Essay Writing Assignment Handout

1. Students, on Friday, were given the task of writing an essay on a topic of their choice. It could be a ridiculous topic, like the best techniques of jumping ditches with skiidoes, but the purpose was to have students get into an ‘essay writing’ mindset, to remind them of the structure and parts they need to focus on, prior to our work on improving those skills. Some students stalled a bit on Friday or had a difficult time getting started.
2. Today, students were given a new essay topic. Click on the link above to see the handout including the two essay prompts they had to choose from to decide which essay topic to write on. This will be the essay they will be evaluated on and be the beginning to a more focused look at their writing skills.

Narrative Writing Assignment Marginalized Perspective A30

1. There was a paragraph assignment due to be handed in, typed, today. It was assigned on Friday. (Check Friday’s blog post to see the assignment.)
2. Click on the handout for today’s writing assignment. Students are to write a four paragraph narrative piece from the First Person Perspective of a Marginalized individual. There is a list of situations students may choose from to put themselves into that person’s situation and write about a specific event that had a great impact on their awareness of being marginalized from society.
3. Students were to hand in what they had composed at the end of the class, strictly so that I could monitor who had used their class time efficiently and who had not. A participation mark was given out of 3 dependent on what work was shown, whether it be brainstorming or the actual writing.  (There was a sub in for today so it was an attempt to make students accountable for their class time.)

1. Saskatchewan Learning is going to once again have all Grade ten students participate in a Writing Benchmarks project. They are going to be asked to write an essay to be evaluated to determine the average level of student writing at this age.
2. Students today were told to choose any topic at all, the three reasons why I like peanut butter and jam sandwhiches or my top three favorite sports, etc. I want to see where they’re at as far as essay writing and see whether they’re aware of the basics before we begin focusing on ‘tweaking’ their skills. They stalled but most did fairly well in getting something down on paper.

   Just wait and see… They’re going to produce some great essays!!

1. Students were given back the question sheets they were to complete in yesterday’s class. They were given the hour to answer 14 questions, rereading portions of the story they’d read the day before, if necessary. Several students failed to complete the questions within that hour. There was a homework check mark given out of a possible 10 marks to show their productivity and work efforts during class time.
2. We reviewed the story, for those who still found portions of the reading confusing. The story focused on the perspective of a Brazilian immigrant who is seeking political refugee status with Immigration Canada. He waits, “on the eve of his uncertain tomorrow”, trying to keep his emotions and hopes in check to not get too sure of his fate. He observes other immigrants living in the same house as he who occupy their time in different ways waiting, also, for their fated day. The main character, Joaquin, has several flashbacks that reveal a violent past and severe torture he was subjeted to in his former country. His fear of the dark, because of this, even is accentuated by his relief in using a Mickey Mouse nightlight, formerly owned by a small girl, to keep the darkness at bay,
   “for he has had too much darkness”. Will he be accepted as a new citizen of Canada? What will his fate be?
3. We discussed the questions together with students taking turns offering answers or elaborating on some. (Some students need to hold back on answering all the questions and let the ones I’ve asked have time to come up with their personal response. Some people just need a bit of time to pull their thoughts together.)
4. Students were then given their next writing assignment. Write one body paragraph with an integrated quote for a formal essay. Pretend your body paragraph is part of the essay discussing ‘some of the Diverse Voices in Canadian literature.’ This is due, typed, on Monday. Students should follow the exact same outline as the other integrated formal paragraph they did previously, following the steps of the six sentences. They are to include a quote from any of the literature we’ve discussed so far in this sub-unit on Marginalized Voices. (Anything AFTER the play, Mirage.)