Friday, November 18, 2016

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 12 (November 17)

Greetings!

We had a good class again.  This may have been our last warmish week of our Fall semester. (I type this as I watch snow flurries outside my window.)

We did a little experiment for our Quick Write this week.  I asked the students to make a list of their favorite TV shows or toys with their non-dominant hands.  In other words, if they are right-handed, they were to write with their left hands, and vice versa.  They laughed as they tried to write legibly.  At the half-way point, I had them continue their lists with their dominant hands.  We also tried writing our signatures with each hand.  

I used the Words of the Day exercise to expand our vocabulary around common and over-used words:  said & moved.  We brainstormed a some other creative expressions for these words.  Then, we used them to describe 1) a baby, 2) a cowboy, 3) a happy person, 4) a frightened person.

Usually while the students are writing their Quick Writes, I hand back homework.  Their homework, including their final drafts, will be handed back to them last week.  This was a week for correcting the the long rough drafts for Writing 3's research papers.  

The Rough Drafts of the History/Biography Essay are due the week that we get back from Thanksgiving Break.  A reminder:  these essays are not just reports with information but are to be thesis-driven essays.  Students need to express some opinion or take a stand about their topic.

We had our final Parts of Speech presentation this week.  The group of students giving the presentation had good explanations, an activity, a video, and homework.  They did a great job. This ends the student projects.  I handed out a review packet and review worksheets.  We talked about ways that students could review the Parts of Speech.  We will do some more review in class during our next time in class.  The Post-test will be the week after that.

We ended the class with a discussion of Stave Three and the ghost of Christmas Present.  I read aloud a couple portions from A Christmas Carol, and we discussed the language and the setting.

Assignments for Next Class Time (12/1)
-- Read Stave Four
-- Answer 2 Study Guide Questions
-- Define 4 Vocabulary Words
-- Write the Rough Draft of the History/Biography Essay
-- Grammar Review packet and Worksheets

Links for this Week
Class Notes

Stay warm and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Prichard

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