Class Minutes for Thursday Feb 3rd

1. Prayer

2. Think - Pair - Share
Students responded to three questions: How do villains operate? How does exposure to evil affect us? How does an individual fight against an unjust or corrupt society?

3. Most Valuable Idea
After discussing their responses with a partner and the class, the students chose their strongest idea and made a theme statement. Then they filled out a "connections" organizer to look for connections in the text, the world, and their own experience.

4. Ghosts of Rwanda
Ms. Meakes explained what a genocide was, and the background of the Rwandan genocide. We watched clips from "Ghosts of Rwanda" and filled out a comparison organizer linking events in Lord of the Flies to the Rwandan Genocide.  We will finish this activity next class.

Class Minutes for Tuesday January 11th

1.)Prayer
 
2.) Chapter 11 & 12 hot seat
-Ralph, Jack, Simon and Piggy came for a visit and we got the opportunity to ask them questions based on the novel’s plot.
-We all wrote down 2 questions for each character. Ms. Meakes then collected the questions.
-Characters were played and answered by:
Willy/Angelika as Piggy
Jal as Simon
Daniel/Maegan as Ralph
Leo/Harris as Jack
 
3.)Chapter 11 & 12 notes
Fill in the blank notes were filled in as a class.
 
4.) Key terms sheet
We received a paper with key terms and their definition.
Terms:
Dystopia
Allegory
Social Stratification
Deus ex machina
Propaganda
Totem/ totemism
Fascism
Democracy
Beezlebub
Taboo
Dictatorship
Demagogue
Atavism
*these terms may appear on exam*
 
5.) Midyear exam outline handed out.

Thanks Cassie

Class Minutes for Friday January 7th

1) Prayer

2) Quiz on Lord of the Flies Chapters 1-8

3) Chapter 10 Word Scramble reading check worksheet.  Completed as a class on the smart board. 

4) The Beast:
Read a portion of Lord of the Flies from the smart board. (The first mention of the beast by the boy with the mulberry shaped birthmark)  Filled out beast question sheet as a class.

5) Simon as a symbol of Christ.  Worksheet filled out as a class

6) Homework: Read Chapters 11 and 12.

Thanks Shannon

Class Minutes for Tuesday January 5th

1)Prayer
2)Dates and Assignments
      Wed Jan 5- Ch. 9
      Fri Jan 7- Quiz: ch 1-8 HW: ch 11-12
      Tues Jan 11- Exam Outline
     Thurs Jan 13- Ch. 9-12 Quest
      Mon Jan 17- Themes/Motifs/Quotes
     Wed Jan 19- Symbol Game
                        Symbol Cards Due!

* WE RECIEVED SYMBOL TRADING CARDS ASSIGNMENT> DUE JANUARY 19th.

3)Chapter 9
     Story Time with Ms. Meakes
4)Chapter 9 Notes
    -Split notes up into sections : Nature, Democracy + Dictatorship, Fear and the Beast, and Simon
    - Gave us 5 mins to do one section of the review notes
    - Class discussed answeres.

HOMEWORK: study for CH.1-8 Quiz
                     Read CH. 10
BLOCK 1-5 needs to read chapter 9 and fill out the notes for chapter 9 in addition to the other homework due to the Basketball Tournament. 

*Absent people please see Ms. Meakes to pick up the assignment papers and any other missed work

Thanks Tanner

Class Notes for Monday Dec 13th

1. Prayer

2. Allegory Multi
In class writing assignment on the allegory in Lord of the Flies.

Class Minutes for Thursday December 9th

1. Prayer

2. Key Quotes

We examined a quote said by Jack in Lord of the Flies: "We don't need the conch anymore."

Jack represents a totalitarian dictator who rejects the symbol of democracy and order, the conch. This is allegorically significant. 

3. Paragraph Revision

We revised our paragraphs of setting in Lord of the Flies, focusing on:

• Thematic topic sentence - applies to humanity/the world in general
• PEE supporting the argument - evidence links to theme/use direct quotes
• Rhetorical devices/style

4. Prep for Allegory multi

 

We reviewed the structure of a multi-paragraph.

Theme: Without the restrictions of society, humanity's inherent evil prevails.

How does Golding use allegory to communicate this message?

3 types of allegories in Lord of the Flies:

• Political: Jack = totalitarian, axis; Ralph = democracy, allies; the conch is a symbol of democracy
• Psychological (Freud): Jack = Id; Piggy = super-ego; Ralph = ego
• Religious: Garden of Eden and Humanity's fall

5. Homework: Read Chapter 7

 

 

Thanks Ryan!

Class Minutes for Wednesday December 1st

1- Prayer: First week of advent

2- Quiz: Chapter 1-3, not for marks

3- Venn Diagrams: Ralph vs. Piggy/ Ralph vs. Jack. Write about their similarities and differences about their maturity, charisma, wisdom and appearance.

4- Group Character Work: We were given a character from the novel “Lord of The Flies” and had to include things about their appearance, behaviour, traits and relationships with other characters, what famous characters are they most like, what activities/hobbies they would enjoy and jobs that they could be good at.

5- Ch.4 Predictions: We had to predict events that would happen in the next chapter, some of the predictions were:

-     They won’t survive.

-     They will end up going against each other, in particular Ralph and Jack since they had disagreements with each other in chapter 3.

-     It will become a disaster since there is no shelter and the people are not really doing their jobs.

Thanks Rochelle

Class Minutes for Monday November 29th 2010

1. Prayer
2. Chapter 3: 3 Minutes 3 Columns

We predicted the meaning of three difficult words found in chapter three based on other words that make sense int he context and word families. We then looked up the actual definitions.

3. Setting in "The Painted Door" paragraphs

Ms Meakes discussed the importance of connecting of ideas in our body paragraphs to the theme and using relevant quotes. We got back our setting paragraphs and updated our writing logs.

4. Lord of the Flies Setting

Good and evil are both present
-Man brings evil
-Humans are inherently evil
-Lack of authority results in disorder
-Golding thinks that both good and evil are present in humans and the circumstances bring out one or the other
-Juxtaposition is putting two things side by side to highlight the contrast of them or in order to draw a comparison.

We wrote a paragraph answering the question: How does Golding use setting to communicate a larger idea?

Thanks Lorenzo

Class Minutes for Wednesday November 24th

1.Prayer

2. Chapter 2: 3 Minutes 3 Columns 

-We were given sentences with bold words. We tried to predict what they mean, then we find the actual definition. Ms Meakes gave us two hints - a: think of other words that sound the same; b: try to think of other words that would make sense in the spot in the sentence. 

3. Review Two Text Framing Notes

-We filled in the blanks.

4. Leads

-We learned how to write strong introductions.
-We found examples from magazine articles to practice.

5.Personal Composition Independent Corrections

-We got back our personal composition and filled out our writing log. 

Homework: 

-Read Chapter 3 in Lord of the Flies.

-Finish the Island Sketch that was assigned on Monday.

Thanks Adelia

Class Minutes for Monday November 22nd

1) Prayer

2) 3 Minutes 3 Columns: we were each given a worksheet, with 3 columns; we were to predict the meaning of the bolded word in each sentence, then find the actual meaning. This activity helps you to practice using context clues to determine the meaning of new words.

3) Chapter 1 Questions: discuss the questions we had to write for homework on chapter 1. Asking questions while you are reading helps to cement the information. It will also help to guide your future reading.

4) The Island-Setting: we were given 20 minutes to work on a sketch (title: This Belongs to Us) of the island as the boys see it, from the top of the mountain. The sheet given had notes and criteria. This is to be completed for next class.

5) T-Chart: as a class we made a t-chart of Golding (author of Lord of the Flies) and Rousseau (philosopher) each man had a different view of the human race. Golding believed that without rules, and systems like schools, the human race would be savage and wild. Rousseau on the other hand believed that every person was good, and searched for good.

6) Homework: read Chapter 2 “Fire on the Mountain”, finish The Island sketch, and do the worksheet Chapter 1&2 Text Framing Notes. All due Wednesday. * Note: EXTENSION ON THE ISLAND SKETCH. PLEASE FINISH FOR MONDAY

Thanks Mineesha! 

Class Minutes for Thursday November 18th

1. Prayer

2. Re-visit survival question from last class and add/revise answer.

The students commented that they revised their answers to reflect our need to work together. Other new survival qualities included focus, empathy, a sense of purpose, and emotional strength. A common idea drawn from the readings was that community or "sticking together" was important to succeed.

3. Context of Lord of the Flies
LOTF was written by William Golding after the second world war. Before the war, Golding was a school teacher. Being a part of WWII caused Golding to revise his ideas on humanity. LOTF centers around Golding's idea that all humans have evil in them and in the absence of authority and law, we descend into chaos and savagery. Furthermore, LOTF takes it's basic idea from an earlier novel entitled Coral Island. In Coral Island  a group of boys is stranded on a tropical island and they prosper. They are great friends, they fight pirates, and they convert the aboriginal people to Christianity. Golding argues that LOTF is a more-realistic portrayal of what would result from a group of boys being stranded on an uninhabited island.

4. Reading Chapter One

• Page 1 and 2 : "fair" is used 9 times. "Fair" literally means that Ralph has light coloured hair. However, the sense of "justice" is also being linked to Ralph.
• Ralph as "Adam": the scene is set in a natural paradise, Ralph surveys all that he can see, there is a mention of fruit, but interestingly, Ralph brings his "snake clasp belt" with him, instead of meeting the snake in the garden. 
• Ralph starts out in a typical English school-boy's uniform. This uniform is a symbol of civility and order. Minutes later, he has stripped off all his clothes and is enjoying the freedom of the island. Ralph's stripping of his clothes represents a stripping away of civility and order. 
• Several times Ralph is mentioned in connection with light: golden, glimmering, sunlight, fair
• Good/Bad words: We charted the words with positive and negative connotations.
• Good: enchantment, incredible, glittering, dazzling, golden, effloresence, God, brilliance
• Bad: apprehension, coarse, uncompromising, thrust, shrieked, pain, devil, reluctantly, scar, witch-like cry

5. Homework: finish reading chapter 1 and write 10-15 questions that you have about the chapter.  Block 1-2 must also hand in both c/c thesis statements on Monday.

6. Electronic editions: The electronic copies of LOTF can be found as a pdf and as an application.

Class Minutes for Tuesday November 16th

1. Prayer

2. Who Survives?
We answered a three part question: In a disaster situation, who lives, who dies, and why?

3. Survival Simulation
Based on a Northern Canadian winter plane crash scenario, we had to rank items as most to least useful individually and as a group before comparing our work to the answers provided by a survival specialist. It turned out that the best plan was not to go for help, but to remain as a group near the crash site and wait to be rescued.  Many people felt more prepared after discussing their options with a group, while a few felt like they were best on their own.

4. Word Families
We looked at the origins of the word survivor, which comes from two Latin words meaning over and live. We then discussed the meaning of other words with the same root.

5. Other Texts
There were four texts which all centered around the idea of survival.

• Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales: we used a word cloud to predict what this text would be about. Then we read key points revealing, among other things, that empathy, purpose, calm, and focus will help a person to survive. 
• "Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions" by John Donne: this is the classic text in which the "no man is an island" metaphor comes from. It also contains the metaphor of being chapters of a common book. 
• "All I Really Need to Know I Learned In Kindergarten" by Robert Fulgham: "hold hands and stick together"
• "No Man is an Island" by Craig and Marc Kielburger

6. Homework: choose two of the texts and write a compare and contrast thesis statement on the topic of survival.