Today's class was all about drafting - peer editing - and more drafting!
Some students were further along than others at the end of the day yesterday, but many of them came in to tutorial this morning to get on top of the work.
Tomorrow, students will complete their good copies (bring a book if you're a quick writer).
Students continued their draft work, and will do peer editing tomorrow.
Those who do not have more than an outline, or a few sentences, should come to 2031 to continue their drafts during tomorrow's tutorial.
We went through some of the challenges students had with their "Veldt" question sets, and students received their Question 6 notes to work with (if they were handed in on time, and in the requested format).
Students then had the option to begin a draft paragraph with, or without, a printed paragraph outline sheet.
They are using evidence from "The Veldt" to make an argument about Ray Bradbury's view regarding the potential impacts of technology on the development/lives/nature of children.
We will complete rough drafts tomorrow, before doing peer-edit work on Thursday.
Today's class began with a quick check in - students are actually feeling a little low - glad the sun is shining for them :)
We marked last week's comma quiz (I had a momentary teacher crisis in block 5, when the vast majority of the class disagreed with me about whether a comma belonged in a particular sentence or not - IT DID - but it turns out that we missed dependent clauses in our exemplars.
Students then read their independent novels for 10 minutes or so, before we moved into talking about "7 Snappy Starters."
We finished the block by talking about the components of a literary paragraph - Hook, Intro/top sentence (including title and author, as well as argument), Context, 3 body points with EVIDENCE, Conclusion, and Topic Extension.
Tomorrow, students will right a rough draft of a paragraph, before embarking on the peer edit and drafting process. BRING NOVELS
Students began today's class with a comma quiz and reading their personal novels.
We did some work with quotations, in order that they might better integrate their quotations in the upcoming written work.
Students looked at "7 Snappy Starters" - this sheet is designed to help students find a way to hook their readers when beginning a piece of writing.
Homework: -pick one of the three topics from the bottom of the "7 Snappy Starters" list - write 7 different sentence starters (hooks) for the topic you choose!
Students picked up a LOT of paper today.
We worked on a final comma sheet - there is a quiz tomorrow (those missing will make up the quiz on Monday - at 8:30 - in 2031)
We worked together on a theme statement for "The Veldt."
There is no additional homework.
Students began by completing their comma work (added page) and reading their personal novels.
We then discussed their theme statements for "Barney," which they wrote for homework.
We talked about the end of "The Veldt," which they were to read for homework.
HOMEWORK: Today's assignment is posted, and should be SUBMITTED ON TEAMS. Instructions there are clear, and as follows:
Students read their personal novel.
Students did part of "Commas I.I" -Conjunctions reviewed in this oooooolllllddd video
We brainstormed theme words for "Barney."
We read most of "The Veldt."
HOMEWORK:
Students moved into groups to share their theme statements from last class - they compared and critiqued them, then each group wrote a statement on the board.
We checked to see if the statements followed all the rules, avoided 1st person, and captured the core theme of the story...
Students received a new story- "The Veldt" - and should ensure they have read up to - AND ONLY UP TO - the top of page 122, where the children say: "Hello, Mom. Hello, Dad."
Other than the reading (only for BLK 8, as we are frequently interrupted by off-task behaviour) there is no homework for the long weekend!!!
Students read their personal novels
We did Comma Worksheet #1
We discussed key themes for "For the Birds," then shared them on the board.
HOMEWORK: Students need to ensure they have a theme statement written for "For the Birds," which follows all of the rules on their "How to Write a Theme Statement" sheet :)
Students read their personal novels
We discussed the questions from "Barney" and students reflected on how they might improve their work going forward
Students marked, then received, capitalization quizzes.
Students received a sheet titled "How to Write a Theme Statement"
HOMEWORK: - complete definitions and sentences for "Veldt" vocabulary, and steps 1&2 on the Theme Statement sheet for "For The Birds."
Today was a bit of a catch up day - BLK 1 also had a visit about course programming.
Some students did not submit last week's questions properly - all should be submitted to TEAMS no later than 6pm today.
Students did a quick quiz on capitalization, then read their personal novels.
We discussed at what age students believe children should be let in on the darker knowledge of the world - and what responsibility individuals have to learn about the world outside of their own bubbles..
Students received a new vocabulary list
HOMEWORK: Ensure questions from last week are properly submitted. Find a definition for each of the "Veldt" vocab words, and then WRITE YOUR OWN SENTENCE to illustrate the meaning (definitions are due Wednesday).
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Students had time to read their personal novels.
They worked through a Capitalization Review sheet - there will be a quiz on Monday (or Tuesday) next week.
Students read the story "Barney" and then began work on notes for the questions, which are due SUNDAY NIGHT and should be SUBMITTED IN TEAMS
Students who had to re-submit their homework from yesterday (or submit it for the first time) did so at the beginning of the class.
We reviewed the 3 kinds of irony, and discussed examples from previous classes.
In small groups, students discussed the nature of scientific experimentation and the ethical lines they believe should/should not be crossed.
We watched the following video on GENETIC ENGINEERING and talked about all of the ways in which it is already outdated.
We also discussed:
Scientists who have done what was once thought impossible - Dolly the Sheep
Scientists who started with CRSPR and continued with MRNA vaccines
and good old hubris in this excellent scene from one of the Jurassic Park films
Students read their personal novels, while I did a quick homework check of their vocab - many had not met expectations for the work, and will resubmit tomorrow.
We did a second worksheet on capitalization.
We talked about direct vs indirect characterization
Students worked well, and had the last 5 minutes of class to either get a head start on their re-work of the vocab, or chat.
Students began the class by reading their personal novels.
We did some work with capitalization - the worksheet can be found in Teams (there will be a capitalization quiz on Monday/Tuesday next week).
We discussed verbal, dramatic, and situational irony (cartoons in Teams)
Students received a detailed Short Story Terms sheet, and we went over the first couple of pages - stopping at Foil Character - - we also talked about juxtaposition
We went over the short story diagrams for "For the Birds."
At the end of class, students received a list of vocabulary for an upcoming story
HOMEWORK: Students should write a definition for each of the words on the list, AND follow the definition with THEIR OWN sentence, which illustrates that they understand the meaning of the word.
Last week, students received their course outlines, and we reviewed short story terms, and Freytag's pyramid.
We watched this video in order to practice terms last week (and went over group findings).
Today, students *mostly came to class with a novel ready to read - these are expected on a daily basis, so students should be in the habit of keeping them in their bags.
We reviewed group work, then did solo work with Disney's "For the Birds" in order to deepen understandings of terms - Students need to ensure they have a clear plot diagram for this piece ready for tomorrow's class.
Students wrote a poetry quiz, shared their sound poems, and received their final assignment. We discussed what an ODE really is, and looked...
