Updated Term 2 marks! Finished Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet

Click HERE to see your term 2 mark.  If you are missing work, you must arrange a time after school or at lunch to complete it (as soon as possible!).

Today we finished reading Act 1.  We pointed out how, before attending the Capulet ball, Romeo tells his friends he has a feeling that something bad is going happen tonight and that it will end "By some vile forfeit of untimely death."

We also discussed Mercutio's Queen Mab speech where his imagination runs wild describing a tiny fairy that drives her carriage across people's faces as they sleep.  That's what gives us dreams, says Mercutio.

Tybalt continues to show how angry and agressive he is when he demands Capulet to let him fight Romeo at the Capulet ball.  Juliet's father, though, holds him back.

Romeo and Juliet meet and it's love at first sight.  Romeo manages to get his first kiss by saying that he has to apologize to Juliet for touching her beautiful shrine with his 'rough touch". He says he should apologize by kissing her.  She responds coyly, but eventually they kiss (twice).

Juliet says, "My only love sprung from my only hate," when she discovers who Romeo actually is!

Romeo and Juliet begins

We took notes on the background of Shakespeare's time, often referred to as Elizabethan times.  There was about a page and a half of notes.

Students answered 8 questions on the Prologue and handed them in for marks.

We read, and discussed, Act 1 scenes 1,2,3.  We read halfway through scene 4.

Homework:  review Mercutio's Queen Mab speech from Act 1 scene 4.

Chrysalids Test - A Celebration of Learning!

Today we wrote our final test on The Chrysalids.

Tomorrow we begin the best play ever written in the English language.

Chrysalids test tomorrow

We met Nikolaus, a new student who arrived today from German via Dublin.

We reviewed what to study for the test:
terminology (point of view, types of characters, etc . . . )
what the title means
review this blog
paragraph writing (how to write a proper paragraph)

Here's a test tip:  You'll have to write about the following image tomorrow on the test.  It was a title page used on an earlier edition of the novel.  Notice which chicken is winning. . .

Chrysalids Test next Tuesday

We began by reviewing the theme of how people, when confronted with the unknown, often react with fear.  We discussed how that relates to our theme this year of connectivity.  Myah mentioned that by not fearing unknown people, cultures, religions, that sort of thing, we can remain connected as people.  Fear, though, diminishes that ability to connect and respect with people in the world.

We finished the movie The Village.

Your test will include questions on The Village.  Be prepared to compare the movie to the film on the test.

Mankind fears the unknown

Today we reviewed the last couple of chapters of the novel and we began reading chapter 14.

Discussion focussed on the theme that people, generally, react to the unknown by Fearing it.  We discussed Xenophobia and how that is a state where people fear the unknown.  This theme is prevalent in The Chrysalids and in the movie we began watching called The Village.

In both pieces fear is used to manipulate the population.  In Wyndham's novel, fear is used to keep the people of Waknuk unified and strong against the outside world.  The fear of the mutants, fear of the unknown, is unjustifiable.  This Us versus Them mentality is a destructive force in the novel in much the same way as it is destructive in the larger world in which we live.  In the film The Village, fear is also used to keep the village safe and strong from the ever-present danger of the outside world.  Unlike Wyndham's novel, though, in The Village the elders are able to manufacture fear in order to control their population.

Next day we will finish watching The Village and complete an assignment where we compare the novel with the film.

Sub day

I'll be away for the rest of the week but you'll be ploughing ahead with your substitute teacher.

You'll be reading to the end of chapter 12, completing the questions, and completing a quiz on ch 11 and 12.

In the middle of that, you'll complete a character connections worksheet.

You'll also be preparing for an in-class paragraph assignment that I will give you on Thursday.  You'll get the topic on Thursday and have a chance to prepare your thoughts and ideas.  Then during Friday's class you'll be writing an in-class piece of writing on the topic:  David is a dynamic character. Discuss.
This in-class writing is completely open book (use your notes and use your novel -- especially review our notes on how to use quotations properly).

Good luck and see you next week (maybe).

Petra and the far away people

Today we read halfway through chapter 11 and discussed Petra's extraordinary powers.  The novel seems headed in a different direction once we learn that Petra can 'hear' telepathic voices from others who are far, far away from Waknuk.

We also worked on a fun activity where we drew 'thought shapes' for one another.

Homework:  Read the rest of chapter 11 and complete the chapter 11 questions

Mr Beitel was your sub!

Last day Mr. Beitel was your sub and you continued to read and discuss the Chrysalids.
Students read to the end of chapter 10 and then completed a quiz with 15 minutes left in class.

Term 1 marks

Click HERE to see your term 1 marks.

Last day we learned the term misogyny and read and discussed chapter 8.

Today students began by writing Haiku and Limericks to describe their work habits this term.
We reviewed How to Punctuate Quotations properly and then wrote a quiz after break.

We reviewed chapter 7 -8 and read chapter 9.

In further developments in class. . .
River referred to Rockets as "ghetto candy"
Mallory almost attacked Mr. Pfeiffer
Raine is my favourite student
Myah and Anne-Marie and Claire hijacked my computer and tried to hack into this blog.
Richard defiantly refused to complete a haiku
Matthias struggled to find a rhyming word for Köln.
Doree wore comfortable slippers to class and blushed when I read her poems
Cailin was asking around for a iPhone charger.
Jake was trying to be mean to Raine but was thwarted by Myah's benevolence
Marie counted the syllables in the sentence "I like cheese", perhaps hoping to use it in a haiku some day.
Dave and Darren taught me what a B---- was.
Taylor's heart continues to be disproportionately large
Timo used his smartphone to review chapter 8 of our novel.
Liam taught many students what forceps are.
Jordan thinks syllables are hard
Peter was challenged not to be last done on today's quiz

Chrysalids Themes and using Quotation marks

We did a telepathic quiz for chapters 4-6.
We discussed how Wyndham is developing modern-day themes of racism and homophobia.
Finally, we took some notes on Using Quotation Marks and completed an exercise on that.

Homework: Finish reading chapter 7.