ENG4U
Name: __________________________
Year-End Round Table Discussion
As a final, cumulative reflection piece, we are going to conduct an in-class round table discussion.
This will give us the opportunity to tie together all of the textual threads we have explored this year.
The discussions will take place over two class periods. For each, half the class will participate.
(Please see the schedule for the date on which you will participate.) You are asked to make a
minimum of FOUR significant and insightful contributions to the group discussion. These contributions
will relate to course texts, topics, themes, and issues. (See below for a partial list of possible topics to
consider.) While this discussion will be academic in content, in form it will follow the rules of an
informal, colloquial discussion. This means that you must observe the conventions of polite and
respectful discussion. (See below for some conversational conventions to observe during the
discussion.) Your verbal and non-verbal participation as a speaker and listener in this discussion will
account for 5% of your final mark in this course.
As with other summative evaluations, you cannot be absent. Conscientious and considerate
participation in this discussion is a must. Do not arrive late. Latecomers will not be permitted. Absent
participants will receive a mark of ZERO.
Please see the attached rubric to understand how you will be evaluated during this discussion.
Conventions of a Respectful Academic Discussion
(Most of us consistently already observe these conventions. Often, we don’t even realize it. However,
let the following serve as a friendly reminder.)
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Address one another by name.
Do not interrupt.
Should two people speak at once, defer to your classmate.
Build upon the ideas of peers in your response. (For example: “I really liked the way Sally
phrased that point regarding appearances contrasting reality in Hamlet. I also found that to
hold true in my first IRP novel, The Sister Brothers.”)
Substantiate your ideas with textual support.
Make text-to-text (or intertextual) connections.
Address the group; not only a friend or the teacher.
Try to make earnest, insightful contributions. Funny is great, but simply being flippant, trite, or
cute is not.
Disagree politely. Address the point of contention NOT the individual.
Use eye-contact and body language to appear prepared and interested. (Do not slouch, sleep,
or even think about looking at your cell phone! Connect with other students through eye
contact and by addressing points others bring up directly. Don’t make a point and then
disconnect from the conversation. Make others believe you are “into” the conversation by
appearing that way. If you really don’t feel “into it” that day…fake it. This is excellent
preparation for every other formal or profession meeting for your later lives in university and
the working world.)
Prepare through consideration of course themes. If you like, you may bring in notes for
reference (i.e. your IRP quotations), however do not bring in cribbed or word-for-word prepared
speeches. (Reading these types of statements effectively makes you sound robotic and goes
against the spirit of this discussion.)
Texts, Topics, and Themes
(Note: this list is by no means exhaustive. It is included simply to spark your consideration for ideas
and issues from this year’s English course.)
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postmodernism
existentialism
Intertextuality
authenticity
the meaning of life
what it means to be human
mortality
morality
fate
predestination
religion
life after death/ the afterlife
betrayal
lying (to others, to ourselves)
love
lust
sex
gender
stereotypes
appearances versus reality
double meaning
corporatization
power and authority
rules
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genetics
science
family
friendship
fascism
democracy
individualism
duty
responsibility (individual/ societal)
Hamlet
Not Wanted on the Voyage
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Blade Runner
Never Let Me Go
Oryx and Crake
Macbeth (ENG3U/4U)
narrative structure (i.e. fractured
narrative)
writing style
narrative voice/ perspective
setting
characterization
tone/ mood/ atmosphere
diction/ use of language
Year-End Round Table Discussion Groups
ENG4U-05
ENG4U-07
Monday June 3rd
Thursday June 6th
Wednesday June 5th
Friday June 7th
Matthew
Wilson
Anthony
Rebekah
Jaimie
Melanie
Vivien
Sami
Meagan
Zach
Sam
Amir
Iris
Young Suk
Ana
Lisa
Candice
Cassandra
Albert
Sophy
Evan
Steve
Trevor
Bridgette
Anastasia
Pouria
Keith
Thea
Robert
Fernando
Wan Yao
Johnnie
Helios
Anton
Sharron
Ana
David
Theodore
Clemmy
Alfred
Cindy
Hojung
Shashike
Eric