Embedding Quotations- Homework Task 25-3-14

Today we have been looking at how to successfully embed quotations into our answers.
Read the extract below and comment on this post with an answer to the question making sure you have embedded quotations into your answer.

How does the writer show Natalie's thoughts and feelings changing during the extract?
You should refer to:

• her first reactions to the girls she sees
• the way she acts just before, and when, they speak to her
• her thoughts at the end of the passage.

After a couple of minutes she realised that her every move was being watched by a group of three girls and she couldn't help noticing how tough they looked. All three were wearing dark blue baggy jeans. She was pretty sure they were Londoners born and bred but thought they could find a job working for the Jamaican tourist board, not simply because of their dark skin but also because of their clothing. One had a T-shirt saying 'I love Jamaica'. Another wore a T-shirt that was a Jamaican flag and the third just had a West Ham football shirt on, but she, like the others, was adorned with yellow, black and green bangles, badges and necklaces. Natalie thought they looked good, but dangerous.
Natalie shifted nervously. She didn't know quite where to look but she had to put on a front. The other three girls made no attempt to hide the fact that they were on Natalie's case. They began to whisper to each other and smile as they stared at her. Natalie felt illuminated in her green satins and began to wish she had chosen clothes which weren't so loud. What are they grinning at? she wondered. Is it my clothes? My shoes? My hair? Do I look too innocent? Suddenly the three girls began to walk toward Natalie. Her heart began to race, the palms of her hands began to sweat. She felt like falling apart but she held herself together.
'You from round here, den?' said the big girl wearing the Jamaican flag.
'Yeah.'
'What school yu go to, den?'
'Eastmorelands.'
'Yeah, I wanid to go there but they wouldn't let me, said I had ta go ta Lonsdale Park, said it was nearer. What ya doing here?'
The other two girls continued to look her up and down. Natalie expected trouble and in her mind she cursed the boys for bringing her there and for the way they had got lost in their silly conversation about football and cars.
'I'm just hanging around with my boyfriend and his mates.'
At this point the girl wearing the West Ham shirt reached into her back pocket. Natalie swallowed hard as the girl pulled out a couple of leaflets. After separating one from the other she handed one to Natalie. 'Dat's the place to be, check it out, good vibes, good music. Ya like rap?'
Natalie wanted to kick herself. She had completely misread the situation. They weren't out for a fight, they wanted to find out if she liked clubbing. They wanted to find out if she was one of them, an Eastender.
'Yeah,' Natalie replied, feeling a sense of relief. 'Yeah, rap's cool...' She began to wonder if she sometimes looked threatening and if she herself had been misjudged in the past. For people to be friendly, did they have to have permanent smiles on their faces?
Face - Benjamin Zephaniah



Due: Monday 31st March 2014

Homework- 27/1/2014

Hello ladies,

Your homework is to comment on this post with you answer to this question:

›How does the writer use words to make the reader care about the children? Choose two words and explain their effect on the reader.

Don't forget to leave your name underneath your comment so I know who it is from.
Any issues, don't hesitate to get in touch.

Due: Wednesday 29th January.

Mr Brown

Homework- 11/12/13. Raven's Gate P.E.E

Ladies,

In today's lesson we have been preparing to answer the question

Antony Horowitz describes Raven's Gate as a supernatural thriller. 

To what extent do you agree with this description of the novel? 

Next week you will be writing a minimum of three P.E.E paragraphs (one each for character, place/setting and plot). 

We found evidence from different parts of the novel and made notes explaining them on the table we filled out in the lesson.

Your task is to comment on this post combining a row of your table to make a full P.E.E paragraph. (Point, Evidence and Explanation). 

Make sure you include:

-quotes from the text.

-all three parts of the P.E.E structure.

-can you refer to the effect on the reader?

-Word and sentence level analysis. 

Any problems, come and find me on Friday.

Good luck

Mr Brown

Character descriptions

In today's lesson you have been introducing/describing a character from the supernatural thriller genre in a way that leads your reader to think that there is something not quite right about the character.

1) Comment on this post with your description from the lesson.

2) Comment on another post by one of your class mates with what you think the character might be or what you like about the description.

Due: Monday 2nd Decemeber

Raven's Gate- Mrs Deverill Analysis

Hello Ladies,

Your homework for today is to comment on this post with one of the responses you have put on your table linking Mrs Deverill to the supernatural genre.

If you are struggling you can focus on this section from the novel:

Mrs Deverill was a small woman, at least fifty years old, with white hair, cut short. Her skin was not yet withered but it was strangely lifeless. She had hard, ice cold eyes and cheek bones that formed two slashes across her face. It was hard to imagine her pale lips ever smiling. She was smartly dressed in a grey skirt and matching jacket with a shirt buttoned to her neck. She wore a silver necklace and, on her lapel, a silver brooch shaped like a lizard. 

Due: Thursday 21st November

Homework for half term

In our first lessons back after half term we are going to be performing our poems to one another.
Your homework over half term is to rehearse and practice, ready to perform when we come back.

Try to memorise your poem, or shorten it to some helpful hints.

When you rehearse, ask yourself have you:

¡  Changed pace

¡  Changed tone

¡  Changed volume

¡  Changed body language

¡  Used gestures

¡  Used Facial expressions

Good luck and don't worry, you will be fine. 

Mr Brown

Homework Task- 9/10/2013

In our lessons recently we have looked at elements of performance and how we can improve our early drafts of our performance poem though using various techniques/devices.

Comment on this post an example of how you have changed/improved your poem. This could be a line you have re-written to include a technique or something you have decided to introduce to improve the performance.


You could:

Experiment with changing where a line starts and ends.

Expand the detail (add more descriptive words)

Change or edit words/lines.

Bring in more language devices to develop the use of imagery or rhythm in the poem (ie personification or repetition)

Add punctuation to create certain effects such as a pause.

Think about the actions you want to put into the performance (including facial expressions and gestures)


Due: Monday 14th October 2013

Mr Brown