New Term, New School, New Pupils.

hmmm. What will it be like?

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New Website

Hello Frequent Fliers,

Anyone keen to see what I've been doing with my long summer holiday, the new site is now up and running (but stilll under development...) at www.mrsharpetheteacher.com.

It's been a chore, I used software from www.coffeecup.com and I'm not sure yet whether I recommend it. I also bought an imac, and don't recommend that either! Matthew (and other techies) will appreciate I've been hoping between Mac and Windows environments, and running Vista through Parallels in Mac too. It's been a test of nerve!

Holidays!!!!

Hey everyone

According to my stalker-like visitor trackers, some of you are coming back to this blog even though (a) it's the holidays, and (b) I've left your school.  Good on you.

I'm really sad to have left, but of course you can keep using this site for help across all the different English levels.  Over the summer I'll be upgrading this blog to a full website, and so check back as new things happen.  And I bought a shiny new imac, so all sorts of "creative" things should be possible!

Thanks for being such wonderful pupils this year.  Keep watching the skies, and remember - Mr Sharpe likes GOOD QUALITY COFFEE!!

The Intermediate Two Rap

So let me tell you about Intermediate two

It's the bestest thing that anybody can do

There's spelling, analysis, punctuation and grammar

And if you don't pass this you could end up in the slammer

We learned new skills like textual analysis

And how every word counts, except for words like "as" and "this"

Brooklyn Cop - that's a poem that's sweet

About an ape with a nightstick who patrols all the streets

There's lots of exams, tests, NABs and trials

Where you have to work hard or Mr Sharpe'll get viol...

...ent because he wants you to pass and to get a good grade

Or the boys'll get neutered and the girls'll be spayed

Over summer you'll be reading for your personal study

That book'll soon become your bestest buddy

It can be about a story, a poem or a play

And then write it all out in a double one day

The course ends in May with two exams

So you'd better be doing all that revision we planned

Two critical essays and a close reading passage

The back home for chicken soup and a relaxing massage.

Yeah, boyee.

Rapid Response - Crisis Management!

Hi S2

Next week you'll be given a double lesson to complete the design, script and all other preparation for the news bulletin on the hurricane in Honduras. Remember, you need to make sure that the public are informed of the facts, but also you are trying to get them to think about how they might best help.

Some statistics from the hurricane:

• 11,000 dead (that is about 13 times the total number in our school)


• 1 million homeless (that's like everyone in Edinburgh and Glasgow being made homeless at once)


• Winds speeds were 180 miles per hour


• There are over 22,000 refugee camps with no basic clean water or sewage system


• The highways have collapsed, and most major roads are unpassable


• There is no clean water supply - you can live for about 3 days without clean water. If you drink dirty water, you could get terrible diseases, and...


• ...hospitals, schools and major institutions are all destroyed, and many doctors, policemen and teachers are amongst the dead

Seven Steps to Poetry Heaven

Hey Folks

Analysis of text? Follow the seven steps to heaven, as discussed yesterday.

http://www.box.net/shared/tk49brpk4k

Clickety click.

Yellow bellied, tree huggin', pocket mulchin' hippy music

Hey folks from S4

If you are stuck for ideas with you "Environmental Poetry Presentations, some ideas are below

Ben Harper - "Excuse Me Mr"


Jack Johnson - "The Horizon has been Defeated"




Tom Waits - "Murder in the Red Barn"




Dave Matthews Band - "Don't Drink the Water"
(This rocks particularly well!)



REM - "The End of the World as we know it"
(not much about the environment, but a bit..)

S5 - Your first Textual Analysis

Hi Everyone and welcome to MrSharpeTheTeacher. If you promise to keep coming back, I promise to keep running this as a useful resource for you to become excellent!

Look at the picture I've embedded here - what do you see? Do you see an old woman, or a beautiful young lady?

The truth is, both are there. This is an optical illusion, and if you look hard enough, suddenly you can clearly see one, then the other.

So here's my point: the answers are always there on the page - you just need to look. Sometimes you need to squint a bit, sometimes change your point of view slightly. And there's no wrong answer, just a range of right ones with varying levels of justification.

If you are still with me, well done. If not, we'll try something else!

Test Answers

You had a wee shot at a textual analysis piece on Thursday. Hopefully you were instructed to come to this blog for the answers, which are below.

Don't cheat. I don't mind if you get them all wrong, or all right. No one wins, no one gets eaten by a lion. What is important here is that we (you and I) work out what skills you already have, and what needs work.

1 a) his wife had an accident (1 mark)
b) the gatekeeper (1)
c) what has happened to her (1)

2 a) water (1)
b) "torrent", "bobbed" (1 for each)
c) reference to "a tap had been turned on inside her" and "a gush of words" (1 for each)

3 a) women - some kind of gloss on "heavy flesh trembling on cheeks and chin" + quote. Son - gloss on "gaunt, high cheekboned face" + quote (3)

4 It contradicts itself (oxymoron) (2)

5 a) vain, glamorous, conscious of her appearance (1), outgoing, sociable, independent (1) - any of the above ideas for one mark each, total of 2)
b) disapproves "any decent woman" or "i told her it wasn't right" or "a judgement" (1)
6 a) they live with her (1)
b) tries to follow her son when he goes to see Sylvia (2)

7 a) there is a large age-gap (15 years) (1)
b) "words had never come easily to him" or "inarticulateness" or "wordless misunderstanding" (1 for any one)

8 a) (the horror of) what has happened to Jock's wife (1)

9 a) reference to "this'll cure her vanity" (1)
b) variety (1)

10a) "like a woman's hair" (1)
b) story is about the accident involving Sylvia's hair (1)

11 anything along the lines of how much he loves her (1)

12 reference to the domination of the mother, Sylvia's striving for glamour and/or independence and Jack appearing to be caught in the middle. (2)

Well done for getting this far! Total marks are out of 30.

Hello Sir, Remember Me?

Greetings, new S3 class, and welcome to Mr Sharpe the Teacher.

This week we'll be working a little more on the poetry we began on Friday. If you've forgotten or lost your question sheet, click the thumbnail to see and print the worksheet.

To see and hear Robbie performing this, click the link to youtube...

See you in class

"Tree Hugger" Poetry with S4

OK, so I still think of you all as S3 still, but then again I fear change.

Once we've polished off our own, self scripted, storyboarded and filmed "next scene" of The Truman Show, we're going to be looking at a range of poetry with an environmental theme. Not "save the wales environmental", more "turn off the TV and go do something in the woods" environmental. After this, we'll be writing our own, and (yipee!) writing an essay on one of the texts we study.

If you liked the Dave Matthews Band's Dreaming Tree and you want to watch it again, follow the links that should be somewhere on this post (not sure where right now)

Mr Sharpe

The Last Laugh - Dictators

No, not Mr Sharpe, rather Gloria and Gilbert Grimm from Ben Payne's play, "The Last Laugh"

On Thursday, we'll be finishing the current scene and thinking about both the dicators in the play, and how we might behave if we were dictators.

If you didn't make class or you've lost your copy of the worksheet - click the picture for a full sized version.

Mr Sharpe

Welcome :0)

New timetable, new timetablees.

Welcome to my blog, new S2, S3 and S5 classes. Welcome back S4 (recently promoted from S3)

Here you will find all the electronic resources used in class, useful summaries of lesson content, areas for futher study and occassionally just things that I think are good.

Keep watching the skies

Mr Sharpe

MacBeth's Scotland

I know we aren't doing MacBeth right now, but to help out a colleague, I made this map using the groovy google tool.

Feel free to use, abuse, annotate etc. Or even export into Googe Earth for a real-time flyby!


View Larger Map

Enjoy!

Mr Sharpe

S3 Panic-aversion Therapy

Hey Everyone

Here are the links from yesterday's last minute revision session for the S3 English exam. Remember, be cool and think about your power song!

Follow these links for more help on revision for the exams.

• BBC Bitesize - http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/bitesize/standard/english/tandard/english/
  
• SQA – www.sqa.org.uk – downloadable papers and mark schemes
  
• The podcast

In class, on Friday 2nd, we marked eacher others work on the "Courtroom Climax". We were trying to see what level our classmates piece of writing would get. We also watched the Simpsons and learned a bit more about Judaism that would help us in our essay about Shylock being a victim or a villain.

aa [=

"A Candle for the Birthday Boy" - Christopher Hawkins

OK, so this week we spent some time on this text. It's not to everyone's taste but it does the important job of being a short prose piece, and it plugs an important gap in preparation for the exam: readiness to be able to write on the structure of a text.

The question you were asked was about the ending of the book, and why it was good. As previously, below are my thoughts about how I would answer it. The important thing to note is that, for a question about endings, you need to show how the action creates this ending, and how it is a suitable way to finish the text.

You are all experts on writing introductions now, so I'm just going into the main points. This is what I would do for this question:

• "The kid was turning six, and he was missing the whole thing" - I'd establish that this is the opening line to the story, and it sets up the plot. The story becomes about a missing boy - where is he?
• Next, I'd go on to establish the threatening presence (or actually absence) of Tabby: "One who scared him sometimes with the feral look that seemed to come over her like a storm" with analysis of key words - "feral" meaning wild, and the simile "like a storm" which effectively create an impression that she is dangerous and unpredictable
• Next, I'd use the line "And, of course, there was the pinata" which stands out as a paragraph on its own. It focuses the reader on the pinata. It catches our interest. It is "big and garish, an eyesore in the shape of a bloated sheep" which starts to suggest a menacing mood, with connotations of sickness, disease and even death. However, I'd also explain that the pinata is used as a red herring, to deliberately mislead the reader.
• Next I'd show how the suspense is built by the continued mystery of the pinata. It is held in place by a rope tied "like a noose" (which has futher connotations of death, and possibly even execution, because Tabby is getting her vengeance on Nate) and I'd use a quote to show how Nate is worrying about the contents as the plot builds towards it's climax: "But if it was just paper, why didn't it move with the wind? If there was only candy inside, why did it need such a thick piece of rope to hold it in the air?"
• I'd go on to show the dramatic climax of the story - when the pinata is broken to reveal "its contents in a slush upon the ground" but that it is just pig entrails and a pig's head, and Danny is revealed to be safe.
• Finally, I'd show the resolution of the story - the surprise twist in the tail. The punch is poisoned: "But it was too late. The cup was almost empty, and all around him, children were starting to fall." I can now refer back to the pinata as a red herring, when in fact all the clues, about "dead flies" and Tabby, who had "filled the punch bowl and covered it with plastic wrap to keep out the bugs"

So that is how I would have answered this question. The key fact is that the tension mounts all the way through the story, the mystery of what is hidden inside the "grinning" pinata is revealed in the climax to be a red herring, and the the ending is appropriate / effective / good / surprising because in the final resolution, Tabby manages to get her revenge in the most surprising way.

Ten days people. Tick tock. Tick tock. Close reading this week. See you Tuesday,

Hi S2

Those of you wishing to strengthen your essays could try exploring some of the following links. The top two are the most helpful because they are short but have a quite deep understanding. The other two are essay-length but will really help you both with ideas, and critical language:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shylock

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/merchant/characters.epl

http://www.sol.co.uk/forthvalley/larbert-hs/mag/writing/shylock.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/merchant/ei_shylock.html

The Truman Show

OK, so we've established reality TV is a waste of all our time. But making a film about reality TV, well, that's just a whole separate kettle of post-modern fish.

This week we'll be focussing on painstakingly dissecting some of the key scenes to look at how the director (not Christof, the director of the film - Peter Weir) creates the idea that Truman is being controlled.

For the keen beans who want to beef up their folio grades for this year and next, below are some good line resources where you can get inspiration and also familarise yourself more with critical language.

Enjoy!

http://www.bfi.org.uk/education/teaching/witm/recommended/trumanshow.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Truman_Show

http://www.haikuwhiz.com/attachments/4767.pdf

http://www.eslteachersboard.com/cgi-bin/stories/index.pl?noframes;read=29

http://artsncrafty.blogspot.com/2007/04/truman-show.html

merchant of venice

On Tuesday Mr Sharpe was off and we did a sheet of questions on the 'Merchant of venice'. Once we had finished this we did our 10 minutes reading.
B.A

S3 - Ranting with all my Rantingness

OK, so you all enjoyed reading (and critiquing!) my own "Write your Views" piece about reality TV. For those who missed it, it's reproduced below.

On Thursday you will be writing your own editorial rant about Reality TV in a "Write your Views" essay yourself.

It's important to remember that this should be your own thoughts, not mine, and that it is fine to be opinionated: you aren't expected to be balanced or neutral. Just tell us what you think.

Enjoy the weekend and see you on Tuesday.

“Reality TV – Look at the Pretty Colours” By Mr R Sharpe

Last weekend, my friend Tom’s parents won a reality TV show. The basic idea was very simple. A load of people they didn’t like came round for dinner. You could tell that they won because at the end because they got given £1000.

The thing is, that £1000 was funded, in part, by me. I, along with 25 million others, pay £139.50 every year for the right to own a TV. That means that £0.0004 of the money that went to Tom’s parents came from my pocket.

The irony to all this, of course, is that I could have just gone round for free, and I wouldn’t have had share the experience with an unwashed student or anyone else. The show hasn’t been aired yet but I imagine that if I were to watch it, I wouldn’t recognise the two people on the screen, in spite of knowing them well.

The show, like all reality TV, doesn’t take much planning. Take some normal people, throw in some abnormal people, and wait for something to happen. If it doesn’t, make something happen.

The truth behind these shows is often more sinister than the empty-headed logos suggest. The clever use of editing can trick the audience into believing almost anything. Even more worryingly, recent improvements in sound editing has created so –called “Frankenbites”. This new word, a combination of “Frankenstein” and “soundbite” describes where individual words, said by the “stars” across, say, an episode, are edited together into a single sentence which was never actually said.

The growth of reality TV as a genre has, like all organic growth, been slow. It surfaced with Candid Camera in the 50’s, when normal people were “pranked” by professional comedians. Big Brother, an idea originated in George Orwell’s book “1984”, was an early sign of things to come. Yet we, the modern audience, couldn’t wait for organic growth. We needed Jade Goody now, dammit! So we added some artificial fertilizer, left it out in the sun, and wham! Today it has spawned a million hybrid children. We have Celebrity Big Brother, American Big Brother, and each follows the same, braindead formula. “How to Look Good Naked”, a more recent evolution (there should be an opposite of that word) should be the shortest series ever commissioned. I can picture how it should have been:

“Hi, I’m Gok, and this is how to look good naked. Eat less and do some exercise. Thanks for watching, now over to some professionals with a programme and a script”

If it sounds like I am being unfair, it is because I am. But I like my entertainment to have some kind of purpose. If I’m to watch someone on the screen, I’d like them to have put some thought into what they are going to say and do. Perhaps practiced once or twice. Is it too much to ask that maybe they even receive a little training in front of the camera? Big Brother can be recreated in your own home (provided you have neighbours) with an electric drill, a couple of video cameras and Microsoft Moviemaker. And from what I can gather from the show, the way to look good naked is to buy more stuff.

The Romans used to have a phrase – “panem et circenses” to describe this way of keeping the lowest of their citizens entertained. It translates as “bread and circuses” and meant that if you kept the fools fed and gave them clowns to laugh at, they wouldn’t revolt and start cutting heads off the government.

Today’s bread and circuses involve watching failed celebrities, low-grade celebrities, and wannabe celebrities all desperately being uniformly unique. The development of reality TV has been at the cost of intelligent programming. It’s free to make and, because millions watch it, it rakes money in from advertising. But the hidden cost is that each time they make a show, another Jade Goody could be born. Then we have to clean up her dirty nappies for as long as her career lasts. It is the worst possible picture of the future of humanity. Our culture once tried to touch the stars, now we like to watch milkmen eating tadpoles.

Or, if you prefer the edited Frankenbite summary of the previous paragraph: Reality TV is intelligent programming. The future of humanity is free. Jade Goody is a star.

Mr R Sharpe©

S3 - At Home With the Doggs: answers and explanation

Dear All,

If you missed the class on Thursday, 17th, the you missed us going back over the answers to the practice close read quiz last week. You can get a copy of the slideshow by clicking here. It's worth having a look because I've not only shown the answers, but colour coded the questions so it should be really easy to work out not just what the answer is, but why the answers are what they are.

Once again, a hearty congratulations and solid slaps on the back to all who completed this task. As the whole thing was done independently, it would have been easy not to do the task. But you all did. So good on you!

Intermediate 1 Easter Revision notes

Hello Everyone,

Well done to those of you who came to the Easter revision session.

I'm testing new files storage websites: you should be able to click here to download the SlideShow used to revision close reading skills.

Feel free to download, re-read and share with the naughties who didn't come along...

Mr Sharpe

S5 - In Mr Sharpe's Absence

Hello all,

As I said last week, I will be covering a different class for Tuesday's class, and you will have someone else for the day.

Remember that you had some creative homework - to complete a newspaper report on the distasteful happenings of "Playing Sandwiches" by Alan Bennett - which should have been a helpful revision tactic to embed the basic plot and characters in your mind. This can be handed in at the English base into my tray.

With just days (13 lessons!) left until the exams, you can use this time well. If I were you, I'd be looking at some of the questions below and practicing answering them:

1. Read the question and underline any key terms - what is being asked of you? Should you be talking about setting, character, structure and/or theme?
2. Decide what you would need to answer it - no fewer than 5 quotes and PEE paragraphs for each
3. Write a skeleton plan for each question: a full introduction and link, then the PEE notes for each paragraph, and a full conclusion.
4. Bring the evidence of the work you complete to Wednesday's class, and I'll go over them with you
5. Keep a note of any questions or areas where you are unsure for further discussion on Wednesday.

Questions

Choose a text which has a surprise ending.

Briefly say what happens in the story and then go on to show why the surprise ending makes a good finish to the story. In your answer you should refer to such features as: the plot of the story, its structure, character, or any other appropriate feature

Choose a text which has an important turning point that changes things for one of the characters.

Show how the story builds up to the turning point and say why it is important for the character. In your answer you should refer to such features as: structure, character, or any other appropriate feature.

Choose a text which deals with a topic of importance to society.

Say what you learned about the topic from your reading and whether you felt sympathy for the people involved. In your answer you should refer to such features as: theme, character, or any other appropriate feature.

Choose a text in which one of the main characters has to make a decision.

Explain what the decision is and show how it is important for the rest of the story. In your answer you should refer to such features as: turning point, character, or any other appropriate feature.

Choose a text which deals with a subject which interests you, or amuses you, or makes you sad.

Say what the subject is and why it has aroused this feeling in you.In your answer you should refer to such features as: the ideas, characters, plot, or any other appropriate feature.

todays lesson

the class started out slowly we read for 10 mins and mr sharpe all realised we were still half asleep. So he got us to jump about like idiots oh joy.... anyway we done our creative writing about the courtroom scene, and how to incorporate all 5 senses into our short stories.

RB =)

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What we did on the 15/04/08 !!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey

Today we did some creative writing. We learned that at the time of Shakespeare men had deep feelings for each other and that they were not gay! We also learned to write as another person and to use our senses to say things like i could taste the fear...................

Mr Sharpe also introduced us to a new word.........juxtaposition-think this was it!!!!!!!

GC :)

S5 - Brooklyn Cop

Hey folks,

I'm sure we are all revising hard, what with the exams less than a month off now. Tick tock, tick tock.

The question set today was "Choose a poem which you know well which has a memorable character. Write about the character, explaining why you found it memorable."

If I were looked at this question in an exam, I'd follow the following 8 paragraph plan:

Introduction - "Brooklyn Cop" is a poem, by Normal MacCaig. There's my triangle of text, genre and author. Then I'd have a couple of sentences summarising the poem - explaining that it is about a tough cop working a dirty beat in Brooklyn, USA. I'd explain that it is about how the cop confronts violence every day in his job, and that a part of him likes this. I'd make sure I explained that this was why I thought he was memorable.

My link paragraph would talk about the areas I was going to explore, and what I was going to show in each. For example: The character is memorable for his size and strength and his frightening appearance. MacCaig uses extended metaphor, careful words choice, and symbolism to suggest that not only is he a man who enjoys his violent job, but a well rounded three dimensional character, who also loves his wife and fears that one day he might not return.

Then I'd write PEE paragraphs in following areas:

• "Gorilla" - talk about extended metaphors, physical description of him, and why he needs to be so big, savage and beastial.


• All other the physical bits here - "heiroglyphs" etc - and talk about the suggestion that he likes and even seeks out the violence. This would lead me onto ...


• "Nightstick" - I'd talk about how he is memorable (see - referring back to the question) because his baton means he gets to be close to the people he is hitting, and how, unlike a gun, you can use it again and again. This also creates the impression that he likes violence. I'd also talk about symbolism of "night" in nightstick - is our eponymous cop the barrier that stops the "night" taking over the streets - maybe even referring back to "Hotel Room, 12th Floor" to show how clever I was


• I'd talk about his softer side, and how he is a three dimensional character, by showing how he says "see you, babe" to his wife.


• Finally, I'd discuss the deliberately ambiguous ending, and say it makes for a memorable character because it has so many interpretations - "And who would be who have to be
  his victims?" - because it is strange to think of policeman as having victims. Maybe he is so brutal, we feel sorry for the criminals who will become his victims.

In my final paragraph, which would be my conclusion, I'd sum up what I'd said and make sure I'd answered the question. I'd probably say something like "this was a great poem because I've never thought about policemen enjoying the violent side of their job before, and it helped me to understand more about what it must do to a person to be so close to agression every day."

Then I'd nad in my essay and take a 20 minute break before turning up for Mr Sharpe's after school exam practice session. But that's just me.

Brooklyn Cop
by Norman MacCaig

Built like a gorilla but less timid,
thick‑fleshed, steak‑coloured, with two
hieroglyphs in his face that mean
trouble, he walks the sidewalk and the
thin tissue over violence. This morning,
when he said, "See you, babe" to his wife,
he hoped it, he truly hoped it.
He is a gorilla
to whom "Hiya, honey" is no cliché.

Should the tissue tear, should he plunge through
into violence, what clubbings, what
gunshots between Phoebe's Whamburger
and Louie's Place.

Who would be him, gorilla with a nightstick,
whose home is a place
he might, this time, never get back to?

And who would be who have to be
his victims?

Merchant of Venice - The Courtroom Scene

Hi Everyone,

We are fast approaching the end of MoV, and last week we watched and read the climactic courtroom scene. Shylock has the power of the law fully behind him, but it is his determination to stick to the letter of the law which is his undoing.

The scene peaks with him, beaten, facing the choice between the gallows, or disavowing his religion and losing his wealth.

It's a powerful scene, with drama, strong emotions and lots of colour throughout.

Today's Task

Creative writing task today folks, with a reflective slant. Imagine you are one EITHER of the key characters in the scene - Bassanio, Gratiano, Antonio (oh, woe is me!), Portia or Shylock OR a faceless, minor character in the crowd. Think about how they would be feeling, and write a short (max 300 words) piece of writing from their point of view. Try to include a real taste for the times - what are people wearing? What can you see, hear and smell? Is the room lit with candles, big flaming torches, or perhaps are you in an outside courtroom? How are you feeling? Do you feel sorry for Shylock, on his knees with the crowd baying for his blood? Do you feel he is harshly treated - after all, he had the law on his side? Or does he get everything he deserves? After all, he is just a Jew!

For those who asked - shakespeare's insults! Click here - but you need Adobe Acrobat

Righteous Babes and Personal Writing

Dear All,

I'm reading through the wonderful short stories S3 did today, and thinking about how many of them link back to the personal writing that happened at the end of last term. I came across Ranting Feminist / Powerful Lady Ani DiFranco a couple of years ago, and thought this might fit in with some of both creative and personal writing themes. S5 might enjoy this too, as a break from the violence and crime of MacCaig's poetry this week.

Lack of correct punctuation is intentional. You can do that once you are an artiste:

not a pretty girl

i am not a pretty girl

that is not what i do

i ain't no damsel in distress

and i don't need to be rescued

so put me down punk

maybe you'd prefer a maiden fair

isn't there a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere?

i am not an angry girl

but it seems like i've got everyone fooled

every time i say something they find hard to hear

they chalk it up to my anger

and never to their own fear

and imagine you're a girl

just trying to finally come clean

knowing full well they'd prefer you

were dirty and smiling

and i am sorry

i am not a maiden fair

and i am not a kitten stuck up a tree somewhere

and generally my generation

wouldn't be caught dead working for the man

and generally i agree with them

trouble is you gotta have yourself an alternate plan

and i have earned my disillusionment

i have been working all of my life

and i am a patriot

i have been fighting the good fight

and what if there are no damsels in distress

what if i knew that and i called your bluff?

don't you think every kitten figures out how to get down

whether or not you ever show up

i am not a pretty girl

i don't want to be a pretty girl

no i want to be more than a pretty girl

Find more ani here

Friday 11th April (: x

Today in class we read for 10 minutes at the start of the lesson as usual, then I had to do my talk on a moment in time. I was very nervous but my audience was amazing so that made it a lot easier. After we rearranged the desks so that there was a stage at the front of the classroom. Mr Sharpe then picked volunteers to act out The Merchant Of Venice from page 147 to page 165. We learnt that Mr Sharpe is rubbish at football and let his team down badly when he scored into his own goals. This was Mr Sharpe's example of "do a little wrong and a lot a right" which is a quote from The Merchant Of Venice.

sc :) x Y

Thursday 10 April

Today we learnt about the relationships and characters in the Merchant of Venice. We found out that everyone dislikes Shylock even his own daughter Jessica dislikes him. We then watched the film, where Antonio's time was up and he had to pay the price. Shylock was determined to get the pound of flesh even though he was offered twice the amount of money. It ended in Shylock getting all of his possesions confenscated.

AC :)

Get dog, Dawg. This is some wack beats, ya'll

OK, as we all know, Mr Sharpe is not cool. In fact, we should all wear T-shirts that say this. However, below you will find a copy of the questions from today's reading test. The answers are also included so you can mark your own. A copy of the text is also below. If you missed today's lesson, please give this a try without cheating!

This means you have the opportunity to cheat. But why would you, my trustworthy hoard?

If I don't have time to post all the answers now, the rest will be up by Friday teatime. Homework is to mark your answers and be ready to talk abuot them on Thursday 17th April.

At home with the Doggs ...by Emma Forrest (..adapted from..)

Look at paragraphs 1 to 3

1. What does Snoop Dogg do which is surprising at the start of the interview? 1-0
He answers all the interview questions to himself in the mirror = 1
2. Quote a phrase which shows how Snoop Dogg is more concerned with his own appearance that in answering the interviewer’s questions. 2-0
"the self-love reflected here" or "he ansers every question to his reflection" - either = 2
3. In your own words, explain why the author thinks his actions might be linked to Owen Wilson 2-1-0
Owen Wilson was in Starsky and Hutch (1) and Snoop Dogg was also in this film (1)
4. Name three things Snoop Dogg was famous for. 2-1-0
Protege of Dr Dre / smoking pot / popularising "izzle" / run ins with the law / misogyny = any three = 2 marks, any 2 = 1 mark. One/none = 0 marks
5. How does the context help you to understand the meaning of “misogyny” (paragraph 2). 2-1-0
Misogyny means hatred of women (1). You can work this out because earlier in the passage it shows that gangsta rap is seen as exploitative of women / sexist, and then shows Dogg's music as an example of this sexism (1)
6. Quote a phrase which tells you that in despite changing labels, the content of his records remains the same. 2-0
"When he moved from Death Row records to Master P's No Limit label, he incorporated P's Dirty South sound but stuck to the same theme" (2) - shortened verse using elipsis ( ... ) accepted :)
7. Explain, in your own words, what leads to Snoop Dogg being denied an entry visa into the United Kingdom. 2-1-0
He was involved in some kind of fight ("fracas") (1) at the airport which lead to him going to prison overnight (1)

Look at paragraphs 4 to 8

8. Why do you think the author is surprised at his latest business venture? 2-1-0
The new show shows him as a nice, family man (1) whereas in fact the author thinks he is a crook / ganster / not a very nice chap. (1)
9. “’It’s a blessing’, he reflects to his reflection.” How effectively does the author use humor here? 2-0
It's really effective (!) because it is a pun - reflect means both the image in the mirror, and how Snoop is thinking about himself deeply. = 2 - you must explain that reflect has two meanings to get the marks here.
10. “Respect is often found in the level of your wealth, not the quality of your music.” Explain, in your own words, what the author means. 2-1-0
It doesn't matter if your music is rubbish (1) so long as you are rich (1)
11. How does the author show that it is his business skills, not his music, that has made him successful? 2-1-0
Either: use of metaphor - "Tesco of rap" + explanation of metaphor OR uses a list of businesses he has contrasted against "one record in the 90s thast was both catchy and unique"...either = 2 marks
12. Quote the word that shows Snoop Dogg is almost in a coma with boredom. 1-0
"catatonic" = 1

Look at paragraphs 14 to 16

13. Why does the author laugh at his answer? 1-0
He lists himself as the most inspirational black leader today, it's very arrogant and the author thinks he is an idiot! = 1, anything along those lines would get 1 mark
14. How does the author suggest he has a menacing undertone to his personality? 2-1-0
He reacts threateningly and frightens the author (1) OR uses simile to compare winding up Snoop Dogg to poking a lion with a stick. Both end in bloody results (2) - the simile explanation answer is the better one.
15. How does the author think that Snoop Dogg is at odds with the rest of rap culture at the time? 2-1-0
Rap culture at the time was moving towards women's rights, even more so than mainstream America (1) whereas Snoop Dogg's music was becoming even more hostile towards women (1) - MUST SHOW THE COMPARISON FOR TWO MARKS
16. What does he do that finally makes up the author’s mind about him? 1-0
He released his music as a ring tone, which the author thinks is tacky/makes him a sell out = 1
17. “And laughing all the way to the bizzle” How effective is this as an ending to the article? 2-1-0
It's a great ending because it uses humour and links back to how Dogg popularised the word "izzle". (1) It shows how rich he is (1) "Bizzle" sounds silly and makes fun of Snoop Dogg because the author thinks he is a joke (1) - score on merit but looking for relevant and well-developed answer for full two marks.
***********************************
At home with the Doggs ...by Emma Forrest (..adapted from..)
The moment Snoop Dogg walks into the suite of The Grafton in West Hollywood, he sits down on the bed opposite a mirror and proceeds to stare at himself. It's a fancy hotel room on the debauched Sunset Strip: I imagine all manner of interesting things have taken place in front of this mirror. But never the self-love reflected here by the 37-year old rapper. Smoothing his pig-tailed hair, he answers every question to his reflection, to the point where I wonder if it's an acting exercise this ex-Crips gang member picked up from Owen Wilson on the set of Starsky and Hutch (Snoop played Huggy Bear, one of his several forays into film).
Until recently, Snoop, who rose to fame in the 1990s as a protégé of NWA's Dr Dre, was most famous for smoking pot, for popularising the slang suffix "izzle" and for run-ins with the law. When gangsta rap was at the centre of arguments in favour of women’s exploitation, many focused on the misogyny of his records. When he moved from Death Row records to Master P's No Limit label, he incorporated P's Dirty South sound but stuck to the same theme.
In 2004, he signed to Geffen and, produced by Pharrell Williams, saw Drop It Like It's Hot go to No 1. Having been cleared of a gang-related murder charge in 1993, it was small potatoes when, in 2007, following a fracas outside the BA first-class lounge that led to a night in jail, his visa request to enter the UK was rejected.
Incredible as it may seem, now that reality TV is the order of the day, Snoop has rebranded himself as a family-friendly guy, starring in a reality show about himself called Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, featuring his wife Shante and their children, on the E! cable channel.
"It's a blessing," he reflects to his reflection, "to have been in the rap game for so long and to remain so relevant, to remain talked about with the newest and the latest and the hottest, freshest."
The thing that makes hip-hop different from other genres is that respect is often found in the level of your wealth, not the quality of your music. Snoop put out one record in the 90s that was both catchy and unique, “Gin and Juice”, and from that he's launched his own video games, DVDs, a soft drink, movie roles, and now the reality show. Snoop Dogg isn’t necessarily a good rapper. He is simply the most convenient. He is the Tesco of rap musicians.
"I earned the right to call my album Ego Trippin'," he tells the mirror. "Nine records in 15 years, top 10 every time.. I earned the right to do that. “
His publicist has warned me to make his album the focus of my questions, but the truth is that he has very little to say about it. Fair enough, music is not necessarily any fun to discuss. His responses are near catatonic, with an edge that suggests if only he weren't so bored by the questions they would be making him angry. But he comes to life when I raise the subject of Barack Obama's recent speech on race.
I ask why it is that Snoop doesn't address his strong political convictions in his music. "I feel it affect me, but I don't need to be crying about it on my records."
Not like Mos Def or Talib Kweli, whose music carries the message. Snoop is bored again. So bored. I am riveted because I was sure, as a businessman, he would have stayed on family-friendly message. Isn't he supposed to be just a regular family guy now?
"But I am. That's what I always been. People in London always get information on me as far as when I go to jail and my criminal record. Negative things. They never hear about my football team, my wife, my kids, my standing in the community, the gang interventions that I do. They don't give a ---- about it!"
He nods at his reflection in deference to his own nice doing, and I ask who he considers the most inspirational black leaders in America today. "Minister Louis Farrakhan. Snoop Dogg."
I laugh. He purses his lips and gives the mirror a look so deadly it tells me that accidentally laughing at Snoop is equivalent to accidentally poking a lion with a stick.
One of the most frustrating things about Snoop is that he and his pimpdom were already abnormal when they emerged. The majority of hip-hop voices at that time (groups like A Tribe Called Quest and Public Enemy) had been more socially progressive on everything, including attitudes to women, than the mainstream American culture of Playboy magazine and the Hooters restaurant chain. But, as the industry went corporate and the record labels weeded out the non-pimp, non-gangsta acts and brought in artists who called women bitches and ho's, the Snoop-ification was rapid and lucrative for everyone from the Dogg himself, to the companies peddling his clothing lines.
Taking women dressed in diamond collars and leads down the red carpet at awards shows has been labelled hip-hop behaviour, when it's really just recycled blaxploitation imagery and misogynist foolishness. But he will do any dance and put on any persona, if that's what he thinks will command the most attention. Recalling that, last year, Snoop was the first artist to release his track as a ringtone prior to a single, it occurs to me that he is actually the ultimate ho, being pimped out by the industry in a fantasy of hyper-sexualised criminality. And laughing all the way to the bizzle.

First day back in english!!

In class today we read in silence for 10 Min's at the beginning of the lesson. Then we moved seats and worked on a Merchant of Venice Revision Quiz with our new seat buddies. Our task was to put the jumbled up parts of the story into the right order. then we acted out Act 3 scene 5, then act 3 scene 3 because we accidentally missed out two scenes.


GC

Thursdays lesson

On the last day of last term in english instead of doing merchant of venice related work we had a general knowlage quiz. The quiz had a mixture of different types of questions, i think the class enjoyed the quiz alot and it was a good idea.

kc

Shylock Quotes - is he a villain or a victim?

Hello S2 - hope you are having a good holiday.

You'll be delighted to learn that I've copied out loads of good quotes from TMoV about Shylock - these will be really useful to you for when you are writing your essays soon about whether Shylock is a victim or a villain.

The formatting is all wrong but I'm sure you won't mind that too much!

Enjoy!

I hate him for he is a Christian,

But more for that in low simplicity

He lends out money gratis and brings down

The rate of usance here with us in Venice.

He hates our sacred nation

Signior Antonio, many a time and oft

In the Rialto you have rated me

About my moneys and my usances:

Still have I borne it with a patient shrug,

For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe.You call me misbeliever, cut-throat dog,

And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine,

And all for use of that which is mine own.

Well then, it now appears you need my help:Go to, then; you come to me, and you say'

Shylock, we would have moneys:' you say so;

You, that did void your rheum upon my beardAnd foot me as you spurn a stranger cur

Over your threshold: moneys is your suitWhat should I say to you?

Should I not say'Hath a dog money? is it possibleA cur can lend three thousand ducats?'

Or Shall I bend low and in a bondman's key,With bated breath and whispering humbleness,

Say this;'Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last;You spurn'd me such a day; another timeYou call'd me dog; and for these courtesiesI'll lend you thus much moneys'?

Why, look you, how you storm!I would be friends with you and have your love,Forget the shames that you have stain'd me with,Supply your present wants and take no doitOf usance for my moneys, and you'll not hear me:This is kind I offer.

If you repay me not on such a day,In such a place, such sum or sums as areExpress'd in the condition, let the forfeitBe nominated for an equal poundOf your fair flesh, to be cut off and takenIn what part of your body pleaseth me.

If he should break his day, what should I gainBy the exaction of the forfeiture?A pound of man's flesh taken from a manIs not so estimable, profitable neither,As flesh of muttons, beefs, or goats.

If e'er the Jew her father come to heaven,It will be for his gentle daughter's sake:

For I did dream of money-bags to-night.

As the dog Jew did utter in the streets:'My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats!Justice! the law! my ducats, and my daughter!

SHYLOCK You know, none so well, none so well as you, of mydaughter's flight.

SALARINO That's certain: I, for my part, knew the tailorthat made the wings she flew withal.

SALANIO And Shylock, for his own part, knew the bird was fledged; and then it is the complexion of them all to leave the dam.

He hath disgraced me, andhindered me half a million; laughed at my losses,mocked at my gains, scorned my nation, thwarted mybargains, cooled my friends, heated mine enemies; and what's his reason? I am a Jew


Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs,dimensions, senses, affections, passions? fed withthe same food, hurt with the same weapons, subjectto the same diseases, healed by the same means,warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, asa Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poisonus, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we notrevenge?

If we are like you in the rest, we willresemble you in that. If a Jew wrong a Christian,what is his humility? Revenge. If a Christianwrong a Jew, what should his sufferance be byChristian example? Why, revenge. The villany youteach me, I will execute, and it shall go hard but Iwill better the instruction.

I would my daughterwere dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear!would she were hearsed at my foot, and the ducats inher coffin!

no in luck stirring but what lights on myshoulders; no sighs but of my breathing; no tearsbut of my shedding.

Never did I knowA creature, that did bear the shape of man,So keen and greedy to confound a man

Gaoler, look to him: tell not me of mercy;This is the fool that lent out money gratis:Gaoler, look to him.

Thou call'dst me dog before thou hadst a cause;But, since I am a dog, beware my fangs:

I'll have my bond; and therefore speak no more.I'll not be made a soft and dull-eyed fool,To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yieldTo Christian intercessors.

I am sorry for thee: thou art come to answerA stony adversary, an inhuman wretchuncapable of pity, void and emptyFrom any dram of mercy.

You'll ask me, why I rather choose to haveA weight of carrion flesh than to receiveThree thousand ducats: I'll not answer that:But, say, it is my humour: is it answer'd?

You will answer'The slaves are ours:' so do I answer you:The pound of flesh, which I demand of him,Is dearly bought; 'tis mine and I will have it.

My deeds upon my head! I crave the law,The penalty and forfeit of my bond.

Nay, take my life and all; pardon not that:You take my house when you do take the propThat doth sustain my house; you take my lifeWhen you do take the means whereby I live.

Two things provided more, that, for this favour,He presently become a Christian;The other, that he do record a gift,Here in the court, of all he dies possess'd,Unto his son Lorenzo and his daughter.

Intermediate 1 Easter Revision Session

Hi Everybody (Hi Dr Nick...)

Just reminding you all that the Int 1 revision session will be going ahead on Friday, 4th April - that's this Friday - from 9am until 12 noon. When you arrive, wait in the school reception and I'll collect you from there as I've not decided what room we will be in yet.

We'll be covering a range of work from basic revision of the texts, to practicing specific skills, and ending by preparing for Close Reading.

I'm assuming you have all done at least some revision over Easter so there will be no going over the basic stuff - you need to know text names, authors, characters and plot for each of the texts we are going over!

See you Friday, Hudson will be with me, but in the car. You are welcome to join us for a walk around the school before and after the session!

Mr Sharpe

Friday 14 March Lesson

In Fridays lesson The groups we did our poster in went out to the front and each explained there poster from Shylocks famous speech. We did some media studies. We answered a question sheet called media and moods on the Merchant of Venice. We learnt how Shylocks demeanour changed when he heard about Antoio's bad luck. The director built the tension in the scene where Bassanio chooses which box to pick by making everything slow.

After we watched an episode of the simpsons.

MD ;)

Tuesday 6th & 7th

Today we read for 10 mins at the start of the lesson then we began our talks Mr Sharpe put all the names into a bag and picked one out one by one and whoevers name was picked out did there talk . Thanks MD

Instructions for S5 - 17 March 2998

Mr Sharpe is ill today and posting instructions from his death bed.

On Friday we played Language Technique Bingo, and then you guys all designed your own revision game working in pairs.

Please continue to develop these games for playing either later this week or after Easter, depending on how much other work we get through this week.

The teams who made a start can find their cards, boards etc with the box of English stuff in the Maths room. Materials are available from the English base.

Alternatively, you can either revise one of the texts (Stone Cold/Candle for the Birthday Boy for prose, Playing Sandwiches for drama, and Hotel Room/Brooklyn Cop for poetry) in preparation for your final exam which is but weeks away now.

Don't waste time, you can mess around when the exams are over. You know who you are.

13th March

Today we filed and wrote down the grades that we got for our talks. Then we showed the class the posters of Shylocks speech that we did on tuesday and re-read his speech in the book. We then had to do questions on Shylock. At the end of the lesson Mr Sharpe showed us two different versions of the speech and the newer version of it was better.

SD =)

lesson on tuesday the 11th og march

today we watched shylocks speech about the how jews and christians are the same then we had to mget into groups and make a poster about the talk but without using words

Supermarkets - homework task

Hey "Other" second year class!


Welcome to Mr Sharpe's blog. This is where a lot of my teaching gets done, and homework gets set! I'd like to use this site to let you write for the world to see, so we'll be looking at different ways the internet can help me teach, and you learn.

For example, we've been reading "Johnny and the Dead" and we are setting up for our own town meeting, to discuss whether we should allow a supermarket to buy up a big park, playground and wooded area near our school.

Today, we looked at two different stories from the BBC about supermarkets, and we learnt about:

• "bias" (where people let their own opinions and feelings influence them)
• "impartial" (like a referee or a teacher, where things are treated equally)
• "balanced" (where both sides of the argument are given equal thought)
• "perspective" (a view taken by a person, such as a writer or someone at a town meeting) and finally...
• "discursive" (where topics are DISCUSSED in a balanced way)

Homework - due 19th March 2008

Look at this website - http://worldhaveyoursay.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/do-supermarkets-make-our-lives-better/ - and look at how important this issue is to people around the world!

1. Pick out two things from their comments that are in favour of supermarkets, and...
2. ...two things that suggest they are a bad thing.

MoV - The Pivotal Scene. Is Shylock a villain or a victim?

Hello all,





Lots of you missed the fun of today's lesson, where we looked at one of Shakespeare's most famous speeches, because of the music recital. The contents from the lesson will be posted by SD overnight as he is today's blogger.

Thursday's lesson will involve looking at this scene (III, i) more closely. This is because some people think it is the key to understanding Shylock's actions (which you are going to examine in an essay soon enough!)

First, look again at I iii ll 40 - 130, and remind yourself of the injustices Shylock has already suffered. If you didn't write these down during an earlier lesson, do so now.

Next, find and copy out the line in II, iv which shows that Shylock loves his daughter and would make great sacrifices for her. Hint - it's after line 30! Remember towards the end of II viii we learn Jessica has left Shylock, leaving him crying "My Daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter ... My ducats and my daughter!"

Now answer the following questions from III i:

1. How do you feel about Shylock's double loss - daughter and ducats? Copy out some of the lines which you think show his hurt, his rage, and his complete loneliness.
2. Which of his losses does he mention first? Which do you think causes him more pain?
3. Quote two further examples of his being insulted by Christians in this scene (hint- he says quite a few in his speech)
4. Quote the line where Shylock first mentions "revenge".
5. The main speech (ll 49 - 70) teaches us that we are all the same beneath our religions, that we are made from the same "flesh and blood". Do you agree with Shylock? Or is it more complex than that?
6. Shylock has been bullied, abused and now his daughter and his money is gone. To what extent do you feel sorry for him? Justify your answer with your own opinions

Reading, Writing, Reflecting

I'm sure that S3 will be won over by the sheer wonderfulness of the blog here. But until they do, there is just the three of us keeping this going for those who miss the class.

Today we looked at personal, reflective writing skills. These are vital because they make up a sizeable chunk of exam questions, they can be used in your folios this year and next, and when you are famous rock stars, footballers and beauty therapists you'll want to be able to write your autobiography.

The keen beens amongst you have signed up for the emailed weekly synopsis of the lessons. If not, just remember this:

• Emotions, emotions, emotions!


• Make it vivid, improve, improve, improve it


• A nice way to catch the readers attention is to include all 5 senses in the first paragraph, to describe feelings, but also to keep a sense of tension to encourage the reader to read on!

Next week you're going to be putting this into practice under exam conditions on Thursday. The question is Choose a time in your life when you have experienced conflict. Write about this, and remember to include your thoughts and feelings. You'll have an hour and ten minutes, but feel free to prepare as much or as little as you want to.

But as you sow, so shall you reap.

Also next week, we'll find out whether Millington is guilty or innocent in Conduct Unbecoming, we'll watch as much of the video as we can get through, and on Monday, we'll be doing a group talk graded task. More on that next week.

Finally, homework. Creative writing pieces are due on Thursday, 13th March - write a story in which one of the central characters experiences a conflict. However, none of the main characters can be a human.

BBC Wildlife Beast Research

Hey folks

This week you've learnt all about functional writing. This means writing that is to tell people about things - like newspaper reports, letters, or reports into beasts.

We've been reading "The Nature of the Beast", where we are starting to see some signs of a mysterious monster creeping around the mysterious town.

So you all pottered down to the library where research was done into gorillas, sloths, a variety of big cats, mermaids, the Loch Ness monster and even unicorns. I've even learnt the unicorn song and that they have a spot just above the heart where you can kill them!

More importantly, our learning outcomes have been:

• How to use books and websites to collect notes, not just copy and paste!


• Using numbered lists and bullet points in reports


• Using headings to sort similar facts together into paragraphs


• How to show where we get our information from - our sources

Finally we raced through the basics of doing a good talk, using the 50:50 rule

1. Good content - interesting start, loads of facts in a formal presentation, and a conclusion


2. Good presentation - look at the audience, nice and confident, loud and clear voice, and no fidgeting.

Good luck for the talks!

Intermediate 1

OK, so this week you guys started to realise how close those exams are - just 27 lessons left!! Although I'm sure some of you can't wait for it all to be over...

We've been reading "A Candle for the Birthday Boy" by Christopher Hawkins (http://www.christopher-hawkins.com/) and focussing on the structure, character, themes and setting.

The important thing about this is how the story follows the traditional short story structure by following the exposition/rising action/climax/resolution formula. Just like fun maths!

But there's all sorts of other things going on - the pinata is a great example of personification, and is also used as a red herring to deliberately mislead the reader into thinking poor old Danny has been chopped up and put inside, when, in reality, the twist in the tail is far more spectacular!

There's also good use of foreshadowing, with clues about the eventual outcome all the way through the story. The ominous outcome of the story is really signposted all the way through for readers who've been paying attention.

Finally, we spoke about how this is really a cautionary tale about fidelity and not cheating on the wife. That's why Nate is such an empty, plain character - it's because he is supposed to represent *man* in general. The setting is deliberately vague - it could be anyone's backyard!

We covered loads more, but for those of you who have missed classes this week (grrr) those are the basics that you'll need to know.

If you want to read more gruesome short horror stories, let me know and you can borrow the collection that this little gem came from

Today in class we read for ten minutes at the start. we then listened to some peoples talks. i did my talk so i know what it is like to be up there, i was nervous, but it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. If you are going to do your talk on wednesday, good luck!
Love, hugs and kisses
Ch :)

Friday 29th

Today we again went into the LRC for a chance to finish of our moment in time talks. People got to use the computers and look through books to help them find information for their chosen topic

Thursday 28th

Today we read Act 2 Scenes 3 4 5 and 6.
We talked about the religious significance in the play so far.We talked about how the idea of changing religion has come up 3 times already in the play (note: it is always the Jews having to change to Christian never the other way round).Wea lso talked about all the "brilliant" insults in the play and how most of them are dirrected at Shylock.

Mr Sharpe also reminded us again what a brilliant and confident writer Shakespear is ashe can even make jokes about his oter plays.We then watched what we read on the DVD.

HOMEWORK for Tuesday 4th of March

Have your talk Prepared as some people will be doing them on Tuesday.

Good Luck

sh =)

Tuesdays Class

Today in class we went down to the LRC to reasearch and plan our talks. People had the chance to go on the computers and do powerpoints or they could look through books provided for their subject of the the talk which we will be doing on tuesday next week.

mm =)

S5 - "No Holds Barred fighting is too violent and should be banned"

Hey folks,

Monday's lesson focussed on poaching ideas from the handouts provided, and also included work on organising, structuring and linking ideas with connectives, such as "another viewpoint is..." or "in addition, futher evidence is provided by...". This will help your arguments flow together.

You are now independently writing outside of school hours, and successfully negotiated (see - I told you persuasion is the most important skill from English!) an extention to the homework deadline.

I'll now be collecting and grading your pieces on Monday, 3rd March. It's a NAB, so it will be a pass/fail grade only.

Good luck!

S3 - "99 Ways to tell a Story" - Tuesday 26th February

Today's lesson focussed on retelling a basic story, creating atmosphere and a sense of setting in a short creative piece of writing. You fun-loving beasts wrote collaboratively in different genre.

It was based on Matt Madden's book of stylised cartoons, some examples of which are here.

If you missed the lesson and wanted to give this a try, the genre to chose from are: horror, war, teen gross-out comedy, western, romance, historical novel (think castles!) detective whodunnit or science fiction.

Fridays class

On Friday Mr Sharpe first told us about the sponsored read, where you read books to raise money for children with illnesses.
We then got told about what we had to include in our talk "A moment in time". We have to inform and entertain the people who are watching and when planning it we have to use the 50:50 rule. He also told us to make sure that it is interesting and we present it well.
After that we got to watch the Simpsons. It was the one where Lisa entered a public speaking competition to win a trip for her and her family to go to Washington DC. This was to help us with how to present our talk.
Finally at the end of the lesson Mr Sharpe gave us homework to think of ideas for our talk.

bm x :)

Persuasive Writing for Intermediate 1 - Is NHB too violent?

Hi Everyone

If you want electronic versions of today's resources, you can listen to the audio section here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/listen/interviews.shtml

BBC Articles which might be interesting (including videos)

http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?tab=all&go=homepage&scope=all&q=ultimate+fighting

http://www.ufc.com/ for more background information.

Enjoy, and keep your hands up!

Mr Sharpe

21/02/08 Act 2 Scene 2

During yesterdays lesson we first arranged the seats like a theatre from the time of the Merchant of Venice with peasants at the front, standing and rich people at the back, sitting then we read Act 2 scene 2 and we seen how Launcelot played a cruel trick on his father, Gobbo, by telling him his son(Launcelot) had died. He then convinces Gobbo that he is indeed Launcelot.
Also during this scene we seen Bassanio tell Gratiano that he was far too loud to come with him on his trip to "woooo" (< Mr Sharpe's Favourite), Porchia and the scene ends with Gratiano begging Bassanio to come and Bassanio telling him maybe.

After reading the the scene we watched the same scene on the video although what we had read was an awful lot longer than the video.

cm =]

S2 - Homework - Mark your Own!

Hi S2

Remember, I am trusting you to mark your own work! But I'll still be looking in your jotters at some point soon, so don't be too generous!

1.Why does Shylock ask if Antonio is “a good man” (12)?

He wants to know whether Antonio would be able to repay the debt
And/or
He wants to know that Antonio is well respected

2.Look at lines 38 – 48. What is the first reason Shylock gives for hating Antonio?

He hates him because he is a Christian

3.Why do you think this speech is given as an aside?

Shylock is telling the audience how he feels, but he doesn’t want to let Antonio or Bassanio know

4.“I cannot tell, I make it breed as fast” (93) – what technique is this an example of, and what is being compared?

Technically this is a simile, although case could also be argued that it is a metaphor. The speed with which Shylock can make money is like the speed sheep breed, so these two thnigs are being compared.

5.Look again at lines 103 – 126.
a)Write a list of the other reasons why Shylock hates Antonio.

Antonio “rated” him(as in 'berated'), called him “misbeliever, cut-throat dog”, spat on him and kicked him

b)Of all the reasons Shylock gives in this scene, which do you think he feels is the main reason. Give reasons for your decision

He hates him for being a Christian – it is the first reason he gives, and the differences drive all the other insults. BUT answer should be based on well justified opinion.

6.How does Antonio ‘sell’ the idea of lending him the money to Shylock. Quote the lines that show this.

He tries to tell Shylock to take more pleasure in having an enemy in his debt:
“…lend it not as to thy friends …
But lend it rather to thine enemy
Who if he break, thou mayst with better face
Exact the penalty”

7.Think about the bond between Antonio and Shylock:
a)Who comes up with the idea first?

Shylock

a)Do you think they are serious?

No / Yes – judge on merit of the evidence in part (b)

b)Explain your answer with reference to the text.

No – reference to “merry sport”
Yes - Reference to hatred of Antonio

8.How does Bassanio respond to the bond?

He doesn’t want Antonio to take Shylock’s money:
“you shall not seal to such a bond for me
I’ll rather dwell in my necessity”

9. Explain the significance of the lines below: what do they mean, and what do they tell us about Shylock?
“A pound of man’s flesh taken from a man
Is not so estimable, profitable neither,
As flesh of muttons, beefs or goats.” (162-164)

Shylock thinks about the flesh as being worthless – it isn’t even as valuable as beef, goat or mutton because it can’t be eaten or sold. At this point, he seems to be only interested in the money. However, it does also link back to the extended imagery of sheep that we've seen throughout the scene.

10.“The Hebrew will turn Christian, he grows kind” (176)
Where have we heard a similar but contrasting thought before?

Shylock says: “Cursed be my tribe If I forgive him” which contrasts against the idea that he is so kind to Antonio that Antonio feels he is converting to Christianity.

Tuesday's Lesson - 19th February

We watched act 1 on the movie of The Merchant of Venice. We then acted out two scenes. One of the Prince of Morroco and Portia. The other Lancelot and Gobbo.

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Tuesday 19th. Essay evaluation, Learning old words

Today Mr.Sharpe decided we should see the first draft of our "Conduct Unbecoming" essays.
He showed some good examples of introductions and basically we are to use as many liking sentences/paragraphs as possible. See last post for good examples and what linking paragraphs are. The introductions are not to be too short and should be clear as to what you are going to do. Easy.

In our essays we are NOT to tell Mr. Sharpe how hard we worked on our essays or how long, this is because he doesent care. What a meanie.

We also spent a while talking about "there, they're and their".
There is the opposite of here we can remember this because of the "here" in "there".
They're is an abbreviation of "they are" you should know this though.
Their is typically used when talking about objects, e.g. "This is their house."

How comforting it is to know that 3rd years cannot understand this, so if you were wondering whether Standard Grade English is hard, question answered.

N.F.

Friday 5th

On friday it was the last day term so we did something fun.

We were given a card which had a colour and the name of a dog we had to save, so we had to write a couple of paragraphs on why our dog should be saved.

Then we had to make a presentation to our group to explain why our dog should be saved, and then each group took a vote. Only 3 dogs could be saved from each group of 8.

S3 - Essay Feedback

Hi everyone.

I'm sure no-one will be checking back here during the holidays, but in case you are..

Essay feedback - good examples from good pupils! Feel free to modify ideas to improve your own work!

Introductions

"Conduct Unbecoming" is a play of honour, mystery and romance. Written by Barry England, "Conduct Unbecoming" has all the potential to be a good, mysterious play. At the outset of the drama script we are introduced to two characters, Millington and Drake, who are throughout the book, contrasted with each other. Drake is made to seem optimistic, serious and very ambitious. Millington, on the other hand, is seen as slightly pessimistic, has a laid back attitude and has the desire to fail and be rejected. Act one ends with Millington being accused and arrested of a crime he seems oblivious to. - KA

"Conduct Unbecoming" is a play written by Barry England. It is set in India during the 1880s. It is about two young subalterns on probation in the army. The two main characters couldn't be more different. Milington, the son of a general is trying to make the worst possible impression on the officers of the regiment so he can get dismissed and go back to England. Drake, the son of a major wants to make the best possible impression and from the minute he and Milington arrive he is apprehensive that Millington's mocking and ironic behaviour will reflect badly on him. - AA

Linking paragraph

In this essay I aim to establish the contrasts between Drake and Millington. Firstly, I will look at the respect for tradition, then on to the differences in humour. I will look at their behaviour and manners. I will then look at their respect for women. Finally I will look at ambition of both Drake and Millington. - LJ

In my essay I aim to demonstrate how Millington and Drake are contrasted throughout act one. Firstly, I am going to do this by compparing their speech. I will go on to illustrate the differences in their actions and intereaction with other characters, and finally I will show how their backgrounds contrast and why this is important. - HI

Main Ideas

Millington is demonstrated in the play to be a troublemaker. He is a misogynist who likes to use and abuse women. - AP

Earnest Drake is contrasted with Millington's casual manner. - JM

Conclusions

Therefore, in conclusion, Drake and Millington are complete opposites. This is shown throughout Act one in their behaviour, actions, speech and thoughts towards the mess and people in it. Drake is generally earnest and formal, however Millington is generally casual and ignorant. I have proved that Millington and Drake are contrasted greatly throughout act one. Even so, they will be measured as one:
“Unfortunately, we shall be judged together” – MM