Research Project – Historical Context of The Book Thief
Today’s work is to complete a short, focussed research project in a topic of your choosing. You can work with another student and the suggested topics are listed within this post. You will be asked to present your findings on Friday.
Weekly Outline – Term 2, Week 2
This week we continue our analysis of The Book Thief. You will work with a partner to research the historical context of the novel, we will examine your independent literary analysis and we will examine opportunities for further reading and viewing.
Exemplar – Writing about Language in The Book Thief
In this video explainer, the process of examining quotations for their language effects is broken down into steps – and then you’re asked to have a go yourself.
Weekly Outline – Term 2, Week 1
This week we begin our analysis of The Book Thief in Earnest. We explore the historical contexts of the novel, you will be introduced to some examples of literary analysis and we will examine opportunities for further reading and viewing.
Holiday Learning
Your focus over the holiday break should be on completing your reading of our core text, The Book Thief
NCEA 2.9 – Wide Reading Project
A longitudinal investigation of the Magical Realism genre via a self-selected study of written texts and films.
Friday 27 March – Time to Curl Up and Read
After yesterday’s great class meeting where we discussed some of the concrete evidence of the Magical Realism genre as it has appeared in the text so far, now it’s time to snuggle up and read for the Easter break.
Thursday 26 March: A Calm Hour in the Storm
Here’s your first daily lesson outline. You can expect to receive one of these each morning when you have English on your timetable that day. This period the plan is simple. We’ll get together in our hangout to check in at the beginning of the period and then you’re encouraged simply to head to a snug place at home and read on.
A Schema for Literary Analysis
In today's lesson we discussed the system for classification that English Literary study uses to organise our analytical responses. We talked about how this scheme is essential for any higher-order analysis, as it allows us to compare our observations with our...
Annotate
As you read The Book Thief, you are also going to want to record your observations in key areas of focus as you go. This entry explains how you might go about this – though there are many ways.
Podcast
Listen to this course's companion podcast to help make sense of everything you find published here
Course Content
Choosing Magic Realism as your English programme for Level 2 means that, while you may not have had the best relationship with English over the years, you are ready to accept the challenge of the Level 2 programme and step up. This programme will explore way English can be used to extend our perception of reality and in doing so, to open our minds to what is right in front of us. You’re not here to study English for the sake of it, you’re acquiring a set of skills that you will immediately put to use in life. You will be asked to challenge yourself, take risks and show ambition.
We’ll be reading the work of some of the 20th Century’s most loved contemporary works, such as Markus Zuzak’s The Book Theif, a powerful and affecting tale taking a new perspective on the well known truths of Nazi Germany. “I am haunted by humans.”
We’ll explore realism in our own writing and we’ll be inspired by the work of many of New Zealand and Latin America’s greatest exponents of magic realism, like Elizabeth Knox and Jorge Luis Borges.
Everything we read, write, say, hear and watch will help us to learn to think critically and develop our insight into how the fantastic and the ordinary can co-habit. If anyone’s going to use the power and subtlety of our wonderful language to their own benefit, it shall be you.