Personal Response deadline extended

Hi IB SL 1 Students,

Because many of the books for the residence students have not been issued to them, I have had to extend the deadline for the personal response to summer reading; this is to be fair and allow everyone equal access to the activity. Go ahead and complete it before the weekend if you are prepared, and I shall happily look over them on the weekend. Do not worry, however, if you need to post the blog late due to not having received your books. I will expect everyone though to have read 'Woman at Point Zero' by Wednesday September 3rd. Thanks.

Literary Element: Character (From Art of the Novel. Croft and Cross)

C. Character (Major/Minor)

Character is the jewel in the novel’s crown, the thing it does most memorably. The novel can

show attitudes towards characters in great depth and variety, the development of characters

through time, and both psychological depth and external interest.

Methods of presenting character: Identify moments that reveal characters most memorably

and ask what methods of presentation make these moments stand out?

· Does the narrator describe them? What is the narrator’s attitude to them (sympathetic,

sympathetic though critical, critical)?

· Is the focus of the description on appearance, moral or social qualities, behaviour, or

something else? If the focus is on appearance, what kinds of elements are described and

what clues do these give us about the character?

· Are we given a true and complete impression early on? It important information about

the character withheld until later? Or is the presentation progressive?

· Are the characters presented mainly through what they do, the decisions they make, or

through how and what they think?

· Are the characters revealed through their own, or others’ dialogue?

· Do the characters have a particular style of speech? What characterizes this? Is it what

they talk about, or how they express themselves, or both, that is striking?

· Are characters presented and illuminated through contrast with another character or

characters (foil or doppelganger)? What kinds of contrast? Generational, sexual, class,

other?

Role or purpose of character:

· What does the author seem to want to convey through different characters? (An

important moral standpoint, a criticism of unacceptable values or behaviour, a focus on

the evolution of the characters’ understanding, a representation of an aspect of society,

or something else?

· What part do MINOR CHARACTERS play? Choose several in your texts and find the

differences in their function. Do they affect the plot, reveal important information,

contrast or pair with one of the main characters, illuminating differences in character or

attitude or values?

· 

Summer Reading: You should have read one of these over the summer

1. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
2. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
4. Persepolis (I and II) by Marjane Satrapi
5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
6. Kokoro by Soseki Natsume
7. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
8. The Inferno by Dante Aligheri

Additionally, Woman at Point Zero was the core mandatory text you would have read.

IB SL 1 Vocabulary List Weeks One and Two

Please be aware I have changed the deadline for when your first creative writing assignment is due to give you more time to work on your group hot seat presentations. The new deadline for submittal to me as a Google Doc is Monday September 8th.

You can find this information on the website as well here:

https://sites.google.com/a/mynbps.org/metaxas-english-class-page/assignments 

Click on the Word doc entitled IB SL 1  Vocabulary Week1 and 2 Revised Deadline

Hot Seat

As part of our exploration of your summer reading, we will be working in groups role-playing as 'author' and 'characters'. I have loved doing this activity in the U.K. with my students and I hope you shall too! You do not have to be a thespian to have fun with this. Over the next few days, think back to what your summer reading choice was and flesh out the characters in your mind. Below is an explanation of the hot seating which we will start at the end of Week One and continue with after Labor Day.

About ‘Hot Seat’ as a role-playing activity for literature in our IB class:

Hot seat is a role-playing activity that builds students’ comprehension. Students assume the persona of a character from a story, the featured person from for example, your summer reading,  and the author whose books they’ve read, and they sit in a chair designated as the “hot seat” to be interviewed by classmates. It’s called hot seat because students have to think quickly and respond to their classmates’ questions and comments. Wilhelm (2002) explains that through the hot seat activity, students explore the characters, analyze story events, draw inferences, and try out different interpretations. Students aren’t intimidated by performing for classmates; in fact, in most classrooms, the activity is very popular. Students are usually eager for their turn to sit in the hot seat. They often wear a costume they’ve created when they assume the character’s persona and share objects they’ve collected and artifacts they’ve made.

Here are the steps in the hot seat activity:

1.    Learn about the character you will be impersonating when creating your narrative pyramid and any research you can do independently. Plan the activity as a group and designate roles. 

2.  Create a costume. Students design a costume appropriate for their character. In addition, they often collect objects or create artifacts to use in their presentations.

3.  Prepare opening remarks. Students think about the most important things they’d like to share about the character and plan what they’ll say at the beginning of the activity.

4.  Introduce the character. Groups of three, sit in front of classmates in a chair designated as the “hot seat,” tells a little about the character he or she is role-playing using a first-person viewpoint (e.g., “I was the book thief”), and shares artifacts.

5.  Ask questions and make comments. Classmates ask thoughtful questions to learn more about the character and offer advice, and the student remains in the role to respond to them.

6.  Summarize the ideas. The student doing the role-play selects a classmate to summarize the important ideas that were presented about the character. The student in the hot seat clarifies any misunderstandings and adds any big ideas that classmates don’t mention.

About the process: During literature focus units, students take turns role-playing characters and being interviewed. Students representing different characters can also come together for a conversation—a group hot seat activity.

Equally, when students are participating in literature circles, they can take turns role-playing characters from the story they’re reading, or each student in the group can assume the persona of a different character at the same time for a group hot seat activity.

Personal Response to your summer reading choice.

Personal Response   (400-500 words minimum ) In class activity can finish for HW and submit next lesson.

Find something (anything) from the story with which you can describe a personal connection.  For example,

• You might remember someone who resembled one of the characters in the story, and you might reflect on how you have treated or been treated by this person.  No names necessary.
• You might consider your own life to be completely different from the main character.  If so, did this story help you to see things from a different point of view?
• Many of these books talk about relationships with family and teachers.  Do any of these relationships remind you of your own?  Do they strike you as being very different from your own experience?
• Optional: How might you extend this personal response to show you know more about the author and his/her style?