It was so nice to meet many of you in the gym last night.
English 8: We are nearing the end of our myth reading. The last two paragraphs students write, on Theseus and Psyche, will be evaluated for quality using "I Can" sheets. During the last two weeks before the winter holiday, students will work on the myth "What? So What?" project, which will be due before the holidays start.
English 9: Our literature circles are well underway. Students are reading, making up questions, discussing in small groups, and writing about their novel. Last class we had a full class discussion on some of the themes in the novels. Students will write a response for evaluation Friday. The large project for this unit will be after the holidays.
Drama 9: Rehearsals of "Jack in the Beanstalk" continue. We will perform in January on two dates, TBA, and parents are welcome to attend either.
French 9: Students have handed in their clothing project and are working on their crossword package up to p. 7 on the weekend for review. Our large unit test will be next Friday.
Thursday 29 November 2012
Thursday 22 November 2012
Report Card Time
Please accept my apologies for my lapsed blog last week; I was overwhelmed with report cards. Speaking of which, report cards will be going home Tuesday. I hope to meet you in the gym Wednesday night, November 28, between 5:30 and 7:30, for parent-teacher interviews.
Professional News:
On Monday, I will be at Chatelech, meeting with other secondary English teachers in our inquiry study group. My research question focusses on teaching writing. On Thursday, I will be in Burnaby with other Elphinstone teachers at a presentation about new assessment methods. And on a personal professional note, the poetry anthology Desperately Seeking Susans has been released, containing one of my poems.
English 8
We are now well into our myth unit, practicing the 'making up our own questions' strategy and learning how to write responses. We have read Demeter and Persephone, Orpheus, Echo and Narcissus, and at the end of this week, Daedalus and Icarus. Students have seen a sample of the unit's final project, "What? So What?" and will receive an assignment sheet in the next few weeks. In addition, they will revise one of their responses to a good copy for evaluation.
English 9
After great anticipation, students have received their literature circle novels and have begun reading.
Here are the books students have chosen. Please ask your child which one he/she is reading.
They are writing questions on small sticky notes and sticking them in the books beside quotations, which they will use in small group discussions and to help them write responses. Last class we wrote a practice response to a short story together. Students will write one or two responses a week. The theme of the unit is justice and overcoming difficulties.
French 9
Students have finished their rough copy of their clothing assignment paragraphs and will work on the good copy next week. The Clothing Unit Test will be in early December.
Drama 9
We have begun rehearsing our play, Jack and the Beanstalk, and will be performing it in January for three classes of grades one and two from Gibsons Elementary. Some students have chosen speaking parts, some non-speaking parts, and some to be in the sound crew. Students received a copy of the BC Drama Teachers Association rubric so that they know how they will be marked on the play. The play will be our focus this term, and the finale of the two-term course.
Professional News:
On Monday, I will be at Chatelech, meeting with other secondary English teachers in our inquiry study group. My research question focusses on teaching writing. On Thursday, I will be in Burnaby with other Elphinstone teachers at a presentation about new assessment methods. And on a personal professional note, the poetry anthology Desperately Seeking Susans has been released, containing one of my poems.
English 8
We are now well into our myth unit, practicing the 'making up our own questions' strategy and learning how to write responses. We have read Demeter and Persephone, Orpheus, Echo and Narcissus, and at the end of this week, Daedalus and Icarus. Students have seen a sample of the unit's final project, "What? So What?" and will receive an assignment sheet in the next few weeks. In addition, they will revise one of their responses to a good copy for evaluation.
English 9
After great anticipation, students have received their literature circle novels and have begun reading.
Here are the books students have chosen. Please ask your child which one he/she is reading.
They are writing questions on small sticky notes and sticking them in the books beside quotations, which they will use in small group discussions and to help them write responses. Last class we wrote a practice response to a short story together. Students will write one or two responses a week. The theme of the unit is justice and overcoming difficulties.
French 9
Students have finished their rough copy of their clothing assignment paragraphs and will work on the good copy next week. The Clothing Unit Test will be in early December.
Drama 9
We have begun rehearsing our play, Jack and the Beanstalk, and will be performing it in January for three classes of grades one and two from Gibsons Elementary. Some students have chosen speaking parts, some non-speaking parts, and some to be in the sound crew. Students received a copy of the BC Drama Teachers Association rubric so that they know how they will be marked on the play. The play will be our focus this term, and the finale of the two-term course.
Thursday 8 November 2012
November 8
Happy Long Weekend, everyone.
English 9: Memoir assignments should all be handed in now. Next week we will write about Night, which everyone should have finished by now. On Thursday, we will begin our literature circle unit on justice and overcoming hardship.
English 8: We have started our myth unit. Students will receive a small packet of myths which they can highlight. Please make sure your child has a highlighter. The reading strategy we will be focussing on is asking our own questions.
French 9: Students have loved setting up their clothing stores. Next week, they will use the pictures of clothes they have "bought" to create their own dream outfits, which they will describe in French.
Drama 9: This week we finish with our tableaux and next week we will choose which fable we will perform in January.
I will email home term marks in about one week.
English 9: Memoir assignments should all be handed in now. Next week we will write about Night, which everyone should have finished by now. On Thursday, we will begin our literature circle unit on justice and overcoming hardship.
English 8: We have started our myth unit. Students will receive a small packet of myths which they can highlight. Please make sure your child has a highlighter. The reading strategy we will be focussing on is asking our own questions.
French 9: Students have loved setting up their clothing stores. Next week, they will use the pictures of clothes they have "bought" to create their own dream outfits, which they will describe in French.
Drama 9: This week we finish with our tableaux and next week we will choose which fable we will perform in January.
I will email home term marks in about one week.
Thursday 1 November 2012
End of Term One is Near
Here is the official Coast Reads Website
http://www.coastreads.org/
Many students in Grade 8 and 9 are reading The Hunt of the Unicorn, one of the Coast Reads books. If parents are interested in reading any of these books, they are also available at the public libraries.
English 9: We are now working on the final draft of one of the memoirs. We have the laptops everyday and many students are opting to use them. It is very important that they bring their flash drives to class or are able to use cloud saving, so that they can work on them at home, too. On Friday, November 2 they will receive a yellow rubric. The due date is Friday, November 9, which is also the last day of Term 1, so late assignments will not be able to be included on the report card.
English 8: Our myth unit has begun with Demeter and Persephone and the IQIQU reading strategy. Last class we experienced fun library stations related to the novel The Hunt of the Unicorn. I am encouraging students to read a novel with a mythology theme during this unit and have provided class sets of Tuck Everlasting and The Lightning Thief. All three of these novels are at a similar reading level, so we will also access library books until more English department novels are purchased, to make sure everyone can find a novel at his or her reading level. http://lexile.com/ is a website that will tell the relative reading level of any book. English 8 C-2 will get to meet C.C. Humphries, the author of The Hunt of the Unicorn, in the Elphinstone Library on Thursday.
French 9: This week we have been focussing on verbs, reviewing conjugation patterns for RE verbs and learning the pattern for RE verbs. We also learned how to use the future tense with ALLER + another verb. Students visited the Louvre online, chose a painting they liked, and wrote sentences to describe the painting, using new vocabulary. Next week we will play a shopping game using cut out pictures of clothes.
Drama 9: We are making progress on our "Take 10" tableaux, which we will perform at the end of next week. We are making plans for next term, and will soon choose a scripted play to perform for younger audiences in January.
First term ends on Friday, November 9 and I will email term marks about a week later. Report cards will be handed to students on November 27. I look forward to meeting you at Parent/Teacher night, November 28 from 5:30 to 7:30.
http://www.coastreads.org/
Many students in Grade 8 and 9 are reading The Hunt of the Unicorn, one of the Coast Reads books. If parents are interested in reading any of these books, they are also available at the public libraries.
English 9: We are now working on the final draft of one of the memoirs. We have the laptops everyday and many students are opting to use them. It is very important that they bring their flash drives to class or are able to use cloud saving, so that they can work on them at home, too. On Friday, November 2 they will receive a yellow rubric. The due date is Friday, November 9, which is also the last day of Term 1, so late assignments will not be able to be included on the report card.
English 8: Our myth unit has begun with Demeter and Persephone and the IQIQU reading strategy. Last class we experienced fun library stations related to the novel The Hunt of the Unicorn. I am encouraging students to read a novel with a mythology theme during this unit and have provided class sets of Tuck Everlasting and The Lightning Thief. All three of these novels are at a similar reading level, so we will also access library books until more English department novels are purchased, to make sure everyone can find a novel at his or her reading level. http://lexile.com/ is a website that will tell the relative reading level of any book. English 8 C-2 will get to meet C.C. Humphries, the author of The Hunt of the Unicorn, in the Elphinstone Library on Thursday.
French 9: This week we have been focussing on verbs, reviewing conjugation patterns for RE verbs and learning the pattern for RE verbs. We also learned how to use the future tense with ALLER + another verb. Students visited the Louvre online, chose a painting they liked, and wrote sentences to describe the painting, using new vocabulary. Next week we will play a shopping game using cut out pictures of clothes.
Drama 9: We are making progress on our "Take 10" tableaux, which we will perform at the end of next week. We are making plans for next term, and will soon choose a scripted play to perform for younger audiences in January.
First term ends on Friday, November 9 and I will email term marks about a week later. Report cards will be handed to students on November 27. I look forward to meeting you at Parent/Teacher night, November 28 from 5:30 to 7:30.
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