Psalm 46:1-6
Author: D. Sader
On the Sidewalk Bleeding
Read “On the Sidewalk Bleeding” by Evan Hunter
Respond to the following questions on the various aspects of the story:
- Who is the protagonist?
- What is/are the conflict(s)?
- The conflict is developed through the use of names that apply to the boy: Andy and a Royal. Skim the story to note how the names appear in critical places. What do these names represent?
- What effect does Andy’s jacket have on the people who find him in the alley?
- What are the reasons why these people do not help Andy?
- At what point does Andy realize he is dying?
- What does Andy do with the last of his strength? How is this important to the theme and to the outcome of the conflict?
- What is the climax or turning point? Sketch a Plot Diagram. Try this Plot Diagram Generator or find another.
Create a Plot Diagram
Plot Diagram created with Gliffy Diagrams from Chrome Webstore - What is the police officer’s reaction to Andy? How does this contribute to the author’s message?
Assessment Activity: Who Am I?
Consider your own identity: who are you, what makes you unique, how do others see you, what do you want others to know and see about you. Write a post in your blog that represents yourself: embed visual elements and/or other suitable medium.
You may wish to include some of the following elements:
- a personal motto or saying
- a symbol that represents something about you
- your attitudes about yourself
- your strengths and talents
- your hopes and dreams for the future
- what you most like about yourself
- what you are working on improving about yourself (with a positive focus) not what you dislike about yourself
Focus on the positive and create a post that makes you feel good about yourself while showing others all that is good about you.
Spend time reviewing the criteria from the assessment rubric.
Laura Secord
Laura Secord a poem by Raymond Souster
Lady, long part of our history
would you perhaps have been so eager
that time to drive those silly cows
before you through the forest mile after mile,
risking who knows what indignities
at the hands of the invaders,had you known you would end up
on the box for a brand
of over-sweet chocolates?
I. Respond to the Poem
- During the War of 1812, Laura Secord saved a British garrison from American attack. Do some research on Laura Secord and compare what you find out to what is revealed in the poem.
- There are two parts to this poem. Why do you think the author divided the poem this way?
- The poem is written as one long question. What question is Raymond Souster asking?
- What do you think he is saying about heroes and heroic deeds?
II. Write a letter
As Laura Secord write a letter to Frank P. O’Connor, the founder of the Laura Secord Company.
Let me introduce to you …
In the style of a Socratic dialogue, script a conversation about the themes in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” between T.S. Eliot and either Freud, Marx, Darwin, or Nietzsche.
(Hints: help with Prufrock, questions on the Human Condition.
New World – Big Horizon
[youtube video=NPGS308dT10]
New world – big horizon
Open your eyes and see it’s true
New world – across the frightening
Waves of blue – David Wilcox
Write about a song that cheers you up when you are feeling blue.
Include a link to the video and quote a lyric or two and discuss its effect on you.
Applying for a Summer Job
Read about the situation below and complete the assignment that follows.
The Situation
Imagine that you are Kim Green applying for one of the four jobs listed below. Robin Thornton is the person at the Hillcrest Job Centre who processes the applications for these jobs.
Summer Jobs Available
Volunteer Jobs
- Playground Program Assistant – assist with activities for seven-to-ten-year-old children
- Senior Citizen’s assistant – assist with the needs and activities of seniors in a centre or in the community
Paid Jobs
- Fast Food Restaurant Employee – prepare food, serve customers, clear tables
- Landscaping Assistant – plant flowers and shrubs; cut and rake lawns
Assignment
Write a business letter to Robin Thornton in which you apply for the job you have selected. (Select only one from the list above.)
When writing, be sure to
- identify the job for which you are applying
- explain what knowledge, skills, or experience you have that might be relevant to the job
- sign your letter Kim Green – do not sign your own name
- organize your thoughts appropriately in sentences and paragraphs
- use vocabulary that is appropriate and effective
- address the envelope
Note: The information you make up about Kim Green must be realistic for a Grade 9 student. Kim Green lives at 42 Wallaby Way in the city of Springfield, Alberta. Kim Green’s postal code is A3Z 1N9. The Hillcrest Job Centre is also in Springfield: 16961 61st Street, A5T 6P2.
Hint: Advice for ELA 9 Provincial Achievement Test
Rubric
Exemplar:
Isolation and “otherness”
The motif of isolation and “otherness” is a common one in art and literature.
Select a text from your own reading or viewing that focuses on a character who is isolated and longs for another place or connection where he or she can feel a sense of belonging.
Write an essay analyzing this theme and showing how it is developed.
Art is coming face to face with yourself
Select one of the following quotations and write an essay explaining how one of the texts you have studied does or does not support the quote.
“Art is coming face to face with yourself.” – Jackson Pollock
“When I reflect that the task which the artist implicitly sets himself is to overthrow existing values, to make of the chaos about him an order which is his own, to sow strife and ferment so that by the emotional release those who are dead may be restored to life, then it is that I run with joy to the great and imperfect ones, their confusion nourishes me, their stuttering is like divine music to my ears.” – Henry Miller
“The subject matter of art is life, life as it actually is; but the function of art is to make life better.” – George Santayana
A Marriage Proposal
Read Anton Chekhov’s A Marriage Proposal.
Meaning
- Identify the object of Chekhov’s satire in this play. Support your interpretation with a specific reference to the text.
- Why do you think Chekhov included the character to Chubukov in the play? What functioin does he serve?
Form and Style
- The play has a strong emotional tone. Explain how both the structure of the play and the punctuation of the text contribute to the emotional tone. Cite specific examples to support your answer.
- Melodrama is defined s “a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions.” Comment on how Chekhov uses melodramatic techniques to create humor in this piece.
Exploring Content
- What information about life in Czarist Russia do we learn from this script? Explain how this information creates the context of the drama in the play.
Creative Extension
- Choose a segment of the play and rewrite it in a narrative (short story) form. Be prepared to discuss changes you needed to make to transpose one form to another.
- Prepare a readers’ theatre presentation of a portion of the script. Focus on capturing the emotional tension created through the dialogue. Record your presentation (audio or video) and share it.
- Read Chekhov’s monologue On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco. Using this monologue as a model, write a script for a monologue given by one of the characters from A Marriage Proposal: Chubukov on the dangers of domestic champagne, Natalya on the dangers faced by women at harvest, or Lomov on the dangers of modern fabrics … and so on and so forth and all that.
Hunches
A hunch is a feeling or impression that something is about to happen. Authors sometimes use a character’s hunches to create suspense or to tie together a group of events. For example, in “Stains,” the mother has been afraid for her son “for a long time. She realized that when the doorbell rang at 4 a.m.”
Write a story about a character’s hunches. Try to use this hunch not only to create suspense, but to help explain the action that comes at the end of the story.