English 8: Blocks 7/8

We started off class with silent reading, and then went over Chapter questions for The Giver. Students also worked on questions for Chapters 9 and 10 of the novel. After that, we read Chapter 11 (Chapter 12 is to be read for homework). For the remainder of class, we worked in the library on the projects for The Giver.

Reminders:

• Chapter 9/10 questions : due Friday, May 1, 2015
• Read Chapter 12: read for Friday, May 1 , 2015

English 11

Today we finished Act Two in Macbeth and continued working on questions (which are due tomorrow). We also watched the Polanski version of Macbeth (Act Two only), and students started a literary paragraph - students have the choice to write a paragraph about Macbeth or Lady Macbeth; we will continue this tomorrow.

Reminders:

• Act Two questions due: Friday, May 1, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Thank you for your hard work today!

We started of class with silent reading and a quiz on The Giver. We then worked on our characters sketches for the novel, and proceeded to read Chapter 12.

We spent most of the second block in the library working on the creative projects for The Giver. They are coming along nicely!

Reminders:

• Early dismissal and report cards issued tomorrow!

English 11

We started off class with a quiz on Act One of Macbeth. We then went over questions, and continued to read Act Two, Scenes Two and Three of the play. We finished off class by working on corresponding questions.

Reminders:

• Act Two questions will be due Friday, May 1, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

We started off class with silent reading and a worksheet on apostrophes. After that, students continued working on vocabulary from The Giver, and we went over Chapter questions. We then read Chapter 10. After that, students had time to either read Chapter 11 or work on corresponding questions. Both are for homework. To finish off class, we started character sketches for the main characters in The Giver.

Reminders:

• Finish Chapters 9/10 questions and read Chapter 11 for next class (tomorrow, April 29, 2015)

English 8: Blocks 7/8

We started off the day with silent reading and grammar practice (apostrophes).

We did a simulation activity by orchestrating a 'Ceremony of Twelve' in the classroom. Each student was assigned a number, and randomly assigned a particular job. The purpose of this was to evaluate any emotions/reactions cause by being assigned a job. It was also to show us the lack of 'equality' with job assignments because some jobs are more desirable than others. After the activity, students had a series of response questions about the class 'ceremony' activity.

We continued The Giver and read Chapter 9; Chapter 10 is to be read for homework. To finish class we worked on a Word Search/Crossword.

Reminders:

• Read Chapter 10 in The Giver for next class (Thursday, April 30, 2015)

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Thanks for working hard today! Don't forget that it's a Pro-D day Monday!

We started off class with silent reading and grammar notes on apostrophes. We then finished reading Chapter 7, and 8 in The Giver. After that, we discussed the main highlights in Chapters 5, 6, and 7 (because I was not here yesterday); students then worked on corresponding questions. At the end of class, students worked on a word search/crossword with vocabulary from the novel. We will continue this next class.

Reminders:

• Report cards will be issued next week

English 11

Thank you to my voluntary readers!

We started off class by continuing to watch Act One of Roman Polanski's "The Tragedy of Macbeth". After that, students worked on questions for Act One, Scenes Four, Five, Six, and Seven. Please finish these for homework.  We then read and discussed Act Two, Scene One.

Reminders: 

• Act One (Scenes 4-7) questions: due Tuesday, April 28, 2015
• Act One Quiz: Tuesday, April 28, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

It's a long weekend for you guys!

We started off the day with silent reading and grammar practice on apostrophes. We then went over questions for The Giver. Furthermore, we did a simulation activity by orchestrating a 'Ceremony of Twelve' in the classroom. Each student was assigned a number, and randomly assigned a particular job. The purpose of this was to evaluate any emotions/reactions cause by being assigned a job. It was also to show us the lack of 'equality' with job assignments because some jobs are more desirable than others. After the activity, students had a series of response questions about the class 'ceremony' activity.

We continued The Giver by reading Chapter 9, and finished off class by working on vocabulary.

Reminders:

• Report cards issued next week!

English 11

Happy Birthday Shakespeare!

We celebrated Shakespeare's birthday today with cupcakes and a mini-documentary video summarizing his life and times. After that, we continued reading Act One, Scene Three in Macbeth. I then gave students time to work on corresponding questions. Please finish these for homework.

Thanks for the note-taking! We went through a pile of notes on poetry terms and devices. These terms will be essential for our unit on Macbeth and you may be tested on them in the future...

Furthermore, we finished reading Act One and started watching the Roman Polanski's film "The Tragedy of Macbeth".

Reminders:

• Macbeth questions (Act One, Scenes One-Three ): due tomorrow, April 24, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

I hope you enjoyed working on your projects today! I'm sorry I was away.

Students continued reading Chapters 6 and 7 in The Giver, worked on corresponding questions, and continued working on the 'Exposition Mind Map'. After the break, they started a creative project for The Giver; they have the choice to create a map of the community, a brochure, or an agenda of the Ceremonies. We will continue working on this project next week.

Reminders:

• 'Exposition Mind Maps' were to be handed in today
• Chapter 3/4 questions were also to be handed in today

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Silent Reading
Students worked on questions for The Giver and we spent the rest of the first period in the library working on projects for The Giver - students have the choice to create a map, a brochure, or an agenda of for the 'Ceremonies'.

After the break, students took notes on apostrophes, and we read Chapters 7 and 8 of The Giver. Students had more time to work on questions and a crossword puzzle. We ended class with some vocabulary and Mad Libs.

Reminders:

• Chapter 7/8 questions were to be completed in class today; if you didn't finish them, complete them for next class.

English 8: Blocks 7/8

We were very fortunate to have Kevin Chong come speak with our class today about his novel Northern Dancer: The Legendary Horse that inspired a nation. Thank you Kevin for this experience!

Reminders:

• Read Chapters 4 and 5 of The Giver for next class (Thursday, April 23, 2015)

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Many students were participating in the potluck for Band today, and therefore weren't in class; I hope it went well!

We started off with silent reading and a word search/crossword for The Giver. We then read Chapters 5 and 6 of The Giver, which most students found pretty entertaining. We will finish discussing the chapters next class.

Reminders:

• Exposition Mind Maps: due Today!
• For those students who were absent, read Chapters 5 and 6 for next class. 

English 11

Your Lord of the Flies projects are AMAZING!!! I'm so happy to see all the effort that was put into them!

We started off class by watching two video projects from students (which were fantastic). We then went through a a Powerpoint and some notes on Shakespeare's life and Elizabethan conventions. We also looked at a sonnet from Ian Doescher's Shakespearean adaptation of Star Wars. We then started Act one of Macbeth. We got through Scenes 1, 2, and part of Scene 3.

Reminders:
All of the following things were due today:

• LOF final projects
• Song analysis questions
• "Ted Talks" questions
• Macbeth pre-reading questions

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Students completed a worksheet on capitalization at the start of class, and we continued to read Chapters 3 and 4 of The Giver. Please finish Chapter 4 for homework.

We also had a really nice visit from Mr. Wilson, who informed us about the author presentation we will be seeing tomorrow. I'm very excited!

Reminders:

• Finish chapter 4 of The Giver by tomorrow, April 21, 2015

English 11

Just a reminder: LOF final projects are due tomorrow!!!

As a transition from Lord of the Flies to Macbeth, we looked at the continuing themes of good vs. evil and human nature. We watched an edited version of Philip Zimbardo's the Ted Talks on "The Psychology of Evil", and completed questions pertaining to the video. Students were also required to complete the pre-reading questions for Macbeth on the back side of the worksheet. These are due tomorrow. I also reserved time to go to the library to take out copies of Macbeth.

Reminders:

• Please hand in the song analysis questions from last week if you haven;t already done so
• Ted Talks questions: due tomorrow, April 21, 2015
• Macbeth pre-reading questions: tomorrow, April 21, 2015
• LOF Final projects: due tomorrow, April 21, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Thanks for your cooperation in class today! You guys got a lot of work done!

We started off class reading Chapters 3 and 4 of The Giver. Students then completed a worksheet on capitalization. After that, we discussed The Giver and worked on questions. Students then had a bit more time to finish the 'Exposition Mind Map' that we started on Friday. Those who were finished started a word search/crossword.

Reminders:

• Exposition Mind Map: due Tuesday, April 21, 2015
• Make sure your chapter question worksheets are handed in!

English 11

Have a fantastic weekend!

We spent the entire class writing an in-class final essay on Lord of the Flies.

Reminders:

• Today was the last day to hand in work from Term . Final marks for the report card will be posted next week.

English 8: Blocks 7/8 and 3/4

Have a great weekend!

Silent reading and grammar (capitalization).
We read Chapter 2 in The Giver, worked on corresponding questions and started an 'Exposition Mind Map'. Students will continue this Monday.

Reminders:

• Chapter 2 questions due: Monday, April 20, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

For the first portion of class, students worked on a vocabulary crossword and completed a final test on The Outsiders.

After the break, students took notes on capital letters, and we went to the library to retrieve The Giver novels. After that, as an introduction to our next novel, The Giver, students were split into groups and had to brainstorm traits and rules of a Utopian society. We read Chapter 1 of The Giver and started to complete corresponding questions. Please complete these questions for homework.

Reminders:

• The Giver Chapter 1 questions: due Friday, April 17, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

For the first portion of class, students completed a final test on The Outsiders.

As an introduction to our next novel, The Giver, students were split into groups and had to brainstorm traits, rules, pros, and cons of a Utopian society. After this discussion, students took some notes on capital letters, and we went to the library to retrieve The Giver novels. We read Chapter 1 and started to complete corresponding questions. Please complete these questions for homework.

Reminders:

• The Giver Chapter 1 questions: due Friday, April 17, 2015

English 11

Remember that you have an in-class essay on Lord of the Flies this Friday!

To start off class, I gave students about 45 minutes do do some preliminary planning for their upcoming in-class essay on Lord of the Flies (this serves as your final test on this unit). After that, we watched the Simpsons adaptation of Lord of the Flies (I'm glad you enjoyed it!). Furthermore, we analyzed two songs that related to the novel: "Lord of the Flies" by Iron Maiden and "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Rolling Stones. Students worked on corresponding questions for this.

For the last portion of class, students were split up into groups and were assigned a particular symbol from Lord of the Flies. They brainstormed the significance of the symbol, quotes about the symbol, and the effect it had on the journey to chaos. They then presented their information to the class. Great job! I'm glad students were able to get some information from the presentations for the upcoming essay.

Reminders:

• Essay on Lord of the Flies (in-class): Friday, April 17, 2015
• Lord of the Flies Final Project: Tuesday, April 21, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Don't forget about the test on Thursday!

We started off class going over a worksheet on types of punctuation, and then proceeded with an open-book grammar quiz. After that, we finished going through The Outsiders review booklet. I also handed out a crossword puzzle with a list of vocabulary words that may appear on your upcoming test. As a review, we played a Jeopardy game pertaining to The Outsiders. We also went to the library during the last 15 minutes of class because I hadn't received many Newsletter assignments; many students needed help putting them in my dropbox, so we did this during class time.

Reminders:

• Final Test on The Outsiders: Thursday, April 16, 2015

English 11

We finished Lord of the Flies!!!

We started of class with a final quiz on Chapters 10-12 of Lord of the Flies. We then finished watching the movie,  discussed the end of the book, and worked on corresponding questions.

Reminders:

• LOF Essay (in-class): Friday, April 17, 2015
• LOF Final projects: Tuesday, April 21, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Don't forget about the test tomorrow!

We started off class with an open-book quiz on punctuation. After that, we finished going through The Outsiders review booklet. We also completed a 'Dynamic Character' worksheet. As a review, we played a Jeopardy game pertaining to The Outsiders. We also went to the library during the last 15 minutes of class because I hadn't received many Newsletter assignments; many students needed help putting them in my dropbox, so we did this during class time.

Reminders:

• Final Test on The Outsiders: Wednesday, April 15, 2015

English 11

To start off class, I went over essay topics, an essay rubric, and essay structure for the upcoming Lord of the Flies in-class essay (this Friday). The essay will serve as your final exam for this unit. You will have access to your book and the planning worksheet for this assessment.

After that, we discussed Chapter 10 in LOF and went over corresponding questions. We finished off class by continuing to watch some of the movie.

Reminders:

• Finish LOF! Quiz on Chapters 10-12 tomorrow, April 14, 2015
• LOF Final Test (IN-CLASS ESSAY): Friday, April 17, 2015
• LOF Final projects: Tuesday, April 21, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

We started off class by finishing the movie version of The Outsiders. After that, students completed questions for Chapters 10-12 in the novel. We then discussed comma splices (notes). Don't forget about the open-book grammar quiz tomorrow! After that, students began to complete a review booklet for The Outsiders. Please finish this for homework.

Reminders:

• Newsletters due today!
• Open-book grammar quiz: Tuesday, April 14, 2015
• The Outsiders review booklet: due Tuesday, April 14, 2015
• Final test on The Outsiders: Thursday, April 16, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

We started off the morning with silent reading and a grammar worksheet. Don't forget about the open-book grammar quiz tomorrow! After that, we finished The Outsiders crossword puzzle that we started last class. To finish, students started completing a review booklet for The Outsiders. Please finish this for tomorrow.

Reminders:

• Newsletters due today!
• Open-book grammar quiz: Tuesday, April 14, 2015
• The Outsiders review booklet: due Tuesday, April 14, 2015
• Final test on The Outsiders: Wednesday, April 15, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Wow! This week went fast!

We started off the day with silent reading and grammar notes (comma usage). We then finished the last half hour of "The Outsiders" movie. We also went over a couple of quizzes and started working on a vocabulary crossword puzzle.

Reminders:

• Newsletter Assignment: due Monday, April 13, 2015
• Test on The Outsiders: Wednesday, April 15, 2015

English 11

We spent the period in the library today working on the LOF final projects. You guys are so creative! Remember that today was the last period given to work on the projects.

Reminders:

• Phobia Assignments: due today
• Read Chapter 11 of LOF for Monday, April 13, 2015
• LOF Final Projects: due Tuesday, April 21, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

I hope you enjoyed the play today!
We spent the whole period in the theatre for the presentation on Cyberbullying. Have a good weekend! Don't forget that the newsletters are due Monday.

Reminders:

• Newsletter Assignment: due Monday, April 13, 2015
• Test on The Outsiders: Thursday, April 16, 2015

English 11

I'm glad to see the burst of creative energy for your LOF projects!

At the beginning of class, I introduced the final project for Lord of the Flies and we spent the rest of the third period in the library getting started. We will have another class to work on this this Friday, April 10, 2015, so bring any materials that you may need to school.

During the second part of class, students wrote a quiz for Chapter 8-9 of LOF. We also discussed Chapter 9 and went over questions. I gave the students the rest of class to work on their 'Phobia Assignment' that we started last class.

Reminders:

• Conflict worksheets: due today!
• Chapter 7-8 questions: due today!
• Phobia Assignment: due Friday, April 10, 2015
• See reading schedule (Read Chapter 10 for next class)

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Don't forget to complete your newsletters! Today was the last class given to work on them.

We started off the day with silent reading, and then spent the rest of the first period in the library working on the 'Newsletter Assignment' for The Outsiders. After the break, students wrote a quiz on Chapters 8-12, and we went over questions for the end of the novel. We spent the rest of class continuing the movie "The Outsiders".

Reminders:

• Newsletter Assignment: due Monday, April 13, 2015

English 11

We started off class with 30 minutes of silent reading Lord of the Flies.  We then discussed and completed questions for Chapter 8 of the novel. To finish off class, I introduced the 'Phobia Assignment'. Students must write a creative composition describing a phobia of their choice. We will continue working on this next class.

Reminders:

• LOF Quiz (Chapters 8 and 9): Wednesday, April 8, 2015
• Conflict worksheet: Wednesday, April 8, 2015
• Chapters 7/8 questions: Wednesday, April 8, 2015
• Marks are updated!

English 8: Blocks 3/4 and 7/8

In both classes, time was allotted to finish reading The Outsiders and we started watching the movie. Make sure to finish the novel for homework! There will be a quiz next class.

Reminders:

The Outsiders Quiz Chapters 8-12
Blocks 3/4: Thursday, April 9, 2105
Blocks 7/8: Wednesday, April 8, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Have fun this weekend!

We started off the day with silent reading and grammar notes on comma usage. We then read discussed Chapter 9 of The Outsiders, and then worked on corresponding questions. After the break, I demonstrated examples of an advice column, a personal ad, and an obituary (for the newsletter assignment). We proceeded to work on The Outsiders newsletters in the library.

Reminders:

• Chapter 7/8 questions: due next class

English 11

Have a good long weekend!

We started off the day silent reading Lord of the Flies. Students then had a test for Chapters 5-7. We also continued working on the conflict worksheet that I had passed out last week. After the break, I went through a Powerpoint and we discussed Chapter 7. We then watched the first 30 minutes of the movie "Lord of the Flies".

Reminders:

• Chapter 5/6 questions were due today
• Election brochures were due today
• Read LOF (see reading schedule)
• Conflict worksheet: due Wednesday April 8, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

You guys worked so well this morning! Have a fantastic long weekend and I will see you next week!

We started off the day with silent reading and grammar notes on periods and commas. After that, we read and discussed Chapter 8 in The Outsiders. Students then spent the majority of classtime creating a 'conflict mind map' for the novel. We proceeded to silent read Chapter 9 and work on corresponding questions.

Reminders:

• Finish Chapter 9: Tuesday, April 7, 2015
• Chapters 8 and 9 questions due: Tuesday, April 7, 2015