Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 11 (November 10)

Greetings!

We began class with some discussion about the elections.  I wanted to give the students some time to process their thoughts in writing.  I've found that many times thoughts and emotions rumble around inside, and the process of writing about them not only helps to bring clarity but to gives room for the Lord to speak to us as we write.  

Before we began writing, I spoke a bit about the need to hear from the Lord about our individual roles in this wonderful country of ours.  Where should we serve?  Who are the needy and broken for whom we can be the hands and feet of Jesus?  In the book of Luke, the work and gospel of Jesus is often expressed of in term of peace.  Peace, not anger that responds to hatred that is responding to more hatred, is our calling from the Lord.  OK, now I shall get off my soapbox.  I am so grateful to have the class of thoughtful homeschool students whom I can encourage in the Lord!

For the Quick Write, students could write about the election, Veteran's Day (November 11), the anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps (November 10, 1775), or marshmallows vs. popcorn.

Our Words of the Day came from our reading of A Christmas Carol:

deftly -- fr. Middle English daefte, awkward, meek -- nimble, skillful, clever

corroborate -- fr. Latin, corroborare, to strengthen -- to make certain, confirm

plaque -- fr. French, plaquer, to plate  -- an inscribed, commemorative tablet, the stuff on your teeth

laden -- fr. Old Dutch, hlatha, loaded  -- burdened, loaded down

jocund -- fr. Latin, jocundus, pleasant -- cheerful, merry, blithe

While the students are busily writing their Quick Writes, heads down and focused on their papers, I hand out corrected homework, which we discuss after we've discussed the Quick Writes and Words of the Day.  This week I gave to each of the students a print out from My GradeBook of their scores up to this point.  The Overall Summary can be a misleading score due to the challenge of giving the adequate number of points or accurately weighting the variety of assignments.  Look at the individual categories to see how your student is doing in that area of the class. My main purpose for handing out this information was for students to see if they are missing any work.  Any zeros represent homework that hasn't been handed in.  I accept any late work without penalty up until the last day of class. Below is an example of the grid that I will send out at the end of the semester.  I will explain more about grades and my philosophy for grading when I send out individual grades.

ASSIGN		WRITING		LITERATURE		GRAMMAR		COMBINED		SUGGESTED GRADE
%	Grade	%	Grade	%	Grade	%	Grade	%	Grade

They have handed in the Final Drafts of their Examples/Illustration Essays, so we are moving on to the next writing assignment.  For these next essays, they can choose between a Biographical Essay or an Historical Essay.  These essays are to be thesis-driven papers; in other words, they need to not only give me factual information, but they need to express some stand or opinion about a person or event.  They have the next week for Pre-Writing work:  researching, brainstorming, and outlining.

Our Prepositions Professionals presented this week.  Once you get the hang of prepositional phrases, they can be pretty easy and fairly simple to pick out in a sentence.  The three who presented gave a good explanation, had plenty of examples, provided a fun activity, and assigned a couple helpful worksheets for homework.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Stave Three

-- Answer 3 Study Guide questions

-- Write definition for 4 Vocabulary Words

-- Prepositions Worksheets

-- History/Biography Pre-Writes

Links for this Week:

Class Notes 

History Essay

Biography Essay

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Biography Essay

Definition

            A biographical essay demonstrates that you have a good knowledge of a person’s life and a good grasp of that person’s importance and contributions to our world.  A typical essay will consist of an outline of a person’s life, accomplishments and events in life, impact and influence on society and peers, and any background information.

Thesis Development

            The thesis for a biographical essay will be some statement about this person’s contributions.  Your thesis statement for this essay will assert your point of view, opinions, or evaluation of the value of this person’s life. 

Organization

            An obvious organizational plan for this kind of essay is chronological; you cover the main events of the subject’s life as they happened.  Another strategy focuses on a few important events, building up to the one you think is most important.  A third plan divides the person’s life into categories and discusses them one at a time.  In each strategy, you are supporting and explaining your thesis.

Some Helpful Tips on Writing

– Support your thesis with examples and details.

– Give sufficient background information.

– Including more information than is necessary.  It is easy to focus on story-telling and not tie your writing into the thesis.

Essay Guidelines

– Due dates:  Pre-Write due November 17; Rough Draft due December 1; Final Draft due December 15.

– Essay length:  500 – 700 words (between 2 and 4 pages)

– Rough drafts can be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.

– Final draft format:

– Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)

– 1 inch margins

– Name and date on the upper right hand corner

– Number the pages on the lower right hand corner

– Title centered above the text of the essay

History Essay

Definition

            An historical essay demonstrates that you have a good knowledge about an event or a period of history and a good grasp of its importance and contributions to our world.  A typical essay will consist not only of the details surrounding the event or period but will reveal an understanding of some of the “big picture” of history.

Thesis Development

            Writing an essay about a historical topic requires that you make some judgment about the evidence and details.  Generally, a thesis explains the “why” and the “how” of something that happened.  Your thesis should take a stand on an issue or historical problem and requires some judgment and interpretation of evidence.  Your thesis should be as clear and specific as possible.

Organization

            Information can be presented chronologically (in a first to last sequence), in order of importance (least to most important), or in order of quantity of information (least amount to greatest amount).  Your essay can be divided by themes, geographical locations, or personalities involved.  In writing the essay, you will analyze the facts, not just describe them.

Tips on Writing

– Everything you write about should support or be related to your thesis.

– Be sure that you include enough information and define any unfamiliar terms.  Assume your readers do not know as much about the topic as you do.

– Prove your arguments:  explain how and why a thing happened.

– Suitable evidence includes data (facts and figures) and authorities on the subject (what historians know).

– Use a variety of transitions in the text of your paper.

– This is not a research paper, but may require some outside reading and note taking.  Remember to take notes in your own words.

– Keep the language simple. Remember, this is an essay, not a story.  Use good, accurate vocabulary, but not overly flowery words.

Essay Guidelines

– Due dates:  Pre-Write due November 17; Rough Draft due December 1; Final Draft due December 15.

– Essay length:  500 – 700 words (between 2 and 4 pages)

– Rough drafts can be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.

– Final draft format:

– Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)

– 1 inch margins

– Name and date on the upper right hand corner

– Number the pages on the lower right hand corner

– Title centered above the text of the essay

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 10 (November 3)

Greetings!

We had a good class time.  Last year, my students noticed that many Thursdays were overcast, sometimes making our room a bit dreary.  This year, so far, we've had bright sunshine coming through the windows.  I'm loving it!

Our Quick Write assignment this week was to write something about role models.  November 1 was All Saints Day, and I think it's good to take time to think about those people who are valuable examples to us.  

Our Words of the Day were from A Christmas Carol:  

misanthropic -- fr. Greek, misanthropos, hating humankind -- a characteristic marked by a hatred of manking

legatee -- fr. Latin, legatus, deputy -- a person to whom a legacy is given

congeal -- fr. Latin congelare, to freeze -- to change from a soft, fluid form to a more stable form

caustic -- fr. Greek, kaustikos; burning -- capable of burning or corroding

trifle -- fr. Middle English, treoflen, to mock -- a matter of trivial importance

garret -- fr. French garite, watchtower -- a small, attic space

I gave the students back their rough drafts of the Examples/Illustrations Essays.  I mentioned some common mechanics/grammar errors (contractions, noun/pronoun agreement, commas, etc.), but I took most of the time to talk about building good introductions and conclusions.  The three elements that every introduction should have are a strong thesis statement, an attention grabber/common ground establisher, and a "road map."  In other words, the introduction should tell the readers the subject and opinion (thesis statement), answer the question, "Why should I care?" and tell the readers where the essay is headed (road map.)  The conclusion should mirror the introduction:  restate the thesis, tell the readers "where you've been" (a summary) and leave the reader with something to think about.  For the Final Drafts of these essays, I want students to underline the thesis statement in their introduction.  If they can't find that one sentence that tells their subject and opinion, it may be that they don't have a clear thesis.  Also, using the rubric that I handed out to them, I want them to do a self-evaluation of their essay.  They should look at the categories and think about where their own essays would be graded.

Our Verbs group gave a good presentation this week.  They had clear explanations with some examples on the white board.  They lead the students in a game and had a prepared worksheet for them to do in class.  In some ways, verbs might seem to be simple and straightforward -- they're the words that show action.  When you throw in state of being verbs, helping verbs, linking verbs, changing tenses, and verbal phrases, it can get more complicated.  Many times students don't know that they don't know enough about verbs until they start writing.  That's why their own essays are better teachers of grammar than worksheets.

We began our discussion about A Christmas Carol.  I love this little book not only for its story and long-standing tradition but for the language.  Dickens's vocabulary and style are delightful.  In this first Stave, we meet Ebeneezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, nephew Fred, and a dead Jacob Marley.  

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Final Draft of Examples/Illustrations Essay

-- Underline thesis statement in Final Draft

-- Complete self-evaluation using rubric

-- Read Stave Two

-- Answer 3 Study Guide questions

-- Define 4 Vocabulary words

-- No Grammar homework -- finished in class\

Links for this week:

Class Notes

What not to do in an Introduction Video

Introduction Paragraph

A Christmas Carol, read by Jim Dale, Part 1

A Christmas Carol, read by Jim Dale, Part 2

A Christmas Carol, read by Jim Dale, Part 3

A Christmas Carol, read by Jim Dale, Part 4

A Christmas Carol, read by Jim Dale, Part 5

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1 Class Notes -- October 27 (Week 9)

Greetings!

We had a good and productive class this week.  My hope is that our Fall Break refreshed everyone.

I shared with the class my personal dislike for Halloween.  Even as a little kid I didn't like the masks, trick or treating, etc. that are associated with this day.  I also don't give much attention to the present cultural fascination for zombies, vampires, or werewolves.  (I've got better things to set my mind upon.)

That said, I took my Quick Write idea from the list of suggestions from the class:  What has been your scariest moment?  Their responses included carnival rides, fears of certain rooms when they were little, and situations outside in the dark.  

Our Words of the Day:

icon -- fr. Greek, eikon, likeness, image -- a picture or image; a person or thing that is revered or idolized

idee fixe -- fr. French, "fixed idea" -- an obsession or idea that you can't get out of your head

id est -- fr. Latin, "that is" -- that is to say, in other words -- commonly abbreviated i.e.

exempli gratia -- fr. Latin "for the sake of example" -- for example, such as -- commonly abbreviated e.g.

idiot savant -- fr, French, "learned idiot" -- a person with learning disabilities who has exceptional skills in a particular area

The class has settled into a good routine; while we may not spend the same amount of time on each area from week to week, we almost always have the same agenda.  Following our beginning of class activities, we go through any of the homework that I passed back while they were busily writing their Quick Writes.  If necessary, we go over any homework, especially grammar, that might have cause any problems.

Students handed in the rough drafts of their Examples/Illustrations Essays. They also handed in with these their Pre-Writes.  If for any reason a student can't hand these in at class, he/she can e-mail it to me. I will hand them back next week and the Final Drafts are due November 10.

We learned about Adverbs during our Parts of Speech presentation this week.  Our three teachers had a good video that they had put together.  We heard about Adverbiology and Adverbs, Inc.  They also had two worksheets that the students were able to finish in class.  (The video will be posted on the blog.)

We are starting a new book -- Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol (ACC). Some students have already read this book, and many have seen some kind of performance.  As part of the introduction, we discussed the literary terms allegory and episodic narrative.  They were given a handout with introductory information, a study guide, and a list of vocabulary words.  Like our work with Animal Farm, students can choose from a list of critical thinking questions with each reading assignment.  Unlike Animal Farm, rather than finding their own vocabulary words, students have a list of words to choose from.  Also, instead of a worksheet to fill out, they are to put their vocabulary words on the same sheet that they answer the study guide questions.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Stave One of ACC

-- Read the Introduction handout

-- Answer 3 Study Guide questions

-- Write out definitions for 4 Vocabulary words

-- No Grammar -- finished in class

-- No Writing

Links for this Week

Class Notes

Adverbs Video

Introduction to A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol Study Questions

A Christmas Carol Vocabulary

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

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 5 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 Sealingwax Jovial Pang Waistcoat Illustrious Extravagance Loitered Sidled Endeavor Amends Giddy Poulterer Array Borough Dispelled

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?

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

Stave Three Questions

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

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

7. How is Scrooge affected by seeing the family?

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?

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.

Stave Five Questions ~

1.        Describe Scrooge when he first awoke on Christmas morning.

2.       Whom does Scrooge encounter?  How does he act?

3.       Compare Scrooge’s interactions from Stave 1 and his interactions in Stave 2.

4.       Explain the role of empathy in Scrooge’s conversion.

5.       How were the three spirits similar?  How are they different?