Friday, January 29, 2010

Welcome to English 20-1.
Due to the fact that I am marking this year's Part A's in the city, I am not here. Instead, you are on this site learning how to get information and contact me away from class.

First of all, in case you don't know me, my name is Dawn Benoit. I have been a teacher since 2002. For most of that time, I have worked at this school and, for the most part, my experience has been in English instruction. Prior to becoming a teacher, I was a journalist (and editor), so you can rest assured that I know how to help you figure out essays.

If you check this site daily, you will discover that I do update it after every class. In other words, if you are absent, you can look here and find out what we've done.

What most students do is add this site to their "favourites" on their computer at home.

My school email address is: dawn.benoit@nlsd.ab.ca

My home phone number is: 780 826-8931.

If you are absent, you have no real excuse for not doing your work... this site and these numbers will make that task a lot less painful.

For today, I want you all to do the following:
* Get into groups of three (preferably of people you like or would hang with)
* Write me a letter of introduction including information on all of you. Outline the following:
* your names
* where you live (in town, Glendon, etc)
* email addresses where you can be contacted
* your favourite genres of movies (also, name a couple and explain
why)
* a list of the books you have all read since entering high school (novels... for
school or personal reading) and favourites (as well as an explanation as to why they are favourites)
BRAINSTORM TO GET THIS ONE... THAT'S WHY GROUPS
ARE GOOD
* Explain what areas you have concerns about in relation to this
course
* Ask me at least three questions so I can get back to you on
Monday
* Mail this letter to me via my Internet address
* be REALLY sure that you have checked spelling, punctuation, etc.,
as I will be looking for them.


Once you have finished, I want you to stay in the same groups and, using each other's brains, come up with examples of the following (you can create sentences or give examples of when you have seen it used):
1. Foreshadowing
2. Allusion
3. Stereotype
4. personification
5. conflict
6. protagonist
7. antagonist
8. cliffhanger
9. Stock character
10. symbol
11. metaphor
12. simile
13. apostrophe
14. paradox

These are due for Monday. If you know of a student who is enrolled in this course but wasn't here today, let them know. I will be giving a "zero" if they do not complete it and the absence was not excused.