Neil Quotes Pages 5&6

"Alone Neil would have been in trouble; he was as dependant on his brother as if he was blind."

"Neil had said little in reply, but had faced up to the gun raised once or twice to emphasise threats."

As he knelt, sobbing in his quandary, the rabbit's squeals brought Neil rushing back. 'Are you daft right enough?' shouted Neil, dragging him to his feet. His voice, with it's anger, sounded forlon amidst the tall dark trees, 'Didn't you promise to leave them alone?' 'It's just one Neil. It's legs are broken.' 'And what if they are? Are you such a child you're going to cry because a rabbit's legs are broken in a snare? Will you never grow up, Calum? You're a man of thirty-one, not a child of ten.' "

Thursday 28th October

In english today we read the rest of chapter 1 from 'the cone gathers'. From what we read that period we found out what the brothers, Neil and Callum, look like. We found out that Callum had a humpback but he has a beautiful face. Neil is tall and thin with grey hair. We aslo wrote down some valuable quotes from the first chapter that we will be able to use in our essays that we will be doing on this book.

TUESDAY, 22nd SEPTEMBER

Today in English we looked at the different types of questions that will be in the Higher exam paper. They are Understanding, Analysis and Evaluation.
Understanding - WHAT is the writer saying ?
Analysis - HOW is the writer saying it ?
Evaluating - HOW WELL is the writer saying it ?

18th September 2009

In todays english class we learned about,
P - Point
E - Evidence
E - Explain
L - Link
We also defined the significance of all exam techniques using crackers and cheese. We also used a caribena and some string to help us understand about the linking sentences (Looping Sentences) and about each part of every paragraph.

Thursday's Lesson - 17/9/9

Today we talked about Sonnet 73 and we looked at siblance and why it is used in the line.
"Death's second self that seals up all in rest"
we looked at how each metaphor is developed from each stanza and why it ends in a couplet.

Monday, 14th September

Today's lesson was intended to get us to teach one another all about the poems we researched last week. Ross and Alesha won the competition and we all got stars.

Thy' Loaf O' Bread.

Thy’ Loaf O’ Bread.

Oh bread oh bread oh ye’ bread,
How lovely ye’ may be.
For now you are fresh,
For tomorrow you may be stale.

That male, oh how he kneaded you.
You are my yeast,
You make me rise.
If I get you it will be the ultimate prize.

I could be the filling in your sandwich,
When I’m with you, I feel rich.
For you, I would take an oath,
For you, are my daily loaf

S.R, N.E, L.C, S.B, K.B.

Carpe Diem. NB & LMc

Oh ye rosebud
so beautiful and moist
As your roots tangle amongst others
on to you mine body foist.

Thee cannot await your smell
now you are a beautiful bluebell
We must hurry before autumn arrives
we have to do it before the suns arrise.

As i take your hand
in holy matrimony
the doves all sing
in perfect harmony.

Oh ye bluebell
once beautiful and moist
i await you once more
for now i cant foist.

For now thee will party
and try to waste time
for when i reach heaven
you will be mine.

Carpe Diem Poems

I saw a deer the other day
It reminded me of you
I love deer
I love you

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.

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.

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.

"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,

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.

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?

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

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

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.

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

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!