Tag Archives: Literature

Who is this woman?

Wikipedia

Wikipedia

I. Discuss the following questions In groups of four peole. Take notes.

1. Observing the Picture

  • What do you notice about this person’s clothing and hairstyle?
  • Does this style remind you of any particular time period?
  • Based on her appearance, do you think she was rich or from a more modest background? Why?

2. Guessing Her Identity

  • Do you think this person was famous? Why or why not?
  • What kind of job do you think she had?
  • Do you think she was a writer, a scientist, a queen, or something else? Why?

3. Time Period and Country

  • When do you think she lived? The 1600s, 1700s, 1800s, or 1900s?
  • Which country do you think she was from? Why?
  • What was life like for women in this time period? Could they easily have jobs and careers?
  • Do you think women were encouraged to write books during her time? Why or why not?

4. Her Work and Legacy

  • What types of books do you think she wrote? Fiction or non-fiction?
  • Have you heard of any books by Jane Austen? If yes, which ones?
  • Why do you think people still read her books today?
  • How do you think her books might be different from modern stories?

    II. Choose a spokesperson and share your ideas with the rest of the class.

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Patricia Highsmith and her criminal mind

Have you ever heard of Patricia Highsmith? Do you know any of her works?

I. Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the missing information about Patricia Highsmith’s biography.

  1. Born in her grandmother’s boarding house in _____________ in ________.
  2. She was born ______ days after her mother divorced her father.
  3. Her mother went off to Chicago to be an _______________ and left her with her grandmother. This was the author of much of her _________ in later life and she never forgot.
  4. She had a wonderful ability to ___________ herself in her work.
  5. Her interesting mother was the ______________ for every noir bitch that turned up in her writing.
  6. She wrote two famous books turned into _________ :”Strangers on a train” and “The talented Mr. Ripley”.
  7. Hichcock thought her work was too _______________ and he toned it down.
  8. The film version of Mr. Ripley isn’t as  ______________ as the book.
  9. Both men and women found her extremely seductive but she has a preference for ___________. 
  10. According to the speaker, she was an obsessive, homicidal, ______________ lesbian who never ceased thinking about ___________.

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About Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby is a British writer, novelist, screenwriter, and essayist. He is also a music and literary critic as well as songwriter. As a philanthropist he set up a kids literacy project called “Ministry of Stories” aimed at helping children and young adults develop writing skills and to help teachers inspire their students to write.

PRE-WATCHING – Check the meaning of these words.

tentpole / treatment / ministry / debt / charity / background / to grant / literacy / dystopian

I. You’re going to listen to Nick Hornby talk about different topics. In this first clip he talks about tips to come up with ideas for writing. Listen and answer the questions.

  1. Does Nick Hornby plan his stories? ___________________________________________________________
  2. What do Nick Hornby and Woody Allen share about how to get ideas for writing? ____________________________________________________
  1. When he starts to write, what does he take as a starting point? ________________________ or ________________________________
  2. What is the structure he has when he starts writing a novel? A _____________,a ___________________ in the middle and a kind of _______________.
  3. Why can’t his brother-in-law, Robert Harris, use the same strategy when plotting?____________________________________________________
  4. As a screenwriter, why did he think he was not a professional writer? ___________________________________________________________
  5. Why doesn’t he like treatments?__________________________________________________
  6. Does he revise his texts a lot? __________ How many drafts does he write? ____________________________________

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Amanda Gorman’s Poem for Inauguration Day

I. Who is Amanda Gorman, and what has she been asked to do? 

II. Watch the video about Amanda Gorman and answer the following questions with one word.

  1. How old is Amanda Gorman?
  2. What topics does Amanda Gorman explore in her poetry? R_______________, m_______________, A______________ H_______________.
  3. At what age was she named the nation’s first youth laureate poet?
  4. When did she start to write the inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb”?
  5. Where is she from?
  6. What impediment did she have as a child?
  7. Who had this impediment too?
  8. What is the power of poetry for her? Poetry is a w_______________
  9. What university did she recently graduate from?
  10. What are her political aspirations?

Transcript

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Jane Austen’s World & Literature

Watch the following video about Jane Austen and answer the questions. You can stop and watch the video as many times as you need.

  1. What period is described in Jane Austen’s novels?

2. What did she want to achieve through her novels?

3. What was her father’s job? Were they rich?

4. Did she get married?

5. How many novels did she write? Which ones do you know?

6. Why are Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice good for one another? 

7. What are the lenses Jane Austen tries to exchange in Mansfield Park?

8. Does Jane Austen talk about money in her novels? What are the two important aspects of money she deals with?

9. What is Emma’s flaw in Jane Austen’s novel? 

10. What is the characteristic in Jane Austen’s novels that makes it unique and has disappeared from current literature?

 

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Reader: “The stranger”

This is the book you have to read for February 14th.

I hope you enjoy it!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DOSSIER

(it must be handwritten in WHITE PAPER and STAPLED on the top left corner)

FRONT PAGE: title, author, date & your complete name

SECTION A: VOCABULARY

  1. Write all the new words for you with the translation in Catalan and the sentence where they appear in the text.
  2. Classify the words according to the chapters, so write the 15 titles of the chapters to introduce the lists of words.

SECTION B: POINTS FOR UNDERSTANDING (pages 57-62)

  1. Copy questions.
  2. Write complete answers to the questions. Remember to use the same verb tenses.

SECTION C: EXERCISES (pages 63-68)

  1. Do the exercises about the story. 
  2. Only write the answers.

SECTION D: PERSONAL OPINION

Write a paragraph (50 words) giving your opinion about the book. Give solid arguments.

[Thanks to Montse Sanz]
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Juliet

ROMEO AND JULIET

John William Waterhouse -“Juliet”

I. Have you ever seen a play by Shakespeare? Have you read any of his works? What do you know about Romeo & Juliet?

II. What do teenagers find so compelling about Romeo and Juliet? British actor Jade Anouka explains what British teenagers taught her about playing Juliet. Listen to the video and then listen again and do the tasks below.

III. Juliet is just like teenage girls today! Jade Anouka explains the insights she gained from playing Juliet in the Middle East. Listen to the video and then listen again and do the tasks below.

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Three short stories about escape (Step 1)

Permission to leave and other stories is a book by Steve Buckledee. Do you know who he is?

I. Look on the Internet for information about him and answer these questions:

  • Where is he from?
  • Where does he live? 
  • What is his job?

II. Permission to leave and other stories is a book with three stories about escape. Read the title of the stories and discuss what they can be about.

STORY 1. “Permission to leave”

STORY 2. “Can Helen escape?”

STORY 3. “Raimundo Sánchez – Superstar”

III. We are going to divide the class in groups of 3. Each group is going to read a story and is going to fill in My story report.

GROUP 1. Permission to leave.

GROUP 2. Can Helen escape?

GROUP 3. Raimundo Sánchez – Superstar.

 

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Shakespeare’s “Romeo & Juliet”

 

romeojuliet-poster

I. Click on this link and watch the video about “Romeo & Juliet”‘s plot. Then do the comprehension exercises.

II. Watch the 1996 film and discuss the following questions: 

Are Romeo and Juliet’s deaths just a tragic accident? If not, who is responsible?

Do you think the story of Romeo and Juliet is relevant to life today?

(Questions taken from the previous British Council link)

III. Soundtrack. Did you like the soundtrack? What song did you like most? If you feel like listening to it again here you are the YouTube link.

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