English 10: Blocks 1/2 and 5/6

Today we went over some vocabulary and played a couple rounds of Jeopardy.

Reminders:

• Marks are posted!
• Feb. 3, 2015: Provincial Exam!!!!

English 10: Blocks 1/2 and 5/6

Today we did a 'mock' Provincial Exam. We went over the multiple choice questions together and discussed strategies for reading comprehension.

Reminders:

• Provincial Exam: Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 (A.M.)

English 8

I had a lot of fun reading your limerick poems today!

Commonly Confused Words (notes)

Students were given a hand-out with terms to know for the final exam. The test will include texts we have not seen in class before, so you don't have to study notes on past novels/short stories; just make sure that you study the main literary terms.

We spent the rest of class working on poetry booklets. These are due next Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015.

Reminders:

• Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015: Commonly Confused Words Quiz (open-book) and Poetry Booklets due!
• Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015: Final Exam (A.M.)

English 8

An update for the past two days:

Commonly Confused Words Notes.

We analyzed the poems "When I Was a Little girl",  "My Guilt", and "The Earthling". We looked at examples of literary devices within the poems, the settings of the poems, and the themes. Students also answered questions corresponding to the poems.

We continued exercising our knowledge of figurative language by watching the videos demonstrating literary devices in pop music lyrics.

Finally, I introduced the Poetry Booklet Assignment. You have to compose three poems (Acrostic, Limerick and Free Verse) and display them in a booklet with a cover and several images. We will continue working on this for the next few days.

Reminders: 

• Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015: Commonly Confused Words Quiz (open-book)  and Course Review

• Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015: Final Exam

English 10: Blocks 1/2 and 5/6

Thanks for your focus today Grade 10's!

Yesterday we went over the rubric and several essay samples for the reading-response section of the Provincial Exam. 

Today students wrote a mini-literary essay on the following theme: how does connectedness relate to the poem "Meditation xvii" and "I am a Rock"? The purpose of this task it to practice relating two pieces of literary work to a central theme. This will be something you have to do on the Provincial Exam.

Students who finished early could go online and practice E-exams.

Reminders:

• Provincial Exam: Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015

English 8

We spent the day doing Independent Novel Study Presentations. Great job you guys!

Reminders

• Final Exam: Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015 (a.m)

English 10: Blocks 1/2 and 5/6

Reviewing Poetry

We started off today with an exercise on integrating quotations; this will help you for your Provincial Exam. After that, I went through a PowerPoint presentation on figurative language and literary devices. As an example of alliteration, we watched Daniel Radcliff rap "Alphabet Aerobics". Please keep these notes to study!

We then analyzed the poem "Meditation xvii" and looked at the significance of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (through Earnest Hemingway and Metallica). We also analyzed the poem/song "I am a Rock" and watched a live performance video by Simon & Garfunkel. Students had questions and a chart to complete. Please finish this for next class.

Reminders:

• English Provincial Exam: Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015 (a.m.) 

English 10: Blocks 1/2 and 5/6

I officially started Provincial Exam Prep. today, so if you were not here, make sure to catch up on things you've missed.

I started off by handing out a 'Study/Tips' sheet. This includes all the vocabulary and the terms you should know for the exam. It also includes tips for the written portion of the exam.

I then showed you a good example and a bad example of our last composition on "the lessons we learn affect our future".

After that, students spent the rest of class writing another practice composition with the following theme: "our toughest struggles in life can be within ourselves."

Reminders:

• Provincial Exam: Tuesday. Feb. 3, 2015

English 8

Great job on the PowerPoint presentations so far!

Today we finished watching "Pleasantville" and started the presentations for the Independent Novel Study projects. We will continue this Monday.

Reminders:

• Monday Jan. 26, 2015: Independent Novel Study Presentations
• Final Exam: Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015

English 10: Blocks 1/2 and 5/6

Both English 10 classes wrote a test on Speak and had one last library period to complete their final assignments for the novel. Projects are due tomorrow!

Reminders:

• Speak Projects due : Tomorrow, Jan. 23, 2015

English 8

I was sick yesterday and wasn't at school, but I hope you had a good day with the sub!

Students had a Sex Ed. Presentation after lunch and then watched "Pleasantville" (as a comparison to the Utopia in The Giver).

Reminders:

• Independent Novel Study Presentations are tomorrow: Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

English 10: Blocks 1/2

Today we finished the movie "Speak". We also completed a chart outlining symbols and themes in the novel. This content will be included on your test.

I also showed some video media regarding the Bill Cosby rape allegations--  another parallel with Speak.

Reminders:

• Speak Test: Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015
• Speak Project: Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

English 10: Blocks 5/6

Today we finished the movie "Speak". We also completed a chart outlining symbols and themes in the novel. This content will be included on your test.

I also showed some video media regarding the Bill Cosby rape allegations--  another parallel with Speak.

Reminders:

• Speak Test: TOMORROW, Jan. 21, 2015
• Speak Project: Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

English 8

Silent Reading and Commonly Confused Words (notes)
We did an introduction to poetry today; I showed a PowerPoint on types of figurative language and we looked at video examples (in music and movies). We also read and analyzed the poem "The Child Who Walks Backwards" by Lorna Crozier. The questions for this poem are due next class.

*Just a reminder: You will be presenting your PowerPoint presentations for the Independent Novel Study on Friday (I pushed back the date). Make sure to complete this at lunch or at homework club.

Reminders:

• PowerPoint Presentations: Friday, Jan. 23, 2015
• "The Child Who Walks Backwards" questions: due Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

English 10: Blocks 1/2

Today we discussed the ending of Speak, worked on questions and started watching the movie. You have a test on Speak this week. Also, you'll have one more period to work on your Speak projects and they will be due Friday, Jan. 23, 2015.

Reminders:

• Speak Test: Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015
• Speak Projects: Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

English 10: Blocks 5/6

Today we discussed the ending of Speak, worked on questions and started watching the movie. You have a test on Speak this week. Also, you'll have one more period to work on your Speak projects and they will be due Friday, Jan. 23, 2015.

Reminders:

• Speak Test: Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015
• Speak Projects: Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

English 8

We spent the entire class in the I.T. Lab today working on the Independent Novel Study PowerPoint presentations. Today was your last class to work on it, so if you did not finish, you can work on it at lunch or in homework club.

Reminders:

• The Giver paragraphs were due today!
• Independent Novel Study Presentations: Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015

English 8

Thanks for your attentive ears in class today!

Grade 8's had a Sex Ed. Presentation today from a local nurse.

Reminders:

• Paragraphs for The Giver (plan, draft, and good copy): due Monday, Jan. 19, 2015

English 10: Bloscks 1/2 AND 5/6

We went over some study questions for the novel Speak and continued reading the novel. We also watched clips of the documentary "The Unmaking of Jian Gomeshi"; discussed the themes of this topic that parallel with Speak. Make sure to finish the novel by Monday!

Reminders:

• Finish the novel Speak by Monday, Jan. 19, 2015

English 10: Blocks 5/6

Today I introduced a creative project for Speak and we spent the first half of class in the library working on it. During the second half of the period, we worked on novel questions and read up to page 168 in Speak. We will continue discussing this tomorrow, so the questions aren't due.

Reminders:

• David's Journal: due today!

English 8

After playing a quick Jeopardy review game for The Giver, we went to the library to work on PowerPoint projects for the Independent Novel Study. For the duration of the second period, students wrote a test on The Giver.

Reminders:

• Paragraphs for The Giver (plan, draft and good copy): due Monday, Jan. 19, 2015

English 10: Blocks 1/2

Elizabethan Feast Day!!!!!

We started off today with some exercises on quotation integration. I then introduced a final project for Speak and we spent the rest of the first period in the library working on it. During the second half of class, we went over  questions for Speak, read up to page 168, and discussed the main ideas. I hope to finish the book on Friday!

Reminders:

• David's Journal: due Friday, Jan. 16, 2015
• Speak questions pages 141-168: due Friday, Jan. 16, 2015

English 8

Silent Reading
Today we had an open-book grammar quiz on punctuation. I then gave students time to write a rough draft for their paragraphs on The Giver. The rough drafts are due next class. We finished class by going over a quotation worksheet that was handed out yesterday. Don't forget that the test for The Giver is next class!

Reminders:

• The Giver Test: Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015
• Rough Draft for The Giver: Thursday Jan. 15, 2015

English 10: Blocks 1/2

To start off today, I allotted some time to work on David's Journal. You have to write a journal entry from the perspective of David Petrakis; several writing prompts were given to guide you. This is due next class. We also read up to page 137 in Speak and worked on corresponding questions (we finally found out what really happened to Melinda).

Reminders:

• David's Journal: due Jan. 16, 2015

Englsih 10: Blocks 5/6

Today we read up to page 129 in Speak and worked on corresponding questions. I also allotted some time to work on David's Journal. You have to write a journal entry from the perspective of David Petrakis; several writing prompts were given to guide you. This is due next class.

Reminders:

• David's Journal: due Jan. 15, 2015

English 8

We started off with silent reading and vocabulary from The Giver.  After that, we continued working on your plans for your persuasive paragraphs. The plans are due TOMORROW. We also finished the conflict foldables that we started on Friday; they look great! To finish off, we started review for The Giver by going over some quotation analysis.

Reminders:

• Paragraph Plans: due tomorrow, Jan. 13, 2015
• Open Book Grammar Test on Punctuation: tomorrow, Jan. 13, 2015
• The Giver Final Test: Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015

English 10: Blocks 1/2

We started off today by going over study questions for the novel Speak. We then read up to page 111 in class and worked on corresponding questions. We also talked about The Scarlet Letter and looked at the movie trailer. We discussed how Hester's character from The Scarlet Letter parallels Melinda's character in Speak.  Finally, I introduced the writing assignment on David's Journal. 

Reminders:

• Only three weeks left this semester! Check the board for missing assignments!
• Read up to page 116 in Speak for tomorrow, Jan. 13, 2015
• Pages 95-116 Questions due tomorrow, Jan. 13, 2015

English 10: Blocks 5/6

Remember that your poems on 'cliques' were due today! I have a very small pile of completed poems so far...

We started off today by going over study questions for the novel Speak. We also read up to page 105 in class and worked on corresponding questions. You must finish reading up to page 116 for homework. We also talked about The Scarlet Letter and looked at the movie trailer. We discussed how Hester's character from The Scarlet Letter parallels Melinda's character in Speak.  

Reminders:

• Only three weeks left this semester! Check the board for missing assignments!
• Read up to page 116 in Speak for Tomorrow, Jan. 13, 2015

English 8

You survived your first week back!

We started off class today with silent reading and worked on some vocabulary from The Giver. We then worked on a conflict craft assignment for the novel. To finish class, I explained the components of literary paragraphs and assigned a paragraph topic. We brainstormed ideas for the paragraph and students started their paragraph plan.

Reminders:

• Projects for The Giver: due today!
• Open-Book Grammar Quiz (on punctuation): Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015
• The Giver Final Test: Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015

English 10: Blocks 5/6

Have a great weekend!

Today I gave the class 20 minutes to work on their poems on 'cliques' (and some of you even finished!) We then read up to page 87 in Speak. To finish off class, we discussed the character Melinda's symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I showed two videos of teens that experience P.T.S.D.; we compared similar symptoms and ways of coping.

Reminders:

• Poems on 'cliques' due: Monday, Jan. 12, 2015!

English 10: Blocks 1/2

Have a great weekend!

Today we completed another worksheet on commonly confused words. We then read up to page 92 in Speak. To finish off class, we discused the character Melinda's symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I showed two videos of teens that experience P.T.S.D.; we compared similar symptoms and ways of coping.

Reminders:

• Poems on 'cliques' were due today!
• Questions for pages 69-62: due Monday, Jan. 12, 2015

English 8

We started off class today with silent reading and we worked on comprehension questions for the last chapters of The Giver.

As we are coming to the end of our unit on The Giver, we watched the 2014 movie version of the book. Luckily, it came available just in time for the semester! Many students enjoyed the film.  After the film, students were split into groups and completed a chart comparing the novel to the film. We finished class by discussing the similarities and differences.

Reminders: 

• The Giver - Chapters 19-23 questions : due tomorrow, Jan. 9, 2015
• The Giver Creative Project (maps/brochures): due tomorrow, Jan. 9, 2015

English 10: Blocks 5/6

We started off class with a second lesson on commonly confused words. I then did a lesson on the evaluation of essays and compositions. To start off, I handed out the Written-Reading Response Rubric and the Writing Rubric for the English Provincial Exam. I then handed back the compare/contrast essays for our Sightlines unit and displayed two 'good' student examples on the projector. As a class, we evaluated the structure of the essays, the vocabulary, the integration of quotes, etc.

Secondly, I handed back your Provincial Exam practice compositions for the theme "we are the products of our choices". I also displayed a 'good' example for this composition on the projector and we evaluated it as a class. As practice, I assigned another in-class composition with the topic "the lessons we learn affect our future". 

For the second half of the period, we discussed page 1-26 questions for the novel Speak, read up to page 68, and worked on corresponding questions. I also introduced a poetry assignment: a poem (18 lines) on 'cliques'. We will continue this on Friday.

Reminders:

• Speak Study Questions (pages 46-68) :due Friday, Jan. 6, 2015

English 10: Blocks 1/2

Thank you so much for your wonderful work ethic today! There was a lot of writing/reading involved and you did great!

We started off class with a lesson on commonly confused words (ex. there/they're/there). I then did a lesson on the evaluation of essays and compositions. To start off, I handed out the Written-Reading Response Rubric and the Writing Rubric for the English Provincial Exam. I then handed back the compare/contrast essays for our Sightlines unit and displayed two 'good' student examples on the projector. As a class, we evaluated the structure of the essays, the vocabulary, the integration of quotes, etc.

Secondly, I handed back your practice compositions for the theme "we are the products of our choices". I also displayed a 'good' example for this composition on the projector and we evaluated it as a class. As practice, I assigned another in-class composition with the topic "the lessons we learn affect our future". I gave students 45 minutes to write this composition.

For the second half of the period, we discussed page 1-26 questions for the novel Speak, read up to page 68, and worked on corresponding questions. I also gave students time to work on their poetry assignment: a poem (18 lines) on 'cliques'.

Reminders:

• Speak Study Questions (pages 46-68) :due Friday, Jan. 6, 2015
• Poetry Assignment on 'Cliques': due Friday, Jan. 6, 2015

English 8

We finished The Giver today! I know many of you are excited to watch the new movie!

We started off class today with silent reading and some work on vocabulary. We then read Chapters 21 to 23 in The Giver and finished off class with a round of Mad Libs. Marks were posted today; make sure to check for missing assignments (less than four weeks of classes left!)

Reminders:

• Annex Room Sketches were due today!
• The Giver Creative Projects (maps/brochures): due Friday, Jan. 9, 2015

English 10

I hope everyone doesn't spent too much tome shovelling tonight!

Today we continued our novel study on Speak and read up to page 46 (we finished the First Marking Period of the story). We also worked on corresponding questions that are due next class.Updated marks were posted today; make sure to check for missing assignments (only four weeks left of classes this term!)

Reminders:

• Questions for Pages 24-46 in Speak: due next class

English 8

It was nice seeing all of you again! I'm glad most of you made it to school despite the crazy snowfall!

We started off class today with a free-writing a exercise; I gave the students 15 minutes to write as much as they could about their holidays. We then went over the Chapter 1-11 quiz for The Giver and discussed some chapter questions. Students were then given time to work on their Annex Room Sketch. We finished off class by reading Chapters 19 and 20 from The Giver (and we sadly learnt what the term 'release' really means).

Reminders:

• Annex Room Sketch: Due tomorrow, Jan. 6, 2015
• The Giver Creative Project (maps/brochures): Due Friday, Jan. 9, 2015

English 10

Welcome back Grade 10's! I hope you enjoyed your break!

Today, as a prelude to our new novel study on Speak, we started off class with pre-reading questions/discussions about high school and "cliques". We went to the library to take out books and read pages 1-24 in class. We also discussed some of the novel so far:  the characters mentioned, the atmosphere of the school, the dynamic between students and teachers, and some of the main points of conflict.

Reminders:

Blocks 1/2:

•  Read up to page 24 in Speak for tomorrow!

Blocks 5/6: 

• Finish study questions for pages 1-24 for the novel Speak: due tomorrow!