  A copy of this handout can be found in the link to the right.

Students were placed into groups and asked to trace one of the symbols present in Lord of the Flies.  Groups will continue their analysis next day.

Students were asked to read Chapter Ten and Eleven for Wednesday's class, and to prepare a Page Of Thoughts to bring.  Pay close attention to your symbol and how it evolves in these chapters!

Also, dramatic presentations will take place on Tuesday November 27th and Thursday November 29th.

Simon! Nooooooooo!

We began class with a discussion of Chapter Seven and Eight, especially focused on the end of Chapter Eight, when Simon converses with the Lord of the Flies.  We theorized about what was really going on at this point, and we came to an agreement that he is likely talking with/to himself about what he knows to be true of the evil in the hearts of the boys.

We then did a choral reading of Chapter Nine, sharing the responsibility of completing the chapter.  We considered how aspects of oral language such as rate, tone and volume might affect an interpretation of a piece.  Thanks to those of you who chose to participate!

Finally, we debriefed the chapter, discussing the gravity of the events: Simon realizes the truth about the beast, Simon is killed by the boys, and the parachutist lifts off and gets carried away to sea.

I gave students an informational piece about Reena Virk, the Saanich teen who was swarmed and killed by a group of teens in 1997.  I have asked students to read the article and answer questions 2 and 3 for next class.

Poems and Paragraphs!

Yesterday, one poem from each student should have been submitted.  Please ensure that you turn in a poem at the beginning of tomorrow's class if you did not do so yesterday.

Students then wrote an in-class paragraph on Lord of the Flies.  I will evaluate these using the same rubric that was used for your practice paragraph.  Please see me if you missed class yesterday.