1. The kids wrote their unit exam today and did a great job of putting their full effort into it. It was a bit long (I got a little carried away, I think) so I told them to skip the last section and reduce the number of questions in two sections. They had extra time to complete the rest, though, if they needed it.
2. What was really neat was that I had the time this morning to get those exams marked already so they were able to know by this afternoon how they did. That’s important, when possible, so they can connect the level of confidence they still feel coming out of the exam with the actual mark they received. They seemed pretty pleased!
3. When we get back from the break, they’ll have one last day to work on this essay, with time for getting some feedback. After that, we’ll only have five weeks to press on through a whole other unit. Rest up, guys and gals, ’cause I’m gonna work you when you get back!! 😀

   Enjoy the Long Weekend!

1. Students were given a review sheet each that lists the skills they may be tested on in the exam. They were also given the short story and three poems that they can pre-read on their own before the exam. They’ll have to bring these with them to write tomorrow.If you are uncertain about the types of figurative language, you can check out these two websites that should help you. 

   This one…  or this one. (This last one, though, has several types you are not expected to know.)  
                   

2. If you have any questions tonight while you’re studying, drop a note (post a comment, send an email, or call.) See you in the morning!!
3. Here is the review sheet you were given today in class.

Skill-based content:

1.       Commas

2.       Sentence fragments

3.       Sentence variety

4.       Verb tense – past / present

6.       Integrating references (phrases)

7.       Format for proper paragraphs

a.       Personal

b.      Formal

8.       Essay outline

a.       Major structural sentences

b.      Introduction and conclusion writing

d.      Word choice: slang vs formal English

9.       Figurative language

10.   Poetry analysis

a.       Paraphrasing

b.      Author’s

                                                              i.      Purpose

                                                            ii.      Style

                                                          iii.      Voice

c.       Tone (emotion)

d.      Speaker (narrator / poet)

e.      Theme vs subject

11.   Describing  characters (characterization)

12.   Dynamic characters

13.   Conflict

a.       Internal : man vs self

b.      External: man vs man, society, fate, nature

14.   Symbolism

15.   Foreshadowing

16.   Environment / setting development

17.   Parallelism – storylines that mirror each other

1.  Students started class with a new seating plan that will hopefully curb a lot of the discussion that’s been going on. The spring weather and hockey playoffs have evoke a lot of “chatty kathys”!
2. Students were to use today to put their essay planning into action and create their actual body paragraphs. Once that is completed, then, it will be a lot easier to write their introduction and then write the conclusion to finish up. In order to write effective and strong paragraphs, though, we looked at the specifics of what to include in the intro and conclusion for a literary essay. A lot of students are weak when it comes to these paragraphs because they’re unsure what should be included, but if they follow the suggestions they’ll write a beginning and end as strong as their body paragraphs.
   See the handout here.
3. Just to point out, because this is a new type of essay for these kids we’ve gone through the steps in a very step-by-step way. I’d like them to really understand the function of this type of essay and its particular aspects. Once they’ve gone through the process entirely, though, it’ll be easier next time and they’ll be able to approach it from a more traditional essay outline approach before writing the whole.
4. Note: They have their Equality unit exam on Friday. (Everyone will be there Friday and it gives them an extra day to prepare.) We discussed, today, what will be included on that exam so they should be well aware; whether they’re prepared is up to them!!

1. Several students were away from class today to participate in the Husky’s Track Clinic at the school. This allowed for those there for class to get some one-on-one attention from myself and an especially quiet work environment that doesn’t always present itself.
2. Those who were away for track are expected to come to class prepared tomorrow, though, to begin writing their paragraphs. They’ll have to have their paragraph planning charts (blue sheet) completely filled in at the beginning of class.

1. Students had a sub on Friday and I was anxious to see how much work they were able to accomplish that day. They were still trying to fill in their appropriate boxes today to prepare for their three body paragraphs. They were less focused, as a whole, I think because it was a Monday, but they were told they have to have their chart completed for tomorrow’s class or suffer the consequence of having to stay in at noon to catch up.
2. They will write their Equality unit exam either Thursday or Friday but they’ve been told about it so they can start preparing. It will be a skill-based exam, meaning not necessarily so much memorizing of stories and characters from our reading, but more a test of their ability to demonstrate the skills they have been taught in this course. Those skills will include things like:
   1. Comma use
   2. Subject Verb agreement
   3. Integrating references
   4. The proper format for a literary essay
   5. Elements of literature to be analyzed in literature (story / poem / essay)
   6. Themes, symbols

1. The kids had a sub today but were asked to coninue working on developing their essays.

We’ll see on Monday how effectively they used their time!!

1. After discussing earlier this week the dos and don’ts of integrating references into their own sentences, they did a practice test with eight questions. The page numbers were given for where in the novel they could find an appropriate reference and a paragraph topic was supplied. They then had to choose the best reference phrase and integrated it into their own sentences.
   Today, we reviewed several of their sentences and critiqued / corrected them. I’ve found, from my own experience, that the best way to understand how “to” do something is to sometimes study how “not” to do something. Hopefully, by reviewing and correcting these sentences, they’ll do a better job and become more comfortable doing it accurately in their essay.
2. Then they continued on trying to fill in the boxes of their body paragraph.

1. We have discussed the format necessary for a body paragraph for a literary essay. Students got down to business today and attempted to begin planning for their own body paragraphs. They chose their essays in a rather playful yet fair way. We rolled a 30 sided di to choose the order they would pick them and then each one took a turn deciding which of the 24 essay questions to do.
2. To give them an advantage and help calm some nerves, at Evan’s request I wrote a body paragraph of my own, using the same chart to plan it that they are using. Then they got going!

1. Just like we practiced and did several examples together yesterday, students were given an activity sheet / test with eight topics related to the novel, Of Mice and Men. For example: P. 80 The author visually shows the fear Crooks has for Curley’s wife. Or P. 94 Whether it has been unclear until now, the author clearly lets the reader see George’s true thoughts regarding their dream of owning a farm. The students then had to find part of a sentence to support that topic and create their own sentence integrating it.
   For example: George admits he knew “from the very first … [they would] never do her [but Lennie] usta like to hear about it so much”(P. 94).
   Another example: Crooks stares “hopelessly at her, and then [sits] down … and [draws] into himself” (P. 80) because he is fearful of the threat Curley’s wife poses.
2. We’ll see for tomorrow’s class whether we move on or whether we spend more time on developing and strengthening this skill.

Side Note:

I’ve been reminding them a lot lately of monitoring their own focus during class. Since we’ve been working on learning, reviewing, and developing skills lately, it leaves some students open to more talking or falling out of focus. They are getting better at it and have maintained a positive attitude about it, despite my constant prodding. But…

I mentioned to them today that in talking with a friend recently I’ve come to look at it a little differently. I used to know someone who would walk so painfully slow that it was annoying. This friend pointed out the other person failed to  “walk with purpose”. In the same light as this, though, I challenged these students to come to class… “with purpose”. They will not be able to learn and retain what we’re discussing here if they simply attend class – it will not sink in through osmosis! Instead, they need to come to class with a purpose – to pay attention, to listen carefully, to avoid conversations, to make Ms. Waldner proud!! (Most likely!) I tried to make the distinction that, for some, the biggest difference between themselves and another peer who maybe has a higher mark in class is that purpose, not skill.

We’ll see if this will translate into some changes in behaviour. I hope!!

 

1. Students know we’re gradually getting closer to the point where they will actually choose an essay question and then work to create that essay, but before assigning that I want to ensure they fully understand the specific aspects of this Literary essay.
   Some of the distinctions or steps we’re reviewing are:
   1. The difference between an expository essay and a literary one.
   2. The proper way to integrate support from literature to help strengthen your topic / point in a lit. essay.
   3. Popular errors made by students, like a “dropped in quote”, not maintaining subject-verb tense, or focusing too much on integrating references and ending up with very simple sentences.
   4. We will also look at a handout of the most common essay errors made by former students of mine. (These are the things I encounter the most, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that these students will be guilty of them.)
   5. We’ve studied the specific format of a body paragraph for a literary essay. It does not need to be supported with three details for each body paragraph, the way they are used to in an expository essay. This format is intended to ensure they a) avoid plot summary in their essay, b) ensure they’ve adequately supported their topic with reference from the literature, and c) ensure that each sentence nicely leads into the next within the paragraph (transitions between sentences, not just between paragraphs).
2. Today we went through the handout that broke down the things to consider when writing a sentence with a reference from the literature included. We did several examples together on the board: I gave them a topic and the page number that topic’s reference could be found from the novel. They had to find the right phrase that could be used to support the topic and nicely added to their own sentence. I explained that they would be tested on their understanding of it tomorrow.