Like the shark fin in the "Shark Tale" logo, or the little fish inside the O in "Finding Nemo", both FedEx and Hershey's Kisses use negative space to communicate their message.  Can you see how?

Today, students turned in their Canada paragraphs.  One of the skills we were practicing in these paragraphs is using transition words and phrases effectively.  As is to be expected, some students used transitions more comfortably than others.  However, even if a student didn't quite meet expectations, they can ALWAYS continue revising their paragraph to make it better and show me their progress.  Once they have demonstrated the skill, their score will be changed!

Below I've included a couple example paragraphs from students in the class.  These students used transitions well and we can learn from what they did.  Before we get started, though, check out what the actual expectation is, so you can know if you are meeting it or not.

Exceeding Expectations
I showed deep inferences and applications that go beyond what was taught like using transitions with variety and subtlety.  I even know when my ideas transition naturally and I don't need a transition word.  My use of transitions is not formulaic.

Meeting Expectations
I used a variety of transition words and phrases where they are needed to connect ideas.

Making Progress
I showed no mistakes on simpler parts, however, I made a mistake on complex parts like:

• not including a transition where two ideas need to connect, 
  
• or using the same transition word or phrase repeatedly.

Beginning
With help, I showed some understanding of simpler parts and complex parts.

Not Yet
Even with help, I didn't show understanding of simple and complex parts.


On to the sample paragraphs!  This first one is a good example meeting exceptions, which is exactly what we want.  This student used transition words and phrases to very clearly communicate when he was switching to a new idea.  

        Ontario has amazing geography, history of all kinds and culture that provides millions of jobs. For example, Ontario has over 250,000 lakes. Another detail about Ontario’s amazing geography is that  Niagara Falls throws water off the magnificent cliffs of Ontario. In addition to the geography , history is a big part of Ontario. For instance the worlds largest gum wrapper chain is in Waterdown, Ontario. In 2006 the gum Wrapper chain was 44,318 feet long! On the other hand, culture is a big part of Ontario. The people love playing curling for sport. Also they like playing many other sports as well. Ontario also has has over 500 highways to travel on from place to place. Ontario has amazing geography, lots of history and of course culture is a big part of Ontario.


This next paragraph is a good example of exceeding expectations.  Most of the ideas in this paragraph flow together very naturally and don't need special transition words or phrases to connect them.  However, when switching major topics, transitions are used in an interesting way to signal to the reader that a change of topic is happening.

          Saskatchewan has amazing geography, industry, and government , which make Saskatchewan a great province.  The provinces geography is flat and pretty plain but that is part of the charm. The Saskatchewan plain is one of the largest unbroken flat areas in the world, it is only broken by a few low hills. The southern part of Saskatchewan has very few major lakes or rivers. The Saskatchewan River is where Saskatchewan gets its name from. As well as the flat geography the Province has unique industry. Saskatchewan is Canada’s largest wheat producer, it is known as Canada’s breadbasket because of how much wheat they produce. Saskatchewan also grows oats, barley, and rye. An important mining product in Saskatchewan is petroleum. Although Saskatchewan has a unique industry the government is a bit normal. Saskatchewan’s highest court is the Court of Appeal. The actual head of Saskatchewan is the Premier of Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan has many other qualities besides these that make Saskatchewan a great province, such as history and culture.

Today we are looking at logos from popular Dreamworks and Pixar movies.  Some of these logos are clearly better than others.  The question, though, is why?  What makes one better than another?  What do some do well?  What do some do poorly?  How can you use these lessons as you create your own logo to support the brand you are creating for your province or territory?

Now it's your turn to analyze the following logos on your own.  What do you think?  Which ones work?  Which ones don't?  Why?

As a bonus question, which studio do you think does a better job at creating logos?  Dreamworks or Pixar?

Many students were able to turn their paragraphs in today, but some need a little more time.  The official due date for everyone is this Wednesday.

Title
Name
12 Point Font
Times New Roman or Arial Font
Double Spaced

That's right.  We'll finish up the chapter this Wednesday, review Thursday, Friday and Monday, and then take the test Tuesday, Nov. 1st.

As usual, studying the Chapter Checkup at the end of the chapter is the best way to prepare for the test.  Students who know everything on it will know probably 95% of what is on the test.  The other little bit is in the bold and underlined parts of the chapter.

Also, as usual, we will not be doing Map Mastery, so on the Chapter Checkup, you DO NOT need to know sections VI or VII.

Don't forget your Fun Run pledges are due next Wednesday.  Thanks for all your hard work!

I have the newest version of Office on my main computer, but I teach from the front of the class using a donated computer with free software on it.  Most of the time this works great, but sometimes OpenOffice (the free software) doesn't talk very well with the Word documents I created on my other computer.

So, if you have an old copy of Office (2003 or better) in a box somewhere, would you mind donating it to the class?  It would need to be a legal copy that is not already loaded on another computer and it would need to have the key with it.

Thanks for thinking about it!

If this guy could print neatly, he could have been rich... or in jail.

I added a small section to the sidebar of our website today that will tell you the topics of what we are focusing on in class right now.  Now when your child tells you they didn't really do anything in school today, you have some specific topics you can ask  them about it you'd like.