*dusts off blog*

Well, hello everyone!  How you have been enjoying our poetry workshops over the past two weeks?  There are two more to come, and don’t forget to write at least 6 lines of poetry to share with others next lesson.

Together with another high school participating in the Toilet Doors Poetry Project, I have made a ‘wiki’ space at wetpaint.com Please visit it and add a comment here to tell me what you think:

http://toiletdoors2009.wetpaint.com/page/Macquarie+Fields

First 5 people to comment get a Praise Certificate!

(Please pass this on – get everyone back on the Blog please!!!)

Term 2 is all about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.  It’s a good play – a bit on the mushy/romantic side of things, but dig a little deeper and there is so much more the play has to offer!  And the film versions of the play are just fascinating to analyse and explore.

If you are needing help reading the play, can I suggest the ‘No Fear Shakespeare’ companion to the play:

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/

This contains a modern ‘translation’ of the play that you can read alongside the original text.  Most students find that after reading a few scenes with the translation handy that they start to understand Shakepeare’s original language more quickly (note – you can’t JUST read the translation…make sure you use it to help understand the original language.  Shakespeare’s language is worth understanding!)

The other site I recommend is the Shmoop! site that you used with Frankenstein.  There is a section there for Romeo and Juliet as well, and it is a very interesting read:

http://www.shmoop.com/intro/literature/william-shakespeare/romeo-and-juliet.html

Any questions about the play, post them up here as a comment and Bosco or I will help you as soon as we can

Hey class   I have just been doing some research on the web, and came across this site which I think has the absolute, hands-down, very best summary and analysis of Frankenstein EVER.

http://www.shmoop.com/intro/literature/mary-shelley/frankenstein.html

I know some of you were having difficulty engaging with the novel – it definitely is a challenging text, but being in Year 10 it is certainly time for you to increase your reading skills!  But the notes on this site should help – they are written in a really student-friendly way, and unlike other sites where you have to pay a subscription to read the material, this whole site is free to access, with no signing up.

Post a comment here once you look at the link, and tell me if you like the site as much as I did.

I think it’s about time our blog got back to talking about English!

I was thinking about you all reading Frankenstein (I am re-reading it too) when I came across this:

A hundred thousand years ago cavemen had a very good reason to be neophobic. They knew that the familiar things in their environment did not kill them (and those that could kill them, they knew to avoid).

Anything new was, until proven otherwise, a threat.

Like many human instincts, this neophobia is still lingering in a world where it is an obstacle rather than a benefit…

I am interested to know what you think about the context that Mary Shelley was writing in.  Do you think her society was neophobic?  What do you think they were afraid of?  How is this reflected in Frankenstein? (and – do you think we are still neophobic in today’s society?)

If you are reading this, then it must be period 2 on Thursday, and you are in the library with Ms. Grimes.

It also must mean our blog has been unblocked – yay!

If you are reading this in the library, can you post a quick comment to let me know the site is unblocked.  And, while you’re at it, check YOUR OWN blog, and tell me if it’s blocked or not.

Thanks!

POST YOUR URL HERE!

Your URL is your website address. For example the class blog URL is:

http://english9g2008.edublogs.org/

Once you add a comment here and share your URL we will all be able to visit it and add comments – YAY

10G, I am proud to announce this year’s new frontier for using technology in our English class.

*drumroll*

This year you will ALL be creating your very OWN BLOG!

That’s right young padawans, even though Ms Bosco and I will still be running the class blog (to host discussions, share information for class, and post assignment information), you will also be in charge of writing in your own blog.

In class on Thursday morning I would like you to go to the edublogs website and create your own blog.  It’s very easy to do, but please observe the following instructions:

1. When you go to http://edublogs.org/ click on the box that says “Get started in seconds for free. SIGN UP HERE” and follow the instructions. It’s easy!
2. Your blog domain cannot change once you have picked it, but everything else can. I want everyone’s blog domain to be ‘[your name]s english blog’ e.g. danielsenglishblog.edublogs.org/
3. You MUST use your DET email account for this. If you use hotmail etc. you won’t be able to access your confirmation email until you get home.

Once you have made your blog, please post the URL here as a comment.

Today, I would like you to write two posts on your new blog:

1. Your First Post – tell your potential readers (i.e. the rest of the class and us teachers) about what you enjoy and don’t enjoy about English.  Sound familiar?  Remember I made you write me a letter last year about this?  I’m curious about whether your tastes have changed!
2. Your Second Post – I want you to set some goals for English this year.  What do you want to achieve in your learning, and also in your assessment? What do you want to improve after reviewing your performance last year?  What work and study strategies might you use to help you achieve your goals?

Have fun!

Greetings, 10G!

I am so excited to welcome you to Year 10   This year you will taught by the marvellous and talented Miss Bosco, as well as my dear self (just for your Thursday lesson).  While Bosco will be guiding you through a range of text studies, I will be continuing with our wide reading and creative writing sessions, as well as helping you with some School Certificate revision.

There is just one change – we are in F3!  But never fear…I have already devised a completely fantastic seating arrangement for the room, and I believe it is my best design yet!

See you soooooon…!

*ping*

A (belated) welcome to the new term everyone!

By now we are a few weeks into our poetry study, and I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Please post a comment on what you have learned so far about how to analyse the poet’s purpose and point of view (hint: go back to your sheets with the 8 questions you have been asking about your chosen poems. Are any of these questions more important than others? Do you think it is important to think about the poet’s purpose when reading poetry?)

Check out some digital stories from the BBC website:

• from the Telling Lives series
• from the Capture Wales series
• from the Shoebox Stories series