Mar
31
VCE English Outcome 1: PMI for Maestro
In a text response essay for Outcome 1 students must demonstrate:
• a broad understanding of ideas and perspectives
• the construction of strong argumentative paragraphs
The activity presented below develops divergent thinking and logical reasoning. It scaffolds students to consider a spectrum of positions on important themes and concepts. It also scaffolds the structuring of arguments. Further, productive discussion is enacted to advance and develop an informed position.
For a document that presents better formatting and presentation, please email [email protected].
Maestro by Peter Goldsworthy – What’s your position?
This exercise scaffolds the construction of TEEL paragraphs.
Consider the following assertions/arguments/topic sentences. For each statement, consider if you “Strongly disagree (SD)”, “Disagree (D)”, “Agree (A)” or “Strongly agree (SA)”.
As you progress through the statements, make sure you have a reason for your response to each. Examples from the text are sometimes good, but direct quotes are generally much, much better!
Step one: Follow all the instructions in steps one to seven. First, read through all the steps.
Step two: Use SD, D, A, or SA for each topic sentence.
Step three: Add, in one or two sentences, a short evidenced explanation for your immediate position. You should refer directly to the text in your response.
Step four: Compare and discuss your evidenced results with another.
1. Both Keller and Paul are haunted by the past. . Mark: SD, D, A, or SA
What’s your reason? Explain…
2. Maestro presents that being the best is never good enough.
What’s your reason? Explain…
3. Paul a selfish, ignorant teenager given to egotism and desire.
What’s your reason? Explain…
4. Keller proves his own enemy, for success in music costs him everything else.
What’s your reason? Explain…
5. Even as he tries to forget the past, Keller tries even harder to hold to it.
What’s your reason? Explain…
6. Although he is employed to train Paul in piano, the maestro’s real talent proves elsewhere.
What’s your reason? Explain…
7. Ultimately it is the maestro who is responsible for Paul’s lack of success as a concert pianist.
What’s your reason? Explain…
8. The relationship that develops between pupil and teacher in Maestro is troubled and tragic.
What’s your reason? Explain…
9. Paul would have been better off if he had never struggled to achieve an impossible perfection.
What’s your reason? Explain…
10. The maestro’s constant criticisms kill Paul’s pride, and his ability.
What’s your reason? Explain…
11. From the maestro the reader learns that music is not beauty , but the language of lies.
What’s your reason? Explain…
12. It is necessary for Paul to lose his dreams, just as it is necessary for Keller to ruin them
What’s your reason? Explain…
13. The maestro is a failure of a novel, for the reader, like Paul, learns nothing worthwhile.
What’s your reason? Explain…
Step five: Following your discussions, add a second evidenced explanation to your first. Your second result might present a complementary reason, or a counter-argument to your first. Use a conjunction(s) to link the two points.
Step six: Read over the scaffolded paragraph/argument, and present a linking sentence to complete a TEEEEL paragraph.
Step seven: Before commencing step two, get a piece of chocolate :). Or skip the chocolate and begin step two. Your call, but one first hopes you succesfully achieved step one…