My apologies for the later-than-usual class notes. Some weeks just seem to be busier than others
The theme for our Quick Write for this week was "Super Powers." I donned an apron and had a wooden spoon in hand to demonstrate what my family thinks are my super powers .... running the house and keeping everyone in line. The students could choose either "Super Mom" or "My Super Powers" as the title for their Quick Writes. Often, what I intend to be a 5 minute exercise goes much longer once their creative juices start flowing and they are enjoying the writing process.
As is my practice, we use the Rough Drafts for our grammar discussion. I've found over the years that students tend to make the same common mistakes in their writing. And often, they repeat those mistakes throughout the course of the class. This pattern reinforces my thoughts regarding grammar. It should be taught as rules and with practice exercises, but it really doesn't sink in to our heads until we start writing (or learning a foreign language). I also encouraged the students to be careful as they edit and correct their rough drafts; the rough drafts are as much a teaching tool as any grammar worksheet I could give them. Final Copies are due at class time on Wednesday. A couple of students from the other class mentioned being out of town this weekend. If a paper can't be handed in at class time, I would like it by Sunday.
We are most of the way through our book, Animal Farm. Using the building and rebuilding of the windmill, we discussed the manipulative ploys of those in control, the ignorance of followers who didn't think for himself, and Orwell's message to his post-World War 2 readers. Our society is not that unlike that of Communist Russia. The promise of a better life, which primarily concerned material possessions, entices people to the extent that they overlook troublesome issues. We briefly discussed what you might do if you were an intelligently gifted sheep (the sheep are fairly stupid in the book) and could see through the propaganda and plans of the leaders. What might you do? Next week we will discuss the "Character Analysis" assignment. I would like the students to be considering which character they would choose for this.
Next week I will be giving a Grammar Quiz. I've given the students handouts each week that we've discussed in class. This quiz will cover those (Weeks 1 - 6) and some of the topics from our rough draft discussions. It won't be difficult, but they should review the weekly handouts. If one of the grammar topics is especially puzzling, the videos that I sent out last week might be helpful.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Final Copies of the Personal Essay.
-- Read Animal Farm, Chapters IX and X.
-- Choose character for the Character Analysis assignment
-- Prepare for Grammar Quiz
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Prichard
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