The first death in Romeo and Juliet

We read Act 3 scene 1 and took notes on the important elements of plot of this scene.
We completed a quiz on Act 2.
Act 2 questions were turned in for a completion mark.

Romeo and Juliet

Sorry for not updating for a few days!
Students presently have read the first two acts of Romeo and Juliet.
Homework due today was the Act 2 questions (that we worked on last day).

Last day I handed out a Romeo and Juliet project sheet.  Students have a choice of 8 different projects to complete.  We worked on the project last day and spent 40 minutes today working on it. This project will be due next Wednesday morning.

Discussion at the start of the class today included a talk about what tragic flaw Romeo and Juliet have:  we agreed it was their naiveté and also their haste that were their flaws.  We also discussed the role of fate (coincidence) in what has happened along with the opposite point of view:  that Romeo and Juliet made conscience, deliberate decisions to determine their future.

Act 3 next day!

hmwrk check, quiz on Act 1, correct questions,

Today there was a homework check to ensure students completed all the questions on Act 1that were assigned last day.
We completed an Act 1 quiz (all multiple choice).
We reviewed and corrected all the answers to the questions that were for homework.
We ended class with a quick YouTube search:  we heard examples of Old English, Middle English, and Early Modern English (the last one is the language Shakespeare used).

Next class:  the famous balcony scene

Finished Act 1, Shakespeare's theatre, Questions - QUIZ next day

Quiz on Act 1 tomorrow.
We read and discussed all of Act 1.
Homework: review all of Act 1
Complete the first page of questions.  You can get the questions by clicking HERE.
We watched the opening scene of TWO different film versions of Romeo and Juliet.

Test returned, Romeo Act 1 scene 1

I returned test compositions today and read aloud a few.  We discussed why they were effective.

We then began reading Romeo and Juliet. We read until Romeo appears in Act 1 scene 1.

We also took notes on William Shakespeare, his plays , Elizabethan theatre, and Romeo and Juliet.

Finish up sentence combining, learn about Daniel Blackie, begin Romeo and Juliet

Today we discussed our work last day where we answered the question "What does a smart and caring community mean to you.  Students learned about 'Giving Tuesday'.
Students went to the computer lab and entered this contest.  See links

• https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GMVTPXM
• http://givingtuesday.ca
• https://twitter.com/givingtuesdayca

We spent a few minutes finishing up the ten sentences for our lesson on sentence combining. This is for homework if students are not finished.

 

We began some discussions on Romeo and Juliet and even read a few lines.

Tuesdays with Morrie test today

Today we completed our Tuesdays with Morrie final test.  Included was a composition.

After break we finished off the unit by watching the end of the Ted Koppel interview of Morrie Schwartz.  Then we watched a bit of the Made for TV movie.

Up next, a creative writing assignment and then, Romeo and Juliet.

Connecting sentences activity,Test Tomorrow

Today we completed a lesson on learning how to spot run-on sentences and sentence fragments.  We also learned how to connect sentences using three different groups of connecting words.

Tuesdays with Morrie Test tomorrow!

(here's the handout we used today)

CONNECTING WORDS

English 10 – Mr. Pfeiffer

Become familiar with the three groups of connecting words that may come between clauses so that you can avoid run-together sentences and fragments.

GROUP 1:             

These words require only a comma in front of them when they connect two sentences.

                                And                                          nor

                                But                                           yet

                                For                                            so

                                Or

Example:

GROUP II: 

These words require a semi-colon in front of them, or a period and a capital letter.

                                Also                                         likewise                   therefore

                                Consequently                        moreover                 then

                                Furthermore                            nevertheless           thus

                                However                                 otherwise nonetheless

                                   

                                    For example                            for instance     in this case

                                    Of course                                certainly          in addition

                                    On the other hand                  in contrast       initially

                                    As a result                   it is true that               for example

Example:

GROUP III:       

These words usually signal a dependent clause.  Use a comma after a dependent clause if it comes at the beginning of a sentence.

 After                 in order that                          where

Although            since                                       wherever

 Though                that                                      whether

As                       so that                                    which

As if                     unless                                    whichever

                                Because                                  until                                        while

                                Before                                      what                                       who

                                How                                         whatever                               whom

                                If                                               when                                     whose

                                Even if                                     whenever

Example:

TWM test prep, reading, video ...

Tuesdays with Morrie test will be next Tuesday ... "because we're Tuesday people."

Today we reviewed the answers to the pp.100-122 questions.
We read quietly.
We used our 'practice test' to prepare for the test next Tuesday.
Some chose to do some "adult colouring" while we watched 15 more minutes of the following video we got up to the 33 minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LOdPzZW_aQ&list=PLyWjY9TW3W59J00VyCRD7Pou15J1oJe1e

Creative Writing, TW Morrie work,

Today we work on a worksheet where we examined similes and metaphors from Tuesdays with Morrie and wrote our own metaphors.  Each student had to read at least one metaphor out loud.

Later, I read even more examples of student writing from Monday's lesson.  We learned three things about original compositions:
A. How NOT to begin them.
B. How NOT to end them
C. How to avoid cliche ideas

The Tuesdays With Morrie Test will be next Tuesday afternoon, which is a long block class.

Students also worked on a crossword review and were given a practice test.

Tuesdays test will have a out 45 matching and MC questions.  It will also include an original composition prompt (that is, you'll have to write a composition that could be expository, narrative, persuasive, or descriptive -- your choice).

After 25 minutes of quiet reading, we practiced our creative writing with the lesson below

  

Prompt:  She walked along the river and was thinking about her old boyfriend.

This sentence tells something but is not very descriptive.  To add description to your writing consider the following: 

Setting (time and place). Describe the surroundings. 

Description (more than just sight but also touch, smell, feel, sound).

Avoid intensifiers (avoid the words very, really, seriously, totally, completely, extremely, super, über, etc…)

Details (little details increase realism)

Figures of Speech (use a metaphor or simile or personification or onomatopoeia or rhetorical question.

Stream of Consciousness (reach into the person’s mind)

 As an example, I took the prompt above and expanded it, descriptively, to what you see below:

         Doris ambled almost without purpose along the cracked, asphalt path that snaked its way and followed the looping path of BlueJay Creek.  Doris!  Why had her parents named her that?  It was the name you’d give to a $500 car or the name of your friend’s off-putting aunt– it wasn’t the name you’d give your newborn child in 1997.  

         The wet smell of fresh cut cedar filled the air as Doris continued on along, walking aimlessly like the millions of brown and yellow leaves falling all around her.  She reached out and caught one of the bright yellow ones, a Cottonwood leaf, and crushed it into sand, into nothing.  In that same way, she thought to herself, she would crush Devyn Reynolds and his barrel-chested arrogance.      

Now it’s your turn.  Choose one and expand into a 150 piece of descriptive writing. Remember to consider setting, description, avoid intensifiers, include small details, use figures of speech, and try to reach into the character's mind. 

1. He was holding the parking ticket in his hand wondering what to do. 

2. Thunder and lightning began as they walked through the amusement park. 

3. She took one look at the paper bag and wondered what was inside.

4. It was very dark when the car drove slowly past us.