March 17

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

English 10 (H Block)

Today students were asked to hand in their infographs.  They were directed to self-assess and ensure that they handed in their article with their assignment.  Sources should also be displayed on their infographs.  Next, we watched the documentary Generation Jobless and students were asked to complete an assignment and hand it in (see below).  Students can watch it on youtube  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UUuMWqA8eE

Generation Jobless Documentary Assignment   Name: _________________________________  Blk: ____________

Pre-viewing questions

1.       Have you thought about a future career yet?   If so, what careers are you considering?

2.       What do you think the biggest problems are for young people looking for jobs in Canada right now?

3.       What do the following words mean:

Internship

Co-op

Apprenticeship

While viewing questions

1.       What is the unemployment rate for young Canadians according to this documentary?  Swiss youth?

2.       List the current problems with the current Canadian education system in terms of preparing youth for careers?

3.       Write down 3 other statistics that you found interesting?  Beside these stats explain why you thought they were interesting.

4.       Describe why the Swiss system seems to be so successful.  What are they doing in their education system?

Post Viewing Questions

1.       Do you think it would be a good idea for Canada to adopt the Swiss system of education?  What are the pros and cons from your perspective?

2.       Has watching this documentary changed your thinking about your future career or job?  Why or why not? 

3.       If you were Minister of Education, how would you change our education system?

4.       Other comments/questions on this topic:

Humanities 8

Today we spent some time at the cultural awareness day events around the school.  We also read Scenes 5 & 6 of the play Courting Trouble.

March 16

Humanities 8

Today students were informed that they will be taking part in a cultural event tomorrow.  A/E block was asked to prepare questions while B/F will be viewing displays.  For the remainder of the class, we read the 1st four scenes of the play Courting Trouble.  Students took turns taking roles. 

English 10 (C & D)

Today students were given the rubric for their inforaph assignment.  The remainder of the class was dedicated to working on their project which is due on Friday!  

March 15

English 10 (H Block)

Today after silent reading, students were asked to submit their daily reflections sheets for assessment.   Next, we looked at the rubric for the infograph assignment (see yesterday's post for rubric).  The rest of the class was for working on infographs.  

Humanities 8

Today students worked in groups to act out scenes from the Bayeaux tapestry (the Battle of Hastings).

March 14

Humanities 8

Today we did a short silent reading session and a check-in from the weekend.  Next we organized our folders and handed in our last unit of work with a completed self-assessment attached. Finally we made a 5 W +H chart to record information about the Battle of Hastings and the Bayeaux Tapestry. 

English 10

Today we started off with handing in our daily reflections grid and cleaning out our folders.  Next we reviewed non-fiction features and infographs from previous classes.  Next students were tasked with creating an infograph and the students had the remainder of the block to work on that.  

Infograph Assignment

Step 1:  Find an article on a topic that you are interested in.  Print it off if or flag it in a magazine to hand into me. 

Step 2:  Take notes on the article.

Step 3:  Figure out how to transform the information into an infograph. 

·         Condense

·         Create graphs, charts, pictures, timelines

·         Include maps, symbols, captions

·         Utilize headings, color, text size

Step 4:  Sketch out a rough draft.  Think of balance, amount of text and how easy it is to read.  

Step 5: Consult rubric to tweak rough and seek feedback (peer, teacher, EA, parent etc). 

Step 7:  Create final version

Step 8:  Self-assess and hand-in with original texts!

Criteria	Not Yet Within Expectations	Minimally Meets Expectations	Fully Meets Expectations	Exceeds Expectations
Communication	No features of non-fiction features to communicate information.          Text only	Limited use of non-fiction features to communicate information.         Charts         Graphs, timelines etc         Pictures with captions         Headings/sections         Symbols	Good use of non-fiction features to communicate information.          Charts         Graphs, timelines etc         Pictures with captions         Headings/sections         Symbols	Effectively uses non-fiction features to communicate information.         Charts         Graphs, timelines etc         Pictures with captions         Headings/sections         Symbols
Transformation	Information is too similar to original text	Information has been changed in a limited way.          Condensed         Features created         Organized in a new way         Comparisons created etc         Varied sources	Information has been reformatted significantly.          Condensed         Features created         Organized in a new way         Comparisons created etc         Varied sources	Information has been transformed in a creative way.         Condensed         Features created         Organized in a new way         Comparisons created etc         Varied sources
Presentation	Little care demonstrated         messy         Major spelling/grammatical errors         No color         Unbalanced         Hard to read	Satisfactory presentation         A bit messy         Noticeable spelling/grammatical errors         Some color used         Attempt at balance         Hard to read in areas	Good presentation         Neat         Minor spelling/ grammatical errors         Color used         Balanced         Easy to read	Professional  presentation         Looks professional         No spelling /grammatical errors         Color used effectively         Balanced effectively         Very clear

March 11

English 10 (H block)

Today after silent reading, we reviewed the infograph assignment.  We also developed criteria as a class:

1. Presentation - neatness, spelling, color, balance etc
2. Communication of information 

- use of non-fiction features to communicate -charts, maps, headings etc

- amount of text

- clarity of expressio

      3. Transformation of text

- source of text provided

- significant change in presentation from original text

- use of appropriate non-fiction features

Humanities 8

Today after silent reading, we went over the responsibilities involved in feudalism.  We also learned about the Battle of Hastings.  

March 10

English 10 (H block)

Today after silent reading, we looked at some exemplars of infographics and reviewed some of the features (charts, maps, symbols, statistics).  Students were directed to find an article(s) to transform into a infographic.  Students should have picked an article and selected information from the article to create their infographic.  Tomorrow students should be working on creating their infographic. 

Humanities 8

Today students wrote their test on the Vikings, Franks and Western Europe map.  After the test students worked on creating a drawing of their own feudal manor and answering some fill-in the blank questions on sustainable Medieval farming.  

March 9

Humanities 8

Today after silent reading, we continued to prepare for our test on the Franks, Vikings and the Western European map.  Test tomorrow!!

English 10

Today we wrote our poetry test.  

March 7

Humanities 8

Today after check in, we had a discussion about the lock-down drill.  Next we did some silent reading and then finally, we did a review activity in preparation of our test which is on Wednesday.  

English 10

Today we discussed types of non-fiction type reading/writing.  We also discussed text features.  Finally, we looked at a provincial exam in terms of theme and types of questions.  We also looked at text features and a few questions. 

March 4

Humanities 8

Today after silent reading, we corrected our dialogues.  For the remainder of the class, students worked on completing there maps of Western Europe.  Students finished labeling their maps and were asked to finish coloring their maps for homework.

Homework:  Finish maps 

English 10

Today students wrote their poetry tests.  Please write your test at lunch on Monday if you were absent!!!

March 3

English 10 (H block)

Today we had a shorter silent reading session.  We reviewed rhyme scheme, sonnets, paradox and understatement in detail.  We also reviewed the sorting of terms and reviewed definitions.  Finally, students were given the opportunity to practice the identification of devices using pop culture examples.   

Test is tomorrow!  Those that are absent tomorrow will be expected to write their test at lunch on Monday.  

Humanities 8

Today we started off with a mini-lesson about punctuating dialogue.  Next students worked in pairs to write an entertaining dialogue using the appropriate punctuation.  Next we reviewed the comparison work students started on the Franks vs the Vikings.  Finally, students were introduced to the mapping assignment for Western Europe.  This will be due on Monday!

March 2

Humanities 8

Today we changed our seating arrangement.  We also watched two videos.  One discussed the myth of the "viking" helmet and the second focused on the legacy of the Vikings - trading centers, exploration and the advanced technology of the longboats.

English 10 (C & D)

Today we reviewed for our poetry test which is on Monday!!  Students were reminded of the content of the test.  Additionally, we also looked at sonnets, paradoxes and understatements in more detail.  I showed my version of the term sorting activity and we practiced identifying literary devices from pop culture examples.  See below.

Test topics include: poetry definitions, examples, sorting, glossing, paragraph answer, mutliple choice questions like final exam example.  

Poetry Term Sort

Types of poems

1.       Lyric

2.       Ballad

3.       Narrative

4.       Free verse

5.       Blank verse

6.       Sonnet

Structure

1.       Verse

2.       Stanza

3.       Refrain

4.       Rhyme scheme/ rhyme

5.       Rhythm

Explanatory Words

1.       Speaker

2.       Audience

3.       Connotation

4.       Denotation

Poetic Devices/Figurative Language

Emphasis

1.       Understatement

2.       Hyperbole

Opposites

1.       Paradox

2.       Oxymoron

3.       Irony

Visual Devices

1.       Image/imagery

2.       Symbol

Sound Devices

1.       Alliteration

2.       Onomatopoeia

3.       Rhythm

4.       Rhyme

Comparison

1.       Personification

2.       Simile

3.       metaphor

March 1

English 10 (H Block)

Today we skipped silent reading and focused on prepping for our poetry test.  We looked at an example of the poetry multiple-choice section of the test and we discussed. We also looked at Shakespearean and Petrarchean sonnets and rhyme scheme.   We did not accomplish everything we needed to do to prepare for the test, so we will continue to review on Thursday.  The test will be on Friday. 

Topics include: poetry definitions, examples, sorting, glossing, paragraph answer, mutliple choice questions like final exam example.  

Humanities 8

Today we reviewed the rubric for the Viking web.  The rest of the time was a work period to finish off webs. Webs are due tomorrow!