Monday - Period 5

Activities:

1. If you are yet to post a response to Friday's activity, please do so this lesson. (Make sure you click on the link for the post below - not this one.)
2. Deconstruction revision - choose one of the following poems and complete the deconstruction table provided in class. (If, Puppy Mills, The Clock of Life, You Want a Social Life with Friends)
3. Viewing - Bruce Dawe profile video.

The Merchant of Venice - 20 points task due today.

Wednesday - Period 1

Merchant of Venice Activities:



If you have not completed your Voicethread recordings, make sure you have posted three (3) audio posts by the end of the lesson.

Next - compose a paragraph n response to the question: Shylock – is he a villain or a victim of the society he lives in? Please see Mrs Lans for paper to write on. To be submitted for marking at the end of the lesson or by Friday's lesson if not completed in class.

Homework: any of the above tasks not completed in class MUST be done for homework by Friday, 04/06/10.

Monday - Period 2

Casket Riddles - decipher the riddles for each of the gold, silver and lead caskets.  Consider the qualities that Portia's father is revealing in each of his riddles.  Make suitable notes for each in your book.

Using this information, record your responses in the Voicethread below.

Homework - Responses totalling 20 points (from the 42 point questions) due today.

Monday - Period 5

Activities:

Close study of each scene (continued) for relevance to plot, character, theme, and language used.  Completed in groups and shared.

Wednesday - Period 1

Activities:

Close study of each scene for relevance to plot, character, theme, and language used.

Monday - Period 2

Speech presentations were finished on Friday.  Without exception each of you spoke well and effectively presented your identity ideas.  Well done to you all.

Activities:  (The Merchant of Venice)

1.  Completion and submission of identify paragraphs (15 minutes only).
2.  Close study of Shylock's monologue.

Wednesday - Period 1 & Friday - Period 3

Activities:

1.  Text/reader/world questions completed.  Feedback to class.
2.  Paragraph writing - Two paragraphs in response to the following question:
In 'The Merchant of Venice', Shakespeare considers the values of mercy and friendship and the actions of prejudice and revenge.  Choose one value and one action and examine his representation of these themes.


Homework:  42 Point Question responses (totalling 20 points) due on 31/5/10.  'Article of the Week' due Monday, 10/5/10. 


SPEECH PRESENTATIONS - in class Week 4 (starting Monday).

Monday - Period 2

Activities:

Themes - text/reader/world questions and answers devised for the themes of: prejudice, friendship, mercy.

Remember:

Knowledge of the text being read	Text
Personal response to the text	Reader
Knowledge of the world and other texts	World

So you will need questions for the following:  text, text/reader, reader, reader/world, world, world/text

Homework:  Remember to be working on questions totalling 20 points from the '42 points' sheet.

Friday - Period 3

Assessment task transcript sumbitted.

Activities:
1.  Backchannelling and Wallwisher responses examined.
2.  Conflict - types of conflict and their meaning identified.
3.  Text/Reader/Word - questions modelled/devised on the theme of revenge.

Don't forget to take a look at your entries in the 'What Matters?' writing competition which have been compiled into an online booklet.  You can check it out on the top right of this page.


Homework:  Over the next week make sure you rehearse your speech to ensure you meet the time limit/requirement of the assessment task.  Your '42 Point Questions' is due later in the unit and still requires your attention.

Tuesday - Period 3

Monday's lesson lost due to public holiday.
Homework:  Assessment Task #2 - transcript due on Friday, 30/4/10.  Presentation of speech in Week 4.  'Article of the Week' homework will resume in Week 3.

Tuesday's Activities:

1.  Setting:  Venice & Belmont
2.  Characters:  Summary paragraph for Antonio.
3.  Characters:  Relevance to plot and quotes to be recorded on Wallwisher for both Shylock and Antonio

Friday - Period 3

Activities:

1.  Five act play structure examined.  MOV mapped to Freytag's dramatic structure.
2.  Backchannelling:  initial discussions around Shylock

Homework:  Assessment Task # 2 (Identity Speech) transcript is due on 30/4/10.  Make sure you have started work on this, giving yourself enough time to rehearse your speech and modify it if timing is a factor.  Remember you need to focus on 'challenges' to identity and how they can be seen in 'Mona Lisa Smile' and a text of your choosing.  See the mind map on the post below dated 24/3/10 for guidance.
You must identify and comment on the effectiveness of the techniques the filmmaker has used to give you these messages.  These can be found in your classnotes.  Two-thirds of your speech should address the film and one third the related text.

Wednesday - Period 1

Activities:

1.  Essential questions:

§  How far would you be willing to go for a friend?

§  What causes prejudice?

§  Does money bring happiness?

§  When are you obligated to break the rules?

2.  Jewish Stereotype

Homework:  42 Point Questions issued.  You are to complete tasks of your choice to the value of 20 points.  Responses can be completed in your book or handed in separately.  Due date: 31/05/10

Monday - Period 4

Activities:

1.  Parts A & B of Assessment Task #1 returned.
2.  Following items issued:  close study mind map, drama mind map, plot activity.
3.  Historical context of Shakespeare's 'The Merchant of Venice'

Homework:  Reminder to be working on your speech (formal assessment task) due in Week 2 (30/04/10).  Ensure that you time your speech before you submit the transcript.


Those students who are yet to submit their 'What Matters?' opinion piece must do so in Wednesday's lesson (21/04/10).

Close Study of Text - Term 2

Hopefully your reading of the abridged text of 'The Merchant of Venice' has not been troublesome.  As a heads up for our study of this text the mind map below details the areas we will look at as part of our close study.

Reminder:  Your 'What Matter's?' completed copy is due in our first lesson of the term.  It must be a digital copy and you can email it before then if ready.

Tuesday - Period 3

Activities:

1.  Rapid brainstorm of the identity concepts in Morton Rhue's novel, 'The Wave'.
2.  Paragraph writing
3.  Merchant of Venice abridged text and graphic novel issued.

See holiday homework on previous post.

Monday - Period 5

Activities:

1.  Identity Assessment Task for students who were absent on Friday.
2.  Writing:  paragraph writing using exemplar as a model for paragraphs on 'Mona Lisa Smile' and a related text.  The brainstorming done in Wednesday's lesson can be found in the blog post below.

Holiday homework: 
1.  'What Matters?' final copy to be completed.  Due on first lesson of Term 2 or emailed earlier if possible.  lansenglish@yahoo.com.au
2.  'The Merchant of Venice' abridged text to be read before the beginning of Term 2.  Post-reading quiz will take place in the first lesson.  For assistance in understanding the text, you can refer to the 'No Fear Shakespeare' online translation of the text.

• You can also download a free audio version from iTunes.  Use the 'Power Search' option and search for the title of the play.
• The BBC has some useful videos and information on the play which can be found here.