Monday, February 28, 2011

Today, you wrote your unit exam for the essay unit (multiple choice). If you weren't here, you need tomeet with me to set up a time to write the alternative.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Today, you write an in-class personal response to texts assignment (major). If you weren't here, you need to meet with me to establish a time when you can write the alternative.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Today, you did a Teams Game Tournament. If you weren't here, study your terminology. Also, your personal response to texts (in-class) will occur tomorrow. You can bring in any of the four readings on censorship and your Fit to Print text.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Today, you got into groups of three or four to discuss each essay and your answers (I did a homework check to ensure you had completed them). You also discussed the commonalities between all of them.
We then discussed what Alberta Learning means when they say “personal response to texts”(look at exam bulletin (looked at time, prose types) and Powerpoint on previous critical responses. Keep in mind that you are writing a personal response to texts assignment on Friday and will be able to bring in with you the booklet of texts on censorship and the Stephen King essay (as well as you Fit to Print text).

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Today, we discussed the visual on censorship. I also did a homework check to see if you had answered the questions. I then allowed you time to answer the "Coda" questions and the "Censoring Huck Finn" questions. All three of the sets of questions from t his booklet are due at the start of class (come in early if you have to print anything out).

I have also moved your test dates forward. You will write your in-class essay on Friday, and your multiple choice unit exam on Monday. Study your terminology!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Today, we examined some errors appearing on article critiques. I then handed out a booklet with three texts to be analyzed. If you weren't here, these are in your portfolio. I expected you to be able to complete text one and two (questions and readings). If you did not, you will still have time to complete these on Monday.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Today, you were instructed to read pages 62 to 72 in your Fit to Print textbook and create an article critique from this.
This is due tommorrow.
You also need to study your terminology as you will be getting tested on those terms soon.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Today we discussed the answers for the essay "Why We Crave Horror Movies." This was a ful class discussion.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Today I went over the steps necessary for reading an essay in class (inserted below). I then handed out the reading "Why We Crave Horror Movies" by Stephen King. This is due for Monday (if you were here; Tuesday if you weren't).

In order to read an essay (or any other piece of literature)

1. Look at the title, brainstorm and write down possible meanings of the essay you get from it (right on the page).

2. Using a highlighter, begin reading, highlighting key information (5 w’s) (thesis, main points, evidence), words you don’t understand, and putting question marks beside any “changes” in direction or meaning that seem odd.


3. AFTER EACH PARAGRAPH pause, see if you can remember what you read and, on the page, paraphrase the paragraph based on what you remember (if you can’t remember, you were NOT reading actively… read the paragraph over and attempt this again). PAUSING AND PARAPHRASING AFTER EACH PARAGRAPH GUARANTEES THAT YOU ARE NOT WASTING TIME…. ALL OF US HAVE READ SOMETHING IN ITS ENTIRETY AND ENDED UP ON AUTOMATIC PILOT (remembering nothing). This way, you catch yourself before you REALLY lose time!


4. ON THE PAGE define the words you have highlighted that you do not understand.


5. Once you have finished all of this, summarize in a paragraph on the second page of the reading, what the essay is about.

6. Also on the page, number the paragraphs in this essay.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Today, we worked in groups to justify student answers to the questions for the essay "The Almond Trees".

Wednesday, February 9, 2010

Today, you read your novel for 20 minutes. You were then instructed to read pages 24 to 30 in Fit to Print and write a chapter/section critique for it. This is to be done on the computer.
You were also instructed to answer the questions from page 30 on a separate sheet of paper.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Today, you wrote your first journal. We then read pages 19 to 22 in Fit to Print (if you were not here, read these). I then discussed using process of elimination to answer multiple choice questions. Finally, I handed out the multiple choice questions for "The Amond Trees". These are to be completed for tomorrow.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Today, you read your novel for 20 minutes (timed), writing down the page you started on and the page you finished on. We did this in order to assess how long reading a novel will take you so you can plan your time accordingly (if you were not here, do this at home and show me).
We then discussed the essay “The Almond Trees” by Albert Camus
* we discussed "thesis" (an arguable opinion) in-depth as many of you are not presenting this point the way it needs to be presented.
, We then discussed connotation (positive and negative) and denotation (these are in your terminology section).

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Today, we completed notes on how to structure an essay in an effective way. I have attached these notes below.
I then gave the students each a copy of "The Almond Trees". They are to read it actively and paraphrase it by paragraph on a separate sheet of paper. In addition to this, they are to look up words they do not understand and also write a summary and then a sentence identifying the thesis.

Critical / Analytical Essay

5 paragraph
· Introductory paragraph (seven sentences)
o Attention getter – something that gets the reader’s attention from the get-go and relates to the topic
o Introduce the text (genre, title, author, overview)
o Summary of text as it will relate to your thesis or main points (3 sentences)
o Thesis (an arguable position) and three main points
· Body paragraphs (3)
o Main point
o Evidence (3 pieces)
o Explain how evidence proves main points
· Conclusion
o Remind reader that, by proving your main points, you have shown that your thesis is a sound one
o Reflection relating to topic that shows a different cause/effect outcome
§ Eg: “had Amir intervened when he saw his half brother being abused, then he would not have suffered from the guilt of not intervening and might have led a more productive life.”

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Today we had a guest speaker, author Bob Hayes, come in and present to us about writing, layout and publishing. After he left, we discussed what is expected in an essay. We initially wrote this out in a random format. I then put in into a format that works for me and also works for the markers at Alberta Learning (though a gifted writer will often stray, the points are still included and unified).

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Today, I handed out the terminology you need to know for this essay unit. I then handed out the marking rubric for teh critical/analytical essay you will write as one of two pieces of writing at the end of the year. I had you read it and define terms you didn't know. I then had you read an exemplar from the June 2011 marking session. This activity involved a fair amount of group discussion. I also handed back your critique from yesterday for you to repair and resubmit.