Need or Want?

So the holidays are approaching, and everyone is bustling around trying to find the "perfect" gift. It is easy to get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday, and forget about the things that really matter.

Take a long look at the photograph above. What do you think that it says about our society? What is most important to you this holiday?

Finally, what could our class do to give back to our community this holiday season? I'd like to hear your ideas.

Top Trends in 2011

Can you forecast some trends for 2012?

Did You Know?

Inference 101

Comprehension Skill - Making Inferences

Learning Goals:
1. I will use text details and life experiences to make inferences about
characters, their feelings, and how those feelings affect their behaviour.
2. I will learn academic language: inferences - the act of reasoning from factual
knowledge or evidence.

Things to remember:
1. Authors do not spell out everything for the reader.
2. The reader must use clues from the text and their prior knowledge to make
inferences.
3. As the reader gets new information, they need to adjust their inferences.

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What does it mean to make an inference? So how do you make an inference?

First, you have to know what one is. An inference is an assumption made based on specific evidence. Someone might say to you, "Nice hair," and you make the inference that the person is being rude and is really insulting you because it was said with a smirk. You infer the implied meaning – the meaning not said directly.

Here is another example, based on a story that we are all familiar with:

One more...

And one more (because I can't resist and I LOVE sticky notes)!

Inference Practice (please read)

Most people are pretty good at figuring out mysteries. If you aren’t you might have trouble answering inference questions. Inference means reading all the clues and making your best guess. You will be surprised at how easy inference can be.

Read the following paragraph then choose the best answer.

Pete and Jeff were hot and sweaty as they sat outside the principal’s office. Dirt smeared both of their faces, and they could hear their teacher’s voice as she gave Mr. Jones her account of what had happened. Pete sneered at Jeff, and Jeff returned the angry glare. As Miss Brown left Mr. Jones’ office, the boys hung their heads so they wouldn’t have to look her in the eye.

From this paragraph you can infer that,

a. Pete and Jeff had disappointed their teacher.

b. Pete and Jeff are sworn enemies.

c. The principal, known for being hard on students, would yell at them both.


A is the correct answer. How do we know that? Let’s look at the clues:

We know the boys were mad at each other, because Pete sneered at Jeff, and Jeff returned the angry glare.

We can guess that they had been fighting, because dirt smeared both of their faces, and they were sitting outside the principal’s office. The biggest clue is in the last sentence: "The boys hung their heads so they wouldn’t have to look her in the eye." They had disappointed their teacher.

Why are the other two answers wrong?

Well, reread the paragraph. It does not say that the boys were best friends, but it doesn’t say they were NOT best friends either. We don’t really know. All we know about the principal is that his name is Mr. Jones. He might be a nice guy, but the paragraph doesn’t give us a clue about what kind of person he is.

The only answer we can infer is that the boys felt that they had disappointed their teacher, because they didn’t want to look her in the eye.

So let's practice our inferring, shall we? Try your hand at the practice inference questions below.

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Inference Assignment

Part 1
Your Task: First, start a new blog post titled "Inference 101". Write a
definition for making an inference. Next, copy and paste this
assignment onto your blog. Using your best inference strategies, make
an inference about the following statements. Please include your
inference as well as the text clue that led you to your decision. The
first two are done for you.

1. I wouldn't eat after that two-year-old if I were you.

Inference: The two-year-old probably did something gross to the food you were
about to eat, or has a cold and you could catch it. Something bad will
happen to you if you eat it because he "I wouldn't" sounds like a
warning!

2. For Valentine’s Day, my fantastic neighbor gave his wife a poem that took him
about two seconds to write. Sheesh.

Inference: My neighbor is not very considerate since he didn't take his time
writing the poem, the text clue that led me to this decision was the
"Sheesh". People usually say "Sheesh" when they are annoyed or
frustrated.

3. A man ran after a retreating bus, waving his briefcase frantically.

Inference:_________________________________________________________________

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4. If she died, I wouldn’t go to her funeral.

Inference:_________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

5. Jake almost wished that he hadn’t listened to the radio. He went to the closet
and grabbed his umbrella even though he would feel silly carrying it to the bus
stop on such a sunny morning.

Inference:__________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

6. Hey! What happened to all the school construction money taken from the
taxpayers? It paid for this toilet the money was flushed down.

Inference:___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

7. As you give a speech in front of a large audience, you realize that people are
laughing behind their hands and pointing to the region below your waist.

Inference:___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

8. No, Honey, I don’t want you to spend a lot of money on my birthday present. Just
having you for a husband is the only gift I need. In fact, I’ll just drive my
old rusty bucket of bolts down to the mall and buy myself a little present. And
if the poor old car doesn't break down, I’ll be back soon.

Inference:___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

9. A woman walks into a hospital clutching her abdomen and cursing out her husband,
who trails behind her carrying a large bag.

Inference:___________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

10. You're driving on the highway, listening to the radio, and a police officer
pulls you over.

Inference:__________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________


Part 2

Underneath your work for part 1, copy and paste a minimum of 3 of the photos displayed below. Please be sure to include a written inference to accompany each of the photographs.

After you have completed that, you are done!! Give yourself a pat on the back, and take some time to visit your classmates' blogs to see their inferences.

Photograph #1

Photograph #2

Photograph #3

Photograph #4

Photograph #5

Keep up the good work, and I'm looking forward to reading your thinking.
Mrs. Dowker

A Time to Remember, The Montreal Massacre

The Montréal Massacre of December 6, 1989, in which 14 women students at the École Polytechnique were systematically killed and 13 other students wounded by a lone gunman, is indelibly imprinted on the minds of Quebeckers and others who struggled to comprehend the worst single-day massacre in Canadian history.

Since the beginning of Québec's "Quiet Revolution" in the 1960s, women had been making increasing strides in non-traditional occupations and educational programs. In the 1970s and 1980s, growing numbers flocked to the École Polytechnique, the School of Engineering at the University of Montréal. While most men in Québec and elsewhere accepted and even welcomed these transformations, a minority felt themselves disadvantaged by attempts to encourage women's new roles and opportunities.

One of these was Marc Lépine, a 25-year-old Quebecker and child-abuse survivor who, as an adult, was described by acquaintances as a moody loner. Lépine had sought to join the Canadian Armed Forces, but was rejected. He had also studied for admission to the École Polytechnique, but was not accepted -- a decision he apparently blamed on "affirmative action" policies promoted by feminists and their sympathizers. In the suicide note he would leave on his body, Lépine provided some insights into the virulent mindset that fuelled his rage against women and feminists:

Please note that if I am committing suicide today ... it is not for economic reasons ... but for political reasons. For I have decided to send Ad Patres [Latin: "to the fathers"] the feminists who have ruined my life. ... The feminists always have a talent for enraging me. They want to retain the advantages of being women ... while trying to grab those of men. ... They are so opportunistic that they neglect to profit from the knowledge accumulated by men throughout the ages. They always try to misrepresent them every time they can.


Attached to the letter was a list of 19 prominent Québec women in non-traditional occupations, including the province's first woman firefighter and police captain. Beneath the list Lépine wrote: "[These women] nearly died today. The lack of time (because I started too late) has allowed these radical feminists to survive." It was, instead, dozens of ordinary women at the École Polytechnique who would bear the brunt of his fury.

Your Assignment:

Step #1: Visit the CBC Radio and Television Archives for 15 - 20 minutes. Browse, take jot notes to complete this statement -
"I was surprised to discover..."

Step #2: Prepare to write a new blog post. Your post should include:

Paragraph #1 - describe the Montreal Massacre (who, what, when,
why)

Paragraph #2 - incorporate what you were "suprised to
discover..."

Paragraph #3 - Answer these questions within the last paragraph:
Q1: What are the effects of the massacre?
Q2: What steps need to be taken to address the
issue of violence against women?
- I want to hear your thoughts, opinions, comments
here

** Please include several visual images to add visual stimulation for your blog readers. **

Julius Caesar

On Monday, December 5th, our class went to Calvin Park P.S. to watch the play Julius Caesar, performed by Ms. Hymmen's grade 7 challenge class.

Julius Caesar is a play about class conflict. The play began with Caesar entering Rome accompanied by his supporters and a group of citizens. He was offered the crown three times, but refused. Brutus and Cassius were worried about how much power Caesar had gained. They plotted against Caesar to lure him into the Capital, on the assumption that he would be crowned the leader.

That evening, Caesar's wife Calpurnia dreamt of a statue of Caesar bleeding from a hundred wounds. Calpurnia begs Caesar to remain at home and not venture into the Capital that day, he agrees. However, Decius, one of the conspirators, arrives and reinterprets Calpurnia's dream to mean that all of Rome sucked the reviving blood of Caesar for its benefit.

Brutus met with Cassius and the other conspirators and shakes all their hands, agreeing to join their plot. He convinced them to only kill Caesar, and not his most loyal friend Antony, because he does not want them to "seem too bloody".

The conspirators arrive at the Senate House and Caesar assumes his seat. On Casca's comment, "Speak hands for me" the group attacks Caesar, stabbing him to death. The conspirators, now led by Brutus and Cassius, dip their hands in Caesar's blood and prepare to run to the streets crying out "peace, freedom, and liberty". Antony arrives and begs them to let him take the body and give Caesar a public eulogy. Brutus claimed that he "sacrificed" Julius Caesar's life for freedom and that he killed him because he was too ambitious. Antony takes full advantage of his speech and informs the crowd that Caesar was a selfless man who cared for Rome above everything. The people now believe Caesar to have been great and good, seize his body and vow revenge upon Brutus and the rest of the conspirators. Cassius and Brutus flee. On the battlefield at Philippi, Antony and Octavius battle against Brutus and Cassius, with Antony and Octavius reigning victorious. Octavius, unemotional through all of the carnage, merely ends the play with the lines, "So call the field to rest, and let's away / To part the glories of this happy day".

Overall I thought that the play was fantastic. Each actor spoke clearly, and with confidence, which made it very easy to hear. The play was well prepared and performed seamlessly. It was amazing at how well each actor knew exactly when and where to go on stage. The set design was simple, yet incredibly convincing. The costumes looked authentic, and reflected the time period perfectly. There were elements of humour added with the student narrators, which really helped the audience in understanding such a sophisticated dramatic presentation.

We thoroughly enjoyed watching Julius Caesar, and look forward to attending the Challenge program's Shakespeare play next year! Congratulations to the students in Mrs. Hymmen's class for a superb performance (you definitely deserve a treat from your teacher), and congratulations to Mrs. Hymmen, you rock as a teacher, and your students a re so lucky to have you in their lives. I'm very proud of you little sis!!