American Literature:
This week, we did the following things:

• Watched The Crucible (available on Netflix)
• We took a quiz on The Crucible - see me to make it up if you missed class that day
• We watched In Search of History: Salem Witch Trials (available on Netflix)
• We had a Socratic Seminar on each of these topics: 

        1. "What possible motivations would you have for framing your best friend of a crime they didn't commit?"
            "What methods would you use to frame them, assuming people think they're a good person?"

        2. "Are people born good, born bad, or born as a blank slate? What did the Puritans believe?"
           Note: 1st period will have this seminar on Tuesday, 6 November.
To make either of them up (i.e. you were absent), write one page on the subject and you will get credit.

In 4th period, we started this project (1st period will start this on Wednesday):
Using your assumptions about human nature (whether we are born good, bad or as a blank slate) and the impact that has on your view of the Salem Witch Trials, consider how the conditions could be created for this kind of situation to happen again: 

Friends and neighbours turn on each other.  Best friends give each other up to authorities for punishment.  Everyone is suspicious of others.  All hell breaks loose.  

Construct that scenario and describe how it plays out.  And since accusing people of witchcraft is currently out of fashion, what crime is likely to replace it (but keeps the same connotation and impact witchcraft had in Salem)?

You may complete this project in any medium you want.  Be creative.  Go crazy. 

We also began our first Derren Brown Experiment.  1st period started with The Gameshow, and 4th period selected Assassin to start.  We finished the episode on Monday, 5 November.

SAX:
This week, we worked on building our MentorMob playlist.  Here is the assignment description.  It was due Monday, 5 November.  We also watched Derren Brown's Assassin in class on Friday.

This week, we are working on the assignments on this playlist.  Everything through Step 5 should be done by the end of class on Monday.  Make sure you sign up for a writing conference with Ms. Morris (this will focus on the piece of writing of your choice, in a one-on-one conference where we figure out how to make your writing MOAR AWESOME).

Language of Humour:
This week, we worked on building our MentorMob playlist.  Here is the assignment description.  The playlist is due by the end of the day on Tuesday, 6 November.  We also watched Derren Brown's Apocalypse.   In 6th period, we wrote our own Food Reviews and List Narratives.  


If you are in 3rd period and missed class on Wednesday, here is your make-up assignment for the activity we did in class:
Read this.  Write about how the author develops the humour in the text.  1/2 page minimum.

American Lit (1st and 4th):

1. Check your grade in Edmodo (edmodo.com).  Click on “Grades” at the top.  You should see an option for your class - if you don’t, you need to join the group.  If you DO NOT have a grade, you need to fill out the google form at bit.ly/tmimastery.  If you see a grade that is incorrect or not entered (a few of you need to show me your work from “Hero” to get the 5th grade in there), see me.
2. We checked out Their Eyes Were Watching God and filled out this form.  
   
3. We continued our work on definition essays, and then traded and offered comments/revisions on the other student's essay.  You will revise your essay based on their feedback and post it as a comment to your original blog post on kidblog.org.  It is due Tuesday (you will not have time in class to work on it) 
4. We completed the BWP Google Form (if you haven’t done it yet).  Your first project is due on October 3rd/4th (depending on which day you have my class)
5. We started working on the “Snapshot of a Redwood Learner” (it’s the last thing on the playlist, found at bit.ly/transformcommunity).  It is a collaborative assignment (i.e. you must have a partner) and must be completed by Thursday, 27 September.
   

SAX:
We worked on this topic, and has a Socratic Seminar. If you were absent, you should prepare to talk about question 4.
Also, you will need to revise your essay based on the peer feedback you received and post it as a comment to your original blog post on kidblog.org.  It is due Tuesday (you will not have time in class to work on it).


Language of Humour:
6th period:
We continued our work on the collaborative Style Alike Essay.  Then students traded essays with another group and added comments to help revise the ideas, structure, and humour.

See the list at the bottom for what I'm checking on Tuesday.

3rd period:
We read and highlighted examples of humour in Shiner from the toolkit (posted in the last blog post).  Here is the mastery task (individual, not group answers):
1. Which element from our toolkit was most important to the humour in "Shiner"?  Give two specific examples of how that element is used, and how that element contributed to the humour in the story.

Then we watched (or tried to watch) "Awesom-O".  When that didn't work out so well, every student was directed to watch a 30-minute comedy show and complete the following question:
2. Which element from our toolkit was most important to the humour in the episode?  Give two specific examples of how that element is used, and how that element contributed to the humour in the episode.  Make sure to give the title of the series and episode for what you watched. 

Both Classes:
The following assignments will be checked on Tuesday in class:

1. Shiner and Awesom-O Mastery Task (6th period - we will complete this on Tuesday)
2. BWP Google Form
3. Style Alike Essay #1 (Child Called It Rewrite)
4. Peer Feedback/Revision of Style Alike Essay #1
5. Blog Post #1 (On the topic: What is humour?  Give examples of what you find funny with at least three shows/stories/etc. and why they are funny to you.)