Grammar Redo

Some students struggled with the grammar unit and are asked to complete some worksheets so that they can retake the test in January. Students can complete worksheets during HOT, silent reading time, or at home.

This does not apply to all students.

LES

Students are completing a ministry Learning Evaluation Situation before Christmas. The LES is about cell phones and technology in general. Most of their work should be completed in class.

Grammar and Narration

Students completed some work on capitalization and punctuation. They had a quiz to follow that up. Also, students completed some work on narration and learned the three main types of narration. Ask them about first-person narration, third-person limited narration, and third-person omniscient/all-knowing narration.

Survival Unit comes to an end

It had to happen sometime. The survival unit will be finished on Friday (kind of). We will also have a conference call on Wednesday with a outdoor expert.

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Vocabulary Test

Students will be completing a vocabulary test on Tuesday, October 19th.

Students will not be required to write definitions or know the spelling of the words, but they should have a general idea of the meaning of the words.

Part 1: Matching eight words with the right definition

Part 2: Multiple choice for five words. Students select the right definition for the word

Part 3: Multiple choice for five definitions. Students select the right word for the definition provided

Part 4: Use the word in a sentence. Students are given four words with their definition and then asked to use the word in a sentence.

Plus,

Part 5: Crossword puzzle with all the words

Here is the list of words.

Chapter 1

Drone: Humming or buzzing noise

Rudder: A vertically hinged plate of metal, fiberglass, or wood mounted at the back of a ship or boat for directing its course.

Lurched: An act of swaying abruptly

Audible: A sound that is capable of being heard

Chapters 2

Turbulence : Great commotion or agitation

C.P.R. : An emergency procedure for someone whose heart stopped

Altitude: The height of a thing above a reference level, used by pilots

Chapters 3

Muck: Filthy mud or dirt

Chapters 4

Viciously: Unpleasantly severe

Chapters 5

Murky: Dark and gloomy, especially due to thick mist.

Tatters: Torn and ragged clothing; rags.

Chapters 6

Pulverize: 1. Reduce to fine particles.

2. Defeat utterly.

Chapters 7

Abdomen: The stomach area of the body

Welted: Strike (someone or something) hard and heavily.

Chapters 8

Quills: The hollow, horny stem of a feather

Chapters 9

Exasperated: To make very angry or impatient; annoy greatly.

Chapters 10

Dormant: (of an animal) Having normal physical functions suspended or slowed down for a period of time; in or as if in a deep sleep

Chapters 12

Persistent: Refusing to give up or let go

Chapters 13

Shallows: An area of the sea, a lake, or a river where the water is not very deep.

Chapters 14

Mesh: Material, like a net

Chapters 15

Stabilize: To make or become stable or more stable

Chapters 16

Momentarily: For a moment or an instant.

Chapters 17

Incessant: Continuing without interruption

Chapters 18

Fuselage: The central body of an aircraft

Hatchet Test

We will be having a test on Hatchet on October 18th. For that reason, summaries will be handed in on October 18th instead on October 15th. Students should use their notes to help them study for the test.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Students are still reading Hatchet and should be just about finished the book. I'm hoping to begin activities with the book on Wednesday. I will have students hand in their summaries (with vocabulary and comments) on Friday, October 15th.

We had two classes of creative writing. Most students have handed in their story while a few others we need to finish them over the weekend.

Advertisement with Glogster

You and a partner are to create a poster that advertises the game you explored.
Your poster can only contain pictures that you or your group took. You are not permitted to use any pictures from the internet.
Your glog should be engaging and informative. The poster must include:
• Name of the game
• Price
• Recommended age level
• Educational value
• Pictures
• Exciting tagline
Due: Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 (End of class)
Accessing Glogster
Go to www.glogster.com
Click “Login”
Login using the nickname “mrkent” and the password “Noranda”
Click “Create a Glog” and begin creating
Saving Glog
To save click “Save or Publish”
Type your first names for Name of this Glog
Click any category
Leave tags blank
Select “Private”
Click “Save”

Review Article

Students are to write review articles about the board or card game they studied. Students are to consider the three elements of a game: education, amusement, and difficulty. Students should consult their survey and notes while writing the article.

Rough draft due Monday, September 20th.

Students will be self-editing and peer-editing their article.

Reading Hatchet

I hope you're enjoying reading _Hatchet_. Remember to try to write down five words that are new to you each chapter.

Hatchet

I have handed out the novel Hatchet. We are not working on the novel in class but it should be read at home and during the silent reading time I provide in class. Students are encouraged not to read ahead. There are two reasons for this. First, they can spoil the novel for their peers. Or, they get confused when doing quizzes because they mix up the quiz questions with later parts of the novel.

Students will be writing summaries about the chapters they read in their notebook. I will explain this exercise to the students in a class to come.

Here is the schedule for reading the novel. There should be lots of time for even the slowest reader to be on schedule.

Part 1 - Chapter 1-5: Sept 14
Part 2 - Chapter 6-10: Sept 24
Part 3 - Chapter 11-15: Oct 1
Part 4 - Chapter 16-End: Oct 13

Dates may be adjusted.

Welcome

Welcome to high school. For those in secondary two, welcome back. I am Mr. Jordan Kent and this is my third year at Noranda School. I am looking forward to this class. I have been working hard putting together a challenging and engaging program.

English 1 - 2 is an exciting, interactive course focusing on the student’s literacy. Through work in literature and media, students will develop and build upon their interpretive skills, research skills, critical thinking, and creativity. Students will have opportunities to explore a wide-variety of texts, including, novels, plays, poetry, film, advertisements, graphic novels, and etcetera.

The course is comprised of four competencies: uses language/talk to communicate and to learn, represents her/his literacy in different media, writes a variety of genres for personal and social purposes, and reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts. More detailed information about the curriculum outcomes can be found on the ministry’s website.

You can always get a hold of me if you have any questions or concerns. The best way to contact me is through my school email: jkent@wqsb.qc.ca. You can also call the school and leave a message with Rosemarie at 819-762-2706.

I do not overload students with homework. However, students are required to complete assigned readings at home, as well as complete assignments that they were unable to finish in class. I do my very best to post assignments on the class blog at NorandaEnglish12.blogspot.com. Occasionally, I will post handouts on drop.io/jordankent in case a student has lost a handout and requires it at home. Students can always benefit from completing extra work at home including reading a good novel, writing creative stories, completing grammar activities that I can provide, and even watching English television if they don’t normally do so.

The following is a breakdown of this year’s plans for English 1-2. I have provided some detail for the first two units so that you and your child know what to expect. In between units, students will complete grammar assignments, creative writing assignments, and other single-class lessons. The schedule may change or be adjusted.

Month	Unit Description
September	Word Play: This unit will introduce the students to the expectations of cycle one English Language Arts. Throughout the unit the students will be introduced to a board game that builds their language skills. They will then work as a group to evaluate and review the game. They will also create promotional material and a group presentation. During this unit, students will be reading the novel Hatchet, writing summaries, and completing occasional quizzes in preparation for the following unit. Students will have class time to read but most of their reading will be done at home.
October/November	Survivor Unit: This unit is all about the wilderness. Students will finish reading the novel Hatchet and complete a variety of activities based on the novel. There may also be a field trip during this unit; I will keep you updated.
December	LES (Learning and Evaluation Situation): An LES is the Ministry of Education’s term for a unit of study. The ministry provides some LESs for teachers in the province. I use at least two of the LESs provided by the ministry to ensure that I am providing texts and assignments at the appropriate level. The LESs provided by the ministry are typically on fun, engaging topics and are completed within 7-10 classes.
January	Medieval Unit (inter-disciplinary: English and History): Students will explore knights and castles in this exciting unit. Students will learn to read non-fiction texts, learn the origin of the English language, and give a presentation.
February	Creative Writing Portfolio & Class Novel Study: Students will get to write and share their creative writing. We will also study the novel The Outsiders and complete associated tasks.
March	Battle of the Books/Independent Novel Study
April	TBA
May/June	Final LES (Learning and Evaluation Situation)

Short Film

LES

We are beginning our Winter LES. This year we are exploring the idea of "Hero." We will be looking at a variety of ideas about heroes.

To begin, students are creating glogs (electronic collages) using glogster.com. Students will create a glog that represents their idea of a hero.

Gloggling

Writing Portfolios

Reminder: Writing Portfolios are due January 29th

Westing Game Test

The Westing Game test will be on the morning of January 11th.