E10 oct27 2010

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

Literature: Intro to the Novel

Housekeeping• Exams will be marked by next week.

• If you missed the exam or any other in-class work, you need to speak with me about if and how you can make that work up.

• REMEMBER, if you miss class, you are expected to review the slides and other material on the website and complete the homework. If you have viewed the website and still have questions, THEN, you can ask me for clarification.

• Due today: Practice Process Paragraph

• Monday: In-class Process Paragraph worth /20 marks

Novel – Introductory Activities

What are some assumptions or stereotypes people have (or have had) about you based on your race, nationality or other characteristics? Write your thoughts in a sentence or two.

Some definitions

• Assumption: A judgement about someone or something made without knowledge.

• Stereotype: A commonly held oversimplified judgment or bias of a person or group.

Novel – Introductory Activities

Stereotypes might have a small seed of truth to them, but they are not the whole truth and they blind us to each individual’s uniqueness.

Novel – Introductory Activities

Look at the front cover of the novel. Based on the text and illustrations, what do you think it might be about? Discuss with your neighbour.

Novel – Introductory Activities

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”

Images = toy cowboy and indian

Novel – Introductory ActivitiesWhat do you “know” about North American Indians (Aboriginals)? (Student responses below include both facts and assumptions).

-first people in Canada (North America)-mass killings of Indians by European conquerors-most of them are alcoholics/drug addicts-government gives them money-good at carving-some are tax exempt have some other special privileges-have casinos on reserves-they lived on reservations; children studied in reservation schools-traditional hunting and fishing-had many great civilizations in the past-very strong spiritual and religious beliefs-had a matriarchal society; women were the leaders and have the power-if a woman married a non-aboriginal person she lost her status (due to a Canadian Law)-could not vote until around 1958--used to live in tribes; belong to tribes

Introduction to the Novel

• This novel contains a bit of mature subject matter, including: – some swearing– mild references to sex and sexual activities

• The author’s decision to include these things is not gratuitous; it is to make the character and story authentic.

Some definitions

• Gratuitous (adj.): done for no reason other than entertainment or shock value

• Authentic (adj.): not fake; real, genuine

• Authenticity (n.): the quality of being real

Some Pre-reading Vocabulary

• cerebral (adj.) – having to do with the brain

Ex: The patient had a cerebral hemorrage.Ex: My friend Jerry is very cerebral;he likes to read philosophy books.

• lobes (n.) – part of the brain; any rounded body part (ex: ear lobes)

Ex: His ear lobes were very round and fat.

• croak (v.) – slang for “die”

Ex: I want to see the world before I croak.

Some Pre-reading Vocabulary (Cont’d.)

• seizures (n.) – a short, temporary period of abnormal brain activity during which a person may move uncontrollably and seem to be “out of it.”

Ex: My friend’s daughter had a seizure yesterday; she started to shake and did not respond to our questions.

• susceptible (adj.) – vulnerable, at risk

Ex: Someone who has a weak immune system is very susceptible to getting colds and flus.

Some Pre-reading Vocabulary (Cont’d.)

• retard (n.) – negative slang for someone who is mentally slow

Ex: She was upset when her friend called her a retard for tripping over the carpet.

• reservation (n.) – land set aside for aboriginal people

• rez (n.) – slang for reservation

Ex: He had lived on the rez for his whole life and didn’t know much about the outside world.

Chapter 1: The Black Eye of the Month Club

• The title is a play on words of the phrase “Book of the Month Club.”

• Before the Internet and Amazon.com existed, people joined mail order book clubs that sent them one new book a month.

Journal Response

What are your reactions to the story so far? (Refer to the fiction questions on the inside cover of your journal if you are unsure how to begin.)

*Brief* Discussion

• So far, what are your reactions to this story? • How is it similar/different than what you

expected?• What questions do you have?

True Diary – Literary Elements

• Narrator• Point of View

True Diary – Literary Elements• Main Character (Protagonist)

• How does he describe himself?

– physically

• looks like a capital L• crowded mouth; too many teeth• has ugly glasses• pronounciation problems (stuttering/lisping)• seizures and related medical problems

– personality• he wants to survive and become famous• smart, funny• ambitious• optimistic• good artist

True Diary – Literary Elements

• What do others say about him?– they call him a retard and globe– he gets picked on

• What do his way of speaking and his actions show about him?– sarcastic and self-deprecating – protecting himself– artistic, creative– stays inside, solitary, afraid– talks about his family and best friend – important to him

Character Assignment (Part 1)

• Each student will be responsible for taking notes on Junior plus one other character. See handout. Due November 17th.

• NOTE: this work must be brought to class for further work, not submitted online.

Vocabulary Assignment, p. 1-98

The handout contains 35 words.

You are responsible for the underlined words.

Assignment: Write a paragraph using the 10 underlined words in a short paragraph. Make sure your sentences show the meaning of the word clearly and fully. Underline each vocabulary word in the finished paragraph.

Due: Wednesday, November 3rd.

Assigned Words1. articulate (adj., v.) (adj.) expressed clearly; (v.) to express

clearly

Ex: She is a very articluate speaker; I always understand her points clearly.

Ex: Can you articulate your question so I can understand it.

2. decrepit (adj.) old, worn out, weak, broken

Ex: The haunted house was the most decrepit I’d ever seen; all its windows were broken.

3. hypothermic (adj.) when your core temperature is 33 degrees Celsius or less you are hypothermic

Ex: The young boy was hypothermic when after falling out of the boat and being in the water for 40 minutes.

4. lopsided (adj.) uneven

Ex: He was very depressed about his lopsided haircut. One side was much longer than the other.

5. perseverance (n.) the ability to keep going or trying through obstacles or difficult circumstances

Ex: He showed a lot of perseverance by continuing with his studies even though he had many other problems in his life.

Ex: You need a lot of perseverance to achieve your dreams.

6. redundancy (n.) needless repetition

redundant (adj.)

Ex: His advice to study was a redundancy as I had already studied four hours last night.

Ex: His advice was redundant.

7. reservation (n.) land set aside for aboriginal people

See the example in the pre-reading vocabulary

8. rummage (v.) to search by moving things around

Ex: He was rummaging around in the car’s glove compartment for his sunglasses.

Ex: I rummaged through the drawer looking for a pen.

9. susceptible (adj.) vulnerable, at risk

10. yelped (v, pt) gave out a sharp cry, shrieked

Ex: My dog yelped when I stepped on its tail.

Homework

For Wednesday, Nov. 3rd

1. Novel: • Read up to and including p. 98. There will be a short quiz at the

beginning of class Wednesday. Missed quizzes cannot be made up at a later date!

• Make notes on key events, new vocabulary, etc.• Write a vocabulary paragraph with the 10 underlined words on the

vocabulary handout for pages 1-98.