2. Housekeeping
• Exams will be marked by next week.
• If you missed the exam or any other in-class work, you
need to speak with me about if and how you can make
that work up.
• REMEMBER, if you miss class, you are expected to
review the slides and other material on the website
and complete the homework. If you have viewed the
website and still have questions, THEN, you can ask me
for clarification.
• Due today: Practice Process Paragraph
• Monday: In-class Process Paragraph worth /20 marks
3. Novel – Introductory Activities
What are some assumptions or stereotypes
people have (or have had) about you based on
your race, nationality or other characteristics?
Write your thoughts in a sentence or two.
4. Some definitions
• Assumption: A judgement about someone or
something made without knowledge.
• Stereotype: A commonly held oversimplified
judgment or bias of a person or group.
5. Novel – Introductory Activities
Stereotypes might have a small seed of truth to
them, but they are not the whole truth and they
blind us to each individual’s uniqueness.
6. Novel – Introductory Activities
Look at the front cover of the novel. Based on
the text and illustrations, what do you think it
might be about? Discuss with your neighbour.
7. Novel – Introductory Activities
“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time
Indian”
Images = toy cowboy and indian
8. Novel – Introductory Activities
What do you “know” about North American Indians (Aboriginals)?
(Student responses below include both facts and assumptions).
-first people in Canada (North America)
-mass killings of Indians by European conquerors
-most of them are alcoholics/drug addicts
-government gives them money
-good at carving
-some are tax exempt have some other special privileges
-have casinos on reserves
-they lived on reservations; children studied in reservation schools
-traditional hunting and fishing
-had many great civilizations in the past
-very strong spiritual and religious beliefs
-had a matriarchal society; women were the leaders and have the power
-if a woman married a non-aboriginal person she lost her status (due to a Canadian Law)
-could not vote until around 1958
--used to live in tribes; belong to tribes
9. Introduction to the Novel
• This novel contains a bit of mature subject
matter, including:
– some swearing
– mild references to sex and sexual activities
• The author’s decision to include these things
is not gratuitous; it is to make the character
and story authentic.
10. Some definitions
• Gratuitous (adj.): done for no reason other
than entertainment or shock value
• Authentic (adj.): not fake; real, genuine
• Authenticity (n.): the quality of being real
11. Some Pre-reading Vocabulary
• cerebral (adj.) – having to do with the brain
Ex: The patient had a cerebral hemorrage.
Ex: My friend Jerry is very cerebral;he likes to read philosophy books.
• lobes (n.) – part of the brain; any rounded body part (ex: ear
lobes)
Ex: His ear lobes were very round and fat.
• croak (v.) – slang for “die”
Ex: I want to see the world before I croak.
12. Some Pre-reading Vocabulary (Cont’d.)
• seizures (n.) – a short, temporary period of abnormal brain
activity during which a person may move uncontrollably and
seem to be “out of it.”
Ex: My friend’s daughter had a seizure yesterday; she started to shake and did
not respond to our questions.
• susceptible (adj.) – vulnerable, at risk
Ex: Someone who has a weak immune system is very susceptible to getting
colds and flus.
13. Some Pre-reading Vocabulary (Cont’d.)
• retard (n.) – negative slang for someone who is mentally slow
Ex: She was upset when her friend called her a retard for tripping over the
carpet.
• reservation (n.) – land set aside for aboriginal people
• rez (n.) – slang for reservation
Ex: He had lived on the rez for his whole life and didn’t know much about the
outside world.
14. Chapter 1: The Black Eye
of the Month Club
• The title is a play on words of the phrase
“Book of the Month Club.”
• Before the Internet and Amazon.com existed,
people joined mail order book clubs that sent
them one new book a month.
15. Journal Response
What are your reactions to the story so far?
(Refer to the fiction questions on the inside
cover of your journal if you are unsure how to
begin.)
16. *Brief* Discussion
• So far, what are your reactions to this story?
• How is it similar/different than what you
expected?
• What questions do you have?
17. True Diary – Literary Elements
• Narrator
• Point of View
18. True Diary – Literary Elements
• Main Character (Protagonist)
• How does he describe himself?
– physically
• looks like a capital L
• crowded mouth; too many teeth
• has ugly glasses
• pronounciation problems (stuttering/lisping)
• seizures and related medical problems
– personality
• he wants to survive and become famous
• smart, funny
• ambitious
• optimistic
• good artist
19. True Diary – Literary Elements
• What do others say about him?
– they call him a retard and globe
– he gets picked on
• What do his way of speaking and his actions show
about him?
– sarcastic and self-deprecating – protecting himself
– artistic, creative
– stays inside, solitary, afraid
– talks about his family and best friend – important to
him
20. Character Assignment (Part 1)
• Each student will be responsible for taking
notes on Junior plus one other character. See
handout. Due November 17th.
• NOTE: this work must be brought to class for
further work, not submitted online.
21. Vocabulary Assignment, p. 1-98
The handout contains 35 words.
You are responsible for the underlined words.
Assignment: Write a paragraph using the 10
underlined words in a short paragraph. Make
sure your sentences show the meaning of the
word clearly and fully. Underline each
vocabulary word in the finished paragraph.
Due: Wednesday, November 3rd.
22. Assigned Words
1. articulate (adj., v.) (adj.) expressed clearly; (v.) to express clearly
Ex: She is a very articluate speaker; I always understand her points clearly.
Ex: Can you articulate your question so I can understand it.
2. decrepit (adj.) old, worn out, weak, broken
Ex: The haunted house was the most decrepit I’d ever seen; all its windows
were broken.
3. hypothermic (adj.) when your core temperature is 33 degrees
Celsius or less you are hypothermic
Ex: The young boy was hypothermic when after falling out of the boat and
being in the water for 40 minutes.
23. 4. lopsided (adj.) uneven
Ex: He was very depressed about his lopsided haircut. One side was
much longer than the other.
5. perseverance (n.) the ability to keep going or trying through
obstacles or difficult circumstances
Ex: He showed a lot of perseverance by continuing with his studies
even though he had many other problems in his life.
Ex: You need a lot of perseverance to achieve your dreams.
6. redundancy (n.) needless repetition
redundant (adj.)
Ex: His advice to study was a redundancy as I had already studied four
hours last night.
Ex: His advice was redundant.
24. 7. reservation (n.) land set aside for aboriginal people
See the example in the pre-reading vocabulary
8. rummage (v.) to search by moving things around
Ex: He was rummaging around in the car’s glove compartment
for his sunglasses.
Ex: I rummaged through the drawer looking for a pen.
9. susceptible (adj.) vulnerable, at risk
10. yelped (v, pt) gave out a sharp cry, shrieked
Ex: My dog yelped when I stepped on its tail.
25. Homework
For Wednesday, Nov. 3rd
1. Novel:
• Read up to and including p. 98. There will be a short quiz at the
beginning of class Wednesday. Missed quizzes cannot be made up
at a later date!
• Make notes on key events, new vocabulary, etc.
• Write a vocabulary paragraph with the 10 underlined words on the
vocabulary handout for pages 1-98.
