Writing 1 Class Notes -- October 11

Greetings!

Again, I had another enjoyable time with this class.  It's a pleasure teaching students eager to learn.  Our Quick Write was to discuss what person (real, famous, or fictional) with whom they'd like to have lunch.  They could include what they might eat, where they might go, and anything else they might do.

I called our word building activity "Vocabulary Fun."  I listed 5 Latin words and their meanings; from these we discussed derivatives.  [circum (around), corona (garland, wreath, crown), defendere (to defend), diabolus (devil), dominus (master)]  You might be interested to know that "coroner," the person we know to be a medical examiner after a death, comes from corona (crown) because this person was responsible for the well-being in life and death of the royalty in Norman England.

The students handed in their Final Copies of their Narrative Essays.  A few students were planning to hand in their essays via e-mail.  Our next essay is a History Essay.  We discussed at length the difference between a report and an essay.  In a report, they restate facts and details they've discovered about a topic.  In an essay, they write a thesis in which they take a position or take a stand.  The rest of the essay contains information that supports the assertions of the thesis.  This assignment will be completed in 3 parts:  pre-writing, rough draft, and final copy.  During the pre-writing stage, the students will brainstorm, organize, and research their topic.  Pre-writing information is due next week; rough drafts are due the following week.

We've reached the end of our book, Animal Farm.  We discussed what we liked, didn't like, or were surprised by in the book.  We were saddened, disappointed, and frustrated with the various responses of the animals.  Next week we'll focus on characteristics of individual animals.  The following week we'll test our knowledge of the book before reading Dickens's A Christmas Carol.

Next week I'll have "midterm" point values for the students.  Grades are only suggestions.  I'll have a further discussion about my perspective regarding grades at the end of the term.


Next Week's Assignments:
--  Pre-writing for History Essay
--  Choose one character from the book:
     --  Decide whether the character is good, bad, or neutral.
     --  Find 7 examples from the reading that illustrate this characters traits.  Give a brief word or two and the page number from the book.