Goodbye for now, Cambie!

Dear all,

I have now finished my student teaching at Cambie and want to take this opportunity to tell you all how much fun I had teaching you over these past few months. You've taught me so much about myself and how I can become a better teacher.

I still have marking to do on work, so I will be back to hand that in at some point. Work hard Crusaders - these last months will change your grades so much if you're willing to change them.

Take care, and stay in touch,
Ms. J

KAJohnson@sd38.bc.ca

Tuesday, May 08

It's my last week at Cambie, everyone, so work needs to start coming in. If you're missing any work, you need to come and see me ASAP!!

  9s:
Today, we wrote an 9 sentence paragraph. answering the question: How does O.R. Melling create the character of ________ in The Singing Stone?

We walked through the paragraph step by step, and then handed in a good copy at the end of class. Good work on this everybody - I have everyone's good copy.

I am still marking your film trailers, so I do not have everyone's grade yet. Although I am finished teaching you now, I will still be posting your marks over the next week or so.

11s:
In the build-up to your final project on Thursday, we spent the class working on an 11 sentence paragraph, describing how and why you wrote your poem and chose the method of presentation. We handed in our drafts and good copies to be marked, so if I don't have this, you NEED to come see me, as it makes up a significant percentage of your grade.

FINAL PROJECTS DUE THURSDAY -  NO LATES ACCEPTED (as I will be returning to UBC at the end of this week.

12s:
After planning out essay outline in the last class, we completed writing our essays in these classes. If I do not have an essay from you, I cannot give you a grade, so again, COME SEE ME ASAP.

Movies and Cupcakes next class - bring along a few snacks if you want :)

Enjoy the sunshine, and see you all soon,
Ms. Johnson.

Friday, May 04

Happy Friday everybody!!

9s:
We seemed to have a few issues with attitude and behavior today but I know this has now been fixed and I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday.
Your trailers so far look amazing!!

Homework: send me a copy of your trailer that will play!! A final copy to be emailed to me by Sunday. My email is
KAJohnson@sd38.bc.ca


11s:
Poetry Test Day - thanks to all of you for showing up ready to sit the test. Reading through your answers so far has made me a happy teacher!
You should also have told me the theme and method of presentation for your final project by now. If I don't have this, or if you didn't sit your test, you need to see me or email me ASAP.


12s:
Essay Planning -
Now that we move onto our final essay, you were asked to prepare an essay plan. When you write the essay on Monday/Tuesday, you will only have this plan to help you so it was imperative (word of the day) that you wrote a plan. Come see me if you haven't. I should by now have everyone's book.

Have a great weekend everybody - I'm off I watch <<The Hunger Games>> with my dad for his birthday :)

Ms. Johnson.

Wednesday, May 02

It was nerd collaboration day today, Cambie!

9s:
Working on suspense paragraphs today was great fun! Those question prompts really helped us work on writing a suspense paragraph, and reading through what you've handed me, I'm impressed so far.

Homework: Finish your trailer to be ready to show the class. Make sure the format is available on all computers, and that you have more than on copy.

Those of you who won't be in class: I would like one paragraph telling me what you did in your group's video and why you chose that role?

11s:
Collaboration Block was busy with lots to do. We looked deeper into love poems, and how the older forms of poetry express this theme. Some of the themes covered were: sonnet, iambic pentameter and rhyming couple. We also revisited the idea of pathetic fallacy.

TEST THIS FRIDAY:
Part 1: Definitions:
6 questions on definitions, asking for examples of where they can be found. We will cover only the literary devices that we have spoken about in class, so use your Literary Devices worksheet to help you study.

Part 2: Compare & Contrast:
In this section, you will be asked for a multi-paragraph answer, comparing and contrasting two poems that we HAVE NOT covered in class.

12s:
Well done to all of you for completing your "The Taming of the Shrew" Test :) Everyone showed up and from what I've marked so far, everyone studied their texts hard.

We move on next class to planning our final essay.

See you all on RockStar Day :)
Ms. Johnson.

Monday, April 30th

Happy Pajama Day Cambie :)

I hope you all enjoyed a day back in school in your PJ's.

9s:
Looking closer at suspense stories and what techniques the author used, we read Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. After reading through this story, we highlighted the actions, speech and emotion of the story.
The video clip can be found here:

Homework:Right now, you should be working on your film trailer project. The final cuts are due FRIDAY MAY 4th.

11s:

Today, you received your Macbeth essays. The marks are out of 36, and there should be a percentage on your essays too. Look over them closely, paying special attention to the following weak areas:

• plays = present tense. The characters are always alive on stage, so we discuss them and their actions in present tense
• word choice = know what words you're using and for what purpose
• think before you write = many of you write AS you think. Plan your work first, before you put pen to paper.

International Poetry:

• Shane Koyczan's We Are More :  http://www.houseofparlance.com/mp3s/We%20are%20more%20-%20Shane%20Koyczan.mp3
• Seamus Heaney Midterm Break: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npMoXXUGSMs

Today, we looked at a way of analyzing poetry using the TPCASTT method. 

Homework: Finish a TPCASTT on Heaney's Midterm Break

12s:

TAMING OF THE SHREW TEST NEXT CLASS:

1-4: Wednesday May 2nd

2-1: Tuesday, May 1st

The test will follow this format:

• 10 matching questions - asking you to match character descriptions to names
• 15 multiple choice - these questions are mostly concerned with plot
• 10 identify the speaker questions
• 10 short answer questions - there should be answered in full sentences. 

If you re-read your play, paying attention to the side notes, along with the handouts we have gone through in class, this test will be no problem.

See you all soon,

Ms. Johnson

Thursday, April 26th

Hi everybody,

9s:
Today, we had a pop quiz on Chapters 1 - 10, using this as a chance to brush up on the plot and action of the novel so far. Some of you seemed a little unsure of your answers, and I received a few blank answer sheets. Maybe this weekend is your chance to catch up on your reading.
We also tried to graph out the plot so far. You all had very interesting and different ways of showing how a plot could be representing through some form of graph, chart or storyboard. Good job!
The film trailer project has now been given an extension of sorts. I am asking you to bring a rough cut of footage for Monday. I need to see something, so even if it's not finished, let's see how far you've come.

Homework:

• Finish your rough cut of your film trailer project for Monday. (The finished version should be ready to show the whole class on Friday)
• Read Chapters 11 - 13, and catch up if you're missing out on other reading!

11s:
*MARKS HAVE BEEN POSTED* (you should all have received your blue scene presentation assessment back today)
Today, we looked at how poetry can be represented through rap, lyrics or def poetry. I want you to see how poetry can come from so many different sources and can touch subjects close to everyone.
You also received your Final Project Description - if you don't have one, you need to see me, so we can talk about this.

Homework:

• Find a poem from your home culture (translated into English), and bring this to class on Monday, as we are going to look at international poetry, and the themes that bind us together. 
• Choose a theme/topic for your Final Project - think of something that touches you that you would want to write about. I will be asking you to come and tell me what this is.

12s:

Working still on the Ideas on Love and Marriage, we are now looking to revise over the play, and the attitudes contained within it. It is important that you have your homework finished for class. Your marks have been posted, and some of you will need to do a little more work get the higher marks. 

There will be a test next week for both classes, involving some quotation analysis as well as short answers to questions. I know that you can all do this test, and exceed expectations, but for this class, you will need to work hard to revise. That way, you will know what to expect. 

Have a great weekend everybody.

Ms. J

Tuesday, April 24th

Happy Tuesday everyone!

9s:
Today we worked on your trailer projects some more, and I wanted you to delve more into character, and how the author creates the character through the use of actions, words and descriptive passage. It was good to see everyone working hard, and I was so happy to be able to collect your scripts to mark them.


Homework: Make sure you finish reading up until Chapter 10, because I can sense a pop quiz somewhere in the future.

11s:
Today's subject was "Gender in Poetry". How do poets write about men and women? Through our study of Marge Piercy's "Barbie Doll", and John Updike's "Youth in Progress", I hope you were able to note our new poetic terms: enjambment, and allusion. Remember to highlight these on your Literary Devices worksheet now that we're done.
To look at poetry in more depth, we are using the "Graffiti Method", which allows us to dig deeper into the poets intentions, as well as look at our own reactions.

Homework:  Finish graffiti-ing John Updike's "Youth in Progress", and finish the compare/contrast worksheet, showing the similarities and differences between the two poems.

12s:
Working on Ideas on Love and Marriage, was a great way to see how other poets and writers have interpreted this topics. We were then also treated to some of 10 Things I Hate About You, and were lucky enough to reach Heath Ledger singing :)

Homework: Make sure you finish the Love and Marriage worksheet questions 1 - 5 for next class.

See you all soon!
Ms. Johnson.