English 9, Wed. Dec. 15

Thanks to all the incredibly organized presenters today. I really appreciated the thoroughness in and also your enthusiasm, even if the project didn't fulfill all of your expectations.

I am working my way through your literary essays on Farley Mowat and will return those tomorrow. Some of you will need to revise the essays and re-submit a corrected version. Others have mastered this form of writing.

Today, we started watching the film version of the novel. We left off with the character playing Farley eating "souris a la creme". It was difficult for those with weak stomachs. ha ha
We'll finish the film tomorrow and continue with vocabulary.
We start our poetry unit in the new year.

English 11E, Wed. Dec. 15

We covered all ten of Reilly's Rules for Excellent Writing today in class. You can find these rules in the Best American Sports Writing anthology which is in our library. Clear and to the point, Reilly is a professional in his field so why not follow his advice?

Tonight: let an idea find you! Reilly says the best ideas are right in front of you. What do you want to write about? Who will you interview? What unique angle can you take? Find the best details. Imitate the essays in your text.

This essay will be due Friday, Jan. 7, 2011. You are brilliant poets and short story writers so I am really curious to see what you will devise. We will also ensure that you get these babies published in the new year.

Arrive ready to write a first draft in class tomorrow. Bring laptops if you have them.

Writing 12, Wed. Dec.15

Last day for submitting the three micro-fiction pieces was today.

Meet in the computer lab tomorrow. Ensure that you have the blue criteria sheet for fiction manuscripts. Remember to email me a copy as well to the aurora address.

Can't wait to read your fiction. You are so talented.
Look forward to tomorrow.

English 9, Tuesday, Dec. 14

Today I collected the Mowat essays. Good copy stapled on top of the peer edited draft.

Tomorrow: Dec. 15: Literary Project Presentation. Looking forward to these!

USSR forms for December are due the first day back. Tues. Jan. 4. Be sure to take books and forms home for the holidays! Lots of time to read and relax.

English 11 E, Tues. Dec. 14

Essay Unit Test today. If you were absent, be sure to bring a note so that you will be able to write the test at a later date.

Returned the novel projects.

Read the opinion piece from yesterday's class. Be ready to discuss it Wed.

Writing 12, Tues. Dec. 14

Thanks for writing the Santa letters. They are so cute. Mrs. Biel puts them in the freezer before she hands them out so the kids get the North Pole effect. How sweet is that?

Wed: Use tomorrow's class to edit each other's work and to revise. I'm available for consulations in block 2 as well.

Thursday: Computer lab DON'T FORGET TO EMAIL ME A COPY OF THE MANUSCRIPT BEFORE YOU SUBMIT THE HARD COPY.

Friday: Manuscripts are due.

ALSO, PLEASE CHECK THE MARK PRINTOUT AND ENSURE THAT IT IS CORRECT.
THANK YOU.

If you missed a literary event in term one, make it up over the holidays. Check Monday Magazine and the Thursday Times-Colonist for lists of events.
Also, if you missed one of our visiting authors, you need to make up that event outside of class time.
Have you made a date to visit a class? Do that this week.

English 11E, Mon. Dec. 13

SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU ATTEND THIS WEEK!

Congrats to the students that made it a priority to be in class today!

We started learning about how to write and opinion piece and we wrote down criteria on the board for your opinion piece. Due date TBA. I also checked the 6 essay notes so if you were away, be sure to bring a note in order to earn these valuable participation marks.
Tomorrow is the essay test. Study. Bring your notes. You may not use your notes for the matching part of the test. This part is matching the techniques to examples.

Get those literary event forms in, too.
USSR forms for Dec. are due Jan. 4 (first day back after the holiday).