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Welcome to ENG4C. Ms Davis. ENG4C. The pre-requisite is ENG3C This course, or ENG4U, is required for admission into college.
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Welcome to ENG4C Ms Davis
ENG4C • The pre-requisite is ENG3C • This course, or ENG4U, is required for admission into college. • Colleges require it because they recognize that the abilities to read and write well, listen and speak well, and to think critically are important in all college programs.
Course Outline • This course emphasizes the consolidation of literacy, communication, and critical and creative thinking skills necessary for success in academic and daily life. Students will analyse a variety of informational and graphic texts, as well as literary texts from various countries and cultures, and create oral, written, and media texts in a variety of forms for practical and academic purposes. An important focus will be on using language with precision and clarity and developing greater control in writing. The course is intended to prepare students for college or the workplace.
Other Course Work • Informal writing (the best of each week’s will be evaluated)– after break each day. • Writing conventions lessons and worksheets– first thing we do each morning.
Big idea of the course Identity We are always telling stories about ourselves to ourselves and others. These stories explain who we are. We can’t help it: we remember some events and not others. We interpret and re-interpret ourselves all of the time.
Summative • 15%-- exam– a sight passage like the short story test, and an essay connecting it to the major course works. • 15%-- ISU
Group Agreements • Being an English class, this needs to be an environment where everyone can: • Read and work independently • Share ideas • Listen • What agreements do we need to have so that this is a comfortable, pleasant, and productive place for everyone to work?
The children worked long and hard on their little cardboard shack.It was to be a special spot---a clubhouse, where they could meet together, play, and have fun.Since a clubhouse has to have rules, they came up with three:
What does that mean? • With your group, write what this looks like in a classroom--
In other words… • Recognize that you are important– you have experiences and ideas others can learn from. You have given things up and worked hard to get here, and so, you deserve to get the most out of this learning opportunity. • Your classmates are also important– they have things to teach you and they deserve to get the most out of this learning opportunity.
As in every class: • Act responsibly. Your teacher will make many efforts to help you learn but no one can make you learn. Bring your pen, paper, binder and textbook. Be pro-active when you have a problem by problem-solving and asking for help.
Come to class. Ideas are built upon each other in a course like bricks in a building and when a brick is missing, the building isn’t stable. If you must miss a class, see the teacher ahead of time, ask a classmate to take notes, and make sure you get missed work, ideas, and information.
Be brave. Learning is hard: you don’t learn unless you are challenged, and being challenged means you will make mistakes. The brain is like a muscle. • You have wisdom and experiences worth sharing. • If you have a question because you tried your best to understand and want to understand better, asking it will contribute to the discussion, and chances are someone else was too shy to ask the same thing. • Don’t cheat: you have ideas— think them and submit your own work. • Have faith in yourself– you’ve come a long way.
Be humble. Everyone else has wisdom, too. Opening your mind to new ideas and examining your own ideas is essential for learning. Be patient with others when they understand more slowly than you and encourage them to do their own work and develop their own ideas.
Respect this as a learning opportunity. Your time is valuable to you. Other people’s time is valuable to them. Help yourself do your best and help them make the best of their time. The purpose of group work is to make the work more interesting, let you learn from each other, and learn from teaching others.
Focus. All of the science indicates that the brain is very bad at multi-tasking. Doing other things while studying/reading/writing means you will spend a lot of time without getting much accomplished or achieving high quality. • Put your cellphone away during class to give yourself the best opportunity to learn. • It is impolite to answer a call in class. • Your instructor and classmates cannot be expected to repeat instructions because you were distracted by your cellphone.
In English class in particular: • Read.You cannot do well if you haven’t read the texts (novel, play, etc.) carefully yourself. • Cole’s Notes and Spark Notes are not replacements for reading and thinking and are not recommended. You could fail the course if you hand them in as your own work. • Reading for pleasure is the best way to improve your vocabulary and grammar.
Use reading strategies. Ask yourself questions when you read to be sure you understand and are making connections. Look deeper into the meaning of the text. Take notes when you read (Ms Davis will tell you how to do this).
Read the question, the assignment, and the rubric carefully.Be sure you know how your work will be evaluated. • Reading the question shows your reading comprehension.
Make meaningful connections.You don’t have to share your deepest secrets, but you do have to show that you can apply the ideas in the text to what you already know. You’re having a conversation with the writer and other readers: show them that you have thought about it and have interesting insights into it.
Use the writing process: • Even professional writers brainstorm, plan, revise, and proofread. • Without brainstorming, a paper only gives obvious and boring ideas. • Without planning, a paper is disorganized, confusing, and not convincing. • Without revising and proofreading, it is messy and hard to read. • Your ideas deserve clear thought and careful expression.
Isn’t English all subjective? • People often complain that English isn’t like other subjects because it is subjective. • But a good paper is a good paper, and English teachers can recognize that. • There are many criteria for good writing and presentations. • There are many reasonable answers to deep questions. • However, some ideas are very hard to support convincingly.
Have Fun • Your teacher will give you choice and open-ended questions. • Pick issues that are important to you and will help you grow as a thinker.
Ice Breaker • In all storytelling, fictional or non-fictional, the writer has to pick some details and leave others out. • Think: • Individually, write down the first words you think of to describe the person in this picture:
Pair • Share your words with a partner.
Pair • Were your partner’s words different than yours?
Share • Share your words with the class. • Scary – Deep in though -- Scared -- Sad • Lost/ thinking about the past /homeless • Aggressive -- Beautiful -- Serious • On edge -- fearful –angry -- hungry • Poor
Findings • What factors went into the words we chose? • -- background knowledge • -- our personal connections • --
The Essential Me Write a three word autobiography Describe yourself in just three words. Obviously, there are a lot of things you have to choose to keep out. Please write yours on your nametag.
Our autobiographies • Ms Davis: Warm, tender-hearted, teacher/writer • Zoya– Out-going, carefree, honest • Mitchell– Family, respect, knowledge • Mica– Respectful, healthy, outgoing • Andre– friendly, helpful, romantic • Jamil– Lovely, respectful, friendly • Kayana– Friendly, helpful, kind • Madiha– care-taker, out-going, fashion-lover • Hassan– passionate, curious, honest • Abdul– loyal, respectful, honest • Selena– kind, helpful, laid-back • Stephanie– spontaneous, caring, honest • Jennifer– honest, caring, respectful • Jeremy– humble, intelligent, open-minded • Edwin– good-hearted, positive, honest • Caitlyn– artistic, motivated, family oriented • Kugan– friendly, loyal, honest • Janaki– friendly, organized, hard-worker • Nataliya– family, work, education • Ochuko– happy, respectful, passion • Georges– integrity, adventurous, understanding • Ricky– down to earth, modest, protective
What did you experience doing this exercise? • -- audience • -- opening up– • -- not enough words– too many important things edited out– doesn’t allow for your full complexity • -- tells us a lot about what we value • -- made you focus on your strengths– people focused on the positive • -- culture and religion influence what we pick
Letter • Write a letter to your teacher. • Use formal letter writing format. • The purposes of this assignment are: • To help me get to know you. • To learn formal letter format. • To communicate to your teacher what she can do to help you be successful. • To reflect upon what you need to do to be successful. • DUE Wednesday, July 4(does not need to be typed but needs to be your best writing and clear to read)
A metaphor • Usually when we write, our ideas are very organized. • In a good essay, one idea leads to another in a very orderly manner. • But our ideas don’t come to us in such an orderly way. • They flow over us, like water in a stream. • One idea leads to another, then passes away. • Steam of consciousness writing tracks that flow of ideas.
Stream of Consciousness Writing • The best way to improve your writing is to write. • Monday- Thursday, we will write based on a prompt (a quotation, picture, music piece) for 10 minutes. • The idea is to capture that stream of ideas you have in response to the prompt. • Do not plan or edit yet-- just write for 10 minutes.
Stream of Consciousness Writing • Every Friday, you will pick your best piece of the four. • Re-write and edit it for evaluation on Mondays. • Write the prompt number and the date on the top of each prompt.
Writing Prompt #1 • He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. • Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism 146German philosopher (1844 - 1900)
