READING AND HOMEWORK

As students begin the second half of their high school career, the routine of reading and completing homework should be a well-established habit. In first semester of Grade 12, students will be applying to an institution of higher learning – it will come very quickly!

The importance of reading can never be overstated. Reading is a student’s number one way to learn, reading develops a strong and varied vocabulary (making writing a much easier task), and reading develops critical and creative thought and empathy.

Completing homework tells a students what they DO understand (Great!) and what they DO NOT understand (Even better!). Homework provides instant feedback 😊.

If these habits are not already in place, better late than never. It is my hope that as the semester continues, students complete both their homework and assignments on time and to the best of their ability.

From “LinkedIn”

TEENS WORRY THEY USE PHONES TOO MUCH

Roughly half of U.S. teens say they spend too much time on their cellphones, according to research from Pew. About the same proportion of teens report taking steps to limit their use of the devices. Another survey found that about two-thirds of parents also worry their children spend too much time in front of screens; nearly 60% of parents report setting screen time restrictions for their children. The findings come as some technology companies introduce features to cut back on phone addiction.

Mary Shelley film review

Elle Fanning plays the innocent while making a monster.

Saudi director Haifaa Al-Mansour captures the pathos and pity of the Frankenstein story while eliciting an insouciant and poised performance from her star.

Haifaa Al-Mansour is the Saudi Arabian film-maker whose 2012 debut feature Wadjda was the first to be shot entirely in her home country and so far the only Saudi picture to be directed by a woman. So she is an interesting choice to take on this script from first-time screenwriter Emma Jensen, about the life of Mary Shelley, author of the 1818 classic Frankenstein, famously arrived at after a kind of competition, or dare, between Mary, her soon-to-be husband Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, as to who could create the scariest tale.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jul/06/mary-shelley-review-elle-fanning-haifaa-al-mansour

ANNOTATING A TEXT: READING ACTIVELY

Reading actively helps you get to know the text better, how it makes its meaning and affects, understand its inner workings, and builds a relationship with that text.

1. Emotional sparks (immediate responses)
2. Figurative Language, Tone, Diction, Syntax, Imagery
3. Patterns and Repetitions (motifs)
4. Turns and Shifts (narration, dialogue)
5. Genre (textual features)
6. Allusions and Connections
7. Questions and Difficulties