Writing567 CC essay topics

compare/ contrast

250w - short essay

compare - show similarities
or
contrast - show differences

Compare or contrast your home country with/to Canada.

contrast - 
1. 
2.
3.
4.

Compare or contrast living in the country compared to living in a city.
Generate some ideas- brainstorm
1.
2.
3.

Compare or contrast being married and being single.
Generate some ideas- brainstorm
1.
2.
3.

Compare or contrast living in Canada and living in the US.

Generate some ideas- brainstorm
1.
2.
3.

Compare or contrast preparing to run you first marathon and preparing to pass an big important exam.
Compare
1.
2.
3.

Structure for CC writing
1. One Side at a Time
2. Point by Point (Block)

Contrast the culture of your home country with the culture of Canada.
POINT BY POINT
1. food - Vietnam, Canada
2. privacy - Vietnam, Canada
3. parent and children - Vietnam, Canada

ONE SIDE AT A TIME (BLOCK)
1. Vietnam - food, privacy, parent and children
2. Canada - food, privacy, parent and children

You may consult you plan, but not sentences.
CC essay (250w) Possible topics:
Compare or contrast riding a bicycle and driving a car.
Compare or contrast the education/medical systems between two countries.
Compare or contrast spending time alone or spending time with friends.
Compare or contrast living with an extended family and a nuclear family.

EF56 Hallowe'en

Hallowe'en - ancient Celtic festival Samhain

Celts - ancient Irish and English

October 31 - Earth and Afterworld separate, but came very close together on this day

wear costumes - represents spirits from the Afterworld

Hallowe'en- scary, witches, vampires, mummies,
ghosts, devils

"Trick or treat!"

All Saint's Day, November 1st - Christian Holiday, religious day

Dress-up party, masquerade party - mask

fireworks
firecrackers- 

EF56 Essay- grabbers

advice - uncountable advices

I gave him some advice.
She gave me some pieces of advice.
I would give my younger self three pieces of advice.

advice (n)
advise (v)
She advised the president of the company to reduce costs.

GRABBERS - opener for your essay or paragraph, gets your reader's attention, makes them want to keep reading
1. ask a question, your thesis statement would be the answer
2. give a fact or statistic
3. tell a short anecdote (personal story)
4. give a historical perspective
5. relate a quotation from a famous person
6. explain adage (saying) or an idiom from your language
7. give a general to specific statement (funnel)
Everybody thinks about how they could have lived their life differently. If I could go back and give advice to my younger self, I would tell myself three things: work harder in school; save 10% of all money that you earn; and be nicer to your sisters.

Choose one that seems most relevant and most effective.
Starting an essay can be tricky. Before your thesis statement, use a grabber to start your writing.

EF5/6 Essay review

essay - multi-paragraph writing
five-paragraph essay


Introductory paragraph
- grabber (optional)
- thesis statement based on the topic, addressed the topic
- preview of the points (optional)

Three body paragraphs
Para 1
- topic sentence that addresses the thesis statement
- supporting sentences
Para 2
- topic sentence that addresses the thesis statement
- supporting sentences
Para 3
- topic sentence that addresses the thesis statement
- supporting sentences

Concluding paragraph - restatement of thesis statement, points
-end with a clincher


What I was looking for:
-structure, organization 
A disorganized essay won't be a success.
-quality of sentences 
SIMPLE, COMPOUND, COMPLEX
- grammar to focus on
punc , ; ,
vt verb tense
vf verb form
for the future - phrasing, natural-sounding English, leaving behind that translation from your mother language

Writing567 Advanced idioms

go through - experience
She went through some hard times a few years ago.
go through - use
The kids go through a lot of shampoo.

It goes without saying that a bus strike will inconvenience mostly low-income Vancouverites.

New Yorker - New Yorker
Halifax - Haligonian
Seattle - Seattlite

keep your head - cool as a cucumber
She kept her head after the fender bender.

He lost his cool and got very angry.

He used to be very narrow-minded about LGBTQ people, but now he understands more.

broad-minded, open-minded
I disagree that marijuana should be legal, but I am open-minded.

on edge - very nervous, agitated
My dog has been on edge for the past week because of the firecrackers.

How are you? I'm a little on edge today.

It's a waste of breath talking to you. It's like talking to the wall. You won't listen.

Step on the gas! Hurry up!

That new leather jacket was a steal. It was only $15. I got it at VV Boutique. 

vintage furniture, antique furniture
vintage clothing

He screwed up the math test. (a little rude)

She won the lottery and totally went off the deep end.

He lost his touch with baking.

Sarah has the situation in hand.
The party is getting out of hand.

Writing 567 Essential Idioms from Lesson 28 (Advanced)

Lesson 28-30
let up - relax, reduce effort, diminish
The heavy rain let up at midnight.
The marathon runner let up after 35k. She slowed down for the final 7k.
10k is a manageable distance.
The Ironman Race is a triathlon. First you swim 3.86 k. Next, you ride a bicycle 180 k. Finally, you run 42.2 k. You have to do it all in 18 hours.

Triathlon - same thing but shorter distances

Find something that love to do, and don't let up on it.

touch and go - very uncertain
Sarah is working hard at math, but it is touch and go whether she will pass.
Sheila's grandfather is in the hospital. It is touch and go right now.

Lesson 29

back out - change your mind about doing something
Paula was going to give a presentation at a conference, but she had to back out at the last  minute.

have your heart set on something - really looking froward to something, usually said after it is cancelled
It's too bad Hallowe'en was cancelled this year; I had my heart set on Trick or Treating.

to be cut out for - to be suited for a task, have an aptitude for
Choose a profession that have an aptitude for. Make sure you are cut out for the job.
I am just not cut out for this.

clear up - make clear
We cleared up a misunderstanding.
His face cleared up when he took the medicine.
I was confused about the math, so the teacher cleared it up for me.

beat around the bush - not speak directly, to avoid a topic
Don't beat around the bush. Get to the point! Say what you mean. Be direct.

to get even with - get revenge, payback
"Revenge is best served cold."
"Revenge is sweet."

look out on - have a view of
Joanne's apartment looks out on English Bay.
Dave's apartment overlooks a KFC.

overlooks - have a view, forget, miss

to stir up - cause trouble
The little boy loves to stir up trouble with his sister. He loves to get her going. He is a troublemaker.

take in - make clothes smaller
let out - make clothes larger

take in - fooled
She was taken in by his smooth talking. He has a silver tongue. It was all pretty lies.

put an end to - end it 
The kids were fighting, so I put an end to it. I broke up the fight.
Michele was going to get married and move to Toronto; however, her mother put an end to it. 

come to an end - to end naturally
The party came to an end at 11pm.
Their relationship came to end after five years.
This course will come to an end on Friday.

Writing 567 Essay work

essay - multi-paragraph writing

Introductory paragraph
- grabber (optional)
- thesis statement based on the topic, addressed the topic
- preview of the points (optional)

Body paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5
Para 1
- topic sentence that addresses the thesis statement
- supporting sentences
Para 2
- topic sentence that addresses the thesis statement
- supporting sentences
Para 3
- topic sentence that addresses the thesis statement
- supporting sentences
Para 4
- topic sentence that addresses the thesis statement
- supporting sentences

Concluding paragraph - restatement of thesis statement, points
-end with a clincher


What I was looking for:
-structure, organization 
A disorganized essay won't be a success.
-quality of sentences 
SIMPLE, COMPOUND, COMPLEX

EF56 Essay

essay (French) - "to try"
writing a essay - trying to describe, explain, tell a story, convince,
attempt, good try, doesn't have to be perfect, try our best

Five-paragraph essay

Introductory paragraph
- grabber
- Thesis statement
- preview the three points

Body paragraphs
1. topic sentence
- supporting sentences
2. topic sentence
- supporting sentences

3. topic sentence
- supporting sentences

Concluding paragraph
-restate the thesis statement , and the points
- end with a clincher


Prewrite - thinking, brainstorming, gather ideas, vocabulary, key words

Write - later we can write our sentences and paragraphs

CHOOSE ONE
TOPIC 1:
If you could back in time to when you were a teenager, what three pieces of advice would you give to yourself?

TOPIC 2 :
What three pieces of advice would you give to someone who is just immigrating to Canada?

EF56 Sentence combining #3

1. I have never understood a certain proverb that says, "

USES OF QUOTATION MARKS
1. "   " - quoted material, incorporating quoted text into our sentences
2. "   " - writing direct speech, exact words that someone said 
Maria said, "You have to lock the door when you leave."
reporting indirect speech, not exact, summary, the gist, the main idea
Maria said that I have to lock the door when I leave.
3. "   " title of a text
novel The Jade Peony, a book by itself, has its own covers
writing by hand - underline, CONTROL u The Jade Peony
writing on computer, italics, CONTROL i The Jade Peony
Can't do both - choose one
Great Paragraphs computer
Great Paragraphs by hand
-part of a book - chapter
"Unit 5: Paragraph Review" part of a book
-a book with its own covers
Inside Stories
Inside Stories
-a section of a book, not the whole book
"Love Song"

2. My mother once interpreted it for me, and she told me that it meant that you cannot have everything.
COMPOUND COMPLEX
My mother once interpreted it for me, telling me that it meant that you cannot have everything.
My mother once interpreted it for me, saying that it meant that you cannot have everything.

3. For example, it is impossible to find a job that pays well, interests you all the time, and challenges you every day.

4. That may be true, but I have often wondered why it has to be that way. present perfect

5. Why is it impossible to have everything and to be completely satisfied?
Why is it impossible to have everything and be completely satisfied?

6. When you think about the illustration of the cake, it does not make sense.

illustrate - example

As an illustration, bbbb  = For example, bbbb

7. Who would make a cake and not enjoy eating it afterwards?
afterwards - later, later on

8. If you think about it, there is definitely something wrong with the logic of the illustration.
the logic of the illustration = the meaning of the example

Adage- "You can not have your cake and eat it, too."

Latin terms in English
etc et cetera, 'and others', 'and so on'
She plays soccer, basketball, baseball, etc.
She plays soccer, basketball, baseball ......
...... not English, don't use it in English
, etc.
, and so on.
, among others.

e.g. - "exampli gratia" free example, for example
many examples, you give a few
There are many animals in the forest, e.g. wolves, bears, squirrels.

i.e. - "id est", that is
explain it fully, exact
I play lots of sports, i.e. volleyball, soccer, and basketball.

RSVP - invitation, French "Respondez sil vous plait." Please respond.
ASAP - as soon as possible
BYOB - bring your own bottle, booze
FYI - for your information

LOL, NGU, FOTFL, LMAO, internet-based ones
G9, NP, WTF, BFF, BRB, GLHF, TMR

LOL - laugh out loud, lots of love


cc - carbon copy
bcc - blind carbon copy

am - ante meridian, before the middle, before noon
pm - post meridian, after noon

BC - Before Christ
AD - Anno Domini - "in the year of our Lord"
BCE - before the common era


Chemical symbols
H- hydrogen
O
H2O

He Au Pb 













... ellipsis

Writing 567 Essay work

Read the writing prompt/question very carefully.
Read it five times.
off-topic - not addressing the question


Prewriting and planning
We're not writing sentences. We are planning.
Fail to plan? Plan to fail.

Choose one:
Should marijuana be legal in Canada?
Should the voting age in Canada be lowered to 16?
How can you have a happy life?
How should you choose your profession?

Essay structure, multi-paragraph writing

Introductory paragraph
-grabber
-thesis statement
-predictor, give the 2,3,4 ideas

Body 2,3,4 ideas - 2,3,4 paragraphs

Body 1 
Topic sentence
-supporting sentences
Body 2 
Topic sentence

-supporting sentences
Body 3 
Topic sentence

-supporting sentences

Concluding paragraph - restatement of thesis statement, the points, end with clincher (something to motivate the reader to remember your thesis)

Length: 250w

Well-organized.
Concise
Good sentences - SIMPLE, COMPOUND, COMPLEX

When I read these essays, I'll be looking for structure and organization. 

Writing567 Essential Idioms in English from Lesson 20

Lesson 20
see NAME off
Last night, we saw Michele off at the airport.
We said goodbye to her. We bid her "Bon voyage."
Bon voyage - good journey
"Bon appetite!" - good appetite
appetite - hungry, ready to eat, want to eat
Joe worked up an appetite today; he was building a shed.
Michele was watching a scary movie before supper; she lost her appetite.
I have a big appetite. (n)
Sarah was sick for the last few days, but now she feels better now. Her appetite is coming back.

Hold on! - wait
Hold up! - Wait a sec.

hold up - rob, steal with a gun
Sarah's brother held up a bank last year.


hold on - grab and not let go
Hold on to the railing when you're walking down the stairs.
Hold on to that money. Don't lose it.

She is holding down two jobs. - sounds difficult
She has two jobs. - 

Hold still. Don't move.
Hold still. There is a bee on your nose.

rule out - eliminate from the choices, not considering any more
I want to go college next year. I have ruled out UBC. I think I want to go to Langara, but I haven't ruled out Kwantlen.

What's wrong? What's the matter? What's going on?
What's the problem? - sounds a little aggressive
What's your problem? - sounds like you want to fight
None of your business. - pretty strong
There's no problem here. Maybe a misunderstanding.

guru - mentor, wise person
Yoda - wise mentor
mentor - teacher or a model who you follow
business mentor, parenting mentor, musical mentor

hive-mind - asking a lot of people for advice, internet

hive - bee hive

bring up - raise someone
Angela brought up three sons on her own. She was a single parent.

bring up- mention something to discuss, raise the topic
Dave owes me $100, but I feel awkward bringing it up.
His mother-in-law always brings up bad things from the past. She will never let it go.
Let it go. - You have to let it go. Forget it. Stop thinking about it.

something from the past that you keep bringing up
"Let sleeping dogs lie."


making something really unimportant into something major
"Don't make a mountain out of a molehill."



Lesson 21-22

take pains - focus on doing a good job, doing extra work
"She took pains to always look her best."
"He took pains to take care of his customers."

be better off - a better decision
She is better off staying in South Hill rather than going to VCC.

well-off - rich, wealthy (a)
well-heeled
The family is well-heeled. They have money.
Sarah became well-off when her business became very successful.

in case - if an event happens
fire alarm 
Wear a life jacket in case the boat sinks.
You should always wear a seatbelt in case you get into a car accident.
You should always wear clean underwear in case you get a car accident.

keep good time - a watch that is working well
This old pocket watch keeps good time.
pocket watch - on a chain
This grandfather clock is beautiful, but it doesn't keep good time.
The cuckoo clock chimes every hour.
Big Ben chimes every hour.
The Steamclock in Gastown whistles every hour.
Gastown is named after a man called "Gassy Jack"
The Italian area of Vancouver is Commercial Drive.

Writing 567 sentence combining

SIMPLE COMPOUND COMPLEX
At the Beach
4. The teenagers lay in the sand and played volleyball; meanwhile, the children swam, waded, and ran in the sand for the joy of it.
The teenagers lay in the sand and played volleyball while the children swam, waded, and ran in the sand for the joy of it.
While the teenagers lay in the sand and played volleyball, the children swam, waded, and ran for the joy of it in the sand.

5. A group of clowns juggled and played with the laughing children; also, they gave out balloons that were filled with helium.
They gave out balloons filled with helium.
They gave out helium-filled balloons.
They also gave out helium-filled balloons.

6. The glaring white sand emitted waves of heat that blurred the vibrant blue water beyond the beach. COMPLEX- adj cl

Sailor's Home
The sailor is going home to Halifax where his family is waiting.
The sailor is going home to his family who are waiting in Halifax.
The sailor is going home to his family waiting in Halifax.
The sailor is going to his home and family who are waiting in Halifax.

It has been a long time spent on the sea.
The time he has spent on the sea has been long.
He has spent a long time on the sea.

The sailor thinks of his large stone house with a bay window standing on a hill surrounded by grass that is always green which reminds him of the sea.

The sailor thinks of his large stone house with a bay window. The house stands on a hill surrounded by grass that is always green. It reminds him of the sea.

The sailor looks to the shore and his hill which are coming into view.
The sailor looks to the shore and his hill, both of which are coming into view.

EF56 Small group chatting

Small group chatting:
1. Did you have a hero or idol as a child? Who? Why?
2. Is there somebody you really dislike? Who? Why?
3. What has been your greatest achievement?
4. What is one thing you would like to change about yourself?

EF5/6 Introduction to essays

sentences - paragraphs - essays - papers (10-120pp) - book

essays - multi-paragraph writing, several paragraphs,
basic model for essays - five-paragraph essay
very useful, very practical, usually always useful

5-paragraph, 3*5 essay, academic (school) writing

"bare bones" skeleton, fundamental structure without details

Essay - always three parts

1. Introductory paragraph
2-4. Body paragraphs 1,2,3,4,5
5. Concluding paragraph

5 shorter paragraphs - short is good
We're not writing a book.

English 12 - essay on the provincial exam (250w)


700w too long

TOO LONG!

short, concise - lots of information in fewer words
dense sentences, compact sentences

How can we write better, compact, dense sentences?
Best way? Sentence combining!

250w - tight, compact, dense, well-organized essay

How is it laid out on the page?
indented
five paragraphs
balanced in length of the body paragraphs
intro and conc - short
length - words 


Introductory paragraph
- grabber - attention-getting device, gets the reader interested
-thesis statement (thesis - idea), main idea of the essay, controlling idea (the opinion to be presented) main idea - cycling; controlling idea -benefits
- preview the 3 points 1.$ cheaper, 2.health, 3. environment

BODY
Body para #1
Topic sentence
- supporting sentences
Body para #2
Topic sentence
- supporting sentences
Body para #3
Topic sentence
- supporting sentences

Concluding paragraph - restating the introduction
saying again but using different words
Restate the thesis statement, restate the 3 points
End with a clincher (attention-getting device to make your reader remember your thesis)

synonyms - thesaurus, thesaurus.com
A thesaurus is a goldmine for writers.

She is a nice girl.
nice -boring word
Vancouver is a beautiful city. boring, overused, trite

How was your day? Good. Fabulous. Bad. It was a trying day.

Writing567 Essays

essay - multi-paragraphs, at least 3-6,7 paragraphs

English 12 - full essay - plan, write, proofread (40m)
Provincial Exam 250w -nice short, well-organized essay, two essays

entrance test for any post-secondary, essay writing

essay - most basic style, 5-paragraph essay, 3*5 essay, "go-to", dependable, will always work, helpful, useful, can be relied on

Essay 1 "The Most Important Invention in the Past Century"


Five-paragraph essay
Introductory paragraph
-Grabber

1.  Anecdote
2. History
3. Quotation
4. Idiom
5. Question
6. Statistic or fact
7. Funnel - general to specific statement

- Thesis statement - main idea, main argument
thesis- idea
-Preview your 3 points

3 Body paragraphs- TIME, SPACE, IMPORTANCE

1.Topic sentence
- points
points
points
2. Topic sentence
- points
points
points
3. Topic sentence
- points
points
points

Concluding paragraph - very similar to the introductory paragraph


Introductory para
Body paras
Concluding para



Samuel Pepys - diary from 1600s in London
Norman Bethune - Canadian doctor, hero in China, communist, worked in Spain and China



word - sentence - paragraph - essay - paper (10-20pp) - thesis-graduate from a university (70-100pp) - book -

journalism - different style of writing, not an academic essay style

Thesis statement - gives topic and controlling idea of essay

Writing567 Writing process

Topic sentence -paragraph
Thesis statement - multi-paragraph

Body sentences
Body paragraphs

Organized by TIME, SPACE, or IMPORTANCE

Concluding sentence
Concluding paragraph


Quality of the sentence:
SIMPLE, COMPOUND, COMPLEX
verb tenses, verb forms
punctuation - commas, periods.
comma splices. run-on sentences


Comments:
Great story.
Revise and rewrite sentences, especially verb tense.

The Process:
Planning
Writing
Rewriting

EF5/6 Neighborhood Party quiz possible solutions

1. For our neighborhood party, everyone had to cook an ethnic dish and prepare copies of the recipe that were to be put beside the dish.

ethnic - ethnicity, something from another culture
supermarket - ethnic food , asian food
block party- everyone around the neighborhood is invited, block off the street

https://vancouver.ca/doing-business/block-parties.aspx

2. We chose to make lentil soup because our family has German heritage. COMPLEX
heritage- roots, culture, tradition
Our family has German heritage, so we chose to make lentil soup. COMPOUND

3. Mom supervised me as I made the soup; I chopped the onions and cut the bacon into small pieces.

4. Then, we had to compose the recipe because we really didn't have a formal one; however, we couldn't arrive without our stack of recipe cards.
Then, we had to compose the recipe because, although we really didn't have a formal one, we couldn't arrive without our stack of recipe cards.
,extra information,
Because we really didn't have a formal recipe and couldn't arrive without our stack of recipe cards, we had to compose one.
5. That night we were treated to a feast of different foods, including a wheat salad from the Middle East.
That night we were treated to a feast of different foods, including a Middle Eastern wheat salad.
That night we were treated to a feast of foods that were different. XXX "different" not great
How was the supper? It was different. weird
6. The feast included a potato dish from Switzerland, and lamb dish from Portugal, and a a super ice cream from Italy.
The feast included a Switzerland Swiss potato dish, and Portugal Portuguese lamb dish, and a super Italy Italian ice cream.

Writing 567

Sir
Ma'am

Mr. Wong
Ms. Nishizawa

Teacher /Sensei/ Laoshu

Excuse me, teacher. NOT ENGLISH

Professor Smith,

Adult Ed, first name is OK - casual culture

titles Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Professor, Doctor, President, Officer, General, Corporal, Private, Sergeant, Prime Minister, Mayor
teacher

"Call me whatever you like; just don't call me late for supper."

Dear, Darling, Honey, nickname, term of endearment


Irregular verbs 

regular verb
walk walked
talk talked
watch watched

irregular verbs
drive drived drove
run runned little kid "I runned to the school."
ran

was forgiven
forgive - let the anger go, tolerate, understand, 
I forgave my sister for eating my candy.
"Forgive, but don't forget."

Have you written the letter of complaint to the company?

What the action had done was anger the already frustrated homeowners.

had done - past perfect, subsitute simple past

What the action did was anger the already frustrated homeowners. Much more natural sounding.

What the action had done was - noun clause

The little kid angered his sister. new way to say it?
The little kid made his sister angry. more natural

took tooked
had taken - past perfect, very unusual

Forget past perfect, nobody uses it.

He has given all his money to charity.

Sarah has begun to pack up her apartment. She's going to move next week.

Writing567 Narrative writing to pass in

Narrative writing
paragraph or a couple paragraphs

Choose one:
1.What is the funniest/scariest thing that ever happened to you?
2. What is something that happened to you when you were a child that taught you a valuable life lesson?

Prewrite, then write.

Writing567 Narrative Paragraphs

narrative writing - narrate (v) tell a story, personal
narrator (n) - the person who is telling a story

we tell our own story - 
short story - paragraph
"My Macy's Nightmare" p163
Topic sentence - lost NYC
-events of the story 
voice? first person "I" "me" "my" "our"
descriptive paragraph "I" 
-events organized according to chronological, TIME
Concluding sentence

usually, narrative is the most comfortable kind of writing for people, natural to us, we like to tell stories, like to hear stories

"Friday Night Fiasco"
Topic sentence -
-events organized by TIME, first person "I"
Concluding sentence


long story - essay
essay - multi-paragraph writing, 
"In an essay, describe..."
"In paragraphs, explain..."
"In a multi-paragraph essay, compare ..."

"fear of public speaking" p161
longer piece of writing, telling a longer story
broken the writing into several paragraphs

short essay - divide into three sections
1. Introduction paragraph (3-4 sentences)
2. Body - 1,2,3,4 paragraphs in the body, tells the story
3. Concluding paragraph - to wrap up the story 

Begin with a Grabber
Then give Beginning with a T.S.
topic sentence - paragraph
thesis statement -essay

Grabber - an attention getting device 
1. anecdote
2. question
3. fact, statistic
4. quotation
5. history
6. idiom, expression

Are you afraid of speaking in public? So am I.
I never thought I could do it, but I finally conquered my fear of public speaking.

Fear of public speaking is one of the most common phobias among all of us. I understand this because I used to be terrfied of talking publicly. I never thought I could do it, but I finally conquered my fear of public speaking.


Body - break the story up into 2,3,4 short paragraphs
- telling the story, focused on the story
- natural break between paragraphs, usually related to TIME

IF WE TO CREATE ONE
Concluding paragraph -
What lessons was learned?
What was the purpose of the story?
What was the reason behind it?
What was she trying to teach us?

- not be afraid, don't have to be afraid
- work hard - practice the speech, prepare, train, rehearse, review


Paragraph or essay?

EF56 "The Hockey Sweater" questions

"The Hockey Sweater", Roch Carrier
Quebecois, French speaker- Francophone
English speaker -Anglophone 
Chinese speaker - Sinophone, Mandarin?
Arabic speaker- Arabophone

two official languages - origin of Canada as a country, "two solitudes", separation 
1. What is the setting of the story?
Canada!!!
Montreal Canadiens - French spelling
The Habs, Habitants, inhabitant


Toronto Maple Leafs



Montreal, Quebec - French
Toronto, Ontario - English

Historically, there has been lots of conflict between English and French Canada.
Some Quebecois want to separate from Canada.
Blog Quebecois - political party in Quebec
Referendum in Quebec - vote to separate- very close vote


2. What is the main conflict in the story?
person vs person, society/culture, nature, technology, supernatural, himself 


person vs society/culture- English society (Ontario) vs French society (Quebec)

person vs person - mother vs son


2. What is the meaning of the statement “[Our]          real life was on the skating rink”?
Quebec - Catholic church very important, very religious
"Tabernacle!"



3. Who are the Montreal Canadiens?

4. Who was Maurice Richard?
hockey hero, great Habs player.

5. What is the Eaton’s catalogue? Why is it            
    important?
small town, order by mail from catalogue
wait a long time

6. What is the boy’s reaction to receiving a 
    Toronto Maple Leafs sweater? Why?
from a different region of Canada
not his team, not the local team, not the French/Quebecois team

it's the English team
wrong jersey
feels disappointed
supporting the enemy
traitor

7. Why is the boy treated badly by his friends and the vicar?