Category: English 9

HCE 9 – Explanatory Paragraph

Briana on

On December 14th, 2021, my English 9 class started a project by looking at four images and inspecting them. We needed to choose one image and go in a dive further than before into what this image means and what it’s trying to tell us. I chose to pursue this with the image titled “Birds on a wire” by Banksy. Enjoy.

INCLUSIVITY

This illustration represents the racism that is in the world. The group of birds symbolizes the white people and white privilege that they think they have since they have the “power” to protest and riot against the rights of others and the police will barely do anything about it, but if coloured people decide to do the same thing, there will be a lot of police involved. The green bird symbolizes the coloured community and what they have to endure tremendously which can even be a day-to-day routine. The wire can also represent land or some type of country. This can come back to white privilege again, since it shows how the group of birds think they basically have ownership over the wire, but it’s something that’s exposed and open to all birds, so the types of bird on the wire shouldn’t matter, since it’s something that’s open to the birds. This can also represent immigrants and it shows how a lot of people act when they see someone. People treat immigrants and coloured people as if they were from another planet, as if they were another species that they want to get rid of and remove, but they’re still human. The coloured bird is still a bird, just a different type of bird and that’s okay because the colour gives the art the spark and differance that’s needed in the world.

Tableau Novel – The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Briana on

On the 6th of December, the English 9 class started working on a tableau project based on the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie. We had to create 8 scenes and make a collage of the photos that we took. Characters and explanations are below.

(From the first scene to last in order)

Madina: Random bullies, tree, Junior’s mother, bystander, Penelope, hoop, Junior’s grandmother, hoop

Chelsea: Random bullies, Mr. P, Junior’s father, Rowdy, Roger, Rowdy, Junior’s sister, Rowdy

Alex: Junior (all throughout)

 

(The definitions are if they are at their “normal” spots in a story/how it’s listed here)

1) Exposition

  • The exposition is the introduction of the story. It happens most likely at the beginning of the story, but it doesn’t have to. It is the background information that is provided by the author to give some context to the reader. Who, what, where, when, etc.
  • This is at the beginning of the story when Junior explains how his life is. He has a lot of illnesses because of the damage to his brain that he suffered when he was born. This causes a lot of complications in his life including impaired vision, speech problems, and other things that he can’t control. People always make fun of him for it.
  • In this tableau, we were trying to show how insecure Junior felt because of his illness and how he felt like he didn’t fit in. We did this by using levels and expressions. In the story, it says that Junior gets bullied because of his condition, we mimicked this by having two people pointing and laughing at Junior and then to show how Junior was affected by it, we had him be at a lower level and looking very upset and damaged by this. I think the way we used these two things in this tableau helped us create the feeling of stress and insecurity.

2) Initiating Incident

  • The initiating incident is the complication of the story. It’s what gets the story/conflict going. It can be a decision, an action, dialogue, etc. It’s what “activates” the rest of the story.
  • This is when Junior hits his math teacher, Mr. P, in the face with a book. Junior is suspended because of this incident. After a bit, Mr. P went to him. They sit on the porch together and Mr. P tells Junior that he needs to leave the reservation. Junior needs to get off the reserve if he wants a good future, according to Mr. P. He tells Junior about Junior’s sister and some information about himself too. He is confessing.
  • In this tableau, we were trying to show how Junior was uncertain about what Mr. P was saying and how Mr. P was sure about what he was saying. We did this by having expressions and body language. We had Mr. P very open and demanding while Junior is very closed and off-balance slightly, leaning away from Mr. P. This can have two meanings, he felt anxious about what Mr. P was saying and wanted to get away, but also since Junior is leaning the way Mr. P is pointing, it could also foreshadow that he is going to listen to Mr. P We also had Junior’s arms crossed in front of them to give the more closed off and weary feeling. 

3) Rising Action #1

  • The rising action (#1) is the first part of a series of events in a book. The rising actions lead up to the climax of the story. It helps build up the tension in the story. This can help explain more things that are needed to know for the book.
  • This is after Mr. P convinces Junior to leave the reservation. Junior is discussing hope with his parents. He also mentions that he wants to switch schools. The parents are a bit confused by this, but they soon agreed. Junior explains that it’s simple for them to agree to things.
  • In this tableau, we were trying to show how Junior’s parents agreed easily to his choices, and how Junior was scared but also glad since he would get a better chance at a good future. We did this by using expressions. We had the mother be a bit confused to represent that they didn’t agree right away, we had the father agree and look a bit worried as well about Junior, but mostly agreeing. Then we had Junior be questioning, representing that he was asking them, but we also had him look a bit uncertain by having a sort of closed-off stance, but also a bit hopeful which was difficult with the masks, but you can see that he is standing a bit taller which can show that he’s a bit confident.

4) Rising Action #2

  • The rising action (#2) is the second part of a series of events in a book. The rising actions lead up to the climax of the story. It helps build up the tension in the story. This helps build up the story a bit more. It can help get the story together and ready for the climax.
  • This is when Junior went to Rowdy, his best friend, to tell him that he’s leaving the reservation and going to Reardan. Rowdy is upset by Junior’s decision and he began to hurt him (punching to be exact). Rowdy is a very physical person (in violent terms), but never with Junior, so this is a surprise and very upsetting. 
  • In this tableau, we were trying to show how angry Rowdy was, as well as how people were scared of Rowdy with someone being farther away from them. We did this by using a lot of action, expression, and levels. We had the picture be in the middle of the punching action. The bystander that we had had a scared expression on their face while witnessing this since people were already scared of Rowdy as it had said in the book. We had Rowdy at a higher level than Junior to show how Rowdy was angry and Junior felt smaller at this time because he was losing his best friend. We had Junior look a bit defensive, but at the same time not expecting it or trying very hard to stop the sudden action since he felt like it was his fault.

5) Rising Action #3

  • The rising action (#3) is the third part of a series of events in a book. The rising actions lead up to the climax of the story. It helps build up the tension in the story. This is sometimes the last rising action of the story, but there can be more. If it is the last one (in this case), it helps get the story in line and builds up more tension for the climax.
  • This is when Junior left the reservation. He is at Reardan and making friends there, which he didn’t lose even when Junior tells them that he is poor. He is fitting in and very happy about this all. 
  • In this tableau, we were trying to show how Junior was beginning to fit into the new school even though he was different. Reardan, and the people there, were very accepting. It was very different from where he grew up. We did this by using expression and using personalities as actions. We had Penelope and Roger very close to Junior. We made Penelope seem playful and cheerful and Roger was tougher but also very good friends with Junior. Junior himself looks a bit unsure since he’s never felt this way at the reservation and a lot of things are still going on in his life, but he also looks confident and grateful to be with friends and people who like him even when they found out he was poor.

6) Climax

  • The climax is the moment of highest intensity of the story for both the reader and the protagonist. It’s the turning point that determines the course of the rest of the story since it shows if the protagonist succeeded or not.
  • This is when Junior played a rematch against Wellpinit, his old school which Rowdy is at. Junior wants to win this game since they lost their first match against Wellpinit, and he wants to overcome his insecurities about himself. He won the game which made him very prideful and confident in himself. 
  • In this tableau, we were trying to show how happy and proud Junior was, but also how upset and disappointed Rowdy was. We did this by having levels and actions and expressions. We had this photo in the middle of the game when Junior scored. We made Junior have a higher level to show his achievement and how he felt confident about the game and how he was overcoming something difficult for him. We had Rowdy falling behind and at a lower level to show that he was losing his self-confidence because of what Junior did. We can also interpret the different levels as how Junior felt more superior to Rowdy at that moment since he finally did something that he could never do against Rowdy and scored.

7) Falling Action

  • The falling action is the part of a story after the climax. It is after the moment of intensity, kind of like a “cool down” for the story. It helps wrap up the story for the conclusion. There is no more tension at or after the falling action usually.
  • This is when Junior has to grief through all the deaths in his community. All of the deaths that he has to face were in some way caused by alcohol. His grandma, dad’s best friend, and sister died. This is very hard on Junior. 
  • In this tableau, we were trying to show how heartbroken Junior was because of all the deaths. We were also trying to express how lost he felt because of all of this, but also how he didn’t let it put him down fully. We did this by using expressions and levels. We had Junior look very damaged and broken like he was in the first picture, but we didn’t have him too low to show how he didn’t let it be his final straw in his life and how he was able to recover. His recovery was slow, but it was able to happen which lead up to the conclusion.

8) Conclusion

  • The conclusion is the end of the story usually. It wraps up the story for a type of ending. There are 4 main types of endings. Happy, sad, indeterminate, and surprise. The conclusion is the finale of the story and usually settles the reader because there isn’t much tension since it’s the ending. (There are exceptions for this)
  • This is when Rowdy and Junior are playing basketball together, one-on-one, at the end of the book. They were bonding again and becoming friends with a mutual activity that they both like. Yes, they did become rivals and enemies more from the basketball games which they are in separate teams for, but this also brought them together at this part of the book.
  •  In this tableau, we were trying to show how cheerful they both were and how they were making up, becoming friends again and bonding. We did this by using action, expression, and levels. We had the roles how they were before with Rowdy having the ball and winning. We also had them both a bit bending down, Rowdy less than Junior, but it has a different meaning in this picture. The levels in this picture show how Rowdy was always tougher and stronger than Junior, but also how Rowdy always was able to protect Junior because of how tough he was and how small Junior felt to the world around him. Junior is trying to block the shot that Rowdy is about to make in this picture since we took it in the middle of their one-on-one. We used expressions and body language to show that they were being playful and not very competitive, but also how it was something that they both were good at and wanted to impress one another.

All of these scenes have storytelling because it was all part of a story and showed one part of a story. When they’re pieced together, it’s easy to see what the story is about and the plot points of it.

CC Self-Assessment – English 9

Briana on

In English 9, we did a lit circle on a book called The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie. The book itself I believe should be banned (which I did write an essay about why), but in this post I will be reflecting more on how the activities went including how I did with my group members and things like that.

 

I can ask questions and consider options.

When I was unsure of something, I could ask questions on what was happening. When we were recording our discussions, I was also able to use questions to encourage others to speak or share their opinions. With opinions, I was able to either change my views after someone else said something that I agreed on, or I was able to tell them that I don’t agree with them and have different views before expressing my own thoughts in a friendly and calm manner.

I can ask questions, make predictions, and use my senses to gather information.

With the lit circles, making predictions was a part of our discussions and trying to figure out if there was anything that could tell us more about the book and characters. I have never been able to read between the lines or decipher things if they weren’t very clearly stated to me, so gathering information was difficult for me. I was able to make predictions just by having minimal understanding of what was going on and then guessing what could happen. Sometimes we were right, sometimes not.

I can show if I like something or not.

As said before, I don’t really enjoy the book and I hold a lot of dislike for it, but I can show it in a respectful way and not lash out. I am also able to consider others opinions and respect them. Even though I know what I liked and what I didn’t, I was able to understand others opinions. When someone expressed that they enjoyed the book, I can share my own thoughts on the book and respect our differences without causing any disputes. Here is the essay for anyone who is curious:

Download

Indigenous Exploration – “Living Conditions”

Briana on

This project was about indigenous living conditions on reserve. I was partnered up with Chelsea and Madina. We did research as well as made a recording for you to listen to which talks about the information we gathered. My reflection is down below and I hope you learn something useful from this recording.

Reflection:

Your experiences creating this assignment.

My experience while creating this assignment was fairly well. It was a very nice experience since I got to know new people and created new connections with my peers. Some challenges were difficult to overcome, for example, sometimes the flow of our recording didn’t sound as natural, or we couldn’t find much information, but other than that, it was a pleasant experience.

 

Your group’s path in researching the topic.

My group’s path in researching the topic was smooth. There might have been some bumps along the way, but after we learned the correct way to research, and I used some of the researching skills that I learned during my infofluency project (and sharing those tactics with my group members), the research went very well.

 

Obstacles or items you learnt in recording.

Before this project, I knew how to use a microphone and record audio, so there weren’t many obstacles during this process of the project looking into the technical part of it. It was a bit difficult turning it into a conversation-style recording, which caused us to have to do multiple takes since it didn’t sound very smooth. The take we used is the best we could get and I’m very proud of how it turned out, even with the challenges we faced.

In what I learned during this, there were a few things that I can list down. I first learned how to use the specific type of microphone we have at the school and how to properly disinfect it, record with it, etc. I also learned about a new recording tool that I never knew about before which was very interesting. I also had some more practice turning notes into a conversation-style recording which is useful, especially for other oral projects that I might do.

 

Reflection on the below core competency.
Communication… What are some ways that you use to communicate your learning?

Some ways I could communicate my learning is through this reflection piece, but also through sharing my techniques with my friends and people I know could profit from it. Whether it be showing them this post or showing/telling them. For example, if I saw someone who was struggling with using the microphone at the school, I would help them set it up and figure it out. And if someone was struggling with doing proper research, I could show them some websites that were useful for me, and maybe help them find some good and reliable information.