I spent some time this weekend at one of my favourite stores, Bolen Books. I always like to see what is 'new and noteworthy' on the shelves and I certainly wasn't disappointed this weekend. I picked up some books for our classroom which I hope will be hits. Some of my students have expressed trouble at finding a great book that is action-packed, so hopefully "Infinite Drake" and "Lockwood & Co." will become classroom hits. Being a lover of dystopian and science fiction, "Cinder" came highly recommended, and the social activist in me could not pass up the chance to purchase Eric Walters's "Walking Home". Hopefully these books will inject some new life into our classroom bookshelf; my students certainly benefit from having an up-to-date classroom library. On that note, if you are ever getting rid of gently used, current books for adolescents, please know I will happily find a new home for them on my classroom bookshelf.
Many nights I know my students do not have homework. This is just a reminder that they should be reading for at least 20 minutes a night - this is the bare minimum. Reading helps us all better understand language and the powerful ways it can be used; reading makes us all better writers. Therefore, please read every night! :)
This is what we are doing this week in class:
English 8 - both divisions will have handed in all their poems, plus a self-assessment and drafts, by tomorrow. I do not want any late poems handed in as my report card deadline is swiftly approaching. Division 8-02 will have the last two StoryStudio workshops this week and should get their stories finished. Div 8-01 starts their workshops this week. Fun times!
Socials 8 - Early Middle Ages. Looking at reasons why Ancient Rome "fell" and why civilization flourished in the Mediterranean regions. Div 8-01 should have their significant terms done and Cornell Notes for Section 1 in the textbook. Div 8-02 will start this after our StoryStudio workshops.
English 9 Pre-AP - Today we had local author, Sara Cassidy, come for the first of a two-part workshop. She gave some great tips on how she gets inspiration for writing, what students can do to improve upon their writing and then she read an excerpt from her new book, Skylark. Students started to make their own "Zine" and will use it to create a "Six Word Memoir", a writing movement that has hit the Internet and encourages people to write about their life in no more than six words. In addition to this workshop, all students must hand in their full memoirs on Wednesday - we have worked on these pieces for awhile so I am expecting to read some inspiring writing. Students will also be starting a class novel this week ("Theories of Relativity") so they will need do some mini research at home to learn a little about the social issues that are discussed in the book. I will tell them on Wednesday what they need to do for this.
Many nights I know my students do not have homework. This is just a reminder that they should be reading for at least 20 minutes a night - this is the bare minimum. Reading helps us all better understand language and the powerful ways it can be used; reading makes us all better writers. Therefore, please read every night! :)
This is what we are doing this week in class:
English 8 - both divisions will have handed in all their poems, plus a self-assessment and drafts, by tomorrow. I do not want any late poems handed in as my report card deadline is swiftly approaching. Division 8-02 will have the last two StoryStudio workshops this week and should get their stories finished. Div 8-01 starts their workshops this week. Fun times!
Socials 8 - Early Middle Ages. Looking at reasons why Ancient Rome "fell" and why civilization flourished in the Mediterranean regions. Div 8-01 should have their significant terms done and Cornell Notes for Section 1 in the textbook. Div 8-02 will start this after our StoryStudio workshops.
English 9 Pre-AP - Today we had local author, Sara Cassidy, come for the first of a two-part workshop. She gave some great tips on how she gets inspiration for writing, what students can do to improve upon their writing and then she read an excerpt from her new book, Skylark. Students started to make their own "Zine" and will use it to create a "Six Word Memoir", a writing movement that has hit the Internet and encourages people to write about their life in no more than six words. In addition to this workshop, all students must hand in their full memoirs on Wednesday - we have worked on these pieces for awhile so I am expecting to read some inspiring writing. Students will also be starting a class novel this week ("Theories of Relativity") so they will need do some mini research at home to learn a little about the social issues that are discussed in the book. I will tell them on Wednesday what they need to do for this.