Thurs, Jan. 23 & Fri. Jan. 24, 2014 Test Prep

Today and tomorrow are test prep days. Today, I handed out a preparation sheet as well. You will be allowed a cheat sheet for the one text essay (see Tuesday for conditions) which I must have by the end of the school day tomorrow (no exceptions).

Your final exam in on Monday, January 27, at 1:00 in this classroom (208).

Wed, Jan. 22, 2014

Today, you worked on test-preparation. Some of you worked on your cheat-sheets for the one text question that was supplied to you on Monday, others worked on grammar/mechanics concerns.

Tues. Jan. 21, 2014 Test Prep: Essays

Today, we discussed the essays you will write next Monday. At your request, I gave you the questions for the one-text essay yesterday. Today, I presented you with possible choices for the three text essay (we added them to the list you received earlier on; if you were not here, you will need to speak to a classmate to highlight these).
I then gave you information on what I will allow you to supply me with before the test in the way of a cheat sheet for the one text essay; the notes are posted below:

For the Final

 

You will be given the questions for ONE of the two essays (student directed).

You will be able to use a POINT-FORM cheat sheet which MUST BE SUBMITTED TO ME THE FRIDAY BEFORE THE EXAM!!!!!!

You can have one sheet with notes on one side of it only.

CAN ONLY BE ON THE TEXT(S) THAT THE YOU WILL USE TO ANSWER THE QUESTION PROVIDED.

Mon. Jan. 20, 2014 Test Prep

Today, I showed you a PowerPoint reinforcing essay writing expectations. I also gave you the one text questions for the final. I do not release these on this sight, nor do I provide a hard copy for those who were absent. If you want these questions, you will have to talk to your classmates.

Thurs. Jan. 16, 2014

Today, I handed out the excerpt section of the prototype exam. You read it and answered the questions, keeping track of time. I then marked them with you (individually) and discussed how to improve.

Wed. Jan. 15, 2014 test prep Draft

Today, we continued to exam the answers you came up with for the draft questions from the prototype exam I gave you. If you were not here, you will find the explanations for questions 5-10 and worksheets to help you in your portfolio.

Tues. Jan. 14, 2014 Test Prep Draft question discussion

Today, I handed back your "draft" readings and answers so that we could discuss them (they will need to be returned at the end of class on Thursday).
We managed to discuss questions 1 thru 5.  This means we discussed sentence fragments, maintaining paragraph flow, transitions, sentences to reinforce the main idea, and apostrophes. If you were not here, you will need to see me to get help.

If you were given a story to read in today's class for Friday's class ("The Rocking-Horse Winner"), disregard this instruction as it was for the other class, not yours.

Mon. Jan. 13, 2014 Oryx and Crake and One Text Essay

Today, you wrote a summary of the novel Oryx and Crake (it was timed, and was expected to be 9-12 sentences long).
I then handed out a sheet explaining themes for the novel Oryx and Crake (it is in your portfolio if you were absent; it is also possible to find the themes online).

After this, I handed out a list of possible one text essay questions and the prototype questions from October, 2013. We discussed these.

I then instructed you to form groups and create lists (based on characters) of conflicts being faced in this novel. You need to go online to further your study of this novel.

Fri. Jan. 10 2014 Test Prep Draft

Today, I gave you a prototype draft assignment from a provincial exam so you could gain an understanding of what to expect for the final. I also gave you a handout explaining the types of questions that could appear in the draft questions themselves. You handed this assignment in.

Reminder: You must have Oryx and Crake read for Monday, January 13.

Thurs. Jan 9, 2013 Oryx and Test Info

Today, I finished providing summary notes on Oryx and Crake. If you were not here and want to view the Powerpoint before finals, come in at lunch or in the morning and I will put it on for you. You can also go online for summaries and character descriptions (which was what was presented today). All the information I used for this was from the Internet so go there and search out characters, setting, and themes.

I then did an overview of the test for you which I am pasting below:

A30 Final Exam

Time to write: three hours

Three Sections:

1.       Multiple choice (consists of three texts)

a.       Draft (asking you questions to show that you understand grammar and mechanics, and how to make a text better (language choices, parallelism, tone, etc). 10 questions

b.       A short story or an excerpt from a short story or novel (asking you questions to show that you can read, comprehend, and interpret). 15 questions

c.        A poem or a visual to interpret (asking you questions to show that you can read, comprehend, interpret and infer). 5 questions

 

2.       Five paragraph essay (using three text references)

·         This is a formal essay

·         You can refer ONLY to Canadian short stories, essays, poems, or plays addressed in class

·         You will be given a choice between two questions

·         The questions will be tied to the categories we have been working under in this term

 

·         Basically, you will have your thesis and main points presented in your introduction (along with introducing the three texts by title, genre, and author); you will have one text reference in each paragraph

·         A short conclusion that is a restatement of your thesis and main points

 

3.       A Five paragraph essay (using only one text)

·         You can only use a Canadian full-length play, OR a Canadian novel (INS or Oryx and Crake)

·         You will have a choice of two questions (you will choose one)

·         Introduction must have an introduction of topic as part of an attention-getter

·         The conclusion must have a clincher/reflection that shows you are thinking outside of the confines of the question you’ve answered

Wed. Jan. 8, 2013 Oryx and Crake Cont.

Today, we furthered our discussion of Oryx and Crake. If you were not here, you will need to go online and look up information on SparkNotes or ask a classmate for notes as most of this was discussion.

Tues. Jan. 7, 2014 Oryx and Crake

Today, we began our discussion of Oryx and Crake. I introduced it (notes below) and began showing a Powerpoint (we got up to explaining the schools the two friends went to).

Novel: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (be sure to underline the novel as it is a major work).

Three main characters:
Jimmy = Smowman
Glenn = Crake
Oryx = Su Su (real name unknown)

There are also the Crakers.

The story begins in the present (which is the future) and flashes back to two other time periods: The "before" when Jimmy was a youth; the "During" when Jimmy was an adult; the "after" which is the period after a virus has wiped out man.

It is written in third person, limited omniscient (we can see what Jimmy is thinking but it is not using "I").
Much of what Jimmy's thoughts are stream of consciousness.

This is a dystopic novel (look this up).

Much of the discussion focuses on reality and the natural vs. constructed worlds.

Mon. Jan. 6, 2014 Novel Study

Today, you were to write a novel review for your independent novel and then hand it in (along with the novel study journal that was due today). If you are behind on this you need to see me to get caught up (The review is a timed activity so you will need to arrange a time to complete this ASAP).