We gratefully acknowledge, respect, recognize and appreciate that we live, learn and work and teach on the traditional territories of the Kwanlin Dun First Nations and the Ta'an Kwächän Council.
Kwä̀nä̀schis
Course Outline
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Year vs. semester vs. term/quarter break down for the 2018 / 2019 academic year at Porter Creek Secondary School
English 08 Section 3 Per 1 Semester 2 Calendar
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Heads UP! (This week in EN 08)
This week we are continuing to learn Parts of Speech and our Bell Ringers.
On Tuesday, February 26th, students are in with Ms. Joanne Seymour, the grade 8 and 9 counsellor, to do their course selection for the 2019/2020 academic year. Given that they are going into grade 9, many of their courses are required.
Required Grade 9 Courses:
Math
English
Socials
Science
One of the two phys eds (PE which is co-ed, Active Living which is only for students who identify as female)
Students will have the opportunity to choose 3 electives. These include interest courses like Foods, Woods, Metals etc. which are grade 10 level courses and allow students to earn 4 credits towards their graduation requirements. Language courses are also electives, and need to be taken at the grade 9 level. Students to not have to take a second language HOWEVER, any student who wants to keep the option of someday applying to university need to understand that most universities want at LEAST a grade 11 language course (meaning students would need to take language courses in at least grades 9, 10 and 11) just to be considered for admission.
Students who have applied to special interest courses like SASE are to make course selections as if that is not a consideration. Changes to their schedule will be made if/when they are admitted to one of those programs.
On Tuesday, February 26th, students are in with Ms. Joanne Seymour, the grade 8 and 9 counsellor, to do their course selection for the 2019/2020 academic year. Given that they are going into grade 9, many of their courses are required.
Required Grade 9 Courses:
Math
English
Socials
Science
One of the two phys eds (PE which is co-ed, Active Living which is only for students who identify as female)
Students will have the opportunity to choose 3 electives. These include interest courses like Foods, Woods, Metals etc. which are grade 10 level courses and allow students to earn 4 credits towards their graduation requirements. Language courses are also electives, and need to be taken at the grade 9 level. Students to not have to take a second language HOWEVER, any student who wants to keep the option of someday applying to university need to understand that most universities want at LEAST a grade 11 language course (meaning students would need to take language courses in at least grades 9, 10 and 11) just to be considered for admission.
Students who have applied to special interest courses like SASE are to make course selections as if that is not a consideration. Changes to their schedule will be made if/when they are admitted to one of those programs.
Course Work & Learning Materials - Week by Week
Please note that any materials that can be posted online (based on copyright permissions) will be posted/linked on this page.
This will include learning materials accessed digitally in the classroom, deadlines, assignments and supplementary / support materials.
If a student misses time/classes, they are expected to access their work on this site. Each student is responsible for catching up on missed work, for submitting work to the instructor and for making arrangements to do so. Most of the work is done in the classroom and relies heavily on supplemental videos and class discussions. Missed assignments or assignments which students wish to redo because they'd like an opportunity to improve their level of achievement must be co-ordinated with the instructor using the Application to Resubmit process.
If there is limited access from home or the location in which a student will be spending time, students will need to use access when they are back at school in Lunch Labs, after school or on breaks, or access resources available through services like the Whitehorse Public Library, Skookum Jim Friendship Centre's After School Tutoring Program, the Kwanlin Dün Kenädän Ku House of Learning, and/or other available community resources.
This will include learning materials accessed digitally in the classroom, deadlines, assignments and supplementary / support materials.
If a student misses time/classes, they are expected to access their work on this site. Each student is responsible for catching up on missed work, for submitting work to the instructor and for making arrangements to do so. Most of the work is done in the classroom and relies heavily on supplemental videos and class discussions. Missed assignments or assignments which students wish to redo because they'd like an opportunity to improve their level of achievement must be co-ordinated with the instructor using the Application to Resubmit process.
If there is limited access from home or the location in which a student will be spending time, students will need to use access when they are back at school in Lunch Labs, after school or on breaks, or access resources available through services like the Whitehorse Public Library, Skookum Jim Friendship Centre's After School Tutoring Program, the Kwanlin Dün Kenädän Ku House of Learning, and/or other available community resources.
Entries on the Week by Week section of this page always have the most recent week at the top. For older material, you will need to scroll down. For more general dates and information, please see the home page of this teacher site.
Week 7 - Monday, Mar 4th - Friday, Mar 8th, 2019
Week 11 Bell Ringers (developed and copyrighted by Preso Plans)
(Please note that we do not do every week's Bell Ringers)
Day of Week |
Content / Competency Focus |
Task / Topic / Terminology |
Monday |
Literary Device |
Term : Archetype is a "type" of character that relies on widely-known sets of characteristics (within a culture) that act as a shorthand or symbol of a particular type of person. Writers / creators may then expand on those archetypes as part of character development. |
Tuesday |
Discussion (Spoken Language) with detailed reasons |
You're not physically ill, but emotionally/mentally, you are exhausted. Do you stay home from school/work? |
Wednesday |
Written personal Response to written text |
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. |
Thursday |
Written personal response to audio visual text |
Have you ever felt like giving up? What influenced you to feel that way? How did you deal with it? Can you think of an example of someone not giving up who serves as an example for why people can/should keep going? |
Friday |
Personal Reading |
Students can bring a personal choice of book or magazine to read. I offer a selection of novels, nonfiction, poetry and magazines in my classroom. |
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In the GLEE clip below, there are several character archetypes, some of them are actually listed and others are implied. In the other video, several different character archetypes are explained with examples.
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In considering the concept of perseverance (not giving up) we looked at the shorter of the two videos below - the one on the left. In case students are interested in a more in-depth look at this person's experience, I have also included the extended cut on the right.
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Content Focus - Conventions, Parts of Speech: Interjections!
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Week 6 - Monday, Feb 25th - Friday, March 1st, 2019
Week 8 Bell Ringers (developed and copyrighted by Preso Plans)
(Please note that we do not do every week's Bell Ringers)
Day of Week |
Content / Competency Focus |
Task / Topic / Terminology |
Monday |
Literary Device |
Term : Anthropomorphism is the process of attributing human traits, characteristics, qualities, emotions or desires to non-human animals. (Please note that this is a form of "personification" which would be the same process, but also include assigning those things to objects.) Example used was Lewis Carroll's class, Alice In Wonderland. |
Tuesday |
Discussion (Spoken Language) with detailed reasons |
You own a business. A friend who needs a job applies. Another person, one whose qualifications better match the job and the posting, also applies. Do you hire your friend or the other applicant? |
Wednesday |
Written personal Response to written text |
"It's not what you look at that matters. It's what you see." ~ Henry David Thoreau |
Thursday |
Written personal response to audio visual text |
What impacts does social media currently have on your life? How do you think social media use now may impact you in the future? Are these impacts potentially beneficial or potentially harmful to you, in the short and long term? |
Friday |
Personal Reading |
Students can bring a personal choice of book or magazine to read. I offer a selection of novels, nonfiction, poetry and magazines in my classroom. |
Examples of anthropomorphism and a video about how and why it is used in animation.
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Social media and adolescents.
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Content Focus - Conventions, Parts of Speech: Conjunctions!
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Content Focus - Conventions, Parts of Speech: Prepositions!
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Week 5 - Monday, Feb 18th - Thursday, Feb 21st, 2019
Week 6 Bell Ringers (developed and copyrighted by Preso Plans)
Day of Week |
Content / Competency Focus |
Task / Topic / Terminology |
Monday |
Literary Device |
Term : Antagonist is the character, force or group directly opposing the protagonist (main character) in achieving their goals/resolving their conflict. |
Tuesday |
Discussion (Spoken Language) with detailed reasons |
Police ask you for information about a friend. You know that this friend has, in fact, been involved in illegal activities. Do you share what you know will the police? |
Wednesday |
Written personal Response to written text |
"Be nice to yourself. It's hard to be happy when someone is being mean to you all the time." |
Thursday |
Written personal response to audio visual text |
What are the benefits and risks of being different? Is being different valued - why or why not? (Apple "Think Different" advertisement was the prompt and we spoke about who some of the individuals features in the ad were and how they influenced the world.) |
Friday |
Personal Reading |
Students can bring a personal choice of book or magazine to read. I offer a selection of novels, nonfiction, poetry and magazines in my classroom. |
A note on antagonists and protagonists:
A protagonist is NOT necessarily a "good guy" - they are the main character. The author/creator of a piece of text want us to experience the story from the perspective or based on the priorities of the main character. The main character may be a morally "good" or "bad" character.
The antagonist is whatever or whomever is standing in the way of the protagonist getting what they want or need to resolve their conflict in the way that will meet their goals/hopes. As a result, if the protagonist is a "bad" person, the antagonist could be a "good" person. Or another "bad" person.
"Good" vs. "Bad" labels are subject to the collection of character traits, not to their place in the action of the story.
There can also be more than one antagonist in a story, but there is typically one key or primary antagonist. The example we worked with was Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series (the key seven stories that make up the base of the series). As demonstrated in the video below, Harry Potter and the other main (but secondary) characters face a series of one-off and recurring antagonistic characters and forces (not all of which appear on the list below), but always, the main conflict is between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.
A protagonist is NOT necessarily a "good guy" - they are the main character. The author/creator of a piece of text want us to experience the story from the perspective or based on the priorities of the main character. The main character may be a morally "good" or "bad" character.
The antagonist is whatever or whomever is standing in the way of the protagonist getting what they want or need to resolve their conflict in the way that will meet their goals/hopes. As a result, if the protagonist is a "bad" person, the antagonist could be a "good" person. Or another "bad" person.
"Good" vs. "Bad" labels are subject to the collection of character traits, not to their place in the action of the story.
There can also be more than one antagonist in a story, but there is typically one key or primary antagonist. The example we worked with was Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series (the key seven stories that make up the base of the series). As demonstrated in the video below, Harry Potter and the other main (but secondary) characters face a series of one-off and recurring antagonistic characters and forces (not all of which appear on the list below), but always, the main conflict is between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.
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Content Focus - Conventions, Parts of Speech: Adjectives!
Week 4 - Monday, Feb 11th - Friday, Feb 15th, 2019
Week 5 Bell Ringers (developed and copyrighted by Preso Plans)
(Please note that we do not do every week's Bell Ringers)
Day of Week |
Content / Competency Focus |
Task / Topic / Terminology |
Monday |
Literary Device |
Term: Analogy - in literature, it is a description that compares two things that might not otherwise be considered similar. It is usually used to show the relationship between issues, ideas, things or people. |
Tuesday |
Discussion (Spoken Language) with detailed reasons |
You see some great content that would fit perfectly into a presentation that you have to make. You know that it is copyrighted. Do you copy it without permission and use it in your presentation? |
Wednesday |
Written personal Response to written text |
"Everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." ~ falsely attributed to Albert Einstein (see link below) |
Thursday |
Written personal response to audio visual text |
Do you think that making something more fun can change peoples' behaviour - why or why not? |
Friday |
Personal Reading |
Students can bring a personal choice of book or magazine to read. I offer a selection of novels, nonfiction, poetry and magazines in my classroom. |
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The speech clip below is intended to demonstrate an extended analogy. We discussed political bias as part of watching this piece of audio-visual text.
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Content Focus - Conventions, Parts of Speech: Adverbs!
We did a series of worksheets and a test on the function of adverbs (in their varying types). The worksheets are copyrighted material and as a result cannot be posted on the site.
Week 3 - Monday, Feb 4th - Friday, Feb 8th, 2019
Week 3 Bell Ringers (developed and copyrighted by Preso Plans)
Day of Week |
Content / Competency Focus |
Task / Topic / Terminology |
Monday |
Literary Device |
Term: Allusion, Reference to a culturally known person, historical figure, historical event, or piece of art which the author uses as a form of shorthand to communicate an idea to an audience. |
Tuesday |
Discussion (Spoken Language) with detailed reasons |
You back into a very tight parking space. You dent a car on one side of the parking space. No one is around. Do you leave a note accepting responsibility and providing your contact information? |
Wednesday |
Written personal Response to written text |
"It is ok not to know. It is not ok not to try." |
Thursday |
Written personal response to audio visual text |
What is the purpose of the "Free Hug" Campaign? Would you have accepted/given a hug if approached? Why or why not? |
Friday |
Personal Reading |
Students can bring a personal choice of book or magazine to read. I offer a selection of novels, nonfiction, poetry and magazines in my classroom. |
Content Focus - Conventions, Parts of Speech: Pronouns!
Pronouns are words that replace nouns in written and/or spoken language. They serve the function of acting as a short-hand to limit repetition of nouns and the construction of wordy and awkward sentences.
There are several different kinds of pronouns:
Remember that a pronoun, like a noun, can also be either singular or plural.
There are several different kinds of pronouns:
- Personal - refers to a specific person or thing
- Possessive - indicates ownership
- Indefinite - refers to thing or people in general (replacing common nouns)
- Relative - connects a phrase or clause to noun or to another pronoun
- Reflexive - used with another noun/pronoun to indicate something done to the "self"
- Intensive - emphasizes the noun being replaced
- Demonstrative - focuses the attention on the nouns being replaced
- Interrogative - pronouns used to ask question
Remember that a pronoun, like a noun, can also be either singular or plural.
Below is a link to Grammar Girl's Online Grammar Guides and Tips at Quick and Dirty Tips. Grammar Girl - Mignon Fogarty, is a passionate grammarian with a sense of humour.
Pronouns and Antecedents
Pronouns and Their Antecedents Today we’re going to talk about pronouns that don't clearly match up with the nouns they are supposed to replace. Readers become unhappy when they have to guess what noun a writer is talking about, or readers may even chuckle if a pronoun seems
Please note that the chart above is the intellectual product and property of www.7esl.com
A word on pronoun use in conversation and correspondence with others: English is one of many languages that incorporates both gendered pronouns and gender neutral pronouns (i.e.: they, them, our, ours, etc.) Interestingly, as you can see at the link below (World Atlas of Language Structures Online), the majority of languages in the world do not use gendered pronouns, and/or they have more than two genders of pronouns.
When communicating with an individual, it is respectful to use their preferred gender pronouns. This is akin to using the preferred name or nickname that someone uses to introduce themselves, regardless of what may be on a formal identification document. These may or may not align with a person's external presentation of either sex or gender. There are a variety of options available to English speakers, largely borrowed or adapted from gender neutral pronouns in other languages, that may be applicable. As with any pronouns, they are subject to rules of singularity/plurality.
When communicating with an individual, it is respectful to use their preferred gender pronouns. This is akin to using the preferred name or nickname that someone uses to introduce themselves, regardless of what may be on a formal identification document. These may or may not align with a person's external presentation of either sex or gender. There are a variety of options available to English speakers, largely borrowed or adapted from gender neutral pronouns in other languages, that may be applicable. As with any pronouns, they are subject to rules of singularity/plurality.
WALS Online - Feature 44A: Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal Pronouns
This feature is described in the text of chapter 44 Gender Distinctions in Independent Personal Pronouns by Anna Siewierska
Sometimes people are uncertain how to inquire after someone's preferred pronouns. Below is a comic strip created by blogger Robot Hugs (this is from their 2014 archives). For the record, it is entirely grammatically acceptable to use "they" pronouns for singular - usually it happens when writing is formal or in the third person, but can happen with any communication when gender is unknown or irrelevant to the topic of the communication.
We had a sad event in our classroom this week - our classroom mascot, Betta fish "Goober" passed away.
Our grade 8 class is taking this as an opportunity to learn about descriptive writing by creating eulogies for Goober fish. Today we learned about some basic elements / steps to writing a eulogy. Then we looked up information on Betta fish to get a better understanding of Goober's background before he joined us in room 101. Students will be engaging in a process of writing a rough draft, helping each other to revise and edit those initial drafts and then sharing their euloogy of our fine finned friend.
Our grade 8 class is taking this as an opportunity to learn about descriptive writing by creating eulogies for Goober fish. Today we learned about some basic elements / steps to writing a eulogy. Then we looked up information on Betta fish to get a better understanding of Goober's background before he joined us in room 101. Students will be engaging in a process of writing a rough draft, helping each other to revise and edit those initial drafts and then sharing their euloogy of our fine finned friend.
How to Write a Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech given at a memorial service in memory of the deceased. You don't have to be a great writer or orator to deliver a heartfelt and meaningful eulogy that captures the essence of the deceased. The best eulogies are brief...
Week 2 - Monday, Jan 28th - Friday, Feb 1st, 2019
Week 2 Bell Ringers (developed and copyrighted by Preso Plans)
Day of Week |
Content / Competency Focus |
Task / Topic / Terminology |
Monday |
Literary Device |
Term: Alliteration, Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. |
Tuesday |
Discussion (Spoken Language) with detailed reasons |
Imagine you are a famous athlete. A company approaches you and offers you half a million dollars to endorse (promote) a product you dislike strongly and would NEVER use. Do you accept their offer? Why or why not? |
Wednesday |
Written personal Response to written text |
"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are small matters compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson |
Thursday |
Written personal response to audio visual text |
What does this story teach us about friendship? |
Friday |
Personal Reading |
Students can bring a personal choice of book or magazine to read. I offer a selection of novels, nonfiction, poetry and magazines in my classroom. |
Content Focus - Conventions, Parts of Speech: Verbs!
One of the most important verbs in the English language is the verb to "Be". This is an irregular verb.
I am (was, will be) You are. (were, will be) He is /she is / zwe is (was, will be) We are. (were, will be) They are. (were, will be) |
Three Kinds of Verbs:
Verbs are conjugated by "tense" - the WHEN an action or state of being happened.
The most simple breakdown of tenses are:
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Classroom and School Community
Tuesday all students were required to attend the mini assembly that begins every year and semester. This semester, this also included taking part in the annual school community survey.
Key issues discussed -
Key issues discussed -
- The importance of attendance and punctuality
- Asking for help when you need it and not waiting until things get too difficult to manage
- Elements of the Code of Conduct related to drugs/alcohol/controlled substances on school property and the dangers of fentanyl
- Student legacies - asking the kids to begin to think about how they would like to be remembered after they graduate and what choices they think they could begin making towards those goals even now (i.e. joining sports, teams and clubs, learning new skills)
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Groups of animals are some of the most entertaining examples of collective nouns.
Tuesday we did our silent reading and daily tracking.
Then we did a diagnostic spelling exercise.
Then we did a diagnostic spelling exercise.
- The diagnostic is NOT a quiz or a test - it was explained to the students that this is like taking a temperature during a health check up or checking the weather outside before deciding what to wear for the day. It's information that provides a starting point. It provides not only the opportunity to set a baseline for the level of spelling when/where students begin to struggle and which conventions of spelling they are finding challenging (i.e. "i before e" or adding "ed" to words) but also to observe what strategies students used when they encountered unfamiliar words.
- The diagnostic involved a series of 50 words which get increasingly complex.
- Students cannot fail a diagnostic. It is simply a means of gathering data.
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Week 1 - Monday Jan 21st - Friday Jan 25th, 2019
This week we began with discussing the basic classroom expectations for our shared working and learning space. For more details, please see the landing page for this site. There is a four-tab chart. One tab is entitled Classroom Expectations and Code of Conduct. Next to is is information on my schedule for this semester.
The posters below are based on the Annishnabe tradition of the 7 Grandfather Teachings. I fully acknowledge that these teachings are not from Yukon First Nations. I have spoken with Elders who come to PCSS to work in our classrooms. I have been assured that although they are not taught under a heading per se, that these values accurately reflect traditional values taught among Yukon First Nations - and, as one Elder pointed out, among cultures around the world.
The posters below are based on the Annishnabe tradition of the 7 Grandfather Teachings. I fully acknowledge that these teachings are not from Yukon First Nations. I have spoken with Elders who come to PCSS to work in our classrooms. I have been assured that although they are not taught under a heading per se, that these values accurately reflect traditional values taught among Yukon First Nations - and, as one Elder pointed out, among cultures around the world.
We also dove right into content and some structures we will be using for the remainder of the semester.
We will begin many classes with an activity called a Bell Ringer. The bell ringers we have used so far alternate between a few types:
We will begin many classes with an activity called a Bell Ringer. The bell ringers we have used so far alternate between a few types:
- Literary Devices
- Discussion response (oral participation)
- Personal response to a quote (written)
- Personal response to a video (written)
- Silent reading or other literacy activity.
Week 1 Bell Ringers (developed and copyrighted by Preso Plans)
Day of Week |
Content / Competency Focus |
Task / Topic / Terminology |
Monday |
Literary Device |
Term: Allegory, Example: Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe |
Tuesday |
Discussion (Spoken Language) with detailed reasons |
You take a taxi for your job. Your employer reimburses you for your job-related expenses. After you pay them, the taxi driver gives you a blank receipt. What amount do you fill in on the receipt? Do you fill in the correct amount? Less than what you paid? More than what you paid? |
Wednesday |
Written personal Response to written text |
"Just be yourself. An original is always better than a copy." |
Thursday |
Written personal response to audio visual text |
We watched a video clip about a young basketball player named Jason McElwain. Prompt: "What lesson can we learn from Jasson McElwain's story?" |
Friday |
Personal Reading |
Students can bring a personal choice of book or magazine to read. I offer a selection of novels, nonfiction, poetry and magazines in my classroom. |
Content Focus - Conventions, Parts of Speech: Nouns!
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A peacock strutted across the lawn. |
Some things never change - and School House Rock still rocks! Nothing like some corny, melodic mnemonics to help kids remember the building blocks of the English language!
This week's Noun activities included:
This week's Noun activities included:
- A diagnostic test (just for getting information on areas that will need instruction, this is NOT a summative task; students cannot "fail" a diagnostic, it is simply a means of gathering data to inform focus work for further instruction).
- Activity sheets on:
- Common vs. Proper nouns
- Concrete vs. Abstract nouns
- Countable vs. Non-countable nouns
- Collective nouns
- Compound nouns
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We did not watch the video below during class, but it provides an overview of all of the types of verbs we covered in the worksheets. If students are unsure of any of the terminology, this is an excellent review.
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We did use the video below on collective nouns for animals. Useful information. Please note that the narrator speaks very slowly because the video is designed primarily for people English Language Learners. We simply sped up the playback speed.
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Students were provided a copy of this document as a reference sheet for the semester. It is recommended that they keep it in their binder or in the folder they have been provided in the classroom (each student has one).
** Please note that I provide "Scribd" documents on the website so that PDFs can be easily viewed. Trying to download the document off of the Scribd window will result in you being re-directed to their website and 'encouraged' to sign up for their service. Some of their services are free, but there is a hard sell attached for extended services. In order to prevent you from having to deal with that, I have included a direct file download of the same document immediately below the Scribd window here on the site. You DO NOT need to sign up for Scribd to get files!
** Please note that I provide "Scribd" documents on the website so that PDFs can be easily viewed. Trying to download the document off of the Scribd window will result in you being re-directed to their website and 'encouraged' to sign up for their service. Some of their services are free, but there is a hard sell attached for extended services. In order to prevent you from having to deal with that, I have included a direct file download of the same document immediately below the Scribd window here on the site. You DO NOT need to sign up for Scribd to get files!
| english_daily_survival_kit_pdf.pdf |
