This week we worked on reviewing the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing.

Monday and Tuesday the students received a self check list too help them when completing any writing assignment in class. We spent this week learning/reviewing the trait of Voice. This is sometimes a difficult trait for students, especially when asked to create voice in their writing. When students are dealing with Voice they usually encounter inferring. I usually use examples from children's literature to illustrate concepts and then use more grade/age appropriate material to make sure it is properly understood. We read The Paperbag princess by Robert Munch to illustrate inference (ie. It does not say that the princess loves Ronald, but we know that she does. How do we know?). We then use the novel, "The Book Thief" to practice. We also completed 2 different graphic organizers  to help us remember the trait.  

Wednesday we had our silent reading class.

Thursday we practiced writing with Voice. The students received a character card that included limited information about a person. The students had to write a "Dear Diary" entry from the perspective of that person. In order to do this the students had to infer. We the  picked some students to share. These were great and some were very funny.

Friday we completed the Reading Response Journals. These will be corrected on Oct. 3rd. There should be three full pages completed by then.

We started off this week with the OCA (Ontario Comprehensive Assessment). This is an assessemtn we use to measure reading comprehension. We look at different outcomes to see where each student is excelling or required additional support. We record all results on a spread sheet, so we have the information to help guide classroom instructiona and to revisit when we complete the second OCA in the Spring.

The ELPA (English Language Provincial Assessemnt) is an assessment that will need ot be completed this school year. This is a very important assessment, as it is a graduation requirement. The students learned what the assesment tests and what to expect. If you need addition information, please click on the ELPA link to the right of this page.

We continue to complete our silent reading at the beginning of classes and again for the whole class on Wednesdays. The students brought home a form explaining this system. Please sign and return this form at your earliest convenience.
We also discussed the General curriculum outcomes and the Specific curriculum oucomes. These are the skills that each student is expected to do well in order to be successful in English. These are posted in the classroom and are reviewed each time we change units and lessons. This is to make sure that students know what is expected of them and why. There is also a link on the right hand side of the page for further informtion.

On Thursday, I did a mini lesson on completing a a reading response journal. These are the journals that they complete every Friday. They now have all the inofrmation to be successful duing Friday's class.

This has been a busy week! Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have!.

This week flew by! So far we have covered administration, including classroom expectations, website navigation, school policy, rules, and day-to-day operation of OHS. We also had the opportunity to review and practice the safety week practices. We practices a fire drill (including primary and secondary exits), Intruder alert, and evacuation. Students were encouraged to ask any questions and forward concerns to me at any time. We also had library orientation which allowed the students an opportunity to explore what we have to offer.

With regards to curriculum:

• We completed reading and writing surveys (those who did not finish will have the
  opportunity to finish next week),
• We went 'speed dating' - please ask them
  about their experience while meeting different books. :D
• We completed a class on different reading genre.
• We discussed word attack strategies and reading strategies  - they received handouts on both.
• We assembled the Reading Response journals - these were
  collected on Friday, Sept. 12th.

We have had a busy, but productive week! 


We follow the same schedule most weeks. 

• Monday - 15 mins silent reading and then I model a new concept
  
• Tuesday - 15 mins of silent reading and then the students practice the concepts that we introduced yesterday.
  
• Wednesday - Silent reading class and teacher conferencing
• Thursday - 15 mins of silent reading and model new concept and/or finish concepts for Tuesday's class
• Friday  - Reading Response Journal class. 

 I sent home a sheet explaining this schedule. Please do not hesitate to contact me if yo have any questions. 



NOTE : I have sent home three forms that need to be signed and returned.
Pleas make sure your son or daughter has handed in their duotang and has a novel for class.

These documents are some things that we completed in class this week. 

Welcome to OHS and your grade 9 year! I will be your English teacher for both semester 1 and 2. We will be reviewing English skills, that you have learned from K-gr.8, and learning a lot of new skills as well. At this point it is VERY IMPORTANT that you return your COURSE OUTLINE with all information entered, as I will be using these to send out progress reports every month. Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions that you may have. I look forward to having a great year with you.

FYI - The Course Outline has been sent home, but a copy can also be found by clicking "Course Outline" on this page