February 17: Here is Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" with lyrics by Shel Silverstein.  Explain how the speaker's life was affected by his name.  Next, retell in your own words his father's explanation for naming him Sue. 

 
February 15:  Click here for a video of "Big Bad John." 

February 8: Click here for Robert Burns' "A Red, Red Rose."

February 3:  Converting Robert Frost's "Out, Out" to prose.  Click here for an example.  Click here for a picture of a buzz saw.

January 27: Empathy exercise (RTI period).

January 25: Consult the table below for articles related to your chosen topic:

January 7: Click here for notes from our last day's class.  We spent part of the period beginning a persuasive essay on the topic of "snow days."

January 6: Today we will begin Frank O'Connor's "First Confession" after first looking at Robert Frost's poem, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."

December 16: Today we'll begin James Thurber's story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

December 14:  Click here for a short reading quiz on "The Most Dangerous Game."

December 8: We will begin by studying Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken."  Then, we'll start reading Richard Connell's short story, "The Most Dangerous Game."

December 4: Here is an article on the mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance.  This will be read alound in class, and students will prepare a 5-8 sentence summary to be handed in at the end of period (or Monday if they do not finish in class). 

December 3: A short story outline of "The Lottery" is due Friday.

December 1: Today we will begin Shirley Jackson's short story, "The Lottery."  Students are responsible for writing a short story outline of the story as well as answering a few questions.

November 30: Here is a blog on the Chernobyl exclusion zone that we'll read.  Students are expected to submit a written summary of 6-10 sentence afterward.

November 25: We will first take a few minutes to deconstruct another cartoon.  Here is the homework of the week version A and version B.

November 24: We will first develop a short story outline of "The Tell-Tale Heart."  With the time we have left, we will begin reading an article on the resurgence of wildlife in the Chernobyl protected zone.  Click here for the basic artice and here for a more challenging version.

November 23: Today we are reading Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." 

November 20:  Today some students will be catching up on late work.  The rest of the class will finish watching The Princess Bride.  There is a character chart due at the end of the movie as well as a summary.

November 19:  Here are two versions of an article on Ronda Rousey's recent upset loss to Holly Holm at last weekend's UFC event in Australia: basic article and more detailed article.

November 16: Here is an article entitled "Too Much Homework?" by Aaron Windhorst of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Click here for instructions on how to write a summary​.  Today, students will produce a 4-6 sentence summary of the Windhorst article.  It must be submitted at the end of the period.

November 9:  Click here for the homework of the week article, "Not Just Black or White." This work is due Thursday.  Do not do the "Write Now" section at the end.  Some students will need more time to finish their Remembrance Day posters.  The rest of the class will begin working on Roald Dahl's "Beware of the Dog."

November 6:  Today we are looking at two war poems:  Randall Jarrell's "The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner," and Carl Sandburg's "Military Parade​." 

November 5:  Students wil spend time working on Remembrance Day posters.

November 4:  Students will be working on Remembrance Day posters.

November 3: Today we will begin working on Remembrance Day posters.  Students have the option of using either a full or half sheet of bristol board (available from the teacher for $0.25 for a full sheet).  Click here for examples of past winning submissions.  Projects are due Tuesday, November 10.  Permission forms were sent home today.  If your child has lost theirs, you can print a new copy here. 

November 2:  First, we will deconstruct a satirical motivational poster.  Today's story is Roald Dahl's "The Hitchhiker."  Here is a short reading quiz we will do afterward. 

October 30: We'll begin today's class by listening to Christopher Walken's reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven."

October 27: Here are our next two worksheets on fact vs opinion: (1) explain why these are either fact or opinion and (2) write your own fact and opinion for each topic.

​October 26: Each student will be given a duotang with the homework of the week assignment.  Homework must be completed and passed in Thursday at the beginning of class.  Here is the first of three sheets we'll be working on this week on understanding the differences between fact and opinion.   Today we will also look at another Ray Bradbury story, "There Will Come Soft Rains​."  Click here for a sample outline of this story​.

October 23: This week we've been learning about science fiction, which became increasingly popular during the Cold War, which stretched roughly from 1950-1990.  Students were asking about the fall of the Soviet Union, so here's an article that may help.  We will finish "A Sound of Thunder" today.

October 21: We will begin class by discussing another cartoon.  Then, we'll start reading Ray Bradbury's "A Sound of Thunder." 

October 19: Today is the last day that we'll be working on the short story assignment in class.  It is due at the beginning of class tomorrow.  Today we'll begin by looking at the homework of the week assignment.  Next, we'll look at Raymond Souster's poem, "The Man Who Finds That His Son Has Become a Thief."  Then, we will begin reading Shirley Jackson's short story, "Charles."

October 16:  Today we'll spend the shortened class working on the short story assignment, but there's still time for a cartoon or two.  Click here for a list of other ways to say "said" in your writing.

October 15: We will begin by looking at another cartoon.  Then, we will go over questions on "The Open Window" (see October 13) before continuing with our short story writing assignment.

October 13: Today we will read H. H. Munro's "The Open Window."  Then, we will continue with a short story writing assignment that we began last week.  Remember to include a title page.

October 6: Today we will begin by looking at a Far Side cartoon.  We will then finish Kurt Vonnegut's "The Lie" and begin a short story writing assignment.  Homework for next Tuesday is to write roughly 1/2-1/3 of a page, double-spaced.

September 30-October 5:  We will begin by reading Robert Currie's "My Poems."  We will continue reading Kurt Vonnegut's short story, "The Lie."  As we read through the story, we are focusing on the clues provided by the author to help us understand each character.  Click here​ for some examples.  After reading, here are a few of the questions we'll address. 

September 29:  Today we will look at methods of characterization.  After going over a handout, students will complete an exercise in identifying character development at work in the animated film, Robin Hood.  Click here​ for a template (which they should have reproduced on their own paper to hand in at the end of the period).

September 28:  Today we will complete "The Way of a Winner," by Jesse Bruneau.  This is a personal retelling of Jesse's recollections of his father, who passed away when Jessed was young.  We will continue our discussion of the qualities of a hero, and examine further whether a hero can be flawed.  Click here for a small paragraph-writing assignment on the story.  Also, we will read and begin discussion of Alden Nowlan's "An Exchange of Gifts."  Click here for the poem.

September 25: We will continue reading Jesse Bruneau's memoire, "The Way of a Winner," from the Defining Moments textbook.  As a group activity, we'll list some heroes (sports figures, super heroes, community leaders, family members, etc.).  Then, we'll compile a list of some of the important qualities of each hero.  Finally, we will work together to narrow down the qualities that all of the heroes on our list share.  Click here for the class notes we generated today on heroes.

September 24:  Today we will wrap up our discussion/analysis of Jim Harrison's poem, "Sound."  Click here for the poem and questions.  Next, we will read and discuss Winona Baker's poem, "On Mona's Smile."  Click here for a picture of the Mona Lisa.  Then, we will look at the concept of heroes.  What are the qualities of a hero?  Can heroes be flawed?  A story related to the theme of heroes is Jesse Bruneau's "The Way of a Winner," from the Defining Moments grade eight textbook.

September 23:  Today we will wrap up our discussion of Lois Gould's short story, "X."  We will complete our first short story outline of the year, and finish going over questions on gender roles. 

September 22: Today we will finish reading Lois Gould's short story, "X" and complete questions on the story.  We will also read a short article on the history of women and the vote in Canada.

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