English 11

The long weekend is almost here!

I gave the class 25 minutes of silent reading today. Make sure to look at the reading schedule on the board in class. After that, I went through a PowerPoint/discussion of Chapters 5 and 6 in Lord of the Flies. Students then worked on corresponding questions.

Reminders:

• Chapters 5 and 6 questions: due Thursday, April 2, 2015
• LOF quiz: Thursday, April 2, 2015
• Election Brochure: due Thursday, April 2, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

The newsletters are looking great!

We started off the day with silent reading and a quiz on The Outsiders (Chapters 4-7). We then spent the rest of the class int eh IT Lab working on the Newsletter Assignment.

Reminders:

• Chapter 6-7 questions due today!

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Wow! The week is almost over!

We started off the day with silent reading. Students then completed a quiz on The Outsiders
(Chapters 4-7). They also took additional grammar notes on period usage. After that, we read Chapter 8 and worked on the 'Newsletter Plan' worksheet.

Reminders:

• Chapter 6 and7 questions were due today!

English 11

The election brochures are looking very creative!

We spent the period in the library today working on Lord of the Flies election campaign brochures. Today was the last period given to work on this; they are due this Thursday. To hand in this assignment, you can drag it into my dropbox.

Please make sure you have finished reading Chapter 6 of Lord of the Flies for next class. I also made a reading schedule on the board in class, so make sure to take note of that.

Reminders:

• Election Campaign Brochure: due Thursday, April 2, 2015
• Read Lord of the Flies (see reading schedule in class)

English 8: Blocks 3/4 and 7/8

Thank you all for reading so nicely today!

We started off class with silent reading and grammar notes (using periods in sentences).
After that, we read and discussed Chapter 7 of The Outsiders and worked on corresponding questions. Don't forget about the quiz tomorrow!

Reminders:

• Chapter 6/7 questions: due tomorrow, March 31, 2015
• The Outsiders Quiz (Chapters 4-7): tomorrow, March 31, 2015

English 11

Thank you for working and reading so well today!

Today we had a quiz on Chapters 1-4 of Lord of the Flies. I then gave time for the class to silent read Chapters 5 and 6. After that, I demonstrated two good examples of short story synthesis essays. I highlighted the importance of structure, the integration and explanation of quotes, the formality of language, and the use of connecting words. To finish off class, I handed out a worksheet on evidence of conflict in Lord of the Flies.

Reminders:

• Finish Chapters 5 and 6 for Monday, March 30, 2015
• Library time to work on election brochures: Monday, March 30, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4 and 7/8

Have a great weekend!

Today we finished Chapter 6 of The Outsiders. I then introduced the Newsletter Assignment and we spent the rest of class in the library working on this.

Reminders:

• I'm still waiting for some collages!

English 11

Remember: Chapters 1-4 quiz on Lord of the Flies tomorrow!

We started off class today with 30 minutes of silent reading. I then went through a PowerPoint and we discussed Chapters 3-4 of Lord of the Flies. Students then completed corresponding questions. We spent the rest of the period in the library working on an election brochure assignment related to Lord of the Flies. We will have more library time Monday to complete this.

Reminders:

• The Outsiders Quiz (Chapters 1-4): tomorrow, March 27, 2015
• Election brochure: Tuesday, March 31, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Don't forget to hand in your collages!

We started off today with silent reading and a quiz on Chapters 1-4 of The Outsiders. We then had a lesson on complete sentences, subjects, and predicates. There were notes and a worksheet for this, so please come see me if you weren't here. We then worked on completing a character worksheet based on the character sketches completed a couple of weeks ago.

We then watched a montage of clips from the move "Gone With the Wind" since The Outsiders alludes to the book on several occasions. We also analyzed the poem "Nothing Gold can Stay" by Robert Frost and discussed its significance in The Outsiders. Additionally, we worked on Chapter 5 questions and a vocabulary crossword. We finished off class reading Chapter 6.


Reminders:

• Collages were due today!!!!

English 8: Blocks 3/4

I'm sorry I forgot to update the blog yesterday!

During yesterday's class, we started off with silent reading and a quiz on Chapters 1-4 of The Outsiders. We then had a lesson on complete sentences, subjects, and predicates. There were notes and a worksheet for this, so please come see me if you weren't here. We then worked on completing a character worksheet based on the character sketches completed a couple of weeks ago.

After the first period, we watched a montage of clips from the move "Gone With the Wind" since The Outsiders alludes to the book on several occasions. We also analyzed the poem "Nothing Gold can Stay" by Robert Frost and discussed its significance in The Outsiders. We finished off class working on Chapter 5 questions and a vocabulary crossword.


Reminders:

• Collages were due yesterday!!!!

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Thank you for working so well in your groups today!

We started off the day with an open-book grammar quiz. We then read Chapter 5 of The Outsiders, but we didn't quite finish. We spent the rest of class filling out a character worksheet (using the information from the character sketches students completed a couple of weeks ago). We will finish this next class.

Reminders:

• Chapter 2-4 questions due today!
• The Outsiders quiz (Chapters 1-5): Thursday, March 26, 2015
• 'Greasers vs. Socs' collages: due Thursday, March 26, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

I hope you guys enjoyed the Robb Nash presentation!

We started class a little bit later today because of the morning presentation. Students wrote an open-book grammar test and worked on their collages. This was the last class given to work on the collages.

Reminders:

• Chapter 2-4 questions due today!
• The Outsiders quiz (Chapters 1-5): Wednesday, March 25, 2015
• 'Greasers vs. Socs' collages: due Friday, March 27, 2015

English 11

We spent the whole first block watching the fantastic Robb Nash presentation today. Don't forget to read Lord of the Flies!

Reminders:

• Chapter 2 questions: due Thursday, March 26, 2015
• Finish Chapters 1-4 by Thursday, March 26, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

It is great to see everyone again!

We started off the day reading Chapter 4 of The Outsiders, and then worked on corresponding questions and vocabulary. We finished off class working on the 'Greasers vs. Socs' collages. Today was the last period given to work on this.

Reminders:

• Chapter 2-4 questions: due tomorrow, March 24, 2015
• Open-book Grammar Quiz (conjunctions/interjections): tomorrow, March 24, 2015
• Collages: due Thursday, March 26, 2015

English 11

I'm glad to see everyone looking well rested!

We started off the day discussing the main ideas of Chapter 2 in Lord of the Flies (leadership qualities, the role of the conch, the purpose of the fire, the division of tasks, etc.). Students then worked on corresponding questions and continued to read Chapter 3 silently. Towards the end of class, I handed back your in-class synthesis essays from our short story unit. I went over the writing rubric with you, and I also went over some general tips for essay-writing. At the very end of class, we watched a short video  by Robb Nash, who will be presenting at our school tomorrow.

Reminders:

• Chapter 2 questions: due Thursday, March 26, 2015
• Finish Chapters 1-4 by Thursday, March 26, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Welcome back Grade 8's!

We started off the day with silent reading (Chapter 4 of The Outsiders). We continued to discuss the chapter and work on corresponding questions and vocabulary. After that, we started reading
Chapter 5.

Reminders:

• Chapter 2-4 questions: due tomorrow, March 24, 2015
• Open-book Grammar Quiz (conjunctions/interjections): tomorrow, March 24, 2015

English 11

I hope you have a restful Spring Break!

Today, we had one last short story presentation. We then discussed Chapter 1 of Lord of the Flies and worked on corresponding questions. Students then moved on to reading Chapter 2.

Reminders:

• Finish Chapter 2 of Lord of the Flies

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Have a fantastic week!

We started off the day with silent reading (Chapter 4 in The Outsiders). You will get some time to finish this chapter on the Monday you return from Spring Break. We then watched John Greene's "Crash Course on the 60's". This helps to understand the context of the novel and the themes of discrimination and urban poverty. We spent the rest of class working on the 'Greaser vs. Soc' collages.

Reminders:

• No homework!

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Have a fantastic week!

We started off the day by finishing Chapter 3 in The Outsiders. We then watched John Greene's "Crash Course on the 60's". This helps to understand the context of the novel and the themes of discrimination and urban poverty. We spent the rest of class working on the 'Greaser vs. Soc' collages.

Reminders:

• No homework!

English: Blocks 3/4

It's Friday tomorrow!

We started off the day with silent reading and completed a worksheet on conjunctions and interjections. After that, students finished their character sketches they started last class. I really enjoy the artwork!
 We proceeded to read Chapters 3 of The Outsiders, and brainstormed differences between 'Greasers' and Socs'. We spent the rest of class working on the 'Greaser vs. Soc' collage.

Reminders:

• Chapter 1 questions were due today!
• Interim reports will be sent out tomorrow, March 13, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

There is only one more English class until Spring Break!

We started off the day with silent reading and completed a worksheet on interjections. After that, students finished their character sketches they started last class. They look great! We proceeded to read Chapters 2 and 3 of The Outsiders, and brainstormed differences between 'Greasers' and Socs'. We spent the rest of class in the library working on the 'Greaser vs. Soc' collage.

Reminders:

• Chapter 1 questions were due today!
• Interim reports will be sent out Friday, March 13, 2015

English 11

Our island simulation was so interesting! We will be referencing our experiences from this activity as we go through Lord of the Flies.

We started off the day with three short story presentations. After that, students arranged themselves in a circle for a 'Lost on a deserted Island' simulation. I gave the students the description of the situation. As a class, they had to decide what they needed to survive, how they would go about doing this, how they would make decisions, who they would elect as their leader, etc. The purpose of this was to see how natural dynamics and conflicts can arise.

After that, we watched the first episode of the TV show "Lost", which reinforces the deserted island situation. We discussed some of the parallels with our class simulation: what makes a good leader? what are the priorities in that situation? How are roles delegated? How are alliances/groups formed?

Finally, we started reading Chapter 1 of Lord of the Flies and discussed the beginning of the novel. Please finish Chapter 1 for homework.

Reminders:

• Chapter 1: Lord of the Flies

English 11

Thank you for your patience with the technical difficulties today! Things didn't go quite as planned, and we weren't able to get through all the presentations...

We had some more fantastic presentations today. I learned that paintball was inspired by the story "The Most Dangerous Game"-- wow!

Reminders:

• I will send home Interim Reports this Friday

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Great 'Greaser' drawings today!

We started off the day with silent reading and notes on interjections.  After that, we discussed Chapter 1 of The Outsiders and worked on corresponding questions. Finally, students were put in groups to complete a character sketch. They were assigned a particular 'Greaser' and had to create a sketch outlining the character's physical traits, likes, dislikes, family life, and a quote that describes the character. We will finish with this next class.

Reminders:

• The Outsiders Chapter 1 questions: due Thursday, March. 12, 2015
• Read Chapter 2: Thursday, March 12, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Spring Break is upon us!!!

We started off the day with silent reading and completed a worksheet on conjunctions. After that, we discussed Chapter 1 of The Outsiders and worked on corresponding questions. We then had a fire drill and enjoyed a little fresh air. Finally, students were put in groups to complete a character sketch. They were assigned a particular 'Greaser' and had to create a sketch outlining the character's physical traits, likes, dislikes, family life, and a quote that describes the character. We will finish with this next class.

Reminders:

• The Outsiders Chapter 1 questions: due tomorrow, March. 11, 2015

English 11

Congratulations for your outstanding effort on the story presentations!

Today we got about half of the way through the story presentations. We'll finish them off tomorrow.

Reminders:

• More presentations: Tuesday, March 10, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

I hope you liked the first chapter of The Outsiders!

We started off the day with silent reading and notes on conjunctions. After that, we went to the library to sign out novels (The Outsiders). I proceeded to show a PowerPoint explaining the background information of the author, S.E. Hinton, the context of the story, and some of the 1960's slang. We also briefly discussed the definition of an 'outsider'. We read Chapter 1 for the rest of class; please finish it for homework.

Reminders:

• Read The Outsiders (Chapter 1): for tomorrow, March 10, 2015
• Have your course selection schedules signed!
• Lunch Club on Thursday, March. 11, 2015 - Hand in any missing assignments!

English 8: Blocks 7/8

I hope you liked the first chapter of The Outsiders!

We started off the day with silent reading and notes on interjections. After that, we went to the library to sign out novels (The Outsiders). I proceeded to show a PowerPoint explaining the background information of the author, S.E. Hinton, the context of the story, and some of the 1960's slang. We also briefly discussed the definition of an 'outsider'. We read Chapter 1 for the rest of class; please finish it for homework.

Reminders:

• Read The Outsiders (Chapter 1): for tomorrow, March 10, 2015
• Lunch Club tomorrow - hand in any missing assignments!!!

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Have a great weekend Grade 8's! 

We wrote our short story tests today.

I will be sending progress reports home next week (after the short story tests are marked), so make sure you hand in all your assignments. I will be keeping students in on Tuesday at lunch to complete anything that is still missing.

English 8: Blocks 3/4

We wrote our short story tests today.

I kept some students in at lunch to finish up some missing work. I will be sending progress reports home next week (after the short story tests are marked), so make sure you hand in all the assignments.

Have a great weekend! There's only one more week until Spring Break!

English 11

Your projects are looking amazing!!!

We spent the whole class in the library today working on the short story projects.

I also posted marks today. I warned the class that this is a very quick snapshot assessment. Marks might change significantly over the next week, as your in-class essays and your projects need to be evaluated.

Remember that we will start presentations Monday, March 9, 2015. If you have a PowerPoint, please drag into my dropbox, and if you have a Prezi, you can email it to me at: jbauche@sd19.bc.ca.

Have a great weekend!

Reminders:

• Short Story Presentations: Monday, March 9, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

Don't forget to study for your test tomorrow!

We started off the day with silent reading, and then finished going over the review booklet for the upcoming test on short stories. After that, we watched the movie "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and did a full plot analysis of the story. We finished off the day with some Mad Libs.

Reminders:

• Descriptive Character Paragraph: due today!!!
• Short Story Test: Friday, March 6, 2015

Things you can use to study for the test: 
1. Notes on parts of plot
2. Notes on elements of short stories
3. Short story worksheets
4. Review booklet

English 11

Great job with the essays!

Today, students wrote an in-class synthesis essay. During the second half of the period, we went to the library to work on the short story projects.

Reminders:

• Short Story Presentations: Monday, March 9, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

Don't forget to study for your test Friday!

We started off the day with silent reading, and then students had time to work on their Descriptive Character Paragraphs. After that, we continued watching "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and did a full plot analysis of the movie. Students then took some notes on foreshadowing. We finished off class with a Jeopardy review game for short stories.

Reminders:

• Descriptive Character Paragraph: due Friday, March 6, 2015
• Short Story Test: Friday, March 6, 2015

Things you can use to study for the test: 
1. Notes on parts of plot
2. Notes on elements of short stories
3. Short story worksheets
4. Review booklet

English 8: Blocks 7/8

We started off class with silent reading and notes on conjunctions; I also showed students a rap song that might help them remember conjunctions in the future. After that, we finished going over the review booklet for short stories.

As a final activity to short stories in English 8, we watch Fantastic Mr. Fox and complete a plot analysis of the movie. Hence, we started watching the movie today.

Reminders:

• Descriptive Character Paragraph: Friday, March. 6, 2015
• Short Story Test: Friday, March 6, 2015

English 11

Today we started off class with a quiz on literary terminology. I then went over strategies for planning a synthesis essay; we maily loked at T-Charts and Venn diagrams. After that, I gave students time to plan for their in-class essay tomorrow.

Reminders:

• Essay test: tomorrow, March. 4, 2015
• Short Story Project: Monday, March 9, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

We started off the day with silent reading, and then spent 30 minutes working on the Descriptive Character Paragraph. Thank you for working so well! The assignment is due Thursday, Mar. 5, 2015. After that, I gave student a review booklet for the upcoming test on short stories. Students were split into groups to work on the booklet, and we went over some of the answers together.

Reminders:

• Descriptive Character Paragraph: due Thursday, March 5, 2015
• Short Stories Test: Friday, March 6, 2015

English 8: Blocks 7/8

We started off with silent reading and a quiz on Parts of Speech.

After that, students completed questions for "The Monkey's Paw". We then started reviewing for the upcoming short story test: students were given a review booklet and worked in assigned groups to complete it. Towards the end of class, we started going over the review booklet together.

Reminders:

• "The Monkey's Paw" questions: Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2015
• Short Story Test: Friday, Mar. 6, 2015

English 8: Blocks 3/4

I apologize for not updating my blog this weekend!

During Friday's class, we played a Jeopardy game to review parts of speech, worked on the Descriptive Character Paragraph, and watched the Simpsons' version of "The Monkey's Paw".

Today, we had Course Selection in the library for the first half of class. After that, students wrote a quiz on Parts of Speech and completed a worksheet for "The Monkey's Paw". This is due for homework.

Reminders:

• "The Monkey's Paw" worksheet: Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2015
• Descriptive Character Paragraph: Thursday, Mar. 5, 2015
• Short Story Test: Friday, Mar. 6, 2015

English 11

I apologize for not updating the blog this weekend! Don't forget about the quiz on literary terminology tomorrow!

On Friday, we read the story "Paper" by Catherine Lim and students had a corresponding worksheet to complete. Today, I went over the structure of literary essays and I explained my expectations. Students will be writing an in-class synthesis essay on Wednesday, so we will be prepping for this during tomorrow's class.

I gave students a booklet containing resources for essay-writing. Firstly, we went over the topic choices for the synthesis essay. I then went through the structure of introductions, the structure of body paragraphs, and the structure of conclusions. We also looked at samples for thesis statements and samples for integrating quotations. In the booklet, there is also a writing rubric that we went over, as well as graphics for essay structure. The essay booklet is very valuable; don't loose it!

To prepare for the upcoming essays, we did a collaborative brainstorming session. I wrote the different essay topics on chart paper, students split up into groups of five and each group had to write down anything from the stories we studied that connected with that  particular essay topic. After about 5 minutes, we rotated the chart paper. Consequently, each group wrote down their ideas for all the essay topics. Many students took pictures of their ideas to help them plan for the essay.

Reminders:

• Literary Terminology Quiz: Tuesday, Mar. 3, 2015
• In-Class Synthesis Essay: Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2015
• Short Story Projects: Monday, Mar. 9, 2015