Writing 1 Vocabulary Words for Fall Semester

Week	Word	Root	Definition
Week 2	Concessionaire		a person or group who has the right to sell something
	Concierge	fr. Latin; conservus, fellow slave	an employee of a hotel or apartment
	concour d’elegance		a parade of prestigious vehicles that is judged and rated
Week 3	Pater	fr. Latin, pater	father
	Paternoster	fr. Latin, pater, father; noster, our	the "our Father;" the Lord's Prayer
	Patron	fr. Latin, patronus, defender	a person who gives money and support to an artist, organization, etc.
	Pax vobiscum	fr. Latin pax, peace; vobiscum, be with you	"peace be with you"
Week 4	Moron	fr. Greek moron, foolish	a person who is notable stupid and lacking in good judgment.
	Motif	fr. French, motiv, serving to move	a recurring subject, theme, or idea in literature, music, visual art or speeches
	morituri te salutant	fr. Latin, those about to die salute you	These are words addressed to the emperor by gladiators upon entering the arena.
Week 5	Cappuccino	fr. Italian, Capuchin, an order of monks who wore light brown habits	a coffee drink made from espresso, steamed milk, and foam
	Carabiner	fr. German, Karabinerhaken, carbine hook	a metal ring with a spring catch used by mountain climbers
	Carafe	fr. Arabic, gharrafah, a drinking vessel	a wide-mouthed glass or metal bottle for serving beverages
	Carousel	fr. French, carrousel, a knight's tournament	a rotating platform carnival ride with horses as seats.
Week 6	No Words
Week 7	Lagoon	fr. Italian; fr. Latin lacus; basin, pool	a shallow pond-like body of water
	Lariat	fr. Spanish, la reata, rope	a long-noosed rope for catching and tethering livestock
	Lasagna	fr. Italian lasania, cooking pot; fr. Latin lasanus, chamber pot (a pot with a stand) and sauce	a baked dish consisting of layers of pasta, meat, cheese
Week 8	Thesaurus	fr. Latin < Greek thesaurus, treasure	a dictionary of synonyms
	Thesis	fr. Greek, thesis, to set down	a proposition set down to prove
	Thespian	fr, Greek, Thespis, the first Greek actor	actor
	Thug	fr. Hindi, thag, rogue or thief	a gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian
Week 9	Victor ludorum	fr. Latin, victor ludorum, the victor of the game	achievement awards for sports or academics
	Vigilante	fr. Latin vigilans, watchful; fr. Spanish vigilante, watchman	someone who takes the law into his or her hands
	Villa	fr. Latin villa, country house	a country estate; a pretentious residence
	Vinaigrette	fr. French vinaigre, aromatic vinegar	a sauce made with herbs, spices, and an aromatic vinegar
Week 10	No Words
Week 11	Mademoiselle	fr. French, ma damoisele, my noble young lady	the title for an unmarried young woman
	Madonna	fr. Italian, ma donna, my lady	refers to the Virgin Mary
	Madrigal	fr. Latin, carmen matricale, simple song	a part song for a small unaccompanied group
	Maestro	fr. Italian, maestro, master	an eminent composer, teacher or conductor of music
Week 12	Hoc loco	fr. Latin, "in this place"	"in this place"
	Hoi polloi	fr. Greek, "the many"	the general populace
	Hollandaise	fr. French, "Dutch sauce"	a rich sauce of butter, eggs, lemon sauce, and vinegar/wine
	Hombre	fr. Spanish, hombre, man; Latin homo, man	man, fellow, guy
Week 13	bayonet	fr. French, Bayonne	a steel blade attached to a rifle
	bazaar	fr. Persian, bazar, market	a marketplace or shopping quarter
	bearnaise	fr. French Bearn, a district in SW France	a sauce of egg yolks, butter, vinegar, and herbs
	beau	fr. Latin, bellus, pretty	a boyfriend

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 13 (November 20)

Greetings!

We had an enjoyable class this week.  They're not only working hard, they are engaging well in class discussions.

Our Quick Write this week was inspired by a certain star's first appearance:  in 1928 Mickey Mouse premiered in Steamboat Willie, the first talking animated film.  I asked the students to write about their favorite animated film, either a movie or a TV series.

Our Words of the Day today were:

bayonet -- fr. French, Bayonne -- a steel blade attached to a rifle

bazaar -- fr. Persian, bazar, market  -- a marketplace or shopping quarter

bearnaise -- fr. French Bearn, a district in SW France  -- a sauce of egg yolks, butter, vinegar, and herbs

beau -- fr. Latin, bellus, pretty -- a boyfriend

Note:  In class I was wondering about the difference between a hollandaise sauce (a word from last week) and a bearnaise sauce.  Here's what Wikipedia says:

Bearnaise is considered to be a 'child' of the mother Hollandaise sauce, one of the five sauces in the French haute cuisine mother sauce repertoire. The difference is only in their flavoring: Béarnaise uses shallot, chervil, peppercorn, and tarragon, while Hollandaise uses lemon juice or white wine.

Next week we will be having our Word of the Day test.  I will send out the complete list of our weekly words this weekend.  The test will have a combination of multiple choice, matching, true/false, and fill-in-the-blank questions.  They should read through the list and re-familiarize themselves with the words.  Increasing our vocabularies is meant to be fun, so I don't want anyone to lose sleep over this quiz.

They handed in the Rough Drafts of their History or Biography Essays.  I will have those ready for them at the next class, December 4)

We are continuing through A Christmas Carol; this week we reviewed the plot from the previous weeks and discussed the appearance the Ghost of Christmas present.  Dickens is so wonderfully descriptive, so I had the students close their eyes and try to picture this character as he first appears in the chapter, sitting on a throne made of food.  We also watched a short bit again from the Muppets version.

Assignments for Week 14 (December 4)

-- Read Stave 4 (2 Study Questions & 4 Vocabulary)

-- Review the Words of the Day

This week's Class Notes post

Have a great Thanksgiving,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 12 (November 13)

Greetings!

We had a good class yesterday.  This is a hard-working class and are developing into a cohesive group.

Our Quick Write was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson whose birthday was November 12, 1850.  He wrote some great classics:  Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Adventures of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  I had the students write about what it would be like if there were two of them?

Our Words of the Day were:

Hoc loco -- Latin, "in this place"

Hoi polloi -- Greek, "the many" -- the general populace  

Hollandaise -- French, "Dutch sauce" -- a rich sauce of butter, eggs, lemon sauce, and vinegar/wine

Hombre -- Spanish, hombre, man; Latin homo-, man -- man, fellow, guy

We had a full class, and we didn't take time to go over the final drafts of their most recent essays.  We'll go over them next week.  'm enjoying seeing them improve with each paper that is written.  I graded them using my essay Rubric. The value in a rubric is that a paper can be evaluated in a number of areas:  focus, content, organization, and mechanics.  

We discussed the next writing assignment which is either a Biography Essay or an Historical Essay.  We talked at length about difference between  a report and an essay with a thesis.  We did some brainstorming about some ways to develop a thesis for this kind of essay.  The Pre-Write was due this week, and the rough draft is due next week.  This is the last essay of this semester.

For a combined Grammar and Writing exercise, I had the students write a series of sentences with the following guidelines:

1.  There is/there are sentences

2.  A sentence using "things"

3.  Pronoun & antecedent don't agree

4.  Subject & Verb don't agree

5.  A subordinate clause written as a complete sentence. 

Once they finished their sentences, I had them share them with their "high five" partners so that they could correct them.  With each of these incorrect sentences, we had a mini-grammar lesson.  

We closed our class with a short discussion about A Christmas Carol, which include a couple video clips from my favorite version of this piece of literature:  The Muppets Christmas Carol.  As per a request from a student, we ended the class with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Rough Draft of .History Essay or Biography Essay

-- Read Stave III

-- 2 Study Questions and 4 Vocabulary Words

This week's links:

Class Notes

Muppets Christmas Carol "Marley and Marley"

Have a great weekend!  Keep Warm!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 11 (November 6)

Greetings!

We began our class with another Quick Write.  The day of our class, November 6, was James Naismith's birthday.  He was the inventor of the game of basketball, which he did as a class assignment.  The topic of the Quick Write was to write about a creative project they had done or would like to do for school.  One thought that was expressed is that sometimes a project that is hard or takes a lot of work is often very satisfying once it's done.

Our Words for the Day were:

Mademoiselle -- fr. French, ma damoisele, my noble young lady -- the title for an unmarried young woman

Madonna -- fr. Italian, ma donna, my lady -- refers to the Virgin Mary

Madrigal -- fr. Latin, carmen matricale, simple song -- a part song for a small unaccompanied group 

Maestro -- fr. Italian, maestro, master -- an eminent composer, teacher or conductor of music

I reminded them that we will have a test at the end of the semester with these words.  The test will be a combination of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and fill-in-the-blank.

They handed in the final drafts of their Examples/Illustrations Essays along with the self-evaluation rubric and list of common errors.  The consensus was that figuring out the errors from the list was difficult.  That's not surprising.  In order to write well, students need to master a lot of Grammar.  It's a process.

Our next essay is either a History Essay or a Biography Essay.  They can choose to write on or the other; they may also choose to do both, one for extra credit.  We took some time to discuss the difference between a report and an essay.  Since these are to be essays, they need to be written with a thesis, in other words a stand or opinion.  We talked through some examples.

We've begun our new book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  I read aloud some portions from Stave One.  Not only is this one of the best-known Christmas classics, it's a delightful book with great images and language.  

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Stave Two

-- Write the answers to 3 Study Questions

-- Write the definitions for 4 Vocabulary Words

-- History or Biography Pre-Write

This week's links:

A Christmas Carol Study Questions

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary List

Class Notes

Keep warm; winter's coming!

Mrs. Prichard

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary

Choose 4 words from each Stave to define (and find any Latin or Greek roots, naturally!) 

Note:  You may choose up to 3 extra words to do for extra credit.

Stave 1	Stave 2	Stave 3	Stave 4	Stave 5
Unhallowed Entreaty Impropriety Multitude Executor Trifle Resolute Tremulous Legatee Implore Lunatic Rapture Garret Covetous Replenish Credentials Congeal Misanthropic Solitary Intimation Ominous Caustic	Plaque Reclamation Expend Tumult Recumbent Jocund Transition Capacious Tunic Instantaneous Loath Deftly Brigands Lustrous Latent Condescension Corroborate Pillaged Conducive Laden Decanter Aspiration	Consolation Glee Subsequently Withered Seething Demurely Prematurely Goblets Demeanor Conspicuous Shabby Exulted Grog Compulsion Swarthy Ubiquitous Blithe Abyss Intricate Bilious Ensued Dismal	Repute Flaunting Beseech Inexorable Disgorge Repent Relents Replete Reek Scanty Faltered Foreshadow Repulse Slipshod Revered Essence Intercede Dwindle Beetling Avarice Tarry Strive	Gruel Recompense Jiffy Hearty Peals Portly Feign Sealing wax Jovial Pang Waistcoat Illustrious Extravagance Loitered Sidled Endeavor Amends Giddy Poulterer Array Borough Dispelled

A Christmas Carol Study Questions

A Christmas Carol Study Questions

Stave One Questions ~

1. What is the simile in the second paragraph?

2. Why does the narrator make such a point of Marley’s being dead?

3. Why doesn’t the weather affect Scrooge?

4. How is Scrooge’s nephew different from Scrooge?

5. What do the “portly gentlemen” who come in after Scrooge’s nephew leave want?

6. How does the knocker change?

7. Why does Scrooge like the darkness?

8. What has Marley’s ghost been doing since his death?

9. What is the warning that Marley gives Scrooge?

10. Why are the phantoms upset?

Stave Two Questions ~

1. What was the strangest thing about the way the spirit looked?

2. What is Scrooge’s initial attitude toward the spirit?

3. What is different about Scrooge when he says “Remember it? I could walk it with a blindfold?”

4. Who is Scrooge talking about when he says “Poor boy!”

5. What does it tell us about Scrooge when Dickens observes“a rapidity of transition very foreign to his usual character.”?

6. When Fan comes to pick Scrooge up, we learn a reason why Scrooge may have turned out the way he did. What is this reason?

7. What kind of people are the Fezziwigs?

8. Who is Belle and why was she important to Scrooge?

9. Why does Scrooge say “Remove me.”

10. How does Scrooge try to "extinguish the light"? Does he succeed? What is the light a symbol of?

Stave Three Questions

First Half ~

1. How is what Scrooge is thinking as he lies in bed waiting to see if the spirit appears different from the previous chapter?

2. What does the spirit look like?

3. What is this ghost’s personality like?

4. How has Scrooge’s attitude toward his being escorted by a ghost changed?

5. What is the point of the long description beginning “The house fronts looked black enough, and the windows blacker …” and continuing on for several pages until, “But soon the steeples called good people all, to church and chapel, and away they came, flocking through the streets in their best clothes, and with their gayest faces.”

6. What are three significant things we learn about the Cratchit’s?

7. How is Scrooge affected by seeing the family?

Second Half ~

1.What does the Spirit mean when he says But they Know me. See!”

2. What is the point of going to the lighthouse? to the ship?

3. What is the great surprise to Scrooge in the next paragraph (96)?

4. What would Fred think would be a positive outcome of his Christmas invitation to Scrooge?  What happens to Scrooge’s mood as the party goes on? Why do you think this happens?

6. Describe the game called “Yes and No” Scrooge witnesses at his nephew’s Christmas party.

7. What does it mean to say the boy and the girl (Ignorance and Want) are “Man’s children”?

Stave Four Questions ~

1. What does the spirit of Christmas future look like?

2. What is this spirit’s personality like?

3. How does Scrooge feel about this spirit?

4. What is the point of the long discussion between Joe and Mrs. Dilber?

5. What are some of the words Dickens uses to create the mood of the paragraphs that follow?  What is this mood?

6. When Scrooge asks the phantom to let him "see some tenderness connected with a death,” What does the ghost show him?

7. What is the lesson Scrooge learns in this stave that he had not learned before? Why is this stave needed when Scrooge’s attitude had already changed so much.