Hi! Today marks the first day of Spring, the first day back after the March Break, and the day before the first progress report of the semester. There’s much to be done but I’m happy to report that things are going very well in classes.

In ENG3U – Grade 11 English, we are approaching the halfway mark of Frankenstein Chapters 11-16. I’m really happy with the thoughtful, inquisitive discussions we’ve been having about the novel. I’m looking forward to our next class conversation, which will focus on and a narrative told from the perspective of Frankenstein’s monster. We’ve also been making connections between characters, archetypes, symbols and motifs, and themes. We will focus on some creative writing as we head into the middle of the unit.

The ICS2O – Grade 10 Computer Science class has begun their introduction to the Python programming language.

This powerful, open source language is used by major computer companies as well as hobbyists and skilled Python coders are hot commodities in the computer science fields. There are some pretty cool projects that can be made using Python so we’ll see where we go! We are using the following great Python tools:

• CodeCademy – Free Lessons, Tutorials and Quizzes
• Repl.it/Language/Python – Free Online Python Editor
• Reddit Learn Python Thread – Great Place to Ask Questions

I’m looking forward to learning and experimenting with this group of students in Python.

Finally, a note on Progress Reports. The semester’s first Progress Reports will be available on Tuesday, March 21. These reports will give a general indication of each student’s work habits and achievement in the course. Since it’s early and the marks are based on a limited number of assignments, the marks shouldn’t be the focal point. I’m available for any questions or to discuss the progress of a student. A Parents’ Night will be scheduled for early April, so stay tuned!

Thanks again, welcome back, and have a great week!

We’ve been busy in English and Computer Science learning a whole lot of great stuff. I appreciate the collaborative nature of each class as they work together to solve problems, develop a better understanding of whatever we’re focusing on, and bringing a lot of liveliness to class. The energy and positivity is contagious.

In ENG3U – Grade 11 English we are diving deep into Frankenstein. We have used some inferencing, predicting, and stream-of-consciousness techniques to really understand the motivations of the main character, Victor. This includes collaborating activities to help share our knowledge of the novel.

I also introduced our first Socratic seminar discussion to the class. This involves students generating their own questions about the text and other students choosing questions to discuss in class. The discussion involves students referencing specific text passages, making connections, and participating – and the result is discussing things I never would have imagined. Hooray for deeper learning. Here are some of the student questions:

Meanwhile, in ICS2O – Grade 10 Computer Science we have spent the first few days of the week focusing on computer hardware. Students developed an understanding of all of the various components of a personal computer, including CPUs, hard drives, input and output devices, memory – and all those components that seem so foreign to so many people.

Students also got to get some hands-on experience by disassembling, cataloging, and reassembling donated personal computer towers. My favourite line: “I feel like I learned so much in 75 minutes.” Awesome. Mission accomplished.

There are only a few classes left until March Break – and a much-deserved break. Looking forward to continuing with our collective awesomeness when we come back. Students (and parents/guardians) can also expect progress reports right after the break. Check out GCHS.ca for information on that stuff.

Now that we have a very good understanding of Romanticism through our research on Romantic Poets, it’s time to really start to dig into Frankenstein. To do this effectively, students need to understand and apply some reading strategies.

We are going to start with inferencing and annotating. Students will practice inferencing skills be looking at and dissecting passages of text. We will use that skill to learn about annotating, so that as students read the novel they will be able to figure out what’s going on and make notes that will be useful for class discussions and assignments.

Students will develop their own high-order thinking questions, based on success criteria we develop in class, to show knowledge and understanding of the novel – but also to facilitate conversations about the novel, which will depend on inferencing and annotating.

I’m looking forward to seeing students’ thinking about the novel.

Students can access the link to the questions by clicking here.