Welcome back

Student and Parent/Guardian,

Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed a nice summer. I am looking forward to this year and have planned a bunch of engaging and challenging units of study.

English 3 - 4 is an exciting, interactive course focusing on the student’s literacy. Through work in literature and media, students will develop and build upon their interpretive skills, research skills, critical thinking, and creativity. Students will have opportunities to explore a wide-variety of texts, including, novels, plays, poetry, film, advertisements, graphic novels, and etcetera.

The course is comprised of three competencies: uses language/talk to communicate and to learn, writes a variety of genres for personal and social purposes, and reads and listens to written, spoken and media texts. More detailed information about the curriculum outcomes can be found on the ministry’s website.

You can always get a hold of me if you have any questions or concerns. The best way to contact me is through my school email: jkent@wqsb.qc.ca. You can also call the school and leave a message with Rosemarie at 819-762-2706.

I do not to overload students with homework. However, students are required to complete assigned readings at home, as well as complete assignments that they were unable to finish in class. I do my very best to post assignments on the class blog at NorandaEnglish34.blogspot.com. Occasionally, I will post handouts on drop.io/jordankent in case a student has lost a handout and requires it at home. Students can always benefit from completing extra work at home including reading a good novel, writing creative stories, completing grammar activities that I can provide, and even watching English television if they don’t normally do so.

The following is a breakdown of this year’s plans for English 3-4. I have provided some detail for the first two units so that you and your child know what to expect. In between units, students will complete grammar assignments, creative writing assignments, and other single-class lessons. The schedule may change or be adjusted.

Month	Unit Description
September	Celebrity Culture Unit: Is being a celebrity worth it? This unit examines fame, paparazzi, gossip, and obsession.
October	Advertising Campaign: Students will study marketing and develop the ability to analyse ads and create marketing strategies. The students will create an advertising campaign and present it to an audience of parents and administration.
November	Novella Study: Students will read The Pearl by John Steinbeck. This short unit is designed to focus on their ability to derive meaning from a text and respond to it.
December	LES (Learning and Evaluation Situation): An LES is the Ministry of Education’s term for a unit of study. The ministry provides some LESs for teachers in the province. I use at least two of the LESs provided by the ministry to ensure that I am providing texts and assignments at the appropriate level. The LESs provided by the ministry are typically on fun, engaging topics and are completed within 7-10 classes.
January	Shakespeare: This year students will be challenged with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Students will learn essential reading strategies and important literary devices. The unit will culminate with an innovative project which combines social media and Shakespeare.
February	Independent Action Research or Ethnographic Project: Details to follow
March	Poetry: Is poetry still relevant in today’s world?
April	Writing Portfolio and Independent Novel Study
May/June	Final ES (Evaluation Situation)