GreatMysteriesPresentation

The Mysteries of the Universe

Research Presentation

On your own or with ONE partner, you will research and prepare a presentation examining one of the following mysteries of the universe. Ideally, you will present these to the class. Other options need to be discussed with and approved by Mr. Robson.

Only one person/group per topic, so you need to choose your topic ASAP and TELL Mr. ROBSON! If another person/group has claimed your topic already, you need to choose a new one.

Possible Topics:

Atlantis (Ethan/Tyrone)

The Bermuda Triangle (Clara/Naffi)

Sasquatch/Yeti/Bigfoot (Emily/Justin S)

The Egyptian Pyramids (building) (Clarissa)

The Loch Ness Monster

The Dyatlov Pass Incident (Persia)

The Holy Grail (Aronn)

Ghosts/Apparitions/Poltergeists (Rhonje)

Auras

Dreams (Jeremy)

ESP

Destiny/Fate (Kimberly)

Easter Island

Crop Circles (Kirstine)

Stonehenge

Reincarnation (John)

Miracles (Albert)

Vampires (Patricia)

Zombies (Randall/Nick)

Pirate Treasure

Mutants

Magic (Italia/Shanessa)

Psychokinesis

Aliens (Maddie)

UFOs (Noah & Riley)

If you have another topic you’d like to suggest, it must be cleared by Mr. Robson BEFORE you begin.

Your presentation should deal with the following:

• A detailed explanation of the mystery surrounding your topic
• Different theories that have developed, BOTH PROVING AND DISPROVING your mystery
• Include some famous stories/examples of this mystery
• Your opinion/explanation. Which theory do you believe?

You should present this the same way that a typical mystery story is laid out, with a predictable structure: present the mystery, outline the clues, then present possible solutions/explanations, including your own.

You will need to include RELIABLE sources of information (AT LEAST 3. Even that might not be enough.)

DO NOT COPY AND PASTE ANYTHING. Any plagiarism will result in lost marks and possibly a zero. Take point form notes based on your sources of information and then write something IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Teachers have kind of a sixth sense about these things, so be very careful with this one.

You may wish to include visual elements (pictures, charts, maps, video clips, etc.) because they will make your presentation much more interesting and informative.

DUE: Presentations will take place November 8 & 9. You must have something in before your report card is written on November 10, or else you will have a zero and it will affect your mark a great deal. A good job on this will help your report card mark. Not completing it… not good.

The amount of class time you get for this will be dependent on how effectively people are using their time in class. If it seems like everyone is working on this, we will keep going with it in class. If it seems like we aren’t doing much, we’ll move on to other things and this will still be due BEFORE November 10.

As discussed previously, there are 6 main elements of a mystery story that we are examining:

1. Characters
2. Setting
3. Plot
4. Clues
5. Distractions/Red Herring
6. Structure

For more information, look here: Mysteryelements

We will be watching the recent film version of Sherlock Holmes and comparing it to the stories that we’ve read so far, as well as picking out those key elements.

FilmStudy (.pdf)

FilmStudy (Word)

Time for another totally EASY in-class ASSIGNMENT. You’ll be expected hand this in TODAY. I’ll give you all the info you need, but it’s really up to you to write it down and make sense of it.

I want you to do TWO things:

1. Tell me what are the main elements/common aspects of a mystery story? (Hint: There are SIX main elements that we’ll talk about/look at.)
2. Take TWO mysteries and pick out those elements

ElementsofaMystery (.pdf)

ElementsofaMystery (Word)

First, some background on our most famous mystery solver:

Next, here’s a video with LOTS of examples of mysteries that you may have seen on TV or in the movies. It also explains a lot about types of mysteries and how they’re made mysterious. Admittedly, there’s a lot of information given out rather quickly, but I think it’s interesting enough to look at:

the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-006-adventure-6-the-man-with-the-twisted-lip_part1

the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-006-adventure-6-the-man-with-the-twisted-lip_part2

the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-008-adventure-8-the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band_pt1

the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-008-adventure-8-the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band._pt2

ThenOne1

ThenOne2

SomethingFishy1

SomethingFishy2

Many mini-mysteries

Mysteryelements

You’ve had plenty of practice, now let’s see whether you can think like Sherlock Holmes and solve one of his cases.

Read through the story and find the clues. Hand in your list of clues and your solution to the mystery.

the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-006-adventure-6-the-man-with-the-twisted-lip_part1

OK, I admit that it takes a bit of time to train your brain to think like Sherlock Holmes.

I’ll give you an easier one this time. See if you can think like Annie the pet detective!

ThenOne1

Again, spend some time trying to put together the clues. This one should be a lot easier. Once you’ve got it, read the rest and see if you’re right.

ThenOne2

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional private detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Known as a “consulting detective” in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. – wikipedia.org

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the fictional detective, which became one of the most famous characters in all of English literature. Together with his partner Dr. Watson, Holmes was able to solve even the most difficult mysterious cases by careful observation and keen deduction.

As you read through the stories of his adventures, try to pick out clues that might help you to figure out the answer to the mystery!

the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-008-adventure-8-the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band_pt1

Take some time and try to put together the pieces of the mystery and see if you can figure it out. When you think you have it, read the next part.

the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-008-adventure-8-the-adventure-of-the-speckled-band._pt2

Today our school is commemorating Orange Shirt Day. This is a day designed to recognize and remember the horrors of the Canadian Residential School system. It’s a period in our history that is sometimes hard to believe and it wasn’t spoken about for a long, long time. As I was growing up, noboby ever told me anything about these schools, and some of them were still running at the time. Your generation is the first that is finally getting a look at the terrible conditions and circumstances at those schools.

These things are hard to talk about and hard to listen to, but very important. Many families today, including families at our school, were directly impacted by having a family member attend one of these institutions. An entire generation of people grew up being terribly mistreated, and those effects are far-reaching.

Sometimes we brush off events like this or The Holocaust or wars like the one we’re reading about as being so far in the past that they don’t impact us today. If it happened a long time ago, what’s it got to do with me today? Well, a lot, actually. Relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians was so badly damaged that it will take a long time to recover and truly accept each other. I’m proud to be part of what will hopefully be a change in that to come.

Today I will ask you to react to what we see, hear, and discuss, and consider how it affects all of us today.

Last year a famous Canadian named Gord Downie, leader of one of Canada’s most popular rock bands, The Tragically Hip, released a project called The Secret Path, which brought to life the story of a boy named Chanie Wenjack who died while trying to escape the nightmare of the school that was sent to.

You can view the project here if you wish:

Here are some survivors speaking out about their experiences:

You will write for me a thoughtful response explaining your thoughts about these schools from both a historical and current perspective. Why do you think those schools were allowed to exist for SO LONG? What would this have been like for someone involved (either a student, family member, or even a teacher or member of society back then)? What do you think the lasting legacy of these schools is? How does this situation impact us today?

Write your answer IN COMPLETE SENTENCES using PROPER ENGLISH AND GRAMMAR. This is English class. Show that you might just know how to use the language.

PUT SOME THOUGHT INTO YOUR ANSWER. It’s always clear when someone starts writing without knowing where the answer will go. If you take a moment to compose your thoughts, maybe even plan/outline, your answer will be much more intelligent and interesting, and your MARK WILL BE BETTER.

I prefer having you compose a Word document and placing that in your shared OneDrive folder. If you choose to write on paper, make it NEAT.

A good answer to today’s question should be close to (if not more than) A PAGE LONG (single spaced, normal sized writing & margins. Giant fonts and huge margins ain’t foolin’ nobody!)

Today’s question is about the basic comforts of life. (basic comforts include things like regular meals, shelter, showers, drinking water, clean clothes, entertainment, etc.)

What is the longest you have gone without the basic comforts of life? What were the circumstances (when, why, how long, etc.)? How did it feel? Does going without basic comforts make you appreciate them more? Why? What can you learn from going without?

and/or

Imagine and describe your life without the basic comforts of life. What might happen to you to cause you to go without these things? How would your life change? What would you do? How would you feel?

and/or

There are many people in the world who have to go without the things that we enjoy. What types of situations cause people, either close to us or around the world, to have to live without basic comforts? What can those people do to improve their situation? What can governments or organizations do to help? What can we do to help? Do you think that there is a realistic solution that might make it possible for everyone to enjoy the basic comforts of life one day?

I HATE conflict. I actively avoid it. I think that most people do, but there are some people who seem to thrive on it. Most of us find it unpleasant.

So we know what conflict feels like and how it feels, but do we really understand what it is?

Our first major unit will deal with conflict & survival, so before we really dive in, let’s figure out what we know about the topic.

As best you can, prepare to answer these questions. Write out as many thoughts as you can come up with for each question. Feel free to consult others in the room, but please don’t look anything up online just yet. Please.:

What is conflict? (describe)

What are some examples of conflict? (general situations)

What are some different types of conflict? (categories)

What are some reactions to conflict (what happens to us when conflict arises?)

What are some healthy ways of dealing with conflict?

What are some unhealthy ways of dealing with conflict?

SHOW ME a conflict: act out (with a partner), illustrate (comic book style?), or write out a story detailing a conflict. It can be real or made up. If you’ve given the questions above some thought, you should know that there can be many different types of conflicts, so be creative!

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