Y9 Miss Luce letter homework

This letter (sorry - it is very small!) was written by John Steinbeck to Claire Luce, an actress who was playing Curley’s Wife on Broadway, and who had expressed worries about playing the character. Answer the following questions in your books in full sentences. (Ignore the questions at the bottom of the letter)

1.    Read the letter carefully.

2.    Look up any words you don’t understand in a dictionary. Make a note of their meaning.

3.    What was Curley’s wife’s ‘fixation’?

4.    Why does Steinbeck suggest that she had become a hard character?

5.    What does Curley’s wife crave above all else?

6.    Why does he suggest that you would never get to know the real Curley’s Wife?

7.    Does this letter change the opinion you had of Curley’s Wife? Explain why or why not.

8.     *Extension: read this article on the blog about Curley’s Wife and write a short response explaining how this further adds to your understanding about the character.

What will you be binge-watching tonight? New words for 2015

Every year, there are reports on new words that lexicographers have included in new versions of dictionaries. Read this article about new entries for this year and have a think about the following:

1. Are lexicographers (people who write dictionaries) doing a job which is prescriptivist or descriptivist in nature?
2. What do you think about the inclusion of these words. Would you have included them? Have you heard all of them being used?
3. The fact that 'trans-gender' has been included is of great importance to our work on language and gender. Does the word's inclusion reflect changing societal attitudes? How will these social attitudes change the way we study language and gender?

Year 9 Homework - Curley's Wife Set Friday 6th November

Imagine you are Curley’s Wife. Write a letter home to your sister, telling her what life is like for you on the ranch.  Are you happy? How is your marriage working out? How do you fill your days?

You are aiming to show my your understanding of the character, but should also write accurately and well. (No non-negotiable errors!)

Due Tuesday 10th November. You will need to do this on paper, as I have your books.

Year 12 homework - Representation. Week 1 after half-term

Due to be handed in Thursday 12th November

The representation of gender in the media

The text on your handout (I can't reproduce it here - if you've lost it you'll have to borrow someone's or find me) is an opinion piece by Barbara Ellen writing in The Observer. It was written in response to a large number of articles in newspapers, magazines and on the internet criticising a well-known film actress for appearing to have used artificial means to rejuvenate her face and skin.

Below the task is a commentary about how this piece represents her. This is an example of how to write about representation, using linguistic knowledge. I do not expect you to write in this amount of detail… yet!

Your Task:

1. Read the article about Nicole Kidman and the analysis of how she is represented.

2. I would like you think about how women and / or men are represented by the media.

Find two pieces of media (advert, article, transcript of a TV ad…) that represent either women or men in either a positive or a negative way. You may find one  about men and the other about women, or both about women but one positive and one negative etc

Bring them to the lesson and be prepared to share some of the ways in which you think the language creates those representations.  I don’t expect you to have done an analysis like the example, but I expect to see copies of the texts, with parts underlined. Try to label those parts with linguistic features. Write a brief comment about how this language is creating a representation.

 * You may wish to have a go at writing up a couple of features into a paragraph, in a similar way to the example

 

Is the term 'Maiden Name' outdated?

Another article from the Guardian (you can tell which newspaper I read...) about whether we should still be asking people for their 'Mother's maiden name'. It's something I've never really thought about, other than a slight regret at losing mine, but in this day, is it acceptable to assume that someone's mother was actually married, and even if she was, that she changed her name?

Article

Attitudes to language - new Facebook 'like' buttons?

Here's an article from the Guardian this week about some potential new emojis to be introduced on Facebook. Notice the attitude of the writer towards some of the (very American ) suggestions. Can you think of any suggestions you'd like to make? Notice the idiom used in 'man up' and 'come off it', and the pragmatics behind some of the suggestions.

Article

Font in four

A quick (4 minutes) look at font choice from a programme on radio 4. Enjoy!

Link to programme

Year 12 homework for half-term

Set Thursday 22nd October. Due Thursday 5th November. 

Analyse the article about Nadiya Hussein. You can do this with the paper version I have given you, or you can use this online version, then print it out: Nadiya article

I don't anticipate that you will all be able to answer all of the questions but I'd like you to have a go. At least try labelling some of the language, using the new terminology that we have learnt. Some of you may be able to think about the effects of this language on the reader.

Super extension - are there any features of language that I haven't commented on, that you think are noteworthy?

Year 9 Library homework

Each week, unless you are told otherwise, this will be your homework from your library lesson. It will be set on a Thursday and will be due the following Thursday.

1. Reading Homework: Read your library book (or a book of your own) for 15 - 20 minutes. Write 3 sentences in the back of your English book about how the story has progressed. You have a sheet in your English book with more details about this. Your three sentences should be totally accurate. The marking focus is on the accuracy of your writing, not your understanding of the book.

2. Spelling and Vocabulary work: Use any spelling errors from your English book, combined with words I have given you to make a list of 10 spellings to work on. Learn them!

3. If you are already a confident speller, you should work on your vocabulary instead. Using the list I have given you, spend 10 - 15 minutes extending your vocabulary instead of working on spellings.

Y12 English Language Lesson Handouts

I have created a folder in the Students folder on the school system, so that you have access to handouts when you miss lessons (or lose your sheets!)

It's here:

U:\STUDENTS\Upper Depts\English\LDE\Y12 Language

Year 12 Verbs homework Set 15/10/2015

Research verb phrases

You need to research, make notes and learn the following, so that you are able to give definitions and examples, preferably without your notes!

• Main verb
• Auxiliary verb
• Modal verb
• Primary verb

Due Thursday 22 October

Year 9 Homework project set 16/10/15

Homework Project

This is a personal development homework. You must show evidence that you have worked on an area of writing that will support your targets. This should be:

• Spelling
• Vocabulary
• Punctuation development
• Sentence Variety

·   You should spend at least 90 minutes on this homework. I will want to see your evidence on Friday 6^th November.

Spelling: Quizlet is a good website. Put in the spellings you want to learn and practice! There are probably other apps out there too – Squeebles is one. Good old ‘Look, Cover, Write, Check’ is still worth trying, and writing them out over and over again. Look for patterns in words; say them in a silly way that emphasises the spelling.

Vocabulary: Read a newspaper (preferably a broadsheet). Try guardian.co.uk or telegraph.co.uk. The comments section will have some interesting articles. Read an article that interests you and note down all the unfamiliar vocabulary. Keep a list of words and try to use them in conversation. Write sentences containing them. Can you write the opening line of a story using the word?

Play freerice (google it). It helps you develop your vocabulary at the same time as donating food to people without any J

Punctuation. There are lots of things online to help you. Try search terms like ‘how to use commas’, ‘what is a comma splice’, ‘how to use semi-colons’ etc. If you can’t find anything helpful, see me.

Sentence variety. Try copying the sentence structures that you see in books. Take the first paragraph of a book, then write something similar. Keep the sentence structure, but change the content. Remember the REPTILE work that we did? Revise that, and apply it to a paragraph of writing. Keep improving a piece of writing until you have improved the structure.

What I need to see in your books:

Area I have chosen to work on:

What I have done to improve my skills:

Evidence: Choose one of the following tasks. All should be completed with a view to demonstrating how much you have learnt in your chosen area.

·         Write the opening two paragraphs of a story.

·         Write part of a leaflet that explains something you know / care about.

·         Write the opening of a speech to be read in assembly about something you care about.

·         Write the first two paragraphs of a letter to John Steinbeck telling him what you think of the novel so far.

·         Write a description of your bedroom.

·         Write two paragraphs describing somebody important to you.

·         Re-write a section of your Weed newspaper report.

Year 12 homework set Thursday 8th October

Due Thursday 15th October.

Revision week. Spend at least 1 hour tidying notes, re-reading, checking understanding and trying to learn key terminology. I will be checking folders next week to check that you are on top of your learning. Be organised!

Y9 Homework Set Friday 9th October

Due - Friday 16th October

Write a couple of paragraphs answering the question: What is your first impression of Curley's Wife?

You should use the quotations you have from the lesson to help you write PEE paragraphs.

Use this example about Curley to help you.

The first impression that we get of Curley is that he is an unfriendly and even aggressive man. He is described as glancing "coldly" at George, which suggests that he has no warm feelings towards the new men, and is being very unwelcoming. He is not even prepared to give them a chance - his reaction is immediately unfriendly. We also get the impression that he is quick to pick a fight, and is always ready to defend himself. As he looks at George, his arms gradually bend up and "his hands closed into fists". This suggests that his body is used to springing straight into a position where he is ready to fight; perhaps he has done this so often it is an unconscious reaction. 

Poetry Writing Competition

Do you enjoy writing poetry? Here are the details of a poetry writing competition aimed at sixth form students. It would look great on your UCAS statement, and you might win £100!

Follow the link to find out more details: Poetry Competition

Year 12 Homework set Thursday 1st October

Due Thursday 8th October

Please finish the analysis of the Aussie conditioner advert. The final paragraph has been started and you should finish it, using the first three paragraphs as models.

Remember to use examples of language features from the text that demonstrate its spoken or written mode, then comment on why the writer has chosen to use them. What effect do they have on the reader?

What does your font say about you? Take 2

Just a quick (about 3 minutes) radio clip on font use. You may never choose the same font again!

Radio clip

Year 12 Homework - Grammar Revision Thursday 24th September

Your homework this week is to revise some grammar terms in preparation for our learning next week. Most of these are terms that you should already know from your GCSE study, but some of them may be new to you. We will go over them in class, but you need to have done this activity first.

Below is a link to a set of revision cards on Quizlet:

Grammar Quiz

You need to revise these terms ready for a test on Thursday 1st October. You have a week to learn the terms (there are different activities you can do to learn them) and I expect you to be confident in them all. Having a quick look at them is not enough - you need to get close to 100% correct!

How are the Kardashians and Lena Dunham changing women's speech?

I heard a nice little piece on the radio over the summer whilst driving my kids to Fountain's Abbey - they were thrilled to be listening to Radio 4 ;)

If you have a spare ten minutes have a listen. It describes how the phenomenon of 'Vocal Fry' has increased recently, led by certain celebrities. You can find it here: Vocal Fry on Woman's Hour

You can also listen to some examples of vocal fry on youtube too, if you have a hunt around.

Y9 Homework set Tuesday 22nd September

Due Friday 25th Sepember

Using the ideas you have gained from Tuesday's lesson, I would like you to write a list of quotations from each person that you have interviewed. What are they likely to have said to you, that you could use in your newspaper report? You need at least two quotations from each person (the victim, the Sheriff and the Boss)

For example:

Mary Lou Hobbs: "It was awful - he just wouldn't let go of my dress."

More about fonts... Graphology

An article from online about font choices. How are individuals being represented here simply by their choice of font?

What Your Font Says About You

There was a time when companies kept graphologists on staff to analyze candidates’ handwriting. Today, many employers are looking at your choice of typefaces to determine your character and suitability for a job. 

So what does your choice of font say about you? A lot more than you think; a recent study by researchers at Wichita State University has revealed that your typeface can reflect your personality type, mood, and attitude. Find out what your favourite font says about you—and when it's appropriate to use it. 

Serif Fonts

These are the fonts with rounded edges on the letters, or extra strokes added to the top and bottom of each character. These details are called ‘serifs’.

·         Times New Roman: Stable, polite, conformist, mature, formal, and practical, TNR is your best bet for business and technical documents, Web text, online news and tests, and spreadsheets. Your all-business font of choice.

·         Monospaced fonts:  Also known as fixed-width, all the characters of this typeface take up the same amount of horizontal width.

·         Courier New: Poor Courier—study respondents deemed it rigid, sad, dull, unattractive, plain, coarse, and masculine, in addition to conformist and mature. You may want to try it for cold, unemotional ‘Dear John’ letters, if at all.

Sans Serif Fonts

These are the typefaces without the embellishments that distinguish serif typefaces—sans means without in French.

·         Arial: Stable and conformist like TNR, this font was also judged unimaginative by those surveyed. Best for spreadsheets, Web headlines, and PowerPoint presentations—so if you’re planning on rocking the company boat at your next meeting, this font could give your ideas authority.

·         Verdana:  Dull, according to respondents. Best for online tests, math documents, computer programming, spreadsheets and PowerPoint. Oh, and instant messaging—we’re not sure why you’d want to appear dull in a text message, but it was ranked second for this purpose.

·         Scripted/fun fonts: Typefaces with a personal, informal touch, designed to resemble calligraphy or handwriting.

·         Comic Sans: The wacky uncle of the font family, subjects described this one as youthful, casual, and passive. Save it for Web graphics, documents aimed at kids, and digital scrapbooking. A fun choice for invitations to kids’ parties.

·         Gigi:  Meet the sex kitten of the typeface universe. Flexible, creative, happy, exciting, attractive, elegant, cuddly, and feminine—these were the adjectives associated with this ornate sans serif font. Also, unstable, rebellious, youthful, casual, passive, and impractical, making Gigi perhaps the most complex typeface of them all. Judged suitable for E-greetings and nothing else, so approach this font with caution.

·         Display or modern fonts: Dramatic, striking fonts, including the grotesque style.

·         Impact: Here’s another font that you may want to use sparingly if at all: the assertive, rigid, rude, sad, unattractive, plain, coarse and masculine Impact. Deemed appropriate for Web headlines only (presumably the scary ones), this typeface is best avoided.

 

The final word on fonts? Feel free to play around with your personal correspondence, but stick to the classics like Times New Roman and Arial, particularly at work. No one wants to read a legal brief in curly, cuddly Gigi.

http://www.readersdigest.ca/home-garden/money/what-your-font-says-about-you/

 

 

This font is called Gigi

 

This font is called Times New Roman

 

This font is called Arial

 

This font is called Comic Sans

 

This font is called Verdana

 

This font is called Impact

 

This font is called Courier New

 

Year 12 Homework Set Thursday 17th September. 
Due Date Thursday 24th September

1. Find two texts. These can be anything - something out of the recycling bin, a newspaper / magazine cutting, something out of your pocket / bag. It can be anything with writing on it.

For each of the texts, write a brief paragraph describing what you think is the Genre, Audience, Purpose and Mode.
* You may be able to find one or two language features that you can link to each of the above. E.g. "The use of adjectives with positive connotations, like "amazing" and "superlative" tie in to the text's persuasive nature, as they serve to create a positive meaning in the mind of the reader. 

2. Start a mind map for each of the language frameworks, so that you can add further information and terms to them as you progress through the course. Add the definitions and examples from the sheet we looked at, and add anything else from your notes so far.

Year 12 Homework 1

Read the following article (Article about A-Level English) and answer the questions below. You don't need to hand the answers in, so you can answer them in note format if you wish. Be ready to explain your answers in class, though.

1. What do you understand by the phrase 'modern cultural references'?
2. Give two reasons why people have criticised the A-level. Do you think these reasons are valid?
3. What is the 'crumbling castle' view of language?
4. What viewpoint does Laura Barton hold about this subject? Select two quotations where this viewpoint is evident.
* The version of this article that you have read was the online version. What genre features in this article would you not have found 25 years ago?

Year 8 Private Peaceful Homework Project - Summer term

Year 8 Independent Homework Project – War Literature

To be completed and ready for display by Tuesday 7^th July

Instructions: This task needs you to work on your organisational skills. You must be self-disciplined and not leave everything until the last minute. You have 5 whole weeks to complete this. I expect that you would spend at least 3-4 hours on this project over the 5 weeks. You should aim to collect between 5 and 10 stars (5 stars minimum) but it is up to you how much work you want to put in. Work will be assessed on effort, writing skills, and engagement with the novel.  You will be rewarded with positive credits, and those who have shown outstanding effort will receive a postcard home. If you have an idea for an activity that you would like to do that is not listed here, see me and I will tell you how many stars your idea is worth.

Tasks worth 5 stars

·         Read another Michael Morpurgo book on the subject of war (War Horse, Kensuke’s Kingdom) or a book by another author who has written about WW1. Write a review of one of the books. http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/jun/30/best-first-world-war-ww1-books-for-children-and-teens See example of book review mrsdesai.blogspot.co.uk

·         A review of PP said “… a deeply moving portrayal of camararderie and courage, innocence and brutality.” To what extent do you agree with this statement as a description of PP?

·         Do the activity on this webpage: http://www.filmeducation.org/privatepeaceful/authors-questions.html WARNING: this contains a spoiler about how the book ends. Do this once you have finished reading, or if you already know the ending.

·         Imagine you have been asked to compose a piece of music to play in the background of the film version of the novel. Choose one scene from the novel and compose a piece of music to go with the scene OR choose an existing song / piece of music and write why you think the music is appropriate for the scene you have chosen.

·         Do the activities and answer the questions on this website http://www.filmeducation.org/privatepeaceful/obeying-orders.html

·         Dramatise a scene from the novel and film it, either with your friends, or using animation… jelly babies / lego? Note: if this is done as a group task, you can all use it towards your credits.

 

Tasks worth 4 stars

·         Write your own poem about WW1 based on what you have learnt in this unit. Use some of the poetic techniques that you studied when you read the war poetry.

·         Create a photo album (with renal photos) showing Tommo’s life in Devon before the war. If he had a camera, what would he have chosen to photograph?

 

Tasks worth 3 stars

·         Design a board game based on the novel.

·         Create a Treasure box for one of the characters in the novel. What would have been precious to them? What would they have chosen to keep in their treasure boxes?

·         Make a model of a trench based on what you have read in the novel.

 

Tasks worth 2 stars

·         Write the page of a textbook for KS3 students explaining what life was like in the trenches for soldiers. Look at other textbooks for ideas about layout and language. You are writing to inform.

·         Imagine that Charlie has written a letter for his family that is to be read upon his death. Write the letter you think he would leave.

·         What would Tommo’s facebook page have looked like? Draw it.

·         Create a Private Peaceful ‘playlist’. Choose ten songs that match some of the themes we have discussed, or that would match some of the scenes in the book. Write a brief description of why each one has been chosen.

·         Create a quiz about WW1. You should know the answers!

·         You are the casting director for a new film version of Private Peaceful. Write a job advert describing the type of actor you need and a description of the character they will play. Choose Charlie, Tommo or Molly.

·         Draw a comic strip called ‘A day in the trenches’.

·         Research one area of life in the years 1914- 1918 and produce a poster showing what you have discovered. Choose from: education, employment, family life or childhood.

·         Produce a WW1 mini fact sheet aimed at year 6 pupils, explaining to them what WW1 was about. You should do some research first.

·         Imagine that the publishers wish to design a new book cover for Private Peaceful for 2016. Sketch some designs that you think represent the novel.

·         Create a collage which represents the themes of the novel, to be used for display in the classroom.

Tasks worth 1 star

·         Create a map of France / Devon? Label it with places of significance and, if possible, quotations – there is a copy of Private Peaceful in the library that you can use.

·         Create a character profile for one of the characters. Draw a picture of them as you imagine them to be, and label it with adjectives.

·         Imagine that Michael Morpurgo wishes to release a new illustrated version of his novel. Choose three important events and draw the illustrations you would include to show these three events.

·         Imagine that Twitter existed during WW1. Write a selection of tweets that Tommo or Charlie would have tweeted from the front line. 

·         Write a diary entry imaging you are Tommo right after the accident in the forest with his father. Describe his thoughts and feelings.

Character Description homework

Homework – Creative Writing

20 – 30 minutes

 

 

“Then I see Mr Munnings standing on the school steps cracking his knuckles in the suddenly silent school yard. He has tufty cheeks and a big belly under his waistcoat. He has a gold watch open in his hand. It’s his eyes that are frightening and I know they are searching me out.”

 

 

 

 

Michael Morpurgo uses specific adjectives and verbs to describe Mr Munnings. He also ‘shows’ us that he is a frightening character, by giving clues, rather than just telling the reader that he is frightening.

 

Your task: write an excellent descriptive paragraph about a character that you could use in a story. (Just like the one above) You can use the ideas below, or choose one of your own.

1.      A person that you love

2.      A lost young child

3.      A person that you think is funny

4.      A person you know that is very strict

5.      A person that feels very angry about something

6.      This picture:

 

   You will be assessed on:

 

¨  Using lively and interesting vocabulary (you may use a thesaurus)

¨  Accurate spelling

¨  Accurate punctuation

¨  Varied sentence structure

 

I expect you to check all of these things before you hand in your homework. You may wish to re-draft your work to make it as good as it can possibly be. If so, hand in both versions so I can see what improvements you have made.