Tuesday July 2 Day 1

Just an update as to what we did today in class. 

Well, it started off with a GTKY form - thank you for letting me read about your lives. We have a great diversity of people in the room. This should be awesome!

We had to work through the classroom expectations and the course profile, as well as rules of summer school. Honestly, I've never had too many issues while teaching 4U English and I don't expect anything like that this summer either. We also worked through the Tasks for the Story Unit, too.

We read The Bet, a story you can get a copy of under the links in the "Short story Unit Links". We took some time and then did the Terms together, too. We also watched "Darmok" from Star Trek: The Next Generation as a story, too. Questions are below.

I did hand out the photocopies of the Culminating Activity/ ISU / Final Assessment thing today too. We will do the sign-ups for that on Friday.


Due dates were posted for the Story Unit and the CA at the back of the class and online here, too.

That was a long day - we go again tomorrow!

Questions for "The Bet"

The Bet by Anton Chekov

1.     I have to ask you to answer the question asked at the start of this story: Who is the more humane?

2.     Why, do you think, the lawyer takes the bet? 

3.     What do you think about the choices of literature the prisoner makes? Moving from the “light reading” to “classics” – would you make the same choices?

4.     Why, do you think, the prisoner switches from six hundred books in a year to just the one the next year? Why do that?

5.     The prisoner writes that he has experienced all kinds of things through reading. Is reading about something the same as actually experiencing it? Why might you say that?

6.     OK, I have to ask – would you take this bet? Why or why not?

Darmok by Joe Menosky and Gene Roddenberry

1. What is going on at the start of this episode? In your opinion, are people worried or concerned?

2 The two groups start out friendly, but they start to argue quickly. What do you think are some of the possible consequences for not resolving this conflict?

3    Why do the characters become frustrated with one another?

   4   How does the alien Dathon choose to try and solve this conflict? What do you think about that solution?

5  What finally solves the big problem these characters have in this episode?

6    What do you think about the teacher selecting this as a item for serious study in a 4U English course? Is it “proper” or “improper” to be using science fiction in this course?