Language Arts 7

Today students began class with my favourite schoolhouse rock video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODGA7ssL-6g

As a class we generated a list of conjunctions:

Students then had 1 minute to come up with as many conjunctions as possible.  Today Ethan had the most!

Students then took notes on two more poetic devices, euphemism and hyperbole:

Students were then asked to write an ode.  Students first created a web (I modelled one on the board) and then began their draft odes.

Some were very funny!  Early finishers played checkers, drew, or read.

After lunch, students read for 20 minutes.  We then worked through the method books and To A Skylark.

Language Arts 7

Today students began with a quiz on poetic devices.  They were asked to provide examples of each poetic device that we have learned so far.

In small groups, students then wrote a haiku to share with the class.  Students were then given a short brain break outside.

Students were then given a lesson on writing an acrostic poem.  Student then wrote two acrostic poems individually.

After lunch, students read for 20 minutes.

We then worked through the band method book and students were tested on To A Skylark.

English 8/9 (1)

Today students began with a journal entry focusing on the two recent presentations that we have had at the school: Kevin Fox, the cellist and Jillian Christmas, the spoken word artist.

After this, students were asked to free write for 20 minutes.

Students then recorded two more poetic devices:

After this, we played an improv game where students wrote down a sentence on a piece of paper and then two players had to work these lines into their skit.

We then played Scattergories.

Thursday, February 19: English 8/9 (1)

In this block, students had a fabulous presentation by Jillian Christmas.  She has represented Canada at the national level for Spoken Word Poetry.

Jillian gave a workshop which required student involvement.  Students did a great job of participating!

We will work more on Spoken Word Poetry over the next little while.

Wednesday February 18: Language Arts 7

Today students began by watching the following school house rock video on Adverbs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14fXm4FOMPM

After this, we generated a list of adverbs together on the board.

Students then did skits, trying to use as many adverbs as possible.

Students were then timed for two minutes while they wrote down as many adverbs as possible.

After this, students reviewed the six poetic devices that we have studied so far:

Simile, Personification, Metaphor, Alliteration, Onomatopoeia, and Rhyme Scheme

Students were asked to complete a review sheet which asked for examples of each of the poetic devices.  Students will have a quiz on these terms on Monday.

MONDAY: Quiz on Poetic Devices

Language Arts 7: February 16 2015

Poetic Devices Covered:

English 8/9 (1)

Today students began class by watching this charming classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkuuZEey_bs

Once we established what an adjective was (a word to describe a noun), students listed as many as they could first as a class and then individually.  The first round went to Isla, Michelle, and Kaitlin and the second to Cole.

Students were then asked to write a descriptive paragraph based on a picture that they either brought from home, or chose from my picture pile.

This took students to the end of class.

Language Arts 7

This morning students began by identifying adjectives.  We listed a number of adjectives before watching the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkuuZEey_bs

Students then were timed to see how many adjectives they could write down in 2 minutes.  Julia won with 35 adjectives.

Students were asked to take the following notes on poetic devices:

Students then came up with a few metaphors and alliterations on their own.

Finally, we began writing haiku poems.  Student were provided the following handout and then asked to try writing a few of their own haikus.

A haiku poem:

·      has three lines (1^st line = 5 syllables, 2^nd line = 7 syllables, 3^rd line = 5 syllables)

·      is about nature

·      uses poetic devices

Examples:

Winter

thick blanket of snow

snuggling the flowerbeds

with a winter wrap

Heavenly Herald

dainty daffodil

your golden trumpet fanfares

the dawning of spring

Snow

tiny snow angel

snowflakes kiss your rosy cheeks

white winter beauty

Please write as many haikus as you can below (or on the back):

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After lunch, students read for 20 minutes and then set up for band.

English 8/9 (1)

Today students began by writing descriptive paragraphs in small groups.  Groups were asked to best describe a picture provided by me.  We then had a guest judge come forward and listen to the paragraphs.  Our lovely judge decided that Lauryn, Isla, and Rachel most competently captured their image with words.

Students must bring a picture of their own to describe next class.

Students then watched the old schoolhouse rock video on nouns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfnXUWJz0sE

Students collectively generated a list of nouns and then individually wrote down as many nouns as possible in two minutes.  Cole won with 53 nouns in two minutes!!

Finally, students took notes on two poetic devices:

Again in groups, students came up with as many similes or examples of personification as they could in four minutes.

Life 101

Today we began by describing what the course will entail.  Students formed groups and chose dates for the food and nutrition component of the course.

Students went through their old folders from Planning 10 and kept what they will need to help them with their transition plans.

We will begin goal planning next class.

Students will begin by taking the Myers-Briggs test:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

Language Arts 7

Today students began by watching the old schoolhouse rock video on nouns!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfnXUWJz0sE

Students were asked to create and present a skit that used as many nouns as possible.

Students, individually, were then timed to see how many nouns they could name in 2 minutes.  Amelia won with 45 nouns!

After the focus on parts of speech, students were asked to do a binder clean.

We then took some notes on poetic devices:

Students finally in groups spent some time coming up with examples of simile and personification.

After lunch, students read for 20 minutes and then set up for band.

We played numbers 69 and 71 from the method book and then worked on To A Skylark from 11-37.

English 8/9

Today students first warmed up with a parts of speech game.

Students refreshed themselves on what the parts of speech are (as seen above) + article (a, an, the).

Students then competed to see who were the parts of speech champs!

After, students completed a split image exercise.  The purpose of the activity (or rationale) was to begin to understand the importance of descriptive language in creating images in the mind.

Students worked in pairs to complete the activity.  Some drawings were fabulous, and some were hilarious!

Overall, it was a great class.

Just a reminder that our block rotation will change this coming week, and as well, our block time has changed from B Block to G Block.  This means I will see students for English on Wednesday next week.

Have a happy weekend!

Language Arts 7

Today grade sevens started the day with the parts of speech game.  Once again, the boys won the competition.

Students were then asked to write their narrative paragraphs, for which they had a rough sketch created from the day before.

Students who finished early were encouraged to work on the puzzle, read, draw, or play checkers.

After lunch, some students finished off their paragraphs, while other read quietly.

We then worked through our band method books and were tested on bars 27-37 in To A Skylark.

English 8/9 (1)

Today the grade 9s had a presentation with our counsellor, Ms Dimond, and discussed anxiety.

The grade 8s remained with me for a class of direction following.  We made pear muffins!!

Language Arts 7

Today students began by refreshing their understanding of parts of speech:

• adverb
• pronoun
• conjunction
• verb
• noun
• adjective
• preposition
• interjection
• article

Students then played a lively game to reinforce their awareness and understanding.  The boys won overall today!

Next, students were read a narrative paragraph sample.  Students then began creating an outline for their own narrative paragraphs.  These were completed in class.  Students will use these outlines next class when they begin writing a narrative paragraph.

After lunch, students read for twenty minutes.  We then set up the classroom for band and played through the method book, finishing with To A Skylark and Conquest.