"Dulce Et Decorum Est"

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, we spent some time analyzing the poem "Dulce Et Decorum Est," considering aspects such as figurative language, sound devices, imagery, setting, structure and theme.  Students were given a chart to fill out, as preparation for the paragraph that will be written in class on Thursday and Friday.  If you missed class and require a copy of the chart, you can find a link at the side here.

I will be providing students with three topics to select from, and paragraphs will be evaluated using the "Stand-Alone Text" rubric from the Provincial Exam.

Homework for Monday/Tuesday is to read "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke and complete the chart.  We will be beginning a lesson on synthesis writing next week, and you will need to have read and thought about the poem in order to participate.

"Death Over Water"

We spent the past two classes reading and annotating a poem from a past Provincial Exam, called "Death Over Water."  We read the poem, and wrote our thinking on the page, first.  Then, I distributed multiple choice questions and students completed them.  We then went over the answers.  Then, I distributed the stand-alone text question that was given for this poem, and students generated a topic sentence in response to the question, as well as a list of textual evidence they would have used, if they had been writing a response.  We also went over these ideas.

Finally, I provided student sample responses to the paragraph topic, and I had them read over each student response.  Students were given a copy of the stand-alone text assessment rubric, and using the descriptions on the rubric, students gave each sample response a mark out of 6.  They also were asked to match the comment given by the markers for each response.  We discussed the features of the responses that were awarded 3s and 4s, and how they differed from those that scored 5s and 6s.

Students should anticipate a stand-alone text paragraph assignment after Spring Break.