B - ... when you made The Pardonner's Tale your personal mood and levelled up your thinking.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Does knowing the teller of the tale make the tale more powerful or less?

Two more learners completed their email reflections and sent them to their parents.

Learners wrote a one-sentence summary of "The Pardonner's Tale," then we discussed some key lines, details and references. Learners engaged in smaller group discussions about corruption in the medieval church and why Chaucer might've used the clergy and church officials to expose the corruption.

I did a very brief introduction to the excerpt from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

PRACTISE: Find modern day equivalents for each of Chaucer's pilgrims.

READ: Into to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the excerpt (page 89-96)

NEXT CLASS: medieval romance, the medieval hero, courtly behaviour, chivalric code (honour, courage, courtesy)

F - … when some of you slowcooked the essay and others hit send on life updates.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What purpose does telling story serve?

Learners used the period to finish their essays on "The Destructors" and also used the time to prepare an email to their parents about their learning and set some goals for the next few weeks with regard to deepening their English Language Arts skills. I asked learners to copy me at ms.ignacio@stpats.bc.ca in the email to their parents.

READ: Camus's "The Guest" and The Outsider

PRACTISE: Use this template to compose an email to your parents outlining your learning so far and sharing some of your goals for improving your skills. Please remember to copy me in the email - ms.ignacio@stpats.bc.ca

NEXT CLASS: Camus, existentialism, 

B - ... when Aiesha went full extra with the Chaucer stuff and Mr. Casiano had to exit stage left.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What does the evolution of language tell us about society?

Learners shared their Chaucer-like poetic descriptions of teachers as if the teachers were one of the pilgrims in Canterbury Tales. I invited Mr. Casiano to hear Aiesha's; he was so overwhelmed that he needed to dip. (He loved it!)

We read together the section on the Growth of the English Language and discussed what was happening in society to affect change or if language forced growth in society. (My head is spinning, too!)

We got through one more pilgrim and vowed to finish next class!

READ: "The Pardonner's Tale"

NEXT CLASS: Morality in medieval England

F - ... when all you did was write... again.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Why is it taking so long to finish the essay?

Learners used the entire period to finish the essay from last week!

READ: "The Guest" and Camus's The Outsider (see the links to the left)

B - ... when went on and on about the commoners.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Does "poking fun" reveal character or something deeper about the narrator/author?

I asked learners to write two lines about themselves in the same form that Chaucer might have written if they were on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Learners shared their short pieces - they were fun!

We then continued our discussion of the the characters from the Commoner Estate. Learners made their notes and added to their graphic organizers on Chaucer's pilgrims.

PRACTISE: If Chaucer created another estate, "St. Pat's Teachers," what would he write? Choose one teacher and write twelve lines following Chaucer's form.

NEXT CLASS: The Growth of the English Language - Middle English

F - ... when you had Ms. Cervi and there was no stapler, for some reason.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Is is writing under timed conditions really a necessary skill?

Learners used the period to write the essay on "The Destructors," using pen and paper, and their own notes and annotations... IKR!

Thank you to Ms. Cervi for getting your essays to me stapled and organized!

NEXT CLASS: Essay & Emails

B - ... when you had Mr. Lo.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What do Chaucer's depictions of the Commoner Estate ("those who work") tells us about medieval society?

As an opening activity learners wrote a rhyming couplet that Chaucer would've written about them as individuals.

Learners continued work on their assigned pilgrims and added to their graphic organizers.

Learners also worked on their Learning Inventories (see the link to the left).

NEXT CLASS: The Commoner Estate