Writing 1 Class Notes -- February 7

Greetings!

When you combine a busy schedule with being under the weather, sometimes you don't get things done as soon as you'd like.  I aim to get the Class Notes done ASAP after the class.  I hope the fact that they are a little later doesn't mess up anyone's schedule.

In honor of the caucuses which were to be held, I asked the students to write a politically-themed Quick Write.  They were to write from the following prompt:  "Dear _________ , Won't you please be our president. ..."  They could pick anyone and be either serious or funny.  As always, we enjoyed the responses.  One student even wrote asking his dad to be president.  Our Vocabulary Words came from the first section of our reading of A Connecticut Yankee.

I handed back the rough drafts of their most recent writing assignment which was a News Story.  I feel that our discussions about the rough drafts are the most productive.  We not only cover grammar mistakes, but our discussion about writing strategies makes more sense when you have something you've written in your hands. We took a longer time to discuss "choosing the right word."  I look forward to reading the final copies of these papers next week.

We've begun reading A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain.  I encouraged the students to be patient with his writing style.  After a few chapters, we'll be more accustomed to his word choices and sentence structures.  I took a longer time to explain the worksheets that I handed out.  On the handout which was an introduction to the book, I listed 12 characters and 7 themes.  The worksheets/charts that I handed out are to help them keep track of the information they find when they read.  I would like them to fill out papers for 4 characters and 4 themes.  I explained that they should be reading the book while looking for the answers as they read.  I'll check in with them weekly, but the worksheets aren't due until the end of the book.

Assignments for Next Week:
-- Read p. 37 – 71(Ch.  8 - 15) of ACY
-- Fill out Vocabulary, Character and Themes worksheets as you read
-- Final copy of News Story

Enjoy the weekend!
Mrs. Prichard