Update: Jan 30

This week, we have worked on 3-minute doodles of the Canadian events we've been studying, to help students combine the facts they've learned to form a complete story of each event. These doodles have been done in class, and students will submit their best three for marks tomorrow.

At the same time, we've been using a giant map in the learning commons to explore the historical geography of Canada. Students will be completing their own paper maps to demonstrate their understanding; these will be due next week (date TBA).

Marks have now been posted for 7-5's reading response 3, though many students have not shared their work with me in Google. These students need to let me know when they have shared their work so that I can mark it. Marks for 7-4 will be posted by Friday.

*Parent-teacher conferences are next week, and bookings are now available through the school website. I look forward to finally meeting all of you!

Update: January 21st

I hope you all had a great weekend! Just a few quick reminders:

- Reading response 3 (written, visual and presentation) should now be complete.

- Historical events assignment is due tomorrow. Please see previous post for assignment handout.

- Report cards go home on Friday.

Have a good week!

Update: Jan 16

Reading Response 3: students should be finished their written work for reading response 3. We are working on art pieces for one more period today, and they will be presented on Friday.

Canadian Historical Events: Yesterday students in 7-4 and 7-5 completed a timeline challenge to review the historical events we began studying before the holiday. Today we will return to that work in earnest. (7-3 has been working on historical events notes this week. 7-3's notes are due on Friday.)

Assignment Links:
Determining Historical Significance handout
Reading response handout

Welcome Back!

It was great to see you all today and hear about your holidays! Today we began work on Reading Response 3. All students should be finished their retell, and should be able to finish their relate and reflect tomorrow. The written portion of the response should be completed by Friday.

Reading response printing Links

7-4 Printing has closed. If you would still like to print your reading response, please do so on your own.

7-5 Reading Response Printing

Dec. 10-14

This week we've been familiarizing ourselves with events from pre-Confederation history. The following activities have been completed:
- Students matched art pieces to events in the Learning Commons
- Students worked in groups to select the five events they believed to be most historically significant
- Students in 7-4 debated their chosen events with other groups (assessed- see PowerSchool)

Next week, we will continue with the following activities:
- 7-5 debates: Monday Dec 17
- Individual historical significance assignment: determining historical significance
- Pre-Confederation events links

*7-5 reading response marks have also been posted. 7-4 marks will be posted on Monday.

Here's a link to the historical events we're currently exploring. Students who were absent on Monday December 10th missed our introductory activity, and may need to spend some extra time to become familiar with the events.

Assignment template: Determining Historical Significance

Please stay tuned for upcoming due dates.

I'm Back- Again!

Thank you to all of you for your hard work and focus while I was away with the flu. What terrible timing! I was back at school yesterday, and found nearly all students ready to present their art pieces for their reading responses. Thank you and well done! Marks have been posted in Powerschool for your presentations and visual pieces. I will add marks for your written work shortly.

Next week we'll be working on something brand new: stay tuned!

The following links provide access to the five digital art pieces used during our Pre-Confederation Scavenger Hunt. Students will be provided with information about 22 events, and asked to match the events with their corresponding art pieces.

Art Piece C

Art Piece G

Art Piece I

Art Piece M

Art Piece O

Reading Response 2

This week we've been working on Reading Response 2 while I've been getting to know everyone. Most students have finishing their written work today, and are ready to begin their art pieces. Both components will be due on Tuesday, December 4th. Students will have one period tomorrow (Friday) and one period on Monday to complete this assignment.

A Quick Introduction

Hi students and parents! I'm so excited to get to know you all over the upcoming weeks! I'm sorry I won't be able to attend conferences, but I'll be building a blog here and updating it regularly, and I will be happy to hear from you any time at jamwesley@cbe.ab.ca. Ms. Ruuska has promised to share important information with me after conferences as well.


Next week we'll be continuing with short stories and taking some time to get to know each other. We'll also be starting Reading Response 2 shortly. Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday!