ELA:

TASK: I was to create an organized piece of writing that tells my story. My story is made up of details and memories that construct who I am.

INTENT: Everyone’s story begins the same way but from that moment on our “stories” become unique. Many people and many events are a part of our stories. The purpose of this assignment was for me to tell my story focusing on key events, people, and experiences that helped shape my story.

CRITERIA: My final piece has three paragraphs and a reflection:

b) A specific memory or event that had a meaningful impact (5 marks)
c) My future self – Who do I see? What goals do I want to attain? (5 marks)
d) Reflection on my final piece of writing (5 marks)

Word of the Day

TASK: Each day we were given a word and its definition. We then had to write the word in a sentence that showed we understood the meaning of the word.

INTENT: The purpose for learning a new word each day is to enrich our vocabulary in our own writing and expand our knowledge of the English language.

CRITERIA: We were expected to:

Keep our notebook up-to-date
Share our sentences with the class
Use the word in a context related to our subject areas

Thank you Ma'am

We read the short story, “Thank you, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes. This story shows the consequences a young thief faces after attempting to steal a strong, yet compassionate, victim’s purse. Rather than punish the young thief, Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones empathizes with him and takes him into her home for a hot meal. She teaches him a valuable life lesson.

I chose to draw the scene in the story where …..

Iqbal

My class read the novel, Iqbal, by Francesco D’Adamo. This story is about a real boy named Iqbal Masih who is sold into a life of slavery at a carpet factory in Lahore, Pakistan. We learned about the working conditions of overworked and abused children who are forced to make carpets all day long and are denied many of their basic rights. Iqbal knows that this kind of life isn’t right and he tries to make a difference in the lives of many.

You are the Author

Throughout the novel, the chapters were only labelled with a number. I took on the role of being the author and I came up with chapter titles that I thought described the events of that chapter. I then summarized the chapter with 3 points of information.

Simile cards

We learned that a simile is
a figure of speech that uses the words “like” or “as” to compare two different things. The novel had many examples of similes and as we read we had to identify, record, and explain the similes. Once we had a large selection of similes, we created a simile card for a comparison of our choice. We had to explain the simile and draw an illustration that represented both parts of the comparison.

Explore Response

We wrote an EXPLORE reading response after reading the first 5 chapters of the novel. Our response was 6 paragraphs each focusing on a different area. (Ex- Example, P-Purpose, L- Language and Key Lines, O-Organizational Features, R – Relate, E- Evaluate)
I received a mark of /35. (Explain what you did well and/or what you can do better next time)

Visual - chapter 6-9

I chose to draw the scene where …. I chose to draw this scene because…

Chapter 7 Quotable Passage Quiz

There are many quotable passages in the novel. We had to identify important quotes and explain why they were significant. After reading chapter 7 we wrote a quiz where we had to respond critically to certain passages. After the quizzes were marked, we then had to go back to our quiz and make corrections to our answers.

Child Labour Essay

TASK: After completing our novel study, I then had to use my knowledge of Iqbal to write an essay on child labour
INTENT:

To make my reader aware of the issue of child labour
To inform my reader about the oppression that children like Iqbal face
To empower/encourage my reader to take action in support of children’s rights

CRITERIA: We were evaluated based on:

Strong thesis statement
Clear Introduction
Evidence from the novel with clear citations throughout the body paragraphs
Organizational structures and Use of Transitional Words
Strong Conclusion
Conventions and Language Usage
Followed the steps of the writing process including revising, editing, and proofreading

Social Studies

Timeline

Cro-Magnon Poster
- TASK: We had to create a poster that featured four important parts of daily Cro-Magnon life. (Homes, Food, Tools and Social Structure)
- INTENT: To develop a clear understanding of the Cro-Magnons who were the first modern people to live in Europe, about 40,000 years ago
- CRITERIA: We were evaluated on the following key criteria:
  - Use of specific details of Cro-Magnon daily life in the four quadrant drawings
  - Clear headings and title
  - Good use of space/layout
  - Neatness (use of a ruler, drawn in pencil, coloured in pencil crayons)
  - Creativity and effort