Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 3 (September 12)

Greetings!

The weather has turned, and it really is beginning to feel like fall.  Sometimes I think it's hard to settle down to school when it feels like a hot summer day.

The theme for our Quick Write this week was "Let's Cook," and I asked the students to write about a favorite food or menu or about anything that had to do with cooking. Our Words of the Day were "segno" (a sign or mark at the beginning or end of a section to be repeated) and "entrez" (a French word meaning "you may enter."  Coincidentally, it is also a Global Query Cross-Database Search System )  

We spent a larger block of time discussing the book, Animal Farm, since we had not done so the week before.  We broke into small groups in which they discussed their written answers to the discussion questions on the study guide.  As a large group, we shared our ideas about the origins of the animal's rebellion, who would make the best leader, whether the animals were unfairly prejudiced against humans, and the faults of their 10 Commandments.  They were very insightful and offered some great original ideas.

I handed back the rough drafts of the Descriptive Essays with notes and corrections.  I always learn so much from the topics that my students choose to write about.  Usually, our Grammar discussion for the day when rough drafts are returned is spent on common errors found in their essays.  Most best writing practices happen as student write.  And most grammar rules tend to "stick" when encountered while writing.

When students hand in their Final Drafts of a paper, I also want them to hand in the Rough Draft.  That allows me to see what changes they have made.  I also want them on a separate piece of paper explain the reasons behind 5 corrections they made between the rough drafts and the final drafts.  For example, if a contraction was used, the reason and correction could look like this:

1.  Changed can't to can not because contractions are not used in formal essays.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Chapters 3 & 4 of Animal Farm.  No writing assignment for the literature this week, however, they should be prepared to discuss the questions from the study guide.

-- Write the Final Draft of the Descriptive Essay.

     -- Along with the Final Draft, students should hand in their rough drafts.

-- Write out the reasons for 5 corrections.

Enjoy the beautiful Fall weekend!

Mrs. Prichard