Today in class we looked at some of the challenges and issues that face you, as teens, in 2022 vs your parents as teens in the 80s and 90s. We than considered what challenges your future children may encounter. Your lists were dynamic, thorough, reflective and a little scary! Body image and acceptance was an issue that kept reoccurring on all lists. These discussions brought us to Christina Aguilera’s song, Beautiful. We watched the 2002 version of the video and compared it to the 2022 updated video which was released yesterday! Both were powerful and thought provoking for their time. Please complete the assignment either by hand or electronically so that you are ready to further our discussion on Monday. Shabbat Shalom Y’all!

As promised in class today, this is the example that you all brilliantly wrote together as a class. Feel free to model your other technique just like this.

Symbol is a literary technique that is used in the Weapon. The symbol in the Weapon is the weapon. The weapon is used to symbolize the concept and theme of the story. It is stated that “only a madman would give a loaded revolver to an idiot”. This quote relates to the symbol because it shows that technology can be used as a weapon against mankind. This makes the story better because it drives the meaning by exploiting the message of society isn’t responsible enough to handle the advancements of technology.

Response writing is a writing form that we are starting to review and work on. I want to remind you that response writing is your ability to understand and interrupt the text. It showcases your ability to understand not only the black and white, but the grey areas too. Response writing is done in 1 single draft, and does not focus on your strengths as a writer. Instead, spend your time focusing on understanding what you’re reading, watching or listening to. Here are the guidelines. You will use these guidelines throughout the school year. I have printed a copy for you too!

We certainly saw what happened to the Whites when they had the chance to make a wish. Did they mess with fate? Did they get what they deserved? How would  you have handled the “gift of the paw”? There is a lot to think about post reading. What about the literary techniques the author used in order to grab our attention. What about this story made it good? Take a look at the attached handout to see if you’re able to identify these techniques. Be prepared to discuss.

Once you’re feeling confident in identifying the techniques, attack this handout. Remember you only need to answer 3 in a row.

A huge shout out and thank you to team OJCS and all of our extra special OJCS volunteers who showed up ready to help and ride today. You made us very proud!

***Red, white and pink shirts are all acceptable!

Ever since I first read The Giver as a student myself, it has always been one of my favourite books. Each time I read it, I always discover something new, some new connection to my life, or some parallel to what is going on in the world. And I don’t think that happens by accident.

The ending to The Giver, as Lois Lowry points out herself, is meant to be ambiguous, so that it can be interpreted by each reader in their own way. So that is exactly what we will be doing as Part 1 of our final task for The Giver.

Students will be writing the next chapter of the book as they believe it continues. The prompt can be seen as, what happens when the sled stops? Following with the same format as the rest of the book, students will write a 1-3 page “chapter 24” of the book. They will use imagery, point of view, and their own imagination to determine what exactly happens to Jonas and Gabriel.

This IN CLASS task will be worked on all throughout the week. Students will spend the next 3 days writing, and will then have an opportunity to provide peer feedback and editing on Friday. All chapters MUST be finished by Monday, February 7, as we will be sharing in class.

Here is the full project description, and rubric.

Next week launches the fun of (C)Han(n)uk(k)a(h)….no matter how you spell it!

We have a full week of celebrations, and can’t wait to participate in some with our whole community! Please take a look at the posters below to see how you can add to our festivities.

If you’ve ever read The Giver by Lois Lowrey, the Ceremony of 12 should sound familiar to you. This is when the 11s become 12, and are given their assignments for their careers for the rest of their lives.

When the Grade 8 students came into class today, they were each given an envelope with their ‘assignment’ enclosed. One at a time, students read out their assignments, and as a class, we “thanked them for their childhood.” Some careers that were assigned include: Caretake or the Old, Pilot, Recreation Director, Doctor, Instructor of 9s, Landscape Worker, and Laborer. Our class is so special, that we even had one person assigned to the Committee of Elders, and one is the next Receiver of Memories.

However, just as in The Giver, not all students were pleased with their assignments, and so they all now have the opportunity to accept their career, or appeal to the Committee of Elders. We will be working on their speeches in class over the next few days, and will present on Tuesday, November 9th.

Students can find the rubric and expectations here, as well as some sentence starters in case they get stuck!