We had a great first class for our 2016 school year! This is a great group of students, and I'm looking forward to working with them..
This first week of classes is about taking care of the business regarding how the class is run. I handed out a lot of papers, which you will find attached to this e-mail, inserted into the blog and in the Google folder. As I told the students, they have multiple ways to find assignments and handouts should they be missing any.
We began the class with a Quick Write, which we will do every week. The purpose of the Quick Write is to get the students in a writing mood. Most of these are light-hearted; often they are connected to a current even or something that happened on that day in history. The topic for today's Quick Write was the fact that it is National Waffle Day, in honor of Cornelius Swarhout who obtained the first waffle iron patent. Students could write anything about waffles, breakfast foods, or favorite fair foods.
Another key beginning-of-class activity is our Word of the Day. This semester, we will be selecting words from my book of foreign words and phrases and the book Crazy English by Richard Lederer. Some of the words and phrases in the book are familiar, but the students will probably not be acquainted with many of them. My goal is to expand their vocabularies and to pique their interests regarding words.
Today's Words of the Day:
Today's words were those "thingamajig" and "whatchamacallit" kinds of words.
ferrule: the cap at the end of the staff of an umbrella
pintle: the verticl pin inserted in a hinge
aglet: the plastic end of a shoe lace
opisthenar: the back of the hand
After these beginning exercises, we got down to business with all of the handouts. We went over, at length, my Classroom Policies for this class that included conduct, communication, and grading. I especially talked about electronics and cell phone use in class. More and more students have smart phones, and some find it difficult to keep them stowed away during class. This year, if I suspect a student is using his/her phone, I will ask and then confiscate the phone if needed. Parents will get an e-mail if this happens. The students were in agreement with me, and I don't anticipate this being a problem with this class.
The rest of the handouts for today include: Writing 1 Syllabus, Animal Farm Introduction, Animal Farm Study Guide, Animal Farm Vocabulary Worksheet, Descriptive Essay, Animal Farm: What Makes a Good Leader?
I gave a brief introduction to our literature selection, George Orwell's Animal Farm. For next week, they are to read the Introduction handout and to write a short response to the question, "What Makes a Good Leader?" On the handout, they can ignore the second set of writing assignments.
I'm doing something new this year with the study guides. I'm giving them "ala carte" options for responses to the reading selections. Many students think artistically and creatively about their reading, and I would like them to have the opportunity to use their skills.
I'm doing something new this year with the study guides. I'm giving them "ala carte" options for responses to the reading selections. Many students think artistically and creatively about their reading, and I would like them to have the opportunity to use their skills.
I also assigned them their first essay, a Descriptive Essay. The handout explains that this essay is to choose a place or situation, observe carefully, and describe it using the 5 senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. The rough draft for this is due next week. Some students might be familiar with the standard 5-paragraph essay with an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and conclusions. If that is a writing structure is familiar, go for it. If writing essays is a new adventure, write 1 - 2 paragraphs. I consider this essay to be their first writing samples. We will talk more about thesis statements, introductions, conclusions, etc. as the semester proceeds.
I knew that the agenda for this week would be full, so we will start the Parts of Speech Unit next week!
I knew that the agenda for this week would be full, so we will start the Parts of Speech Unit next week!
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Read the Classroom Policies and have parents read and initial.
-- Read the Introduction handout for Animal Farm
-- Respond to the question, "What makes a good leader?"
-- Write the rough draft of the Descriptive Essay
Links for this week:
(Note: Most of these links are to the blog and are copies of the handouts for the week's class and discussions. Occasionally I will include links to other helpful or interesting web resources.)
Class Notes
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
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