Gr. 10 Homework Updates

Grade 10 Final Exam Preparation

Exam Week Schedule:
Period 5 -- We will be meeting both Monday and Tuesday, and your exam will be during the early session this Friday.
Period 6 -- We will only meet Monday, but it will be for a double-session, so you will get just as much prep time with me as my other students. Your exam will be during the second session this Friday

Both Classes -- Remember to come to the exam with your index card, a positive mental attitude, and your properly fitted thinking cap!

The Gr. 10 English final exam will consist of:

Word of the Day roots from second semester and the words from the last two full weeks of class (25 points)
Shakespearean background information (25 points)
A creative writing exercise focusing on visual imagery and detail (35 points)
Poetic terms, concepts, and applications (55 points)
Three essay topics – you must respond to two (60 points)

As on the midterm exam, these values add up to 200 points, so the percentage value of each question is half that of its point value.

Exam Preparation/Index Cards:
To help you prepare for the exam, you may create and use one 3” X 5” index card of notes/quotes/ideas/whatever else you may need. You may write on the front and back of the card, but it must be handwritten in your own handwriting, and implements such as magnifying glasses, microscopes, or telescopes will not be permitted! The card must include your name and will be handed in with the exam.

Essay Topics:
As I promised, here are the essay questions, prior to the exam, for you to start preparing. You will need to write detailed, accurate, and insightful responses to two of the three essay topics. The Mandatory Topic will focus on Macbeth, and the two Optional Topics will address your Independent Reading selections and suggestions for preparing for an oral presentation.

For each of the essays, please be sure to include:

An interesting introduction with a clear, defensible thesis statement – underline the thesis statement so that we both know that you have one!
Specific examples and details from the texts for the first two topics, including such details as character names, roles, and relationships, relevant plot points, authors’ names, and titles.
The appropriate use of any relevant literary terms and concepts

Mandatory Topic: Macbeth’s Victims
Who or what is/are the victim(s) in Macbeth? Is there only one, or are there multiple possible choices? Why? Why not other choices? Be sure to support your choices with specific details and direct quotes from the text. In determining the victim(s), you may wish to consider issues such as:

What you mean by the title “victim” and why some choices might fit this definition better than others
Who was harmed, to what extent, and by whom
Who lost what (or had it taken from them)
Differences between innocent victims and people who may have “deserved” what happened to them
Differences between saying “Macbeth’s victim(s)” and “victim(s) in Macbeth”

Optional Topic 1: Independent Reading Selections
Of all of the books you selected to read this year – summer reading, outside reading, extra credit, and books purely for pleasure – which did you enjoy the most and/or learn the most from reading? Why? What was so special about this book? How did you grow from reading it? What did you learn about yourself, human nature, and/or the world from reading it?

Optional Topic 2: Oral Presentations
What advice would you give a person preparing to give an oral presentation? Why? How do you prepare for oral presentations? Which of this has proven most useful to you, and why? What do you consider your greatest strength/the easiest part of preparing for or giving an oral presentation, and why? What is an area that you would like to improve, why, and how might you be able to do that?