All posts by Mr Kirkham

A Clockwork Orange

A Parting Gift

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Dear 5E1,

It has been an absolute pleasure. Seeing so may of you develop intellectually over the past few years has been a privilege. Many of you have made mammoth progress and to have been able to play a small part in that is something very special indeed.

So, what is my parting gift? It is a link to a glossary for A Clockwork Orange. It is here:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/clockworkorange/terms.html

I hope it is a small help.  Remember now, that your education is your responsibility and completely in your own hands. You will definitely do exceptionally well in Higher English – all of you.

Thank you and goodbye,

Mr K.

Persuasive Writing

Persuasive Essays

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Dear all,

Could this be the last 5E1 Kirkucopia blog update EVER?!

Who knows – or frankly cares.

Nonetheless, there are links below to the PowerPoint and the exemplar persuasive essay we have been using in class. I hope they help.

Here you go, my lovelies. Think of it as a parting gift.

Higher Persuasive PPT

Exemplar Persuasive Essay: Higher

Maybe, I’ll write one final post before I go – just so this flippant mess isn’t the last memory you have of me.

Mr K.

Close Reading

Close Reading Resources

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Dear Lovely Fifth Years,

Below are a series of links to a load of useful worksheets that could well help you with the different question types you are likely to come across in Higher Close Reading papers/NABs over the next little while. Just click on them to download. Knock yourselves out:

1 – Own Words

2 – Word Choice

3 – Sentence Structure

4 – Linking

5 – Quoting

6 – Imagery One

7 – Imagery Two

8 – Context

9 – Tone

10 – Question Types Frames

Iechyd da,

Mr K.

Analysis, Persuasive Writing

Julian Assange Essay

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A reminder that I would like a 500 word – ish essay on whether or not it was right for Ecuador to offer the founder of Wiki-Leaks, Julian Assange, political asylum.  This is a very complex issue, with lots of competing factors. Below are some links which might help you understand what has been going on and to help you form a view on it. I have arranged the links so that the top couple are a little more general and will give you an overview of the situation. Below that are articles which detail people’s opinions of the case and whether or not Asssange should go and face his accusers in Sweden. Good luck and have fun with this.

Background information on Assange and his case:

BBC Online Profile of Julian Assange

BBC Radio 4 Profile of Julian Assange (Audio)

Questions and Answers about Julian Assange’s Arrest (BBC)

Jokey Profile About the President of Ecuador – Rafael Correa

Channel 4 Report on Assange’s Speech

Leading Media Commentators on the Julian Assange Case

Sarah Wildman

Glenn Greenwald

Karin Olsson

Mark Weisbrot

Owen Jones

Naomi Wolf

That should be enough for starters. I think it all comes down to whether you believe that the legal systems of democratic countries (in this case, the UK and Sweden) should be respected and Mr Assange be extradited, or whether you believe that the whole situation has been engineered to discredit Mr Assange and ensure his arrest and possible further extradition to the US. You may even take the feminist viewpoint that rape is a heinous crime and that Assange should face his accusers or the other feminist viewpoint that most people accused of rape are not pursued so virulently and the victims are not usually taken seriously, so that makes the circumstances surrounding the extradition very suspicious.

Have fun!

Mr K.

The Inheritors

Radiolab

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As promised, here are a couple of episodes from Radiolab that are useful in helping you ponder the subject of Human Nature. Good luck with that!

The episodes are not about evolution or human nature as such, but ponder why it is that humans act in an altruistic/good manner when evolution appears to suggest that we should act in a mean/aggressive way. They’re worth listening to – really.

Mr K.

Reading

Commit to a Book

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Evenin’ all,

In order to ensure you commit to reading at least one book this summer, I want each of you to comment on this blog post. All I want you to write is “I, (name), commit to reading (title) by (author)”. That’s it. A public commitment can be a real motivator.

Mr K.

Reading

Reading Homework for the Summer

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Dear all,

Over the next few days you will have to commit yourself to reading at least one novel/biography of worth over the summer. Even if you are in Mongolia or Belgium or Margate or wherever, you still have to do it!

In order to help you in your choosing a book, I have included some links to useful things below:

Reading to Inspire Reading List

Reading to Inspire Wiki – Some recommendations and reviews put together by pupils from Balwearie. I’m hoping you will be able to add to it in August.

Teen Reads – A fantastic resource. Pretty straightforward to navigate.

The Library near where you live.

You will be be expected to be able to analyse aspects of the book you read, so ensure you read it all and read it with your best analytical head on.

Mr K.

Analysis

Homework – For 22nd June 2012

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Hey y’all,

It’s here:

listen to ‘5A3 Homework – 18/6/12’ on Audioboo

Just to help you, I have included a short document with some texts in it just here:

If you are wondering what texts to do, why not just type “Adverts” into the search function on YouTube and see if one of those takes your fancy. Is there not a song with lyrics that you really love? Look at some Bob Dylan lyrics if all else fails. It will always help to look into the context of your text a little bit. So, for example, if you decide to do a Blake poem, then it would help you to do some research into the Romantic poets and the themes and ideas that they were concerned with.

Below is a little video to help remind you of the kind of techniques you could discuss in your presentation.

Mr K.