Wed. Sept. 30, 2015: Rubric Discussion

Today, we discussed the rubrics for writing assignments. I then handed back your paragraphs. You were given time to review the comments I made and then were instructed to answer a question in your journal. If you were not here, the paragraph was put in your portfolio.

The journal was as follows:

Based on our review of the marking rubrics for writing assignments and the return of and review of your marked paragraph, do you feel your assessment is a fair representation of the work you submitted? Explain. What will you do in the future to improve your mark?

Tues. Sept. 29, 2015: Sask Career Login and Inventory

Today, all students created a log in for Sask Careers as well as completed four "Inventory" assignments. See me if you were not here.
If you were here and did register, you need to go into "Know Yourself" and then  "Inventory" and complete the following by the end of the weekend:

* Learning Styles Quiz
* Traits Quiz
* Multiple Intelligence Quiz
* Skills Quiz

If you have any trouble, see me or Mrs. Waterman as this is a requirement.

Thurs. and Fri. Sept. 24 and 25, 2015: Short Story Analysis

Today, you were given questions to answer in relation to the short story "The Little Business Man" by Morley Callaghan.
You will be given two class days to complete these as well as the weekend. They are due before class on Tuesday, September 29.
I have pasted the questions below as some of the students are absent:

ELA 10B

“The Little Business Man” Questions

 

Instructions: On a separate sheet of paper, answer each of these questions fully (flipping the question into the statement and answering it), neatly (if I can’t read it I can’t give it a stamp of approval!), and correctly (check sentence structure and spelling).

 

1.      When does this story take place? How do we know this?

 

2.      Who is the protagonist in this story? How do we know this?

 

3.      Who is the antagonist in this story? How do we know this?

 

4.      What is the main conflict in this story? Describe it.

 

5.      From what point of view is this story being told? Cite evidence to prove this and be sure to put the page and paragraph (in brackets) where you found this evidence.

 

6.      Name the characters present in this story.

 

7.      Which character(s) could be described as dynamic? How do we know this?

 

8.      Which character(s) could be described as static? How do we know this?

 

Big Job!!!!!

 

A.     Write down the names of all the characters in a list/chart form

 

B.     For each character (including the dog), jot down all the personality terms you can apply to them (do this in chart form as well -and brainstorm – more is better).

 

C.     Now, using a highlighter, determine which three personality traits are most seen for each character (think of how we did this with the Pixar film Presto).

 

D.    Now, provide evidence for each trait that you have identified for each character (three traits = three examples FOR EACH CHARACTER).

Wed. Sept. 23, 2015: Reading Check/Comma Usage Review

Today, you were given the following journal question to answer: Summarize the short story you were to have read for today's class. Be sure to provide the beginning, the middle and the end in order to demonstrate that you read it all the way through.

I then discussed the progress reporting systems as students now have access to their marks. From here, we moved on to discuss the pre-test and the paragraph that students were to hand in over a week ago. I will still accept them as they have yet to be marked.

As not all of the students demonstrated completion of the short story, I decided to allow time for completion of assignments. The short story must be actively read and submitted for tomorrow's class or an alternative will need to be actively read to demonstrate the skills.

Tues. Sept. 22, 2015: Active Reading

Today, you will be given teh short story "The Little Business-Man" by Morley Callaghan. The topic ties in nicely with the "ethics" part of this course. You are to read it actively using the reading steps provided and be ready to submit them and discuss for tomorrow's class.

Mon. Sept. 21, 2105: Characterization in short stories

Today, I handed out the booklet I was unable to get printed last week entitled "The History of the Short Story."
We discussed it and then used it to examine traits (direct and indirect) as well as the plot line. We did this by viewing a Pixar short (Presto) and determined the main character, conflict, climax, resolution and personality traits. There are two characters in this story and BOTH have conflicts. In the end, students understood that opinions, such as personality, must be backed with examples/evidence.
I also handed out a sheet entitled "Active Reading" which reinforces the conversations we have already had. There is a typo in the example (cross out the "not" by "true" when describing "non-fiction) and add a must analyze the title as the first step. Be sure to bring this to tomorrow's class.

Fri. Sept. 18, 2015: Short Story Notes

Today, we continued with notes on the short story. I started by talking about tone and mood:

Tone is the emotion that the speaker has towards the subject. We can pick this up through word choice.
Mood is the emotion that the audience picks up from the text.

I also defined Polysyllabic and Monosyllabic words (see me or look up).

We then discussed point of view, characterization, and theme. I also brought up symbolism, foreshadowing and flashback.

Thurs. Sept 17, 2015: Short Story Introduction

As part of this unit on Equity and Ethics, students will be reading two short stories. Today, I introduced information on what short stories are, what is found in them, the purpose of them, and how they are developed. We talked about characterization (direct and indirect) as well as setting, what a protagonist is and what an antagonist is. If you were not here, you will need to come in and get the notes.

Wed. Sept. 16, 2016: Active Reading Steps/Assignment

   Today, we reviewed the importance of active reading (after reviewing the terms Ethics and Equity). The steps that I presented are as follows:

Steps for Active Reading:

Follow these steps if you are given a handout to read

1.      Question the reading by looking at the title and thinking about what it might mean. You will then write down a couple of words to show what you think.

2.      In short works, number the paragraphs.

3.      Read the first paragraph. It will contain a lot of the expository information.

a.       Highlight the five Ws (who, what, where, when, why, and how)

b.      If it is an essay, highlight any topic, thesis, or main point information.

c.       Highlight unknown words and allusions that you are not sure of. You will need to look these up and write them on the page close to the word you are defining.

d.      In a couple of words only, paraphrase the paragraph. This is not a rewrite. It is to be in the margin of the page.

4.      Repeat step three with all the rest of the paragraphs

5.      When finished, write a brief, three sentence summary on the bottom of the page.

I   I then gave the students the article ""Adolescence: Challenges of the Teen Years" by Nick Gallo. The students are to actively read this for tomorrow's class (many were almost finished at the end of class).

  If you were not here, this reading is in your portfolio. You will have to add these notes above to your running notes.

Tues. Sept. 15, 2015: Introduction to Equity and Ethics

Today, we had a discussion about the questions in this unit that we will address:

·         1. Who and what is right?

·       2.   How does one attain empowerment?

·       3.   What is meant by degrees of responsibility?

·       4.   What is the balance between rights and responsibilities?

·      5.    What is the balance between justice and fairness?

TThe unit itself is about equity and ethics. The students were instructed to get into pairs and, using a dictionary, define these terms. From here, we brainstormed situations that might not be seen as equitable (fair). 

Mon. Sept. 14, 2015: Writing Lab/Assignment Completion

Today, you completed your paragraph and the "15 Common Errors" pre-test. You then submitted a hard copy of both assignments into the "in" box and sent me an electronic copy of the essay. Some of you emailed it to me (at dawn.benoit@nwsd.ca) or brought me your USB to transfer it over. Those who did not do all the steps will have to meet with me to get an alternative or figure out what to do to get this one properly submitted.

Fri. Sept. 11, 2015: Writing Lab

Today, you worked on completing your paragraph and pre-test. You have until the end of class to finish these and hand them in.
You also need to email me your paragraph. The address is as follows:

dawn.benoit@nwsd.ca

If you cannot email it, we will need to move it using your USB.

Thurs. Sept. 10, 2015: Writing Lab

Today, you were given the class to work on your paragraph and pre-test. I have changed the deadline for these assignments to the end of the day on Monday, September 14.

In addition to handing both in, you will also need to email me the paragraph. Go to :

dawn.benoit@nwsd.ca

Wed. Sept. 9, 2015: Writing Lab

Today, students worked on completing their pre-test (using the "15 Common Errors" booklet) and their paragraphs (using the "Computer Usage Steps" and the "MLA Citation" Booklet).

These assignments will be due at the end of school on Friday.

In addition to submitting the hard copies, students also need to email Ms. Benoit a copy of their paragraph (in order to ensure they are meeting the ICT outcomes). Please email this to:

dawn.benoit @nwsd.ca

Tues. Sept. 8, 2015: Assessment of writing, grammar and time management

Today, you were given four different handouts:

1. Computer Usage Steps
2. Grade 10 English Language Arts Pre-Test
3. MLA Citation Booklet
4. Paragraph Writing Assignment
5. 15 Common Errors explanation booklet

We discussed that students are to have all supplies here for today.

We then discussed the two assignments that you will be doing this week (both due at the end of the day on Friday).

One is a personal paragraph (explained in computer usage steps and handout on paragraph writing); the other assignment is a pre-test to determine writing concerns. To do this activity, you will need to refer to your "MLA Citation Booklet" handout.

If you were not here, these papers are in your portfolio. See me at lunch, in the morning before school or during RTI for help.

Fri. Sept. 4, 2015: Paragraph Review - Fact vs. Opinion

Today, we reviewed what the expectations are of and in a stand-alone paragraph. One must have a topic (thesis) that is arguable, evidence (examples) to prove it is a reasonable opinion, and have the examples (tie-ins to thesis) explained. It also must have a final sentence that restates the opinion, but in a creative way.

We also discussed the differences between a fact and an opinion.

The students were then to write down some personality traits they have and put down examples. They will need these for Tuesday.

Reminder: get supplies for Tuesday. A USB/Flash drive is a must as the students will be working on the computers.

                                What Are the Components of a Paragraph?
T – Topic Sentence – This is the main idea of the paragraph. There is only one main idea per paragraph.


R – Reason – This is why you wrote the topic sentence. It explains why you wrote it.


E – Example – This is an example that proves your topic sentence is true.


E – Explanation – Explain how your example makes your topic sentence true!


T – Topic Sentence Restated – Re-write your topic sentence in a different way to close your paragraph.

Thurs. Sept. 3, 2015: MLA Reinforcement

Today, we went over MLA citation for books, which was covered yesterday. This was a further formative class. I returned thepractice examples handed in yesterday, reviewed the steps, instructed the students to reflect and jot down their errors, and then turn over their paper and do another practice citation on the back page. Students were then instructed to hand these in. If you were not here, you need to review the Blogger notes from yesterday and meet with me at lunch to do a couple of practice citations so that you can master this primary step in referencing early.

Wed. Sept. 2, 2015: Creating Text Critiques: MLA Citation for Books

Today, I gave you a handout entitled "Understanding Text Critiques." We read it over as a class. I then read you a children's story in order to determine the "So What" of it (part of a text critique). We determined that, for this particular text, the "So What" that the author most likely wanted the audience to learn/understand is that it is okay to make mistakes as that is an important part of succeeding.

I then gave a brief overview of MLA formatting. I handed out the print information for this text (also in your portfolio) and explained that the purpose of citing is so that someone else can find the same book that you are referring to. We discussed how the 5Ws are the key items:

Author (last name [comma] and then first name[period])
Title (underlined when writing by hand [period])
City of publication (no need for province/state or country [semicolon])
Name of publisher [comma]
year of this publication (the most recent date [period]
medium of publication (usually just a matter of putting down whether the student got it from print or from the web [period]).

We then took this story and organized it so it is a continuous line, double spaced (blog will not allow for this), and then indented on the second line and on any additional lines if there are any:

Mayer, Mercer. All by Myself. Racine: Western

          Publishing Company, 1983. Print.

 

The students were then given books and instructed to create a citation. Part of this was also to ensure they know how to hand in assignments (first and last name, date, and class in upper right hand corner). These were then submitted. If a student misses a step, the student can meet with me and do a make-up to demonstrate understanding. Students who are absent can also meet with me to do this assignment. The goal is to ensure understanding and proficiency.

Tues. Sept. 1, 2015: Introduction

 Today, I introduced this course to the students and provided them with a supplies' list that is to be met for next Tuesday.