Welcome 9-1 and 9-2 to Ms. Aichele's LA and Social Page. On this page you will be able to see updated General information regarding Due Dates, upcoming important dates and any past resources you have used in class or online. Any current information will be in the subject specific pages.

Language Arts Reading & Writing Goals for Aug - Oct.:

Reading: Interpret a variety of sources accurately.

Writing: Create a piece of writing that includes original, well-supported arguments.

Update:

Wednesday, April 8th:

Hi all - it was so great to get to either hear your voices or have a quick chat with you on email!

Listed below is your first task. Please complete the D2L Scavenger Hunt by end of day Thursday. The purpose of this short task is to get you comfortable with the new D2L (re: Desire 2 Learn) site.

This is not for marks - do not freak out :)

All you need to do is complete it so we can assess how well you are able to independently follow written instructions and navigate the site. The Grade 9 teaching team is using this information to see who may need extra check-ins and/or support next week when the first assignments are posted.

Link to D2L Humanities 2019-2020 homepage can be found here:

D2L Homepage

Link to Scavenger Hunt is here:

Grade 9

All information from now on will be posted onto on the D2L Humanities 2019-2020 homepage. Weekly humanities assignments will also be posted to D2L.

Friday, April 9th - No School; Good Friday.

Monday, April 13th - No School; PD Day.

Tuesday, April 14th - First Assignment Posted to D2L

APril 6 - 10

Hi 9-1 & 9-2 :)

I just wanted to provide the information I've received about what to expect for the week ahead.

First and foremost, I hope that you and your families are all healthy and well and following the social distancing protocol. This has been an incredible adjustment for Canadians of all ages and we are all experiencing stress as a result. That said, I want to ensure that the return to classes and the change over to an online platform doesn't cause more of that. This will be an adjustment for everyone and all that we can do is our best with what we have...and that may look a little different for everyone, which is okay. Please be kind and patient with yourself and others as we make this strange and unprecedented adjustment.

So, this is the information I have so far about the upcoming week:

Monday:

Expect your homeroom teacher to contact you (phone or email) checking in to see what, if any, technology access you currently have and to see how you are.

Tuesday:

We as a staff will be learning the D2L platform and / or Google Classroom and setting up a 'shell' class for students. There will likely be some communication with you via email about this, but I don't know for certain at the moment what that will entail.

Wednesday:

Provided everything goes well with our set-up, class material will begin to be available to you Wednesday or Thursday.

At present, this is all the information I have so far. I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

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Due to the cancellation of classes this week, your PSA assignments and pitches will be put on hold at this time. Please hang onto your work until we all have more information on how classes will look going forward.

March 16 - 20

No school for students this week.

Humanities:

Hello all of you lovely people of 9-1 and 9-2 :)

I hope all of you are well during this historic time in Canada. Uncertainty sucks and can be scary, but know that you've got a great community of people around you, as well as teachers who are still here for you - you're not alone in this!!

While the circumstances are unique and challenging right now, there couldn't be a more current-event rich time for you to be studying Federal Government and Economics. With updates on the COVID-19 pandemic coming on a daily basis, there are countless opportunities for you to apply your knowledge, understanding and vocabulary around Federal Government to what you're seeing and hearing in the news and online.

This is why you study this stuff in school (!!!) - so in times like these you know what's going on and are able to apply critical thinking, make connections, identify bias, look at issues from multiple points of view, and formulate your own questions and opinions.

Please take this opportunity to review your Federal Vocabulary key terms (from your 'Our Country, Our Canada' books) and be INFORMED and CURIOUS viewers. Discuss the news with your family, friends, and classmates and use your SS vocabulary when doing so (so you sound like professionals)! Also try to challenge yourself to make connections between the different levels of government that are operating right now and check multiple (credible!) sources of news media before arriving at your own opinions.

Here are some questions to keep your mind sharp and engaged while we wait to hear what the next steps for our schools are.

1. Review your understanding of the bill to law process. What is the difference between a policy and law?
2. What is the War Measure Act? When was it last used and why? What would it mean if it were applied now?
3. What Charter Rights and Freedoms are currently being restricted? Why is this 'legal'?
4. How are the actions being taken by both Federal and Provincial Governments impacting quality of life?
5. In what ways is the COVID-19 pandemic (look up this word if you haven't already) impacting the various levels of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs?
6. How do you predict it will impact them in the next month? In the next three months?
7. Online research: How has COVID-19 impacted Italy and Spain? How have citizens attempted to meet their various needs in a time of quarantine (look up this word if you don't know it).
8. Who is the Federal Minister of Health? What was his/her most recent public message?
9. Who is the Provincial Minister of Health? What was his/her most recent public message?
10. Looking at an issue from different POVs: How does the instruction to 'socially distance' yourself from others by staying indoors, working from home, and only going out if absolutely necessary impact people differently in Calgary? Think of people with different types of employment, different income levels, different ages, people who live alone, Canadians who are outside of the country, people with health conditions, working parents, university students, Gr. 9 students at THS, etc.

Thats all for now - check back here for next updates.

March 9 - 13

Humanities:

• Advertising Unit
  • Review assignment and criteria for 'Final Ads / PSAs'
  • Presentation on what makes a strong advertisement
  • Class discussion on examples of ads
  • Review composition rules and symbolism (including symbolism associated with color)
  • What makes a good motto? How do you know? - Class discussion on exemplars

Due Monday, March 16: Your finished Good Copy Ad, your 1 min professional Pitch, Participation in the Gallery Walk

• Business Letters
  • Review business letter 'Tips & Tricks' hand-out
    • What are commonly made mistakes?
    • Tools for learning the rules - what is your study method? How will you commit these formatting practices to memory?
  • Review the acronym 'B.P.D.O.G.'
    • Assignment #1: Spot the errors (10 marks)
    • Assignment #2: In class business letter (marked using the PAT rubric)

March 2-6

Humanities:

• Business Letters
  • Review Rubric
  • Review typical Business Letter Prompt (PAT)
  • Review student exemplars (high, med, low)
  • Compose practice business letter
  • Peer-Edit letters using the standard Alberta PAT Rubric
• Advertising Task
  • Present 3 'mock-up' Ads or PSAs to 'pitch' to your peers
  • Table Group pitches - top 'mock-up' is selected
  • Full Class 'Practice Pitch' of best mock-up
  • Peer feedback

Feb. 24 - 28

'Be Brave' hockey game is on Thursday, Feb. 27.

Humanities:

• This week students are working on a humanities nonfiction article on Vaping.
• This article will require students to apply their nonfiction reading powers in order to be able to respond to the following tasks:
  • Read: using reading powers, annotate the article as you go.
  • 'On the Lines': respond to fact-based questions from the text in complete sentences (on the question sheet)
  • 'Between the Lines': respond to the inference question (long answer - on a separate sheet of paper).
  • Small-group work: in groups of 3-4, respond to the 'Just Talk About It' questions and present findings to the class.
  • Online Research: resources with provided links to gather information to design an Advertising Campaign for the e-cigarette industry that is based on medical research and casualty numbers.
  • Representing task: create an advertising campaign that is ethical (this is different from a PSA - public service announcement). If you were the producer for this product, but were also held to ethical marketing standards, how would you sell (advertise) the pros of your product in a way that also makes people aware of the possible cons?

Real Medical Commercial #1

Real Medical Commercial #2

Parody Commercial: Side effects commercial

Parody Commercial Nature

Feb. 18-21

YCJA Unit Tests were returned - marks are in PowerSchool

We have a guest speaker from The Seventh Step program speaking to all Gr. 9s the afternoon of Feb. 19.

SS:

Immigration Web Quest (Paper Copy Due Friday)

1. Go to the Immigration Points Calculator on the Government of Canada webpage.
2. In your notebook, record the 5 criteria the Points Calculator measures when reviewing immigration applications.
3. Provide an example(s) of what other criteria would fit into the category ‘other factors’.
4. Practice filling out the points calculator using different information.
5. Use Reading Powers to discern any information you don’t understand (eg. meaning of 'TOEFL' or 'ILTES') including looking up unfamiliar words and/or using online research tools. If after doing this, you are still unsure of what the question is asking, seek support from a teacher or peer.
6. Infer: In your notebook, record the things you notice from your different experiments with the calculator.
   • What factors increase points?
   • What factors decrease them?
   • What does this say about what Canada values?

ELA:

• Review of both fiction and nonfiction reading strategies
• Grade 9 reading test (Thursday) - reviewed in class on Friday

Feb. 10 - 12

YCJA Act Unit Test: Wednesday

Hum:

• Introduction to Immigration: What are the 'push' and 'pull' factors that bring people to Canada?
• We will be examining this through two visual media texts:
  • Mon: "A Documentary About Canada" (focus on immigration and refugee stories across the country)
    • What was the film maker's goal in creating this documentary?
    • What are 3 things you learned about Canada that you didn't know before?
    • Both immigrants and refugees explained their reasons for coming to Canada . What did they say about their experience?
    • What Canadian city has the highest population of immigrants?
  • Tues: The Netflix Documentary, "Bravo, Zeus" (using the reading power 'making connections' to analyze what refugees experience when going to a new country)
  • Wed:
    • Period 1: YCJA Unit Test
    • Period 2: Immigration notes and discussion questions

Feb. 3 - 7

High School Recommendation Forms Due Monday, Feb. 10

• Complete CTS options (top 3 and 3 alternates)
• Signed and dated by parent and student

Be Brave Hockey Field Study Forms Due Friday, Feb. 7

ELA:

• Review of Fiction Reading Powers
• Focusing on using the INFERENCE SKILL to identify THEME
• Pre-Reading, Post-Reading and Personal Response questions for 'On the Sidewalk Bleeding' are due end of the day FRIDAY.
• Pre-Reading Questions Due Wednesday:

1. When you form impressions about people when you first meet, what kinds of things do you consider? (eg. their looks, their clothing, where they’re from, etc.)
2. What do you think people consider about you when they first meet you and form an impression?
3. Identify a symbol, sign, or word that represents your identity.
4. Identify a motto that you live by (eg. Always try to see the best in people).
5. Define the following in your own words:
   1. Stereotype
   2. Prejudice
   3. Bias

SS:

• Justice Advocacy Groups Notes (Entry Slip on Tuesday)
• Review key terms and concepts for upcoming UNIT TEST

Jan. 27 - 31

YCJA VOCAB QUIZ - Monday

Social Studies:

• This week we are continuing to look at the Youth Criminal Justice System and have heard how a Youth Justice Committee operates.
• We are also looking at the article, 'Boys in Alberta,' and data connected to it (re: graphs from Statistics Canada) and examining the ways in which it connects to the YCJA. We are also using Non-Fiction Reading Powers to make connections and transform thinking.

ELA:

• Review of Non-Fiction Reading Powers
• In-class Commonlit Article, 'The Women of Hidden Figures', with multiple choice and short-answer questions.
• Class discussions reviewing student responses
• Students create their own 'growth' comment per response (eg: add more supporting evidence from the text, begin with a complete topic sentence by restating the question, etc).

Jan. 20-24

ELA: "The Importance of Friendship" essay due Today, Jan. 20.

Humanities:

• This week we are beginning our look at the Youth Criminal Justice System and the Jury Selection Process.
• Case Study Presentations due Wednesday
• We are using the film, '12 Angry Men', to examine the jury process and to reflect on the role of bias.
• The following reflection questions are due for Monday, January 27. Use the new unit vocabulary from your notes where appropriate in your responses. Underline the vocab words that you use.
  1. Use text-based evidence to identify the various biases the jurors had to overcome in order to arrive at a verdict.
  2. What causes bias? Explain using examples from both the film and real life.
  3. Is it possible to be unbiased (re: completely objective)? Use examples to support your response.