Unit 1: Looking Back, Then Looking Ahead
Effective written communication is critical within school, the workplace, and our personal lives. In this unit we will work towards understanding the variables that shape our writing, and the six traits of writing we can improve on in order to communicate with purpose and clarity. Not only is how our communication looks important, but also what we communicate, as well. Before we speak, write or represent, we must reflect on our experiences and try to understand how they shape our behaviours, values and opinions. Thus, in order to improve as writers we will be looking back on the events in our lives before we look ahead to the future. |
Unit Assignments & Activities
ASSIGNMENT/ACTIVITY |
DESCRIPTION |
RESOURCES |
4) Personal Essay Program: Microsoft Word/Google Docs Hand In: loginname_essay.doc Due Date: Friday, March 24 |
While creating the Life List poster, you examined the goals you have for your personal life. Now it's time to take a look at the goals you have for your professional life. One of the most relevant skills you will learn when it comes to communication is how to reflect on your strengths and sell them to a future employer in a clear, concise, and professional way. In order to do this, you will be creating a personal essay that responds to a career-oriented topic! |
3) Life List Poster Program: ...PAPER Hand In: the physical poster Due Date: Monday, March 6 |
During the first portion of this unit you reflected on your past and the experiences that have shaped who you are. Moving forward, you will use these recent reflections to determine what experiences you want to have in the future. Your task is to create a thematic poster that will act as a sort of "bucket list" containing your future dreams and goals. The theme you choose should represent a piece of your personality or one of your passions. |
2) The Memoir Program: Microsoft Word/Google Docs Hand In: loginname_memoir.doc Due Date: TBA |
Now that you've taken a look back over your high school years and thought about some of the experiences you've lived through and learned from, I'd like you to identify one of the most important moments in your life, so far, and turn it into a full written piece... in the form of a memoir. A memoir is sometimes referred to as a work of "creative nonfiction." This is because it contains true events, but the style in which you write is up to you. The most effective memoirs contain a truly significant event that helped you learn an important lesson, identify a key value, or shape you into the person you are today in some way. |
Reading: Life After Death Presentation: 6 Traits of Writing Organizer: 6 Traits of Writing RTTQ: Life After Death Resource: SEXY Paragraphs -------------------------------------- Reading: Micro-Memoirs Organizer: Explaining Your Writing Variables Organizer: Planning and Developing Your Text -------------------------------------- Assignment: Memoir Reflection: Memoir |
1) High School Advice Column Program: Weebly Blog Publish: Weebly Blog Page Due Date: Wednesday, Feb 15 |
To kick off our writing unit, we will be using Weebly to create a "Top Ten" blog post. We will study the writing variables and form behind a well-written high school bucket list in order to understand the form of a modern-day advice column or "Top-Ten List." For your assignment, rather than creating a bucket list, you will be creating a list of advice (10 pieces of advice, to be exact) you would give yourself if you could go back to the first day of Grade 9 and do it all over again ... which will be shared with students in this year's grade 9 class. That's right - you have an audience that is wider than just your ELA teacher, so make sure you keep it real... but not... too... real (if you know what I mean). |
Additional Resources
Online Image Editors
Picmonkey (photo editing site) PixlrExpress (photo editing site) BeFunky (photo editing site) Free, Copyright-Free Audio
Sound Bible (sound effects) YouTube Audio Library (independent music and sound effects) Bensound (independent music) Free Music Archive (independent music) |
Copyright-Free Photos & Graphics
Creative Commons (copyright-free images, audio & video) Morgue File (use the free search option) Pexels (high-quality stock images) Albumarium (high-quality stock images) Free Pik (vector images, photographs, PSD files, and more) Open ClipArt Gallery (free clipart graphics) Clkr Clipart Gallery (free clipart by the people for the people) Classroom Clipart (free clipart for school use) The Noun Project (icons for just about anything) Giphy (shareable memes and GIFs) |