May 24 Updates

Some updates for this week!

ELA: We are continuing to work on our Literature circles. Students should be doing some reading at home this month to keep up to date with their work. Our next Literature Circle sharing day will be on TUESDAY May 29. 


SOCIAL: In social studies, we are working on an examination of Power and Government. We are halfway completed the power section, and we will have a quiz on TUESDAY MAY 29. It will involve True/False, Matching, and Multiple choice sections, as well as a Short Answer section. The two questions for the short answer have been given to the students, and are as follows:

1. Explain why and how a nation can have power? Make reference to a minimum of 3 of the powers that a nation has and give detailed examples. (6 Marks)
2. During Global Sim this year, you have used the power of your country to affect others, and you have been affected by other countries using their power on you. Describe a situation when you used your power, or were affected by the power of another country. Include in your description which FORM of power was used, which SOURCES of power and give evidence to back up what you say. (5 marks)

Students should consider these questions before the quiz so that they are better prepared to answer them. 

PERFORMING ARTS: Students are just finishing their writing and recording of Radio Plays this week. All recordings should be completed by Monday next week. After that, we will begin work on our short film final project. 

We also will host our Discovery Afternoon on Thursday May 31st. Check with your child to see what they're signed up for, along with the necessary fees and equipment. 

It's getting down to crunch time! We are going to be cruising fast all the way to the finish line. Final exams are coming up. As it looks now, we will write a Social Studies final during class time, then Math on Monday June 25th, ELA in the AM of June 26, and Science in the PM.  

Enjoy the weekend! 

Literature Circles!

Great news! We are embarking on our Courage Unit, and will be participating in Literature Circles.

What are literature circles? Easy. Here's the plan.

1. You will be presented with options on which books are available, and rate your top three. 
2. Groups will be created by me based on your choices and availability of books. 
3. Books will be signed out to each of you. They are your responsibility to take excellent care of. If they come back in worse condition or are lost, it will be your responsibility to replace them. 
4. Each week you will have a role to complete and a specific number of pages to read. Please do not read ahead, as it can create problems with your group. 
5. You will receive one, and only one booklet with the roles to be completed. Do not lose this. You will need to turn this in at the end of the literature circle. It will be a part of your final mark. 
6. In class you will have time to read and prepare your role. The number of pages to read will depend on the book that you have chosen. There will be necessary homework time to read and prepare your roles. Please plan to be spending time in the evening on this. 
7. During Literature Circle meeting time, you will share your roles with your group and discuss the book. 
8. One group will share their literature circle in front of the class during each discussion period. You will be evaluated on your participation with the group, understanding of the text, and completion of your role. It will be a part of your final mark. Other groups will engage in their discussions after this. 
9. If you complete your reading early in class, there will be a creative project option. More on this will be discussed in class and posted to this site soon. 

Alright! Ready to go? Check out the list of possible books and vote for your choices by going to http://mrhyland.wikispaces.com/The+Novels. Read through the options, and then go to this site to vote for your favourite choices!