OCTOBER

Monday, October 29
We worked on two writing assignments today. Our mid-quarter letter home will be ready to send tomorrow. Secondly, we have started intensive work on paragraph-writing with a challenge to write the perfect paragraph. Directions for both of these assignments can be found in the Individual Assignments page. Our start of the poetry unit has been pushed back for one week.

Friday, October 26
In period 1, we wrote rough drafts of our email home to parents. Everyone in both classes should have handed in the Hypertext assignments today.

Thursday, October 25
Today was a conference day - with students getting caught up with work; meeting with me about marks and outstanding assignments and setting goals for the next week or two. Some students managed to complete emails home; we will continue with those on Friday. There are some glitches today with the marks program and with the wikispace so the marks may not be current as of today. That should be remedied by Friday.

Students were offered the opportunity to replace a poor mark with the mark for their Hypertext assignment. It's a great deal and, at this point, can have a big impact on a mark.

Everyone should be well on their way with the Independent Novel Study. == ==

Wednesday, October 24
All Hypertext assignments should have been handed in today. We also started to fill in a planning sheet for the Independent novel study. Those planners should be handed in at the beginning of tomorrow's class. They will be returned immediately. If you need a copy, click here:


 * Parents: please remember that we need your email address for our mid-quarter letter home.**

Tuesday, October 23
We have begun paragraph writing and learning about hypertext. These assignments will help writers think about their relationship with readers. The assignment is listed in the "Individual Assignments" page.

Marks have been posted from Friday's test. Use the navigation bar to the left and click on the class you want.

Please check deadlines and expectations for the Independent Novel Study; the due date is nearing!

Monday, October 22
We had a close look at our calendar today - just to keep everyone up-to-date. Our work on paragraphing in hypertext started today. Part one of the assignment is due at the end of Tuesday's class.


 * What if I don't have a computer or internet access at home??** We have three areas where students can use computers: the school library, the Writing Lab in room 109 and Room 413. These rooms are open and staffed throughout the lunch hour and students needing internet access are encouraged and welcome to use the facilities.

Test marks for Friday's test will be posted by Tuesday. **Policy for a missed test**: the student must bring a written excuse which states that a __parent/guardian is aware that the student missed a test on the day__. Normally, students should expect to write a make-up test on the **first day back** to class. The mark is zero without an excuse within two days of the missed test. No more than three make-up tests will be provided for any one student.

Friday, October 19
Test day for the Short Story Unit

Thursday, October 18
In both classes today we reviewed all of the terminology we have used in the study of the short story, particularly The Scarlet Ibis. The final test in this unit is tomorrow. Please re-read October 16th notes below.

Period 1: In the textbook, //On Common Ground//, read "A Sound of Thunder" for tomorrow's test. Period 5: In the textbook, //Crossroads//, read "A Sunrise on the Veld" for tomorrow's test.

Our quick review from class today is here: or these notes

Wednesday, October 17
We have come to the end of the Activity Packet for "The Scarlet Ibis" with our discussion of theme, which we will finish tomorrow. Students should be prepared to ask questions relating to any aspect of the short story unit during tomorrow's class.

Tuesday, October 16
We discussed symbolism today and examined the connection between the ibis in the story and Doodle. Students have been assigned the task of extending that connection with four questions on the topic to complete tonight as homework. As a review for the final unit test on Friday of this week, students were asked to skim notes and make a list of literary terms we have discussed. Information for the test follows:
 * 1) On Thursday, students will be given a story to read **on their own** that evening, prior to the test. The story will be available for students to use during the test.
 * 2) There will be no questions relating to stories we have covered this term.
 * 3) The concepts we have discussed in class will be **applied** to the story. In other words, students may search the story for examples of imagery or symbolism, rather than simply be asked to memorize and define the terms.
 * 4) Students are expected to review and prepare for the test on their own. While we may spend a bit of time discussing the test, the unit will not be "re-taught".

Monday, October 15
Students have been given their marks in Grade 9 English today. Additionally, the marks are posted (on the pages listed on the left side of this page) by student number. If **NHI** appears, instead of a mark, it means "Not Handed In" and so the student has a zero for that assignment.( Make-up assignments are not offered or counted for students who do not bother or who "forget" to hand work in on the assigned due date.) "Omit" means that the mark has been omitted for a pre-arranged reason and therefore, does not count.

The scheduled "mid-quarter" email home to parents/guardians has been postponed until Thursday, October 25 so that students will have an opportunity to "amend" their mark. **Parents are asked to email Ms. Stilwell so that all email goes to the right person.**

Friday, October 12
Students completed an in-class assignment on character in the short story, "The Scarlet Ibis". A paragraph on character was assigned for the weekend. Check here to see who completed this assignment.

Thursday, October 11
Our quiz on "The Scarlet Ibis" took about 15 minutes. For the remainder of the class, we worked on __point of view__, __tone__ and __imagery__ in the short story. These activities can be found on page 3 of the Activity Packet (the link is below). Some students have printed this packet at home, which is great, but remember that we are working together on these lessons. There is no "race" to see who can finish the activities first. It is important to work along with the class.

It is important to re-work your notes every evening. For some people, this might mean re-writing them in a neater form, underlining important terms or ideas. Other people prefer making an outline of the notes. Find a method that works for you. Working with the material each evening helps "set" the information in your brain and makes it much easier to remember it when you review for major tests.

Wednesday, October 10
Outline for tomorrow's quiz
 * details of the plot and setting
 * denotation and connotation
 * vocabulary as discussed in class

Tuesday, October 9

 * __Please check the calendar to see upcoming tests and assignments!!__**

Throughout the week, we will continue to work on The Scarlet Ibis. We will work each day on **elements of literature** found in this classic short story, using daily lessons found in [|Ms. Hogue's Activity Packet.] While we will discuss these elements in class, much of the work of the packet will be done as homework. Please keep up with the assignments so that you will do well on the **quiz on Thursday** of this week. Remember that the first mid-quarter report, written to parents and guardians from students, will be sent on Friday of this week. ==

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Wednesday, October 3
We listened to the classic short story, "The Scarlet Ibis" (also found on the "Reading Links" page on the English9 main page). We will use this story everyday next week as we finish our unit on the short story.

=Homework!!!!= ==All students need an email address for parents/guardians. Please bring or email that address. Students will be sending an email or a letter on Friday of next week to parents/guardians to give an update on the semester so far.==

Tuesday, October 2
The class wikis are great! We were helped enormously by Mr. Steeves, a District 6 Tech Mentor. The short story, "The Scarlet Ibis", is now on our main page, on the Reading Link. We will read the story in class tomorrow and finish the short story unit with this story. ==

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Monday, October 1
Starting a new month is a good time to set goals, which is what we worked on today. Using student agendas, we marked important dates for the whole month of October. Students are asked to come to class tomorrow having set goals in these areas: personal, interpersonal, health and learning.

We also finished up our first CyberJournal today. This is a monthly reflection of how we feel we are doing in English so far this year, with particular attention to the fact that we are using different learning strategies this year.

Mr. Steeves, one of the District 6 Technology Mentors, will be with us in class tomorrow, to help with any problems with the laptops, our wikis or just managing the class. I will also have the classroom open tomorrow at noon if anyone wants any help with any aspect of English 9.