Reading-Year567-Wed

Summary for Lesson 1

In today’s lesson we began our study of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help the research assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our work on the history and context of the novel, focusing particularly on the theme of racism and the way this permeates the fabric of the book. We discussed the sensitive nature of some of the themes and language used in the book, and spoke about Lee’s use of racial slurs and how to understand this language in context without helping to perpetuate the racist attitudes it illustrates. We considered the history of Black Americans, thinking about how a knowledge of the history and legacy of slavery, lynchings, Jim Crow laws, the Great Depression and racial inequality can help us to fully understand the events of the novel. We thought about notions of censorship, discussing the debate around whether To Kill a Mockingbird should be taught in schools as a result of the racial slurs it uses, and considered why Harper Lee might have wanted to write this book. I was really impressed by everyone’s work today, and thought the class demonstrated fantastic maturity and sensitivity in handling a very delicate and emotional subject. The students all thought deeply about the traumatic impact of racism and the legacy it has had on the US’s history, and were able to apply this to the book excellently, articulating their opinions with great sophistication. Well done everyone- great energy and contributions today. See you next week 🙂

Link to the article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/13/interviewed-harper-lee-to-kill-a-mockingbird-sequel-go-set-a-watchman

I’ve attached the article as a word document below.

Homework 

Summary for Lesson 2

In today’s lesson we continued our study of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which can be used to help plan and write the homework. The powerpoint contains our work on digging deeper into the style and form of the novel, thinking about the moral of the story, author’s intent, and genre. The class all contributed fantastically today, thinking deeply about the moral of the novel and the way in which Lee communicates this. They also dealt with the notion of genre beautifully, and were able to analyse, interpret and re-imagine the book through the lens of different genre conventions. We discussed three central genres that the book plays upon: Southern Gothic, courtroom drama and Bildungsroman, and the students used this as a spring-board for their own creative and inventive takes on the book. Amazing work everyone- well done and I’ll see you next week 🙂

Here is the video on Southern Gothic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VzRhVLxlGU

Homework

《To kill a mockingbird 》I believe the core of the meaning is absolutely no doubt about the importance of how bad racism can be the darkest side of it. However, on the surface, it just used a similar quote from Atticus, when Scout’s brother wanted to go outside and Atticus told them if they can shoot the bluejays then they can shoot them depending on how much they wanted, but it is forbidden to shoot a mockingbird. I did some research on bluejays and mockingbirds. I learned that a bluejays is a “native” American bird. Well, I think I would use arrogance to describe them since the bluejays will kick out anyone who has stepped into their territory. Which in some ways are similar to those people who (like Hitler) think that they are the best and “discriminate” people who are not “them”, so here I believe it means the white man who discriminates against African Americans like Tom Robinson. On the other hand, if the bluejays are white men then the mockingbird will be the black men. which they all have in common innocent, working for people all the time. I’m sorry this might not be closely related to the book but yesterday when I was scribbling down videos I saw a very touching story about the mockingbird. A boy from England suffered from cancer, and his death grieved his mother, during his lifetime he told his mother not to be too sad about him and said that he would be a mockingbird and will be by her side all the time. Interestingly when his mother was Arranging cemetery flowers, a cute little mockingbird stayed on his grave.

The only thing that I am questioning is I don’t agree that the book is TO kill a mocking bird. Well I mean I certainly know that it is to remind us of the bad words described in the book they all have the same intentions which is to remind us about the dark times and how evil they could be. Although Tom was killed in the end the mockingbird has died away, because if you say TO KILL then kids would think unclear knowledge like kill black people? but it is a little amount. Therefor if you want me to change a title then the sin of killing a mockingbird.

Just as I said in the first class, I think the title of the book is similar to the quote that Atticus said: “Shoot all the blue jays you want, but it is sin to kill a mocking bird.” I did a bit of research and found out that mocking birds don’t eat your weeds or do anything that bad, they will just sing a beautiful happy tone all the time, so I think the mocking bird could be 2 people, 1 is Tom, second is Boo. These two people didn’t do anything wrong. But Boo because of neighborhood gossip, people think he is an angry monster. Tom just because of his skin color, people think he raped a girl. So I think the title means that do not “kill” innocent people.

Summary for Lesson 3

In today’s lesson we concluded our study of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the speeches assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains our work on some of the deeper and more complex ideas in Harper Lee’s writing, focusing on symbolism as a framework with which to understand the book. We looked at how important symbols are in this novel, focusing firstly on the eponymous mockingbird and then expanding out to understand how Lee elucidates her themes through the use of symbols and references. The students came up with gorgeous examples of their own symbols that could communicate thematic ideas to the reader. We then discussed the key notion of justice in the novel, thinking about how to relate this to historical events of the time and analysing judicial opinions from 1944 to give some context to how our own notions of what is just and unjust may shape the way we read the book. The class worked really wonderfully today, considering deeply and philosophically the concepts in the novel and how they could apply some of these ideas to the world today. Excellent work everyone- well done & see you next week! 🙂

Here is the video on symbolism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR9VbSXxouM&t=2s

Here is the video on symbols in the novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzhAHrgppzY

Here is the video on the Scottsboro Affair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_q4GG3iHGY

Homework

P.S. The speech from the lawyer I said you could read to help you with the homework is on page 215-220 of the PDF I have attached below (the one titled Teaching Mockingbird).

In the long wide history of River, we have experienced justice equally and unequally, and I’m sure all of you have seen those in your real life. Now in such a progressive society I am very curious and forbidden that there are people who only look at others’ past not the future.

Yes, Tom is an African-American. Yes, he is different from you but he’s only different in his appearance. In different cultures they have different quotes with the same meaning in English the quotes are written as don’t judge a book by its cover. because everyone’s different, so it makes you unique and that causes you to be yourself, like yourself.

he is different from us but he’s only different from his skin color I mean if aliens landed on earth they have colorful skin colors would you also discriminate against them as you discriminate against the blacks?
Would you also not release them on the huge wide earth, and not let them go back home, would abuse them to be your slaves? Would you? we have different skin colors we are all equal

It drives me crazy that today there are people like you guys, white Americans! Tom cannot change his color because he’s from a black family and their ancestors are all in the same color, so it cannot change! In the book, 《wonder》there is a very good quote “if he cannot change his appearance then you should change how you look at him”

God created everyone unique, but God didn’t tell you that you have to see a person that is different color skin from you and abuse them kill them to chase them away! why did God create all of us even in different skin colors he wanted us to learn and to know to touch on a different kind of culture so that we could be together more likely and communicate with each other better.  God didn’t tell us to discriminate and to bully the people who are not the same as us and you cannot only look at his past but not his future or his now, if you only look at a person’s past then why would there be people who are released from the prison. if you only look at their pasts then if you steal a little thing you should be executed whether you’re black or white and there will be nobody in prisons, you’ll all be executed.

I am very very furious about executing. well God gave us live, very precious lives! everyone’s life is unique. Even twins say that they went to the same high school or had the same job but you know we have our very own traits and personalities.

Tom is not a bad guy I swear. so please don’t cut him out of his spectacular life. I don’t mind if you could get him into prison, but if you don’t release him I’ll still be here for him. If anyone of you did not rape the girl but is being misunderstood would you be innocent would you have the courage to stand here to still keep yourself alive insistently? No, because cheating a black man is worse 10 times than cheating a white man they’re innocent because they worked so hard in a society where everyone discriminates against them. he’s not disappointed to work for you guys, he’s very hard in his life he works for people who discriminate against them. However, he doesn’t say a word or cries or revenge just work for you guys, and if they did wrong for a little thing they might be executed. you can go and be a slave for one day and experience how bad and how downfall a slave is. it would be very funny if you don’t cry don’t revenge. Tom has been very innocent and he’s a very hard-working man. That kind of pureness is irreplaceable, like a lotus.

Summary for Lesson 4

In today’s lesson we began studying The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the paragraphs assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains loads of information on the context of The Great Gatsby, considering the crucial contextual ideas of the Roaring 20s in America and the American Dream. It also contains our thoughts on the key themes and motifs within the novel, and our discussion on how the novel deals with the concepts of wealth inequality and social class. Everyone worked fantastically today, we had a great discussion about our favourite and least favourite things about the book, in which students successful picked out the most interesting and enlightening features of the novel. They debated the impact of the history of the novel beautifully, thinking about what Fitzgerald was saying about the excesses of the society he lived within. The class were really hardworking and came up with lots of great and insightful contributions. Excellent work everyone, well done and I’ll see you next week 🙂

Context in Gatsby video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XM30FUke5U

Homework

Ms. Beth this is the homework for last class :

Hi Beth,

This is my homework for last week. Have a wonderful day!

Summary for Lesson 5

In today’s lesson we continued studying The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The powerpoint with all of the resources is attached below, which should be used to help plan and write the paragraphs assigned for homework. The powerpoint contains all our thoughts on the style and narrative of the novel, focusing particularly on the role of symbolism and the genre of tragedy and how this relates to the book. It contains thoughts on character analysis, the theory of Nick as the unreliable narrator and the students’ analysis of tragic elements within the book which they completed fantastically. We had a really great discussion on the concept of time within the book, analysing the symbolic importance of the scene where Gatsby and Daisy see each other again for the first time. The class came up with some fantastic ideas about the tragic elements of the novel and how we can see Gatsby’s hamartia developing throughout the plot and also thought of some really interesting ideas about how only certain characters suffer consequences in the plot. Amazing work class, really insightful and creative thinking today- see you next week 🙂

Tragedy video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVRU5MVYNiw

Homework

Summary for Lesson 6

In today’s lesson we concluded our study of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The powerpoint below contains our work on the close textual analysis of The Great Gatsby, focusing in particular on elements such as the importance of symbolism in the novel, the symbolic importance of the deaths of both Gatsby and Myrtle, the ideas of class and consequence prevalent in the novel, and Fitzgerald’s final reflection on the validity of the American Dream. The students all worked fantastically hard today, we had some really insightful, interesting and imaginative contributions from everyone on the three symbols we studied closely this lesson: the green light, the eyes of Dr Eckleburg and Myrtle’s death. I was super impressed by the creativity and thoughtfulness the class demonstrated in discussing these themes, and also really enjoyed hearing their 1920s newspaper reports that reflected the prejudices of the time. Outstanding work today class- you should be really proud of your work! Well done and see you next week 🙂

Homework

Summary for Lesson 7

In today’s lesson we began our third book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo, learning about the historical context and ideas that the book reveals about the time of its publication. We began by discussing our likes and dislikes within the book before talking about the historical context of both the late 1400s (when the book is set) and the early 1800s (when the book was written). We learnt about France’s gothic past, thought about how understanding Hugo as an author could help inform our understanding of the novel, and spoke about the background of the 1789 French Revolution. Finally we spoke about stereotypes and where these appear in the novel, before completing a creative writing task where the class had to put themselves in the shoes of someone from that time period in France using everything they had learnt about the history. Wonderful work from the class today- they all worked really creatively and came up with some fab ideas throughout. Well done everyone for all your hard work- see you soon 🙂

Homework

Summary for Lesson 8

In today’s class we continued our work on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, thinking today in depth about narrative within the novel and how that can reflect societal norms and opinions of the time. We began by discussing the perspective the story is told from, thinking about the notion of the unreliable or biased narrator and how to separate this concept from that of author’s voice. The class then analysed examples from the book where the narrator appears opinionated or non-neutral with regards to the events- and the students then created their own narrator characters to match these ideas. Finally we looked in depth at an article about the book written by a Roma author considering the way both Roma people and women are presented by this narrator and how this can be read alongside theories about race and gender stereotypes in the book. Everyone worked thoughtfully and diligently today & came up with some fantastic contributions. Great work everyone- I particularly enjoyed hearing your ideas about the narrative voice and what it reveals about the tone of the novel. Keep up the fantastic job! 🙂

Homework

Hi Beth

I am not very sure if I wrote the correct thing. But I really like the theme of love so I want to write some. See you Wensday!

Emma

Summary for Lesson 9

In today’s class we finished our work on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, considering some core concepts of the novel such as the role of protagonist/ antagonist divides and the concept of free-will. We began by speaking about Frollo and whether we could consider him a typical villain, using an essay to expand our ideas. We then spoke about the philosophical concept of free-will and predetermination, linking ideas on this to the characters and plot of the novel and answering some comprehension style questions on these themes. Finally the class completed some creative work on setting, thinking about the centering of Notre Dame in Hugo’s novel, and considered some final debate questions to conclude our work on this book. The class worked brilliantly today- thinking of some really high-concept ideas and contributing beautifully throughout. I was particularly impressed by their thoughts on villany and how we can understand complex characters as ‘labelless’ in literature. Excellent work everyone- it was a pleasure to hear all your ideas! 🙂

Free-will video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYWiIWpcCIM

Homework

Summary for Lesson 10

In today’s lesson we began our study of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The powerpoint attached contains lots of ideas on the historical context of the novel and how crucial an understanding of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust is in understanding the events of the book. We spoke about the theme of book burning in the novel, and why it is such a recurrent event throughout history, thinking about what the burning of books represents on a deeper level and considering this in relation to Heinrich Heine’s famous quote on the subject. We discussed the Orwell quote “whoever controls the past controls the future, whoever controls the present controls the past” and the class did a fantastic job of linking this quotation to the ideas explored in the novel about the power of knowledge and history. We then looked at the irony of the book’s title and finally the class wrote some wonderful one-sentence summaries of the novel, thinking about the role of education and literature within it. The class worked enthusiastically and diligently today and I was really impressed by their interpretation of the philosophical ideas within the book and what we can learn from the history. They dealt with difficult topics with huge maturity and I was really happy with all of their work and contributions. Excellent work everyone- well done 🙂

Homework

Summary for Lesson 11

In today’s lesson we concluded our study of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. We began by discussing the concept of irony, discussing its use throughout the book and conducting some close text analysis of ironic passages from the novel. We then moved on to talking about author intent, thinking about why Zusak had made the choices he made in the novel and what could be inferred from this. The class completed an interview exercise fantastically, and also watched and analysed a real-life interview with Zusak for comparison. We thought about the perspective of the novel, comparing the presentation of Death to our expectations, and then the class emulated the narrative voice of the novel through writing their own scenes narrated by Death. Finally, we discussed the moral of the story, using a series of interesting quotations from the book as a guide, and the class discussed what this story has taught them beautifully and in depth. Great work from the class today and wonderful progress over the past eleven weeks. I have really enjoyed hearing their thoughts and opinions in our lessons together as they have developed and became more and more sophisticated. Well done everyone- lovely work all round and I’ll see you soon 🙂

Here is the link for the video we watched on the role of Death in the novel (it also has a blog post attached which is worth a read!): https://www.ignitedinkwriting.com/ignite-your-ink-blog-for-writers/read-the-book-thief-by-markus-zusak/2017

Homework