English 11

Today, students had a debate on whether or not the trash picker was of sound mind.  The class also took down the final ten vocabulary words from Set One; the vocab quiz will be next Tuesday, October 9th. Here are all 30 words:

1. to loathe (v) – to feel intense dislike or disgust for something 
2. contention (n) –  (1) a heated disagreement; (2) an assertion, esp made in an argument 
3. to emerge (v) – (1) to become apparent, important or known; (2) to come into view 
4. transience (n) – lasting only for a short time, fleeting, momentary, passing 
5. to digress (v) – to leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing 
6. indolent (adj) -- lazy 
7. ablutions (n) -- the washing/cleansing of the body, especially connected with religious practices
8. surfeit (n & v) -- (n) an excessive amount/a surplus of something; (v) to stuff to the maximum capacity
9. callous (adj) -- cold, uncaring, insensitive (callus the noun is the hardened patch of skin, perhaps resulting from friction/hard work)
10. malevolent (adj)  -- evil, having or showing an intent to do evil to others
11. layman (n) - an everyday person; someone who is not an expert in a particular area 
12. entrails (n) - guts; viscera 
13. swinish (adjective) - like a pig; boorish 
14. sadist (n) - one who enjoys inflicting pain on others 
15. infamy (n) - an extremely bad reputation because of shameful, criminal, or outrageous  behaviour 
16. macabre (adj) - gruesome and horrifying 
17. don (verb) - to put on an article of clothing 
18. dissuade (v) - to persuade someone not to do something  
19. impetuous (adj) - impulsive; acting without thinking 
20. amass (v) - to collect; to gather 
21. maniacal (adj) – like a maniac (aggressive, high-energy)     
22. to delve (v) – to reach into to something (physically or intellectually)     
23. pittance (n) – a small amount (usually money)
24. inviolable (adj) – something which cannot be altered or violated    
25. to traverse (v) – to travel across or through
26. nonchalance (n) – pretended indifference
27. to hasten (v) – to hurry
28. wrathful (adj) -- angry
29. austerely (adv) – severely    
30. diaphanous (adj) – gauzy, translucent, delicate    

English 11

Tonight, answer questions 1-3 and 5-6 on "The Lady's Beaded Bag".
Also, here are your vocabulary words to date:

1. to loathe (v) – to feel intense dislike or disgust for something 
2. contention (n) –  (1) a heated disagreement; (2) an assertion, esp made in an argument 
3. to emerge (v) – (1) to become apparent, important or known; (2) to come into view 
4. transience (n) – lasting only for a short time, fleeting, momentary, passing 
5. to digress (v) – to leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing 
6. indolent (adj) -- lazy 
7. ablutions (n) -- the washing/cleansing of the body, especially connected with religious practices
8. surfeit (n & v) -- (n) an excessive amount/a surplus of something; (v) to stuff to the maximum capacity
9. callous (adj) -- cold, uncaring, insensitive (callus the noun is the hardened patch of skin, perhaps resulting from friction/hard work)
10. malevolent (adj)  -- evil, having or showing an intent to do evil to others
11. layman (n) - an everyday person; someone who is not an expert in a particular area 
12. entrails (n) - guts; viscera 
13. swinish (adjective) - like a pig; boorish 
14. sadist (n) - one who enjoys inflicting pain on others 
15. infamy (n) - an extremely bad reputation because of shameful, criminal, or outrageous  behaviour 
16. macabre (adj) - gruesome and horrifying 
17. don (verb) - to put on an article of clothing 
18. dissuade (v) - to persuade someone not to do something  
19. impetuous (adj) - impulsive; acting without thinking 
20. amass (v) - to collect; to gather 

English 8

Tonight, answer questions 1-3 on "The Old Man".  For question #3, a character trait is a descriptive word.  For example, you might think that Knocker is suspicious.  Write down suspicious in the Character Trait column.  Then, you have to give evidence of his being suspicious, which might be that he has difficulty believing that the old man wants to give him something for free.  Write that down, and then come up with two more traits with evidence.

English 8

On Friday, students will have a regular spelling quiz on 15 commonly misspelled words.  They will also have a quiz on nouns and verbs, similar to the sheet the class worked on today.

For homework, students need to complete the journal they were given today (if they didn't finish during class).  The three writing prompt options are as follows:
1. If I could predict the future...
2. The cheater
3. The eeriest experience...

I've asked students to try to use at least one of the following vocabulary words in bold (from "The Golden Pants") in their journal:
1. pinnacle (noun) -- the highest point
2. remorse (noun) -- a feeling of guilt
3. maternal (adjective) -- relating to mothers
4. luster (noun) -- a gentle shine or soft glow
5. dowdy (adjective) -- dull, unstylish, ordinary
6. gusto (noun) -- great enthusiasm
7. heretic (noun) -- an unbeliever

English 11

Tonight, read the short story distributed in class.  Do not do the questions; just come up with one question about the story that puzzles or intrigues you. Also, please do not look up the story online.  I will not be marking you on your answers to the questions; it's more important that you come up with ideas about the story yourself.

Email me tonight if you need a copy of the story.

English 8

For homework, complete the Venn diagram (two interlocking circles) distributed in class by listing the similarities and differences between the two stories "The Golden Pants" and "The Sweater".  When you have done this, complete the following sentences:  The message of "The Sweater" is __________________.  This message is different from the one in "The Golden Pants" because ____________________.
If you want to see the video of "The Sweater", you can do so by clicking here.

Finally, begin to study the next 15 commonly misspelled  words for Friday:

• belief -- note the "ie"
• bruise  -- note the "ui"
• bought  
• brake  -- this word can be a verb meaning to slow down or stop or it can be a noun meaning the device used to stop a vehicle
• break -- this word can mean the verb to fragment into pieces or it can be a noun that has two meanings i) a fragmenting of something  ii) a pause or rest during an activity
• business  -- remember to spell the word this way:  busy, busy, bus + iness = business
• busy  
• buy  -- remember the "u" when you are writing about purchasing something
• bye  -- this is what you say when saying farewell
• by  -- this is the preposition to tell you where something is (e.g. The cat is by the door.)
• emigrate -- to leave one country and move permanently to another (e.g. Terry's dad emigrated from France in 1989; he has lived in Vancouver ever since then.)
• immigrate -- to come to one country and establish a home, leaving an old country behind (e.g. Terry's dad immigrated to Canada in 1989; he originally came from France.)
• environment -- note the "nm" in this word
• eerie -- this word means spooky or inspiring fear (e.g. Jena left when eerie music began to play.)
• aerie-- the nest of a large bird of prey built high up on a cliff (e.g. High above the forest, the eagle watched the world from his lofty aerie.)

There are two different words (eerie and aerie) on this list than on the green class list because I mistakenly used two words you have already studied.

English 11

For homework, read the short story distributed in class and answer the corresponding questions for Monday.

English 11

On Thursday, classes will be reduced to 65 minutes to accommodate the Terry Fox Run.  As a result, the in-class essay has been moved to this Wednesday.  The topic will be the following:

Show how character helps reveal theme in Tayeb Salih's short story "A Handful of Dates".

You will write your essay on one of the three characters in the story--the narrator, the grandfather, or Masoud--and explain how that person is important to revealing the theme.

Tonight, write the theme statement you will use in your essay.  Use the handout entitled "Theme and the Short Story" for more guidance.  I'll be available at lunch or after school if you want to discuss your preparations.  Just make arrangements to see me.

English 8

Tonight, complete the plot diagram for the short story "The Golden Pants".  I'll do a homework check at the start of the next class.  Also, begin reviewing the next group of tricky spelling words (see previous post).

English 11

We finished the questions on "A Handful of Dates" and then students worked in groups to write a paragraph on the theme of the story. 

I also gave the class a planning sheet for an in-class essay that students will write on Thursday.  I'll explain this more on Monday in class; but if you did not get a copy of this, please email me.

English 8

On Friday, students wrote their weekly spelling test, finished the fairy tale plot project, and were given the class' short story textbook.  No reading was assigned. For homework, students should begin to review the next 15 tricky words:

• already -- this is an adverb used to describe something that has happened before a certain time (e.g. Joe had already finished his homework before his friends invited him out.) 
• all ready -- this is a phrase meaning completely prepared (e.g. As soon as I put on my coat, I'll be all ready to go.)
• all right  -- this term means something is acceptable or satisfactory (e.g. It is not all right to use alright in a written sentence because alright is slang)
• a lot -- this term means many or a great number of something (It is always spelled as two separate words)
• allot -- this verb means to give or allocate something to a group of people (e.g. Students were allotted ten minutes to complete the task.)
• answer -- note the "sw" in this word
• appearance  -- watch the double p and vowels in this word
• appreciate  -- watch the double p
• argument  
• athlete  
• awful  -- remember the w
• awhile -- remember the h
• because  -- if you have trouble remembering how to spell this, say it in a rhythm
• beginning  -- remember this word as "begin" + "ning" (note the double n)
• behaviour  -- the u makes this the Canadian spelling

English 8

Tomorrow, we'll have the spelling test that we've been reviewing for all week.  Students will also present their group posters.  My room will be open at lunch for people who want to put the finishing touches on their assignment.

English 8

Today in class, students worked on their plot diagram posters, reviewed common and proper nouns, learned about concrete and abstract nouns, played some word games, and did some review for the spelling quiz on Friday. 

Yesterday, the students wrote a journal on one of the following writing prompt options:

1. My favourite teacher or coach from elementary school
2. How to deal with difficult people

Please make sure that the journal has been handed in to the #4 bin at the back of the room.

English 11

Tonight, complete questions 1-5 on "A Handful of Dates".  Also, note new words #6-10 of the class vocabulary list:

1. to loathe (v) – to feel intense dislike or disgust for something 
2. contention (n) –  (1) a heated disagreement; (2) an assertion, esp made in an argument 
3. to emerge (v) – (1) to become apparent, important or known; (2) to come into view 
4. transience (n) – lasting only for a short time, fleeting, momentary, passing 
5. to digress (v) – to leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing 
6. indolent (adj) -- lazy 
7. ablutions (n) -- the washing/cleansing of the body, especially connected with religious practices
8. surfeit (n & v) -- (n) an excessive amount/a surplus of something; (v) to stuff to the maximum capacity
9. callous (adj) -- cold, uncaring, insensitive (callus the noun is the hardened patch of skin, perhaps resulting from friction/hard work)
10. malevolent (adj)  -- evil, having or showing an intent to do evil to others

Yesterday, the students wrote a journal on one of the following writing prompt options:

1. People can sometimes surprise us.
2. Describe favourite place from childhood.

Please make sure that the journal has been handed in to the appropriate bin at the back of the room.

English 8

Each week, students will learn 15 of some of the most misspelled words in English.  When I write these words in my blog, I will sometimes provide definitions as this will help the students tell the difference between similar looking terms.  Additionally, sometimes I will note a word's part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.) if I think it can help the students learn the term more easily.

For homework this weekend, study these 15 words from the "Tricky Words" list:  

1. accept -- to approve of something; to willingly receive something that is given
2. except -- not including; other than
3. accidentally -- note the double letters
4. advice -- (noun)  John gives the advice, and we all follow it. 
5. advise  -- (verb) Often, you advise me to eat vegetables, yet you never eat them yourself.
6. affect  -- (verb) You affect the outcome of the game when you yell so loudly.
7. effect  -- (noun) The effect my kindergarten teacher had was impressive.
8. aisle  -- a passage between shelves or chairs
9. isle  -- a small island (note that this word is very similar to "island")
10. achievement -- note the vowels here, especially "ie"
11. ache -- note the "k" sound made by the "ch"
12. address  -- note the double letters
13. allowed  -- give permission to do something
14. aloud  -- audible; out loud (note the "loud" in aloud)
15. although --note the "gh" at the end

There will be a quiz next Friday on these words.

English 11

Please answer questions 6 - 9 on the second "Hills Like White Elephants" sheet that I distributed today.  I'll do a homework check on Monday.

Also, please note down our first five vocabulary words, which are as follows:

1. to loathe – to feel intense dislike or disgust for something 
2. contention –  (1) a heated disagreement; (2) an assertion, esp made in an argument 
3. to emerge – (1) to become apparent, important or known; (2) to come into view 
4. transience – lasting only for a short time/fleeting/momentary/passing 
5. to digress – to leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing 

There will be a quiz in a few weeks once we reach 30 class vocabulary terms.

English 8

Look over the first 15 words on the handout entitled Tricky Words.  There will be a quiz on them next Friday.  Also, come to class tomorrow with a list of five traditional fairy tales that you know.

English 11

Tonight, answer the seven questions at the end of "Hills Like White Elephants" to the best of your ability.  Do not worry about being wrong.  This is an exercise in understanding challenging, interpretive literature.  Do not discuss your answers with anyone tonight, and do not look up answers online--doing either would be worse than answering the questions incorrectly.  We'll discuss the story tomorrow.