Storytelling 9.1

Storytelling, so compelling... The core texts are J.D. Salinger's classic 'The Catcher in the Rye' and John Steinbeck's brilliant novella 'Of Mice and Men' and its Foote/Sinise film adaptation from 1992. This unit also touches on some common grounds of discrimination, the idea of historical revision in literature, as well as what it means to enter adulthood and to be a compassionate human being. Above all, we consider storytelling as a means of survival.

CONTENT/INNEHÅLL

We will...

• work with writing expressive pieces/short stories.
• refresh our knowledge of literary devices.
• practise critical skills.
• work with text editing.
• read "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
• read "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger
• work with vocabulary and reading comprehension and expansion tasks, both individually and collaboratively.
• study the set-up of shorter stories (novella/short story) in preparation for the coming writing course (The Short Story)
• learn new textual strategies such as pace, circular composition, intertextuality and snapshots.
• explore descriptive writing in the core text and other stories and work to develop your own writing skills in this area.
• watch a movie and compare it to the book.

 

TARGET/MÅL

After the course, you (and I) should be confident in your ability to...

• produce expressive texts.
• proof-read and critique texts.
• use a correct and varied language, adapted to purpose.
• explain the set-up of a short story and create your own, using the same style of plot development.
• take a short text and enhance it, using devices learnt in the poetry course as well as new strategies studied in this course.
• compare scenes from the movie and the book.
• identify and relate to today's society the grounds of discrimination addressed in the book.
• express a justified opinion on some of the actions and ideas in the book.
• argue for and use storytelling as a tool for change; for the individual and for society as a whole.

 

RESOURCES/MATERIAL

https://claireatrodaberg.wixsite.com/english/mydentity

https://claireatrodaberg.wixsite.com/english/literature--critical-skills-ii

 

FULL TEXT OF MICE AND MEN:

http://readonlinefreebook.com/of-mice-and-men

AUDIO OF MICE AND MEN:

https://soundcloud.com/penguin-audio/of-mice-and-men-by-john

FULL TEXT THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxjYXZhcHZpfGd4OjZkZmE5YjM3YzNjYWRkYjk

AUDIO THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

https://soundcloud.com/stephen-heintz-218879435/sets/the-catcher-in-the-rye-audiobook

 

SUCCESS STRATEGIES/FRAMGÅNGSFAKTORER

• Stay on track with the weekly reading and writing (check PoBen).
• Have a good working knowledge of the core text (in order to use it freely and independently in coming tasks).
• Be sure to click "se hela uppgiften" so that you don't miss part of an instruction.
• Always hand in assignments, even if they are not completely finished, in order to get feedback.
• Go to Teams English channel to find out what you missed if you are absent from class. If you are unsure whether you need to catch up, message your teacher on Team chat for a quick response.
• Use Teams chat to ask questions (just make sure you really can't find the answer in the posted information first). 

 

ASSESSMENT/BEDÖMNING

The grounds for assessment will be:

• Language quality and expressiveness in the written texts.
• Ability to give quality feedback on texts, and solve language problems efficiently.
• knowledge of and ability to use literary devices and idiomatic expressions.

Assessment will be given as outlined in the task matrix, with additional verbal or written comments

Uppgifter

HW: Reading: CitR ch.1-3

If you didn't read it all in class, finish chapters 1-3 in The Catcher in the Rye before the lesson.

HW: Reading: CitR ch.4-7

Read to the end of chapter 7.

HW: Editing: Read & Compare "Leah"

Read and compare this first draft and the finished version.

What devices were used?

Devices checklist.pdf

Discussion: The Catcher in the Rye Exam prep

Discuss the following points:

Part 1 - Symbolism

• What is a symbol? Give an example each from real life. Give an example each from the book.
• Based on the original meme (below left) and the follow-up meme (below right), why do we cover symbolism (in literature, art, religion etc) in school?

Test prep: Analysis: CitR ch.16 and/or 24

1. Summarize the chapter.
2. Pay particular attention to symbolism and the importance of characters, places, actions and word choice.
3. Write two questions you think your teacher might ask based on this chapter. Answer them using PEE.
4. Check these words/phrases:

• reciprocal
• arrangement
• humility
• considerable
• contribute
• pay tribute

Group Discussion: The Nobel Prize & Sweden

Last year's Nobel Laureate in Literature is Abdulrazak Gurnah

https://start.unikum.net/unikum/content/assignments/stockholmgrundskolor/rodabergsskolan2/rodabergsskolan2_7b2/1633612317134_nobel2021.pdf

Discussion:

1. What do you think about the Nobel Prize? Do you know a lot about it?
2. Which Nobel Prize would you most like to win and why?
3. What other things do you think Sweden is known for abroad, and what do you think about those things?
4. What would you like your country to be known for? What would you like to be known for?
5. Who is a person you look up to and why?

TEST: Literature, Symbolism and 'The Catcher in the Rye'

To succeed, you will need:

For the book:

• A good working knowledge of the book. This means that you know the story (plot, character, conflict, theme, setting and chronology) well enough to be able to connect parts with other parts and know where in the book to find them.
• More in-depth knowledge of the passages you have been given for special reading.
• A copy of the book for the exam, as you will need to use it during the exam.

For general literature:

• A clear understanding of what symbolism is.
• A clear understanding of the genre 'Bildungsroman - Coming-of-age novel'
• Knowledge of and the ability to use the subject-specific words we have studied.

For written expression:

• An ability to use the "point-example-explanation" model (PEE) to express and explain ideas and back them up with evidence from the text.
• Good English that is correct and reasonably varied.

STUDY GUIDES

https://sway.office.com/emYiiemim6sTTTkA

https://sway.office.com/emYiiemim6sTTTkA

https://sway.office.com/FjBGsmo2ZMlwnrSK

https://sway.office.com/FjBGsmo2ZMlwnrSK

HW/LÄXA: Creative Writing: Triple writing

Describe your room, or a room in your home (not people or just objects) to show the atmosphere as closely as possible. You want the reader to feel what the place is like. Check the example text (below) for inspriation.

You begin describing, but only need to write the first few (2-3) lines. Think carefully about the words you use, especially adjectives, and the importance you place on different parts of the description.

When you have written the first few lines, stop and begin again, re-writing the same information in a different way, using other words than you did in the first version.

And then… do it again!

You should have three different versions of the same text when you submit.

Example text:

room3sprinkling_of_labrador.docx

For ideas on making texts more vibrant:

https://sway.office.com/Oa55rLwEsOVOdAZG?ref=Link

My Short Story - submit text & audio

Send in your short story here.

• Written version.
• Audio version. (If you have trouble handing in the audio here, you may use Teams, E-mail or other sharing systems like sprend.com as long as you write here how you send it.)

Use Audacity, BandLab or any recorder you like, as long as it saves as or converts to a real audio file like mp3 or similar.

It is also possible to hand in a video.

This is a hard deadline, meaning only files submitted by the deadline will be graded. If you miss the deadline, you will still need to hand in, and you will get a new assignment to compensate.

"TEST" Preparing for your short story

My Short Story - collection of covered material - text, assignments, videos

https://sway.office.com/4ODWPMLULEGm5t14?ref=Link

Writing Fiction - different literary devices you can use when you write your story. Don't miss the final link that covers types of narrator.

https://sway.office.com/Oa55rLwEsOVOdAZG?ref=Link

Write Right - about "show-don't tell"

write right.pdf

Descriptive writing by Tessa Hadley

CitR: Reading Log 1

Record and submit (as last time).

1) Why does Holden go to visit Mr. Spencer? What emotions can you find conveyed in their interaction? Use specific lines or words to support your arguments.

2) Holden often uses the adjective "old" before people's names. Why, do you think?

3) What are your impressions of Ackley and Stradlater so far? Refer to examples from the book.

4) From these chapters, which are the most interesting parts, do you think? Why?

Discussion 1: Catcher 1-3

In your groups, record a discussion where you read and analyse the three passages below).