September 17

ELA 20: Sept 17 Typing time and summative paragraph of “Childhood”…

  1. Students have computer time for this class to type out their essay. Some will have finished it already.
  2. With today’s time, as well, students will have to write a personal summary of their thoughts about this first sub-unit in ELA 20 that focused on “Childhood”. They can consider the poems, stories, and essays, our talks and any personal reflection they’ve benefited from in looking at that part of their past. It has to be at least six sentences long and is purely for reflection and summary.
September 16

Vis Art 20: Sept 16 “Looking to be Inspired” online search and response…

looking-to-be-inspired-online-search

  1. Open the attached file and answer the questions with as much detail as possible. Remember that one of the main components of the Visual Arts course is to encourage students to become more analytical of the art they see and develop the ability to reflect on their personal response. (Can you describe your reaction to art that attracts you?)

 Some tips you can use:

  • search types of art materials (or mediums) to later search for a type of art using that material
  • search a theme or topic and find art that represents it
  • search a particular artist or genre of art to find examples of
  • try your best to not focus on nude art examples, because we are all mature, right? (And your pc privilege will be removed swiftly and you can use a book to do the assignment!)

September 16

ELA 20: Sept 16 New sub unit – Home and Family…

  1. Students have been working on their reflective essays. Today’s class was a break from that to give some an extra day to complete their outlines at home. Tomorrow, we will have computer time where they can type out their essay. A due date hasn’t yet been set but will be decided on as a class. (Likely Friday.)
  2. Before moving on with the next sub-unit, we did a review of the basic types of comma use. There are really only three common uses we use on a day-to-day basis so we focused on those. Students were given a handout outlining 8 types of ways commas can be used and the linked sets that were actually similar of the same. This was just a review and will be something we will likely cover again soon. (I admit it could have gone better, but I’m still working the kinks out of using the smartboard! We’ll review it, though, I promise!)
  3. We watched a video of young people talking about the types of relationships they have with their parents. It was the basis of a short discussion about the reality that who you will become in life has so much to do with where you’ve come from, especially the influence of parents and home.

 

  1. Students were given a short story to read titled “The Penny in the Dust”. I asked them to read it silently on their own first. (I want them to become more comfortable with relying on themselves with reading and being able to pick out the important information.) They had a question sheet attached as well and were asked to respond to the first question on the page that asked for details of the Setting and the Characters. They finished this just before the bell rang.
  2. We’ll be in the PC lab tomorrow and will, then, continue our discussion of the story on Thursday.
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September 15

ELA 20: Sept 15 Last class for essay development…

  1. Students had today’s class to use as the last of three for developing their reflective essay during class time. They are all at various stages of the writing process, with some even finished rough drafts, revisions and some typing already. Because not everyone works at the same speed, they will not be using the pc lab tomorrow for typing their essays. There will be a day’s grace for those who need a little more time to complete theirs. They’ll have to have rough drafts ready for Wednesday though, or use their own time for typing the essay. 
  2. Tomorrow, we’ll reflect a bit to sum up the first sub-unit, focused on childhood and reflections of the past, and then begin the next sub-unit, which looks at families and the influence of parents on us as children. 
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September 11

ELA 20: Sept 11 Work period to develop rough draft of essay…

  1. Before students found a seat, as they came in this morning, I explained I was going to have them find some space of their own in the room so everyone was well separated and could focus today to use the work period effectively. They did a good job of taking the initiative to find a space of their own.
  2. We read through the assignment sheet that was handed out yesterday. That clarified, for some, the focus of the assignment. We also looked at the attached rubrics and it was made clear that these are the areas I will be marking. Knowing these areas in advance makes it easier for students to target those areas resulting in a better mark. Now, who doesn’t want a better mark?!
  3. We also discussed whether they were allowed to use the essay outline from Mrs. Enns. I explained that it wasn’t because I was saying her way is not appropriate, but for this particular assignment it is not… appropriate. lol (Let me explain – this is a reflective essay, meaning the format is very different from what would be required of an expository essay. Her outline asks for three references for each body paragraph. That would be inappropriate for this reflective essay.) Using the outline given in my handout, and using the student-written essay as a guide, students should be able to keep their format in order.
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September 10

ELA 20: Sept 10 Last of essay reviews …

ela-20-reflective-essay-assignment

  1. Some of the student assignments were handed back today. We got right back into where we left off yesterday on the powerpoint – body paragraphs. Some of the slides were not relevant to this type of essay so we pushed through them but focused again on what should be included in an Introductory paragraph and a Conclusion one.It may seem awkward to write an essay outside the order it appears as a whole (some have been taught to write the intro, then each of the body paragraphs, and then the conclusion. Instead, though, I ask the students to do their outlining so they plan where they are going, but to begin writing the body paragraphs (the bulk and content of the essay) and Then write the introduction and Then write the conclusions. (The repetition of the word “then” is included for emphasis, fyi!)
  2. I gave students a handout with five boxes on it that had written in each the most basic of functions or roles for the sentences in that box (or paragraph). For example, the first sentence of the Intro paragraph (box) should be the Opening Statement (or attention grabber). We read through it to make it clear the format each paragraph should follow.
  3. Students were given a copy of an essay written by another student of mine from last year. We read through it in parts and they highlighted and wrote in the margins of their copy to show exactly where the key sentences were, such as the thesis. Looking at essays and identifying specific sentences and their roles is as helpful in understanding essays as practicing writing them, and possibly less painful for some!
  4. After all this, they had half an hour’s worth of class time to continue with their brainstorming and preparation for writing their own reflective essay. The actual assignment sheet is attached at the top of this post. They were also given copies of the Rubric for how their essay and oral presentation of their essay will be evaluated. *In having their rubrics before they begin the assignment, they can be careful to focus on the areas to be evaluated, such as having a well-developed “attention grabber”. This should help them get full marks for their work.*
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September 9

ELA 20: Sept 9 Creating a thesis statement and the format for a body paragraph….

  1. Though there’s not much to list as far as tasks we accomplished today, it was a very productive class! Yesterday, we looked at the process of brainstorming, creating three topic sentences, reducing their main ideas into phrases and then adding them together to create the thesis statement. Today, before moving on to do anything else, I asked them each to repeat that exact process in response to a ‘random’ essay question given. Since we’ve studied the essay “Back to Wolf Willow” recently as a class, we reviewed the essay quickly and students were given the prompt of creating a thesis statement regarding the main points of reflection the author of the “willow” essay comes to. 
    I was extremely pleased to see that they all followed the pattern we’d gone through yesterday and were able to create a good thesis statement. We may not have progressed through what I’d have liked to today, but the progress in accomplishing that on their own was worth it!
  2. Once finished, we started again to finish the powerpoint from yesterday. The point we were at was Body Paragraphs. Before the bell went, we discussed the difference in types of references you’d need to support a body paragraph, depending on the type of essay you were writing. They took notes in their books to show the basic functions of the 5 or 6 sentences for a body paragraph in a reflective essay, like the one they’ll have to write. And then the bell went!
  3. We’ll keep going tomorrow but we’re getting closer to being sure everyone has a solid understanding of the basics of writing an essay. Then, they’ll actually have class time to go through the process, start to finish! 
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September 8

ELA 20: Sept 8 Review of essay writing…

  1. This week, students are going to use a good portion of our time writing their Reflective Essay, their first major assignment for the course. Before beginning that essay, we used today to do a basic review of the specifics of essays. I was pleased to see that a lot of what we covered was only review of what they already know / practice when writing an essay.  In the instance that there are any gaps, though, or common errors students make but are not aware of, it doesn’t hurt to look again at the beginning and the steps in constructing an essay.
  2. I started off with a few short videos, one of the South Park characters coming up with a solution on how to complete their essay homework and the other a student-made video detailing the basic structure and types of essays.  Watch that video here.
  3. Next we talked about the steps – where do you start with an essay and what comes next. I showed a powerpoint that, in the most basic of ways, explained that starting in the middle is the best options, then going to the beginning, and then writing your conclusion. (I’ve attached that powerpoint to this post.) essay-plan-of-attack2462
  4. Next we looked at an example of an Essay Outline, which the students explained looks very similar to the one Mrs. Enns uses. It doesn’t matter to me which outline they use, as long as they use one. (I’ll get a copy of her version for them to use, if that’s what their familiar with, and possibly add a few key sentences to include.) My copy of an outline is attached in this post, as well.
  5. Then we looked at the steps and went through the essay process bit… by tiny… bit. Like I said, this is review for some and helps fill in gaps for others.  The powerpoint is also attached. writing-an-essay-in-steps-waldner-ppt
  6. In the middle of that powerpoint, we stopped and looked at the easy step-by-step process of making your thesis statement. To review, the order is this:
     1) brainstorm and create at least five possible paragraph topics
     2) choose your best three topics, listing them in order of strong, stronger, and strongest
     3) create your actual topic sentences, being strong and clear
     4) paraphrase the topic on the side of the outline (in a simple phrase, what is the topic?)
     5) to create the thesis, then, add the phrase topics (from the left side of the outline) in a sentence with the simple formula of a + b + c = thesis. 
     
    We created a thesis statement, using this formula, together in class. I’ve added a pdf copy of it to this post.  three-point-thesis-statement-example
  7. We continued through the powerpoint, discussing introductions and transition sentences. We were cut off by the bell but got through a lot today and went at a good pace so everyone was able to follow. We’ll review just a little tomorrow and they’ll have class time to begin their brainstorming.

PS: Those who started their brainstorming over the weekend, as requested, were awarded with fresh Tim Horton’s donuts!! It pays to do your homework – sometimes!

September 5

ELA 20: Sept 5 “Back to Wolf Willow” discussion, questions, reflective essays…

  1. The Childhood Boundaries assignment was due today. (Some were ready to hand it in yesterday, and there was confusion whether it was due Thursday or Friday, but Friday was the absolutely understood deadline so any missing ones will not be accepted.)
  2. We began the class by having students contribute to our list of “Memories vs New Understanding”, with each one taking a turn at adding another example. There was a sort of Listening Activity when I asked them to underline and star a few specific passages that are important and may be used on an exam.
  3. We moved on to answer the questions attached in their handout. Everyone added answers and I wrote them on the board as they came up with them.
  4. We talked a bit about how a “smell” can bring back a strong memory. My example is from Kindergarten, oh so many years ago, when smoking was still allowed in schools. I shared with them that I don’t remember who my Kindergarten teacher was, but whenever I smell cigarette breath and the wax from someone’s lipstick, at the same time, I am absolutely transported back to my Kindergarten days. They seemed to understand what I was trying to explain, with a few grins and nods as they realized their own “smell” connected to a memory.
  5. I’ve mentioned a few times that they will have a major assignment coming soon. They’ll have to write their own reflective essay, in the formal five-paragraph form. To help them understand what is expected, I read aloud to them two essays written by students of mine last year for the same assignment. Each had a different writer’s voice and style, but the main parts were the same – memories and understandings of youth were examined by the writer and connected to their more mature understanding to come to a new awareness of their past. We’ll take a large part of next week’s classes to develop these essays and work on more formal essay writing skills. (Some seemed a little intimidated by the project but I’ll see if I can’t aleviate some of their writing fears!)
  6. We also did a Fast Write during today’s class. To help practice the skill of connecting thoughts in their head and being able to articulate them on paper, they just had to write for three minutes, on any topic, but the key is to not let their pen /pencil stop. If they had to repeat the same word over and over again until they mentally got out of the hump, so be it. They did really well!

It was a good week of classes!

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September 4

ELA 20: Sept 4 “Back to Wolf Willow” and Reflective essays…

  1. We started today’s discussion with some brainstorming on the board of the things they think they’ll look forward to seeing or will likely remember most about Kenaston after they’ve been away for ten or fifteen years. I asked what memories or landmarks would likely stand out as being truly part of Kenaston for them. They listed all sorts of physical things in town (the rink, the house they grew up in, the Snowman) but also listed a few of the less noticeable things like the yellow lights in the rink. 
  2. I challenged them to describe and list for me all the buildings on main street, wondering if it was possible that their surroundings had become so familiar to them that they’d no longer notice some of them. They seemed to quite easily list the buildings so they passed that test but I told them of a group of Grade eleven students of mine last year who tried and tried and tried to list the objects and things surrounding their school to name the one particular thing I was waiting for them to remember – the flowers along their sidewalk – but they couldn’t come up with it. It was something they walked by every day, even had to walk around because they were growing so far out from the building, but it had just blended into the background and didn’t stand out so much anymore. The author of the essay we read today realized for himself how he was guilty of this exact thing – not truly seeing accurately. 
  3. Before reading, we listed the types of essays there are (descriptive, analytical, persuasive, expository, etc) and focused on the specifics of a Reflective essay. It it not simply “remembering the past” (that would just be narrative) and it’s not just listing what he saw of the past (descriptive). Instead, the author focused on parts of his past, analyzed them, compared them to his understanding of things as an adult and found significance from the process. These things are what make up a reflective essay; there’s something like a lesson to be found or knowledge to be gained from looking back and seeing with new eyes. 
  4. While we read the essay, students were asked to mark or highlight the phrases that stood out to them distinguishing this as a reflective essay. As I read, to start, I noted passages they should underline or paused to indicate a phrase. They were to continue this as we read and they each took a turn reading. We stopped a few times to paraphrase what was happening so far or consider a specific passage, like what the “it” was he couldn’t find. (“I couldn’t find it.”) 
  5. After reading, I asked them to each go through the essay again and find twenty instances where the author found a discrepancy between his memory and what he saw in the present. There are LOTS of examples of this so they should have few troubles doing it. We’ll discuss them tomorrow, along with questions to go with the essay. 
    They will have their first major assignment next week, which will be to write their own Reflective essay. I have copies of student work from last year that will help clarify the process.