Week 8: Continuous Assessment
Thursday:
You did it! No more homework this term!
You have all worked so hard this term - I'm super proud of you all!
So I've got some Blookets for you to play that will help you revise for your assessment (don't underestimate the power of Blooket) here:
Mr. Leigh's version: play.blooket.com/play?hwId=671994e16f3941e6c7a6d5e0 (Tower Defense 2)
Mr. Marler's version: play.blooket.com/play?hwId=67199e976f3941e6c7a6d619 (Monster Brawl)
Mr. duPreez version: play.blooket.com/play?hwId=67199ed0025f2bf0758c21da (Tower of Doom)
You did it! No more homework this term!
You have all worked so hard this term - I'm super proud of you all!
So I've got some Blookets for you to play that will help you revise for your assessment (don't underestimate the power of Blooket) here:
Mr. Leigh's version: play.blooket.com/play?hwId=671994e16f3941e6c7a6d5e0 (Tower Defense 2)
Mr. Marler's version: play.blooket.com/play?hwId=67199e976f3941e6c7a6d619 (Monster Brawl)
Mr. duPreez version: play.blooket.com/play?hwId=67199ed0025f2bf0758c21da (Tower of Doom)
Monday:
HW: Continuous Assessment final draft - due THURSDAY, 24th October
Today I gave one-on-one feedback to everyone, in preparation for writing your final draft of your meaningful pet story.
Remember - in order to make your story meaningful, you need to have a connection with the pet and the human in the story, and show how the human learned something or was changed by the pet.
Everybody did a pretty good job, though! Remember you must hand in your final draft on Thursday!
HW: Continuous Assessment final draft - due THURSDAY, 24th October
Today I gave one-on-one feedback to everyone, in preparation for writing your final draft of your meaningful pet story.
Remember - in order to make your story meaningful, you need to have a connection with the pet and the human in the story, and show how the human learned something or was changed by the pet.
Everybody did a pretty good job, though! Remember you must hand in your final draft on Thursday!
Week 7: A Pet, Part II
Monday:
HW: GN p.33-34 Write your first draft of your meaningful pet story (please hand in on MONDAY)
Today we went over what it means to write a MEANINGFUL story. The main thing here is that you include meaningful conflict(s) throughout your story. You can find the different types of conflict on GN p.26, but I will elaborate more here.
I want you to keep one thing in mind when thinking about conflict - that conflict should be something that makes us feel a bit uncomfortable. Think about the examples that we talked about in class today:
HW: GN p.33-34 Write your first draft of your meaningful pet story (please hand in on MONDAY)
Today we went over what it means to write a MEANINGFUL story. The main thing here is that you include meaningful conflict(s) throughout your story. You can find the different types of conflict on GN p.26, but I will elaborate more here.
I want you to keep one thing in mind when thinking about conflict - that conflict should be something that makes us feel a bit uncomfortable. Think about the examples that we talked about in class today:
- Person vs. Person
- Meaningful: parents arguing over whether or not to send you to piano lessons every week.
- Not meaningful: Disagreeing over what to eat for dinner.
- Person vs. Self
- Meaningful: struggling over whether to tell on a bully.
- Not meaningful: struggling over whether to play a video game or watch TV.
- Person vs. Nature
- Meaningful: losing ones home after a natural disaster.
- Not meaningful: forgetting to bring an umbrella when it rains.
- Person vs. Supernatural
- Meaningful: hearing voices.
- Not meaningful: getting scared by flickering lights in the dark.
- Person vs. Technology
- Meaningful: Getting caught using AI to cheat on an assignment.
- Not meaningful: using spellingand grammar check on Grammarly.
- Person vs. Society
- Meaningful: Telling a secret that a group knows about.
- Not meaningful: deciding whether to wear school colors on Sports Day.
Monday:
HW: GN p.25-28 + 32 (please hand in on THURSDAY)
Today we started on the second part of A Pet, where we learned about PLOT and CONFLICT.
In literature, conflict is like a problem or struggle that the characters face. It makes the story interesting and helps us understand the characters better. Conflict works directly with the plot in a story to make it more meaningful. There are many different kinds of conflict in stories. Please have a look at GN p.26 below 👇
The plot of a story is like the roadmap that shows us what happens from the beginning to the end. It includes all the main events and helps us understand the story's structure. Here are the key parts of a plot:
In this lesson, I really tried to stress how important it is to make the plot of your story MEANINGFUL. Look at Guiding Notes p.28 for a reminder of what a meaningful plot is.
Finally, we went over how to start the storyboarding for your continuous assessment. Please have a look at Guiding Notes pages 29-31 for a detailed guideline for the first continuous assessment.
For this assessment, you will be writing a MEANINGFUL pet story. This doesn't need to be a real story - you can make it up, but your plot should be MEANINGFUL.
When you start storyboarding (on GN p. 32), I want you to keep these points in mind:
HW: GN p.25-28 + 32 (please hand in on THURSDAY)
Today we started on the second part of A Pet, where we learned about PLOT and CONFLICT.
In literature, conflict is like a problem or struggle that the characters face. It makes the story interesting and helps us understand the characters better. Conflict works directly with the plot in a story to make it more meaningful. There are many different kinds of conflict in stories. Please have a look at GN p.26 below 👇
The plot of a story is like the roadmap that shows us what happens from the beginning to the end. It includes all the main events and helps us understand the story's structure. Here are the key parts of a plot:
- Exposition: This is the beginning of the story where we meet the characters and learn about the setting (where and when the story takes place). It sets the stage for what’s to come.
- Rising Action: After the exposition, things start to get exciting! This part includes the events that build up the conflict or problem in the story. The characters face challenges, and the tension grows.
- Climax: This is the most exciting part of the story! It’s the turning point where the main conflict reaches its highest point. The characters have to face the problem head-on.
- Falling Action: After the climax, things start to calm down. The story begins to wrap up as the characters deal with the results of the climax and the conflict starts to resolve.
- Resolution: This is the end of the story where everything comes together. We see how the characters have changed and what happens after the main conflict is resolved.
In this lesson, I really tried to stress how important it is to make the plot of your story MEANINGFUL. Look at Guiding Notes p.28 for a reminder of what a meaningful plot is.
Finally, we went over how to start the storyboarding for your continuous assessment. Please have a look at Guiding Notes pages 29-31 for a detailed guideline for the first continuous assessment.
For this assessment, you will be writing a MEANINGFUL pet story. This doesn't need to be a real story - you can make it up, but your plot should be MEANINGFUL.
When you start storyboarding (on GN p. 32), I want you to keep these points in mind:
- Think of what kind of pet you want tom write about. A Pet was about a goldfish. Try to write about a different animal than a goldfish. Also, write down any other characters that will appear in your story.
- Think about where your story will take place and write it in the "setting" box.
- Think about what meaningful problem is going to happen in your story and write it in the "main problem" box.
- Think about three meaningful problems and solutions and write them in the boxes.
- Finally, think of symbols that you will include in your story and write them in the "symbolism" box. Remember all of the different symbols in A Pet.
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Week 4: The Lad, Part II (Writing) + A Pet
Thursday:
HW: GN p.15-22 (please hand in next Wednesday)
Since we're missing another double lesson next Monday, we need to cover a lot of pages for HW. Fortunately, it's mostly reading, so there's not a lot to write.
In the next story, A Pet, we will learn about symbolism and what different symbols mean in this story. I briefly talked about this on GN p.15, and I asked the class to also learn the vocabulary by completing pages 17 and 18. Please keep in mind that the vocabulary needs to be understood in context in order to choose the correct definitions.
Finally, I asked everyone to read the text on pages 19-22. You do not need to complete part C on p.22.
In our recent lesson, I discussed my expectations for them as learners. Some students expressed uncertainty about how to begin writing or what topics to choose. I believe this hesitation often stems from parents ensuring that their children submit perfect homework. While this approach makes things easier for teachers, it ultimately hinders students by preventing us from understanding the challenges they face and the knowledge they truly possess.
With this in mind, I emphasized to the class that one of my primary goals this year is to foster their confidence in taking risks in their work. Embracing risk is essential for growth and development as learners. I want them to know that I fully trust them, and building a relationship of mutual trust is crucial for their progress. There is no shame in making mistakes—it's one of the most effective ways to learn!
HW: GN p.15-22 (please hand in next Wednesday)
Since we're missing another double lesson next Monday, we need to cover a lot of pages for HW. Fortunately, it's mostly reading, so there's not a lot to write.
In the next story, A Pet, we will learn about symbolism and what different symbols mean in this story. I briefly talked about this on GN p.15, and I asked the class to also learn the vocabulary by completing pages 17 and 18. Please keep in mind that the vocabulary needs to be understood in context in order to choose the correct definitions.
Finally, I asked everyone to read the text on pages 19-22. You do not need to complete part C on p.22.
In our recent lesson, I discussed my expectations for them as learners. Some students expressed uncertainty about how to begin writing or what topics to choose. I believe this hesitation often stems from parents ensuring that their children submit perfect homework. While this approach makes things easier for teachers, it ultimately hinders students by preventing us from understanding the challenges they face and the knowledge they truly possess.
With this in mind, I emphasized to the class that one of my primary goals this year is to foster their confidence in taking risks in their work. Embracing risk is essential for growth and development as learners. I want them to know that I fully trust them, and building a relationship of mutual trust is crucial for their progress. There is no shame in making mistakes—it's one of the most effective ways to learn!
Monday:
HW: GN p.13-14 (please hand in on THURSDAY)
Today we talked about how to start our writing, and then we started our writing. A few things to remember:
HW: GN p.13-14 (please hand in on THURSDAY)
Today we talked about how to start our writing, and then we started our writing. A few things to remember:
- Remember to use your organizer from GN p.12 - this will help keep your writing focused.
- Write in paragraphs. Indent new paragraphs. Each paragraph should cover a single idea. Start a new paragraph when you start talking about a new idea.
- The synonyms that you came up with on GN p.12 should be used throughout your writing. This will create "motif" in your writing.
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Week 3: The Lad, Part II (Motif)
Thursday:
HW: GN p.11-12
Today we continued our discussion about allegory and motif. Remember, an allegory is a deeper, hidden meaning in a story, and motif is an idea that is repeated throughout.
We discussed the questions on GN p.11 and answered them together in class. Have a look below.
We also talked about the homework on p.12 - for this, you will be writing a story that has a motif that repeats itself throughout. For the homework, you need to complete five things in the organizer. First, you should think of a memory, or an idea for your story and write it in the MEMORIES. box. Next, it would be best to write down some themes, or ideas about your memory or idea. Make sure that they have a connection to your memory and write them in the THEMES box. By this time, you should have an idea about your motif. Remember, a motif can be an idea or a thing. Write it in the MOTIF box. Next, write some synonyms of your motif and write them in the SYNONYMS box. You should use these words in your story. Finally, draw some pictures in the IMAGES box. This will help you visualize your ideas.
Please hand in your homework on Friday.
HW: GN p.11-12
Today we continued our discussion about allegory and motif. Remember, an allegory is a deeper, hidden meaning in a story, and motif is an idea that is repeated throughout.
We discussed the questions on GN p.11 and answered them together in class. Have a look below.
We also talked about the homework on p.12 - for this, you will be writing a story that has a motif that repeats itself throughout. For the homework, you need to complete five things in the organizer. First, you should think of a memory, or an idea for your story and write it in the MEMORIES. box. Next, it would be best to write down some themes, or ideas about your memory or idea. Make sure that they have a connection to your memory and write them in the THEMES box. By this time, you should have an idea about your motif. Remember, a motif can be an idea or a thing. Write it in the MOTIF box. Next, write some synonyms of your motif and write them in the SYNONYMS box. You should use these words in your story. Finally, draw some pictures in the IMAGES box. This will help you visualize your ideas.
Please hand in your homework on Friday.
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Tuesday:
HW: GN p.9-10
A motif is like a little idea or picture that shows up again and again in a story, song, or art. Imagine you have a favorite toy, like a teddy bear. If you see that teddy bear in different pictures or stories, that's like a motif! It's something special that helps us remember the story or makes it feel more familiar and fun.
Remember - the motif in The Lad is "seeing" - there are many occurrances of it in the story:
HW: GN p.9-10
A motif is like a little idea or picture that shows up again and again in a story, song, or art. Imagine you have a favorite toy, like a teddy bear. If you see that teddy bear in different pictures or stories, that's like a motif! It's something special that helps us remember the story or makes it feel more familiar and fun.
Remember - the motif in The Lad is "seeing" - there are many occurrances of it in the story:
- staring
- gazing
- a fine eye
- velvety eyes
- watching
- glaring
- watery eyes
- watchman
- glancing
- BLINDNESS
- The fish is a symbol of ORDER.
- The cat is a symbol of CHAOS.
Week 2: Allegory
Thursday:
HW: GN p.8 - answer in complete sentences.
Today we re-read The Lad and discussed the deeper meaning of the story. Remember, this deeper meaning is called an ALLEGORY. Remember, it's important to keep in mind the type of person the lad really is. The lad is:
Everyone did a fantastic job taking notes and marking up the text in the Guiding Notes, but if you think you missed something, you can check the PDF here:
HW: GN p.8 - answer in complete sentences.
Today we re-read The Lad and discussed the deeper meaning of the story. Remember, this deeper meaning is called an ALLEGORY. Remember, it's important to keep in mind the type of person the lad really is. The lad is:
- A bully
- Insecure
- Manipulative
- A liar
Everyone did a fantastic job taking notes and marking up the text in the Guiding Notes, but if you think you missed something, you can check the PDF here:
| the_lad_marked_up_text.pdf |
Monday:
HW: Read GN p.3-7, think about the deeper meaning.
Today's lesson was filled with information. We had a great discussion about "staring" and what it means to animals. Do you remember why animals stare? Have a look at the slides below. You can also re-watch the videos.
We had a discussion about the difference between FABLES and ALLEGORIES. Remember:
Fables:
What They Are: Fables are short stories that usually feature animals as characters.
Purpose: They teach a lesson or moral at the end.
Example: In "The Tortoise and the Hare," the slow tortoise wins the race against the fast hare because he doesn't give up. The lesson is: "Slow and steady wins the race."
Allegories:
What They Are: Allegories are longer stories where characters and events symbolize bigger ideas or concepts.
Purpose: They often explore themes like morality, politics, or human nature.
Example: In George Orwell's "Animal Farm," the animals on the farm represent different groups of people in society, and the story shows how power can corrupt.
Key Difference:
Fables teach a simple lesson with animals, while allegories tell a deeper story that represents bigger ideas and messages.
We also read The Lad together and had a brief discussion about the deeper meaning behind the story. We will continue to go deeper in Thursday's lesson.
HW: Read GN p.3-7, think about the deeper meaning.
Today's lesson was filled with information. We had a great discussion about "staring" and what it means to animals. Do you remember why animals stare? Have a look at the slides below. You can also re-watch the videos.
We had a discussion about the difference between FABLES and ALLEGORIES. Remember:
Fables:
What They Are: Fables are short stories that usually feature animals as characters.
Purpose: They teach a lesson or moral at the end.
Example: In "The Tortoise and the Hare," the slow tortoise wins the race against the fast hare because he doesn't give up. The lesson is: "Slow and steady wins the race."
Allegories:
What They Are: Allegories are longer stories where characters and events symbolize bigger ideas or concepts.
Purpose: They often explore themes like morality, politics, or human nature.
Example: In George Orwell's "Animal Farm," the animals on the farm represent different groups of people in society, and the story shows how power can corrupt.
Key Difference:
Fables teach a simple lesson with animals, while allegories tell a deeper story that represents bigger ideas and messages.
We also read The Lad together and had a brief discussion about the deeper meaning behind the story. We will continue to go deeper in Thursday's lesson.
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Week 1: A quick single lesson
Thursday:
HW: GN p.2 - please hand in on Monday.
Today we didn't get a chance to do much - had a nice chat about our summer holidays and I explained a bit about what we will be doing this year. I would like everyone to remember one thing that I mentioned today:
The things that we will learn this year are quite advanced - in the first term, we will learn about allegory, motif, and symbolism - all things that you have probably never heard of before.
But I want you to trust me - I will make sure that each and every one of you understand what I am teaching, and I will make sure that nobody is left behind! I want to give you all "lightbulb moments" - and I know you will have many! I'm super excited for what this school year has in store for all of you.
Here's a link to a Quizlet for the vocabulary from this unit: quizlet.com/519088404/the-lad-diagram/?x=1jqt
HW: GN p.2 - please hand in on Monday.
Today we didn't get a chance to do much - had a nice chat about our summer holidays and I explained a bit about what we will be doing this year. I would like everyone to remember one thing that I mentioned today:
The things that we will learn this year are quite advanced - in the first term, we will learn about allegory, motif, and symbolism - all things that you have probably never heard of before.
But I want you to trust me - I will make sure that each and every one of you understand what I am teaching, and I will make sure that nobody is left behind! I want to give you all "lightbulb moments" - and I know you will have many! I'm super excited for what this school year has in store for all of you.
Here's a link to a Quizlet for the vocabulary from this unit: quizlet.com/519088404/the-lad-diagram/?x=1jqt
Here are some slides from today's PowerPoint 👇
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