And the Lucky Winner Is...

Partner Reading
- practice your reading strategies
- discuss the meaning of telekinesis and telepathy

When finished - write a summary of the story with 10-15 points.  Each point must be written with at least one complete sentence.  THERE MUST NOT BE ANY ERORRS WITH RUN-ONS OR FRAGMENTS!!!! You must use capitals and periods.

Be prepared to share your summary witht the class.

In-Motion Break

Circuit Fun!!

Book Project

Grade 9 English Language Arts

Book Report Project: Conflicts, Issues and Challenges: Making the Right Choice

Select and read a novel of AT LEAST 200 PAGES that will fit into this unit.

Components:

/2         Title and Author with information about the author and other publications

/2         Setting, mood and theme(s)

/3         List of characters with descriptions (minimum 3)

/5         Plot Summary

/2         Persuasiveness – persuade someone to read the novel

/5         List and describe FIVE conflicts, issues or challenges AND explain the right choice for each

VIDEO PRODUCTION

Voice:

/2         Volume

/2         Eye Contact with camera

/2         Pace/speed

/2         Expression

/3         Quality of video and creativity

/30     TOTAL

The Highway Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=le727fRZHpA

TEST

The Breadwinner

Test

 Tuesday

 November 6th

Monday, November 5th

 Essay Writing

Sentences

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hby4NBOwf7E&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Remembrance Day Poems - Due Friday, November 2

Reading The Breadwinner

http://www.squidoo.com/booktrailers

Nextt book assignment - Making the Right Choice!
Book Trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqox1eYci78

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ye-REkHgrQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AieN1yQy1tw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ixJspegHq4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj8Veprh98Q

Grade Nine English Language Arts

In Search of Self

Creative Writing Assignment

Your assignment is to write a short story, or a personal anecdote, describing an event in your life that helped you to understand yourself.  This event may be small in nature or very large.  For example, it may be attending a friend’s birthday party or it may be when your parents got divorced.  The event may be recent or it may be from several years ago.  This event must include some discovery or realization about you.

You must write in first person and you must consider word choice, organization, voice, conventions, and sentence fluency.  Your story must be about 1000 words.

You must include pre-writing, drafting and a good typed copy with a title page.  You must have at least TWO people edit and proofread your story.  They must use two different colors and sign their names on the draft.

The story will be due on Friday, October 19^th.

Exam

Test - "In Search of Self" selections
- Thursday, October 18th

Tomorrow will read two poems and respond to them - by creating a Venn diagram to compare/contrast them and then selecting one to create a visual representation.  The poems are from the unit "In Search of Self".

We will listen to some of the book talks and the rest on Wednesday.

Today:

- one song lyric assignment

- rainbows

- newspaper articles

- reader response letters - due Monday

- book talks - due Tuesday and Wednesday

Rainbows:

I am helping a friend out and asking everyone to help out! Could everyone, including you big kids, drarainw a simple picture of a rainbow and mail it to Patricia Verhelst Box 355, Radville, SK S0C 2G0 by next week and she will send them all in together. There is a little girl in Saskatoon who is sick who wishes to get a rainbow from everyone in the world. Please write your name and where you are from on it. Lets make a wish come true if it was your child you would want that! Thanks everyone and please copy and paste this to help spread the word.

Weekend

Homework
- Find a song for your lyric assignment this weekend.

On Monday
- song lyric assignment
- newspaper article "On the Sidewalk Bleeding"
- correct parts of speech poster
- book talk

In Search of Self

Jade Peony

The Jade Peony  by Wayson Choy

Write the sentence for each word and the write a definition for each:

1.     Ginseng (page 14)

2.     Sombre (page 14)

3.     Diminutive (page 14)

4.     Impeccable (page 14)

5.     Dissension (page 15)

6.     Menacing (page 15)

7.     Exasperation (page 15)

8.     Abomination (page 15)

9.     Embossed (page 15)

10.  Precariously (page 16)

11.  Deftly (page 18)

At the end of the story – on page 21, answer questions 1a, b, c, d and e. 
Sketch a picture of the death chimes.

Assignment

Grade Nine

“In Search of Self”

Song Lyric Analysis Assignment

“Nothing separates the generations more than music.  By the time a child is eight or nine, he has developed a passion for his own music that is even stronger that his passions for procrastination and weird clothes.”      Bill Cosby

Your assignment is to find a song that speaks to you and helps to define yourself and all that you are.  Find the song and lyrics.   Summarize what the song is about and then write how it relates to you.  You must present the song to the class,  present the summary and how it relates to you and who you are.

You will be graded on the following:

/2        presenting/playing the song for the class – be prepared

/3        song lyrics – hand in with rhyming pattern labelled

/5        summary of the song – read aloud for the class

/5        paragraph or more of how the song relates to you and your life

/3        delivery – volume, speed, eye contact…

/18                  Total

Friday,
- Reading for book talk project
- reviewed quized
- orally reviewed the eight parts of speech

Next Week -
Literature Selections:
Our Appearance, Living Life to the Max and Jade Peony

Continue with parts of speech and apostrphes, a second quiz on literary devices, working on book talk and song anaylsis assignment.

Tuesday

Today

We had a practice quiz on the ten literary devices that we have learned, finished our posters and worked on the two comprehension questions at the end of the story, Borders.

If finished:
- reading for book project
- reader response letters
- all about me project

Monday, September 10

Last Friday, we learned seven figures of speech.  We wrote about them and gave examples.  Missing students need to get these notes.

We also finished reading the short story, Borders, by Thomas King.

On Monday, we will learn about three more literary devices or figures of speech.  Then we will make posters on two or three of them. 

We will also have some comprehension questions on the story, Borders.

We will go over the book assignment and the expectations for Reader Response letters that will be due at the beginning of each month.

Grade 9 English Language Arts

Welcome Back!!!!

Tuesday, September 4th and Wednesday, September 5th

We have a general assembly scheduled for Period 2 on Tuesday, so we may or may not have ELA class, depending on when the assembly is finished.

We will complete the following:
- Course outline
- literary devices - notes and examples
- reading response letters - introduction
- Daily Journal - use of blogs - discussions - has anyone tried?  twitter?
- informal reading comprehension - listening skills
- begin the unit "All That I am - In Search of Self"

WELCOME

Welcome to Grade 9 English Language Arts

Welcome Students! 

The first day of school is Tuesday, September 4, 2012We will not have English until Wednesday, September 5 and we will go over course load, classroom procedures and we will begin with our first unit of study, "All That I Am - Seach of Self".  If you are reading this blog before we start, then please bring some ideas for your first assignment:

UNIT #ONE:  “All that I Am – The Search for Self”

Student Learning Outcome – I CAN CREATE A VISUAL USING CONCEPTS OF “ME”.

ACTIVITY:

Create a web of who you are by putting a circle in the center of the page with your name in it.  From there branch out of the web with different categories: favourite quote, favourite bed time story, picture of self, favourite song, personality description, hobbies, likes/dislikes.  Branch out as many different “legs” as you can.  You must have at least 15 “legs”.

Movie Review

ENGLISH GRADE 9 – VIEWING

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOME:

View and demonstrate comprehension of visual and multimedia texts to synthesize and summarize ideas from multiple visual and multimedia sources.

Create and present a variety of visual and multimedia presentations including addressing various audiences for one proposal

I CAN WRITE A MOVIE CRITIQUE

WRITE A MINIMUM OF FIVE GOOD PARAGRAPHS TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

PART ONE: Information
Write a short paragraph including the name of the movie, the director, producer, the three top stars, and the year of release. Also include when and where you watched the film and any special comments (was it in more than one part, was it part of a series, was it based on a novel, etc.) In your case, it is based on a novel.
PART TWO: The Plot
In no more than one good paragraph, retell the plot. Of course, you will not be able to give all the details. Just condense the main story line into 5-8 sentences.
PART THREE: The Setting
When and where was the movie set? If several locations were used, were they all depicted realistically? (Were there forests, mountains, rivers, etc. where they should have been for the real setting?) How long a time span did it cover? Were the houses, furnishings, foods, tools, weapons, clothes, hairstyles, shoes, streets, etc. shown with accuracy? Give some examples of period props you think were especially well or especially poorly presented.
PART FOUR: Curriculum Connections: 

Answer the following questions with a good paragraph:

Do you think that this futuristic novel could actually occur? 

Imagining the future and other worlds:

¨      Would there ever be a need to live underground?

¨      What elements are of the story are believable?  Not believable?

¨      What decisions might people have to make to survive in the future?

PART FIVE: Evaluation
Give an evaluation of the film. Don't just say, "I liked it because it was a good movie," or "I hated it because it was boring." Like a real film critic, point out the strengths and weaknesses of the movie. Which actors did a good job and which were inadequate? Were there places where the plot was vague, too slow, or too fast? Were there stereotyped roles or rounded characterizations? Did the story build to a logical climax and resolve itself satisfactorily? Did it hold the viewer's interest uniformly? Why? If the film was done many years ago, would it be done differently now? Why? Did the film make the viewer more aware of history or just confuse the issue? What would have made the film better? Would you recommend the film to another student? Why?

Short Stories
Morning Class:

1. "The Day the Martian Landed" by Pierre Burton
               - Page 122 Crossroads
               - Responding to the Selection - Page 125 - 1a, b, c and d
2. "Moon Maiden" by Alsion Baird
               - Page 128 Crossroads -
               -

“Moon Maiden”

Vocabulary – ten highlighted plus five more – write sentence and definition.

1.       attired – page 127

2.       claustrophobic – page 127

3.       regolith – pate 128

4.       demented – page 128

5.       tranquility – page 129

6.       kimono – page 129

7.       immobilized – page 130

8.       entreaty – page 130

9.       eccentrics – page 131

10.   flotsam – page 131

11.   Artemis – page 131

12.   attired – page 132

13.   restorative – page 132

14.   lunatic – page 133

15.   hallucinations – page 133

16.   maiden – page 133

17.   bore – page 133

18.   reminiscent – page 133

19.   realm – page 134

20.   repository – page 134

21.   exiled – page 134

22.   mortal – page 134

23.   dismissive – page 134

24.   desolate – page 135

25.   grandeur – page 135

26.   barren – page 135

27.   intrusion – page 136

28.   insubstantial – page 136

29.   solidified – page 136

30.   mottled – page 136

31.   lichen – page 136

32.   regolith – page 136

33.   summit – page 136

34.   pagoda – page 136

35.   mesmerized – page 138

36.    cumbersome – page 138

37.   figurine – page 139

38.   exquisite – page 139

               - Responding to the Story - 1a, b, c, d, e (Do 1a - list sequence of story events - 5-10 points)

This afternoon's Class:

 Book projects - reading/publisher newsletter

Book Assignment

Choose and read a novel regarding "Imagining New Worlds" or "Realationships, Love and Loyalty"
You must use Microsoft Publisher to create a newsletter all relating to your novel.
Components:
/ 15 - 5 articles - one must summarize the plot
                           (letter to editor, comic, news, obituary, etc)
/5 -    5 pictures - relating to the novel

/5       overall creativity and appearance
/5       Mechanics - Grammar, spelling, capitalization, etc

Total - /30

Book Project Due Monday, June 11th

Test on Romeo and Juliet next Friday, May 25
English Essays and Lines are due Thursday, May 24th

Sentences

http://eslbee.com/sentences.htm

Essay

Grade 9 ELA Essay Assignment

Your assignment is to write an essay to answer one of the following questions or create your own topic:

(a)  Love at first sight is not possible and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet prove this without a doubt.

(b)  Romeo and Juliet is an excellent example of a tragic story.

(c)   Shakespeare’s Romeo is an impulsive, immature and emotionally damaged young man.

(d)  Mercutio is considered to be one of Shakespeare's great creations, yet he is killed relatively early in the play. What makes Mercutio so memorable a character?

(e)  Compare and contrast the characters of Tybalt and Mercutio.  Why does Mercutio hate Tybalt?

(f)    Examine the role of women in the play.

Your essay must consist of at least five paragraphs, the first will be the introduction, the middle paragraphs will be the body paragraphs (the three specific references to selections) and the last paragraph will be the conclusion.

You will be graded on the following:

/3        outline (pre-writing) 

/4        rough copies with editing and TWO signatures

/2        title page with original title

/3        introductory paragraph with the unit title

/9        body paragraphs

/2        use of at least two quotes to support the essay

/2        concluding paragraph

/5        grammar

/30      total

Comments:

May 2, 2012
We are reading Romeo and Juliet.
We finished to the end of Act 2.
Students are asked to locate and memorize 20 lines.
Students must select a line that shows the use of a literary device.  They must illustrate the line on white paper.  The illustration must show the literary device.

Shakespeare

Today we studied Sonnet 29 and Iambic Pentameter.  Tomorrow we will read Sonnet 73.
We also read 1.1 orally and worked on comprehension questions.

Sonnet 73:
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/73detail.html

PAA Survey

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PAASURVEY2012

Viewing Movie

Grade 9 English Language Arts

Viewing Movie – Romeo and Juliet

Print neatly and legibly – you may use phases/points.

Memorable Old English words or phrases with possible meaning.	Character names with descriptions	Different scenes? Add a short description	What kinds of clothing did you view?  Colors, type, etc…	Character Conflicts	Other – questions, comments, ideas, etc…