Poetry and coding!? To be fair, each subject is being taught in a different class, but I argue that there is a pretty clear relationship between the expression of emotions and the development of computer operations. Both are all about creation. It was nice to see light bulbs go off in English as students figured out their poems. The same light bulbs brightened as students problem-solved HTML and Scratch in computer science. In the past few weeks, we’ve been working in hands-on, inquiry-based learning and students have been pretty engaged, which is awesome. We will be continuing this style of learning this week as we continue poetry in English and HTML in Computer Science.

ENG2D – Grade 10 English students have completed writing a poem on a social justice issue. Topics include addiction, homelessness, crime, and abuse – among others. Check out a few examples:

This week, we continue studying poetry by focusing on analyzing poetic elements as well as writing a variety of our own poems, including haikus, (my favourite!)

Poetry Writing
Is challenging for students
But they’re good at it

Meanwhile, ICS2O – Grade 10 Computer Science students continue learning HTML. We had a great week last week as students mastered basic code and started seeing websites come to life. This included basic elements such as different type, links, images, and tables. We are going to explore using CSS, (Cascading Style Sheets) to put more control on the visuals of our pages. We will also start using WordPress as a basis of creating a whole website.

Finally, I want to keep exploring using some great hands-on tools I’ve been given, including this awesome Makey-Makey product. Makey-Makey basically using conductive properties of objects to replace keyboard and mouse controls. The result is some pretty awesome creations, (like our chalk-paper-scissors Pac-Man controller)

At a Superior-Greenstone DSB Tech Champions workshop last week, educators from our area got to explore with Makey-Makey. At the end of the session, students from George O’Neil Public School in Nipigon got to check out our cool tech toys. Look at the engagement!

There are only THREE WEEKS until the Christmas Vacation. I hope students continue to take advantage of these learning opportunities and that anyone who requires extra help will come and see me. Thanks!

The next two weeks are all about creating stuff in class. I think this will be a better change of pace for students as the flow is a bit speedier and will help us move towards the Christmas Break. Yes, the Christmas Break…and it’s only four weeks away. That time will fly as we keep busy. Here’s what we’re doing:

In ENG2D –  Grade 10 English, we wrapped up the short story unit and are transitioning into the poetry unit. I’m looking forward to reading students’ Guilty Short Story culminating project from the last unit. This new short unit focuses on reading and understanding poetry as well as creating and writing poetry. It’s a nice mix. We start by thinking about how poetry can be a response to a social justice issue and then we rocket along from there.

Meanwhile, the ICS20 – Grade 10 Computer Science class begins learning all things website development with a basic introduction to HTML, which is the language that websites are based on. Surprisingly, no students in the class have HTML experience so we will start at the basics and move from there. We’re experimenting with Google Classroom to keep our lessons organized. (It pairs nicely with the great HTML tutorial from Khan Academy.) The other great thing about HTML is that it’s very visual, which is a nice switch for many from the heavy coding of Python in the last unit.

So that’s the plan for the next couple of weeks. The creating – whether it’s poetry or websites – should be fun…. and then it’s Christmas!

Midterm reports are being processed by the office and they should be put in the mail this week. With double-digit warm temperatures, it’s hard to believe we are at that point in the school year – and it’s even harder to believe that the Christmas Break is only just over a month away.

For the most part, students are doing well in English and Computer Studies. The most important methods for success include:

• Ensuring that students follow success criteria and assignment instructions
• Students ask for help if help is needed
• Students use their time effectively, both in and out of class

Those who are following these methods are generally doing well. Those who aren’t have fallen behind – but there’s still half a semester to work hard and make improvements. I’m available to help!

Some students have not successfully met expectations for deadlines/success criteria for the Lord of the Flies Literary Essay. It’s important to meet these expectations as they will only get harder to make up as the semester moves closer to the end.

This week in ENG2D – Grade 10 English, we will continue looking at Short Stories. Last week, we read and analyzed two of my favourites. We’ll transition to writing this week as students develop character, conflict, and other narrative elements.

In ICS2O – Grade 10 Computer Science, the class will spend a few days discussing Internet and Computer Security, including viruses/malware/security threats and the history of detecting and eliminating them. With the recent major attack on websites last month, (and the supposed attack on EQAO, affecting the Grade 10 Literary Test, this topic is…topical.

I hope students are enjoying the semester as much as I’m enjoying it. It’s fun to work with the same group of students, (for the most part) for both of these classes. They’re a great group!