Today, you wrote your unit three comprehension exam (M.C.).
Over the holidays you need to complete your independent novel study (it is due the first day back) and read Oryx and Crake.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Thurs. Dec. 19 Test prep and Horses
Today, you presented your findings on personality for your characters from the play Girl Who Loved Her Horses. We put the information up on the board and discussed how this then could be used to create an essay.
I then gave you an excerpt from the play Monkeyshines. You were to read this actively and then answer the questions. I then marked them as you finished to give you some indication of how you will do tomorrow.
I then gave you an excerpt from the play Monkeyshines. You were to read this actively and then answer the questions. I then marked them as you finished to give you some indication of how you will do tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Wed. Dec. 18 Characterization Play
Today, you continued to work on your group project involving characterization (STEAL) of a character form the play Girl Who Loved Her Horses. I also reminded you all to get Oryx and Crake out from the library; in addition, I handed out a short story entitled "Jezebel Jessie" as comprehension practice for Friday's exam.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Tues. Dec. 17 Play
Today, you were given a group assignment to complete which involves locating evidence on characters (STEAL) and then applying the trait to them based on this. You will have today and tomorrow to complete this. You will then have your unit exam on Friday.
I also haned out a test prep sheet for Friday's exam and reminded you again to get the novel Oryx and Crake from the library as your holiday reading. This is in addition to the independent novel study that you must complete for the first day of classes after the break.
I also haned out a test prep sheet for Friday's exam and reminded you again to get the novel Oryx and Crake from the library as your holiday reading. This is in addition to the independent novel study that you must complete for the first day of classes after the break.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 Drama reading cont.
Today, we read the rest of the play The Girl who Loved her Horses. I then worked with the students to determine the purpose of the play. In order to to this, we first brainstormed possible topics. The list we came up with is as follows:
Possible Topics:
* friendship * play * change * relationships
* abuse * imagination * creativity * government intervention
* community * loyalty * loneliness * love
* childhood * horses * empowerment
I then instructed you to cross out the topics that might not be that important, in order to arrive at the ones that might help us understand purpose. Your list then was shortened to these choices:
* friendship
* abuse
* empowerment
* loneliness
I then helped you arrive at a purpose statement using these topic words of your choosing. Keep in mind that not all of you might think that the purpose created is the one you would choose. You don't have to. What we are creating here is actually a thesis (an opinion about what the purpose is) that you should be able to support with evidence:
In the play Girl Who Loved Her Horses, the author, Drew Hayden Taylor, is trying to make the reader understand that having a sense of empowerment can keep a person who is in a difficult situation grounded and hopeful. It is almost as important as friendships for overcoming or managing obstacles, such as loneliness or abuse.
One I might have used which also used topic words is as follows:
In the play Girl Who Loved Her Horses, the author, Drew Hayden Taylor, is trying to make the reader understand that childhood experiences such as abuse, loneliness and relationships,can alter one's view on life or even dramatically change their personality.
Notice that, in neither of these cases, are we using the play itself. I could simply remove the information about the author and play and I would have a statement that could be applied and supported by evidence from other experiences, such as my own, or from observations outside the scope if this play.
I then allowed you the rest of this time in class to answer the questions you were previously provided for this play. These are due tomorrow.
I also stressed that you need to get Oryx and Crake out from the library and read it. You also need to get your independent novel study completed for hand in on the day you return after the winter break. You will also have a drama comprehension test on Friday. If you are not going to be here, make arrangements with me to write it earlier.
Possible Topics:
* friendship * play * change * relationships
* abuse * imagination * creativity * government intervention
* community * loyalty * loneliness * love
* childhood * horses * empowerment
I then instructed you to cross out the topics that might not be that important, in order to arrive at the ones that might help us understand purpose. Your list then was shortened to these choices:
* friendship
* abuse
* empowerment
* loneliness
I then helped you arrive at a purpose statement using these topic words of your choosing. Keep in mind that not all of you might think that the purpose created is the one you would choose. You don't have to. What we are creating here is actually a thesis (an opinion about what the purpose is) that you should be able to support with evidence:
In the play Girl Who Loved Her Horses, the author, Drew Hayden Taylor, is trying to make the reader understand that having a sense of empowerment can keep a person who is in a difficult situation grounded and hopeful. It is almost as important as friendships for overcoming or managing obstacles, such as loneliness or abuse.
One I might have used which also used topic words is as follows:
In the play Girl Who Loved Her Horses, the author, Drew Hayden Taylor, is trying to make the reader understand that childhood experiences such as abuse, loneliness and relationships,can alter one's view on life or even dramatically change their personality.
Notice that, in neither of these cases, are we using the play itself. I could simply remove the information about the author and play and I would have a statement that could be applied and supported by evidence from other experiences, such as my own, or from observations outside the scope if this play.
I then allowed you the rest of this time in class to answer the questions you were previously provided for this play. These are due tomorrow.
I also stressed that you need to get Oryx and Crake out from the library and read it. You also need to get your independent novel study completed for hand in on the day you return after the winter break. You will also have a drama comprehension test on Friday. If you are not going to be here, make arrangements with me to write it earlier.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Thurs. Dec. 12 Horses cont
Reminder at the start of class: You will have to have your independent novel study completed and handed in on the first day back from the winter break.
Reminder at the start of class: The novel we will be addressing in class is Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Attwood. Please get this from the library and read it (while we will work on this after the holidays, some of you are slower readers, so you want to start reading this now).
Today, we read up to Scene 7 (Page 109) of Girl who Loved Her Horses by Drew Hayden Tayler.
I introduced the following terms as we read:
* Empathy: feeling emotions for others.
* Apathy: not feeling emotions for others.
* Disdain: Unworthy of respect
* Resigned: accepting of one's position in life when it is not all that great.
* Alter-ego: Opposite of our own identifiable characteristics.
* Oblivious: Unaware
* Cliche: An overused expression that loses its power from overuse.
Reminder at the start of class: The novel we will be addressing in class is Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Attwood. Please get this from the library and read it (while we will work on this after the holidays, some of you are slower readers, so you want to start reading this now).
Today, we read up to Scene 7 (Page 109) of Girl who Loved Her Horses by Drew Hayden Tayler.
I introduced the following terms as we read:
* Empathy: feeling emotions for others.
* Apathy: not feeling emotions for others.
* Disdain: Unworthy of respect
* Resigned: accepting of one's position in life when it is not all that great.
* Alter-ego: Opposite of our own identifiable characteristics.
* Oblivious: Unaware
* Cliche: An overused expression that loses its power from overuse.
Fri Dec 13 Girl who Loved her Horses
Today, we read up to the last page of the play Girl Who Loved her Horses. We will finish it on Monday. I also handed out a sheet on direct and indirect characterisation.
I also discussed the following terms in relation to the play:
* Explicit: Revealing; stated outright/ literay. No thinking involved.
Implicit: Not stated outright? figurative: must look deeper to find the answers
Monosyllabic (words): words with only one syllable
Antonym: words that have the direct opposite meaning.
I also discussed the following terms in relation to the play:
* Explicit: Revealing; stated outright/ literay. No thinking involved.
Implicit: Not stated outright? figurative: must look deeper to find the answers
Monosyllabic (words): words with only one syllable
Antonym: words that have the direct opposite meaning.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Wed. Dec. 11 Drama
Today, I introduced the play we will be reading called Girl who Loved Her Horses. I gave you a sheet on how to read scripts, questions to answer while reading, some information on what the director's notes indicate, a biography on Drew Hayden Taylor, and then assigned roles.
We read up to page 102, right near the bottom of the first column, after Shelleys says "Ralph, are you okay?".
We read up to page 102, right near the bottom of the first column, after Shelleys says "Ralph, are you okay?".
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Tues. Dec. 10 Unit 2 Exam
Today, you wrote your Unit 2 exam. Tomorrow, we will start working on Unit 3, which will encompass a dramatic reading "Girl who Loved Horses".
Monday, December 9, 2013
Mon. Dec. 9 Unit in class essay
Today, you wrote an in-class essay on Unit 2. If you were not here, you will need to arranged to write it at a different time this week. I am available from 7 am on, at lunch on Wednesday and Friday, and after school Tuesday thru Thursday.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Fri. Dec. 6 Test Prep
Today, I gave you some information on the exams you will have next week. The essay exam is on Monday, and the Multiple choice, comprehension exam is on Tuesday. I then gave you a half an hour to work in groups to review the texts. The notes I provided on the board are as follows:
Tests Next Week
Essay
will have to do with the commonalities between the texts we have studied:
“The
Lamp at Noon” by Sinclair Ross
“The
Painted Door” by Sinclair Ross
“A
Field of Wheat” by Sinclair Ross
“Sisters”
by P.K. Page
“1956:
The Ambition of the Eldest Son” by Dale Zieroth
Choice
between three questions:
1.
Commonalities
of Canadian themes in two texts
2.
How
setting impacts two of the texts
3.
How
relationships impact two of the texts
If
you want a great mark, include quotations as part of your evidence!!!!
The
Multiple Choice Exam (Tuesday)
·
Three
texts (two poems; one short story)
·
Active
reading (as much as time will allow)
·
Process
of elimination on questions
·
All
stylistic devices and how to apply them
·
Parallelism,
tone, irony,
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Thurs. Dec. 5 Test prep
Today, I explained that, when writing, you need to be sure that what you are putting down is possible, probable and plausible (more than likely).
I then gave you a handout on essays and added a couple of points on what to not do in an essay (don't state the genre in the body paragraphs).
I also explained that you will be writing an in-class essay on Monday in which you have to make connections between two of the five texts we have worked with in this unit. More details will be given tomorrow.
I then gave you a handout on essays and added a couple of points on what to not do in an essay (don't state the genre in the body paragraphs).
I also explained that you will be writing an in-class essay on Monday in which you have to make connections between two of the five texts we have worked with in this unit. More details will be given tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Wed. Dec. 4 Poetry analysis
Today, I did a check to ensure that you had answered the questions to the poem "1956: Ambition of the Eldest Son". Those who hadn't completed the assignment as required worked in the tutorial and joined us when they were finished.
The rest of you were broken into groups of three (and one group of four) to discuss your answers and reach consensus. When you acheived this, I then had groups join together to discuss their answers so that there were two big groups in the room. I then instructed each group to choose a person to write their answers on the board. We then discussed the answers which, except for the last one, were all the same (and correct).
You don't have any homework tonight. For tomorrow, ensure you have the short stories and poems that we have been reading in your possession as I will be preparing you for your exams, which will be next week.
The rest of you were broken into groups of three (and one group of four) to discuss your answers and reach consensus. When you acheived this, I then had groups join together to discuss their answers so that there were two big groups in the room. I then instructed each group to choose a person to write their answers on the board. We then discussed the answers which, except for the last one, were all the same (and correct).
You don't have any homework tonight. For tomorrow, ensure you have the short stories and poems that we have been reading in your possession as I will be preparing you for your exams, which will be next week.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Tues. Dec. 3 Poetry Analysis
Today, I did a homework check to ensure you had actively read the poem "1958: Ambition of the Eldest Son". We then discussed it as a class (analysis). I then gave you the questions to answer. This is to be completed for class tomorrow so we can do group discussion.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Mon. Dec. 2, 2013
Today, you were given your answers for "Sisters" by P.K. Page back, put back in your initial pairings, and then instructed to form a group of four with another pairing. The only condition was that you couldn't have the same symbol on the top of your pages (I did this so students wouldn't have the same answers to discuss). You then were given ten minutes to discuss the answers and reach consensus on which answers were right, based on the reasons you came up with. You were then joined up with another four-person pairing to see if you could reach consensus. After this, I had one person from each group come to the board and write down the agreed upon answers so we could see if we had class consensus or answers needing further discussion. I then gave you the answers.
After this, I gave you the poem "1956: Ambition of the Eldest son" to analyse (using the steps you were provided for the poem "Sisters") for tomorrow's class.
After this, I gave you the poem "1956: Ambition of the Eldest son" to analyse (using the steps you were provided for the poem "Sisters") for tomorrow's class.
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