Childhood and Adolescence in Chapter One of "The Catcher in the Rye"

Just a reminder as to what you need to complete for homework tonight:

Following on from the table that you started in class today, you need to work your way through Chapter One of J.D Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye documenting the versions of childhood and adolescence that are being constructed.

To do this, you should be listing words or phrases that are taken directly from the text or that sum up the impressions that you are developing as you read the story.

These words/phrases will help to formulate your analysis later on.

Image taken from Google images on 07/02/11

Winnie the Pooh

Write a response that explores the construction of childhood in Chapter 9 of A.A Milne's Winnie the Pooh.

Your opening sentence (thesis statement) should be something along the lines of:

The version of childhood constructed in A.A Milne's classic children's story, Winnie the Pooh, is both complex and contradictory. This can be clearly seen when analyzing Chapter Nine from the book.

Given the feedback you all provided in your e-mails regarding strengths and weaknesses, I am expecting more than a few sentences in your response.

Image taken from Google images on 07/02/11

What is childhood?

Your first piece of homework for me this year is to complete the following task:

Watch the following two clips on YouTube that advertise Barbie. The first clip is from 1959, it is the first ever Barbie commercial.



The second commercial is from 2010.



Your task is to compare the two commercials and discuss how each positions the audience to view the construction of childhood.

This task needs to be completed by Monday's lesson.

Welcome Back

Well girls,

Welcome back to your final year of high school!

Just a quick run down regarding my expectations of you this year in so far as the blogs are concerned.

Firstly, I am hoping to use these a lot more this year now that you will all have access to computers/ipads straight from the classroom. My overarching rationale behind this decision is that it will allow me to give you more immediate feedback regarding your writing and it will allow you to all share ideas. The second aspect of the decision is that I have found in the past that most students seem to naturally write with greater detail when given the option to type out their responses, as well as that the knowledge that what you post is accessible to the entire web seems to consciously or subconsciously make you more aware of the need to consider what you write and to proof-read to a greater extent than you do when you simply write it in your book.

It will also mean that for those who have days off for traineeships, illness, travel, excursions, etc you will be able to stay up to date with greater ease.

So, what does all this mean in the wider scheme of things?

Essentially, I will be expecting that everyone has a blog up and running by the end of this week and that you are vigilant in your use of the blog. If you do not make use of the system that is in place you will most likely find yourself falling behind and then having to explain to me, and possibly Mrs Grehan, what is happening.

I am looking forward to working with you this year girls and I hope that you will enjoy your year as Seniors :)

Image taken from Google images on 27/01/11