English 12

Friday I did plan a variety of review options for today; however most people wanted to have time to study for the exam on their own, or in small groups, and ask questions of me as they arose. I will be in the portable on Monday no later than 8:30. Come by for a doughnut and a coffee (bring your own mug if you can!) before the exam if you wish. Drink lots of water over the weekend, and get lots of rest. YOU ARE ALL GOING TO KILL THIS EXAM!  Thursday We began today with a rousing game of Chiffre Chance to review some terms and devices. Following that, we some before reading questioning related to George Bowering's short story entitled "A Short Story." Wednesday It was universally agreed that more time was needed for the synthesis plan about the term novel. Tuesday All of today's class was spent working on the plan for a synthesis essay about the term novel and a second text. Monday One week today everyone will write the Provincial Exam! I handed back th...

Friday At the beginning of the class, reading time was made available for everyone to tackle more of the Hemingway story. We will use this story to help review synthesis essays. I ran through some review of synthesis essay writing, and put a poster up in the room that shows what things to use in a synthesis essay plan. We will look at this in more detail on Monday. Thursday There is so much great literature in the world, but one writer everyone should read (in my opinion) is Hemingway. Today we did a brief bit of background on Hemingway via the Interwebs and through the depiction of him in Midnight in Paris. I read the first six pages of the story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" aloud; somehow the class deteriorated into the sounds African animals make (my fault, I think - although I do think I do a particularly strong zebra imitation). The reading assignment for tomorrow was to complete to the end of page fifteen. Wednesday Today's class was shorter ...

Friday We completed constructing the criteria for a quality personal narrative essay (PNE) by reading one more student example that scored a 6. I reminded everyone that they should be on the hunt for a text that in some way goes with the novel they are reading for term 2. This text can be a poem, short story, an infographic, or a non-fiction article. We will be producing a PLAN for a synthesis essay related to the novel and the second text choice during class next Friday, January 15. Today we had a rousing team game to practice essay terms and definitions. At the end of the class there was time to sketch out a plan for Monday's in-class write. The prompts for Monday are: We create our own reality OR It is important to always know where the nearest exit is (literally or metaphorically). At the end of the class I asked everyone to contribute to the Gots & Wants poster by posting something they have learned this semester and something they still need to learn before the exam. ...