Thursday, June 14, 2012

English 12: Thursday, 14 June

Today we reviewed the remainder of the English 12 terms and then discussed ways to outline the synthesis piece I assigned yesterday.  Tomorrow please come come prepared to do a little writing AND to continue our review for the exam.

English 8: Thursday, 14 June

It is a sad day for me today :(

For our last class together we took time to reflect on all that we have participated in together this year.  I was amazed at the depth of your recall and touched by the many kind words and wishes that you expressed both in your wonderfully genuine card and your reflective paragraphs.  It has been my great pleasure to work with you all.  I will remember you as an energetic, cooperative and willing group of students.  I never had to wait for volunteers; I never heard anyone say, "This is boring;" in fact, I never witnessed anything but kind and respectful behaviour.  It would be hard to find a better class anywhere.  I hope you can continue to model such positive behaviour in the future: you are wonderful role models and give me hope for the future of our school! You should be very proud of your many accomplishments (I know I am).

History 12: Thursday, 14 June

Today we did a Mid East Quiz - props on a good job; and then we did a south-Asia map activity - a bit rough the first time around, but quite strong the second time.  We then reviewed the Civil Rights PPT.  I also gave out a work/review sheet of the key elements of this topic.  Try to complete some of the "table" for homework. We also did a collective effort to answer the questions from an old Unit Five exam - you did very well for an off-the-cuff-no-studying perspective.  Tomorrow we'll start our review for the final.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

English 12: Wednesday, 13 June

Today we discussed the questions for the story The Chrysanthemums.  I asked you to create a chart to compare and contrast Elisa's character in terms of "strengths" and "weaknesses."  This is the type of question you might expect in Part A of your provincial.  I then asked you to compare and contrast Willy Loman from DOASalesman with the peddler in The Chrysanthemums.   This sort of synthesis activity is the type of thing you should expect from Part B of the provincial.  Please have both activities ready for tomorrow.

History 12: Wednesday, 13 June

Today we debriefed the Middle East work sheets and had a practice quiz linking our study of events to a map showing their location.  We also had a brief discussion about the nature of modern conflict and noted that on the surface it seems to be moving away from "conventional" western warfare in lieu of "irregular" (guerrilla warfare/acts of terror).  It will be interesting to see how the focus of the Canadian Forces shifts in a post-Afghanistan era.  Tomorrow we'll review the main learning points of the US civil rights movement and perhaps South African Apartheid.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

English 12: Tuesday, 12 June

Today we had a small class and so students used the time to practice their dramatic reading parts.  Ensure the questions for The Chrysanthemums are ready for tomorrow's class.

Law 12: Tuesday, 12 June

Today we had a small class and used it as a review/test rewrite day.  We'll finish Chapter 23 tomorrow.

English 8: Tuesday, 12 June

Today we started the class by trying to figure out where the multitude of alarm clocks ringing in the classroom were located.  Then we read the play Tender Places.  It was another typical Class of 2016 effort: 100%.  There is no homework - I'm saving it for the last class (on Thursday).

History 12: Tuesday, 12 June




Today we discussed the Fall of the USSR PPT.  Tomorrow we'll debrief the Middle East worksheets.

Monday, June 11, 2012

English 12: Monday, 11 June

Today I asked you to read The Chrysanthemums by Steinbeck.  I purposely did not "scaffold" this reading with teacher-support because you need to be "hardened" for the provincial exam.  Please come to the next class with the Question 1 responses completed (a-e).

History 12: Monday, 11 June

Today I issued worksheets for the kayakers that missed the two lessons on the Middle East - they watched the "Israel and the Arab States" video during lunch.  I also gave everyone the summary tables (Ex. 11 and 26).




We had a PPT discussion on the USSR/Afghanistan war 1979-1988.  We noted the bias in using terms such as "freedom fighter" and how the "optics" change depending on the side from which you are viewing.  Tomorrow we will examine the fall of the USSR's empire including the ideas of glasnost and perestroika

History 12: Afghan summary slide


Law 12: Monday, 11 June

Today we worked on Chapter 13 and started the debrief.  We got up to the case at #13.  We also discussed the No Call Registry.  Tomorrow we'll introduce the idea of liens and lien searches.  There is no homework - we'll finish debriefing Chapter 13 tomorrow.