Class Terms from Rants

Allusion (Pandas, Scientists, Relapse, Teen)

a reference to another literary work, or a person, place, event, or object from history, literature, or mythology, esp. as an artistic device.

Anecdote (Scientists, Relapse, teen, snow)

A short but real story

Appeal to authority (Pandas)

Appeal to authority where it is argued that a statement is correct because the statement is made by an authority figure

Hyperbole (Pandas, Snow)

an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally

Irony (Pandas, Scientists, Relapse)

Expressing one’s self, by means of language that normally means the opposite.

Repetition (Teen)

the act of repeating

Rhetorical questioning (Relapse, Snow)

a question asked to produce an effect  and not to  get an answer.

Sarcasm (Pandas, Scientists)

The use of irony to mock or convey contempt

Simile (Scientists, Teen)

comparison using like or as

Slang (Snow)

Very informal usage in vocabulary.

Tone (Pandas, Relapse, Teen, Snow)

The way the speaker's voice sounds or the author's attitude towards subject.

Sentence Types

Declarative Sentences (Pandas)

a sentence that makes a declaration

Exclamatory Sentences (Relapse, Teen, Snow)

Any sentence expressing sudden emotion

Imperative Sentences (Scientists, Teen, Snow)

A type of sentence that tells people something that is absolutely necessary or required.

Interrogative Sentences (Scientists, Relapse, Teen, Snow)

A type of sentence that asks a question.

Sentence Fragment (Pandas, Scientists, Relapse)

A section, or piece of a sentence that can be used as an example or to drive a point.

Rant Lesson 2 Wednesday

Since we have been busy with many unexpected items, I am combining earlier classes into this one so we have a outline of today's class.

Class Outline

1. Silent Reading
2. Presentations by Gabe C, Kiera, and Landon.
3. Journal 

• Use the same journal you used for the last activity (what others said about you).

• Make sure your journal is in your NLC folder. Beth will comment on it. If you do not have comments please ensure Beth can see it.

• Write at least 5-10 full sentences answering:

• What was difficult or challenging about the Express Yourself activity?

• What were you impressed by or surprised about in someone else's work?

• Do you think you really expressed yourself to your best ability here? Why or why not?

4. Twitter activity

You will use Twitter to tweet out reflections from the class or share something you think others would find interesting, using the NLC twitter account as your platform.

• Hashtags

• Pictures

• Links

When you take your turn posting to twitter, write your name on the calendar.
What are some examples of things we can reflect on via twitter?

5. Rants continued

• Get in your groups again. This time, use dictionaries, textbooks, online, to come up with definitions for each of your devices  you hypothesised about yesterday. In your shared doc (share with Beth) write down the definitions for each.

• Go back to the rant and find an example of each of the devices. 

• Find another group that has one of the same devices as you. Compare definitions and examples. Come up with a shared definition and list both definitions on a shared doc. Move around the room and do this for all devices.

• You were sent a shared doc with further instructions on devices.

Rant: Devices and Techniques

Class Outline

1. Silent Reading
2. In groups of 2 or 3, watch a few examples of Rick Mercer's Rants from Youtube.
3. As you watch and after each film, brainstorm with your group all the things he says and does to argue his point and convince his viewers. 
4. With your group, you will be given a rant and a list of devices. Watch the rant and come up with a hypothesis as to what the definition of each device might be, and what one example of that device is in the rant.

Videos

Pandas

• Appeal to authority
• Allusion
• Declarative Sentences
• Hyperbole
• Irony
• Sarcasm
• Sentence Fragment
• Tone

Scientists Muzzled Again

• Allusion
• Anecdote
• Imperative Sentences
• Interrogative Sentences
• Irony
• Sarcasm
• Sentence Fragment
•  Simile

Relapse/Question Period

• Allusion
• Anecdote
• Exclamatory Sentences
• Interrogative Sentences
• Irony
•  Rhetorical questioning
• Sentence Fragment
• Tone

Teen Suicide

• Allusion
• Anecdote
•  Exclamatory Sentences
• Imperative Sentences
• Interrogative Sentences
• Repetition
• Simile
• Tone

Snow Day

• Anecdote
• Exclamatory Sentences
• Hyperbole
• Imperative Sentences
• Interrogative Sentences
• Rhetorical questioning
• Slang
• Tone

        

·    

Media Campaign: The Intro to the Rant (Persuasive)

Monday Class Outline

1. Silent reading

2. Presentation of Creative Expressions

• Remember to explain why this shows you as an individual and the process you used. 

3. Journal 

• Use the same journal you used for the last activity (what others said about you).
• Make sure your journal is in your NLC folder. Beth will comment on it. If you do not have comments please ensure Beth can see it.
• Write at least 5-10 full sentences answering:
• What was difficult or challenging about the Express Yourself activity?
• What were you impressed by or surprised about in someone else's work?
• Do you think you really expressed yourself to your best ability here? Why or why not?

4. Blogs

• Take a picture, video, etc. of your creative response and post it to your blog.
• Make sure you give it a descriptive title, labels, and write a few sentences explaining it to your readers. 
• Write your name on the list to signify you have done this. 

5. Twitter activity

You will use Twitter to tweet out reflections from the class or share something you think others would find interesting, using the NLC twitter account as your platform.

• Mentions
• Hashtags
• Pictures
• Links

When you take your turn posting to twitter, write your name on the calendar. 

What are some examples of things we can reflect on via twitter?

Student Created NLC Creative Expression Rubric

Follow the link to see the rubric.

Communication (EN/XXC)	Excellent	Very Good	Satisfactory	Min.  Acceptable
Finished product shows good proofreading and editing (i.e. attention to detail, and sense of individuality) (*a)	Excellent proofreading and editing. Strong attention to detail, and sense of individuality.	Good proofreading and editing. Good attention to detail and sense of individuality	Some proofreading and editing. Some attention to some detail and sense of individuality.	Limited proofreading and editing. Limited attention to detail or sense of individuality.
Plans and rehearses oral presentations (*b)	Has clearly rehearsed and has planned thoroughly.	Has planned and rehearsed oral presentation	Has somewhat planned oral presentation	Reads presentation or is “winging it.”
Uses oral communication techniques (clarity, volume, eye contact, body language shows engagement with topic and audience, monitor audience reaction) (*c)	Speaks clearly, expressively, with appropriate volume. Frequent eye contact with audience members around the room. Body language shows engagement. Monitors audience to check for understanding and make adjustments	Speaks clearly and with appropriate volume. Frequent eye contact with a few audience members. Body language shows some engagement.	Speaks clearly or with appropriate volume. Some eye contact.	Body language shows limited engagement with topic or audience. Speech unclear or quiet.
Explains how features of the product construct meaning (form, symbolism, language, visual/artistic devices) (*d)	Explains in awesome detail how their work shows creativity or personality	Explains in good detail how their work shows creativity or personality	Explains in okay detail how their work shows creativity or personality	Explains in poor detail how their work shows creativity or personality
Thinking (EN/XXC)	Excellent	Very Good	Satisfactory	Min. Acceptable
Show reflection and explores ideas and information to express self in product (*e/f)	Shows excellent reflection and explores and uses ideas and information to express self	Shows reflection and explores ideas and information to express self in product	Shows basic reflection and self-expression	Barely shows reflection or self-expression
Responsibility (EN/XXC)	Excellent	Very Good	Satisfactory	Min. Acceptable
Shows respect to others ideas and products AND contributes to the safety of the group by engaging in the activity (XXC)	Extremely respectful to peers. Puts excellent effort into the project	Very respectful to peers. Puts good effort into the project	Generally respectful to peers. Puts some effort into project.	Somewhat respectful to peers. Puts little effort into the project.
Completes all the “Must Haves”—a draft to share, good copy, format can be posted on blog (*a) (XXC/EN)	All must haves completed with a high degree of care and engagement	All must haves completed	Draft prepared but little effort put into draft or revision. All other must haves completed.	Draft prepared but not ready to share by due date. Not a format that can be posted on blog.

Media Campaign: Class 1 (Friday, Sept 20)

Updates:
Steve and I have shifted the schedule to accommodate the new Grade 8 timetable. NLC will now have STEM Block C and Humanities Block D daily.

Class Outline:

1. Check In: where is everyone at for their Express Yourself Challenge? Express Yourself Challenge: Plan/Draft Due on Tuesday! 
2. Silent Reading
3. Dystopian: 

• What is it? 
• How authors use the genre to express their concerns or critique the world they live in

     4. Mr. Yule's Grade 12 Writing Class visit.

• In small groups, Grade 12 students will present the dystopic stories they have written. 
• NLC students will discuss with the authors what they were trying to convey and how they tried to convey it in their writing. 
• NLC students will give Grade 12 students feedback using the supplied rubric and "I like, I like, You might want to try."   

Depending on when Mr. Yule's class arrives, silent reading may occur at the end of class. 

Express Yourself Rubric Template

Hi class,

This is the rubric for the Express Yourself challenge. I have added the learning outcomes from the curriculum into the first column. In your expert groups, please come up with criteria for Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 for your area. We will share this with the class and develop one final rubric.

Rubric Doc

Communication (EN/XXC)

·         Finished product shows good proofreading and editing (i.e. attention to detail, and sense of individuality) (*a)

·      Plans and rehearses oral presentations (*b) ·     Uses oral communication techniques (eg. vocal techniques, style and tone, nonverbal techniques, visual aids, organizational and memory aids, monitoring methods) (*c) ·      Explains how features of the product construct meaning (e.g. form , symbolism, use of language, visual/artistic devices) (*d)

Thinking (EN/XXC)

·         Show reflection and explores ideas and information to express self in product (*e) ·         Creatively uses product form to enhance meaning and artistry, in the organization of ideas and information, and  text features or visual/artistic devices (*f)

Social and Personal Responsibility

·         Shows respect to others ideas and products AND contributes to the safety of the group by engaging in the activity (XXC)

·         Completes all the “Must Haves” (includes, a draft to share, a good copy/polished product, a format that can be posted on blog) (*a) (XXC/EN)

As you see, there are "*" with letters next to them. Those link to the curriculum text that supports these standards. You can see how I am assessing the Grade 9 English standards in this project. There are other standards that are not being assessed. I can give you that list too if you would like.

§  (*a) select and use a range of strategies to revise, edit, and publish writing and representing, including – checking work against established criteria – enhancing supporting details and examples – refining specific aspects and features of text – proofreading

§  (*b)select and use a range of strategies to prepare oral communications, including – interpreting a task and setting a purpose – considering audience – generating ideas – making connections among relevant knowledge and experiences – planning and rehearsing presentations;
§  (*c) select and use a range of strategies to express ideas and information in oral communications, including – vocal techniques – style and tone – nonverbal techniques – visual aids – organizational and memory aids – monitoring methods;

§  (*d) recognize and explain how structures and features of text shape readers’ and viewers’ construction of meaning, including – form and genre – functions of text – literary elements – literary devices – use of language – non-fiction elements – visual/artistic devices

§  (*e) create thoughtful representations that communicate ideas and information to explore and respond, engage

§  (*e) write meaningful personal texts that explore ideas and information to express self;

§  (*f) use and experiment with elements of form in writing and representing, appropriate to purpose and audience, to enhance meaning and artistry, including – organization of ideas and information – text features and visual/artistic devices

Beth