Week 4: A Pet
Wednesday: Today I introduced the next unit to the class. In this unit, we are going to focus on SYMBOLS that writers use in their stories and how we can identify these symbols in order to have a better understanding of the stories that we read. In this lesson, we just scratched the surface and introduced the story. We talked a little bit about some of the symbols in the story, but we didn't go deep. One thing that I did explain to the class is that A Pet is a Christian allegory - meaning the symbols in the story are from the Bible. I explained to the class that I am not a religious person, nor am I trying to convince them to follow the Bible, but it is the most famous book in the world, so the more you understand different things from it, the wider range of literature you will be able to understand in your life. We also went over the vocabulary from the unit together in class, so I didn't assign any homework.
Starting this Friday, Mr. duPreez will be taking over my lessons for the forseeable future. I have a family emergency to attend to. I explained in great detail if you press the home button above. Thanks for your understanding!
Starting this Friday, Mr. duPreez will be taking over my lessons for the forseeable future. I have a family emergency to attend to. I explained in great detail if you press the home button above. Thanks for your understanding!
Week 3: The Lad (II)
Friday: Today was a bit of a hard lesson to teach. It's Friday, late in the day, hot outside, and everybody was a bit restless. And I tried to cover some really important content. So I hope that I can fill you in if you find yourself here because you missed someting.
MOTIF: is a recurring idea in a story, or an idea that shows up over and over.
I tried to give an example of something the class can relate to, so have a look here 👇
MOTIF: is a recurring idea in a story, or an idea that shows up over and over.
I tried to give an example of something the class can relate to, so have a look here 👇
So let's say that the motif of your story is "sus" - haha.
Homework is to complete pages 12-14 in your GN and hand it in on Wednesday, 27/9.
- In the organizer on page 12, you should write the motif in the center of the word web. Remember, motif is an idea, so it shouldn't be a noun.
- Next, you should think of some words that are synonyms of the word you chose for your motif. In this case, we came up with impostor, suspicious, spy, faking, impersonator, mystery, and suspect. You should use these words throughout your writing! That is how you will create MOTIF!
- In the "images" bubble, you can draw a picture about your motif.
- In the "memories" bubble, you can describe a memory that relates to your motif. This might be what your story is about.
- Finally, in the "themes" bubble, you can put some more ideas for your writing. For "sus", the themes you might want to write here could be: Among Us, space, or murder mystery.
Homework is to complete pages 12-14 in your GN and hand it in on Wednesday, 27/9.
Wednesday: Today, we continued with The Lad and introduced a new idea - MOTIF. Motif is a repeated idea throughout the story. The motif of The Lad is obviously "seeing", and the idea is repeated throughout the story as the lad stares down a number of characters, and finally in the end, the sun. One way motif can be present in a story is through synonyms. We found many "seeing" words in the story last week: stare, glare, watch, gaze, glance, glower, blindness, look... When you include motif in your writing, try and find as many synonyms and use them throughout your writing.
We also watched the story A Cat in the Hat, and defined the symbols, motif, and theme of it. Have a look at the slides below for a clearer explanation 👇
Homework is GN p.9-11. We were able to finish 9 and 10 in class, so it's really just p.11. See you on Friday!
We also watched the story A Cat in the Hat, and defined the symbols, motif, and theme of it. Have a look at the slides below for a clearer explanation 👇
Homework is GN p.9-11. We were able to finish 9 and 10 in class, so it's really just p.11. See you on Friday!
Week 2: The Lad (1)
Friday: Today we had a really deep discussion about allegory. I'll try to break it down the best I can. First we talked about one of the questions from Wednesday's homework. I won't elaborate, because the answer that we came up with in class does a very good job itself 👇
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Next, we discussed how allegory is hidden in many different works of art - whether it's a story like The Lad, or a painting, or a poem. Whether it's an artist who's creating art, or an author who's also creating art through literature, we often take what we read or see at face value. I then used the example of the artist Jackson Pollock. His style was very abstract, but it always had a meaning to it. And that's the code that's so fun to crack - getting into the mind of the artist. When you discover the deeper meaning in that story or work of art, then you have discovered the hidden meaning, and that makes learning about those things so much fun!
And then the class started making their own Jackson Pollock-styled works of art. And I want you to think. What is the allegory in your work? Is it the feeling you had when you made those strokes with your pencil? Is it that you don't have a meaning?
And then the class started making their own Jackson Pollock-styled works of art. And I want you to think. What is the allegory in your work? Is it the feeling you had when you made those strokes with your pencil? Is it that you don't have a meaning?
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Wednesday: This week we continued where we left off last week. One thing I explained to the class was that I actually don't like reading fiction stories very much. I like nonfiction and biographies, and I like reading Roald Dahl and other fiction stories to the class, but I've never really been into fiction much. But since teaching in upper primary, there's one person who I work very closely with at GT - Mr duPreez - who's helped open my eyes to understanding the deeper meaning of some great literature. And that's precisely what I hope to pass on to you this year.
If there's one thing I hope you learn from me this yeat, it's to be a better thinker. I want you to try to solve the puzzles that the highly talented writers we study are presenting, like a rubix cube.
So in today's lesson we read The Lad and asked a lot of questions to get you thinking about the allegory (the deeper meaning) of the story. I want you to remember how the lad acted, and why he acted that way. Remember why animals stare (it's a way for them to assert dominance over one another without fighting to the death). Think about how the lad had convinced himself that he was so powerful. But was he really powerful? Are powerful people always great? And I want you to think about the crowd, and why the crowd believed the lad. Finally, I want you to think about the clever old man. How and why did he trick the lad? And what kind of a person was the old man?
Next week we will re-visit The Lad and continue learning about allegory. For your homework today, I want you to complete page 8 in your Guiding Notes book.
If there's one thing I hope you learn from me this yeat, it's to be a better thinker. I want you to try to solve the puzzles that the highly talented writers we study are presenting, like a rubix cube.
So in today's lesson we read The Lad and asked a lot of questions to get you thinking about the allegory (the deeper meaning) of the story. I want you to remember how the lad acted, and why he acted that way. Remember why animals stare (it's a way for them to assert dominance over one another without fighting to the death). Think about how the lad had convinced himself that he was so powerful. But was he really powerful? Are powerful people always great? And I want you to think about the crowd, and why the crowd believed the lad. Finally, I want you to think about the clever old man. How and why did he trick the lad? And what kind of a person was the old man?
Next week we will re-visit The Lad and continue learning about allegory. For your homework today, I want you to complete page 8 in your Guiding Notes book.
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Week 1: The Lad (1)
Wednesday: SO happy to see you all again and be your teacher again this year!
Today, we picked right up where we left off. Grade 6 has a new Guiding Notes book, and while the layout is new, the content is similar to what G6 students have learnt in the past. There is one big change to note, however:
Today, we picked right up where we left off. Grade 6 has a new Guiding Notes book, and while the layout is new, the content is similar to what G6 students have learnt in the past. There is one big change to note, however:
- Each term, there will be a continuous assessment that will count for 10 of the total 50 marks for each assessment. Have a look at the pictures below for a breakdown of the marks and content of the assessments 👇
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There will be a notice going out this Friday outlining the continuous assessments, but you can also have a look at the first pages of Unit 5 to learn more about how the continuous assessment will work.
After talking about the breakdown of the GTE assessments, we moved on to the topic of today's lesson, which was ALLEGORY. We also revised what acive reading is and how we can be successful active readers. I wsa super happy to see that many of you were also being active note takers during the lesson...I'm sooooo proud of you 🤩🤩🤩
Remember, allegories are like fables. A fable is a story with a moral that teaches us a lesson in our daily lives, but allegories go deeper than that. Authors write allegories to allow us to "crack the code" of their stories and get inside of their minds.
After talking about the breakdown of the GTE assessments, we moved on to the topic of today's lesson, which was ALLEGORY. We also revised what acive reading is and how we can be successful active readers. I wsa super happy to see that many of you were also being active note takers during the lesson...I'm sooooo proud of you 🤩🤩🤩
Remember, allegories are like fables. A fable is a story with a moral that teaches us a lesson in our daily lives, but allegories go deeper than that. Authors write allegories to allow us to "crack the code" of their stories and get inside of their minds.
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Speaking of cracking the code, that's what you should try to do for your homework on p.1 of your GN book. Have a look at the picture of the dove by Pablo Picasso, and write down your own interpretation of what he was trying to show his audience from what he drew.
Homework is to complete GN p.1-2 and hand it in on Friday, 8/9 morning.
Homework is to complete GN p.1-2 and hand it in on Friday, 8/9 morning.
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