Block 1 English 9 25/26

Kudos to the students who popped into Writing Labs and tutorial mornings to get those extra words on the page, and to kudos those who had complete drafts ready to go!  Students spent the block reading the drafts of others, doing one peer edit, and discussing strengths and weaknesses in the writing. Students then decided whether to continue their drafts, or begin their final copy work. We will be writing final copies in Wednesday's class.  Those who were absent from today's class, for whatever reason, are expected to attend tutorial tomorrow if they would like another set of eyes on their work before good-copy day.    

 It wasn't easy, but great progress was made in draft work.  Students are invited to get a much as possible on the page (during tutorial or Writing Lab if needed) before Tuesday's class. Regardless of what point folks are in their paragraph drafts, we will be doing editing work next class, then beginning final copies. All final paragraph drafts should be complete by the end of the block on Wednesday (Please note, folks writing essays may need additional tutorial time through the end of next week).   

Students spent today's block finishing their outline work.  Those requiring additional outline time should have been in tutorial or Writing Lab today - same goes for tomorrow.  We will do   drafts on Thursday, followed by peer edits and good copies Monday and Wednesday respectively.  If you require additional time, you will need to ensure you access it ahead of class blocks. If you do not take initiative to ensure that you are moving at the pace of the class, you may miss key components of the writing process.

 Students jumped all the way in to their planning today! We will finish outlines on Tuesday, and drafts will be on Wednesday. Those who did not get a jump on the work today  SHOULD PLAN TO ATTEND TUTORIAL ON MONDAY.  

 Today's block was a shortened one, but we were able to cover a lot of ground. Students got to look at the difference between an essay and a paragraph - those who have already received a solid  proficient  or extending   on their writing are free to give the essay a go. No one is required to write a full essay - all are welcome to write an extended literary paragraph.  Students received their writing assignment, and their own copy of two mind maps (unless their group work did not go to plan). All materials were collected at the door, but we will begin planning our writing in earnest next block. Anyone is welcome to tutorial to get a jump on things.  

We opened the block with thinking about the connections between Alberta separatism efforts, and this news story on a FAKE note sent to homeowners in Britannia Beach. Who profits from fear/division/anger/the inability of neighbours to recognize and hear one another? Students were reminded about the ownership of the National Post, and to always read for biased language, regardless of the source. Students spent most of the block working in groups (or alone, if last week's work did not include enough focus from them) on the theme webs we began. Writing planning will be our focus going forward.