1. Students began the class with a retest of figurative language that we have studied quite intensively at this point.
2. There was also a breakdown on the board for students to consider. They were given mini reports the other day and to see where their mark fits into the bigger picture of the whole class the list broke down how many students are in each mark category. It went as such:
   6 @ less than 50%
   7 @ 51-60 %
   1 @ 61-70%
   6 @ 71-80%
   6 @ 81-90%
   2 @ 91 -100%
   With only four weeks of classes left, and new assignments yet to be given and completed, I’m hopeful some students will find the motivation to complete missing work to improve their mark. There’s time left, yet!
3. We reviewed the difference between Fantasy writing and Science Fiction, mainly that one includes science, if you look at the most simple difference.
   I also asked them to clarify the difference between Fantasy and Fairytale writing. Ultimately, Fairytales are written for children and end with a happy ending. One student asked if Shrek would be a fairytale still and it is, with the distinction of being a Modern Fairytale. Being modern, it applies more to the moral codes of today’s society, such as women being in control of their own destiny instead of waiting for the “prince to rescue them”.
4. We read together as a class a very short story titled “The Door in the Floor” that has great repetition of that same title, which gathered snickers from the class. We listened to the audio reading of it, though, and through the narrator’s skills we enjoyed a very “eerie” story. I pointed out the distinction of looking to see what the narrator (reader) does to evoke the mysterious or creepy mood verses the effort made by the writer to create such a mood. Many students mix this up when reflecting on something we’ve listened to as well as read. Be careful with this – when asked what the writer did to create a mood, don’t respond with comments about the music in the background or pauses in the reader’s voice.

Here is the audio of the story we read / listened to. See what you think? “The Door in the Floor”