Novel study reminders

Two weeks into our novel study and we are starting to get a bit deeper into the story of Alex. His adventures exploring the streets of Beijing and his adjustments to the culture allow us to experience a life so apart from our own.

The student demonstrations and the government reactions are a part of the history of China. Tian An Men square is an actual place and the events that occured there that smoggy day in June of 1989 are a real part of our human history. William Bell has worked had to bring the events to life through the eyes of this seventeen year old boy.
While you continue to read I hope that you are thinking about the events and reactions of the people. How would you feel if you were a student living in China at this time? What would it be like to live in a country where your opinion or voice is squashed if you go against the government?

Key question of the week: Why did William Bell choose to name the novel Forbidden City, even though the real Forbidden City does not play a major role in the book?

iPublisher Assignment

The Independent Novel study assignment which is due Jan 6th, is now available in the ELA Handouts link on our blog. (Top left corner).

It is your responsibility to read through the assignment carefully then let Miss Gokavi know which book you have chosen by Friday, November 26th. You can do this by posting a comment to this blog post. In it you should include: Your full name, the novel title and author's name. You can try to leave a comment on the blog post or hand in the paper copy - either way it is due Friday!!

This project will be done in conjunction with the Computers 9 course. You will receive a mark for the ELA content and also a Comp 9 credit for the technical aspects of the assignments.

Novel Study begins

Today we started our novel study for this term. Forbidden City by William Bell.

William Bell was born in Toronto in 1945 and graduated from the College of Education in 1970. He has taught at the Harbin University of Science and Technology and the Foreign Affairs college in China and at the University of British Columbia. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in Literature and a a Master of Education.
He began writing at a very young age. Starting with short stories and poetry which he did not share with people outside of his family. In 1978, after a meeting with his favorite author, John Metcalfe, he decided to pursue a story idea - resulting in his first book Crabbe.
Although, most of his books are fictional Forbidden City and Speak to the Earth are based on actual events. He enjoys writing for young people because he feels they are very loyal to writers and are enthusiastic readers. His ideas often deal with someone who has reached an important stage in his/her life and realizes something they didn't know before.
The idea for Forbidden City came from actual events which took place in June 1989. He wanted to tell the story of the tragedy as accurately as possible. He was familiar with the city of Beijing, having taught there and he had bicycled around the city himself. He has said his greatest challenge while writing this book was how to put fictional characters in the center of actual events.

For further information about the author and his other books make sure to click on the novel link in the top right hand corner of the blog.

From My Bookshelf

WOW! That was a whole lot of talking and information I gave you on Thursday. I'm sure that some of you were sitting there watching my words float right over your head and there were others who were just starting to see where all the concepts and ideas were leading.No need to panic. We will be going through these terms, definitions and ideas again often over the course of this semester.

In our quest to become better writers and engaged learners it is important to learn the rules of literature. Before we can get to the "fun, creative stuff" we will have to learn the basics. If we start to think of this lesson in relation to our first unit - Conflicts, Challenges and Choice - then we can being to make connections between the lectures and the assignments.

During this lesson we came up with a definition for "well-crafted". We asked ourselves what a well-crafted work looked like. Now we are going to apply the definition to the novels we have been reading and articulate (say out loud) what actually makes it a "good" book.

Homework: Due Monday Nov.1st. (for both 9A and 9B)
Look through your bookshelf and decided which book is your favourite and why. Choose one "well-crafted" book that you are going to share with the class. Come to class with some ideas of what you would put on the front cover. Make a list of symbols, imagery, characters or themes that are present in the book and some thoughts on how you could represent them on a book cover.

Presentation and Assignment due date is November 10th, 2010.

Crazy busy short week

Homework due for Tuesday, October 26th.

It just seems like every single week we have a day off or something special that disrupts our school day. This week (Oct 20th to 22nd) we will not be having classes because the teachers are off to Calgary for a convention.

Since you will be having a few extra days at home you will be given a package of information to work on. The first package will deal with Quoatation Marks, Punctuating dialogue, Effective Adjectives and Using Transition words. I found that many of us know about these different elements of writing but forget how to use them to make our writing more effective. It is important to have these reminders so that we can get to the point where the reader is able to concentrate on the content of your work rather than the mechanics.

The second package - Comma Splices, Simple Sentences, Independent and Subordinate clauses, and Combining sentences must also be completed.

Please pay careful attention to the instructions. If you have any questions or concerns make a note of them on the side of your paper so that we can address them in class.

Both packages are due for Tuesday, October 26th.

Assessment Questionnaries

In order for the school board to fully diagnose the Persuasive writing assessment we just completed they would like to find out your thoughts by completing a questionnaire. Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions to the best of your ability.

The questionnaire should take no more than 20 mins. The link below will take you directly to the website where you may answer the questions.

Student questionnaire

Welcome back to Writing Thursday!

Today we will go back to Writing Thursday (I can see your smiling and eager faces - so beautiful)

The prompts (yes, prompts!) will be a little unique today. Instead of writing about one idea or prompt for the whole 50 mins we will try something new. There will be a hat full of prompts and one will be picked out at a time. You will get a chance to write on that prompt for 5 mins then we move on!

Sharpen your pencils and get set to write!

Persuasive writing assessment

Well, the time for writing assessments has come again. We will be working on a city wide assessment package. You will have the opportunity to show how you construct a piece of persuasive writing using pre-writing, drafting and editing procedures.
This will not be a part of your report card mark but is a requirement.

If you have any questions about the assessment or how the results will be used please make sure to ask me.

Persuasion

For the next week we will be working on Persuasion letter writing. The activities and class work will be in preparation for our participation in a city wide assessment. This assessment assignment and the evaluation will not be part of your report card mark but it is a great way of finding out your creative writing strengths and areas to work on.

We will start working on the assignment on Thursday so there will be no Creative Writing Thursday.
(Stop crying, you are big boys and girls now).

Your "gifts" from last week are still in the process of being marked. I will hand those back to you on Oct 14th, 2010.

'Kath and Mouse' Sequel

What happens to Kath, Helen and Kevin after the story ends? Does Kath learn her lesson and change her ways? Do Kath and Helen become best friends and lead the school to victories in National music competitions? You will continue the story. Being sure to stay true to the details and events of the original story you can choose how it continues.

How to begin.

A. Develop a plot idea. List the characters you want to include and relevant details from the original story.
B. Draft the outline that describes the plot, setting, narrative point of view and the main conflict.
C. Using your guide, start to write out your story. Keep the reader in mind: what do you need to do grab their interest?
D. Spot check time: Peer editing is key to the success of any writer. When you are creatively engaging in developing a piece it is hard to look at it from the readers perscpective. Having a peer look over your story gives you the opportunity to spot check if your story is on the right track. They can check to see that your plot has a logical flow. That your characters have enough detail and description to make them realistic to the reader. They can also check to see that dialogue and description are working together to move your plot along. A good peer editor will also give you ideas to polish up your work - take out the bits that aren't making it work and add new stuff - so that the final product is a true reflection of your creative labours.

Due to Terry Fox Run the due dates are different for each class. Please check the side bar so that you are aware of your due dates.

9A - Completed rough draft brought to class on Friday Oct 1st, so that we can do peer editing.

9B - Completed rough draft brought to class on Monday Oct 4th (due to Terry Fox Run on Friday afternoon), so that we can peer edit.

Creative writing evaluation

Our first creative writing evaluation is close at hand. Next thrusday you will be handing in your completed work. Here are some things to keep in mind to ensure that you have an enjoyable evaluation experience.

Hand-in
1. Rough copy (this should look rough, with editings and corrections)
2. Peer editing sheet (the assessment your peer did for you on the 23rd of Sept)
3. Good copy - Typed and double spaced, min. of 3 pages
                      - Full name, class info, etc (check course outline for full details)
                      - Title (bold and underlined)
                      - Proof card for good copy

I look forward to reading your stories/poems in their polished form. The anticipation is building...

"Kath and Mouse"

Today you are going to be applying the PACTT learning to a short story. If you have not recieved a paper copy, no worries, there are copies online. Kath and mouse, is a typical story of kids at school. As you read you might find yourself picturing characters from movies that have dealt with a similar topic.
After the reading I would encourage you to take a few minutes to discuss with a another student what you felt about the plot and characters. Then you can use your PACTT package to apply it to the story.
1. Write out a rough plot sketch of the story.
2. What is the atmopshere
3. Character - who is the protagonist/antagonist? Are they static or dynamic? etc
4. What is the theme?
5. What techniques does the author use in the story?

All questions must be answered neatly on loose-leaf. Make sure to have the date, name of the story and author at the top of the answer sheet.
Due: Wednesday Sept 22, 2010

Bonus word!!

ELA 9B - Your bonus word for the day was 'panoply'. You should find the definition and use it correctly in a sentence in order to gain one bonus mark in your next assignment. Email your correct answers to gokavie@spsd.sk.ca

Sept. 20th, 2010. Today we looked at the last of the PACTT  information package. Tomorrow, I will not be in, but you will look at a story and apply the concepts and ideas of PACTT to better interpret and understand the story. Enjoy!

Writing Thrusday

We are into our third week of Writing Thursday and I am so proud to see students show such creativity and productivity. I encourage you continue to let those creative juices flow into your work. In the next week we will start to think about going back and starting some self/peer assessment in order to be ready for the first official Writing evaluation by the teacher, scheduled for Sept 30th.

Homework Questions on Gender Equality

Think about these questions in relation to the short story read in class (The Friday Everythink Changed). Also consider them from your own perspectives and experiences. Talk with your friends and parents to find out their experiences as well.
Homework due Tuesday Sept. 14th.

1. What struggles do men/women face in today's world?

2. Think about a time when you weren't allowed to do something just because of your gender. How did it make you feel?

ELA A - 9B only had another question.

3. What struggles did men/women face in the time of The Friday Everything Changed? How did these struggles affect how they thought about themselves?

Welcome!

Well, hello there my fellow literary friends.

This year my fondest hope is that we will go on an adventure through the various forms of literature. We will find our unique voice by creating and composing through a wide variety of formats.

Whether you are a passionate or reluctant writer, I hope that you will have a positive experience.

And it all starts with ATTITUDE.

Having the right attitude will go miles in making this class more enjoyable. As the saying goes, "You will only get out of it what you are willing to put in," and my hope is that you are all willing to put your best efforts forward.

Looking forward to a fantastic year filled with creativity, excitement and learning.