Tuesday, October 27, 2009

October 26-30
Grade 12:
We have finished The Age of Chaucer, and will do the fourth Literary Period, The Revival of Learning, the beginning of the Renaissance. Test for Periods I-III will be Wednesday. Quiz for Midterm next Monday, covering Periods I-IV will be Friday. Notes for periods III and IV are on the same sheets passed out for Period II.

Grade 9:
We have finished our short story unit, and are beginning a unit on the essay. This week we are concentrating on the pre-writing stage of writing, and the introduction of the essay.
Root words for this week:
graph, gram: to write, draw or record
Examples: holograph: a form of 3D photography
graphite: carbon used in pencils
calligraphy: an artistic form of writing
anagram: a word formed by transposing letters of another word. "Angel" is an anagram of "gleam."
grat, grac: please or thank
Examples: gratitute: thankfulness
gratifying: pleasing or delightful
gratuity: a tip of fee for good service
gratis: free of charge
ingrate: an ungrateful person
disgrace: shame or loss of honour or favour
hem, hemat, em: blood
Examples: hematology: study of blood
anemia: weakened condition of the blood
toxemia: blood poisoning
hemorrhage: heaving bleeding
hematoma: a bruise, a tumor or swelling containing blood
hydr: water
Examples: hydrophobia: fear of water
hydrolic: operated by water (fluid) pressure
hydrophonics: growing plants without soil (water and
chemicals)
hydrofoil: a boat whose hull is lifted out of the water at high speeds

Vocabulary Words: “ from Family Issues: April 19th, 1985”

Fortnight: every two weeks
Promenade: an area for walking
Ghetto: a section of a city, usually a poor area
Flannelette: a wool material that is matted
Meretricious: in an alluring manner, vulgar, a prostitute-like action
Aficionado: a fan, or an admirer
Affidavit: an official legal document, giving evidence

Monday, October 19, 2009

October 19-23
Grade 12:
We are presenting some of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in class, beginning Tuesday, Oct. 20th. This assignment fuflills the Speaking and Listening component of this term's work, worth 20 per cent of the term.
Novel essays are due on Wednesday.
A test on the third Literary Period will be held on Friday, with a prepatory quiz on Wednesday.
Grade 9
We are working on the story "Paris and the Golden Apple, page 209.
Questions on “Paris and the Golden Apple”

1. Not many myths involve ordinary people. Why do you think that is so? Why do the myths and epics focus on gods and goddesses, kings and princes?
2. There were two predictions that the city of Troy would be destroyed; what were the two predictions?
3. What did each of the three goddesses promise Paris, for his choosing which goddess was the most beautiful or the fairest of all? What other story do you know that the question is asked, “Who is the fairest of all?”
4. What were the special powers of each of the goddesses? Can you think of a story where a mortal wanted one of the other special gifts offered by Hera or Athena?
5. Who helped Odysseus come up with a plan to defeat Troy, and retrieve Helen? Why was this help given?
6. What would be some of the themes of this story? Explain your answer.
Novel assignments are due on Wednesday.
We are finishing the short story "Moon Maiden."
Vocabulary on the story:
Page 127:
Ultraviolet: beyond the visible colour spectrum
Apennines: a mountain range in Italy
Cumbersome: burdensome, troublesome
Smoggy: a form of air pollution
Isolation: solitude, a closing off from people
Hallucination: to see images that do not exist outside the mind
Imaginary: existing only in the imagination or the mind
Escorted: a group of people accompanied by a group leader, led by someone
Mare Tranquillitatis: a place on the moon
Regolith: layer of loose rock resting on bedrock, i.e. moon rocks that are loose on the moon’s surface

Page 128:
Thrum: to drum or tap idly
Tranquility: calm, peaceful
Aisle: a lane or walkway as in a store, or on a plane
Claustrophobic: afraid of confined spaces

Page 129:
Wasteland: land that is barren (empty) or uncultivated
Sacred: devoted or dedicated to a deity (god) or having some religious purpose
Plaque: a plate attached to something giving an explanation
Kimono: traditional Japanese dress

Page 130:
Purposeful: full of purpose or having good use, or useful
Entreaty: a earnest or humble request, a prayerful or pleading request
Jarringly: shake or vibrate, or a harsh sound
Faceplate: front part of a helmet, transparent part of an astronaut’s helmet
Disembark: to leave a ship, plane (embark means to board a ship or plane)
Intent: purpose, design, or intention

Page 131:
Misfits: something or someone that fits badly
Eccentric: deviating from the accepted practice
Flotsam: items floating in the sea
Pulse: a throbbing, as in blood moving in the veins, pushed by the heart
Intricate: involved or delicate design or entanglement
Pedestrian: a person who walks or travels on the street or path
Agitated: to move of force into violence
Emblazoned: a adorn or decorate a surface

Page 132:
Undertone: a low or subdued or quieted tone or sound
Restorative: pertaining to restoration or taking back to an original place, making amends


Page 133:
Wanly: a natural or sickly colour

Page 134:
Immortal: living forever
Exiled: removed from a place, and cannot go back
Ecstasy: extreme pleasure
Impish: mischievous
Irritably: easily annoyed
Demonstrated: provide an example
Dismissive: to ignore, or let go

Page 135:
Desolate: barren or to lay to waste
Drab: dull, cheerless
Expelled: to let go or to remove
Vaguely: unclearly
Sapling: a very young tree

Page 136:
Pagoda: a temple or sacred place, usually in Asia
Insubstantial: not substantial

Page 138:
Mesmerized: to hypnotize; to spellbind; fascinate
Cumbersome: awkward, troublesome
Comprehension: understanding
Modeling (as in clay): shaping a piece of sculpture
Inquiring: asking
Tilted: to lean to one side
Forlorn: lonely and sad; forsaken
Wisped: a thin puff of smoke or vapour
Hovering: to hang fluttering or suspended in the air

Page 139:
Cure: successful remedial treatment; restoration to health.
Clutched: to seize or grasp tightly
Exquisite: of special beauty or charm, or rare and appealing excellence, as a face, a flower, coloring, music, or poetry.
Inhabited: to live or dwell in (a place)
Sphere: any rounded body approximately of this form; a globular mass, shell
Homecoming: a return to one’s home
Folktale: any belief or story passed on traditionally, esp. one considered to be false or based on superstition

Questions on the story:
1. How did the author develop the background information in the story?
2. Give several examples of how the main character was developed. State the technique used by the author (by what the character said, did, and so on.
3. Give several examples of the setting being developed in the story. State whether the choices were developing time, place or atmosphere.
4. What was one of the themes in the story? How was this theme developed? (By the change that occurred in the character, by some event in the story, by the conflict?
5. What do you think is the benefit of reading science fiction? What would be some popular science fiction stories, movies, television shows today? What do you think makes them so popular? Which is your favorite and why?

Root words for this week are:
Flu, fluct, flux: flow
Examples: flue: pipe or chimney to exhaust fumes or smoke from a
building
fluid: something that will flow, cna be liquid or gas
flux: the action of flowing
fluidity: the qualit of being fluid
Fort: strong
Examples: fortify: to strengthen
enforce: to force obedience
fortress: a citidel or large fort
reinforce: to make stronger
gen: birth, origin, race (of people)
Examples: genre: a kind or style of literature or art
indigenous: native to a country, before any immigrants arrive
progeny: children or offspring
genealogy: study of one's ancestry
geo: earth
Examples: geography: study of earth's climate, surface, and peoples,
cultures
geology: study of the earth's crust
geothermal: using the heat of the earth
geodesic: having a curve like the shapeof the earth.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

October 13-16

Grade 12:
We are reading the Prologue of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Students will be reading and presenting one Tale to the class. This will meet the students' Speaking and Listening skills requirement for this term.
There will be a quiz on the first two Literary Periods, on Wednesday, Oct. 14th. There will be a test on Friday, the 16th.

Grade 9:
Quiz on Short Story theory, and vocabulary and root words, on Wednesday. Test on Friday.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

October 13-16

Grade 9
Last week we read the story "The Leaving" page 106. Here are the vocabulary words for this story:
Rangy: Long limbed
Veiled: covered or disguised by a piece of cloth, or if eyes are veiled, unable to determine a person’s expression from the eyes.
Auburn: a reddish blond hair colour.
Austere: severe, very sparse
Speculation: trying to determine the facts without knowing—guessing
Adolescence: the age between puberty and adulthood
Woolworth: a department store in the Maritimes
Annapolis: is a valley in Nova Scotia, rich in farming. There are two mountain ranges defining the valley, the North and South Mountains.
Endurer: one who withstands (pain, bullying, something unpleasant) one who does not complain
Rigid: stiff or unyielding (does not give into something)
Nubbles: knobs (usually out of thread or yarn) on cloth
Spittoon: A container into which one spits tobacco juice
Dazzling: bright, sparkling
Retorted: to reply in a sharp manner, or to argue or disagree
Intricate: very delicate or complicated design
Citadel: fort, usually of stone, on a hill
Unspoken: not spoken
Mystique: the essence of mystery, mysterious,
Faltered: to stumble, or make a mistake
Dogged: determined, the idea of never giving-up or letting go.
Snigger, to laugh through the nose
Paralytic: fear that paralyzes, frozen with fear
Dignity: bearing oneself with respect, head held high, a serious occasion
Chamber pot: an enameled or ceramic pot into which one defecates or urinates, usually kept under the bed, for use at night.
Emerged: to come out of (fog, a room)
mincingly: very elegant, nice
retreat: to withdraw, runaway

Friday, October 02, 2009

October 5-9

Grade 9:
Test, Tuesday Oct. 6, on Root Words, Vocabulary and Short Story Theory

Grade 12:
Quiz on notes for Periods I-II, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman Period.