Writing 1: September 2017

Thursday, September 28, 2017

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 6 (September 28)

Greetings!

We had a very full and productive time in class today. We started with the Quick Write, and since it was the birthday of Johnny Chapman (a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed) I had the students write either about their favorite apple recipe/food or about their favorite fall food. I'm glad to say that we all like apples, and, of course, this is the best time of year to get your fill. (For those interested in more about Johnny Appleseed here are a couple of good sites: Biography.com, Wikipedia, and of course the Johnny Appleseed song/prayer)

Below are the Words of the Day, taken from my foreign words and phrases book:

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.
Note: Some may be interested in this bit of trivia -- a carousel can only have horses, while a merry-go-round can use other animals for the seats of the ride.

Before we dove into our discussion of the rough drafts, we had a brief discussion about Animal Farm, initiated by a question from a student. Napoleon is a type for Stalin, Snowball is a type for Trotsky, and the dogs are modeled after the KGB. We talked about how some books seem to be timeless in that they rightly portray universal human characteristics.

When I hand back Rough Drafts to the students, I cover grammar topics that represent the types of errors most common in that current round of papers. In addition to taking notes, I directed students to add to their page in their notebooks titled "Watch our for . . ." This list over the course of the year will both chronicle a student's growth and be a source for goal setting. The areas we covered today were commas and compound sentences, comma splice and run-on sentences, paragraph formation, and punctuation with dialogue.

We started our Parts of Speech presentations today and had a good presentation about conjunctions from Selah, Sarah, and Ellie. They had a short lesson, a video, a game, and some homework for us. We didn't have time for the Pronouns presentation, Next week we will have more time and do both the Pronouns (Bailey, Jacob, Blake) and Nouns (Emma, Corrie, Laura).

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Ch. 9 & 10

-- Take Home Quiz (This can be done as an open book quiz)

-- No Reader Responses

-- 3 Vocabulary Words

-- Conjunctions homework

-- Final draft (Remember to also bring your rough draft)

-- Parts of Speech Preparations

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Conjunction Junction

Types of Conjunctions

Coordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions

Correlative Conjunctions

Johnny Appleseed -- Biography.com & Wikipedia

Johnny Appleseed Prayer

Take Home Quiz (Ch. 5 - 8)

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Animal Farm Take Home Quiz -- Chapters V – VIII

Chapters V – VIII

1. Which animal doesn’t live according to the rules of Animalism and leaves the farm?

2. Who is the better speaker and planner for the future? Napoleon or Snowball?

3. What animals are wearing brass-studded collars?

4. Which animal becomes the “mouth-piece” for Napoleon?

5. How do the animals get supplies that they don’t already have at the farm?

6. How does the windmill fall down? How does Napoleon explain the incident with the windmill?

7. What does Napoleon force some of the animals to do? What did the dogs do to those animals?

8. Why does the windmill collapse again?

9. Where do the pigs find a crate of whiskey? What do they do with it?

10. Squealor has been changing the commandments. Tell about the change to one of the commandments.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 5 (September 21)

Greetings!

We had a full day in class and covered a lot of information. Students stayed engaged and did a great job. At the beginning of class, we took care of "housekeeping" items. For those students who eat in the cafe area or buy their lunch there, I reminded them to clean up after themselves and to return their trays. And, we had a discussion about phones in the classroom. I have had no problems with any of the students, but other classes and tutors have had some distracted behavior due to phones. This is a most commendable class, and they always ask permission to take pictures of notes on the board or to do research. Bravo!

I gave two options for the Quick Write. The first was in recognition of "World Gratitude Day" that started on Sept. 21, 1965 in Hawaii. Students could write about something for which they were grateful. The other option came as a result of a student's searching for other notable event during September of 1965. She came up with the first notable printed use of the word "hippie," which occurred in the San Francisco Examiner on Sept. 5, 1965. Students were somewhat aware of what hippies, and more currently hipsters, are, but most chose to write about gratitude.

The Words of the Day:

status quo -- Latin "the state in which" -- refers to the existing state of affairs or condition

joie de vivre -- French "joy of life" -- an exuberant joyfulness in living

carte blanche -- French "blank check" -- complete freedom to act as one wishes, unrestrained power

caveat emptor -- Latin "Let the buyer beware" -- refers to the buyer's responsibility to check the quality of the goods before purchasing

I handed back the Final Drafts of the Descriptive Essays. The students did a great job on their first essays of the year. For this round of essays I evaluated them using a rubric that considers the elements of an essay: Focus (Introduction, conclusion, and thesis), content, organization, and mechanics. Because I didn't specify the need for an introduction or conclusion in this essay, I didn't include that category on the evaluation. When I handed back the rough drafts, I asked the students to start a page in their notebooks titled "Watch out for . . . " where they could keep track of their common writing errors. Today, I directed them to start a page "What I did well . . . " where they could keep track of the elements of writing that they felt they had done well. Their list could include my comments of their own observations. Students are more likely to grow and improve as writers when they deliberately think about their own abilities.

Rough Drafts of the Personal History Essays were handed in today. (Note: A couple students mentioned forgetting the essay at home or having printer problems. They can e-mail them to me whenever that happens.)

I handed back the Parts of Speech Pre-Test; projecting the test on the white board, I went over each section. A number of students made some of the same mistakes, so this whole class activity was helpful. As students give their presentations, they will have further practice identifying the parts of speech in sentences. Speaking of presentations, students took 10 minutes to meet in their groups for finalize their plans. When we came back together as a class, I showed them two videos that previous classes had done. Next week, we will hear from the Conjunctions group and the Pronouns group.

Finally, before dismissing the class, we discussed two questions pertaining to Animal Farm: 1) Why did Molly leave the farm? and 2) What's up with the pigs trading with the humans.

Assignments for Next Week

-- Read Chapters 7 & 8

-- 3 Reader Responses

-- Note: Previously, students had to do 2 study guide questions and could do one ala carte response. Going forward, students may do up to 2 ala carte responses; they don't have to, but they may if they want.

-- 3 Vocabulary words

-- Preparations for their Parts of Speech Presentaions

-- Next Week: Conjunctions and Pronouns Presenations

Links for This Week:

Class Notes

Adjectives Video from 2015

Adverbs Video from 2016

Essay Evaluation Rubric

Have a blessed weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Friday, September 15, 2017

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 4 (September 14)

Greetings!

We had a good, full class time yesterday.

For our Quick Write, I gave two prompt options: they could write their thoughts, impressions, or stories related to 9/11 (Monday was the 16th anniversary of the bombing of the Twin Towers) or our national anthem, which Francis Scott Key penned as "Defense of Fort McHenry" on September 14, 1814. A number of the students were able to write down all of the words to the song, so we sang it. It gave me goosebumps to here them, especially with the harmonizing at the end.

Our Words of the Day:

verbatim -- Latin, verbum, "word" -- to repeat something word for word

E pluribus unum -- Latin, "out of many, one" -- the motto for the US, recognizing the melting pot and diversity that constitutes our country

prima donna -- Latin/Italian, "first lady" -- traditionally the leading female singer in an opera, but also a temperamental and demanding celebrity

avant-garde -- French, "advance guard" -- art, architecture, music, fashion that is cutting edge, experimental, or innovative

Every four weeks or so I will hand out Missing Homework reports that are generated from My GradeBook. When students get too far behind on work, they often have a hard time catching up. (Note: At this point, students should ignore the grade from My GradeBook. It's a straight percentage and not an accurate indicator of work; it also represents work done in a certain category and not a holistic grade.) Sometimes a student has done homework but forgotten to hand it in. Other times they have done the work, I've graded it, but for some reason it doesn't get in either my paper notebook or the electronic grade book. (I've tried to never mistakes, but haven't quite got that mastered!) Late homework can be handed in without penalty. I also explained to the students that doing the homework is not my responsibility but theirs.

Students handed in the final drafts of their Descriptive Essays and have their next writing assignment: a Personal History Essay. We discussed a number of topics and thesis statements. I introduced my equation for a thesis statement and the template to use to get started:

Equation:

Topic/Subject

+ Opinion/Stand

Thesis Statement

Template:

(topic/stand) is/are (opinion/stand) because (reason #1) , (reason #2) , and (reason #3) .

We took more time to discuss our literature, Animal Farm, this week. We made a list of leading characters and discussed which ones we anticipate will play important roles in the rest of the book. At the end of the first chapter, Old Major, a boar, leads the animals in a a rousing version of "Beasts of England." According to George Orwell, this song is a blend of "O Clementine" and "La Cucaracha." I divided the class in half, having one half sing "O Clementine" and the other half sing "La Cucaracha." Then, I played a radio play version that my daughter wrote and recorded for her senior project at Arcadia Charter School. As you might imagine, students singing as animals sounded awful. I apologize to those who couldn't get the song out of their heads.

We spent the remainder of our time in the Parts of Speech groups planning and preparing for presentations. For the presentations, students are to 1) teach about the part of speech; 2) have an activity for the class to reinforce the teaching; 3) give homework for students to practice what they learned. If they want, they can include a video as part of their teaching. Rumor has it that one group is going to make a video. Next week I will show the videos done by a past classes.

We've had to adjust some of the presentation dates due to scheduling conflicts. Below is the new schedule:

Dates of Presentation:

9/21 -- no presentations

9/28 -- Conjunctions (Sarah, Ellie P, Selah) & Pronouns (Bailey, Jacob, Blake)

10/5 -- Nouns (Emma, Corrie, Laura)

10/12 -- Adjectives (Owen, Bryar, Jarrett)

10/26 -- Adverbs (Ellie T, Joey, Aiden)

11/2 -- Verbs (Mike, Joshua, Stevan)

11/9 -- Prepositions (Ana, Morgan, Samantha)

11/16 -- Interjections (Anika, Jack, Ethan)

A note on classroom expectations: On the first day of class we discussed electronics, especially phones, in the class. A couple students asked permission to use their phones to take pictures of the notes on the white board. That is a perfectly appropriate use of the phones in this class, and I'm especially pleased that students were respectful of the class and asked permission. Phones are great tools, but any other time during class they are only distractions that affect the whole class. Thank you for your wise use!

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Chapters 5 & 6

-- 3 Reading Responses

-- 3 Vocabulary Words

-- Take Home Quiz

-- Prepare for Parts of Speech Presentations

-- Personal History Essay Rough Draft

Links for this Week:

Class Notes

Take Home Quiz

Personal History Essay

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Personal History Essay

Definition

In a Personal Essay, the writer tells a story about a series of events. The writer needs to explain the event(s) clearly enough for the reader to follow what happened and when it happened. The writer also has to tell the story dramatically enough to keep the reader’s attention and interest. Your goal should be to develop an essay that informs and/or entertains, and that impels readers to think about their own lives.

Organization of a Personal Essay

Just about anything in your life that interests you, amuses you, angers you, or makes you think is a possible subject for a personal essay. Dig as deep into your experience as you can. As you think about a topic, event, person, or place of significance, look for an emerging focus, main idea, or viewpoint.

A personal essay is a blend of narrative (sharing some aspect of your life) and analysis (commenting upon this time).

Thesis Statements

The thesis statement of your essay presents the subject of the narration and its significance. Your essay should reveal your attitude or opinion about the event. Your essay can also tell a message or lesson related to the event.

Some Helpful Tips on Writing

– Decide on the story you want to tell, and think about what the story means to you.

– What attitude would you like the reader to learn by reading your story? What feeling or attitude would you like the reader to have about the story you are telling?

– Outline what happened first, second, third, and so on. Don’t forget important, specific details. Divide the action into major blocks. Determine the logical breaks.

– Focus on the people involved in your narrative, and try to describe them accurately.

– Include the feelings you experienced at different times in you story.

– Avoid stringing together a series of events without dramatizing any of them or showing their significance.

– Avoid a list. Make sure the events are logically connected with appropriate transitions to help the reader follow the sequence of events.

Essay Guidelines

– Due dates: Rough Draft due September 21; Final Draft due October 5.

– Essay length: at least 300 words (about 1 page)

– 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

Take Home Quiz -- Chapters 1 - 4

Introduction and Preface

1. Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a response to Communism in what country?

2. Napoleon is a type for what real person in history?

3. Snowball is a type for what real person in history?

Chapters I – IV

1. Before they change the name to Animal Farm, what’s the name of Mr. Jones’s farm?

2. Who is the old, prize boar who shares his wisdom with the animals?

3. What is the song that is taught to the animals?

4. Who is vain carriage-horse who doesn’t want to give up sugar and ribbons?

5. How many commandments do Napoleon and Snowball come up with and where do they paint them?

6. What is Boxer’s personal motto?

7. Which animals become the best readers?

8. What is Mr. Jones doing while the pigs are running the farm?

9. What happens at the Battle of the Cowshed?

Friday, September 8, 2017

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 3 (September 7)

Greetings!

We had a good day in class this week. Because it was a return-rough-drafts-week, the greater portion of our time was spent going over common mistakes, and this included lots of mini grammar lessons.

We wrote our Quick Writes about television because Sept. 7, 1927 was the date of the first transmission to a television set. We've certainly come a long way in the past 90 years!

Our Words of the Day were of Latin and French origin.

alma mater -- Latin, "nourishing mother" -- refers to the high school or college from which you graduated

cum laude -- Latin, "with praise" -- a distinction when graduating that refers to a certain grade point average. Similarly, magna cum laude means "with great praise" and summa cum laude means "with highest praise."

femme fatale -- French, "a dangerous woman" -- a stock character in film noir, in modern film or novels, this is an attractive woman who leads others into dangerous situations

esprit de corps -- French, "the spirit of the body" -- a feeling of pride or fellowship with a certain group of people.

As I mentioned, I spent the majority of class going over the Rough Drafts. My practice is to keep track of the patterns of mistakes made in these first drafts and then to address them in small grammar lessons. This week we addressed some format issues, compound sentences, contractions, comma splice sentences, and exclamation points. In the notes at the end of the rough drafts, I include a "Watch out for . . . " section where I list the 2 - 3 most prevalent mistakes. I've asked the students to start a page in their notebooks where they will keep track of these. As we progress through this year's essays, they can use this list for reminders of problem areas or to even set goals for their writing. For example, if he repeatedly has comma splice errors, on the next essay he could focus on that aspect of his sentence structure.

At the end of class, students signed up for one of the 8 Parts of Speech. We have 24 students in the class, so we have nicely divided into groups of 3. I will be sending out e-mails to the individual groups so that they have one another's contact information. Below are the groups and the dates of presentation:

Parts of Speech

I -- Interjections -- Anika, Jack, Ethan

V -- Verbs -- Mike, Joshua, Stevan

A -- Adjectives -- Owen, Bryar, Jarrett

N -- Nouns -- Emma, Corrie, Laura

C -- Conjunctions -- Sarah, Ellie P, Selah

A -- Adverbs -- Ellie T, Joey, Aiden

P -- Pronouns -- Bailey, Jacob, Blake

P -- Prepositions -- Ana, Morgan, Samantha

Dates of Presentation:

9/21 -- Conjunctions

9/28 -- Pronouns *

10/5 -- Nouns *

10/12 -- Adjectives

10/26 -- Adverbs

11/2 -- Verbs

11/9 -- Prepositions

11/16 -- Interjections

* Note: These dates have been adjusted due to students' schedules.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Final Draft of the Descriptive Essay

(Remember to bring in your rough draft to hand in with the final draft)

-- Read Chapters 3 & 4

-- No Take Home Quiz! (We will do that in class next week)

-- Parts of Speech Pre-Test

-- Work on Parts of Speech Project

-- Research and learn all you can so that you can come prepared to work in your group next week!

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Parts of Speech Assigned Groups

Parts of Speech Pre-Test (or PDF)

Parts of Speech Planning (or PDF)

Have a wonderful weekend. If you're not doing anything, join us in Northfield for the Defeat of Jesse James Days!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Parts of Speech Pre-Test

In the list of words below, circle the nouns and cross out the verbs. Do nothing to the words that are neither nouns nor verbs.

Cat

Sing

Happy

Sofa

Liberty

Drove

Camel

Very

Laughter

Traveled

Under

After

Dog

Rug

Cleaned

Quickly

Stove

In the sentences below, circle the adjectives. Underline the adverbs.

1. The silly, little girl danced wildly yesterday at the birthday party.

2. My older brother generously loaned me fifty dollars from his very scanty rainy day fund.

3. Tomorrow I will carefully bake that complicated recipe for my mother’s favorite dessert.

In the sentences below, underline the pronouns.

1. Bob, your father wants you to call him.

2. The beautiful concert brought the crowd to its feet.

3. Jane has her own ideas, but her family doesn’t agree with them.

Put parentheses around each of the prepositional phrases:

1. For many years, there had been groups of campers in the fields near the river.

2. All of the trees at the farm died during the winter.

3. After the game, the crowd of noisy fans cheered with a loud shout.

Underline the conjunctions in the sentences below.

1. Although we weren’t hungry, we ate a whole pizza and drank all the soda.

2. The teacher asked many hard and confusing questions, yet we could answer them all.

3. Neither the cat nor the dog obeys our commands, but we still love them.

Underline the interjections in the following sentences:

1. Well, I don’t think so.

2. Marvelous! You have done an incredible job.

3. Oh no. This is terrible.

Fill in the blanks for the following definitions:

1. A _____________________ is a word or words used to join other words, phrases, or clauses.

2. An ______________________ is a word or group of words expressing emotion or feeling, however slight. Also, this part of speech doesn’t fit into any of the other categories of the parts of speech.

3. A _________________________ links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence.

4. An __________________________can modify a verb, an adjective, an adverb, a phrase, or a clause. It indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers questions such as "how," "when," "where," "how much".

5. An __________________________ modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or quantifying words.

6. A ___________________________ can replace a noun or another pronoun.

Parts of Speech Project Planning Worksheet

My assigned part of speech: _______________________________________

In your own words, define this part of speech:

What important aspects of this part of speech are important for your classmates to know?

What information do you need to find out about this part of speech?

Where can you find this information?

List the best resources that you’ve found:

Lesson Plan

Objective: to teach my classmates about _______________________________ by explaining these key points:

1. Main Point: ________________________________________________