September 30

Due to the fact that most of the class was doing the Panther Prowl, the quiz was postponed until tomorrow.  We discussed nuclear war and the possibility of nuclear winter and watched a short propaganda video from the US circa 1950.  Then we read the story The Portable Phonograph.  Please read this story on your own.  The essays will be due on Monday and you should have some time in class to work on them tomorrow.

September 29

Today we heard the last few connections presentation.  After this I assigned a self assessment essay.  I have given out some questions for you to work from.  Please try to figure out what you learned from completing the connections project and how you learned it.  I need you to become aware of how you learn and how you process information.  Quiz tomorrow on terms 'audience to understate' only.

September 28

Today we had some more excellent presentations on the "connections" project.  The remaining groups must be ready to present right at the start of the class.

September 27

Today we had our first 'Connections' presentations.  They were very interesting.  Now that you have seen what it is all about, I hope tomorrow's groups will be a little more enthusiastic about volunteering to go first!!  Well done today.  I want to finish all the presentations by the end of tomorrow's class, so please make sure you have all your materials and are clear about what you have to do.

September 23

Today we did Record Sheets for Early Work and a quiz on the list of terms for this week.  Then we went to the library to continue working on the 'connections' project.  These must be ready to go first thing Monday morning.  Have a nice long weekend.

September 21

Today we worked on the connections project in the library.  Tomorrow there will be a quiz on terms list #5.  Your presentations are due on Monday.

September 21

We continued working on the Connections project today and I handed out terms list #5 which will be the material for our quiz on Thursday.  I also handed out copies of #13 and gothic terms.  I hope you people at Camp Squeah are thinking about this project because you have very little time to get it done.  It will now be presented to the class on Monday next week as Friday is a Pro-d day.  By the way, explore Prezi on line and if you like it, think about using it for your presentation.

September 20

Today I started out by reading some examples of some of the better 'choices' paragraphs from the start of the year.  Then groups were formed to make connections between all the gothic stories we have read so far.  The theme is "we are what we know".  You have to try to make all the connections among the stories that you can.  These can include plot, genre, history, theme, character etc.  I also handed out a brief summary of the Faust legend.  There will be some time in class to work on this but not much.  The group presentations will be FRIDAY, not Thursday as stated in class today.  Those of you at Camp Squeah will have Wed. in class to do the work and will have to make your presentations at home.

September 17

Today we looked at the end of 'Number 13'.  I would advise watching it again without so many interruptions.  Then we watched some of James Burke's "The Day the Universe Changed".  We will be using ideas from his program to compare the stories we have read so far.  Have a nice weekend.

September 16

Today we had a quiz on short story terms and marked it in class.  I also collected the Blue Boots character sketch paragraphs.  We talked a bit about the Tell Tale Heart and then watched an animated version of the story.  Finally we started to watch M.R. James' Number 13 which is a take on the Faust legend.  We will finish that tomorrow.  No homework.   Please remember that if you did not leave your book in the room today, you will need to bring it with you tomorrow and be prepared to leave it here over the weekend.

September 15

We finished reading North End Faust and discussed it briefly.  Then we watched the video of The Tell Tale Heart.  Remember that there is a quiz tomorrow on terms list #4 (short story terms).  Also your character sketch of the Blue Boots lady is due tomorrow.

Reminder of the Bonus opportunity.  Find Mr. Clyde and ask him about the "troubles" and the "Ulster occupation force".  For 1 bonus point, get him to tell you a story that you can tell in class.

September 14

Today we had time in class to work on the character sketch assignment for The Blue Boots.  After this we started reading North End Faust.  Please finish this story on your own.  The character sketch will be due (good copy) on Thursday, same day as our quiz.

September 13

Today we finished reading The Blue Boots in class.  I also handed out course outlines and went over them.  We spent the last part of the class working on the character traits/sketch assignment that I handed out on Friday.  We will have some time in class to do this tomorrow, so it will probably be due on Wed. or Thurs.  Remember that you need to have all the definitions for terms list #3 done before Thursday as we will be having a quiz on that material on the 16th.

September 9

Today we had an assembly and then we returned to the class and constructed the marking rubric for the piece of writing we did yesterday in class.  This needs to be turned in with the marking sheet by the end of tomorrow's class.  After this, I handed out some terms lists and you had to collect the definitions.  We will be going over these in class tomorrow, so please have them finished.  If you are looking for the sheet, it is called Termslist4.

September 8

Well today is the first official blog for this class.  Yesterday we discussed course requirements etc. and talked about what types of things you did during the summer.  Today I discussed the different kinds of questions there are and then we read 2 poems called Choices and The Road Less Travelled.  You were to write questions of each type about both poems and have answers ready.  We started discussing these and will finish tomorrow.  No Quiz this Thursday.