Thursday, November 6, 2025

Lesson 41

 Today was all about putting pencil to paper - getting words on the page - and putting all the thought from the last few classes into written action. 

Students were expected to finish their paragraphs in class (those with ELL/AIP/IEP allowances have had extra writing lab/tutorial time if needed).

Onward!



Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Lesson 40

 

Today's class was the last prep block for paragraph writing. Students were welcomed to tutorial and the writing lab - they are welcome to tomorrow's tutorial too - but whatever is on the paper by class time tomorrow is what they'll have to work with for their in-class paragraph write. 

Students will write tomorrow,and on Friday we will celebrate this week's utopia/dystopia work with a gallery walk. 

Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Lesson 39

 

 Students looked briefly at what a hook is, and then continued with their outline work. All students had a great deal to do, but many were off-task. 

By the end of our next block, students will have to work with what they have in order to complete their paragraphs on Thursday.

The work cannot go home, but it is available during tutorial, and in the Writing Lab tomorrow. 

Monday, November 3, 2025

Lesson(s) 36-38

 Despite a number of short blocks, and sugar-fuelled afternoons for some, most students are making steady progress in their paragraph planning. 

Students have:

  • Looked at what belongs in a paragraph
  • Chosen 3 character traits for Jonas
  • Looked at model paragraphs
  • Explored quotation integration
  • Seen an additional model of a paragraph and considered the order of body points
  • Considered transition words

While everyone should be at the point of planning their second point by next class, many have not yet been able to get a signature for their character traits/events. Those who do not have their traits decided, or have not yet got an initial from me, are strongly encouraged to come to tutorial to get ahead.

During tomorrow's class we will look at the concept of a hook in depth, and students will continue their planning work. 

All students are encouraged to head to the Writing Lab for extra planning time this week.


 

Wednesday, October 29, 2025

Lesson 35

 

Students learned about first-person, limited omniscient, and omniscient points of view.

We discussed what students remember about paragraphs, and any questions they have about paragraphs in high school.

Students looked at a list of character traits in their new writing package, and highlighted all which they felt applied to Jonas --> then they picked their top three.

Students took the top three character traits and set about associating each trait with a specific event in the story - - > a moment in which it was clear that Jonas is ___________.

We will continue with paragraph work tomorrow - students will leave these packages at school, but are welcome to come into tutorial to have their traits signed off on ahead of class time. 

Tuesday, October 28, 2025

Lesson 34

 

 Today's was a marathon class!

Since these students do not have their own copy of the text, we pushed through the remaining chapters, before taking the last few minutes to work on project pieces. 

We will begin a 4-day prep + 1-day writing cycle tomorrow, after which students will get a rest to watch the film. 

Students are reminded that all question booklets are due on November 3rd, and their posters are due on November 4th.

Monday, October 27, 2025

Lesson 33

 We talked about  the many good things and positive interactions between folks in our class, and the school - it is good to dwell on the positive sometimes!

We discussed moments students are aware of/connected to, when a group (or individual) stood up to push back and create change in their society - revolutionary resistance - many shared personal connections.

We talked about the protagonist of the novel --> how he has been taking a step forward to push back, then stepping back into line.

We reviewed the back page of the 17-20 package, so students could think about character development in this text -- we followed this by reading chapters 18 & 19. 

Students had the final 15 minutes to work on their Utopia/Dystopia pieces. 

 

Lesson 41

 Today was all about putting pencil to paper - getting words on the page - and putting all the thought from the last few classes into writte...