Happy Hallowe'en!!!
Period 1--AP 20
We finished going over the poem and looking at strategies for how to assess and analyze poetry using "Thou Blind Man's Mark." We spoke about some strategies the students can use in order to analyze the poem despite how difficult it may be. They are doing a Timed Write tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
This class was stolen from us for an assembly.
Period 3--AP 10
The students are working on an essay for Macbeth.
Period 4--History 10
We started our new unit on Political Decision Making by having the students take part in a simulation where I "crashed" them on an island and they had to figure out how to organize themselves. My confidence in their chances weren't very high at the end, but it lead to some interesting discussion about governments and how they make decisions.
Due to a family emergency, I will not be here for Thursday and Friday. In general, this is what the days will look like for the students:
AP 30--they will continue working on the Canterbury Tales by "translating" their assigned characters. This should take up most of Thursday's class, if not all. On Friday, they will share this information.
AP 20--They are doing a timed write on sonnets on Thursday. On Friday, they can bring their Life of Pi or Huckleberry Finn to read.
AP 10--For both days the students can work on their Macbeth essays. They will not get more time thatn this to work on it.
History 10--The students will be writing an open-book exam on the Industrial Revolution for both days. It's a big exam, so they get two days for this.
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Tuesday, 30 October 2012
October 31. 2012
Period 1--AP 20
We did the Math PLT work for the first two minutes. We have to do this twice a week for a month, so we're done with it until next week. In ELA, we started going through the poem "Thou Blind Man's Mark"--we dicussed structure, alliteration, sibilance, and started on imagery. We will continue "ripping" the poem apart tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
We did the Math PLT work for the first two minutes. We have to do this twice a week for a month, so we're done with it until next week. In ELA work, we read the first introductory part of the Prologue together. Then, the students were assigned various characters from the Prologue, and working in partners, were to "translate" the middle English version to something more recognizable.
Period 3--AP 10
The students are working on their Macbeth essays.
Period 4--History 10
Since many of the kids were missing for Driver Training, I allowed them time to complete their textbook highlighting and coming up with questions for the exam. The open-book exam is on Thursday.
We did the Math PLT work for the first two minutes. We have to do this twice a week for a month, so we're done with it until next week. In ELA, we started going through the poem "Thou Blind Man's Mark"--we dicussed structure, alliteration, sibilance, and started on imagery. We will continue "ripping" the poem apart tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
We did the Math PLT work for the first two minutes. We have to do this twice a week for a month, so we're done with it until next week. In ELA work, we read the first introductory part of the Prologue together. Then, the students were assigned various characters from the Prologue, and working in partners, were to "translate" the middle English version to something more recognizable.
Period 3--AP 10
The students are working on their Macbeth essays.
Period 4--History 10
Since many of the kids were missing for Driver Training, I allowed them time to complete their textbook highlighting and coming up with questions for the exam. The open-book exam is on Thursday.
Monday, 29 October 2012
October 29, 2012
Period 1--AP 20
1. First of all, we had to take part in the PLT (Professional Learning Team) assessment that focusses on Mental Math skills, so we were actually doing Math in ELA! It was weird but fun. For two days a week, for two minute stretches, the students will be given a math worksheet with multiplication table questions on it (up to the 12 times table). This will go on for the month of November. The goal of this group is to improve the mental math skills of our OHS students.
2. Once we got back into our ELA groove, the last group from the sonnets presented their findings. We spoke about the difficulty of sonnets and some of the challenges students face when trying to analyze them. The last groups did an excellent job of Wordsworth's "It is a Beauteous Evening." Then, I handed out information on Sir Phillip Syndney as well as a few other types of sonnets (we know Shakespearean, Petrarchan, but learned about Spenserian and Mitonic sonnets too). We were just about to start in on Sydney's sonnet tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
1. 1. First of all, we had to take part in the PLT (Professional Learning Team) assessment that focusses on Mental Math skills, so we were actually doing Math in ELA! It was weird but fun. For two days a week, for two minute stretches, the students will be given a math worksheet with multiplication table questions on it (up to the 12 times table). This will go on for the month of November. The goal of this group is to improve the mental math skills of our OHS students.
2. We are staring Chaucer--so I had a power point with background information on it about frame stories, Chaucer's writing, the background, St. Thomas a Becket, etc. We will get reading the Prologue tomorrow.
Period 3--AP 10
We used this time to work on our formal essays.
Period 4--History 10
The grade 10s had time to finish highlighting their Industrial Revolution textbook and they were to make up questions based on information on their page only and hand in to me. They needed to make up two multiple choice, 2 true and false, 2 fill-in-the-blanks, and 2 short answer questions as well as supply the answers for me. I'll make up their exam from some of this information. The exam will be on Thursday.
1. First of all, we had to take part in the PLT (Professional Learning Team) assessment that focusses on Mental Math skills, so we were actually doing Math in ELA! It was weird but fun. For two days a week, for two minute stretches, the students will be given a math worksheet with multiplication table questions on it (up to the 12 times table). This will go on for the month of November. The goal of this group is to improve the mental math skills of our OHS students.
2. Once we got back into our ELA groove, the last group from the sonnets presented their findings. We spoke about the difficulty of sonnets and some of the challenges students face when trying to analyze them. The last groups did an excellent job of Wordsworth's "It is a Beauteous Evening." Then, I handed out information on Sir Phillip Syndney as well as a few other types of sonnets (we know Shakespearean, Petrarchan, but learned about Spenserian and Mitonic sonnets too). We were just about to start in on Sydney's sonnet tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
1. 1. First of all, we had to take part in the PLT (Professional Learning Team) assessment that focusses on Mental Math skills, so we were actually doing Math in ELA! It was weird but fun. For two days a week, for two minute stretches, the students will be given a math worksheet with multiplication table questions on it (up to the 12 times table). This will go on for the month of November. The goal of this group is to improve the mental math skills of our OHS students.
2. We are staring Chaucer--so I had a power point with background information on it about frame stories, Chaucer's writing, the background, St. Thomas a Becket, etc. We will get reading the Prologue tomorrow.
Period 3--AP 10
We used this time to work on our formal essays.
Period 4--History 10
The grade 10s had time to finish highlighting their Industrial Revolution textbook and they were to make up questions based on information on their page only and hand in to me. They needed to make up two multiple choice, 2 true and false, 2 fill-in-the-blanks, and 2 short answer questions as well as supply the answers for me. I'll make up their exam from some of this information. The exam will be on Thursday.
Thursday, 25 October 2012
October 26, 2012
I am away at an AP conference tomorrow, so this is from my sub plan for Mr. Spence.
Period
2—AP 30
2. We finished Beowulf and the analysis for it yesterday. Today, they get to work on the assignment that goes with it. I’ve told them about it but they haven’t had time to work on it yet. Hand the assignment out and you can read a few of the boasts from last year’s crew to give them some ideas. They can work on it for this class but that’s it. It will be due next Friday when they will present them.
Period
3—AP 10
2. We finished Macbeth and have gone over how to write a formal essay. They should all have their essay topics, but there are extras in case they need it. They can have this class to start writing their formal essay.
Period
4—History 10
Period
1—AP 20
1. Literary devices quiz
2. They were given poems yesterday and put in
groups to analyze their assigned poem.
The first group presented their findings. They are all sonnets. I have them:
read the poem aloud, jot down ideas on the smart board, and present
their findings to the class. Then, I
usually have to go and add to it all.
Ultimately, I want them to be able to determine the meaning of the poem
and important literary devices that help them achieve tone. If enough time is spent with this, it should take all class, but if you get done early, you
can move on with the kids and start talking about John Donne and “The
Bait.” It’s on the same document and the
kids have a photocopy of it. I have a
handout about Metaphysical poetry that can go with it. Students will either analyze together or guided by Mr. Spence.
2. We finished Beowulf and the analysis for it yesterday. Today, they get to work on the assignment that goes with it. I’ve told them about it but they haven’t had time to work on it yet. Hand the assignment out and you can read a few of the boasts from last year’s crew to give them some ideas. They can work on it for this class but that’s it. It will be due next Friday when they will present them.
2. We finished Macbeth and have gone over how to write a formal essay. They should all have their essay topics, but there are extras in case they need it. They can have this class to start writing their formal essay.
October 25, 2012
Period 1--AP 20
We split the sonnets left in our handout into four groups. Each group was responsible for offering an analysis of the poem to the rest of the group. The first group was able to present and I offered some supplementary information for the poem. The other three groups will present tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished reading Beowulf (an excerpt) yesterday, so today the students worked at "SIFTS-ing" through the poem. They worked in partners to fill out a sheets guiding them through this and then I went over the ideas with them as a larger class. They will work on their assignment tomorrow.
Period 3--AP 10
We went through the "Dreaded Formal Essay" portion of their AP Resource Booklet. The students will be starting to write their formal essay on the play tomorrow.
Period 4--History 10
We had two students present their current events and they did an excellent job. We moved from there to watching a documentary on the Industrial Revolution. For students who weren't there, it was called "Industrial Revolution Overview" on You Tube. It was quite well done. The students were to focus on the concept of cause and effect. It was interesting to backtrack through History and see how much effect one single invention (in this case, the Cotton Gin) had on American history. With the last few minutes of class, I handed out the class-made textbook on the Industrial Revolution. We had enough time to go through a couple of the pages and determine what is important on each page. They will continue with this tomorrow.
We split the sonnets left in our handout into four groups. Each group was responsible for offering an analysis of the poem to the rest of the group. The first group was able to present and I offered some supplementary information for the poem. The other three groups will present tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished reading Beowulf (an excerpt) yesterday, so today the students worked at "SIFTS-ing" through the poem. They worked in partners to fill out a sheets guiding them through this and then I went over the ideas with them as a larger class. They will work on their assignment tomorrow.
Period 3--AP 10
We went through the "Dreaded Formal Essay" portion of their AP Resource Booklet. The students will be starting to write their formal essay on the play tomorrow.
Period 4--History 10
We had two students present their current events and they did an excellent job. We moved from there to watching a documentary on the Industrial Revolution. For students who weren't there, it was called "Industrial Revolution Overview" on You Tube. It was quite well done. The students were to focus on the concept of cause and effect. It was interesting to backtrack through History and see how much effect one single invention (in this case, the Cotton Gin) had on American history. With the last few minutes of class, I handed out the class-made textbook on the Industrial Revolution. We had enough time to go through a couple of the pages and determine what is important on each page. They will continue with this tomorrow.
Wednesday, 24 October 2012
October 24, 2012
Period 1--AP 20
Unfortunatley, we lost this class as the entire school took the period to work on their portfolios for three-way conferences to be held mid-November. We'll get back at it tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
We started, and finished, the excerpt from Beowulf that shows Grendel's terrorization of Herot, Beowulf's decision to help and his introduction to Hrothgar, and finally, Beowulf's battle with Grendel. With the time left in class, the students identified examples of alliteration, kennings, and caesura which are characterisitcs of this poem.
Period 3--AP 10
We finished going over the power point on some of the technical aspects as well as the characterizations of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and the Weird Sisters. Then, the students were given their essay assignment options for the play. We broke the questions down together as a class and looked at some of the the things they will have to address in each question.
Period 4--History 10
The students were reminded to get their textbook pages in so they can participate fully in the open-book exam we will have next Wednesday. Today, we compared the traditional European economy with that of the Iroquois society in a handout. We tried to watch a video of the Industrial Revolution, but it wouldn't load properly so we'll try to do that tomorrow.
Unfortunatley, we lost this class as the entire school took the period to work on their portfolios for three-way conferences to be held mid-November. We'll get back at it tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
We started, and finished, the excerpt from Beowulf that shows Grendel's terrorization of Herot, Beowulf's decision to help and his introduction to Hrothgar, and finally, Beowulf's battle with Grendel. With the time left in class, the students identified examples of alliteration, kennings, and caesura which are characterisitcs of this poem.
Period 3--AP 10
We finished going over the power point on some of the technical aspects as well as the characterizations of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth and the Weird Sisters. Then, the students were given their essay assignment options for the play. We broke the questions down together as a class and looked at some of the the things they will have to address in each question.
Period 4--History 10
The students were reminded to get their textbook pages in so they can participate fully in the open-book exam we will have next Wednesday. Today, we compared the traditional European economy with that of the Iroquois society in a handout. We tried to watch a video of the Industrial Revolution, but it wouldn't load properly so we'll try to do that tomorrow.
Tuesday, 23 October 2012
October 23, 2012
Period 1--AP 20
The students were given this class to dive into their novels that they have to have read for mid-November. They are reading either Life of Pi, or Huckleberry Finn.
Period 2--AP 30
The students were given this class to work on their book annotations that are due before the Christmas break.
Period 3--AP 10
We started going over the multiple choice exam that we did a number of weeks ago. The students were given the correct answers of the practice exam and spent time going over vocabulary attack strategies. They focussed on root words (Latin, French, etc) as well as prefixes and suffixes to help them make sense of some of the vocabulary.
Period 4--History 10
We quickly reviewed the three types of economies and then jumped back into the more detailed handout where they were looking at these economies in context. We finished the handout and discussion (as well as a side discussion into the definition of "mercanitilism") just as the bell rang.
The students were given this class to dive into their novels that they have to have read for mid-November. They are reading either Life of Pi, or Huckleberry Finn.
Period 2--AP 30
The students were given this class to work on their book annotations that are due before the Christmas break.
Period 3--AP 10
We started going over the multiple choice exam that we did a number of weeks ago. The students were given the correct answers of the practice exam and spent time going over vocabulary attack strategies. They focussed on root words (Latin, French, etc) as well as prefixes and suffixes to help them make sense of some of the vocabulary.
Period 4--History 10
We quickly reviewed the three types of economies and then jumped back into the more detailed handout where they were looking at these economies in context. We finished the handout and discussion (as well as a side discussion into the definition of "mercanitilism") just as the bell rang.
Monday, 22 October 2012
October 22, 2012
Period 1--AP 20
We continued with our Shakespearean sonnets and had a look at how to analyze them. The students came up with some ideas using the SIFTS method and then we worked together as a class to flesh out the rest of the ideas.
Period 2--AP 30
We started Beowulf and Medieval Literature today. We looked at samples of Old, Middle, and Modern English as well as "Caedmon's Hymn"--one of the oldest surviving poems written in what is recognized as English. The students were given a handout on the History of Language and it introduces some of the time period in which Beowulf is set. The students had a couple of definitions to write down. We should be ready to get reading the poem from here.
Period 3--AP 10
We are finished reading Macbeth, so we are starting to do some analysis with the play via a power point I have made up with information about literary devices, characterization, etc.
Period 4--History 10
We de-briefed the Bead Game we played last Wednesday and compared Command, Market, and Traditional economies. We were just in the middle of a handout giving further info on these economies when the bell rang.
We continued with our Shakespearean sonnets and had a look at how to analyze them. The students came up with some ideas using the SIFTS method and then we worked together as a class to flesh out the rest of the ideas.
Period 2--AP 30
We started Beowulf and Medieval Literature today. We looked at samples of Old, Middle, and Modern English as well as "Caedmon's Hymn"--one of the oldest surviving poems written in what is recognized as English. The students were given a handout on the History of Language and it introduces some of the time period in which Beowulf is set. The students had a couple of definitions to write down. We should be ready to get reading the poem from here.
Period 3--AP 10
We are finished reading Macbeth, so we are starting to do some analysis with the play via a power point I have made up with information about literary devices, characterization, etc.
Period 4--History 10
We de-briefed the Bead Game we played last Wednesday and compared Command, Market, and Traditional economies. We were just in the middle of a handout giving further info on these economies when the bell rang.
Thursday, 18 October 2012
October 18, 2012
Period 1--AP 20
We did our literary devices quiz--we will see who wins between the grade 10, 11 and 12 AP classes! After this, we began looking at sonnets to continue our lesson from yesterday. We looked at the two main types of sonnets--Petrarchan and Shakespearean and their individual characteristics. The students were then required to use the SIFTS method of analysis to go through the poem. We got somewhat off track in the last few minutes of class and started to talk about ways to create more school spirit in our school. It was an interesting conversation and hopefully some good can come of it.
Period 2--AP 30
We did our literary devices quiz--we will see who wins between the grade 10, 11 and 12 AP classes! The kids saw some of the stuff on the board from last class about school spirit, so we also spent a bit of time discussing that. We got back on track with finishing our multiple choice practice exam. Before the end of class, I introduced the next unit of study (Medeival Literature) by showing a power point of various heroes which will lead into a discussion of Beowulf.
Period 3--AP 10
We did our literary devices quiz--we will see who wins between the grade 10, 11 and 12 AP classes! We then finished reading the rest of Macbeth!
Period 4--History 10
Since about half our class was missing for driver training, we didn't debrief like I wanted to about the "bead game." Instead, I introduced their current events assignment where they will have to choose what current event they want to examine and present it to the rest of the class. I showed a couple of exemplars. We won't start this next week, but rather I will assign two kids for the week after that. To finish off current events, we looked at the article on "Smart Cars" from What in the World." This was a very interesting conversation.
We did our literary devices quiz--we will see who wins between the grade 10, 11 and 12 AP classes! After this, we began looking at sonnets to continue our lesson from yesterday. We looked at the two main types of sonnets--Petrarchan and Shakespearean and their individual characteristics. The students were then required to use the SIFTS method of analysis to go through the poem. We got somewhat off track in the last few minutes of class and started to talk about ways to create more school spirit in our school. It was an interesting conversation and hopefully some good can come of it.
Period 2--AP 30
We did our literary devices quiz--we will see who wins between the grade 10, 11 and 12 AP classes! The kids saw some of the stuff on the board from last class about school spirit, so we also spent a bit of time discussing that. We got back on track with finishing our multiple choice practice exam. Before the end of class, I introduced the next unit of study (Medeival Literature) by showing a power point of various heroes which will lead into a discussion of Beowulf.
Period 3--AP 10
We did our literary devices quiz--we will see who wins between the grade 10, 11 and 12 AP classes! We then finished reading the rest of Macbeth!
Period 4--History 10
Since about half our class was missing for driver training, we didn't debrief like I wanted to about the "bead game." Instead, I introduced their current events assignment where they will have to choose what current event they want to examine and present it to the rest of the class. I showed a couple of exemplars. We won't start this next week, but rather I will assign two kids for the week after that. To finish off current events, we looked at the article on "Smart Cars" from What in the World." This was a very interesting conversation.
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
October 17, 2012
Period 1--AP 20
We started in on some poetry study. To do this, we examined rhyme, rhythm, and scansion. From there, we looked at the SIFTS method of analysis. We started applying this to some Shakespearean sonnets. We just completed the paraphrasing the poem when the bell rang. We will continue with the analysis tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
The students are doing another practice exam for multiple choice.
Period 3--AP 10
We continued reading Macbeth. We are almost finished the play and should finish up reading it tomorrow.
Period 4--History 10
We played the bead game today with two groups making beads in a traditional way, 2 groups making it in a way that they are told, and 2 groups making their bracelets, necklaces, or rings however they want. We will de-brief what all of this means tomorrow!
We started in on some poetry study. To do this, we examined rhyme, rhythm, and scansion. From there, we looked at the SIFTS method of analysis. We started applying this to some Shakespearean sonnets. We just completed the paraphrasing the poem when the bell rang. We will continue with the analysis tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
The students are doing another practice exam for multiple choice.
Period 3--AP 10
We continued reading Macbeth. We are almost finished the play and should finish up reading it tomorrow.
Period 4--History 10
We played the bead game today with two groups making beads in a traditional way, 2 groups making it in a way that they are told, and 2 groups making their bracelets, necklaces, or rings however they want. We will de-brief what all of this means tomorrow!
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
October 16, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
I let the students have this class to finish their multiple choice challenge. Once they finished, they had some class time to start tackling the reading of either Huckleberry Finn or Life of Pi (their choice). We're moving on to poetry tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
The students wanted some time to finish their timed write. Judging from this topic which required a comparison between two readings, it looks like we'll need to do some focus work on this type of writing. Once they completed that, the students used the time to work on their annotations or polish up some of their essay issues for their Frankenstein essay that is due this week.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
I gave the students a handout on paraphrasing again, to jog their memory with this skill. While they struggled with it a bit, it is getting easier than at the beginning of the play. We continued reading the play and are almost finish Act IV. We should complete the entire play by early next week and then it will be essay time!
Period 4--History 10
We caught those who were absent up to speed on our Industrial Revolution role playing discussion and had those students join in groups or develop their own. They had some time to work on the concepts and then we discussed them together in class. Tomorrow, we'll be doing the bead game!
I let the students have this class to finish their multiple choice challenge. Once they finished, they had some class time to start tackling the reading of either Huckleberry Finn or Life of Pi (their choice). We're moving on to poetry tomorrow.
Period 2--AP 30
The students wanted some time to finish their timed write. Judging from this topic which required a comparison between two readings, it looks like we'll need to do some focus work on this type of writing. Once they completed that, the students used the time to work on their annotations or polish up some of their essay issues for their Frankenstein essay that is due this week.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
I gave the students a handout on paraphrasing again, to jog their memory with this skill. While they struggled with it a bit, it is getting easier than at the beginning of the play. We continued reading the play and are almost finish Act IV. We should complete the entire play by early next week and then it will be essay time!
Period 4--History 10
We caught those who were absent up to speed on our Industrial Revolution role playing discussion and had those students join in groups or develop their own. They had some time to work on the concepts and then we discussed them together in class. Tomorrow, we'll be doing the bead game!
Monday, 15 October 2012
October 15, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
The students did another practice multiple choice exam. They didn't quite have an hour to complete this, so they will get a bit more time tomorrow to complete it.
Period 2--AP 30
The students had their timed write on Oedipus Rex today. No one finished us in the class period, so they will get just a few minutes to complete this tomorrow and then we will move on.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We missed the Terry Fox walk in September, so the entire school took this time to head outside in our beautiful weather and walk the usual course in honour of the need to raise money for cancer research. Each student was supposed to give a loonie or toonie to donate to the cause.
Period 4--History 10
We were missing a number of students for Driver Training and Soccer today but we were able to get a move on anyway. We started out the class with looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the Industrial Revolution. From there, they were given handouts that had them take on the role of either a land/factory owner or a worker and were given various problems. The kids needed to decide how they would react in the situation as a worker or an owner.
The students did another practice multiple choice exam. They didn't quite have an hour to complete this, so they will get a bit more time tomorrow to complete it.
Period 2--AP 30
The students had their timed write on Oedipus Rex today. No one finished us in the class period, so they will get just a few minutes to complete this tomorrow and then we will move on.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We missed the Terry Fox walk in September, so the entire school took this time to head outside in our beautiful weather and walk the usual course in honour of the need to raise money for cancer research. Each student was supposed to give a loonie or toonie to donate to the cause.
Period 4--History 10
We were missing a number of students for Driver Training and Soccer today but we were able to get a move on anyway. We started out the class with looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the Industrial Revolution. From there, they were given handouts that had them take on the role of either a land/factory owner or a worker and were given various problems. The kids needed to decide how they would react in the situation as a worker or an owner.
Friday, 12 October 2012
October 12, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
Just as a reminder, the students need to finish their to Kill A Mockingbird essays. I quickly showed them an exemplar that shows how topic statements and concluding statements are connected to all parts of a thesis statement. From there, we moved onto discussion of various examples of allusion that they might run across as we read through literature. We talked about common Bible stories as well as Greek and Roman mythology.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished going over the power point for Oedipus Rex. The students will have a timed write on this play on Monday that requires them to do a comparison of tones. In order to prepare for this, we looked at some College Board examples of comparison questions. Then, I showed them the two passages from the play that requires a comparison of tone. We read through them together and the kids will write their essays on Monday.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We continued reading Macbeth today. It is great getting back into the play. We finished off Act III and are well on our way into Act IV. It was fun discussing the witch scenes with Macbeth!
Period 4--History 10
The students had this last class to work on their Industrial Revolution assignment. If they can email it to me, that would be preferable, but otherwise, a hard copy will be fine. This is due Wednesday of next week.
Just as a reminder, the students need to finish their to Kill A Mockingbird essays. I quickly showed them an exemplar that shows how topic statements and concluding statements are connected to all parts of a thesis statement. From there, we moved onto discussion of various examples of allusion that they might run across as we read through literature. We talked about common Bible stories as well as Greek and Roman mythology.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished going over the power point for Oedipus Rex. The students will have a timed write on this play on Monday that requires them to do a comparison of tones. In order to prepare for this, we looked at some College Board examples of comparison questions. Then, I showed them the two passages from the play that requires a comparison of tone. We read through them together and the kids will write their essays on Monday.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We continued reading Macbeth today. It is great getting back into the play. We finished off Act III and are well on our way into Act IV. It was fun discussing the witch scenes with Macbeth!
Period 4--History 10
The students had this last class to work on their Industrial Revolution assignment. If they can email it to me, that would be preferable, but otherwise, a hard copy will be fine. This is due Wednesday of next week.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
October 11, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
We finished going over the handout on multiple choice. From there we moved on to discussing various pieces of knowledge they may have about Biblical events, Greek/Roman mythology, Norse mythology, other literature, etc. that could be used with allusion in pieces of literature we will study. I also handed out novels for the students to read...they had the choice between Life of Pi and Huckleberry Finn. These novels have to be read by November 15th.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished reading Oedipus Rex. Again, the discussion we get from this play certainly goes well passed the literary analysis and into the philosophy department. Somehow, I'm sure that was Sophocles' intent. We started in with some analysis as the students took notes from a power point discussion. We will finish with this tomorrow.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We finally continued with reading Macbeth. We are almost finished with Act III, scene iv, so we should tie up this Act tomorrow.
Period 4--History 10
Since we couldn't get into the computer lab to work on their Industrial Revolution assignment, the students did some current events. We read about the NHL lockout, the Franklin expedition, and the United States presidential election.
We finished going over the handout on multiple choice. From there we moved on to discussing various pieces of knowledge they may have about Biblical events, Greek/Roman mythology, Norse mythology, other literature, etc. that could be used with allusion in pieces of literature we will study. I also handed out novels for the students to read...they had the choice between Life of Pi and Huckleberry Finn. These novels have to be read by November 15th.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished reading Oedipus Rex. Again, the discussion we get from this play certainly goes well passed the literary analysis and into the philosophy department. Somehow, I'm sure that was Sophocles' intent. We started in with some analysis as the students took notes from a power point discussion. We will finish with this tomorrow.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We finally continued with reading Macbeth. We are almost finished with Act III, scene iv, so we should tie up this Act tomorrow.
Period 4--History 10
Since we couldn't get into the computer lab to work on their Industrial Revolution assignment, the students did some current events. We read about the NHL lockout, the Franklin expedition, and the United States presidential election.
Wednesday, 10 October 2012
October 10, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
We went through the 10 literary devices on which the students will have a quiz on Friday. We then backtracked to the multiple choice exam we took a number of weeks ago and started working on some strategies to help them improve their performance on the multiple choice section of the exam. We will finish going over this handout tomorrow.
As a reminder, the To Kill a Mockingbird essay is due October 15th.
Period 2--AP 30
We continued reading Oedipus Rex and are almost at the end of the play. We should finish it tomorrow and then we will do some analysis of the play before we do a timed write.
As a reminder, the Frankensteini essay is due the week October 15th.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
The students went over their literary devices on which they will have a quiz on Friday. We got back into Macbeth by the students getting their timed writes back. I required the students to examine their own writing against all of the feedback I provided. After this, they had to note down deficiencies (on a checklist) that they found. We will keep track of common errors they are making in their writing as we continue to practice this skill. To help them see some of their errors, I wrote a timed write and we analyzed it, primarily looking at how to connect their paragraphs to their thesis statements. The kids were given a copy of my writing and we cut it apart to see how the topic statements and concluding statements were able to connect to the thesis. We also looked closely at the use of quotations and how they are embedded and used as proof in writing.
Period 4--History 10
The students used this class to work on their Industrial Revoltuion "textbook page" assignment. Most of the students have found their information and are working on building their page. We won't get a chance to get into the lab tomorrow, but we will finish up on Friday. This assignment is due Monday.
We went through the 10 literary devices on which the students will have a quiz on Friday. We then backtracked to the multiple choice exam we took a number of weeks ago and started working on some strategies to help them improve their performance on the multiple choice section of the exam. We will finish going over this handout tomorrow.
As a reminder, the To Kill a Mockingbird essay is due October 15th.
Period 2--AP 30
We continued reading Oedipus Rex and are almost at the end of the play. We should finish it tomorrow and then we will do some analysis of the play before we do a timed write.
As a reminder, the Frankensteini essay is due the week October 15th.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
The students went over their literary devices on which they will have a quiz on Friday. We got back into Macbeth by the students getting their timed writes back. I required the students to examine their own writing against all of the feedback I provided. After this, they had to note down deficiencies (on a checklist) that they found. We will keep track of common errors they are making in their writing as we continue to practice this skill. To help them see some of their errors, I wrote a timed write and we analyzed it, primarily looking at how to connect their paragraphs to their thesis statements. The kids were given a copy of my writing and we cut it apart to see how the topic statements and concluding statements were able to connect to the thesis. We also looked closely at the use of quotations and how they are embedded and used as proof in writing.
Period 4--History 10
The students used this class to work on their Industrial Revoltuion "textbook page" assignment. Most of the students have found their information and are working on building their page. We won't get a chance to get into the lab tomorrow, but we will finish up on Friday. This assignment is due Monday.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
October 9, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
This is the last class that saw the grade 11s reading to the Kindergarten kids over at the elementary school. A good time was definitely had by all and the grade 11s did so well in their reading. They were excellent ambassadors of OHS and excelled in their oral reading skills.
Period 2--AP 3o
We continued reading Oedipus Rex today and were just getting to where the clues as to the origin on Oedipus were becoming more obvious.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
This was the students' last class to be working on their critiques of The Importance of Being Earnest. We will be returning to Macbeth tomorrow (thank goodness--my apologies for it being such a piecemeal approach to the play).
Period 4--History 10
The students chose their research topics for the Industrial Revolution. We went to the computer lab where they were able to start accessing information and applying it to their topic. Most students have started their digital copy of the textbook page.
This is the last class that saw the grade 11s reading to the Kindergarten kids over at the elementary school. A good time was definitely had by all and the grade 11s did so well in their reading. They were excellent ambassadors of OHS and excelled in their oral reading skills.
Period 2--AP 3o
We continued reading Oedipus Rex today and were just getting to where the clues as to the origin on Oedipus were becoming more obvious.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
This was the students' last class to be working on their critiques of The Importance of Being Earnest. We will be returning to Macbeth tomorrow (thank goodness--my apologies for it being such a piecemeal approach to the play).
Period 4--History 10
The students chose their research topics for the Industrial Revolution. We went to the computer lab where they were able to start accessing information and applying it to their topic. Most students have started their digital copy of the textbook page.
Friday, 5 October 2012
October 5, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
We continued with our reading to Kindergartens and working on essays. Tuesday will be the last day for this.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished going over the power point for Oedipus Rex and started reading the play. We didn't get overly far, but just far enough in to recognize some hubris in the main character. There is a lot of potential for interesting conversations here.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We looked at the characterisitcs of a critique today and as well as an exemplar I wrote last year. The kids had a few minutes to work on their own critique. They will get time to finish this on Tuesday.
Period 4--History 10
We finished going over the power point that contains pictures of the Industrial Revolution and I introduced their assignment which requires them to create their own textbook page on a specific topic about the Industrial Revolution.
I hope everyone has a great long week and eat lots of turkey for Thanksgiving!
We continued with our reading to Kindergartens and working on essays. Tuesday will be the last day for this.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished going over the power point for Oedipus Rex and started reading the play. We didn't get overly far, but just far enough in to recognize some hubris in the main character. There is a lot of potential for interesting conversations here.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We looked at the characterisitcs of a critique today and as well as an exemplar I wrote last year. The kids had a few minutes to work on their own critique. They will get time to finish this on Tuesday.
Period 4--History 10
We finished going over the power point that contains pictures of the Industrial Revolution and I introduced their assignment which requires them to create their own textbook page on a specific topic about the Industrial Revolution.
I hope everyone has a great long week and eat lots of turkey for Thanksgiving!
Thursday, 4 October 2012
October 4, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
Again, today, I took 6 of the students to read to the kindergarten class while the rest stayed behind to work on their essay. A good time was certainly had by all.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished discussing the multiple choice strategies. We switched gears to examine a power point on Sophocles and sophism as we prepare to study Oedipus Rex.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We finished debriefing their viewing experience and examined the technical aspects of the play/movie. From there we started looking at what a critique is by looking at an exemplar. Tomorrow, we will look at some "nuts and bolts" of this style of writing and the kids will have time to work on one of their own.
Period 4--History 10
I gave the students their exam back and we went over it together as a class. Those who choose have the opportunity to do an oral rewrite to boost their mark--they will have to make arrangements with me to do so. I will not be chasing students to do this. After this, I showed them part of a power point with some pictures of the Industrial Revolution. We will continue with this tomorrow.
Again, today, I took 6 of the students to read to the kindergarten class while the rest stayed behind to work on their essay. A good time was certainly had by all.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished discussing the multiple choice strategies. We switched gears to examine a power point on Sophocles and sophism as we prepare to study Oedipus Rex.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We finished debriefing their viewing experience and examined the technical aspects of the play/movie. From there we started looking at what a critique is by looking at an exemplar. Tomorrow, we will look at some "nuts and bolts" of this style of writing and the kids will have time to work on one of their own.
Period 4--History 10
I gave the students their exam back and we went over it together as a class. Those who choose have the opportunity to do an oral rewrite to boost their mark--they will have to make arrangements with me to do so. I will not be chasing students to do this. After this, I showed them part of a power point with some pictures of the Industrial Revolution. We will continue with this tomorrow.
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
October 3, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
Many of the students were away on a field trip for Biology and Chemistry. The remaining kids were able to do their reading for the Kindersgartens and/or stay back and work on their To Kill A Mockingbird essay that is due October 15. The kindergarten kids were thrilled with their big visitors and I think the grade 11s enjoyed hanging out in kindergarten for an hour!
Period 2--AP 30
We spent this class discussing strategies for multiple choice taking. The students will put these strategies into practice on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. We used information from McGraw Hill's 5 Steps to a 5 for English Literature to help identify some of these strategies and trends in this section of the exam.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We debriefed the play/move The Importance of Being Ernest from our visit to the theatre yesterday. We began going over the assessment sheet I assigned them to do during their viewing. We will finish this tomorrow and then get into their hand-in assignment.
Period 4--History 10
The students were given the answers to their blanks that they researched from their textbooks. Then, they brainstorms inventions of the last 10 years. Their assignment is to think about what impact that invention has had on our current society and what impact it will continue to have in 10, 2o, or 50 years. They were to have this finished for tomorrow.
Many of the students were away on a field trip for Biology and Chemistry. The remaining kids were able to do their reading for the Kindersgartens and/or stay back and work on their To Kill A Mockingbird essay that is due October 15. The kindergarten kids were thrilled with their big visitors and I think the grade 11s enjoyed hanging out in kindergarten for an hour!
Period 2--AP 30
We spent this class discussing strategies for multiple choice taking. The students will put these strategies into practice on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. We used information from McGraw Hill's 5 Steps to a 5 for English Literature to help identify some of these strategies and trends in this section of the exam.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
We debriefed the play/move The Importance of Being Ernest from our visit to the theatre yesterday. We began going over the assessment sheet I assigned them to do during their viewing. We will finish this tomorrow and then get into their hand-in assignment.
Period 4--History 10
The students were given the answers to their blanks that they researched from their textbooks. Then, they brainstorms inventions of the last 10 years. Their assignment is to think about what impact that invention has had on our current society and what impact it will continue to have in 10, 2o, or 50 years. They were to have this finished for tomorrow.
October 2, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
We co-constructed some criteria for assessment for their reading to Kindergarten kids. I did an exemplar reading of a story for the kids and we discussed what worked and what didn't when reading to young children. Then, the students had the rest of the class to practice their own reading.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished going over the multiple choice exam that they did awhile ago and assessing.
Period 3 & 4
I took the grade 10s to Saskatoon for a viewing of The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde which was put on by Persephone Theatre! It was excellent! The kids really enjoyed the productions. For those that weren't able to attend the live theatre, they were able to stay back and view a movie production of the same play. This was similarly well done and received. If anyone was missing, they'll have a chance to view the video in order to do the viewing assessment.
We co-constructed some criteria for assessment for their reading to Kindergarten kids. I did an exemplar reading of a story for the kids and we discussed what worked and what didn't when reading to young children. Then, the students had the rest of the class to practice their own reading.
Period 2--AP 30
We finished going over the multiple choice exam that they did awhile ago and assessing.
Period 3 & 4
I took the grade 10s to Saskatoon for a viewing of The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde which was put on by Persephone Theatre! It was excellent! The kids really enjoyed the productions. For those that weren't able to attend the live theatre, they were able to stay back and view a movie production of the same play. This was similarly well done and received. If anyone was missing, they'll have a chance to view the video in order to do the viewing assessment.
Monday, 1 October 2012
October 1, 2012
Period 1--Pre-AP 20
We started going through the multiple choice questions that we tool a number of weeks ago. The ultimate purpose is for the kids to build some strategies as to how they can have greater success on the multiple choice section on their exams.
Period 2--AP 30
We started going through the multiple choice questions that we tool a number of weeks ago. The ultimate purpose is for the kids to build some strategies as to how they can have greater success on the multiple choice section on their exams.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
Tomorrow we are heading off to Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon for a viewing of The Importance of Being Ernest. Today we went over some pre-viewing activities to get the kids in the right head space for the play. We examined the meaning of various technical aspects of plays such as lighting, costumes, make-up, etc. Tomorrow, the kids will be expected to fill out their assignment to get ready to work on assignments in conjunction with their viewing for the rest of the week.
Period 4--History 10
The students had this class to finish their textbook work on the Industrial Revolution. We will go over the answers together in class Wednesday.
We started going through the multiple choice questions that we tool a number of weeks ago. The ultimate purpose is for the kids to build some strategies as to how they can have greater success on the multiple choice section on their exams.
Period 2--AP 30
We started going through the multiple choice questions that we tool a number of weeks ago. The ultimate purpose is for the kids to build some strategies as to how they can have greater success on the multiple choice section on their exams.
Period 3--Pre-AP 10
Tomorrow we are heading off to Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon for a viewing of The Importance of Being Ernest. Today we went over some pre-viewing activities to get the kids in the right head space for the play. We examined the meaning of various technical aspects of plays such as lighting, costumes, make-up, etc. Tomorrow, the kids will be expected to fill out their assignment to get ready to work on assignments in conjunction with their viewing for the rest of the week.
Period 4--History 10
The students had this class to finish their textbook work on the Industrial Revolution. We will go over the answers together in class Wednesday.
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