Homework, Monday, 4th December, 2017

Read the following extract from the diary of a ship’s captain:

12^th June, 1812

It is with an overwhelming sense of foreboding that I gaze out over the ocean this morning. And it is not just I; I can almost taste the disquiet among the crew. For my own part, I must remain stern of visage, for should they intuit even the minutest suggestion of apprehension, there will surely be mutiny. Mallard, for one, has eyes for the captain’s chair, and I’ll wager that he has at least a third of the men in his pocket, having promised them goodness alone knows what sort recompense for their loyalty. The first sign of weakness from me and he’ll pounce like a cobra; an apt analogy given that his abundant snake-like tendencies have been in evidence since we left Southampton.   

            And so I must remain stoic, even in the face of these gravest of odds; the enemy outnumber us by at least three ships to one, and their firepower is far more prodigious than ours. The reports are that they decimated the Portuguese Armada in but a matter of hours and there is no question that we will be David to their Goliath. But David defeated Goliath, not with brute force, but with shrewdness and speed of thought. There in lies our greatest hope, and it is this hope to which we must cling, as we cling to the rigging in a storm, lashed by the waves and the wind, but with an iron grip and an iron will.

Now re-write the entry in your own words. If there are any words you don’t understand, look them up. The first two sentences have been done for you as an example:

I am very nervous as I look out over the sea this morning. And it’s not just me; the crew are so unsettled I can almost taste it. 

Homework 27th November, 2017

Follow the link below and read the article. 


http://fortune.com/2015/11/24/woodrow-wilson-princeton/


Now answer the question:

How does the writer try to persuade us that Wilson's name and image should not be removed from the Princeton campus?

Focus on:

* What the writer says
* How the writer says it
* How the information is presented

Homework, 6th November, 2017

Read the 19th Century letter and answer the questions that follow. 

This is due tomorrow (Tuesday, 7th November)

3^rd March, 1875

My dearest Horatio,

It is my sincere hope that this letter finds you in robust health, or at least, as robust as can be expected given the latest outbreak of influenza. I do hope your family has not been ravaged to the extent that many have in recent months; I don’t doubt the doctors are doing all they can, but there always comes a point where their expertise and ability with remedies and potions must surrender to the iron will of God Himself, for better or for worse.  

For my own part, I am well, as are Madelaine and the children. Maximilian is now two and Rebecca five, and they do so fill my heart with joy with the merest smile or salutation. That said, it is true what they say about the terrible twos: despite his generally delightful demeanour, little Max, when in the right frame of mind, could try the patience of even the most devout of saints. I steady my hand with the thought that it is an affliction and therefore he cannot be held accountable for his own actions.

But enough of such trivialities. The true purpose of this correspondence is to implore you and your family to grace Madelaine and myself with the pleasure of your company this summer at Hamilton House. Please do not even countenance the notion that it might, in any way, be an inconvenience as we so love having company and it feels like an eternity since we last saw you, which, I’m sure you will agree, is far too long by anyone’s reckoning.

It is therefore with great anticipation that I await your reply, which I am sure, will be in the affirmative.

Yours ever,

Fabian

Questions

1. What is missing from the top of the letter?

2. What might have caused Horatio to be in less than robust health?

3. What verb does Fabian use in the first paragraph to describe families being affected by influenza?

4. Which literary technique could this be an example of?

5. What evidence is there in the letter that Fabian might be religious?

6. Which phrase in the letter means the same as ‘he can be very annoying sometimes’?

7. Based on how it used in the letter, what do you think the word ‘affliction’ means?

8. What would be a more informal way of saying ‘implore you and your family to grace Madelaine and myself with the pleasure of your company this summer at Hamilton House’?

9. Based on how it is used in the letter, what do you think the word ‘countenance’ means?

10. Does Fabian think Horatio will accept the invitation? How can we tell that this is the case?

Homework, October 16th, 2017

Hi, 

This week I would like you to read the short story below and answer the questions that follow. This is due tomorrow (Tuesday, October 16th). 

Nightmares

I wake with a jolt, as if someone has just switched me on. I am drenched in sweat, I ache all over, and my heart is racing. I sit for a few seconds, desperately trying to calm down. This is the third morning in a row this has happened. Before I have time to think about it anymore, however, Sam floats into the room, arms outstretched, holding a tray with my morning cup of coffee sitting, as always, in the dead centre. I take it and drink.

                ‘Thanks Sam,’ I say.

                ‘You’re welcome,’ she replies. I say she; she’s actually an ‘it’, genderless, but to me there is something feminine about her compassionate manner. I know it is compassion that has been programmed and is therefore not real, but I am convinced that, over the years she has been with me, she has started to develop her own personality. Perhaps I should be scared by that, but I’m not. I can always switch her off if I need to.

                I finish my coffee, then hoist myself out of bed and rub the sleep from my eyes. For a second I am calm, but then I remember the nightmare and begin to worry. The same bad dream three nights in a row can’t be good.

                Sensing my anxiety, Sam enquires, ‘shall I make an appointment for you to see Doctor Wells?’

                ‘Um … yes, actually,’ I reply, ‘thank you.’                                                             

*     *     *

                ‘So, three nights in a row,’ says Doctor Wells. He has a kind face, sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. His voice is soothing, although the soft lighting and comfortable chair with its embracing arms all contribute as well. And then there’s the animated artwork on the walls; there’s something strangely calming about it which I can’t quite explain.  

                ‘Yup,’ I reply.  

                ‘And what happens in this dream?’ he asks.

                ‘It’s scary … people suffering, explosions, people fighting … politicians arguing with each other. It’s like a whole world which is different from ours but somehow familiar, like it’s from a time long ago.’

                ‘Hmm.’ He takes a deep breath.

                ‘What do you think?’ I ask after a few uncomfortable seconds of him not replying.

                Without him saying anything to me, he picks up his telephone. ‘Trisha,’ he says into the receiver. ‘Could you cancel my next appointment please?’ There is a pause while Trisha says something back to him, but I can’t quite make out what it is. ‘Yes,’ he eventually says. ‘The fifth one this week.’ He hangs up. ‘It’s okay,’ he replies, turning to me. ‘Stay calm and look at the painting on the wall opposite you. You feel sleepy. Your eyes are heavy …’

*     *     *

I am coaxed gently out of unconsciousness by the comforting voice of Doctor Wells. ‘It’s okay,’ he says. ‘You’re going to feel slightly disorientated, but that’s normal. Everything is fine.’ His room gradually comes into view.

                ‘What happened?’ I ask, yawning. I feel a little groggy.  

                ‘You came to see me about some bad dreams you were having, but it’s all fine now. Everything is fixed.’

                ‘Oh, right …’ I have a vague memory that I was having nightmares, but I can’t remember what they were about. I sit there for another few minutes while he types on his computer.

                ‘How are you feeling now?’ he asks.

                ‘Fine,’ I reply. ‘Great, in fact.’

                ‘Good. You can go. Just book a follow-up appointment with Trisha on your way out for … let’s say, a week’s time, just so I can make sure you’re still okay, which you will be.’ He smiles.

                I thank him and leave.

*     *     *

When I get home, Sam is waiting for me with dinner on the table. Pasta. Good old Sam, I think to myself. I sit down and begin eating. As always, it’s the best food I’ve ever tasted. But then, something strange happens … an image … in my mind …

1. What is the narrator drenched in when she wakes up?

2. How many mornings in a row has this happened?

3. What does Sam bring for her?

4. What does the narrator say she probably should be scared of, but isn’t?

5. What is the name of the doctor Sam makes an appointment for the narrator to see?

6. What colour is the doctor’s hair?

7. What word is used to describe the arms of the chair in the doctor’s office?

8. Write down one thing that is scary about the dream that the narrator describes.

9. What does the doctor do to make time to hypnotise the narrator?

10. When she wakes up from having been hypnotised, the narrator yawns, then says she feels what?

11. What do you think this word means, based on how it is used in the story?                           

12. After telling the narrator to book a follow-up appointment, what does the doctor say to reassure her?

Extension questions

13. This is a Science Fiction story. Write down one thing about it that fits with the Science Fiction genre.

14. Look at your answer to question 4. Why do you think the writer says she should probably be worried about this?

15. What particular theme does this address?

16. How does the writer create suspense at the very end of the story?

17. There is an example of personification somewhere in the story. See if you can find it and copy it out.

18. This story is deliberately vague about what is actually happening. Why do you think this is?

                                                                                                                                                  

19. What do you think is going on? 

Homework, October 3rd, 2017

This week I would like you to complete the reading comprehension task based on the fiction extract. Everything you need is in your homework folder. 

This is due tomorrow (Tuesday, October 3rd). 

No homework this week due it being Founders' Day weekend!

Hooray!

Homework, Monday, 18th September, 2017

This week I would like you to read the fiction extract and answer questions A3 and A4. Everything you need is in your homework folder. 

This is due on Wednesday, September 20th. 

Welcome to Mr. Quillfeldt's year 11 blog!

Hi!

For those of you who are new to the school, or who have never had me as a teacher before, this is where you can check each week to see what the English homework is, as well as find other details about what is going on in English. 

Wherever possible, I will make copies of worksheets and resources available, but, in cases where someone else has created the resource, I might only be able to provide a link to it for copyright reasons. A hard copy of everything will always be provided in the homework folder though, so this blog is more of a backup. 

Homework will start next week, and will usually be a reading comprehension task based on fiction. In class we will be studying creative writing up until October half term, so hopefully, by the end of the unit, you will be able to write a short story of around 450 words. 

That's it for now. Make sure you check back next week. 

Homework, 27th April, 2017

For the next few lessons, we will be looking at how to write reports. We will do lots of work in lessons on how to lay a report out correctly and what kinds of things you might be asked in the exam to write a report about, but this week's homework is all about the kind of language you need to use when writing reports.

This is due on Tuesday, May 2nd. Good luck!

As you read the following report, you will notice that some of the words have been numbered. This is because they could all be replaced with more formal words which, if used, could help get this report a higher mark. In the table below, next to each number, write a more formal alternative to each word. You can choose your alternatives from the selection given. You may have to look up some of the words to find out their meaning.

Report to the head teacher about the possibility of a Year 11 common room

Background

I was 1.asked by the head teacher to speak to 2.teachers and students at the Moat School about the possibility of creating a common room for the Year 11s and, if it was considered to be a good idea, where it 3.would go. Below 4.are my findings:

Arguments in favour

·         It would provide a safe, comfortable place for the Year 11s to relax and study, away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the school. This would be especially 5.useful during exam times.

·         It would make the Year 11s feel valued and would prepare them for life at college, where they will most likely have access to a common room.

·       The common room could contain 6.leisure facilities such as a pool table, table football, tea and coffee facilities and a television, which the Year 11s would very much appreciate.

Arguments against

·         There is 7.not much space available; the common room would have to replace one of the classrooms, and this would have an effect on the school timetable, as some classes would have to be re-roomed.

·         The pool table, table football and other facilities would 8.cost money.

·         The feeling among some of the teachers is that would 9.create extra work for them as it would have to be supervised.

·         Some of the students have pointed out that, as the Year 11s do not have free periods, there is no time during the day when they would actually go and 10.gather there.

·         It would separate the Year 11s from the rest of the students and might create a 11.split within the school.

·         When they go to college, they will have free periods and a common room, so they could just wait a year for that.

Recommendations

My recommendation is that a Year 11 common, whilst a nice idea, would be 12.too expensive and would cause too much disruption to be worthwhile.

prohibitively expensive           make demands of the school’s budget staff         congregate          increase the workload          division a paucity of          I have outlined          would be located requested          recreational                advantageous

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Homework, Thursday, 23rd March, 2017

This week I would like you to read the speech in your homework folder and answer the following question:

How does the speaker try to put the Year 6 students' minds at ease about the prospect of starting a new school? Focus on:

* What is said
* How it is said

The question is worth 10 marks and you should aim to write around 200 words. It would be good exam practice to give yourself a time limit of 15 minutes. 

Because the speech is from a textbook, I can't post it here, so try not to lose it!

Homework, March 16th, 2017

Read the extract from the Malala Yousefzai speech and answer the questions that follow. If you want to watch the whole speech, you can find it here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rNhZu3ttIU


When answering the questions, you might want to refer to some of the literary techniques mentioned in the table below:

Example	Technique	What or how?	Why writers sometimes use it
His speech was a million times more effective.	Hyperbole	How	To ram home a point by making something seem more dramatic, powerful or important than it is.
Grizzly intruder loses its bearings	Wordplay/humour	How	To make the reader laugh, which makes reading the text more enjoyable.
Last year, 3.5 million people signed up to Facebook.	Fact/statistic	What	Statistics are used to prove certain points, which gives them more credibility so the reader takes them more seriously.
He was gigantic, with frenetic hair and a magnetic smile.	Powerful, lively adjectives	How	Adjectives are often used to make the writing livelier and more engaging for the reader.
No, no, no!	Repetition	How	You will find this a lot in speeches; the effect on the reader is to make the repeated word or phrase stick in the mind.
John Campbell, 37 from Worcester, has always loved cheese.	Case study of a specific person	What	When you read details about a specific person, you form a connection with that person, and this makes the writing more engaging.
The long, sinewy fingers of the trees reached out towards me.	Personification	How	This is a type of metaphor. The effect on the reader is to make objects easier for the reader to visualise by giving them human qualities.
The fuzzy fiend foraged among the foliage.	Alliteration and wordplay	How	By using several words with the same first letter in the same sentence, the sentence is more likely to stick in the reader’s mind. It also helps to break up the rhythm of the text.
The last race took place in 2013 and drew a huge crowd.	Example of a specific event	What	Like statistics, details of specific events are sometimes used to back up a point that is being made and make it more credible.
First Miliband, then Cameron, and now Farage.	List	What/how	Like alliterations, lists have their own rhythm, and this makes them more likely to stick in the reader’s mind.
Has the time not come to end this madness?	Rhetorical question	How	By posing a question, the writer is attempting to engage the reader by getting him/her to think of the answer.
Surprise, surprise, James Bond is driving an Aston Martin.	Sarcasm/humour	How	Sarcasm is a way of making a negative comment about something in a way that engages the reader. In this case, the point is that James Bond always drives an Aston Martin, which is a bit boring.
He had a burning coldness about him.	Oxymoron	How	By placing two opposing ideas next to each other in a sentence, that sentence is more interesting to the reader, because he/she has to think about it.
You should really be exercising at least three times a week.	Advice and direct address.	What/how	This is a way of connecting directly with the reader by making him/her think about something he/she should perhaps be doing.
Watching this movie is like being slapped in the face with a fish.	Simile/hyperbole	How	Like all types of metaphor, similes make a description of something more interesting and therefore more engaging for the reader.
‘I couldn’t believe it,’ said Mr Campbell.	Quote	What/how	Quotes are probably most common in articles, and are a great way of getting the reader to form a connection with the people in the story.
Fernando was a lion among zebras.	Metaphor	How	In this example, the writer wants to think of Fernando as being fierce and possibly quite dangerous. Calling him lion gets this point across to the reader in a more interesting and engaging way.
I just don’t think people really enjoy it.	Personal opinion	What	Although facts give a point credibility, people may sometimes be interested in your personal opinion. This is most common in speeches.

The following is an extract from a speech by the human rights activist Malala Yousafzai delivered to the youth version of the United Nations on July 12^th, 2013.

…

I don't know where to begin my speech. I don't know what people would be expecting me to say. But first of all, thank you to God for whom we all are equal and thank you to every person who has prayed for my fast recovery and a new life. I cannot believe how much love people have shown me. I have received thousands of good wish cards and gifts from all over the world. Thank you to all of them. Thank you to the children whose innocent words encouraged me. Thank you to my elders whose prayers strengthened me.

…

There are hundreds of Human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just one of them.

So here I stand: one girl among many. I speak, not for myself, but for all girls and boys. I raise up my voice, not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights: their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with dignity, their right to equality of opportunity, their right to be educated.

…

Dear sisters and brothers, we realise the importance of light when we see darkness. We realise the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realised the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.

The wise saying, “The pen is mightier than sword” was true. The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them. And that is why they killed 14 innocent medical students in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed many female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa and FATA. That is why they are blasting schools every day.  Because they were and they are afraid of change, afraid of the equality that we will bring into our society.

I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist, “Why are the Taliban against education?” He answered very simply. By pointing to his book he said, “A Talib doesn't know what is written inside this book.” They think that God is a tiny, little conservative being who would send girls to the hell just because of going to school. The terrorists are misusing the name of Islam and Pashtun society for their own personal benefits. Pakistan is peace-loving democratic country. Pashtuns want education for their daughters and sons. And Islam is a religion of peace, humanity and brotherhood. Islam says that it is not only each child's right to get education, rather it is their duty and responsibility.

Read the Malala Yousafzai speech extract and answer the following questions:

1. Who does Malala thank first in the extract?

2. Why do you think she does this?

3. How, in the first paragraph, does she try to make it seem like everyone listening is part of the same group?

4. Why do you think she does this?

5. Complete the sentence: ‘Thousands of people have been ___________ by the terrorists and millions have been ________________.’

6. For whom does Malala speak, according to the speech?

7. What two literary devices are used in the last two lines of the third paragraph?

8. Complete the sentence: ‘Dear brothers and sisters, we realise the importance of ___________ when we see ____________________.’

9. What literary technique is this an example of?

10. What ‘wise saying’ does Malala refer to in the fifth paragraph?

11. This saying is an example of which technique?

12. Why, according to the fifth paragraph, have so many females been killed by extremists?

13. There is a case study of a specific person in the final paragraph of the extract. Who is this person?

14. Why do you think Malala has mentioned him?

15. Now have a go at the following 10 mark exam-style question:

How does Malala Yousafzai try to convince us that we should stand up to extremists? Focus on what is said and how it is said.