Writing Book Jackets

Remember -- writing a book jack is like seeing a trailer in a movie theatre. You don't want to give away too much information, but you certainly want to hook the reader into your story.

Have a look at what we created as a class:

“It happened again,” thought Mr. Francis.

Mr. Francis bought the old decrepit house five years ago. They said it was haunted. Of course, Mr. Francis – having been a scientist for 20 years of his life – didn’t believe in such nonsense.

Until now.

After Mr. Francis bought the house on Wright Street, he began to hear strange noises. At first, he wasn’t too bothered. Until it started getting worse.

The house shook. The power went out.

Then...came the voices.

Will Mr. Francis figure out this mystery or will he go insane…

We've given just enough information to hook the reader, but we don't want to give away too much information. 

The Medium of Fiction

We've identified a number of themes/messages in the story of Angelique including: racism, fairness, injustice, equality...etc. These next few days we'll be reading short stories to explore how messages and themes are hidden in the medium of story telling (e.g., short stories). 

In a couple of weeks we'll begin writing our own stories to explore the themes in Angelique and send out a positive message to all our readers.

The Hanging of Angelique

I'm incredibly thrilled to announce that Dr. Afua Cooper -- award winning author and distinguished historian -- has agreed to come and speak to our classes on slavery in Canada.

We will definitely keep you posted!

When we read...

7A: remember that when we're decoding historical texts -- making sense of what we read -- we need to take our time. 

Read a sentence at a time. Stop and think about what you read. Don't plow through the reading and then reflect; instead, reflect as you read! Use a dictionary when you encounter a word that that you don't know and rewrite it in your own words, staying faithful to the text.

Here's was today's reading we read in class:


Deposed [...] that she does not know at all who set fire to the house of her said aunt. That shortly before the fire appeared, she saw the said woman pouting in the kitchen and saw her go out the door to the street and speak with Marie Manon, slave of Sieur de Berey. And that she has since heard by hearsay that she had told the said Marie Manon that she would not sleep in the house, nor her master. Which is all that she said she knows, except that she saw two or three times, before The fire, the man named Thibault with the said woman in the kitchen of the said Dame Francheville. [...] 

And here is how, as a class, we made sense of the text, editing it, rewording it, making it readable:

Marguarite de Couagne testified that she does not know who set the fire to her aunt’s house (Madame Couagne). Shortly before the fire appeared, she saw Angelique pouting in the kitchen and then go out the door to speak with Marie Manon. Since the fire, she has heard through hearsay (gossip) that Angelique told Marie Manon that she would not sleep in the house that night, nor would Madame Couagne. That is all she said she knows apart from the fact that before the fire she saw Angelique two or three times in the kitchen with Thibault.

Also here is a list of today's words that we learned:

hearsay = gossip 
e.g., "Who told you that I took her marker? That's all hearsay!"

pouting = crying
e.g., "Stop pouting!"

caveat = a condition
e.g., "You can use the computer today -- but I have a caveat to add..."

As always, thanks for the fantastic work in class!

-Mr. Charalambous   

Confederation Conference Confirmation

So the date has been set. This Wednesday, November the 14th, we will be having our Confederation Conference in the gym.

8A we will take attendance in the gym and we'll start immediately at 8:15 and go until 8:55. Please feel free to come in at 8:00 and begin to set up. I will be there to supervise.

8B we will continue from approximately 8:55 to 9:55.

Thanks everyone and best of luck!

Mr. Charalambous

 

The Fall of New France

Answer these questions for next Wednesday's class:

1 
1. Look at the map of New France/Quebec that was distributed last class. Why  do you think the British find it difficult to capture Quebec?

2. 

2. Why was Wolfe victorious at the Plains of Abraham? How did he win?

  

3. How do you think the "Canadiens" (French-Canadians) felt when they realized that the British had conquered New France? 

Finally, on Wednesday's class I will be posing one final question to wrap up our unit on New France. It will have to do with why we still speak French in Canada today. Look in your notes and gather up any and all information related to that from our New France unit.

Campaigning for Angelique

As we discussed in class today, it's sometimes hard to figure out what makes something significant. It certainly should teach us lessons. It should be relevant, impactful and inspiring.

Angelique's story fits that criteria -- but her story is notably missing from the Grade 7 History curriculum. In fact, there's no mention of slavery in the New France unit at all!

So we leave it to you. Your assignment over the next couple of days is campaign for Angelique. You are to create brochures that educate your fellow peers about Angelique's story and try to get her story added to the Grade 7 curriculum.

-Mr. Charalambous

Confederation Conference

Attention Grade 8s: Wednesday, November 14 we will be having our Confederation Conference. Please keep the date in mind and come prepared!

-Mr. Charalambous