The Cone Gatherers Full Powerpoint Presentation

Here is the entire Powerpoint Presentation on The Cone Gatherers by Robin Jenkins.

S3 vocabulary list

emerge
engross
exasperation
exhilarate
falter
foresight
fragrance
furtive
gruelling
gusto
habitation
hasten
headway
ignite
illuminate
impending
imperious
jabber
jargon
jostle

S3 Word List

The words for this week are:

destination
diminish
disdain
dismal
dispel
eavesdrop
egregious
ember
confound
preach
profitable
chignon
indignant
spindly
admonish
interminable
flounce
insolent

S3 Vocabulary List

This is the list of words given today. You should find out the meanings of these words and record them in your vocabulary book. These will be tested next Thursday, 21/11/13.

adversary
aplomb
apprehensive
aptitude
attentive
banish
barricade
bluff (as a verb)
brackish
brandish
circumference
commotion
concoction
conspicuous
contortion
counter (as a verb)
cunning
debris
defiance
deft

A dictionary is a useful book to own, but a smartphone app may be more convenient for school. This combined dictionary/thesaurus from dictionary.com is free and should be useful.

Higher Critical Essay Homework

To be handed in 18/11/13 and returned to you no later than 29/11/13.

Choose a play in which the relationship between a male and a female character changes significantly.
Show how the relationship between the two characters changes and discuss to what extent this illuminates a central idea of the play. - 2007 Higher paper.

You should treat both halves of the question equally, i.e. demonstrate the change in the relationship between Macbeth and his wife AND devote an equal amount of time to showing how this illuminates a central theme.

You will find a lot of references to the relationship in Act 1 Scene 5, Act 1 Scene 7, Act 2 Scene 2, Act 2 Scene 3, Act 3 Scene 1, Act 3 Scene 2, Act 3 Scene 4, Act 5 Scene 1 and Act 5 Scene 5.

You should first of all decide which theme you think the breakdown of this relationship illuminates. For example, you might decide to argue that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship mirrors Macbeth's downfall in the play.

You might like to listen to the Lady Macbeth podcast and the podcast on Macbeth's tragic end.

As a general rule, your essays should be roughly two sides of A4 long if typed at font size 12, and approximately 3 or 4 sides long if hand-written (depending on the size of your writing.)

It is important that your essay is completed by the deadline, as we will be conducting self/peer assessments on the essays and you will not get the benefit of this if they are late.

I will hold a drop-in on Thursday (14/11/13) lunchtime for anyone having problems planning/writing this.

Higher - The Cone Gatherers: Chapters 1 and 2

Higher: Macbeth Revision Powerpoint

Quote of the Month, August 2013

The new, slightly belated, quote for August is now up on the right. This month's quote is from Douglas Adams, author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Since we are at the start of the school year, I could have selected one of his other famous quotes:

Holiday Homework Round-Up

All classes from third year up have homework over the summer holidays. Don't forget! Everything is due on the first day back in August: 

20/8/13

Third Year

Your homework is to complete your perfect murder story. Remember the structure (a couple of posts down) and also remember the length - no less than three jotter pages and no more than four. You can type the story instead if you like; in that case aim for 600-800 words.

Fourth Year

Your main focus should be on completing your Added Value Unit. You will by now have read your books, or will be well into them at the least. For August, you need to complete the yellow booklet and hand that in with your 700-800 word essay on your two books.

Higher

You guys have a lot to do over the summer, so don't leave it all to the last minute!

1) Complete your planning sheet and first draft of your short story for your folio. Word limits are 650 words minimum, 1300 words maximum.

2) Read Macbeth. Didn't get a copy? Look at the Higher tab above for a link to the edition I recommend. If you're really stuck though, read it online.

3) Complete the non-fiction reading record booklet. You need to show me that you have read one newspaper article per weekday during the holidays, so that's a minimum of 35 pages of the booklet completed. There are extra sheets in the booklet. Lost your booklet? No problem! Download another copy here.

Intermediate 2

You need to complete the first draft of your reflective essay for your folio. Word limits are 500 words minimum and 1000 words maximum. See a couple of posts down for the planning sheet, which you should hand in with the essay in August.

Need help?

I will be unavailable for the first three weeks of the school holidays, but will be replying to emails from Monday July 22nd onward. You can reach me at missfyvie@live.co.uk

Have a great holiday everyone, and come back in August ready to work hard! :-)

Reflective Writing

The Intermediate 2 class is currently writing a first draft of a reflective essay for their folio of writing.

Click here to download a copy of the planning sheet.

Short Story Structure

Over the last few days, the S3s and the Higher class have been looking at short story structure. Writing a short story is like climbing a mountain: you start at the bottom by introducing the characters, then climb through the complications of the story to the climax. Then you resolve the loose ends on the way back down, ready for the twist ending.

Here is an example structure of a murder story called Ice.

Lamb to the Slaughter

This week the S3 class has been reading 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dahl. This is a story about what seems to be a perfect murder.

Next week, we'll be writing our own perfect murder stories. Try to think of some ideas for how a 'perfect' murder could be committed. We have talked about some famous literary murder mysteries in class. We've also talked about some of the scientific ways that police investigate crimes. I can't wait to see what all of you come up with!

If you'd like, you can watch a TV adaptation of Roald Dahl's short story on Youtube.

S4 Loneliness Project

After reading John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, I asked the class to do a project on the theme of loneliness. The question was 'What is loneliness?'

The class came up with a huge variety of responses including paintings, stories, poems, reports, photo essays, collages, a song (see below) and even a game (also see below.) The results are now displayed in the English corridor, in the large display board next to Mr Dolan's classroom. Come and take a look!

Click to embiggen

Listen to Fraser playing his composition.

Download Angus's game.
Instructions: When you click on the above link you will be taken to a folder that contains all the game files. To download, click on 'File' and then 'Download'. This will download a zip file which contains all the files you need. Extract these files into a folder and then double click on 'loneliness.exe' to launch the game.

Please note: this file has been tested and scanned for viruses, but should be downloaded at your own risk.

Saving Private Ryan

New Higher class - Saving Private Ryan is on Film4 tomorrow night (June 7th) at 9pm. Set your Sky+ boxes!

Quote of the Month, June 2013

To the right you'll see my Quote of the Month for June 2013. This was suggested by Seoras from S2. Roald Dahl is an endlessly quotable author, and this particular quote appeals to me because I think everyone needs a little silliness in their life. Absurdity is one of my favourite things.

S2 Burrowing Owl Posters

On Thursday, the 2nd years created a poster about the burrowing owls from Carl Hiaasen's novel Hoot.

The success criteria for the poster were: 1) All relevant information displayed 2) Eyecatching 3) Contact information clearly displayed 4) All words spelled correctly.

The top three posters, as judged by Miss O'Boyle, Miss McCulloch and Miss Tweedie were:

By Elaine

by Anna

by Ruth

Well done you three!

How to Write a Critical Essay

Critical essays from missfyvie

Quote of the Month, May 2013

To the right you will see my Quote of the Month for May 2013. This quote is from one of my favourite children's books, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. It is about a toy rabbit who is so loved by a child that he becomes more than just a toy. It's a beautiful story about hope, joy, and the transformative power of love, and you can read it online here, courtesy of The University of Pennsylvania's Digital Library Project.

There will be a new Quote of the Month on the 1st of June. Feel free to leave a comment if you have a suggestion.