April 28th

Academic Notes:

Social Studies Div 2: You took notes on marriage and the middle ages. This was in preparation for a Game of Fief activity where we will be arranging marriages among the noble set to secure alliances. A Bachelor / Bachelorette Middle Ages Game is in the works. Ms. Lecat did a review lesson comparing Christianity and Islam as a lead up to a lesson on The Crusades. You took notes on key points.

Social Studies Div 5: Ms Lecat did a review lesson comparing Christianity and Islam as a lead up to a lesson on The Crusades or the holy wars of the Middle Ages. You took notes on key points.

Please refer to earlier posts for homework/pacing for English and French. The word is: primogeniture.

This is an actual promotional advertisement from the Middle Ages....don't believe everything I say!!!!

April 27th

If you don't know what is going on in this scene, you haven't read Chapter 3.

Academic Notes/ HW:

English Div 5: Library book exchange. You were also given time to read and work on chapters 4 to 6 of The Outsiders. (Chapter 4 to 6 of the booklet is due by Monday)

S.S. Div 2 and 5: You took a quiz on offensive/defensive military tactics. If you were away, arrange to write the test at lunch.

Thai Presentation: Div 5 went to a Thai expo and many cultural connections were made.

English Div 6: You were given time to read and work chapters 4 to 6 of The Outsiders. (Chapter 4 to 6 of the booklet is due by Monday)



Today's word: "leather"

April 26th

What is happening here? Beware the blue Mustang!

Academic Notes/ H.W.:

English Div 5 and 6: Finish the Cloze activity and answer the questions for chapters 1 to 3. Read chapters 4 to 6 of The Outsiders.

Social Studies Div 5: We read and took notes on marriage in the Middle Ages. You will be deciding whether to arrange alliances through marriage or grow your power/wealth through war tomorrow.

French Div 5: You should know how to conjugate avoir and identify why this verb is so important in this and other Latin based languages.



or today's phrase: "the checkered shirt set"

April 25th

Sodapop...you "attract girls like honey attracts flies"

Academic Notes/H.W.:

English Div 5 and 6: We read most of Chapter 3, The Outsiders, and we added to our notes on characters as well as the t-chart comparing the two social groups, The Greasers and The Socs.

Social Studies Div 2: We read about a famous siege and reviewed offensive and defensive tactics. We will have our quiz on Wednesday. It will take 15 minutes and it will test both your knowledge and critical thinking skills around offense/defense tactics in the Middle Ages.

HCE Div 18: You were given production time for your Grade 5 Orientation Film.

The Outsiders, a book about gangs and about the importance of family no matter what that family looks like.



Today's word: family

This week, April 25th to 29th

We welcome Ms. Lecat, our UVic. student teacher, for her two week practicum! She will be working with Div 2 and 5 in the area of Social Studies. She has been visiting us in the weeks leading up to her practicum and we love her already.

Academic Notes:

English: We will be reading and analyzing Chapters 4 to 6 of The Outsiders. You will be reviewing parts of speech and look at how to use this knowledge to vary the structure of your sentences.

Social Studies: To wed or to war? This is the question that we will explore this week. What are the pros and cons of both?

French: Avoir, the irregular verb with lots of uses, will be our skills focus this week.

If you have any questions or concerns remember that I can be reached at gbridal@sd62.bc.ca. I will get back to you ASAP.



Today's word is....

machine

April 21st

Another siege machine gone wrong...

Academic Notes/Homework:

Social Studies Div 2 and 5: We reviewed what siege weapons were and built a marshmallow catapult. We discovered that, not unlike the catapult of medieval times, the marshmallow catapult could fling projectiles, but not with much accuracy. This is why sieges took so long. You will be quizzed on castles and siege machines this Monday, April 25th.


Today's word: "don't"

April 20th

Trebuchet...don't try this at home.

Academic Notes/Homework:

English Div 5: We read the rest of Chapter 1 of The Outsiders and we completed all the character profiles other than Cherry. Your Greasers versus Soc's T Chart should be done.

S.S. Div 2 and 5: We viewed a video on siege machines specifically Trebuchets and we read about military technological innovations in the middle ages. You were to take Cornell Notes on this topic. I modelled note taking on the board.

English Div 6: You were to read Chapters 2 and 3 of The Outsiders. Then, you were to work on the Cloze Activity and answer questions for Chapters 1 to 3. You will get a work block on Friday. It is not homework.

If you were away, you are responsible for what you missed.

Today's word: monarchy

April 19th

The Greasers

Academic Notes (and HW):

HCE - Grade 8 - We reviewed the STI worksheet.

English Div 5: We continued to read Chapter 1 adding to the character descriptions and the Greasers' and Soc's t-chart. You should have points on each character with the exception of Cherry. This was an in class assignment. If you were away, it is HW.

English Div 6: You self evaluated your short story. Some of you had nothing to evaluate because the stories are outstanding. Your parents will be emailed, so that they are aware of the situation. We finished Chapter 1 and added to both the character descriptions and the Greasers' versus Socs' t-chart.

French: You were given a work block to complete the Francophone Country project.

Social Studies: Siege weapons. You were given a diagram of a castle and asked to outline how you would attack and take it over. You were asked to anticipate the enemies defensive moves. This was due in class. It is homework, if you were away.

Today's word is: "poverty"

This week, April 18th to 22nd

Calendar Notes:

Exploratories start this Thursday. Dress appropriately.

Academic Notes:

English: We will be reading Chapters 1 to 3 of the Outsiders. You will be self evaluating your stories using a marking rubric. I will use your evaluation to inform or direct mine.

Social Studies: How would you take down a castle to get inside? We will be exploring siege weapons including marshmallow catapults. Just wait a second, they didn't have marshmallows in the middle ages!

French: We will review the verb avoir or to have, a very important verb. You will get some time to tidy up your Francophone country brochures, posters, powerpoints, etc.

HCE: That same subject, but only for one more week.

Today's word is: Siege

This week, April 11th to 14th

Calendar Notes:

Monday is the first day to hand in Exploratories. First come, first get; hand them in late, get what you get.

Tuesday is class photo and whole school picture day, so dress to impress.

Thursday is early dismissal. Look for more information on the school blog regarding Open House events. Some parents will be meeting with us in the afternoon.

Friday is a Pro D. I am continuing to look into how to "flip" my practice and use more technology. You have a day off and enjoy it because the next long weekend isn't for a while. Moo ha ha.

Academic Week:

English: We will be reading and annotating the Ousiders. You will also be given one computer block to type the neat copy of your short story which is due this Wednesday.

Social Studies: Project time to work on the Day in the Life assignment.

French: Monde Francophone continues.

Health: We will look at STI's and prevention (grade 8s).

Today's word is: disgusting.

April 8th

Academic Notes:

English: You were coached on how to be a peer tutor something that we will be putting on your resumes when we start them next week. Published short stories are due on Wednesday, April 13th.

Social Studies: A Day in the Life project is due on Monday, April 18th (except if you are going to go in character for the Open House on April 14th; then, your project needs to be plotted out for that date).

April 6th

Academic Notes:

English Div 5: You were given computer time for typing the neat copy of your sci fi and fantasy short stories. The finished stories are due on Wednesday, April 13th.

Social Studies Div 2: You were assigned the "Day in the Life" medieval project and you were given a "Castles" handout.

Social Studies Div 5: You read a "Castles" handout and you viewed a video on castles of the middle ages.

English Div 6: You were given computer time for typing the neat copy of your sci fi and fantasy short stories. The finished stories are due on Wednesday, April 13th.


No tea for you! Today's word is: "Tea"

April 5th

Academic Notes:

English Div 5 and 6: We began the Outsiders with a 60's retrospective. You were given a graphic organizer to note down what defined the 60s.

English Div 6: You were given editing and proofreading time for your stories.

Social Studies: You were assigned the "Day in the Life" Medieval Role project. The link can be found here (scroll down)

French Div 5: You were given computer time to research and put together a Francophone country brochure. (The remaining time was given for Medieval research).

Today's word: unlikely

This week, April 5th to 8th

WELCOME TO OUR THAI VISITORS!

Academic Notes:

Advisory: Consent continued and the miracle of conception (and, for grade 8s, how to prevent that miracle from happening too soon in your life).

English: This week we will be working on proofing, editing and publishing your short stories. The good copy of your fantasy or science fiction story is due on Wednesday next week. We will also be starting a novel study and a genre focus on Teen Fiction. Our focus novel is The Outsiders by SE Hinton.

Social Studies: We will take a look at your manors and determine whether or not you could be truly self sufficient. We will also explore the question: how could you advance your interests or get what you need to be better off? You will be assigned a Day in the Life micro project. This will involve you investigating what a typical day would be like for you in your medieval role and presenting it .

French: Francophone country research in the computer lab.

Today's word: Bee (and Birds)

April 1st

And I am back...in this time zone; my brain was still back in Europe, hence the blog blackout.

Mr Bryan does not sleep in the computer room closet...April Fools.

Social Studies Div 5: You were given time to complete your scale/grid map of your manor land. We discussed the importance of following both the grid and the scale to make your map as accurate as possible. These maps are due on Tuesday for 25 marks.

Advisory Div 5 and 6: We discussed consent. The focus was on being respectful and asking for permission before you make contact with someone. We also talked about what it means to be "in a position of trust" and how the law applies to people in this position (eg. coaches, teachers, doctors, police officers., etc). Also, we looked at the 2008 consent law; there are different consent rules for different ages. Knowledge is power; now you have that power.

English Div 5 and 6: You peer proofread and edited your fantasy/sci fi stories. We will be publishing (typing those up) next week.