Saturday, November 2, 2013

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 10 (October 31)

Greetings!

We had a good class again this week.  When I first started teaching at CHAT, I wondered how I was going to fill a 90 minute class. Now, I think I could go all day with each class.  They are a great group of students!

For our Quick Write, I gave them three choices.  They could choose just one, or they could combine them.  Their choices:  1)  Explain your personal political opinions; 2) What reform would you like to see happen? 3) Design your own holiday.  A number of students chose to combine them.

The Words of the Day:
maelstrom: fr. Dutch; a violent whirlpool or a turbulent situation
madeleine: fr. French; a small shell-shaped cake or pastry made of flour, eggs, sugar
magna cum laude:  fr. Latin; with great praise
summa cum laude:  fr. Latin; with highest praise

Firstly, we went through the Animal Farm tests that the students gook last week.  They did pretty well. We are now done with this book and are ready to start A Christmas Carol by Dickens.  I gave the students some background information about the book and the author.  They also were given a study guide and a list of vocabulary list.  

I handed back their Rough Drafts of the Examples/Illustration Essays.  As is my custom, I like to go over grammar errors and mistakes common to their papers.  In my opinion, that's one of the best ways to learn grammar.  We discussed commas, contractions, parallel construction, "there is/are, etc.." using the word "things," and use of prepositions.  

They are to work on the Final Drafts of their essays and have them ready next week.  Along with their papers, they should list 5 corrections that they've made and answer the following two questions as they relate to their own papers:
1.  What topic are you making clear by giving examples?
2.  What specific examples are you giving to explain your topic?

For next week, they are to read the handout explaining A Christmas Carol and to read Stave 1.  

Assignments for Next Week:
-- Finish Final Draft of Examples/Illustration Essay
     -- Include 5 Corrections and answer the 2 questions.
-- Read the Christmas Carol handout and Stave 1.

Enjoy your weekend.  It's supposed to be beautiful!
Mrs. Prichard

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