YEAR 12 LESSON THREE [28th Sept 15]: Homework

The aim of this session was to prepare students for the first written task. Discussion considered possible content for the essay question relating to Wordsworth's Daffodils and Marvell's To His Coy Mistress. Students were offered an essay structure and were made aware of the assessment objectives that link to this essay. The lesson concluded with a brief consideration of issues relating to Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Students considered the significance of the poem THE NEW COLOSSUS written by EMMA LAZARUS that can be found inside The Statue of Liberty. Students were also given two poems by Walt Whitman and the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner. Students were asked to consider how the Emma Lazarus poem represents America.

HOMEWORK: Complete the essay. If you hand the essay to me before Friday I will have the essay marked before the next lesson. Students can give me the essay on Monday but this means the essay will not be handed back to you until 12th October.
Students also need to read the Lazarus/Whitman resources and continue to read THE GREAT GATSBY. Our next lesson will be our first pure Gatsby Lesson. Bring some opinion. Be familiar with the first chapter and use these questions to guide your reading:

• What is your first impression of Nick Carraway?
• What is your first impression of Tom and Daisy?
• How  does Fitzgerald shape meaning in the opening chapter?
• What are the themes being introduced in the opening chapter?
• Is Gatsby 'great' in the opening chapter? How does Nick represent Gatsby?
• What is Fitzgerald's aim in the opening chapter?
• What kind of America is being presented to the reader?

YEAR THIRTEEN LESSON TWO [25th Sept 15]: Homework

The second session began with a reading of GUY DE MAUPASSANT'S: 'WAS IT A DREAM?'
The class were offered this short story as an example of a gothic text. Discussion considered  thematic content and the whole point of this task was to introduce the notion of genre and prepare students for the emotional intensity of Shelley's 'Frankenstein'.
The class then considered the nature of Walton, the significance of Victor's representation in this section of the novel, and considered Shelley's aim. Class discussion was superb.

HOMEWORK: Read the novel. I will be discussing the first FIVE chapters of Victor's narrative when next our lives collide. ALSO...students should digest the resources I posted in the previous blog entry.

YEAR THIRTEEN LESSON ONE [23rd Sept 15]: Homework

The first session looked at the introduction to Mary Shelley's 'FRANKENSTEIN or The Modern Prometheus.' Reference was made to the significance of the PROMETHEUS MYTH and the idea that Shelley's novel could also be interpreted as being a 'creation myth' or didactic fable.
Focus was placed upon the character of Walton and the first impression of Victor.

HOMEWORK: Read the whole of Walton's opening narrative and consider why Shelley chooses to begin the novel in this manner. What kind of character is Walton? What is the significance of the reference to Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner? What are the key themes being explored in this opening section? How would you describe the tone of the language? What is Walton's attitude to his family? What kind of man is Walton?
Students should consider all these questions and begin Victor's narrative.

Here are some resources to inform your understanding of the text:
http://becuriouslit.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/frankenstein-video-lectures-from.html
http://becuriouslit.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/why-gothic-is-more-popular-than-ever.html
10 possible readings:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12711091
BBC FRANKENSTEIN Documentary...this is 'okay'..still worth a watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7MDJNmI13A
BBC's The Secret Life of Books:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKNVkavv8Vs

YEAR TWELVE LESSON TWO [21st Sept 15]: Homework

Today's session considered possible content for the essay:
HOW DOES MARVELL USE LANGUAGE, FORM AND STRUCTURE TO SHAPE MEANING?
Class discussion considered theme, how metaphor is used to shape meaning, the significance of rhyme and rhythm, and author's aim. Class discussion was good but I feel that some students need to read this poem with a much more critical literary eye. I posted some resources to my last blog entry. YOU SHOULD DIGEST THESE RESOURCES.

The class then discussed the famous 'Daffodils' by William Wordsworth. Again...I perceive our discussion today as a 'starting point'. I expect the discussion in the next session to be more detailed and more textually specific.

HOMEWORK: Read the poems and digest my resources. Your reading will inform your written work. I expect to spend 30/40 minutes of the next lesson discussing and shaping the content of your first essay. Students need to decide which poem will be the focus of their first essay. The rest of the lesson will focus upon the opening section of Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY.

THREE YOU TUBE RESOURCES for Marvell's poem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gmaKW5uvls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUR7sNTDolY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pyw6FzQ33U

YEAR 12 LESSON ONE [14th Sept 15]: Homework

The opening session was a very general discussion relating to the purpose of literature and moved into a specific critical discussion of ANDREW MARVELL'S 'To His Coy Mistress'.
Below is a reading of Marvell's famous poem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDJwycpIfRQ
You Tube contains an industrial skip full of resources that will help you with AS Literature  and one of the assessment objectives that drives the course demands that students 'EXPLORE LITERARY TEXTS INFORMED BY DIFFERENT INTERPRETATIONS'. This demands that students are aware of how literary critics have responded to the poem. Here are some resources to help students access this assessment objective:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUR7sNTDolY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pyw6FzQ33U

We also looked at Shakespeare's Sonnet 17...here is a reading by David Tennant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD6Of-pwKP4
Interesting version offered by Devon Glover. What do you think of this interpretation?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOKwVwwfQWM

HOMEWORK: Students need to read the poems that I gave you in the opening session. You will be writing about one of these poems in your first essay. In Monday's session we will be revisiting TO HIS COY MISTRESS and we will be discussing WILLIAM WORDSWORTH'S 'DAFFODILS'. Students need to arrive at the lesson with an understanding of Wordsworth's poem that will allow us to have an informed class discussion. Here is a link to a reading of the poem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQnyV2YWsto
Wordsworth stated in another of his poems that 'The World is too much with us.' How can this comment relate to Daffodils? What do you think?

The key question that should drive your critical consideration needs to be:
'HOW DOES THE AUTHOR USE LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND FORM TO SHAPE
MEANING?'

STUDENTS ALSO NEED TO BE READING THE GREAT GATSBY as this is one of our examination texts. Students need to be reading this classic novel.

See you on Monday. Bring some informed opinion. All comments need to be supported with specific textual reference.