Today was all about outlines and drafts!
Apart from those who were absent yesterday, everyone has left their outlines here - NO HOMEWORK!
Absolutely none of this writing is to happen at home after this point, so you'll just have to rest and enjoy your weekends.
Students briefly read their personal novels.
We spent the majority of the block working on paragraph outlines - they are not to be filled with a whole paragraph, but actually written in point-form and include quotations with page numbers etc.
Folks who missed the class should come to tutorial for help to catch up.
Students read their personal novels, shared their "Seven Snappy Starters," and re-visited the parts of a successful paragraph.
HOMEWORK - review your notes for the third "Veldt" question (Bradbury's perspective regarding tech and its impact on children) - be sure to have at least three points, and quotes to back them up.
NOTES ONLY - DO NOT WRITE A FULL ANSWER.
While there were tiny brownies in today's class, it was mostly about some pretty tedious sheet work - These sheets will help with upcoming writing, but can be a bit of a fuss to get through
HOMEWORK: Pick one of the three topics at the bottom of the "Seven Snappy Starters" sheet - write 7 full sentences/hooks, one in each of the styles outlined above. For the sake of entertainment, folks can make up quotes and stats - JUST FOR THIS PRACTICE PIECE
We went through the "Barney" questions today - especially focusing on what to do if one does not understand the story (talk to classmates, or to me during class or tutorial time etc.)
We went through common errors, including pronoun use, run-on sentences, missing page numbers, forgetting to re-phrase the questions, not following punctuation and capitalization rules etc.
Students got into groups and work-shopped the "Veldt" quotations from last class - They then wrote one on the board per group - - > There has been a dramatic improvement over last week!
No Homework!
We opened with a reminder that we are working on a proficiency scale this year - that 1-4 are numbers representing that scale - that a 3/4 is "Proficient" and not 75%. Most students will be in the proficient range - even "Extending" does not mean perfect. There is always more we can do!
Students worked very hard with Theme today - they wrote theme statements for "For the Birds" and "Barney" in groups - according to the sheet from yesterday's class. We shared statements and critiqued them as a class - all attempts are helpful when we're all learning!
Homework: Work through the theme statement process, as outlined on the handout for Lesson 12, and create a theme statement for "The Veldt." If you're stuck - think about the questions you already took notes for...all of the ideas there, connect to the larger ideas in the story :) They don't have to be perfect!
Students read their novels, while I did a quick check for homework completion.
We briefly talked about the importance of personal safety - wearing helmets and riding safely on bikes and scooters, as so many folks believe themselves invincible...
Students worked in groups to pull symbols out of "The Veldt" and then began working with the concept of theme.
HOMEWORK: Write "The Veldt" in the centre of a piece of paper. Create a mind map, which included the "big ideas" or "key ideas" from the short story - think about how these ideas are connected.
Students began the class by discussing the ways in which technology impacts their lives.
We continued reading "The Veldt" - When students finished, they moved into the groups from our earlier discussion and talked out the ending of the short story.
We discussed foreshadowing etc.
HOMEWORK:
Look at questions 3, 5, and 6 - create point-form, informal notes WITH EVIDENCE for each of the questions - be sure you make notes for all parts of the questions. For 6, you need only 3 things Bradbury thinks about kids using tech, and 3 quotes (with page numbers) to support - no extensive writing needed.
Students did a quick capitalization quiz to begin the class.
They then read their personal novels, before we marked the quizzes.
Please note: These quizzes provide quick, clear feedback to students as to their knowledge of basic mechanics - they do not have a vast impact on their overall mark.
When we move to written, summative pieces, mechanics are incorporated into the overall mark.
We read a good portion of "The Veldt," which we will finish tomorrow - students highlighted parts of the story which suggest a futuristic setting.
NO HOMEWORK (beyond re-reading what we have read so far, and highlighting)
Students are starting to tire, as they settle into routine...
We read personal novels, did a quick check in, completed a review of capitalization, and students worked on vocabulary for our next short story.
HOMEWORK: Study capitalization rules - see if you can use them. Complete vocabulary for tomorrow's class.
(Fantastic Fungi is the documentary mentioned:
Students continued their discussion of scientific experimentation, and genetic modification for the benefit of humanity
We watched a scene from one of the Jurassic Park films discussed Dolly the sheep and a Chinese scientist who modified humans without and ethics review etc. as well as looking at how mRNA experimentation and discovery has played a role in society in recent years.
The focus of discussion was on the dangers AND the benefits of scientific research - and human assumptions as to their own capacity to control the outcomes of their work.
HOMEWORK: There is an assignment on Teams - three questions long - which is due by Sunday evening. Students are to submit the assignment through teams, either by creating a document there, or by uploading one (please DO NOT submit a link to a googledoc, or upload a PDF - .doc or .rtf are fine - as long as I can alter the text)
Today students handed in yesterday's vocab work for a quick check - the vast majority of students neglected basic mechanics of language in their homework (capitalization, punctuation etc.) and some did not follow the requested format. Next time!
We did a second sheet on capitalization (review Monday, quizlet Tuesday).
Students then watched a video on genetic engineering, and we discussed some of the implications - this discussion will be continued tomorrow!
Students read for 15 minutes to begin the class
During a brief check of homework, it became clear that a number of folks had not done all of the work, not checked the blog, nor come in to tutorial for extra help - take responsibility, and ask the questions needed to find success!
We worked in small groups, then as a class, to work through the "For the Birds" short from yesterday, then we looked at multiple comics to solidify our grasp of the different kinds of irony ***specifically, students need to be able to say what kind of irony something is, and WHY/HOW THEY KNOW
We connected these ideas to irony in our last two stories.
Students received a list of vocabulary words for our upcoming story
HOMEWORK: Write two sentences for each of the vocabulary words - one should be a definition of the word, and the second should be a sentence which indicates you know the meaning of the word.
P.S. - We also discussed the ethics of the "mosquito" sound - and the injustice of its use in public space
There is quite a bit of material needed for this class - all to be found in the corresponding "Lesson 5" folder on Teams, under "Files."
Students worked on their first capitalization worksheet, and we marked it together (as well as correcting it).
Students received a short story terms package.
Students watched "For the Birds," and filled in the first 7 boxes of the blank document -- please see me if help is needed.
HMWRK: be sure to have exposition (setting and characters), initial incident and conflict, rising action, climax, and denouement boxes filled in for tomorrow's class.
**Many students neglected to bring in their walking field trip forms - these are a duplication of the school-wide form set, but the idea is that we have them all here sooner, so we can get out right away - before the rains!
Students listened to "Imiqtaq" by Riit - we discussed the sounds in the music, the childlike nature of the song itself - and used it as a way into the check in question: "What is something you to others about when you were a little person?"
Check in: Students are actually feeling pretty low. The change in weather and routine (especially in terms of sleep) is really having an impact on them. A focus on good sleep hygiene and nourishing snacks throughout the day will buoy them through the month.
We talked a bit about stories - which stories are told, and which fall out of telling...which narratives are held by the public, and which subside - and talked about the 50th anniversary of a "September 11th" that has been annexed in recent years, but had a very real impact on global affairs, the people of Chile and especially the Indigenous peoples of Chile.
We talked about a newly-acknowledged historical wrong for the Indigenous people of Williams Lake - about it as a good story - a shift in the story of colonization and, according to the current leadership of Williams Lake, evidence of government moving towards reconciliation.
Students spent the last 20 minutes of class creating a writing piece: "What is/has been the greatest challenge in your life?" This is an in-class, unmarked assignment, which serves to help me get to know the students, and as a sample of their written work.
HOMEWORK: Bring fieldtrip forms and novels for tomorrow!
Students came ready to read! ( a few forgot novels, but were able to get books from the library)
After reading, we continued our work on the plot diagrams from last class, and review of story terms - - through this process, we discovered that different folks are at different places with this knowledge * please note, this is not a reason for concern. We will look at all the terms, and work with them multiple times before students are expected to know them.
HOMEWORK: Students have been given a walking fieldtrip form - these should be returned for next class. The sooner they come in, the sooner we can get out into the community and enjoy learning in the green spaces near the school.
Today we took the time to acknowledge that we live, work, and play on the unceded and traditional territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, and talked about what that acknowledgement means. We unpacked some of the language, and thought about what it means to really acknowledge the space in which we live.
We played a game to get to know one each other's names
Students began a review of a standard plot diagram, and used this Cougar Cub Video to plot it out (please watch it at home if you missed today)
HOMEWORK: Bring a novel to class tomorrow.
Today was all about course outlines, attendance, and answering basic housekeeping questions - please find the course outline under "Files" on Teams (in the correspondingly-titled "Lesson 1" folder)
