English 10

Fill in the pink sheets on "Miss Brill" and "The Lottery", finish reading "The Destructors", and complete the irony sheet (find seven examples).  Remember to bring your vocabulary words to class on Monday.

English 10

This weekend, complete the graphic organizers on Miss Hancock and Charlotte's mother.  We will look at them on Monday.  You will write your essay in class on Tuesday.  In addition, study your vocabulary words for the test on Monday. They are as follows:

Vocabulary words

1. refuge (n) - a place of safety

2. obliquely (adverb) - indirectly, evasively, coming at an angle and not straight on

3. divert (v) - to change direction or redirect attention

4. perversion (n) - a change from what is natural and normal to what is unnatural and abnormal

5. indomitable (adj) - unbeatable, cannot be conquered

6. lacerated (v) - savagely cut or sliced, mangled/jagged/torn

7. inimical (adj) - harmful, hostile, unfriendly

8. ochre (noun/adjective) - yellow/orange earth or pigments, yellow/orange colour

9. trussed (v) - tied tightly, bound up to prevent movement

10. foresight (n) - thoughtful regard for the future

11. dissimulation (n) - to disguise under a false appearance

12. vexed (v) - troubled; frustrated

13. acuteness (n) - keenness; sharpness (of intelligence or senses)

14. waned (v) - lessened

15. audacity (n) - forwardness; boldness

16. bade (v) - compelled

17. derision (n) - contempt; ridicule

18. matriarch (noun) - a woman who is the head of a family or tribe; an older woman who is powerful in a family, community or organization

19. appropriation (noun) - a sum of money set aside

20. degraded (verb) - put down; loss of value over time

21. grim (adjective) - looking harsh or stern

22. infatuated (adj) - a foolish attraction

23. indulgently (adverb) - kindly (as in a loving grandparent to a grandchild)

24. mock (verb)  - to imitate or make fun of

25. negotiable (adj) - open for discussion

26. proverbial (adj) - well known (as in a well known proverb, or saying from the Bible)

27. rapt (adj) - completely absorbed

28. reprehensible (adj) - deserving to be criticized

29. self-conscious (adj) - overly aware of self

30. translucent (adj) - lets light through, but is not clear (think frosted glass)

English 8

Finish your paragraph, poem, or illustration of "The Sentry".  Study your spelling words for the quiz on Tuesday, and your vocabulary words from "Golden Pants" for the quiz on Wednesday.

English 12

Your paragraph on "Just Lather, That's All" is due on Friday.  The topic is as follows:
Discuss how point of view supports irony in "Just Lather, That's All".

English 10

Answer questions 1-4, and 7 on "The Metaphor".  Also, look up "foil" in the character section of the Grade 10 terms sheet that I gave you.

English 8

Study for your spelling test tomorrow!

English 12

Your class vocabulary words to date are as follows:

1. sooth
2. retentive
3. depone
4. winge
5. odious
6. implore
7. hapless
8. widdiful
9. articulated
10. myriad
11. chagrin
12. cleave
13. pragmatism
14. banal
15. turmoil
16. nebulous
17. inept
18. fiend
19. enervate
20. temerity

English 10

Please answer questions #3, 4, and 5 on page 81.  Also, collect five more words from "The Metaphor" that are new to you.  You will hand in all ten words tomorrow.

English 8

Today, we make a list of the similarities and differences between "The Sweater" and "Golden Pants".  Tomorrow, we will use this information to write a compare/contrast paragraph.  Also, make sure you have your "Golden Pants" vocabulary sheet with you tomorrow.

English 12

Complete the review sheets for "Identities" and "Two In One".

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English 10

On Friday, we read "The Metaphor" up until page 72. Don't finish reading the story; instead, find five vocabulary words that are new to you. Write these down along with their definitions. We will discuss them in class.

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English 8

Please complete the first three columns of the vocabulary sheet for "Golden Pants".

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English 12

Please make sure that your questions on "Just Lather, That's All" are complete up to #6.

English 10

Tonight, write a theme statement for "The Possibility of Evil", concentrating on evil or deception.
Also, on Friday, February 28th, you will have a test on the following 30 vocabulary words (from the first three stories in this unit):

Vocabulary words

1. refuge (n) - a place of safety

2. obliquely (adverb) - indirectly, evasively, coming at an angle and not straight on

3. divert (v) - to change direction or redirect attention

4. perversion (n) - a change from what is natural and normal to what is unnatural and abnormal

5. indomitable (adj) - unbeatable, cannot be conquered

6. lacerated (v) - savagely cut or sliced, mangled/jagged/torn

7. inimical (adj) - harmful, hostile, unfriendly

8. ochre (noun/adjective) - yellow/orange earth or pigments, yellow/orange colour

9. trussed (v) - tied tightly, bound up to prevent movement

10. foresight (n) - thoughtful regard for the future

11. dissimulation (n) - to disguise under a false appearance

12. vexed (v) - troubled; frustrated

13. acuteness (n) - keenness; sharpness (of intelligence or senses)

14. waned (v) - lessened

15. audacity (n) - forwardness; boldness

16. bade (v) - compelled

17. derision (n) - contempt; ridicule

18. matriarch (noun) - a woman who is the head of a family or tribe; an older woman who is powerful in a family, community or organization

19. appropriation (noun) - a sum of money set aside

20. degraded (verb) - put down; loss of value over time

21. grim (adjective) - looking harsh or stern

22. infatuated (adj) - a foolish attraction

23. indulgently (adverb) - kindly (as in a loving grandparent to a grandchild)

24. mock (verb)  - to imitate or make fun of

25. negotiable (adj) - open for discussion

26. proverbial (adj) - well known (as in a well known proverb, or saying from the Bible)

27. rapt (adj) - completely absorbed

28. reprehensible (adj) - deserving to be criticized

29. self-conscious (adj) - overly aware of self

30. translucent (adj) - lets light through, but is not clear (think frosted glass)

The vocabulary test will include multiple choice questions and a maximum of 10 fill in the blank sentences.  You will not have to write definitions.

English 8

There will be a short quiz on nouns tomorrow.  Review your noun package.  Write a character description paragraph of Roger from "Golden Pants"

English 12

Tonight, please write two theme statements about "The Lottery". Also, be prepared to discuss why the objective point of view works for this story.  Consider why first person, omniscient and limited omniscient points of view would not have been appropriate for this tale.

English 10

Tonight, please answer questions 1 and 2 (page 221) on the short story "The Possibility of Evil".

English 8

Your "Monkey's Paw" fliers are due tomorrow (Wednesday).  Also, your spelling words for the week are as follows:

1. behaviour
2. belief
3. brilliant
4. bruise
5. calculate
6. celebration
7. cereal
8. serial
9. circulation
10. kernel

On Thursday, I will give you a small quiz on nouns, similar to the questions that were on the board today. Then on Friday, I will ask you some questions on the vocabulary for "The Monkey's Paw".  I'll give you synonyms and antonyms and you will have to supply the correct vocabulary words. 

Finally, tonight ask your parents or grandparents to tell you about any incident they know of  where a student received corporal (bodily) punishment from a teacher.  

English 10

Tomorrow, you will have to explain in point form how the point of view in "The Tell-tale Heart" supports the story's creepy mood.

English 8

Tomorrow, we will have our second spelling test.  Keep working on your "Monkey Paw" fliers.

English 12

Please complete questions 7, 8, and 9 on "The Lottery".  Think about rituals and their functions (they help bind societies).  Does this ritual bind the society?  What does this ritual say about this town and its people?  Who wants to keep the lottery?  Who wants to scrap it?  How do people in general feel about it?  You can get a sense of their feelings by looking at how they treat the black box.

English 8

Today, we went over the vocabulary and completed question #8 on the question sheet for "The Monkey's Paw".  Students were then given a crossword for Tuesday's spelling words.  Please complete it for Monday.
Finally, students were also told to create a flyer advertising the monkey's paw.  This flyer needs to include typical messages found in advertisements about why buyers would want this item.  Look at flyers in newspapers this weekend for ideas.  Also, the flyer needs to include a disclaimer about the possible consequences of the paw (Think about ads seen on television advertising different medicines and the warnings tacked on about the meds in the final few seconds). Finally, the flyers also need to be visually pleasing in order to attract prospective buyers.  This ad is due on Wednesday, February 19th.

English 10

Today, we completed question #11 on the "Tell-tale Heart" question sheet.  Then, we discussed how the story had both escapist and interpretive elements.  Finally, we looked at the two most salient symbols: the evil eye (blind, horrible, empty) and the beating heart (loud, insistent, tormenting).  They eye represents the evil "I" of the narrator who is horrible, empty of compassion and blind to the evil within himself.  The heart represents his guilt which is also loud, insistent and tormenting.

The first person point of view is very important to this story.  The narrator's personality is expressed through diction and syntax.  Look up these two words if you do not know them and find an example of each from the story which expresses the narrator's personality.

English 12

Complete your paragraph tonight on "Miss Brill" and hand it in tomorrow.  The topic was as follows:

Explain, in proper paragraph form, how the fox fur is symbolic of Miss Brill.  Use at least one quote in your answer to support your argument.

English 10

Finish your paragraphs tonight and hand them in tomorrow.  The topics were either...

In proper paragraph form, describe the character of the protagonist in Frank Roberts' short story, "The Inheritor".  Use at least one quote to support your answer.

or...

Explain, in proper paragraph form, why Frank Roberts uses allusions in his short story, "The Inheritor".  Use at least one quote to support your answer.

English 8

Tonight, finish the second page of the noun handout.  There is one mistake on the handout. Can you find it?
Also, without reading ahead, make a prediction about what Mr.White will do with the monkey's paw.

English 12

Please finish side one of the sheet on "Miss Brill". Remember to start collecting your vocabulary words for Friday.

English 10

You have no homework tonight.

English 8

Your spelling words for this week are as follows:
1.  although
2. ambitious
3. appearance
4. approach
5. arrival
6. assignment
7. available
8. awkward
9. bankrupt
10. banquet

English 12

Today, we read "Miss Brill" on page 57.  Please answer questions #3, 6 and 7 for homework.  Please make sure your binder has five labelled dividers for Tuesday.  Have a good weekend.

English 10

Today in class, we discussed "The Inheritor" and answered questions #1,2, 3, and 5 on page 41 of the text. Also, students were asked to a) state the conflicts in the story; b) explain and give a quote telling about what influenced the man to protect the ewe; and c) explain why the pilot reacted to the man the way he did.

For homework, students were asked to write down what certain story elements could represent.  For example, the man could be a symbol for all humans who must "come down from the trees and be master on the ground".  What could the sheep, the dingo and the setting represent?  Furthermore, students were asked to explain the significance of an assigned quotation from the book.  Here are the quotations and their corresponding page numbers:

1. "inland life...is a longer war." (page 35) - For people in the row furthest from the windows
2. "...the crows...were restless but not afraid of the dingo.  He was a good provider...[but] when the man appeared...the crows left the tree and wheeled continuously..." (page 36) - For people in the 2nd row
3. "The essential habits of dingos were not in his experience..." (page 36) - 3rd row
4. "Soon their island would be so small that he and the dingo would be at one another's throats. That image needed correcting." (page 37) - 4th row
5. Actually this is quote #6 on the sheet, but my computer will not let me fiddle with the numbers..."Now the man knew where he deserved to be, with the sheep." (page 38) - 5th row, by the windows

Remember to have your five dividers on Tuesday.  Have a good weekend.

English 8

This weekend, you have the choice of doing one of two assignments for the poem "The Griesly Wife".  Either write your own ballad or draw 5-6 scenes from the "The Griesly Wife" with one line from the poem per image.  If you choose to write the ballad, make sure it is a story with a conflict and a climax.  In addition, make sure it has a rhyme to it (aabb ccdd.../ abcb/ abab/ etc.) Also, it should consist of five stanzas that are four lines long.  That means you will write 20 lines of poetry and no less. If you should have any questions about this, feel free to email me (my address is on the yellow course outline sheet which should be at the front of your binder).

On Tuesday, we will have our first spelling test, and I will be checking that your binders have five labelled dividers (Short Story, Novel, Grammar/Writing, Poetry, Myths).  Have a good long weekend.

English 12

Finish reading "Identities".  Consider what elements are interpretive and what are escapist.  Also, be ready to discuss tomorrow what you think the author's purpose was in writing this.

English 10

Tonight, write down your response to whether you agree or disagree with the man's decision to save the ewe in "The Inheritor".

English 8

Tonight, finish the spelling crossword.

English 12

Finish reading "Two In One" tonight.

English 10

We reviewed plot elements today.  Jot down the plot elements in the short video we viewed in class.  In addition, define the following terms:

1. obliquely
2. propinquity
3. inimical
4. indomitable
5. fleece
6. perversion
7. trussed

You should already have definitions for the following:

1. divert (verb) - to change direction
2. refuge (noun) - a place of safety
3. lacerated (verb) - torn to shreds (usually skin)
4. ochre (noun) - a dark, earthy yellow colour (this colour can also tend towards a reddish yellow hue)

English 8

Your word of the day is chortle -- to chuckle and snort at the same time.
Remember to review your spelling words.  We will continue looking at plot elements tomorrow.

English 12

Welcome to English 12!

On Tuesday, February 11, I will give you marks for organizing your binder with the following five labels:

1. Short Stories
2. Novel
3. Writing and Grammar
4. Shakespeare
5. Poetry

Your binders must be properly labeled before class begins to receive full marks.

English 10

Welcome to English 10!

If you have not already completed the journal topic (Tell me about a person who you admire.  Explain why he or she is a role model for you.) or the orange Student Information Sheet, please do so tonight.  I will collect them tomorrow.

On Tuesday, February 11, I will give you marks for organizing your binder with the following five labels:

1. Short Stories
2. Novel
3. Writing and Grammar
4. Shakespeare
5. Poetry

Your binders must be properly labeled before class begins to receive full marks.

English 8

Welcome to English 8!

Your word of the day is "sporange".  Yes, there is a word that rhymes with orange!
Also, you will have a spelling test on Tuesday, February 11 on the following words:

1. absentee
2. absorption
3. accelerate
4. accompanying
5. achievement
6. actually
7. advisable
8. already
9. aloud
10. allowed

In addition, I will assign marks for binder organization on Tuesday, February 11.  Your binder should have 5 dividers with the following labels:

1. Short Stories
2. Novel
3. Writing/Grammar
4. Poetry
5. Myths

To get the full marks, your dividers must be labeled before you come to class.