MIDDLE EARTH GUIDEBOOK - Grade 9 English

I know you are all working to help the rest of the population survive, should they find themselves suddenly in the middle of Middle Earth... your information about the characters they encounter could mean the difference between life and... finding themselves tangled in a spider's web while hanging upside down in a tree... 

You will present all of the background information on each type of character either by creating a paper book or through a powerpoint presentation. Remember to include specific examples as you explain the many elements of each character.... knowing the specifics about Gollum's environment would be most helpful, especially should one be inclined to go splunking... providing a quote showing that Gollum lives deep within a complex cave system reminds the splunker to bring their invisibility shield along with their night-vision goggles....

The information you create and present could serve to be of great help to many who navigate the world of Tolkien...

Paper books will be passed in to Mrs. Palmer, while powerpoint presentations will be emailed to my school's email address...  if possible, it is wise to save your presentation in a 1997-2003 compatible format rather than 2010 although I think I can open all formats.

 Keep on the trek...do not stop at Rivendell...keeping moving forward.... it is due Wednesday, November 21st... no extensions will be given...

Grade 8 Paragraph NOVEMBER ... due Monday, November 5th

Here is the pre-write template....

You need to write a paragraph about November...

That is much too broad - think about one main idea to write about.... what would make a good topic sentence? Use your idea generating bubble to get those ideas down...you can number them in the best order after you get your ideas. Ask yourself if each idea stays within your main idea and topic sentence. Make sure your closing sentence ties together those great ideas and double check your sentence structure...

You are ready to write!

Here

My tangled hand...

During the end of the school year I asked my grade 7 art class to trace their hand and then express what comes out of their hands without using symbols. In general, the students struggled with this exercise as they wanted to draw hearts, flowers and other symbols rather than abstract lines and designs. I told the class that I would do the assignment to help me understand the challenges they had. Well....this opened up a whole new world of expression - as I filled my page with design I realized how visually limited I was when it came to showing what came out of my hands. I began researching design and came across an amazing art form called ZENTANGLE. It involves mindful drawing of design that looks very complicated, yet, when broken down can be done by anyone. It took me hours and hours to finish my hand drawing but it was worth it - I have now embarked on a new and exciting journey, one which will stretch my mind yet hopefully help to focus it. Here is my finished hand; I can see tons of room for improvement but part of the process of ZENTANGLE means appreciating what I have done rather than judging it.

Extreme Organization

When I was a teenager, my room was so messy that my Mom would get to the point that she couldn't stand looking at it any longer. She would then threaten to hire in a cleaner to dig it out and take the charge out of my allowance. Of course, I would then clean it - very unhappily because I said I couldn't find my things when it was neat.

Flash forward a "few" years. I now wish I could afford to hire someone to come in and help me. Being "uncluttered" is definitely not one of my strengths and there are mornings where I sprint around my apartment in a bad mood because I can't find an important paper or my keys (even though I have a special key hook!). It really does make life more difficult.

As part of our study skills unit, the grade 7 class had a discussion about their current study environments. We then brainstormed what would make a good study environment. Then I sprung it on them....the "Extreme Organization" assignment. Everyone has to clean their room by next Tuesday. For some students this may be easy - for others (I would be one of the "others") it will be quite a challenge.

I realize that not all students study in their rooms but the intent of the assignment is to help everyone learn what a good study area should look like. Students must get their sheet signed by a parent and I welcome your reflections on the exercise -was it easy for your child, do you think he/she will be able to keep it clean, what helps your child study when it comes to the environment?

For the record...I did clean my room yesterday...I still don't enjoy it but I did it :)

A visit with my Mom

Yesterday in grade 7 we had a guest speaker - my Mom, Linda. Each year she comes in to be interviewed about what it was like in Halifax when she was growing up and what some of the similarities and differences were between grade 7 then compared to now. It is a really fun way to teach proper interview skills and more importantly, to learn about history and how each of us has a story which is an essential part of history.

Our class spent almost 1 hour and 30 minutes listening about poodle skirts and penny candy and how she got to go on the bus at a very young age all by herself. The students then asked some really great questions about technology, differences in school, cars and tv. I think the students really enjoyed hearing about her growing up years.

As the major Social Studies assignment for quarter one, I am assigning an interview to the class. All of the information will be sent home. I encourage you to become involved with this assignment, especially with choosing who to interview and the best kinds of questions to ask. The key to this assignment is that it must be someone at least two generations away (grandparent/great-uncle etc.) preferably from your family. Last year some students who did not have relatives living close by chose to do long distance phone interviews, while others interviewed a close family friend or someone from their church.

I hope they have fun with this assignment. This is the fourth time my Mom has come in and I am still learning new things about her childhood. Who knows what I will learn next year!

boring book report

Each year in literature 7 and 8, I assign a very straightforward book report. When I first show the students what I want to see in it they always have wonderful reactions to it like, "oh, no...not another one", or "why can't we do something fun"....etc. etc. etc. I have thus given it the name " The Boring Book Report".

I remember doing book reports as a young student and thought they were kind of fun. Then again, I was also the child who had at least three books on the go and if I ran out of books I would just re-read what I had. Books transported me to different places and cultures and I liked sharing about them.

This book report is meant to show me a student's writing style and their strenths and weaknesses in comprehending and then transferring that comprehension into writing. I gave a very thorough outline to help them with writing it. Hopefully they won't find it boring but will enjoy sharing each of their stories to me. I love to hear about a good new book after all!

What is your favourite book...

I was the kind of child who always had my nose in a book. If I finished a book and had nothing else to read I would just go back to the first page and read it again. I travelled to different countries, got to be different people, solved important mysteries and even managed to go back in time - all through reading books. It is difficult to pick a "favourite" book, but if pressed, I would have to say that Anne of Green Gables, is the one I remember the best.

I first read it at around 10 years of age and re-read it every five years or so. Each time I get something new and different out of it. I could relate more to Anne's best friend, Diana because of my personality and need to do the right thing, but secretly wished I could be as spunky as Anne. We do however, both share a love of books and how one could get easily lost within its pages. How beautiful  it must have been to have cherry trees blossoming outside of your window and I could understand why Anne would have such a difficult time with the Pye sisters - Josie could be quite snobby at times.

To have been able to wear the big satin ribbons in my hair (as Diana of course because as Anne I would have been stuck with horrible straight hair stuck in braids that would allow rotten boys like Gilbert yank on) and pretty dresses with calico prints seems so girly and sweet. Even though Anne had many of the same issues as we do today, Green Gables and Avonlea was set in a simpler time when one could explore the forest and have picnics in a meadow. Unlike Anne's first teacher, Mr. Philips, who refused to spell her name with an "e" at the end, I always thought that Miss Stacey would have been my favourite teacher - she was exceptionally encouraging while still requiring all of her students to work to the best of their potential.

As an adult I have many books that I have enjoyed and authors that I am drawn to but I think it is Anne that I will always turn to when I need a break from the craziness of technology and our busy society.

And so what is your favourite book? Students in our school have been asked this question and to respond in an essay of approx 250 words (no more). In addition to getting some great ideas for books to recommend for book reports, their essays will be submitted to a contest that the Chronicle Herald is running. They could win a book and a family set of tickets to a Moosehead game. I can't wait to see how they describe and explain why they like the books they do. And what about you? Make sure to share your favourite book with your child - maybe they will pick it up and like it as much as you do!