Week at a Glance: Oct 4-8

English 8

• Keep reading - each day at home and each day in class. Remember to bring your book to class!
• 2.1: Due Wednesday - Write either a story you are told, a story you retell, or a story that is told about you. Half to full page of writing, single spaced. First draft is fine.
• 1.3: Due Thursday- Write either a story you are told, a story you retell, or a story that is told about you. Half to full page of writing, single spaced. First draft is fine.

English 11 AP

• Monday: Due today - a statement in response to one of the following:
• Do you believe that everyone is involved in a personal battle with good and evil?
• What does it take to give into temptation - what is at stake and how does one decide to give in?
• Wednesday: Due today - Assigned Readers' Theatre Roles

Writing 12

• Next meeting: November 2nd at 7:15am.
• First assignment: describe the view from a window - any window, bedroom, restaurant, bus, wherever - as seen by the character you gave birth to this morning and who has just received either very good or very bad news. Have some specific news in mind but do not mention it in the exercise. Don't even hint at it. The reader should be able to deduce if not the exact nature of the news, the tenor of it, whether it's good or bad, simply by the way you describe the view. The obect here is to give the reader a sense of your character's internal life by relying on meaningful imagery alone. (This exercise is adapted from "through your character's eye" by Michael Knight in Naming the World.)

Week at a Glance: Sept 27 - Oct 1

English 8

• Please continue to bring your book to school and read every night at home!

English 11 AP

• Monday: In class essay. The prompt will be to comment on one of the novels. You can bring in an index card full of notes and you may have your novel open during the essay as well. I will expect to see you put your understanding of critical theory to use and present a well thought-out, well-explained interpretation.
• Thursday: Today we'll review your essays and their assessments to confirm our understanding of the criteria for Reading achievement. We'll also revise those criteria for student friendly language.

Week at a Glance: Sept 20 - 24

English 8

• Monday: Today we get books from the library!
• Wednesday: Bring your silent reading book to class every class from now on.

English 11AP

• Due Tuesday: Critical Theory Response Chart
• The columns of your chart should be as follows: Adult, Key Response, Critical Theory, Interpretation (what does framing your adult's response with a critical theory add to your understanding about their response and/or the story itself?)
• Due Thursday: you need to have finished reading one of the two books (Glass Castle or Slaughterhouse Five) before the start of class today.

Writing 12

• We'll meet on Tuesday next week at lunch in room W201 to set our schedule and course details.

Week at a Glance: Sept 13-17

English 11 AP

• Monday: Today will be learning about critical theory.
• Wednesday: Today you and your group will prepare to present your assigned theory to the class
• Friday:
• Presentations re critical theory due today
• Bring in notes regarding others' interpretations and reactions to "Story of an Hour". Be sure that you don't sway their ideas, but that you simply record their thoughts. If they're not sure what to say, you can ask them general questions like "What do you think of Mrs. Mallard?" and "Who do you most connect to in the story and why?".
• Looking ahead: Sept 23rd - in-class essay on either Slaughterhouse Five or The Glass Castle.

English 8

• Tuesday: Hand in the letter to yourself (that we started in class) in which you answer the following the prompts.
• Describe who you are at this time (likes, dislikes, habits, features, unique characteristics, etc.)
• Who is important to you (friends, family)?
• Who inspires you?
• How do you feel about being in grade 8 at Rockridge?
• Describe and discuss goals for this year.
• Do you want to join any clubs? Sports?
• What do you want out of this year? 
• Thursday: Today we'll be writing stories in class.

Week at a Glance: Sept 7-10

Welcome to my blog!
It was so great to meet you today in class. I got a good vibe from all my classes which  makes me think this is going to be a good, solid year. To be ready for next class, please bring the following items:

• blue or black pens
• paper in a binder
• 3 different coloured highlighters

As for the discussion, can you guess the answer to the joke my brother wrote?

• Why did the two melons get married in their hometown?

NOTE FOR GRADE 8s: Please come to class with a clean joke that you can share with us.

Note for English 11 AP students: Please acquire a copy of either Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut  or The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I'd like you to read one of these books by September 17th.

Note for Writing 12 students: Something went wrong during registration and some of your timetables don't list Writing 12 as one of your courses. Here's the scoop: the course has now moved entirely outside the timetable so rather than meeting during the day we'll meet once in awhile at a time and date that we all agree on. I'll be emailing you near the end of next week to straighten out the details. For this reason, the course will officially begin when you receive the email. I'm looking forward to meeting you all!