We covered a lot in class this week. As we near the end of the semester, we'll do more reviewing and "winding down" with regards to our material and activities. For the the Quick Write this week, I asked the students to respond to the following question: "Would you rather fly or be invisible? Why?" Students chose either one or both or neither.
Our Latin Phrases were
de facto -- in reality/fact (this phrase is used when a situation may appear to be one way, but "in reality" is different)
de gustibus non est disputandum -- There's no accounting for one's taste. (literally, "about taste there is no dispute)
Dei gratia -- by the grace of God
They handed in their News Story essays along with their rough drafts, thesis statement, reasons for 5 corrections and reverse outline. (If any of these items were missing, they can still e-mail them to me by the Saturday.) Our final writing assignment for this class is an Essay Rewrite of a previous essay. We talked at length about how to choose the essay to rewrite. In the handout I gave them, they have a list of steps for editing. They should consider the final drafts of their previously written essays to be the "rough draft" for this assignment. When they hand in their re-writes, I also want them to hand in those "rough drafts." In addition to the papers, I want them to hand in on a separate piece of paper their thesis statements and another paragraph entitled, "What I've Learned as a Writer this Year." This paragraph can include specific grammar and writing strategies but should also be a thoughtful reflection about their own growth as writers.
Of our Poetry selections, we chose John Milton's "On His Blindness" to discuss in length. This poem explores the poet's impending blindness, his sense of value, and God's perspective. It was a wonderful vehicle for reminding the students that God's love and value for us is not dependent on our abilities which He gave us in the first place. For next week, they are to choose poems for a Poetry Recitation. These can be poems from the book or from another source. It can also be an original. The only guideline is that it must be at least 8 lines long.
For the last 30 minutes of the class, we got to the part that they had been somewhat dreading throughout the class: the Grammar and Writing Tests. We completed the grammar test in class, and the writing portion is to be done at home. The grammar test was only on proper comma placement since that was the area on which we focused for most of this semester. The writing test requires them to fix some poorly written sentences. The first question on the writing test was bugging some of the students (I took it from a an exercise book.) They can change whatever they want to make it more pleasing.
On the last day of class, we will have a final Final Exam, of sorts. I know it's a bit unconventional, but I use a Bingo game to review our literature, grammar, and writing strategies. I will supply a large selection of prizes, but I'd also like them to each bring in a "Bingo prize" to share. It can be a "White Elephant" and should be wrapped. We'll discuss this a little more next week.
Assignments for Next Week
-- Essay Rewrite which includes
-- copy of previously written essay
-- thesis statement
-- paragraph entitled, "What I've Learned as a Writer this Year."
-- Choose a poem to recite in class
This week's blogs
Spring Grammar Test
Spring Writing Test
Essay Rewrite
We may finally be able to put away the winter coats and boots this weekend!
Have a great week,
Mrs. Prichard
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