Week ending Sept 28

Poem Questions

This week was a particular busy one, I apologize of not getting to this blog sooner. This week we looked at the poem, "To the Mothers and Fathers who Hover." Students were asked to answer two questions on this poem.

Question #1 What is this poem about, back up your ideas with proof in the poem.
Question #2  Do you agree/disagree with what the author is saying in the poem. Again support your ideas with reference to the poem.

Short Story ( rough copy due Mon. Oct. 14)
We spent some time in the computer lab working on our personal experience stories, I am expecting students to come to class on Mon. with a rough copy ready to hand in for editing. I like to edit all work and hand go over it with students prior to them handing in the good copy.

Criteria for this story is as follows:

• the story must reveal a real experience the student has had
• the writng should focus on show not tell
• the writing should incorporate sensory details
• the story should have a beginning, middle and end
• writing should be grammatically correct (full sentences, proper punctuation etc)
• the story must be edited by the teacher ( parent editing is also encouraged, but make sure you go over your editing with your son/daughter)
• must be between 1-3 pages, typed times new roman 12 pt font, title and name on front page

Example: 

Tell: "It was very  cold outside. I noticed the mountains were covered in snow."

Show: " Frosty bits clung to the man's beard as he gazed toward the magestic towers beyond. Snow capped and gleaming in the sunlight, the mountains silently sung their magic."

Learning and Growing Through Stories

by Michale Gabriel
A teacher once said to his 3rd grade students, "Do you want me to read you a story or tell you a story?" "Oh tell us a story," they exclaimed, "because then we can see into your eyes."
Connection. Communion. The opportunity to engage.

Stories are the medium through we can communicate meaningfully with each other. Our wisdom, our intuitive knowing is imbedded in the stories we tell. Just after our need for food and even before our need for love, we have a need for story.
Storytelling is the oldest form of communication. The first thing people do upon meeting each other is begin telling stories. A wise teacher once said, "The shortest distance between two people is a story." Another teacher was asked by his frustrated students one day, "Master, we ask to hear the truth and all you tell us are stories." The Master smiled and replied, "The shortest distance between a person and the truth is a story. "
Stories invest our lives with meaning, they develop and express our creativity. They help us to laugh at ourselves. They give us the strength to face life's difficult moments. They connect us more vitally with ourselves and each other and they turn ordinary moments into extraordinary ones.
"If there were no stories there would be no world because the world is made up of stories," said a child when asked the question. "What are stories?" Think about it. We create with our stories. We imagine what is possible, we make up a story about it. We bring that story into existence. Our words, our images are just that powerful.
According to brain/mind research, we organize information in story form. It is how we make sense of the world around us. And it is how we communicate that understanding to another. Stories allow us to bypass the linear and access whole brain learning.
When I tell you a story, I let you into my world. I cannot tell you who I am without telling you a story. Stories illustrate the text of our lives. They go beyond facts into feelings. They engage the whole of us--our minds and our hearts. By storying my life, that is, by telling about the incidents that give my life meaning I make sense out of it. I begin to connect the dots of my experience and as I do, gracefully, artistically, memorably, I invite you to go inside and begin to connect your own dots to make sense out of your own experience.

I love when I find a piece that speaks oh so eloquently to exactly what I believe and expresses why I always start out with personal experience stories when I teach!

Response

Last day in class, it was a short block, we worked on our stories and did a response to Robert Fulgum's piece, "All I need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." This is our first shot at responding without me formally teaching how to respond. I wanted to see what prior knowledge and skills the students had. After discussing how to do a response, and further discussing the piece, students will be asked to revise their piece and hand in for a mark.

Responding means

- a desire to express thoughts and ideas in informal settings, to react in some way to the literature
- an ability to gather meaning from the literature and relate it to personal interests and experiences 
- an ability to organize, recall, and make inferences 
- an ability to ask questions, express thoughts, feelings or opinions, while backing up ideas with reference to the piece of literature
- ability to make connections and synthesize information
- an ability to look at all aspects of the literature to really understand the author's intent

Week of Sept 30-Oct. 4: On Mon. we will be in the library for a library/computer orientation. I will teach what a good response to literature looks like and take the students through a model step by step. Students will use the rest of the block to work on stories or rough copies of the Kindergarten response. Wed. class should see us  handing in the Kindergarten response (typed). 

On friday, we will begin a response to the video, "My Final Days" a story about Zach Sobiech, a 17 year old who died of osteosacrcoma. This will lead us into a short response assignment and the top 20 things students want to do before they die. Students will be marked on the thoughtfulness and completeness of the list, and the response will be marked based what I look for in a response.
( response and list total= 20 marks)

Zach Sobiech Video

Week of Sept. 16 - 20

childhood stories

Students will be handed out the story of Charles to review again and answer a question sheet. Time will be given in class to complete the sheet. It will be handed in for 25 marks on Wed. in class. We will read a childhood story written by a student and discuss childhood experiences. Students will begin their first big writing assignment. It will be a creative piece on a childhood experience. ( Criteria and a due date on this assignment will follow).

Week of Sept.9-13

We have had a busy week in English...lots of storytelling! Students have shared orally a personal experience which has had an impact on them or changed their lives in some way. I heard many great stories and I am happy to say most were eager to share them with the class. Students handed in their first piece of homework which was 5 short personal experience brainstorm story experiences. This assignment will be marked out of 10 for completion.

I read the story Charles to the class. This is a first day of kindergarten story about a little boy who gets himself into trouble. We reviewed the questions and students will work on these questions next class. We also did a free write to stretch our brains and practice thinking on our feet to get ready for that looming grade 10 provincial. Most students wrote almost a full page in just under 20 min.......needless to say I was impressed. I have a sense that the class culture of this group is strong and students are open to new ideas and new ways of doing things.

Again my goal is to have students be engaged and focused on literature, open to discussing all kinds of ideas and to help them develop into strong writers.

First week of school: Welcome Division 98

Bio on Ms Chase

I have been teaching for 17 years, most of these year have been in the same building. I am very proud to have been one of the teachers who was hired to work at Isfeld from the start. Because of this, I know we have built a wonderful, caring school. I enjoy writing, photography, and painting on my own time and it is a privilege to share these passions with others.

Welcome Back

Welcome back to school. I am looking forward to a productive and creative new school year. My goal is to challenge each and every student and to have students become better writers and comprehenders of literature.

My Philosophy

My philosophy is that if students are going to become better readers and writers they need to do just that...lots of reading and writing! Right off the start I will be honest...I will not be able to mark all of the writing that I expect students to do. But I believe the marking is not the important part, what matters is helping students through the process of writing. This means spending my time helping them to learn to become better writers by reading through their work, offering suggestions, helping them choose better words or helping them rework sentences to help improve clarity. I welcome parents input and support in helping me to provide the best education possible for your child. All of our assignments will be posted online, so you can help your child do their best by being aware of what they are doing in class and when assignments are due.

Course Outline: Coming soon  

Grade 9 English

Here is to my future grade 9 students. I hope you like writing and poetry and discussing in class, because these are 3 of my favourite things. I look forward to next fall, come prepared with a positive attitude toward learning, and you will all be my favourite students.

Ms. Chase

Week ending May 25

This was a shortened week since we had the holiday on Mon. We presented our imagery poems to the class, those who missed this will have to present when you return. We spent some time doing some nice relaxed quiet reading and looking at some poems read by their authors on video and some poems set to video which reinforce the imagery in the project we just completed.

If you have access to a computer, we looked at Dylan Thomas' poem, "Do not go Gentle into that Good Night."

I will be moving on to a mini- unit on Shakespeare over the next two weeks. I am also hoping to fit in a small debate unit and a final media unit.

Week Ending May 16, 2012

Hello wonderful English students. Here is an update from this week. We discussed the limmerick and students set to writing 2 limmericks and two Yankee Doodle poems. There were some very cleaver poems...I will post some up soon. We discussed the importance of imagery when an author writes. Imagery focuses on the sights, sounds, tastes, touches, and smells that are brought to life through words. Students had to find a poem that they felt was full of  great imagery. We are using this poem to create a visual representation of some of the images the poet is trying to convey in their writing. Students have two classes to finish the work..it will be due mid next week.

For students going away, please check this blog for work that you will be missing. I will try to keep you up to date day by day. Also, for any students needing help, I am always available during X Block. I will be letting students know this weekend if you are missing any work. The following is a list of work that should be in for term 4 so far.

1. Poetry terms quiz (25)
2. 8 line poem on a them (10)
3. Lesson of the Moth response (20)
4. Stopping by the Woods questions (10)
5. Road not Taken questions(10)
6. 2 limmerick and 2 yankee doodle poems (10)
7. Imagery artwork piece (10)