Here are your dates for your FOA. Check you calendar now to confirm that you can make these dates. If there is a reason why you cannot perform your FOA, you must inform me immediately.
Monday, December 12: Jelmer, Tim, Margot (35 minutes) / Santosh, Ben / Rick, Maxim (25 minutes each)
Wednesday, December 14: Rico, Jelmer / Yasmin E, Toloue / Robin, Megan (25 minutes each)
Thursday, December 15: Lisanne, Lisa, Femke (35 minutes)
Monday, December 19: Yasmin D, Sophie (25 minutes) / Karola (15 minutes) / Ben F, Alex (25 minutes)
Wednesday December 21: Simarjeet, Romée (25 minutes each)
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Rules for FOA as SE oral "Gespreksvaardigheid"
Ingrid and I have revisited the FOA rules, since the FOA also counts as the SE Spreek- en Gespreksvaardigheid. In order to accommodate this, your FOA must include at least 5 minutes per person of spontaneous dialog with each other, with me or with the class. This means:
FOA 1 person: 15 minutes (incl. 5 min. of dialog)
FOA 2 people: 25 minutes (incl. 10 min. of dialog)
FOA 3 people: 35 minutes (incl. 15 min. of dialog)
In addition, if you are using videoclips from the Internet, they may not take more than 5 minutes total, irrespective of the number of people in the FOA.
The only exception to this is a debate, in American or British parliamentary format (2 teams of 3 or 4 teams of 2).
We recognize that this may require you to re-think your FOA plans and therefore, we are moving the deadline for your FOA proposal to 10 November. Your proposal must include how you plan to implement the spontaneous dialog portion. Consider that if your plan requires my participation (or Ingrid's, for her class), then you must provide me with the contents of your FOA a few days before, so I can prepare, since I must also focus on assessing your FOA.
FOA 1 person: 15 minutes (incl. 5 min. of dialog)
FOA 2 people: 25 minutes (incl. 10 min. of dialog)
FOA 3 people: 35 minutes (incl. 15 min. of dialog)
In addition, if you are using videoclips from the Internet, they may not take more than 5 minutes total, irrespective of the number of people in the FOA.
The only exception to this is a debate, in American or British parliamentary format (2 teams of 3 or 4 teams of 2).
We recognize that this may require you to re-think your FOA plans and therefore, we are moving the deadline for your FOA proposal to 10 November. Your proposal must include how you plan to implement the spontaneous dialog portion. Consider that if your plan requires my participation (or Ingrid's, for her class), then you must provide me with the contents of your FOA a few days before, so I can prepare, since I must also focus on assessing your FOA.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Thursday, September 22, 2016
SCASI questions for Monday, September 26th
Field Trip
• (Setting) What
features of the setting does Tim O’Brien draw our attention to? Why does he
choose those, particularly?
•
(Character) How does he use Kathleen?
• (Action) What
brief moments of suspense does Tim O’Brien create? Why do they come to nothing?
•
(Style) How does Tim O’Brien effectively
interweave narrative, dialogue and analysis here?
• (Ideas) Does
this story represent an act of closure? Is it complete closure?
The Ghost Soldiers
• (Setting) Does
Tim O’Brien attempt to create a truly supernatural setting here? Does he
succeed?
•
(Character) Show how, as the narrator’s
character fades into ghostliness in this story, Azar emerges as if from inside
him, and takes over.
•
(Action) What, in the way the narrative is
handled, makes The Ghost Soldiers more of a ‘conventional’ short story than
most of the other stories in the collection?
• (Style)
Consider the different examples of humour in this story. What do they add to
it?
•
(Ideas) What are the ironies of the story?
Night Life
•
(Setting, Style) How does Tim O’Brien convey
the intensity of the night’s blackness?
•
(Character) In what ways is Rat Kiley treated
sympathetically both by the writer and by his comrades?
• (Action) How
does Tim O’Brien prepare us for the outcome of this episode? Is there any
surprise in that outcome?
•
(Ideas) What does this story suggest about the
power of the human imagination?
The Lives of the Dead
•
(Setting) In what ways does life after death
seem to be more real than life before it?
•
(Character) How does Timmy show his sensitivity
as a child? How is that sensitivity reflected in his adult responses to the
experience of war?
•
(Action) How in this story do we see a process
of drawing-together taking place?
• (Style) ‘We can
use similes to capture the intensity of a perception or to explore and explain
complex experiences.’ Illustrate that comment from The Lives of the Dead.
•
(Ideas) Explain how, as Tim O’Brien sees it,
stories can ‘save us’.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
SCASI questions for Wednesday Sept 21
Speaking of Courage
•
(Setting, Style) What contrasts does Tim
O’Brien establish between the lake and the swampy field where the platoon
camped? How do features of his style help point up the contrasts?
•
(Character) In what different ways is Norman
Bowker detached?
•
(Action) How does Bowker’s repeated drive
around the lake give the story both its shape and its symbolism?
•
(Ideas) What does this story have to say about
the nature of courage?
Notes
•
(Setting) What sense does this account give of
the America to which the platoon has returned?
•
(Character) How does Tim O’Brien’s own
character emerge in the narrative?
•
(Action, Style) What contributions do the
extracts from Norma Bowker’s letter make to the piece?
•
(Ideas) Tim O’Brien has set out the account as
if it is a story in its own right. What features in it would allow us to accept
it as such?
In the Field
•
(Setting, Style) What effect do the references
to the golf course, and the style in which they are made, have on us as we
read?
•
(Character) How does Tim O’Brien establish and
sustain a sense of Kiowa’s character?
•
(Action) What effect do the switches of
viewpoint in the narrative have?
•
(Ideas) How does the theme of loss run through
this story?
Good Form
•
(Setting) What effect is produced here by the
single detail of setting (‘He lay in the centre of a red clay trail near the
village of My Khe’)?
•
(Character) Why does Tim O’Brien bring Kathleen
into this account?
•
(Action) How in this story does Tim O’Brien set
past against present?
•
(Style) How does Tim O’Brien use language to
shock us here?
•
(Ideas) Explain the paradox of the story’s
final two paragraphs.
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
SCASI questions for September 20
Speaking of Courage
•
(Setting, Style) What contrasts does Tim
O’Brien establish between the lake and the swampy field where the platoon
camped? How do features of his style help point up the contrasts?
•
(Character) In what different ways is Norman
Bowker detached?
•
(Action) How does Bowker’s repeated drive
around the lake give the story both its shape and its symbolism?
•
(Ideas) What does this story have to say about
the nature of courage?
Notes
•
(Setting) What sense does this account give of
the America to which the platoon has returned?
•
(Character) How does Tim O’Brien’s own
character emerge in the narrative?
•
(Action, Style) What contributions do the
extracts from Norma Bowker’s letter make to the piece?
•
(Ideas) Tim O’Brien has set out the account as
if it is a story in its own right. What features in it would allow us to accept
it as such?
In the Field
•
(Setting, Style) What effect do the references
to the golf course, and the style in which they are made, have on us as we
read?
•
(Character) How does Tim O’Brien establish and
sustain a sense of Kiowa’s character?
•
(Action) What effect do the switches of
viewpoint in the narrative have?
•
(Ideas) How does the theme of loss run through
this story?
Good Form
•
(Setting) What effect is produced here by the
single detail of setting (‘He lay in the centre of a red clay trail near the
village of My Khe’)?
•
(Character) Why does Tim O’Brien bring Kathleen
into this account?
•
(Action) How in this story does Tim O’Brien set
past against present?
•
(Style) How does Tim O’Brien use language to
shock us here?
•
(Ideas) Explain the paradox of the story’s
final two paragraphs.
Friday, September 9, 2016
SCASI questions for September 12
How to Tell a True War Story
•
(Setting) What does the fog symbolize?
•
(Character) ‘Nothing in his life Became him like
the leaving it’ (Macbeth)
In what way might that be said of Curt Lemon? How is what we might see as the essence of his and Rat Kiley’s characters revealed in this brief episode?
In what way might that be said of Curt Lemon? How is what we might see as the essence of his and Rat Kiley’s characters revealed in this brief episode?
•
(Action) This story appears to ramble at times.
What ties its different parts together?
•
(Style) What effects do the shifts of tense
produce?
•
(Ideas) Identify the paradoxes in this story,
and attempt to explain them.
The Dentist
•
(Setting) What view is taken here of the
military structure within which the men operate?
•
(Character) Does it matter that some of this
information about Curt Lemon has already been given to us in the previous
chapter?
•
(Action) How does this story’s opening paragraph
help to explain what happens in its final one? How does that give the story
shape, and offer the reader a sense of closure?
•
(Style) Consider Tim O’Brien’s use of
colloquialisms (informal idiom) here.
•
(Ideas) How in telling this story does Tim
O’Brien attempt to ‘guard against’ sentimentality? Why does he, perhaps, see it
as important to do that?
The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
•
(Setting) ‘She had crossed to the other side.’
What is this ‘other side’ that Mary Anne may now inhabit?
•
(Character) Trace the steps of Mary Anne’s
transformation, and the impact it has on Fossie. Show how, as she becomes more
alive, he becomes less so.
•
(Action) ‘For Rat Kiley, I think, facts were formed
by sensation, not the other way around.’ How is Rat Kiley’s story-telling
affected by his personal closeness to the events he describes?
•
(Style) How justified is Sanders’ complaint that
Rat Kiley is wrecking the ‘tone’ of the story by his digressions? (As part of
your response, consider Sanders’ explanation of what he means by ‘tone’.)
•
(Ideas) If you have read Conrad’s Heart of
Darkness, discuss how some of its themes are echoed in this story. If you have
not, show how the story illustrates the idea that sometimes, in order to learn
new things, we must forget old ones.
Stockings
•
(Setting) In what way is America, rather than
Vietnam, a setting for this whole collection of stories? Does Tim O’Brien, in
this story, write about America with pride?
•
(Character) What mixed feelings towards Dobbins
does the platoon seem to have?
•
(Action) Explain the mechanics of the
anti-climax at the end of this story.
•
(Style) Analyse the rhythm and the flow of Tim
O’Brien’s prose here. What effect does it have, as we read?
•
(Ideas) What connection exists between
sentimentality and superstition, according this story?
Church
•
(Setting) Kiowa regards their decision to use
the pagoda as ‘just wrong’. Explain the meaning and force, here, of the phrase
‘just wrong’.
•
(Character) What connections emerge among the
four characters in the story?
•
(Action) Is it accurate to describe this story
as one in which nothing happens?
•
(Style) The novelist Elizabeth Bowen wrote,
‘DIALOGUE Must (1) Further Plot; (2) Express Character.’ Does the dialogue in
Church pass that test - or challenge its validity?
•
(Ideas) Why have Dobbins and Kiowa rejected
formal religion? What have they replaced it with?
The Man I Killed
•
(Setting) Does Tim O’Brien write about the My
Khe community sympathetically? Compare his representation of it with his
comments on America at the beginning of Stockings.
•
(Character) Where does all of this information
about the dead man come from? Does that raise questions about the storyteller’s
viewpoint?
•
(Action) What is the dramatic impact of Tim
O’Brien’s stillness and silence throughout this story?
•
(Style) Discuss the writer’s use of repetition
in this account.
•
(Ideas) What is suggested here about the power
of stories?
Ambush
•
(Setting) What is the predominant feature of
this story’s setting? What does it symbolise?
•
(Character) What does Tim O’Brien’s continuing
need to ‘sort out’ this event tell us about him?
•
(Action) Should this story have been placed
before The Man I Killed?
•
(Style) How does Tim O’Brien, through his
writing style, make these events real for us?
•
(Ideas) How is the insecurity of memory noted in
this story?
Style
•
(Setting) What effect is Tim O’Brien aiming for
in having the girl dance silently, and in mentioning no sound other than that
of the soldiers talking?
•
(Character) Is Henry Dobbins joking?
•
(Action) Why does Tim O’Brien have Lieutenant
Cross send the gunships away at quite an early point in the story?
•
(Style) How does Tim O’Brien suggest the
difference between the girl’s dancing and Azar’s?
•
(Ideas) Explain the story’s title.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Monday, September 5, 2016
SCASI questions through page 64
SCASI questions for Wednesday 7 September:
- •(Setting) What does the account of Norman Bowker’s and Henry Dobbins’ games of checkers contribute to the story?
- •(Character) How do the characters in this story demonstrate the different ways we have of dealing with a bad experience (both in living through it and in living with it afterwards)?
- •(Action) How does this story itself ‘put a spin’ on the war, and ‘make it dance’?
- •(Style) Discuss the effect of the ways in which Tim O’Brien opens his paragraphs in this story.
- •(Ideas) What does Tim O’Brien suggest here about the process and importance of story-telling?
- •(Setting) Examine the three landscapes Tim O’Brien establishes in this story – that of his home community, his own internal landscape, and the Rainy River setting where he must face his decision. How does Tim O’Brien use these three landscapes to give the story its tension?
- •(Character) What relationship does the narrator develop with us, his audience? What is the precise nature of the sympathy we may feel for him?
- •(Action) The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, ‘No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man's mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.’ How successful is Tim O’Brien in conveying to us the ‘plaguing’ nature of his personal experience?
- •(Style) ‘This wasn’t a daydream. It was tangible and real.’ What elements in Tim O’Brien’s style make some of the events he records in this story tangible and real?
- •(Ideas) In this situation, O’Brien writes, ‘Intellect had come up against emotion’. Trace the struggle between the two as it is recorded in the story.
- •(Setting) What part does ‘the rear’ play in the lives of the platoon?
- •(Character) Try to explain Jensen’s behaviour at key points in this episode.
- •(Action) What are the ironies in the story?
- •(Style) What tone does Tim O’Brien adopt in his narrative?
- •(Ideas) What does this story suggest about the nature and causes of human conflict? Does Tim O’Brien, perhaps, want us to extrapolate those ideas from the personal to the national?
- •(Setting) How do Jensen and Strunk try to create certainty in this uncertain situation?
- •(Character) How do we sympathise with the two men in different ways?
- •(Action) Can we fully understand this story if we have not read Enemies?
- •(Style) What is the effect of the story’s minimalist dialogue?
- •(Ideas) What does the story suggest about comradeship?
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Friday, August 26, 2016
The Things They Carried
The first work of literature we are reading in Part 3 is "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien.
Below is the table of contents of the book, together with a reading schedule:
Below is the table of contents of the book, together with a reading schedule:
- Things they carried
- Love
- Spin
- On the Rainy River
- Enemies
- Friends
- How to tell a true war story
- Dentist
- Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong
- Stockings
- Church
- The Man I killed
- Ambush
- Style
- Speaking of courage
- Notes
- In the field
- Good form
- Field trip
- Ghost soldiers
- Night life
- Lives of the dead.
5 September 2016:
12 September 2016:
19 September 2016:
26 September 2016:
Friday, July 22, 2016
Intro to year 6: Planning
10 november: deadline inschrijving IB examen
5-21 december: FOA jaar 6
16 februari: Laatste datum inlevering Written Tasks
3 en 4 mei 2017: IB examen
30 mei-15 juni: FOA jaar 5
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Film as text
Follow this link to view the presentation and to watch all the clips shown in class plus many more about how to analyze film.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Homework for May 17
Prepare a 10-minute analysis of the following passages. The analysis should discuss the symbols, motifs, tone as well as the importance of this passage to the entire play.
- From start of Act IV to "Enter Cassio"
- From "Exit Cassio" to "Othello retires"
- From "Othello retires" to "Enter Bianca"
- From "How shall I murder him, Iago" to "A trumpet within"
- From "[Striking her]Devil" to "I am sorry that I am deceived in him"
- From "What's the matter, lady" to "Exeunt Desdemona and Emilia"
- From "My mother had a maid call'd Barbara" to end of Act IV
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Othello Act II Scene 3
This crucial scene, after Cassio loses his position due to Iago's plotting against him, he turns to Iago for advice, and Iago advises him to speak to "the general's general" -- Desdemona -- to get her to plea for his cause with Othello. In the meantime, Iago soothes Roderigo once again. His plotting is clear. But pay close attention to how he talks to Cassio about the importance of reputation.
See the text here.
See three different versions of the scene acted out here.
See the text here.
See three different versions of the scene acted out here.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Written Task 3
So far, plagiarism has been found in 2 written tasks. They will lose points for it. If plagiarism is found in WT 4, the task willl receive a 1.
It is not enough to name your source in your source list. You need to specify which text you have borrowed. In a Type 2 task you can use an in-text reference; in a Type 1 task, you must identify what text you have borrowed in your source list.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
New rules concerning Written Tasks
New rules concerning Written Tasks, based on IB guidelines.
- A student's portfolio must contain at least one written task from each of the four parts of the course.
- Rationales and outlines must be written using Arial or Calibri 12 font (Helvetica 12 on Apple), and double-spaced.
- Type 2 written tasks must be written using Arial or Calibri 12 font (Helvetica 12 on Apple), and double-spaced.
- If a Type 1 written task is not formatted to resemble a specific text type, then it must be written using Arial or Calibri 12 font (Helvetica 12 on Apple), and double-spaced.
- A Type 1 written task should be a single file, starting with the rationale, followed by the task, followed by the source list, if applicable, and then, if necessary, any attachments.
- A Type 2 written task should be a single file, starting with the outline, followed by the task, followed by the source list, if applicable, and then, if necessary, any attachments.
- The student's name must not appear anywhere on the written task.
Friday, April 8, 2016
Shakespeare's Othello
On Monday, April 11, we will be starting our third and final work in Part 4, Critical Study, "Othello". This will be one of the three works that you will have to prepare for your IOC on. Remember, the IOC counts for 15% of your IB mark and 5% of your SE grade; it is an oral exam and there is no resit.
Click here to download the PDF file of the 6!!! (where are the other 2?) posters from the Shakespeare review.
Click here to download the PDF file of the 6!!! (where are the other 2?) posters from the Shakespeare review.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Schedule to end of year
Below is the schedule to the end of the year:
| Wk | Date | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 21-3-2016 | SE Week | |||
| 13 | 28-3-2016 | Gender and Media | cont'd | cont'd | cont'd |
| 14 | 4-4-2016 | Barcelona | |||
| 15 | 11-4-2016 | Othello Act 1 Sc1-2 | Act 1 Sc 3 | Act 2 Sc1-2 | Act 2 Sc3 |
| 16 | 18-4-2016 | Project Week | |||
| 17 | 25-4-2016 | Vacation | |||
| 18 | 2-5-2016 | ||||
| 19 | 9-5-2016 | Act 3 all | Act 4 Sc1 | Act 4 Sc2 | Act4 Sc3 |
| 20 | 16-5-2016 | Whitsun | Act 5 Sc1 | Act 5 Sc2 | Followup |
| 21 | 23-5-2016 | Followup | Film Anal | Film Anal | Film Anal |
| 22 | 30-5-2016 | FOA A, B, C | FOA G, H | FOA J | FOA K |
| 23 | 6-6-2016 | FOA D, E, F | Infograph | Infograph | Infograph |
| 24 | 13-6-2016 | Infograph | IOC | IOC | IOC |
| 25 | 20-6-2016 | IOC | IOC | IOC | IOC |
| 26 | 27-6-2016 | SE Week | |||
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Win a prize for writing!
Are you thinking of studying law? Would you like to see your article published in a University magazine? Would you like to win a wireless speaker worth 219 Euro? If your answer to any of these questions is "yes", then you should enter the writing contest of the University of Amsterdam with an essay written in Dutch or English. For more information, visit their website here.
If you decide to enter and you would like advice or assistance, see me (or your Dutch teacher, of course).
If you decide to enter and you would like advice or assistance, see me (or your Dutch teacher, of course).
FOA Planning
Below is the planning for the FOAs. Check whether your group is complete and let me know if I have made a mistake. Check your calendar now. If you have any conflicts, see me immediately. After the 31st of March, this planning is frozen, and if you have any scheduling conflicts, you will have to solve them by switching with another group of the same size.
If you are absent on the day your group is scheduled, then your group will have to go without you, and you will get a 1 for your report grade. For the IB, you will still have to do two FOAs, so you will have to do an individual FOA at the start of year 6.
Keep within the margins of the time allowed for your FOA. This time includes all video and discussion time. No more than 5 minutes of video where your voice is not present is allowed per person.
30 May 2016
A Celine, Yasmin E (20 minutes)
B: Karola, Margot, Tim (30 minutes)
C: Ben F, Wessel, Jelmer (30 minutes)
31 May 2016
G: Simarjeet (10-15 minutes)
H: Yasmin D, Sofie (20 minutes)
1 June 2016
J : Rick, Santosh, Ben J, Maxim (40 minutes)
2 June 2016
K : Lisanne, Lisa, Toloue, Femke (40 minutes):
6 June 2016
D: Daffa, Deena (20 minutes)
E: Daphne, Rico, Alex (30 minutes)
F: Romée, Robin, Megan (30 minutes)
If you are absent on the day your group is scheduled, then your group will have to go without you, and you will get a 1 for your report grade. For the IB, you will still have to do two FOAs, so you will have to do an individual FOA at the start of year 6.
Keep within the margins of the time allowed for your FOA. This time includes all video and discussion time. No more than 5 minutes of video where your voice is not present is allowed per person.
30 May 2016
A Celine, Yasmin E (20 minutes)
B: Karola, Margot, Tim (30 minutes)
C: Ben F, Wessel, Jelmer (30 minutes)
31 May 2016
G: Simarjeet (10-15 minutes)
H: Yasmin D, Sofie (20 minutes)
1 June 2016
J : Rick, Santosh, Ben J, Maxim (40 minutes)
2 June 2016
K : Lisanne, Lisa, Toloue, Femke (40 minutes):
6 June 2016
D: Daffa, Deena (20 minutes)
E: Daphne, Rico, Alex (30 minutes)
F: Romée, Robin, Megan (30 minutes)
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Sunday, March 13, 2016
Help the school win a prize!
Jelmer Roorda of BV5a has made the short list for the GNE Awards Writing Contest. You can help him win by voting for his piece at this link.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Monday, February 8, 2016
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Poetry Festival 2016
Thursday, February 4, 2016
The Stone Gods
Here is the presentation with the instructions for the group presentations, including the schedule.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Deborah Tannen and Genderlect: Fact or Fiction
Review the Deborah Tannen articles, the two clips watched in class, and watch the 3 clips (20 minutes total) on her theories below:
Read the Deborah Cameron excerpt and be prepared to discuss which you find more convincing.
For additional information, look at:
Read the Deborah Cameron excerpt and be prepared to discuss which you find more convincing.
For additional information, look at:
Friday, January 29, 2016
Language and Gender
We are returning to Part 1 and are looking at Language and Gender. Review the prezi on this topic presented in class on January 28.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
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