Again, another great class. This group of students brings a lot of positive energy and attitudes to the class. The prompts for our Quick Write today were taken from the National Days Calendar: National Video Game Day, National Day of Encouragement, and National Milkshake Day. As always, if none of those options triggered any productive thinking or writing, students could write about something else. We had good discussions about all three topics.
We did not have any Words of the Day from the students because Stephan was providing words for the Literature Circle, so the rest of the class did not need to do any.
During the Writing portion of today's class I collected the final draft of their Descriptive Essays. For all of the essays that they will write they are required to hand in the rough drafts with the final drafts so that I can see the specific changes. Those who didn't do that in class this week can send me a picture or scanned version of their rough drafts with my corrections. A couple of students mentioned that they had thrown away their rough drafts, so I will correct their papers without them. I also reminded them that they SHOULD NOT throw away any work from this class until the end of the semester; they should also save all of their essays until the end of the year.
In Writing 1, as soon as students finish one paper we start another. Their new assignment is a Personal Essay. We discussed a number of topics and thesis statements. I introduced my equation for a thesis statement and a template for thesis statements that include a plan for development.
Equation:
Equation:
Topic/Subject+ Opinion/StandThesis Statement
Template:
(topic/stand) is/are (opinion/stand) because (reason #1) , (reason #2) , and (reason #3) .
We also took time to discuss the elements of an introduction and conclusion. The introduction should include a hook, a thesis statement, and a "road map." The conclusion mirrors the introduction and should restate the thesis, summarize the main points, and leave parting thoughts with the reader.
A significant portion of the class was given to the Literature Circle for Animal Farm. Each student had prepared for his/her role in the group, and I intentionally stepped away so that they themselves had to propel the discussion. They each made insightful comments and I was pleased with what I heard. We will continue to do Literature Circles throughout the year, especially considering how well they did. For next week, we will continue with the study guide/ala carte assignments and vocabulary in addition to taking a Take Home Quiz for chapters 1 - 4. Note: There has been some confusion about the assignments for the book. When I give the assignment for "Reader Responses," that means their answers to the study guide questions or the ala carte responses. Their vocabulary worksheets do not need to be handed in until the end of the book.
Our first Parts of Speech presentation, Interjections, will be next week. When students present their part of speech, they should either bring copies of the homework (8 students and 1 teacher) OR email the homework to me by the Tuesday before class so that I can make copies. If they are showing a video or slide presentation, they can use their own computers or email them to me. I have links listed below of videos that students have done in the past for the parts of speech unit. For further inspiration, students can also scroll for older blog entries (Sept. - Nov) for links to other student projects.
Assignments for Next Week
-- Read Ch. 5 & 6 of Animal Farm
-- 3 Reader Responses
-- 3 Vocabulary Words
-- Personal Essay Rough Draft
-- Preparation for your parts of speech presentation
-- Interjections (Aliena) next week
Links for This Week
Class Notes
Have a great weekend!
Blessings,
Mrs. Prichard
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