Hello, everyone! It’s true – Spring is in the air! The days are noticeably longer, the weather is noticeable warmer, and we are noticeably closer to midterms. Just. Like. That. I hope everyone has had a restful March Break. We have two short weeks surrounding the Easter super-long weekend to get stuff done. Here’s the plan:

ENG3U Grade 11 University English: Students have completed reading Frankenstein and will now turn their attention to some culminating activities. These include a literary essay, a unit test, and a viewing of the DeNiro version of the film. Next, we will jump into some short writing, focusing on poetry and short stories. Yay!

ENG4C Grade 12 College English: We are very close to finishing Crow Lake. Some students have struggled to stay caught up with the reading, but we need to press on. If you’re behind, take some time and put forth some effort to get caught up. The novel will finish with a culminating unit project. Afterwards, we will be talking Business Communication/College Writing.

ENG4U Grade 12 University English: As a culminating task for The Great Gatsby, students will view the 2013 version of the film and write a detailed film review. Students will also complete a short unit test. Next up, we will begin our study of Daniel Quinn’s philosophical novel Ishmael. Start reading!

Also, the Independent Study Unit has been prepared and will be distributed to students this week. You can view it by clicking here.

Things will continue to move extremely fast as March melts away into April. Midterms are right around the corner. Please ensure that all work is submitted according to deadlines and that you see me for help if necessary. Otherwise, have a great week!

Hello, everyone. The excitement is building as both warm weather and the March Break approaches. Look at the forecast for the week. The melt is beginning!

This is a good time of year! It’s also a busy time of year as students and teachers, (including me!) are out of the classroom a bit this week.

On that note, some important announcements:
PROGRESS REPORTS will be provided to students on Monday, March 7. These reports will not have a mark, but instead provide general information on how students are doing in terms of work completion, efforts, organization, and the like.

PARENTS’ NIGHT is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9 from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Please note that I may not be back from a training session in Red Rock in time but I will make every effort to be at GCHS that evening. If you’d like to schedule a meeting outside of Parents’ Night, please contact me and we can definitely set something up.

Otherwise, here’s an update on what’s happening in class this week:

In ENG3U – Grade 11 University English, we continue to study Frankenstein. Students have been doing a really good job developing collaborative skills through the use of technology to discuss the novel. We’ve been using Google’s tools for this and the discussions will continue this week. We’ll also consider perspective as students complete a writing assignment.

The collaboration has been valuable and the discussions that follow in class have been awesome.

ENG4C – Grade 12 College English students have also continue to work on a novel study. Crow Lake has captured the interest of many in class. We will focus on theme this week as students discuss some of the themes that have been developed in the novel so far. Then, students will choose a theme and do a close examination of it through a bit of a project. You can access the Crow Lake unit materials on the ENG4C – Lessons page.

Finally, in ENG4U – Grade 12 University English, we are getting very close to the end of The Great Gatsby. The seminar discussions in this class have been interesting as we examine all of the elements that make Jay Gatsby tick. Our focus this week will be on character and conflict, especially between Gatsby and Daisy, and this will be a good introduction for all the craziness that happens in Chapters 7-9 of the novel.

Once again, please get in touch with me if you have comments or questions, or need any extra help. A mere five days separates us from a well-deserved March Break!

We are quickly approaching a third of the way through second semester, believe it or not. Things are going smoothly in class for most students as they manage workloads, contribute to lessons, and complete work. We are having some great discussions about novels, doing some critical reading, and building a better understanding of novels. Next week, the first Progress Reports will be provided to students. A Parents’ Night is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9 and there is a chance I will not be in attendance as I am traveling back from training in Red Rock. If parents wish to make alternate arrangements, please email me or call the school. Otherwise, we’ll keep soldiering on towards the March Break.

We’ve been having some great success in class with collaborative discussions. Students are submitting questions and discussion points to Google Docs so we can work through the texts together. It’s been awesome! Here’s what else is happening in the next week:

In ENG3U – Grade 11 University English we have approached the half-way point of Frankenstein. We’ve been discussing Romanticism, the development of characters, and why the author made some deliberate choices about the creation of the Creature in the text. We will continue thinking about these topics and assess learning through a quiz. Students should continue reading the novel and annotating their text with questions and information they think is important. Here’s an example:

ENG4C – Grade 12 College English students have taken a liking to Crow Lake. The class has talked about how tragedy affects our lives, how we think differently as adults compared to as children, and how we relate (and rely on) those around us. Students will continue thinking about (and discussing!) the impact of the novel.

In ENG4U – Grade 12 University English we have spent quite a bit of time talking themes and symbolism in The Great Gatsby. Students have used a seminar format to identify important parts of the novel and how the themes, characters, and conflicts relate to our lives. We will continue developing an understanding of how to go back to the text to support ideas and arguments as we move forward.

Once again, thanks to all of my students for being incredibly awesome. I’m looking forward to another great week. As always, let me know if there is anything I can do to make learning better. Email me! Tweet me! Visit me!