AREA OF STUDY: JOURNEYS
The final area of study in Year 11 English
Journeys
How many kinds of journeys can you think
of ? Tell the person sitting next to you (in
Bahassa Inggris)
Types of Journeys we will discuss:
-
-
Physical Journeys
Journeys to a foreign country, or foreign culture
Journeys of survival
Journeys towards freedom
Emotional and spiritual journeys
Journeys taken by choice and journeys that we did not ask for.
Journeys
Texts we will read:
The Road Not Taken – A poem by Robert Frost
North Korean Man Learns to Trust the Stranger
Who Saved Him – Non-fiction: a news article
published in the Los Angeles Times.
Journey to Freedom– A non-fiction biographical
narrative by Hai-Van Nguyen
Cast Away – A 2000 film directed by Robert
Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks.
Journeys
Questions we will ask:
- What sets a journey in motion?
- How is a journey told through film?
- How is a journey told through non-fiction
writing?
- How do emotional and spiritual journeys
coincide with physical journeys?
- What kinds of journeys do we undertake in
life? (Do the journeys choose us, or do we
choose the journeys?
- How do journeys relate to choices?
Journeys
What we will learn:
- How to analyze journeys through the features of film,
journalism and biographical narrative.
- How to structure and write an analysis essay.
- How to write and respond to an in-class essay (this will be
prep for your final exam covering all the areas of study).
- How writers use narrative techniques to create a journey
for the reader.
-
What we can reflect on:
- Our own journeys so far – geographically, emotionally,
intellectually.
- Your journey of faith as a follower of Jesus
- The journey of Saint Paul; his letter to the Philippians
Journeys
Our Assessments:
1. A short, in-class, essay that will
compare the two non-fiction texts and discuss
the differences between a journalism story and a
biographical account.
2. A type-written, detailed analysis essay that discusses film
techniques and how the idea of Journeys is conveyed in
the film Cast Away
For due dates, check your COURSE OUTLINE !
Journeys
How we will get there…
1.By reading, reading out loud, and
Reading a lot.
2. By practicing our writing in an
English notebook. This notebook will
Contain both a section for your Warm-ups and a section
for Writing that will contain your class work.
3. By learning to think in English with an English speaking
environment.
4. By writing our final essay in stages: brainstorm, thesis,
outline, opening paragraph, body paragraphs, revision.
Journeys
These seven weeks are prep
for year 12, the HSC Exam and
University.
1. When you are in class, be on time, and be focused.
2. Read and speak in English – no Bahassa Indoesia.
3. Be aware of due dates; they are in your course outline.
Even if I do not remind you in class, a due date is still a
due date.
4. Do your own work; don’t even think about copying.
5. Your writing assignments and class work in the WRITING
section will count for credit, as will your WARM-UPS.
Journeys - What sets a journey in motion?
STASIS – a situation that has settled or reached
equilibrium. A stasis will not change.
INTRUSION – An event that, INTRUDES, or breaks a
stasis. An intrusion marks the beginning of a
story, a conflict, or a journey.
Stasis – An English teacher goes on a relaxing
vacation to Bali
Intrusion? - English teacher realizing he is running
out of money AND the hotel insists that he hasn’t
paid.
Journey Groups #1 - Brainstorming
* Confer with your groups and answer the following
questions in your WRITING section of the
notebook. Please include the date.
Describe a plausible INTRUSION for the following:
- A fast-talking lawyer who lies to get ahead puts his
career over his family…
- A dutiful 11th Grader walks into his or her English
class for a new semester at IPEKA…
- An old Balinese fisherman with a wife and a family
sets out on his small, wooden boat to fish …
- On a humid evening, a Jakarta taxi driver pulls over
at Puri Mall to pick up a passenger…
Journeys – What begins a Journey
STEP 2 - Answer the following questions:
-
-
How do YOU define a journey?
What needs to happen for a character for them to
be on a journey?
Take one of the situations that you responded to
and expand the INTRUSTION into a journey. (This
should be a short paragraph)
Come up with a name for your group!
Journeys – What begins a journey
How do we define a journey ?
“A journey is best measured in friends rather than
miles,” – Tim Cahill
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single
step.” – Lao Tzu
“A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike.
And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are
fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we
do not take a trip; a trip takes us.” – John Steinbeck
Journeys Groups–The Road Not Taken
(Robert Frost)
The Road Not Taken – Published
in Selected Poems in 1973.
-
One of the best
known of the
author’s poems
Robert Frost, Famous 20th Century American Poet
Journeys Groups–The Road Not Taken
Diverge
To go or extend in different
directions from a common point.
Undergrowth
Low-growing plants and shrubs
beneath the trees of a forest.
Wanted Wear
To ‘want’ something can also mean to
‘lack’ or ‘not have’ it. ‘Wear’ is a noun
meaning a state of being worn out.
Trodden
Past tense form of ‘tread,’ meaning to
‘walk on.’
Journeys The Road Not Taken
STEP 2 – Discuss the following
Questions with your groups and
then answer these questions
In your WRITING section:
1. What kind of decision is described in The Road
Not Taken?
2. What words, images and rhyme patterns
convey the author’s dilemma?
3. On a deeper level, what does this poem say
about the consequences of choices?
Journeys The Road Not Taken
A Metaphor – a physical object
that stands for an abstract idea.
A metaphor is specific; it usually
embodies one or more characteristics
of the idea it represents.
In the Road Not Taken, the path diverging in the woods is a
metaphor for an important decision in the author’s life. In stanza
1, the author discovers two paths in the road, (a decision he must
make). In stanza 2, the author compares the two roads, (weighing
the decision) and realizes in stanza 3 that the consequences of
his decision will be irreversible. From reading stanza 4, what was
the author’s decision and what does he feel about it?
Journeys – In Class Writing Practice
Robert Frost’s poem The Road
Not Taken describes a journey in
which consequences result from
a simple choice.
Describe a significant choice that you have made in
life, or a choice that you will have to make in the near
future. What kind of journey will this choice present?
What consequences?
Journeys The Road Not Taken
HW (Typed & printed out)
Brainstorming and
Evidence Gathering
Brainstorm three answers to the following question:
What is one idea about Journeys that you found in the
poem the The Road Not Taken? What techniques does
the author use to present this idea?
- WRITE out each answer in complete sentences and
follow it up with some bullet points that include QUOTED
evidence from the Essay.
Journeys – Text #1 Journalism Article
HW: Read through the text North Korean Man
Learns to Trust the Stranger who Saved Him
In your WRITING section, list THREE DETAILS
from the story that you find descriptive (A
quotation, an image, a flashback, or even the
sub-heading).
Briefly explain how each detail contributes to
impact of the story
Journeys – Text #1 Journalism Article
Background: North Korea
-Democratic People’s Rep.
of North Korea. (DPKR)
-Capital: Pyongyang
-Population: Approx. 24 million
-Upper half of the Korean
Peninsula; separated from South Korea by a
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ); technically still at war
- Single-party system with a personality cult build around
the late leader Kim Jong-Il (recently passed away).
- Centrally planned (Government owned) Economy
- Hermit Kingdom (no trade and limited relations with
outside world and intl’ community. )
Journeys – Text #1 Journalism Article
-
-
Those who try and defect from
North Korea through China are
punished severely or killed.
Political prisoners are sent to forced
labor camps. (Visible by satellite)
Gov’t mismanagement has led to
mass starvation in recent years.
Journeys – Text #1 Journalism Article
The Heroine!
- Korean-American
Fiction author Krys Lee.
- Author of Drifting House,
a collection of stories
about Korean-Americans and those struggling to
survive in North Korea.
-Grew up in California and Washington State, now
lives in Seoul. Her journey included emotional
and family struggles as well.
- Made risky trips to China to help Kim Yong-chul,
a North Korean defector.
Journeys
Journalism – News and Feature Articles
-Concise wording (Articles usually 800–1000 words
-Lead paragraph to hook readers
-Objective (author does not state opinions.)
-Brief, factual writing with lots of specific details
-Strong description (people, places, metaphors)
-Fact-based, research, uses quotations
-Expositor y information (WHO, WHAT, WHEN,
WHERE, WHY & HOW)
-Timeline / retelling the
events in the story (flashbacks)
-Emphasis on characters and events
Journeys – Text #1 Journalism Article
Story Angle: The significance of the story – the
purpose. Expressed in the way the writer tells the
story and uses details (character, description,
events). Not always stated, like a conclusion.
-Answers the question: Why is
is this story important?
Journeys – Text #1 Journalism Article
The purpose of a News or Features Story
-A news or features story is written
to inform the reader about an
Interesting or unique event and
Explore that event through details.
-A journalism story offers an approach (the story
angle), but DOES NOT state CONCLUSIONS for
the reader. A story invites the reader to examine
the details and make up his or her own mind.
Journeys – Text #1 Journalism Article
Journey Groups: Narration of Events
Task ONE: Draw a timeline of the events in the
story as they happened in REAL LIFE
Task TWO: Draw a parallel timeline that shows
the order of events in the STORY.
Task THREE: For every event on the story
timeline, cite one phrase, fact or quote that the
writer uses to describe the event to the reader.
Journeys – Text #1 Journalism Article
WRITING SECTION – Short Answers
In your own words, describe Kim’s journey to
freedom (how is his journey BOTH physical and
emotional?).
- Why is the friendship that develops between
Kim and Lee important to the story? Find one
quote or detail from the story that shows this
importance
Journeys
Features of PERSONAL NARRATIVE
HW: Written paragraph, half a page, TYPED
In your own words, explain the purpose of a
Journalism article.
Use TWO examples from the article North Korean
Defector in your explanation. How do they
contribute to the purpose of the article?
Journeys
An Opening Paragraph
Even though journalism articles now compete with
blogs, tweets and TV news for the reader’s attention, they
still offer something unique: skillful, excellent writing for
educated readers. *The purpose of a news or a feature
article—for example, the L.A. Times article North Korea
Defector Learns to Trust the Stranger Who Saved Him—is to
the present the reader with the details and significance of a
story. An article is objective, meaning the author uses strong
description, facts and quotations to tell the story, but
refrains from sharing his or her opinion.* However, wellwritten articles contain a story angle, or an emphasis on
what is most significant in the story.
Journeys
Opening Paragraph Pattern
-Lead sentence
-Context (if introducing a text)
-Thesis statement
- Summarizing / concluding
Journeys
Opening Paragraph Pattern
Going from a brainstorm to an opening paragraph
Let’s say your outline is this:
Body Paragraph 1 – Kim’s Physical Journey
AND Use of Strong Description to show physical
journey
1. Find an example of strong description that would be
good evidence for paragraph 1
2. Explain your evidence – how does it illustrate the
physical journey?
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
“The journey is part of the experience -- an
expression of the seriousness of one's intent.
One doesn't take the First Class train to
Mecca.”
“No man ever steps in the same river twice,
for it's not the same river and he's not the
same man.”
- Heraclitus
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
- Personal Narrative by Hai-Van Nguyen.
Also called a memoir piece.
-Her piece Journey to Freedom won the
major prize in the Australia IS Refugees
Competition. Also published in Australian
newspaper The Age in 2002.
-Recounts the story of her family as they
journeyed from Vietnam to Malaysia on a
crowded boat full of other refugees (1981).
- Her piece also discusses the challenge of
adapting to a new culture, and how Western
cultures (like Australia) can be blind or
insensitive to those fleeing from atrocities.
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Vietnamese Refugees – ‘Boat People’
- After the fall of Saigon, which ended
U.S. involvement in Vietnam, many
Vietnamese (several hundred
thousand) were imprisoned, executed
or sent to labor in New Economic
Zones.
-Nearly a million Vietnamese fled from
Vietnam to mostly Western countries.
- Around 137,000 made it to Australia
by leaving for Malaysia in crowded
boats. This was a dangerous journey.
Journeys – Text #2 Journey to Freedom
Features of PERSONAL NARRATIVE
-Biographical – the author is writing about him or
herself. It is the author’s story!
-Detailed Description – the author uses vivid
description and fiction techniques to illustrate the
story. MORE description than a features article.
-Characters
- Setting
-Memoir (recount) – writing that describes the
author’s memories or experiences.
-Subjective – The author INCLUDES their opinions,
emotions and conclusions about the story.
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
WRITING SECTION
1. Find two quotations from the story that show the
author presenting her opinion. What effect does she
create by including her emotions/opinions?
2. What point does the author make about using
numbers to describe atrocities? What narrative
technique does she use to make this point?
Finish reading Journey to Freedom
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Reading Questions
(Page 2) How do Hai’s parents deceive her as travel
on the boat to Malaysia? Why do they do this?
What are some of the potential dangers for the
refugees in the boat?
What happens when the tiny boat passes by a huge
cargo ship?
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Friday Free write
-FIRST: Discuss with a neighbor.
How is learning a new language a journey?
Can it be a journey on two different levels (for
example – emotional and spiritual?) Explain
with examples from your own experience.
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Writing the dreaded BODY
PARAGRAPH…
-Your goal for the essay: ANALYZING the text(s).
Showing your understanding of the features in a text
and what effect they have.
- Analyzing SPECIFIC DETAILS (Quote or
paraphrase them). Explain their effect.
-PLOT SUMMARY is not enough
-Going OFF TOPIC is not acceptable.
Journeys –BODY PARAGRAPHS
Whatever you do…
DON’T
PANIC…
Journeys –Break for a Burger!
TOP BUN
Topic Sentence (What you are
showing in THIS paragraph?)
LETTUCE/TOMATO
Context for Details
CHEESE
Quotes and Details (‘Cited’ or
Paraphrased)
BEEF
Analysis (Explain details.)
BOTTOM BUN
Conclude OR Give Context for
NEW EVIDENCE
Journeys –Break for a Burger!
BUILD YOUR OWN PARAGRAPH
1. Follow the example in Mr. Curtis’
Body Paragraph and write a NEW
PARAGRAPH about how the author
uses descriptive detail in Journey to
Freedom.
2. Use Quoted evidence and connect it
to Nguyen’s purpose: describing the
intensity of her journey for the
reader.
Journeys –Break for a Burger!
BUILD YOUR OWN PARAGRAPH
HW: In your WRITING SECTION
-Take five or six of the Evidence, details
or quotations that you found in Journey
to Freedom and STRUCTURE THEM into
body paragraphs.
-You don’t need to write out the body
paragraphs, but think of where they
would fit
-FOR EXAMPLE – ONE PARAGRAPH
about SETTING, ANOTHER PARAGRAPH
about the author’s opinion on the
perception of refugees.
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Reading Questions (Fifteen Min.)
(Page 3) What sensory details does the author use to
Describe the boat on the top of page 3? (Write some down for
your notes).
How does the author describe the refugee camp in Malaysia?
How do the conditions of the camp compare to the boat?
The narrator jumps forward in time to her parent’s kitchen in
Australia. What connection does she make between her father
and an experience he had at camp?
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Reading Questions (Fifteen Min.)
(Last Page) What enables Hai’s family to emigrate to
Australia? What does she describe happening to those who
are denied entry?
How does Hai describe the obstacles of adjusting to life in
Australia?
Summarize the thoughts and opinions presented in the last
paragraph of the story. Instead of focusing on numbers, what
should society focus on in order to understand refugees?
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Reading Questions (Fifteen Min.)
(Last Page) What enables Hai’s family to enter Australia?
Describe the process What does she describe happening to
those who are denied entry?
How does Hai describe the adjustment to life in Australia?
(What descriptive technique does she use?)
Summarize the thoughts and opinions presented in the last
paragraph of the story. Instead of focusing on numbers, what
should society focus on in order to understand refugees?
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Reading Questions (Fifteen Min.)
(Last Page) What enables Hai’s family to enter Australia?
What happens to those who are denied entry?
How descriptive techniques does Van-Nguyen use to describe
the refugee experience?
-To describe the adjustment to life in Australia?
Summarize the thoughts and opinions presented in the last
paragraph of the story. Instead of focusing on numbers, what
should society focus on to understand refugees?
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Group Project – Body Paragraphs
PROMPT: How does Hai Van-Nguyen portray different
settings in her personal narrative Journey to Freedom?
Describe the techniques that she uses.
GROUP PROJECT: Design and write an OPENING
PARAGRAPH and one BODY PARAGRAPH.
- The opening paragraph must include a SUMMARY of the
story and a THESIS statement
- The body paragraph must include TWO QUOTATIONS and
ANALYSIS of those quotations.
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Sample essay prompt
A journalism article is very different from a personal
narrative, but both bring a journey to life through
powerful detail.
Using examples from both texts, explain the
differences in journalism and personal narrative.
How do both use detail to impact the reader?
Journeys –Journey to Freedom
Thesis: While personal narrative uses details plus
the author’s experience and opinions to impact the reader
emotionally, a journalism story uses facts and details to give a
more objective view of a journey.
Body paragraph 1 – Journalism / North Korean Man
-Quotations from characters showing relationship between
Kim and Lee / NO OPINION from AUTHOR
-Strong description of setting ‘Swill from garbage cans’
Body paragraph 2 – Personal narrative / Journey to freedom
-Author’s experience described through details / horrors of
boat, of Malaysian camp
-Author’s opinion and use of numbers – respect refugees
Journeys –Cast Away!
Introducing….. WILSON THE VOLLEYBALL!!
Journeys –Cast Away
Cast Away, not ‘Castaway’
-Released in 2000
-Directed by Robert Zemeckis
(top right)
-Screenplay by William Broyles Jr.
-Stars Tom Hanks (right) as
Chuck Noland, a FedEx executive
who is shipwrecked and stranded
by himself on a desert island.
-The film portrays an internal and
external journey through showing
Chuck’s struggle to survive.
-The film camera techniques and
action, but little dialogue.
Journeys –Cast Away
Taking Notes on Cast Away
• I would recommend a NEW
SECTION of your notes. You
will want to jot quick down
things you notice about
camera techniques, plot, and
character development.
•Don’t write everything down.
•Pay close attention to HOW
CHUCK DEVELOPS as a
character.
Journeys –Cast Away
WRITING SECTION
1) Describe the stasis of
the story at the beginning
of Cast Away.
2) Describe the intrusion.
(Hint: what sets Chuck’s
journey in motion?)
Journeys –Cast Away
Final Hints for In-Class Essay
- Be sure to talk about the journey
(emotional or physical) that is
presented in each story. Both
stories are ALL ABOUT a journey
of survival.
- Subjectivity / Objectivity & Story
- Read the prompt carefully
- Make an OUTLINE before you go for it.
- Keep an eye on the clock and pace yourself.
Journeys –Cast Away
ACT II – The Island
Look for examples of each of the
following as you watch Cast Away.
- Low-angle / high-angle camera shots
- Character moments (internal journey - moments
that tell us what Chuck is feeling or thinking)
- Events that show Chuck’s DEFEATS or
VICTORIES as he tries to survive in his new
environment (physical journey)
- Settings (The island, the beach, the cave).
- Action shots and advanced camera shots
(Underwater, tracking shots, close-ups)
- Humorous moments
Journeys –Cast Away
Over the Break – Writing Section
1) Make a list of the major events in Chuck’s
journey (up until where we have watched in
class) and how they are conveyed. (i.e. camera
techniques, dialogue, visual humor, etc…)
2) What have you learned in class that you didn’t
know before? What do you think about the
‘journey’ of this class so far?
Journeys –Cast Away
ESSAY Results – 20 Possible
17* highest score awarded
13 – 16 Above Average (Well-developed)
9 – 12 Average (Solid)
5–8
Below Average (or off-topic, failed to
answer the question and discuss text
features.)
Journeys –Cast Away
Essays in the 14, 15 and 16 range
tended to:
- Identify the purpose or characteristics of journalism
and personal narrative and then give examples of
those characteristics.
-
Give some summary without simply retelling the
whole story.
-
Use good examples from texts (for example,
expository info OR sensory detail, and opinion).
-
Analyze quotations – explain how they show
expository info, or detail that appeals to the senses.
Journeys –Cast Away
Second Look - Essay Prompt
Using both texts we have read, explain how a
journey is portrayed in both a journalism article
and a personal narrative.
Analyze one textual feature that is important to the
article and one that is important to the personal
narrative. How does feature illustrate the journey in
the text?
Journeys –Cast Away Quiz!
-In complete sentences, using your
knowledge of Cast Away, and of film
techniques, explain FIVE terms of your choosing.
LOW–ANGLE SHOT
MID-LEVEL SHOT
CROSS CUTTING
BIRD’S EYE SHOT
LONG SHOT
DISSOLVE
ESTABLISHING SHOT
SETTING
CLOSE-UP SHOT
Journeys –Prep for Film Analysis Essay
HW for Monday – Essay Outline
-On one page (typed), come up with a thesis statement
that you could use to write your Film Analysis Essay.
Remember, you are discussing one idea about journeys or
survival that is portrayed through the director's use of film
techniques and story.
* You will also create an outline of at least three body
paragraphs that you could tangibly write for your
essay. Your outline should include details of film
techniques, events, dialogue and other elements that can
show the idea from your thesis statement.
Journeys –Prep for Film Analysis Essay
Take out your outline!
Peer Editing Instructions:
-Is there a complete THESIS statement?
-Does it mention the text?
-Does it suggest a complete thought about journeys or
survival?
-Does it describe which film techniques convey this idea?
-Is there summary of the film?
OUTLINE:
-Is the outline divided into body paragraphs, (if not, how
could it be organized)
-Does it include specific film techniques?
-Does the paragraphs/details show the idea in the thesis?
Journeys –Prep for Film Analysis Essay
THIS WEEK – writing section - Free write
Reflect on one aspect of Chuck’s emotional
journey in Cast Away, (the stasis and intrusion,
survival, cross roads at the end, etc…).
Connect this aspect of Chuck’s journey to
something you have experienced or learned about
in your own journey so far.
Journeys –Prep for Film Analysis Essay
Writing analysis – FOLLOW BURGER MODEL
*Summarize specific Details / Then Analyze them!
In a horrifying and vivid action sequence, Chuck’s plane to
Malaysia falls into a dive from the sky and crashes into
the ocean. As the plane screams downward, the camera
shakes and buckles to show the ferocity of the dive. The
sequence uses close up shots of Chuck scrambling for the
watch with Kelly’s picture and of a co-pilot whose head is
split open to show the violence and terror of the crash.
This superb action sequence conveys the sheer power of
the accident and shows that the plane crash is a lifethreatening intrusion to Chuck’s life.
Journeys –Prep for Film Analysis Essay
Writing analysis – FOLLOW BURGER MODEL
*Write your own sequence of analysis: Summary /
Describe the details / Analyze and connect them to IDEA
SEQUENCES YOU COULD USE:
- Chuck making fire
- Chuck and Kelly saying goodbye in the car
before the plane ride.
- Chuck trying to paddle out to the ship and
getting tossed by the wave.