222 in the eye of the beholder

For the very last post of this semester, I’d like to give you the official results of our class reading challenge:

During the past 20 weeks, we managed to read 172 books total. This means we have missed our goal by 50 books. However…if we count each book that has more than 250 words as double, the way we agreed upon regarding your genre requirements, …we did not only complete, but excel our target. Should you choose to count the second variant, you can proudly chalk up 257 books and celebrate 222 + 35 books read in just one semester! Congratulations to all of you for having read so many books, some of which must have been quite challenging. Kudos!

 

Thank you all for a great and productive first semester!

Enjoy your break 🙂

End of semester evaluation

As announced, I would like to finish this first semester of blogging by having you state your ideas and opinions about it in form of an online evaluation. It deals with questions regarding, this semester’s English classes, the 222 challenge, and naturally … your blogging experience. The evaluation consists of 20 questions of which some are multiple choice, some call for short answers and some offer the opportunity to give your opinions in more detail.

This survey is anonymous and will in no way affect your grades. Please take your time and be honest as I will use the results to improve our future lessons.
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Thank you for having participated!

Two more weeks to go…

…until the semester break! Time to finish the first semester with oomph!

Not only will this first period of the 5th form be finished in a short while, but also our first two class projects will be over:

  • the 222 book challenge

Have you finished the list and managed to fulfil all the genre requirements? Are you happy with your reading experience and the amount of reading you did? Do you have any ideas for a personal reading challenge for the second semester?

  • the first semester of class blogging

Have you completed all assignments? Which type of assignment did you like best? Are you satisfied with the comment system – yeah….probably not….well then: ideas on how to improve the amount of comments each blogger gets? Was writing online and editing/revising helpful to your process? Is there anything new you have learned for your own writing? Would you like to continue blogging?

What would you answer? – We’ll see. I will create an online survey on these topics and the English lessons in general – anonymously, of course – we can use as a tool of evaluation. With the results I hope to further improve our lessons in the future!

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Let’s dip our toes into a little analysis!

As I have told you before, your last piece of writing will deal with an aspect of your 222 books experience. You already have some knowledge when it comes to literary theory and I would like to see how you use it for a final essay.

Image by @Rebezuniga

Your essay should be around 350 – 450w long and deal with either one of these tasks:

option 1: Identify a common theme (identity, friendship, love, survival, fear, …) used in at least two of the books you have chosen to read. Describe how the theme is presented throughout each book and by what means, and compare it to the other text(s). Finally, elaborate on whether or not the theme and its realisation appealed to you and give reasons.

option 2: Take some time to think about how your texts dealt with character development. Choose at least two characters, each one from a different text and compare their journey. How do the characters of your choice (not necessarily the main characters) change throughout the plot. Which aspects lead to these developments and how are the changes realised? Are the thoughts/feelings/actions of the characters understandable/believable and why – if at all – can the reader identify with them?

option 3: Compare at least two texts from the same genre with each other. First outline the literary genre (nonfiction included), then explain why each of the books you choose fit into the category and how the genre is realised. Include examples from the plot/characters/language to successfully prove your idea. Additionally look for any parts that do not adhere to genre gudelines or restrictions – could you deal with a hybrid? Finally elaborate on whether or not you enjoy texts of this genre and why.

 Please publish your essay on your blog until the 5th of Feburary at the latest.

And A Happy New Year

Welcome to  2017 , I hope you made it alright.

The winter holidays are coming to an end and we’ll see each other in class soon.

It has been a month since our last update and I hope you have spend the time …amongst other things… with speaking,  writing and, of course, reading in English. We have officially read more than two thirds of our goal: 170/222! This means that we have 52 books to go – or an even smaller number depending on individual book length – to reach the initial 222 books for our semester.

I am sure many of you will have books to add after the break, so I am confident we can still reach our target. Congratulations to those of you who have finished their reading requirements already. Celebrate your success! Good Job! High Five!

To those who struggle: don’t give up – every bit counts.

I hope you start the new year with high spirits and lots of energy – we are nearing the end of the first semester as well. Please prepare well for the next few weeks, as

they are decisive for your overall success. Organise the items on your 2Do lists and get an early overview:

  • When exactly are the final tests for each subject and what will be required?
  • Which of your current grades would you still like to improve and how can you do it?
  • Where can you go to for help – if needed?

I am contributing from my end. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way.

Happy 2017 and happy final sprint!

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Sherlock Holmes – The Hound of Baskervilles

“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” (S.H.)

This year Vienna’s English Theatre has chosen to perform one of Sherlock Holmes’ most popular cases – The Hound of the Baskervilles – which was originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from 1901 to 1902. For the school tours the text has been changed by David Taylor. Should you be interested in Arthur Conan Doyle’s text, please follow the link to literature.org and read the complete novel.

After having enjoyed the school tours play, you might want to go to the company’s fb page and leave a comment there. Of course, you could leave them a link to your blog page, as it should contain a full review of the performance by the 9th of December.

I hope you enjoy the play and maybe even acquire a taste for the detective and his stories.