Class Minutes: Wed, June 9th

We finished the film, All Quiet on the Western Front, and practiced another sight passage write on the short story, Just Lather, That's All.

Class Minutes: Thurs. June 3rd and Mon. June 7th

In the past two classes we practiced sight passage writes for the final exam. On Thursday we wrote a paragraph on the poem, "The Poison Tree," and received feedback on Monday. On Monday, we wrote a multi response to the short story, The Fall of a City." See Moodle for extra practice writing assignments.

Class Minutes: Tues. June 1st

After going over the exam review outline, we finished our compare and contrast multi on Dulce et Decormu Est and All Quiet on the Western Front. We even watched a bit more of the film. We are in strict REVIEW MODE now.

Class Minutes: Friday, May 28th

We started with a thesis statement writing task on the irony of the novel's ending. The thesis were collected after about 10 minutes. Mrs. Wall handed out a list of important themes for the novel to be used to study for the final exam. Lastly, we started a multi which compared and contrasted Dulce et Decorum Est and All Quiet On the Western Front.

Class Minutes: Wed., May 26th

We wrapped up our question booklet with a discussion of the chapter 11 and 12 questions. Then, we continued with the film.

Class Minutes: Thursday, May 20th

Mrs. Wall was away at the Fraser Valley track meet. But we wrote the comprehensive test on the novel. 1-4 also had another poetry quiz. For the remainder of the class, we watched the movie version of "All Quiet on the Western Front."

Class Minutes: Tues. May 18th

Poetry quiz to start class. 1-2 averaged 85%- congrats. 1-4 you're so close, but we'll try again on Thurs. We also wrote a chapter 6-10 reading quiz. You'll finish reading the novel by Thursday, so be reading for a comprehension novel test. We discussed the chapter 10 booklet questions and completed a symbol worksheet.

Class Mintues: Friday, May 14th

Poetry quiz #3 was an improvement, but we're still not at an 80% class average. Another chance on Tuesday! We went over the chapter 8 & 9 question key. In addition, we updated our portfolio and assignment logs with work handed back. Read chapter 10 for homework.

Class Minutes: Wednesday, May 12th

We wrote the second practice poetry quiz (69% and 65% were the class averages). We will write a third quiz on Friday. Afterwards, we went through the chapter 6 questions. The chapter seven key is posted on Moodle. For Friday, read chapters 8 and 9.

Class Minutes: Monday, May 10th

After our practice poetry quiz (class averages of 71% and 64%), we read over the chapter four and five notes. Then, there was a pop ch 1-5 reading quiz. I'm going to try to keep you honest with occassional reading checks. Then, we discussed comic relief and impressionism. Students located examplary quotes for the new terminology in their novels and copied samples onto the Important Terms handout. No new reading was assigned today, so use the time to catch up. You should have finished up to the end of chapter seven.

Class Minutes: Thursday, May 6th

We reviewed the answers to the chapter 4 and 5 quesions. We read a handout on Existentialism and looked up evidence from the novel that foster this philosophy in Paul and his comrades. Finally, we started reading chapter six together. Over the weekend, finish reading to the end of chapter seven (NOT just Sparknotes-Joseph) and do the corresponding questions in the booklet. Don't forget that next class we start the poetry quizzes.

Class Minutes: Tuesday, May 4th

Each group of 4 students was given a literature circle discussion question to consider and support with textual evidence. Chart paper and markers were used to create a visual display to aid in their class sharing. Interesting questions emerged, particularly around the ethics of censorship. Afterwards, we completed the chapter 2 and 3 comprehension questions (in booklet). Homework is to read chapters 4 and 5 and do the corresponding questions. Next week, we will start class with a 20 questions poetry quiz as review for the final. We will write a quiz every class until the class average is over 80%. Your best quiz counts. Study the poetry terms list on Moodle.

Class Minutes, Fri. April 30th

In groups, we answered comprehension/analysis questions on chapter 1 of All Quiet On the Western Front. Responses were recorded in our new booklet logs. Afterwards, we went over the answers and discussed them. Please read chapters 2 and 3 for Tuesday.

Class Mintues: Wednesday, April 28th

We started All Quiet on the Western Front by:
1. Reviewing WWI
a.entente vs Triple Alliance
b. defensive vs. offensive warfare weaponry
2. Viewing images of trench warfare
3. Viewing map of the Western front
4. Viewing propoganda posters
5. Reading and explicating Wilfred Owen's ironic poem, "Dulce et Decorum Est"
6. Watching the opening battle scenes in the movie, which reveal the utter futility of going "over the top"
Read Chapter One for next class.

Class Minutes: Monday, April 26th

Last big Macbeth assignment- 5 paragraph essay! It is a timed write, so no finishing at I block, lunch, etc. Way to go.

Class Minutes: Thursday, April 22nd

We went over the test answers, completed our introductory paragraphs for the essay on the cyclical nature of humanity's mistakes, and watched part of the movie of "Macbeth."

Class Minutes: Tuesday, April 20th

Today was Test day! The Act iv and v quiz, plus the literary device quiz were completed. Last class, we started learning the 5 paragraph essay. We read some notes, a sample intro paragraph, and examined 10 ways to write a general statement/hook. Students then practiced writing an introductory pargraph, which was finished and collected today(after the quizzes).

Class Minutes: Wednesday, April 14th

We reviewed the Act IV and V log notes which are on Moodle. Quizzes on the final two acts and Macbeth's poetic devices are on Tuesday. Update your reading logs with the Moodle notes. Logs are allowed on the Act IV and V quiz, but NOT the device quiz. Then, we practiced thesis statement writing. Samples were given to demonstrate the effectiveness of modifiers. Eight thesis were assigned as practice, but students selected their best thesis for formal evaluation. The worksheet was collected at the end of class.

Class Minutes, Mon. April 12th

Last day Mrs. Wall was away. The class read Act V.i-iii and did the "Lady Macbeth: Then and Now" worksheet. Today, we finished reading the play and were assigned the Macbeth obiturary (see Moodle). Act IV-V quiz is on Tuesday next week.

Class minutes: Tuesday, April 6th

Many students were away on the Bio 11 field trip. We finished reading Act IV and answered the comprehension questions before checking our responses with a key. Recipe assignments were collected.

Class Minutes: Wednesday, March 31st

After writing the ACT III quiz, we did a choral reading of the first few lines of ACT IV. Students played the role of the witches, whistling wind, hooting owls, and howling dogs. One student flashed the lights on and off to create the illusion of lighting. Act IV.i was read to completion. As we read, we filled out the first three rows of the three visions chart. Students then worked on their recipe assignments (due Tues.) or the comprehension questions for the first scene. Happy Easter!

Class Minutes: Monday, March 29th

We finished reading ACT III and did 2 comprehension worksheets:
a. order the events of III.iv
b. Top 10 quotes of Act III
The motif paragraph due date has been extended until Wednesday because a lot of students were away on the Socials 11 field trip last class.
Next class you also have an Act III quiz. You can use your hand written log if you want. Log notes are posted on Moodle.

Class Minutes: Thursday, March 25th

Many students were absent due to the Socials 11 field trip. But, we read ACT 3, Scenes ii-iii. Then, we answered the question: What evidence is there that Macbeth is the third murderer, commenting on each of the six statements of the third murderer. Then, we started a motif paragraph assignment. One paragraph is due on Monday.

Class Minutes: Tuesday, March 25th

We finished the pathetic fallacy paragraphs, discussed the Act II log notes (which are posted on Moodle), and read III.i.

Class Minutes: Wednesday, March 17th & Friday, March 19th

On Wednesday, we mainly read Act II.i-iii, pausing for discussion. We finished a ticket out the door before leaving the classroom.

On Friday, we finished reading Act II and started a paragraph on the use of pathetic fallacy in the final scene. Before writing, we had to read the comments on our Macbeth character sketch's, which were handed back, and complete the next row in our assignment log. In addition, we discussed our responsed to the ticket out the door last class: What did Malcolm and Donalbain decide to do? Why? How will it be interpreted? Finally, we went over the answers to the Act 1 quote quiz. No homework over the weekend.

Class Minutes, March 15th

1. Prayer

2. Mrs. Wall handed back the worksheets that we did last week

• Act 1 Scene 3 : Character Analysis
• Lady Macbeth's Persuasion Techniques

3. Mrs. Wall went over the worksheet with the class

• Act 1 Scene 3 : Character Analysis

4. Mrs. Wall summarized all of Act 1 to the class, making sure we understood what was going on

5. Mrs. Wall then handed the class the answer key to

• Macbeth : Act One Comprehension Questions

6. Mrs. Wall then made us take notes on all the literary devices that were used in Act One

7. Then for the rest of the class we were tested on our memorization on all of Act One. Mrs. Wall gave us a sheet that had sentences, and we had to write down who said it, who were they talking to and what were the circumstances when it was said.

Class Minutes, March 11, 2010

For this English class, Mrs. Wall was away, so we had a substitute teacher.
First, we listened to a CD recording of Macbeth, following along in our textbooks. We read through Act One, Scenes 6 and 7. After finishing going through Scenes 6 and 7, we filled out a chart on the Lady Macbeth's schemes to get Macbeth to kill Duncan, using quotes and filling out explanations. Once we finished the chart, we were given a worksheet with Act One comprehension questions. The chart was collected at the end of class, along with the worksheet if you were done (if not then it was for homework).

Class Minutes, March 5th

Today, we started off by going over Act 1, Scene 2 of Macbeth, and we talked abouthe similes found in it, which show Macbeth's initial bravery. Then wrote in our Macbeth Logs, under the literary devices section : [Characters: Macbeth is introduced as a war hero: valiant, noble, strong. It is important that he starts on a pedestal so that he can be a tragic hero, and fall. Tragedy depends on the fall of an already great man. Simile and metaphor are used to reveal his bravery: a) "Like valour's minion, carved out his passage" (I.ii.20)
b) "Till that Bellona's bridegroom.." (I.ii.62)
c) "Dismayed not...our captains...Yes, as sparrows eagles or the hare the lion." (I.ii.38-39) ]
That was what we wrote a paragraph based on. We spent around 20 minutes writing a paragraph response on William Shakespeare's use of metaphor to develop Macbeth's character. At the end of class, we got a hand out about how Macbeth is a tragic hero and literary devices which commonly appear in Macbeth.

Class Minutes, March 1, 2010

Today we explicated two sets of poems. The first two are about love: The Je Ne Sais Quoi and Sonnet 130. The second two are about death: Sleeping at Last and Song. You could choose a set to begin writing a compare and contrast multi.

Class Minutes, Thurs. Feb. 11th

1. Poetry device quizzes were handed back, but instead of a mark, you were told how many wrong you got, but not which ones. So, students had time to make corrections (without notes) and re submit their tests for an improved mark. This is an example of formative assessement- using assessemnt to further learning.
2. We read and explicated Ondaatje's poem, "The Time Around Scars," and wrote a practice thesis statement.
3. We read and explicated two poems on memory: a. "Remember", by Christina Rossetti, and "Mnemonic," by Li Young Lee. Then we wrote compare and contrast thesis statements, which were collected.
4. When we return from break we will be writing a compare and contrast multi paragraph on two new poems.

Class Minutes, Tues. Feb. 9th

Today in class we:
1. Wrote the poetry device quiz
2. Handed in our Found poetry paintings and paragraphs (1-2 only)
3. 1-4 had painting time
4. The wordsworth, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," paragraphs were handed back with feedback. We discussed formative assessement: its theory and practice.
5. Students completed an Assignment Log for the, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" paragraphs and put them into their portfolios.

Class Minutes, Fri. Feb. 5th

Today we worked on our Tom Phillip's found poetry. 1-2 was ready to paint, so their poems, including the explanatory paragraph are due on Tues. 1-4, however, just started the word search step and will have approx. 30 min. on Tues. to paint and their poems will be due on Thurs. Don't forget that your terms test is Tues. too.

Class Minutes, Wed. Feb. 3rd

We had a very busy day today.
1. We were assigned words to define on the Grade 11 Poetry Terms to Know Google Doc., which has been sent to everyone's gmail account. The terms quiz is on Tues. Feb. 9th, so the sooner your term is defined, the better. Including an example for your term is also helpful.
2. We explicated the poem, "High Flight." We searched for devices, discussed their purpose and read a sample pargraph analysis.
3. We explicated the poem, "I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud." As a class we discussed and took notes on the purpose of the three main devices: simile, personification, and hyperbole. The draft of the paragraph analysis is due next class.
4. We looked at samples of Tom Phillip's found poetry in "A Humument" and samples of previous students' poetry. Mrs. Wall handed out pages from "To Kill A Mockingbird." Students were to circle words and phrases found on the page, connecting them to make a poem that is removed from the context of the novel. The poem, without illustration, is due next class, Fri. Feb. 5th.

Class Minutes, Mon. Feb. 1st

Today was the first class back after exam week. We went over our exams before starting a short poetry unit. We were introduced to Shane Koyczan, the spoken word artist headlining the Spoken World Poetry Slam at Granville Island on Feb. 18th at 7:30pm. Consider going if you're not out of town. He's amazing. (Check him out on youtube). Then, to wrap things up, we did a sort and predict of poetic phrases. Mrs. Wall gave us 12 categories (each a different poetic device), including allusion, onomatopoeia, etc. Then, in groups of 4-5, we had to sort the phrases into their appropriate categories. Good review of devices and intro to the unit.

Class Minutes, Tues. Jan. 19th

Last class before midyear exam. Mrs. Wall handed back PCs with feedback and discussed common areas of weakness. For example the body paragraph topic sentences didn't often include a mention of the theme. She photocopied and distributed a sample of a student writen 6/6 paper, pointing out the specific evidence and incorporation of rhetorical devices. Students completed a formative "traffic light self-assessment" to aid in studying for the exam. Amoung other things, it forced students to try to predict the sight passages that will be on the exam. Finally, students were given a booklet of key sight passages from the novel, Lord of the Flies. To practice for the exam, write a thesis statement for each sight passage. Finally, students handed in their essay lesson reflections.

Class Minutes, Monday January 11

In class, we received the midterm exam outline, and read over it with Mrs. Wall. We also received a worksheet on Lord Of The Flies themes, to help us in preparation for the midterm. Two groups presented their essay presentations, and we read essays in the book.

Class Minutes, Fri. Jan. 15th

Today in class, we were given a study sheet on important quotes from Lord of the Flies. We were given a sample personal essay on the prompt: the way you act in a crisis shows who you really are. Then, we wrote an in-class essay on the prompt: people learn from their mistakes.

Class Minutes, Wed. Jan. 13th

Today, two more groups presented their essay lessons. Everyone's chart and reflection is due on Tues. Jan. 19th. Tuesday is also the last day for any make up or re-do assignments before the report card. Mrs. Wall gave the class a card game review for Lord of the Flies. Each card in a deck of cards has a relevant question attached to it. This is good review of the midyear. Finally, work was handed back, portfolios updated, and marks posted.

English Minutes, Thursday January 7th

Today we were presenting our assigned essay styles. Group three went first, with their topic being narrative essays. They started out by handing out T-charts comparing short stories and narrative essays. After, we all read the ironic essay, "Man, You're a Great Player!". After Group three, Group six was selected to present on Descriptive Essays. They read aloud an essay called, "The Suitcase Lady", about a homeless lady who strived to succeed. Near the end of class, We were handed out an essay personal composition outline by Mrs. Wall, which we will look into more next class.

English Milnutes: Tuesday, January 5th

English Minutes
Toady in English, we started class off with a prayer about a man on deathrow. We were then given a paragraph on a handout titled "Democracy" by E.B. White. We then scanned through the paragraph looking for metaphors. We took out a piece of paper and numbered it from 1-15. On the first line we wrote the metaphor, "it is the line that forms on the right", and on the second line we wrote "is the don't in shove." These Two metaphors symbolize democracy and suggest order and rule. The third metaphor: "stuffedshirt" symbolizing the high class and arrogant people in society, it isn't perfect or all powerful. On the fourth line we wrote "sawdust". This symbolizes a democratic idea, slowly trickling through the government to the people. The fifth metaphor was: "the dent in the high hat", meaning that those in authority have flaws, and so government and democracy which are both straight and stable, have flaws as well. For the sixth metaphor we wrote; "Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time." The seventh metaphor: "The feeling of communion in the libraries", meaning that education is at its core. On the eighth line we wrote "the feeling of vitality everywhere" symblozing that one can be full of life, enthusiastic and full of spirit. For the ninth metaphor we wrote; "Democracy is a letter to the editor", meaning that we are entitled to our own opinion and that everyone has their own voice. The tenth metaphor was: "Democracy is the score at the beginning of the ninth". The eleventh metaphor: "It is an idea which hasn't been disaproved yet", the twelevth :"a song the words of which have not gone bad". This two metaphors basically mean that since nothing has gone wrong so far, it doesnt really matter. The thirteenth and fourteenth metaphors are: "it's the mustard on the hot dog" and "the cream in the rationed coffee", meaning that these things make life better. The last metaphor, number fifteen;"Democracy is a request from a War Board, in the middle of a morning in the middle of a war, wanting to know what democracy is."We then took about 25 minutes to write our own paragraph using the rhetorical device of a metaphor based on an emotion or idea. There had to be a minimum of 10 metaphors for full marks. Worth 16 marks.For the last 10-15 minutes of class we got together with our presentation groups to put the finishing touches on our presentation because we begin presenting next class.