Lesson 28

Students read their personal novels  - - Those who are not bringing novels to class need to make adjustments, as it will impact their performance in a number of ways. 

Groups discussed common, societal values - related to courtesy/kindness/consideration - as they pertain to peers, strangers, and people in positions of authority. 

Groups continued their conversations about whether or not Michael Phelps has an unfair physical advantage over his competitors - - We discussed what could be done to even things out - whether or not harm my be done by the evening - and if folks who have opinions, but no scientific knowledge/understanding/expertise should get to decide such things.

We read "Harrison Bergeron." - Students have no specific homework, but must come to class prepared to discuss what it is that they think Vonnegut wants them to think about.

 

Lesson 27

We started the class by reflecting on the hard work that everyone has been doing over the past few weeks - Students must be commended for their efforts.

• Students talked about what worked for them, and what didn't (in many cases, the time they should have spent on outlines etc.) so that they can take those reflections into future work. They were reminded that their work will be marked as a draft, and that the upcoming learning update is merely a snapshot in time - there is so much to be learned between now and May/June!

We talked about a variety of issues facing media, and looked at a few articles related to media outlets, as well as social media platforms:

•  Bezos influencing publication choices at The Washington Post and subsequent subscriber loss
  
• An Atlantic article suggesting that cancelling a newspaper subscription has much less of an impact on Bezos's bottom line than does cancelling a Prime subscription
• Bluesky's growth, after ownership interference at X
• Canadian politicians choosing Bluesky to communicate

In preparation for upcoming story work, we looked at the following:

•  Caster Semenya's legal fight to compete 
• Semenya's winning case, but lost battle - and the ongoing fight
• Michael Phelps's physical capacity in the pool - what made him the best of the best

Before our next class, students are tasked with thinking about whether or not it is fair for Michael Phelps to compete, given his extraordinarily long arms, and his body's ability to process lactic acid at twice the rate of his competitors - Does he have an unfair advantage??? 

Lesson 26

Students have completed their essays - Congratulations!

Only those students who have missed classes due to illness or sporting events will be coming in, as previously agreed upon in  case-by-case discussions.

Wishing everyone a very restful weekend.

Lesson 25

 

Students are working so hard! Tutorial has been filled with students doing their utmost to get their best on the page.

Writing Schedule:

Day 4 - Nov. 20th - Full writing block

Day 5 - Nov. 22nd - Final writing block

Any students who feel they will require additional work time on this writing piece must come to tutorials (or seek LAC writing time) ahead of the final writing block. What is on the page at the end of the class on November 22nd is what will be marked for this reporting period. 

 

Lesson 24

 Students are working hard - it was clear after today's writing block that they will need an additional block of time.

Revised plan:

Day 3 - Nov. 18th - Full writing block

Day 4 - Nov. 20th - Full writing block

Day 5 - Nov. 22nd - Final writing block

Any students who feel they will require additional work time on this writing piece must come to tutorials (or seek LAC writing time) ahead of the final writing block. What is on the page at the end of the class on November 20th is what will be marked for this reporting period. 

 

Lesson 23

 Block 5 set about catching up with 6 today.

Students filled out as much of their essay outlines as they could, before handing in the work at the door (Blk 6 created packages of the materials they will use for their writing).

Timeline:

Day 2 - OULTLINE/DRAFT

Day 3 - Nov. 18th - Full writing block

Day 4 - Nov. 20th - Final writing block

Any students who feel they will require additional work time on this writing piece must come to tutorials (or seek LAC writing time) ahead of the final writing block. What is on the page at the end of the class on November 20th is what will be marked for this reporting period.

Lesson 22

 ***Blk 5 had an assembly - we will catch up next week.

Students read their personal novels for a stretch.

We looked at a mock venn diagram, and talked briefly about cynicism in relation to world events.

Students shared their prepared theme statements with their groups, then wrote a master statement on the board - we work-shopped those statements as a class.

We discussed what sections belong in an essay - for some students this was review, but some students found it to be brand new material.

Students got a quick look at an essay outline, and should be thinking about how they would like to approach the upcoming compare/contrast essay on "The Metaphor."

Lesson 21

 

 We spent a lot of time today working with the text!

We discussed the following:

 - Point of view

-Characterization

-Character Foil

-Metaphor

-Contrast

-False dichotomy

-Verb tense

HOMWORK: Write a theme statement for "The Metaphor" using the "How to Write a Theme Statement" sheet!

Lesson 20

 

 Students read their personal novels, before moving into new working groups.

Those who completed their homework for last class got their venn diagrams back.

Students compared their work with others - it is clear that there is diversity in terms of the level of effort being put into formative work - some need to level up!

Groups thought about two, seemingly unrelated things - then set about finding their common ground. We discussed juxtaposition, contrast, and character foils, before moving forward.

HMWRK: Fill in the compare/contrast sheet given out today - I do not have a PDF available at this time, so you'll have to come get a copy in tutorial, if you missed today's class.