Writing 1: Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 1 (August 29)

Greetings!

We had a great first class of Writing 1 this week. Following each week's class, I will send out an email that explains what we did in class, supply links or attachments for necessary materials, and include the homework assignments. Please be sure to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

I have two regular beginning of class activities: the Quick Write and Words of the Day. The Quick Writes are short writing activities intended to get students thinking and then putting their thoughts on paper. The prompts can range from deep philosophical ideas to current events to light-hearted topics. This week's prompt asked the students to write convincing arguments why they should be admitted to the exclusive "Awesome Problem Solving Club" and include specific contributions that they might make. Their responses showed a wonderful blend of the practical skills, interpersonal abilities, and creativity that are in this group of students. (We will start with our Words of the Day activity next week.)

Most of the class time during this first week of the semester was given to the "nuts and bolts" for how the class will run and for introductions to the first units in the class. I started with a Class Policies handout.

Most of the first week of class is spent introducing the class and handing out a number of papers to get us started. I begin every year with a Class Policies document, which explains some guidelines for positive interactions in the class, homework guidelines, and communication resources. I think that I forgot to mention to the students that they need to have you read and sign this and then bring it back to class next week. It's pretty straightforward but feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

The next document was the Syllabus that lists the discussion topics and assignments for the semester. The class is divided into 3 sections: Writing, Literature, and Grammar. Some days we will spend more time on one topic than another, but students should use this as a reference, especially if they miss a week. (Note: If students should miss a week, they should also consult the email with the Class Notes for the times missed for more accurate information.)

The book we will be reading for most of the semester is Animal Farm by George Orwell. While this book can be read for the imaginative story about animals running a farm, it is also a political commentary about the implications of socialism and communism in post-WW2 Soviet Union. As a class, we will discuss the book on both levels. To aid in our study of the book, I handed out to the students the following documents: An Introduction, a Vocabulary Worksheet, and a Study Guide. Chapters from the book will not be assigned until next week, but they should read the Introduction that I gave them. They were also given an assignment that is due in 2 weeks in which they should write their thoughts about what makes a good leader.

Our next topic of discussion was our first writing assignment -- a rough draft for a Descriptive Essay. I gave the students 2 resources, Pre-Writing Strategies and Drafting the Essay, that they might find helpful but are not required to read. Another handout titled Descriptive Essay gives a definition, some ideas for organizing, and the requirements for the essay. Over the course of the year, students will get similar handouts for each writing assignment. Generally, for each essay, students will write a rough draft, which I will go over and make corrections and suggestions. They will then make the corrections and hand in a final draft that will be graded. In this first essay, they are to describe something with as much detail as they can to help their readers know the topic through their 5 senses.

Our Grammar for the semester will include group projects on the Parts of Speech. This will be introduced next week. We'd had new stuff for the day.