*Symbols in literature

One of the keys to writing good literature and poetry is not to state everything clearly, but to use symbols for the reader to find out and give his own interpretation. This however, means that you as a reader have to read between the lines to find out what the poem or story is about.

We want you to read this text about symbols. Spend time to make sure you understand most of it.

This is homework for 9CD for Monday 20th of October.
This is homework for 9EF for Tuesday 21st of October.

*Yellow Ribbon

This week's short story is a wonderful, wonderful tale about an old man and the love of his life. Read the text in Perspectives Magazine and learn all the words by heart (you might be tested).

This is homework for:
9AB for Thursday October 23rd
9CD for Wednesday October 22nd
9EF for Tuesday October 21st

*Thank You M'am

Meet Langston Huges. Langston wrote novels, short stories and poetry during a time when African Americans were expected to stay segregated from whites. But Langston was positive and believed that if you just kept going , you would overcome any obstacle.

This week's short story is a real treat. "Thank you M'am" is a wonderful story, and we can't wait to hear what you think about it.

Read "Thank You M'am" and make sure you understand all the words. Be prepared to talk about the story.

This is homework for 9CD for Wednesday 15th.
This is homework for 9EF for Thursday 16th.

Treat: Here is a wonderful poem by Huges, about overcoming difficulties and not give up.

*How to analyze characters

This week we are talking about characters. Often when you describe characters you describe their appearence. Now, we would like you to go deeper into the characters and describe their personalities.

Read this link.

Now write down notes on each of the two characters in Thank you M'am, and bring to class. (Do this thoroughly!)

This is homework for 9CD for Wednesday 15th.
This is homework for 9EF for Thursday 16th.

*Millions

We would like you to read an excerpt from a novel called "Millions" written by Frank Cottrell Boyce (it is to be found in Perspectives Magazine). It is a fantastic story about two boys finding a lot of money. Maybe some of you would like to read the whole novel after reading this?The book was made into a film in 2004, if you have seen it, we would love your verdict! Write a comment to this post. Share your thoughts!

Homework: 9CD this is for Wednesday the 3rd (although we will not talk about it until the 8th because of the camping).

Homework: 9EF this is for Tuesday the 2nd (although we will not talk about it until the 4th because of the camping).
Optional:

• Watch the trailer from the movie here.
• If you want to learn good ways to talk about a movie, read the review here (a bit difficult, but we bet you're up for the challenge!)

*Perspectives Magazine is now available!

This season's issue of Perspectives Magazine is now available! This time the main topic is WORDS. To find it log on to Fronter and click on the folder called Ressurser and then click on the icon CAPPELEN DAMM. You have to type in your Fronter username and password. It might take a while before you are admitted the first time because one of us teachers has to confirm that you are a pupil at Nordseter. Just wait a while and then try again (the same procedure). 

We will work with the texts at school after the holidays, but you should grasp this opportunity to read the magazine during Easter. Because it is a great issue! We're talking Roald Dahl, six-word stories plus lots of other interesting texts. Remember that each text has an audio file so you can listen to the text being read while you read it yourself. We really recommend you to do that!

And OMG, there's a brilliant article on slang in the magazine:

"So, FYI: You better start studying, innit, so your exam will turn out money instead of an epic fail! #yolo"

*The True Story of the Wolf and Three Little Pigs

 

You have all probably heard the story of the Three Little Pigs. You know, the one where they build three houses in different materials in order to keep the Big Bad Wolf out (if you don't remember the story - click here). Well according to the Big Bad Wolf himself that story is not the real story. The real one is to be found in Key English at page 36 - 37. Read his story and do task 5 - 7 page 38.

If you want the story read out loud by the Big Bad Wolf himself - take a look at the video above!

8EF - this is homework for Tuesday April 8th - bring both Key English and your homework to class.

*Man from the South

As we mentioned in last week's blog post, Roald Dahl did not just write books and stories for children. He wrote short stories for adults as well, and one of the most famous stories is "Man from the South".

You are to read the story and write a short summary (approx. 100 - 150 words) - bring your summary to school. Click here to find the story!

NB: You should not wait until the last evening to read the story and write the summary - this is quite a lot of work, so why not start today?

This is homework for 8EF for Tuesday March 11th
This is homework for 8CD for Wednesday March 12th

*Behold! Great Author!

We would like to introduce you all to Roald Dahl. Many of you already know him, he has written fantastic children's books such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and The Witches. But did you know that he also wrote fantastic ghost stories for adults and teens? Some really creepy ones... We can not wait to read them with you. 

But to prepare you for this, we would like you all to read THIS biography about him. Please spend time understanding the text, and look up words you do not understand.

This is homework for 8CD for Wednesday 5th.
This is homework for 8EF for Tuesday 4th.

Optional: For those of you familiar with The BFG, read this cute story.

*Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

You have been working with the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian Era for a couple of weeks now and it's about time we to introduce you to the great British author of that time; namely Charles Dickens! You have probably heard about Oliver Twist, the orphan boy who ran away from a workhouse and fell into bad company in the slums of Victorian London. Oliver Twist is a novel written by Charles Dickens. In Key English you will find an excerpt from this novel. Read p. 112 and 113 and make a list of difficult words which you translate into Norwegian (at least 15 words). Remember that this book was written in 1838 and that the language therefore might seem a bit old-fashioned.

And yes; we will see the movie "Oliver Twist" at school!

This is homework for 8EF for Tuesday January 28th - AND BRING KEY ENGLISH TO SCHOOL!
This is homework for 8CD for wednesday January 29th - AND BRING KEY ENGLISH TO SCHOOL!

*Queen Victoria and vile Victorians

The Victorian Era is named after the famous Queen Victoria - she reigned longer than any other British King or Queen! Read more about her in Key English p. 94.

Being poor during the Victorian Era was no piece of cake. Many children had to work to provide money for their families. Read some of the horrific stories in Key English p. 98 - 99. Remember that you can find a wordlist for the text at p. 227 - 228.

When you are done reading about both Queen Victoria and the vile Victorians please do task 1 - 3 p. 100.

This is homework for 8EF for Tuesday January 14th - AND BRING KEY ENGLISH TO SCHOOL!

This is homework for 8CD for Wednesday January 15th - AND BRING KEY ENGLISH TO SCHOOL!

*Make it flow!

To improve your writing you need to make sure that your ideas, both in sentences and paragraphs, stick together or have coherence (sammenheng) and that the gap between ideas is bridged smoothly. One way to do this is by using transitions - connecting words or phrases that help bring two ideas together. Look at the connecting words below. Write a short story where you use some of them - you can write about anything you like!

Condition (vilkår): if, in case
Contrast (motsetning): although, but, even if, however, on the other hand
Reason (årsak): as, because of, since, so, therfore
Time (tid): as, at last, before, first, next, still, then, when, while

This is homework for 8CD for Wednesday 20th
This is homework for 8EF for Tuesday November 19th

*Smart Ice Cream

We can not stress enough how important reading is for the development of your English skills. Once again Paul Jennings will give you the short story of the week - SMART ICE CREAM.

NB! IF THE LINK DOESN'T WORK CHECK OUT "DOWNLADS" (NEDLASTINGER) ON YOUR COMPUTER.

Write down words you find difficult and translate them into Norwegian.

This is homework for 8EF for Tuesday 14th of October.

This is homework for 8CD for Wednesday 15th of October.

*The Strap Box Flyer

READ PEOPLE, READ! Enjoy yet another marvellous short story by Paul Jennings - THE STRAP BOX FLYER :)

Write down words you find difficult and translate them into Norwegian.

This is homework for 8EF for Tuesday 8th of October.

This is homework for 8CD for Wednesday 9th of October.

*ATTENTION 8CDEF!

On Monday the 7th of October (8EF - the first day after fall break) and Thursday the 10th of October (8CD) you are to have a two-hour writing session at computer room 119A and 119B. You are to write a short story (it could be wise to refresh your memory and check out the tips from Morris Gleitzman on how to write a good short story).

Your work will be graded - make sure to do your best!

*Pink Bow Tie!

This week we would like you to read a new story. We are bombarding you with stories, we know, but believe us - it is good for you!

This one is quite funny, we hope you will enjoy it! Read the story here!

Homework for 8CD for Wednesday 25th of September: Read the story, look up difficult words!

Homework 8EF for Monday 23rd of September: Read the story, look up difficult words!

*Writing a story!

In today's post we would like to introduce you to Morriz Gleitzman. He has written many books for children and young adults, we know some of you are reading his books now! But Morriz is not only a great writer, he is also great at giving advice on how to write. We would love you to be experts on writing good stories.

First, read this article.
Make sure you understand and look up the difficult words.

Secondly, read this story!

And last, but not least, you are going to write your own story, based on the principles Morriz introduces in his article. Minimun 1 page on computer. This is to be uploaded into Fronter in the folder STORY. We will show you at school how to do it.

Today's post may seem big, but remember; you do not have to finish this until week 38!

This is due:

8CD: Wednesday 18th of September. (Bring a print to class)

8EF: Tuesday 17th of September. (Bring a print to class)