English 12

Notes on theme were taken.
We then completed a handout on theme that was due at the end of class.
Reminder: Lovely Bones test on Wednesday. Study all your notes for the test.

Intro German 11 URGENT! Test Postponed until Wednesday!

Course selections will happen for SEVERAL students on Tuesday so the test will be WEDNESDAY.

Today we welcomed back Katja und Bettina. Wilkommen Katja und Bettina!

We reviewed Kapitel 2, and we prepared for our test next day (I assigned questions 21-24 for homework).

We also learned how to say "You are fat" auf Deutsch.

Intro German 11 -- Kommst du rüber?

I handed back the Green Sheet (chapter 2 questions). Then I reinforced exactly how one creates questions in German (either with a question word OR by inverting the subject and verb). Students struggled with this concept on the Green Sheet, so we went over it at length today.

Students handed in homework from last day 15-18-19 from Chapter 2.

Kapitel 2 -- Unit test will NOW be on Tuesday, March 1st.

For those people who were away -- GAWD I missed you. Honestly, I can't STAND the other kids in this class. Can't wait for all of you to return. But whatever you do DON"T tell the students who were here what I just wrote about them (I think, they think that I like them)

English 12

We began by reviewing Kubler-Ross's five stages of grief. I praised the level of insight shown last day: not only did this class notice that Jack, Abigail, and Lindsey are going through the stages of grief; you also noted that SUSIE goes through the stages of grief. Then Tanner suggested that Mr. Harvey could be grieving the "loss" of his mother. We also went over last day's test.

Today's assignment: read the poem "Help, I've Just Been Run Over by a Bus." Create your own poem in which you describe a relationship with ANNOTHER extended metaphor. Begin with a similar sentence. For example, "Having a relationship with you is like trying to put your make up on while you drive up the Akokolux logging road . . . "
(this is a creative assignment -- that is, you are not bound by all our formal writing rules).

Reminder: March 2nd is the date of the final novel test.

English 12

Today we learned and took notes on Kübler-Ross's five stages of grief (this will be on our final novel test next week).

Students then worked on the blue The Lovely Bones worksheet (which asked to either complete 12 chapter questions or write a literary paragraph). This was an in-class assignment and was handed in at 11:30.

Homework: finish the novel by March 2nd.

I still need character paragraphs from Thomas, Annie, Riley, Jera, Amy, Mitch, Harley, and Cloe.

Intro German 11 - Du bist ein Dummkopf!

Today we continued with chapter 2.
We handed in last day's homework, learned the days of the week, and worked on questions 15-18-19 from chapter 2 (assigned for homework)
Chapter 2 unit test next Monday.
We also learned that the word hübsch means cute (example Dieter ist ein bisschen hübsch).

English 12

Students were given their marks for yesterday's half-way test.
We discussed, as critical readers, whether or not we should pass judgement on Abigail for her behaviour in the novel. Some students felt strongly that she deserves the reader's scorn; some could see how Jack's actions were equally damaging (or potentially damaging, at the very least).

We took notes on Point of View (click here to see them) and discussed the concept of 'the suspension of disbelief' ( a semi-conscious decision in which an author asks you to put aside your disbelief and accept the premise as being real for the duration of the story).

Assignment: after reading through the notes on point of view, answer the following question: What is the point of view of The Lovely Bones? Discuss or explain. Your answer should NOT exceed half a page.

Students should be aware that they must be finished the novel by March 2nd.

Intro German 11 -- Schwarzwaldkuchen!

Today we definitely did NOT discuss strip searches.
We DID discuss and learn the concept of telling time in German. Notes were taken, assignments were given, and Günter scratched Dieters chin in an odd manner.
12,13,14 were assigned for homework.

English 12

Today, students wrote their First Half of the Novel test for Lovely Bones.
Character paragraphs were due today but only five students handed them in: Michelle B, Michelle J, Brittany, Cassidi, and Emily S all handed their work in (Thanks guys! You're the best!). Every other student still needs to hand in this character paragraph. In addition, there are several students who still need to hand in the Sentence Variation handout and the poem Between You and Me worksheet from last day.

Students, plan to write a final novel test on March 2nd.

Intro German 11

Today we continued with chapter 2.
We reviewed, orally, most of the key questions you should know answers to. We also took notes on the formation of questions (p. 49 in your book).
Homework assigned: #8-11.
Peter Behncke, good luck.

Intro German 11 -- Iss dein Schnitzel sonst kriegst du kein Nachtisch!

We completed the chapter 1 test and watched the chapter 1 video

We took opening notes on chapter 2 and completed 1,2. Questions 3,4 were for homework.

Kommst du rueber?

English 12

For Monday's test: please go back and read the prologue (the introductory paragraph BEFORE the first page of the novel); also, ensure you know the exact age of Susie when she is killed; finally, review the notes we've taken so far.

Today we completed a worksheet on sentence variation (the V in our acronym D.i.v.e. C. that we've talked about for a couple of classes).

Today students read quietly and worked on their paragraph in which they discuss a major character from the novel. Remember, to refer to all your notes when writing the paragraph (particularly Dive C).

This paragraph will be due on Monday.

Intro German 11

Test on Kapitel 1 next day (here's some tips: know how to spell Freund; Georg is a name and it's pronounced Gey-org!). In addition the question Wo ist Bensheim? will appear on the test -- Bensheim is a city not far from Frankfurt.

English 12 - Dive C

Today we went over the poem Woodtick from last day and we agreed that the image of a woodtick was used by the author as a symbol of the racism that she faced as a Japanese Canadian.

We discussed the Acronym D.i.v.e. C. : Direct quotations (keep them brief), inferences (show me that you've made an interpretation), vary your sentence structures (don't always follow the subject-verb-object pattern), elevate your vocabulary, connecting words (use them to combine shorter sentences together).

Students are encouraged to remember Dive C whenever they are writing about literature.

I assigned the following: In a literary paragraph discuss one of the major characters from the novel The Lovely Bones.

Intro German 11

We copied out the Kapitel 1 spelling list.
We reviewed. (Ken KNOWS Barbie. When you get in Hecke, you get sent to stand in die Ecke).
We learned that Germans shake hands "Appropriately."
We handed in last day's homework.
We learned how to draw a German smile.
Chapter 1 test on Wednesday.
Homework #12-#16 from Kapitel 1.

English 12

Hey Tye, how are ya? Here's what we did today:
Review notes and last day's work on Character.
Today we took notes on setting. Key concept: setting is often used as a mirror of character.

Assignment: read the poem Woodtick by Joy Kogawa (click here to see it). Draw four horizontal lines right through the poem to divide the poem up. For each section describe the setting. Question to answer: "Kogawa uses setting to emphasize contrast. Explain this in two or three sentences."

Du hast eine Gurkennase!

Today we continued our work on Kapitel 1. We handed in our homework (it was marked and returned). We reviewed verbs by completing a worksheet.
We were assigned 9,10,11 from Kapitel 1 for homework (due next class).

Students were advised that there will be a test on Kapitel 1 on Wednesday, Feb. 16th.
The test will have a spelling section so next day we'll write down a spelling list.

English 12

Quizzes from last day were handed back.
We reviewed our lesson from last day on character.
A group assignment on character traits was completed and handed in.

Students must read to the end of chapter 13 -- I wanted the due date for this to be Friday, but that's a proD day so . . . it will have to be on Monday. So, on Monday, Feb. 21st there will be a "First half of the novel Test" (that is, it'll be bigger than a quiz).

Next week we'll begin our paragraph assignment on character.

Homework: read that novel!

Intro German 11

We reviewed regular verbs, regular verb endings, the irregular verb sein.

We learned the importance of the phrase Ich liebe dich!

We worked through chapter one, reading each page and working on questions: questions 6,7,8 are due for homework pp. 26.

English 12

Another excellent class -- thank you.

We wrote a quiz on ch. 3-5.

Students handed in their literary paragraphs on humour: I still need assignments from Michelle B, Thomas, Annie, Riley, Jeralee, Amy, Mitch, Cloe, Dylan, Tanner.

We took quite a few notes on Character and learned how to best respond to the prompt, "Discuss the character of _________ from the story you just read."

We also completed 4 questions on a flawed paragraph on character that I wrote. These were taken in and marked.

Coming up: a literary paragraph where you are asked to Discuss the character of Lindsey (or Jack, or Abigail).

English 12

We reviewed our work last day on writing (remember, you can't write a paragraph about frogs without using the word, "frogs" a few times).

I began by reading out and handing back your personal responses to The Lovely Bones. We discussed where the novel COULD end up headed and established that Alice Sebold has something called a layered plot in this novel.

I tried to explain the importance of expressing oneself formally in this class, and that one may not necessary speak formally, but one must try their best to write formally in this class.

Students were given time to work on their paragraphs.

Homework for next day: complete the writing on Kingsolver's personal essay (first given last Friday), and read to the end of chapter 5. All of this is due for class on Thursday.

TIP for quiz next day: Ensure you know who Ruth is and some of the things that happen to her. Also ensure you re-read the scene where young Buckley is finally told of his sister's death.

Intro German 11

Today we wrote our first test. It took about a half an hour. The following were absent and will have to make it up at a later date: Peter, Lindsay, Landon, Eric, and Ryan.

Then we began to work on Kapitel (chapter)1.

We wrote down introductory notes for Chapter 1. We read the opening dialogue from chapter 1 and then we completed questions 1 and 2.

We learned the verbs wohnen, kennen, and kommen and learned that they are all regular verbs.

Next class we'll watch an older video of some Americans and Canadians in Germany, and we'll continue with our work on Kapitel 1.

English 12

We began with a quick review of last day by re-defining the terms verbal irony (sarcasm), jargon, and hyperbole.
Then, students wrote and handed in a personal response to the first two chapters of The Lovely Bones.
Then, a quick lesson was given on the importance of the opening sentence of a literary paragraph. Students began working on their paragraph assignment on humour in Kingsolver's "How Mr. Dewey Decimal."
Homework: Read to end of chapter 5 by Thursday, Kingsolver paragraph due on Thursday as well.

Intro German 11

Today we learned that although Germans are sometimes called "square-heads" you probably should refer to them as that.

We reviewed our work thus far.

We learned the German verb Sein -- Damn the Irregular Verb!

Homework: 9,10,11 on page 14-15 PLUS study for the test tomorrow.

Tip: make sure you can spell Aufwiedersehen.

Intro German 11

Students learned the regular verb endings today.
Students submitted their homework and it was marked and returned.

Homework: Complete questions 5,6 on p. 9-10.

Tuesday, Feb. 8th: Test on the Einführung (introductory) chapter (pp. 1-17). To study use the review questions on p. 17.

Test Tip: Wie alt bist du? Ich bin zehn (I am ten)
This is a question/answer sequence you should be familiar with.
The answer can also be written as Ich bin zehn Jahre alt (I am ten years old). So, in other words Jahre alt means years old.

English 12

Michelle, Brittany, Clayton, Dylan, Tye: you were absent last day. Please click here and complete this assignment for Monday's class.

Today we examined a paragraph about humour in Stuart McLean. We noticed that the paragraph was poorly written and would likely not receive a pass in this course; we took notes on how it should be improved. Finally, we looked at an example of a paragraph on humour that would get an A in this course.

We turned out attention to another piece of humourous writing "How Mr. Dewy Decimal Saved My Life." Students are to read the essay and begin working on the following assignment: Discuss Kingsolver's use of humour in the story. This assignment will be due later next week.

For homework: Read at least chapter 1 of The Lovely Bones. Also, you can begin working on the Kingsolver writing assignment.

Intro German 11

We wrote a quiz on the numbers 1-10. Congrats to the following who got 100%: Adrian, Gabe, Lindsay, July, Emily, Landon, and HELMUT!
We wrote down the German pronouns (ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, Sie) and their English equivalents
We wrote down the definite articles in German: der (masc.) , die (feminine) , das (neutral).
We signed out our Textbooks, Deutsch Aktuell 1, and completed #1 and #4 in our notebooks. (this was homework if not completed in class).

At this point you should be able to greet yourself, ask and answer questions about who you are, and be able to count to ten all in German. Oh, and you should be able to say goodbye, too.

We also spent time talking about German pronunciation.

English 12

We reviewed the points of last day's lesson: humour in writing isn't often the same type of humour we are used to seeing on TV; authors use humour for particular purposes OTHER than entertainment. Then we discussed the WAYS or Methods that authors use to create humour: anecdote, vivid imagery, change in perspective, satire, change in voice, hyperbole, comparison.


Students signed out copies of The Lovely Bones (a novel). Chapter 1 has to be read by Monday's class.

Students worked together in groups and did the following (absent students should do this on their own and hand it in when they return):

Define in your own words three different methods which Stuart McLean uses to create humour in his story Galway the Cat: Under each method, provide a quotation from the story that shows that method of creating humour.

Intro German 11

Wilkommen!
Today we wrote down and practiced saying all of the greetings and farewells in German (p.2-3 of our textbook). We also learned the question answer sequence Wie heißt du? Ich heisse Herr Pfeiffer.
Finally, we learned and practiced the numbers from null bis zehn (from 0 to 10).
There might be a quiz next day on the numbers one to ten.

English 12

Welcome to English 12.
We'll begin the year with a mini-unit on humour. Today we wrote down a list of synonyms for humour. Also, we discussed and wrote down different reasons why an author (or producer) would use humour. The main point of today's lesson was to reconcile that sometimes humour is used only to entertain, but other times humour can be used purposefully. Also, the other main point was to reconcile that humour, in writing, isn't always laugh-out loud funny; it may only be amusing, but it is humour nonetheless.

We viewed a number of youtube videos. We read "Conversation with a Herd of Cattle" a poem by David McFadden; we read an article by Canadian humourist Scott Feschuk about a new drug called Latisse; finally, we read/listened to Stuart McLean's short story "Galway the Cat" (also known as "Toilet Training the Cat."

Next day we'll look at McLean's story in great depth in terms of the author's use of humour.