English 9

I loved the insight and collaboration put into your collages English 9!

Things we did today:

• Silent Reading
• Grammar (apostrophes)
• Notes and examples of irony

1. Dramatic (we watched a 1 minute clip of an episode from "Modern Family")
2. Verbal (Students were given a list of examples, such as "clear like dirt")
3. Situational (we watched the music video to Alanis Morisette's "Ironic" and went over her examples of irony)

• Worked on collages 
• Read "What Happened During the Ice Storm"
• Started a journal entry (see "Reminders")

Reminders:

• Your collages are due Thursday, Oct 3, 2013 (we don't have English on Wednesday). I can be in the classroom 10 minutes early before class this week if you want to finish them. You also have access to the library during lunch hours.
• Journal entry due TOMORROW, Oct. 1, 2013 

*Respond to the following: Think of an example or several examples of natural disasters in which people come together to help out. Describe this. Why do you think humans do this? 

(half a page minimum)

SS 9

Your pamphlets are looking great so far SS 9! Congratulations to Dayton who was the first student to hand in his pamphlet ahead of time!

Things we did today:

• Time given to work on homework notes and questions in class
• Students were handed back the following:

1. SS 8 Review Quiz
2. Europe Mapping Assignment
3. "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" Movie Analysis
4. Unit 1 Test

• Went over to answers to the Unit 1 Test
• Worked in the library/lab on the pamphlet assignment

Reminders: 

• Notes/questions due TOMORROW, Oct. 1, 2013
1. p.20-23
2. p.26-30
3. p.31-33
4. p.28 questions #1, 2 & 4 (The questions ask you to "Brainstorm with a partner", but you can just answer them on your own)
• Pamphlet assignment is due Friday, Oct. 4, 2013

*Today was the last period given to work on your pamphlets

*Students have access to the library computers during lunch hours and on Wednesday and Thursday during homework club from 3:30pm to 4:30pm

• For those of you who want to work ahead, you can work on notes for p. 34-37

English 9

Great work on your collages today English 9!

Things we did today:

• Silent reading
• Grammar (apostrophes)
• Corrected "The Blue Bead" plot analysis
• Students worked in groups of two/three and made collages. Students had to find images out of magazines and do a comparison between Sibia's lifestyle (from "The Blue Bead") in India and our lifestyle in North America

Reminders:

• Grammar quiz handed back today

SS 9

Thank you for working and listening so well in today's class SS 9! I hope you enjoyed learning all about Henry VIII's wives :)

Thing's we did today:

• Time given to work on homework 
• Powerpoint presentation on the Tudor monarchy - students filled out worksheets as I presented the Powerpoint
• Watched a short clip on Henry VIII : 

http://www.history.com/videos/henry-viii#henry-viii

• Watched a clip of King Charles I

Reminders:

• I am missing many "Character Sketch" worksheets for James/Charles! We will have to find time outside of class to complete these if they are not handed in Monday :(
• Notes/questions due Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013

1. p.20-23
2. p.26-30
3. p.31-33
4. p.28 questions #1, 2 & 4 (The questions ask you to "Brainstorm with a partner"< but you can just answer them on your own)

• Pamphlet assignment is due Friday, Oct. 4, 2013 (You will be getting another period in the library/lab to work on this next week)
• For those of you who want to work ahead, you can work on notes for p. 34-37

English 9

It was nice to have my whole Grade 9 class back together today :)

Things we did today:

• Silent reading
• Grammar notes (apostrophe usage)
• Corrected "The Sacred Rac" worksheet
• Read "The Blue Bead"
• Discussed and worked on the plot analysis of "The Blue Bead"

Reminders:

• The plot analysis worksheet for "The Blue Bead" is due TOMORROW, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013
• "Letter of Introduction" assignment and "Character Sketch for 'Gore'" worksheets were marked and handed back today. I really enjoyed all of the letters I received! I was happy to learn more about you! 

SS 9

Great work on your pamphlets today Grade 9s! I will be giving you more library/lab time next week to work on them.

Things we did today:

• Corrected "character sketch" worksheet (James I or Charles I)
• Worked in the library on the pamphlet assignment

Reminders:

• Those of you who did not hand in your "character sketch", hand it in TOMORROW, Friday, Sept. 27, 2013. This is for marks!
• The pamphlet assignment is due Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. You will be given more time in the library/lab next week to work on this
• Notes/questions due Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013

1. p, 20-23
2. p. 26-30
3. p. 31-33
4. p. 28 questions, #1, 2 & 4

*We started these notes/questions last week and some of you finished. I will give you some more time in class to work them.

English 9

*For Tuesday, Sept. 24 and Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013

I hope you guys enjoyed the school activities this week!

Things we did the last few days: 

• Silent Reading (or study time)
• Grammar test
• Read "The Sacred Rac" and discussed
• Slideshow of my personal pictures of underdeveloped countries
• Worked on the worksheet for "The Sacred Rac"

Reminders:

• The worksheet for "The Sacred Rac" is due TOMORROW, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013

SS 9

*For Tuesday, Sept. 24 and Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013

I hope you guys enjoyed the school activities this week!

Things we did the last few days:

• Reviewed concepts from Monday's class
• Read Crossroads  (The Early Stuarts)
• Powerpoint presentation on King James I and King Charles I (the causes of the civil war)
• Started a character sketch of either James I or Charles I
• Explained the pamphlet assignment
• Watched former students' video project on the trial of King James

Reminders:

• The character sketch of King James or King Charles is due TOMORROW, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013 (information for this can be found in Crossroads)
• I have booked some library/lab time this week to work on your pamphlet assignment 

SS 9

Welcome to our 4th week of school SS 9!

Things we did today:

• Reviewed themes discussed during Friday's class
• Corrected "Worst Jobs of the Stuart Era" worksheets (I didn't have time to check them today, so I  will check them tomorrow)  
• Current events: Read and discussed a news article on absolute monarchy in Saudi Arabia
• Completed a Venn Diagram illustrating differences and similarities between the political systems in Saudi Arabia and in Canada/US
• Notes given: Powerpoint presentation on religion in England in the 16th and 17th centuries (Protestants vs. Puritans)
• Read p.26-27 in Crossroads 

Reminders:

• No homework!

English 9

Welcome to our 4th week of school English 9!

Things we did today:

• Silent Reading and journal entries
• Assembly

Reminders

• TEST- Tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013

*Grammar sentences: Identifying parts of speech and practicing capital letters (the test will be composed of sentences we practiced in class)

English 9

Happy Friday English 9! Your ideas on themes today were fantastic!

Things we did today:

• Silent reading and journal entries
• Grammar (parts of speech, proper nouns and common nouns)
• Corrected "The Interlopers" questions 
• Watched four short films: "Thai boy", "Twit Twit", "Carrot Crazy" and "Shoe". Students had to individually think of themes for each film
• Students went into groups and put their ideas on different coloured papers
• We posted the papers to the whiteboard and read out all of the themes

Reminders:

• Test on grammar sentences has been changed to Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 (Other than that, there is NO HOMEWORK this weekend )
• Make sure to bring your Independent Novel Study books and your Sightlines 9 textbook next class

SS 9

Happy Friday SS 9! I appreciated your cooperation today during our class discussion of democracy. It was very "democratic" of you, haha!

Things we did today:

• Discussion: What is democracy? How does it work? How is Student Council a form of democracy?
• Students thought of new rules that could be applied to the school. We voted on some of them and talked about how we could achieve these policies ("mock" democracy). 
• Discussed the advantages and disadvantages of democracy, which was very insightful!
• Discussed the influence of English values of democracy on Canada and the U.S.
• Notes given (Powerpoint presentation) on England's history with democracy and English society in the 17th century
• Read about the witch hysteria in the 17th century 
• Watched an 8 min documentary about witches and Matthew Hopkins (Witch-Finder General)
• Homework check

Reminders:

• NO HOMEWORK this weekend!!!
• We will discuss the "Worst Jobs of the Stuart Era" worksheets Monday, Sept. 23, 2013
• Students who did not show me their homework today must show me Monday, or else they will be refereed to the homework club

SS 9

Well done on the exam today Grade 9s! Thank you for your patience during the power outage.

Things we did today:

• Went over the questions for p.9, #1-2 and p.11, #1-2
• Corrected the crossword
• Chapter 1 Test
• Time to work on reading and notes for Chapter 2
• Read "The Amethist Ring" 
• Finished watching "Worst jobs of the Stuart Period" and filled out worksheet questions
• Notes given on the Stuart Period defined
• Worked in groups of 2--3 to compare answers to worksheet
• Time allotted for homework

Reminders:

• Chpt 1-2 VOCAB due tomorrow, Friday Sept. 20, 2013
• Notes p.19-20 due tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013
• "Worst Jobs of the Stuart Period" worksheet due tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013

English 9

The week is almost done English 9, way to go!

Things we did today:

• Grammar (capitalization)
• Explained the Independent Novel Study (Book Recommendation Presentation and Journal Entries)
• Went to the library to pick out books for the Independent Novel Study
• Corrected yesterday's grammar worksheet on parts of speech
• Went over the story analysis worksheet for "Once Upon a Time"
• Read "the Interlopers"
• Worked individually and in groups on the story analysis worksheet for "The Interlopers" and went over the parts of plot as a class
• Time to work on homework/read
• Read off more adjectives from the paint sample activities

Reminders:

• The questions for "The Interlopers" (back side of the story analysis worksheet) are due Friday, Sept. 20, 2013. They must be completed on a separate piece of paper and must be done in complete sentences. 
• Test on Grammar sentences: Monday Sept. 23, 2013

*The test will be composed of sentences that must be corrected/edited. They are sentences that we have already seen in class

English 9

Great job making adjectives today Grade 9's! We will read off some more tomorrow.

Things we did today:

• Grammar worksheet (parts of speech)
• Discussed the importance of descriptive words. Students wrote down all of the descriptive words they could find in the story "Gore" in 3 minutes. We then brainstormed and put them on the board
• Adjectives activity: Each student was given a paint sample card. On the back of their card, they had to write 5 adjectives to describe the colour of their paint sample. Students then went into groups of 3 to discuss their ideas. We then read some of the adjectives aloud
• Since most students did not read "Once Upon of Time" for homework :( , we re-read the story as a class
• Powerpoint presentation: Points of view, types of stories and the Apartheid
• Read a BBC article on Oscar Pistorius
• Discussed the connections between the author and the Apartheid to "Once Upon a Time" and the main themes of the story. We also discussed the idea of "security" and the irony in the story
• Time given to work on "Story Analysis" worksheet

Reminders:

• Grammar worksheet (parts of speech) due TOMORROW, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2013
• Story Analysis worksheet for "Once Upon a Time" due TOMORROW, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2013

SS 9

Great job playing Jeopardy today Grade 9's! You will succeed on the test Thursday!

Things we did today:

• Reviewed Friday's class
• Finished the group presentations of the "Causes and Effects of the Modern Age" posters
• Notes given (summary of the causes and effects of the Modern Age)
• Jeopardy game: Review of Chapter 1
• "Review Master R-1" blue worksheets given out to study for the test
• Homework time given: study using "Review Master R-1" worksheet, work on Chpt 1-2 vocab or make notes of p.19-20 in Crossroads

Reminders:

• Questions p. 9,  #1-2 and p.11, #1-2 and the Crossword were due TODAY. However, we did not get time to correct them. They did not need to be handed in and we will correct them next class before the test
• TEST on Chapter 1: Thursday, September 19, 2013
• Chpt 1-2 vocab and notes for p.19-20 in Crossroads due Friday, Sept. 20, 2013

SS 9

Happy 2nd Friday! Thank you for your cooperative groupwork today. We will continue the group presentations for "Causes and Effects" of the Modern Age on Tuesday.

Things we did today:

• Reviewed the end of Chapter 1 and discussed the effect of Science and Technology on the Modern Age (Power Point)
• Worked in groups on the causes and effects of the Modern Age
• Homework check for notes on p. 10-11
• Connor, Andreas, Danielle and Brett presented their poster. Thanks guys! We'll continue with the other presentations next week
• Read p. 19-20 of Crossroads
• Completed map of Great Britain
• Started vocabulary for Chapters 1 & 2
• Started watching "The Worst Jobs of the Stuart Era"

Reminders 

• Europe mapping assignment was due TODAY
• Questions p.9, #1-2 and p.11 #1-2 due Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013
• Crossword for Chapter 1 due Tuesday, Sept.17, 2013
• TEST-Chapter 1- Thursday Sept. 19, 2013

English 9

Two weeks done! Hope you enjoy your long weekend!

Things we did today:

• Grammar (parts of speech)
• Mad libs
• Completed and reviewed as a class the story analysis for "Gore" by Sarah Ellis
• Completed a character sketch: Students chose one character from the story "Gore", provided three character traits, provided supporting evidence for their traits and drew a picture of the character
• Started reading "Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordimer

Reminders:

• Journal entries were due TODAY
• The character sketches were due for the end of class today. If you didn't get it into me, hand it in Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013
• For homework, finish reading "Once Upon a Time". I may give a pop quiz on this story on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2013

English 9

It's Friday tomorrow!!! I just wanted to congratulate the class on their outstanding participation today. I think almost every student spoke up in our discussions and I'm very impressed!

Things we did today:

• Grammar
• Mad Libs
• Discussed our predictions during different parts of "Lamb to the Slaughter"
• Notes given on elements of the short story (powerpoint)
• Went over the answers to the "Analyzing a Story" worksheet
• Watched the Alfred Hitchcock short film of "Lamb to the Slaughter"
• Discussed the similarities/differences between the story and the movie
• Journal entry: Do you prefer the story or the movie and why?
• Read the story "Gore"

Reminders:

• The journal entries are do tomorrow, FRIDAY, SEPT.13, 2013. For this assignment:

1. Their is no structure that I am looking for
2. Tell me which version you preferred and why (use examples from both the story and the movie)
3. Refer to the rubric given
4. You DO NOT need to submit a rough copy and a  good copy. I am just verifying what you've learned the last few classes

SS 9

Great double-block class yesterday guys; you worked well and thank you for your participation!
(No SS 9 class today)

Things we did we did Wednesday, September 11, 2013:

• Review of Tuesday's class
• Read p.6-7 in Crossroads
• Notes given 
• Worked in groups on the key ideas from p.8-9 in Crossroads
• Shared our information as a class
• Watched 25 minutes of the movie "Elizabeth" and filled out a worksheet associated with the movie
• Discussed how the movie relates to what we learned about the 1500's
• Worked individually on notes from p.10-11, answered questions (p.8-9,  #1-2 and p.10-11, #1-2), and a crossword
• Some students who finished their work worked on their maps

Reminders

• Note-taking assignment for p.4-5 in Crossroads was due YESTERDAY
• Europe mapping assignment is due Friday, Sept. 13, 2013. For this assignment:

1. The countries do not need to be coloured in 
2. Colour the oceans/seas blue
3. Outline the rivers that you needed to label
4. Review your rubric for this assignment

• Notes for p. 10-11 in Crossroads due Friday, Sept.13, 2011

SS 9

Great job on the fire drill today guys! Thank you Simon for being the runner!

Things we did today:

• Fire drill
• Powerpoint presentation and discussion of p.4-5 in Crossroads
• Individually, students wrote a comparison table of the differences/similarities between Protestant and Roman Catholic Churches
• Went over the comparison as a class
• Worked on Europe mapping assignments

Reminders:

• Notes on p.4-5 in Crossroads were due TODAY
• You will receive 5% off per day for any assignments handed in late
• The Europe mapping assignments are due Friday, Sept. 13th, 2013
• For the Europe mapping assignment:

1. The countries do not need to be coloured in 
2. Colour the oceans/seas blue
3. Outline the rivers that you needed to label
4. Review your rubric for this assignment

English 9

I hope you guys enjoyed are discussion on "Lamb to the Slaughter today"! Also, thank you for working so well in groups :)

Things we did today:

• Grammar- parts of speech (verbs, nouns, conjunctions, etc.)
• Reviewed the start to "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl
• Finished reading "Lamb to the Slaughter" as a class
• Powerpoint presentation: Women in the 1950's advertisements 
• Read the article "Women of 90's: You've come a long way"
• Discussed symbolism, bias, irony and the significance of the context within the story 
• Worked in groups on "Sightlines 9: Analyzing a Story" worksheet

Reminders

• The Letter of Introduction was due TODAY. It should include your plan, a rough copy and a good copy
• You will receive 5% off for each day that assignments are handed in late
• The "Sightlines 9:Analyzing a Story" worksheet is NOT for homework. Most groups were almost done, so we will finish it next class
• If you are still curious about advertisements about women in the 1950's, try researching images on the Internet :)

SS 9

Welcome to your second week of school SS 9 students! Thank you for working well in class today.

Also, thank you to Brynn, Shey and Hailey for handing in their work a day early! (I also have a copy without a name on it)

Things we did today:

• Review of Friday's class
• Went to the Library to get our Crossroads textbooks
• Corrected the Social Studies 8 Review Quiz as a class
• Read p.3 together in Crossroads
• Notes on p.3 (a good example of notes) - I assigned you to do the same kind of notes independently for p. 4-5 from the textbook 
• Presented the rubric for the Note-taking Assignment
• Time given to work on the Note-taking Assignment and your Europe maps
• Game: 2 truths, 1 lie

Reminders:

• The Note-taking Assignment for pages 4-5 in Crossroads is due tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013) 

*Refer to the rubric and your notes for this assignment. You can also google "Cornell Notes" for more examples of the layout 

• You will receive 5% off for each day that the assignment is handed in late
• Europe mapping assignments are due Friday, Sept. 13, 2013
• You still have until Friday to hand in your signed Course Outlines (you will just receive marks off)

English 9

Happy Monday English 9 students!

I just wanted to especially thank Erin, Jacob, Megan and Lainey for their participation in class today!

Also, way to go to the students who handed in their Letter of Introduction in a day early!  :
Brynn, Lainey, Jordan, Hailey, Erin and Kasia

Things we did today:

• Grammar: Notes and an exercise on the parts of speech (verbs, nouns, adverbs, etc)
• I handed back the marked worksheet on "The Storm" and "Flat Head Lake" (oral ghost stories)
• We went over the answers to the worksheet
• Worked on the Letter of Introduction
• Discussed what makes a good suspense story
• Started the story "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl and students wrote their predictions  at different parts of the story

Reminders:

• The Letter of Introduction is due tomorrow (Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013)

1. Hand in the plan, your rough copy and a good copy (3 pieces)
2. The good copy must be written by hand and not on the computer

• You will receive 5% off for each day that the assignment is handed in late
• You still have until Friday to hand in your signed Course Outlines (you will just receive marks off)
• Please bring your textbooks for tomorrow's class 

English 9

What a great week! I'm so happy with my students :) I had a lot of fun telling you ghost stories this afternoon!

Here is an overview of the last few days: 

Thursday, Sept 5, 2013

• How to write an introduction letter
• Handouts given to students with description of the Introduction Letter assignment and the rubric
• Wrote out a plan (worth 6 marks)
• Wrote the rough copy of the letter
• Signed out Sightlines 9 textbook
• 2 Truths 1 Lie game

Friday, Sept 6, 2013

• Editing sentences: Incorrect sentences were given on the board. Students wrote them down and corrected them and we went over them together. I will be doing this every class. Keep a copy of the sentences and every third week, you will receive a quiz on the same sentences.
• Review of Thursday's class
• Discussion on prior knowledge of short stories
• Power Point presentation on the parts of plot
• I told two stories aloud: "The Storm" and "Flat Head Lake"
• Worksheet: Students listened to the stories and filled out the parts of plot
• Worked on the Introduction Letter (rough copy and peer review)

Reminders:

• Please have your course outline signed if it hasn't been already
• We will have time Monday to work on the good copies of your letter. It will be the last class given to work on this. The plan, the rough copy and the good copy will be due Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013. You must have the rough copy reviewed by someone. The good copy will be completed BY HAND (and not on the computer). This gives me a chance to evaluate your legibility
• If you can, bring or make 5 dividers labelled "Grammar", "Short Stories", "Novels", "Shakespeare" and "Other" (I can explain this next class)

SS 9

I had such a great week with all of you students! Thank you for being so attentive and cooperative! I also really love all of the active participation :) 

Here is some things we went over the last two days:

Thursday, Sept 5th, 2013

• Learning styles quiz/survey
• Discussed different learning styles and what helps us learn
• Notes: Strategies on how to take notes (you can review this by googling CORNELL NOTES). We also talked about why we should know how to take notes
• Started a mapping assignment and discussed the rubric

Friday, Sept 6th, 2013

• Review from Thursday's class
• Grade 8 Social Studies review: discussions and Power Point Presentation
• Grade 8 Social Studies review quiz
• Continued working on maps

Reminders:

• NO HOMEWORK THIS WEEKEND:)
• We will continue our maps on Monday
• Also, please bring your signed course outlines for those of you who haven't handed it in
• If you can, bring or make 6 dividers to put in your binder labelled "Unit 1", "Unit 2", "Unit 3", "Unit 4", "Unit 5" and "Current Events"

English 9

Hello English students! I was very pleased to meet all of you today and I'm very excited to work with you! Some students I will have for both Social Studies and English, so I'm looking forward to getting to know you well. I also thank some students who experienced a repetition in their English class this afternoon; your patience is greatly appreciated. 

Please make sure to have a binder, paper and dividers for our next class.

Also, please have your course outline signed by a parent/guardian by Friday, Sept. 6th, 2013 (it is for marks!)

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Things we did today:

• Discussed the course outline
• Presented my pictures of Nicaragua
• Filled out the student survey

SS 9

Hello Social Studies students! I was very pleased to meet all of you today and I'm very excited to work with you!

Please make sure to have a binder, paper and dividers for our next class.

Also, please have your course outline signed by a parent/guardian by Friday, Sept. 6th, 2013 (it is for marks!)

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Things we did today:

• Went over the RSS Behaviour Matrix
• Discussed the course outline
• Presented my pictures of Nicaragua
• Filled out the student survey