Writing 1B Class Notes -- Week 13 (Nov. 21)

Greetings!

We started the class with a Quick Write using the student ideas for the prompts:  Today we wrote on about 1) What would you buy with $100,000? 3) Running Away; and 3) favorite color and why.  As always, the students did some good thinking and writing.  

Our Words of the Day:

tarradiddle -- a fib, petty lie, or pretentious nonsense, 

widdershins -- counter clockwise, contrary to customary direction, left-handed

The students are really creative about coming up with possible definitions for these unusual words.

Students handed in their Rough Drafts of their History Essays along with their Pre-Writes and a self-evaluation Rough Draft Rubric.  (Note:  If students did not hand their essays in class, they can email them as Word Documents or share them as Google docs.  I can not open documents from Apple/Mac Pages.)

We're near the end of A Christmas Carol, so I thought it was time for a short quiz.  I grouped the students into two small groups, and they worked together to answer the questions.  There was a bit of competition to be the first group to finish the test and to have the best answers.  In our next class period we will finish up this short Dickens classic.

We've finished the Parts of Speech presentations, so we did a little reviewing of the 8 parts of speech (interjections, verbs, adjectives, nouns, conjunctions, adverbs, prepositions, and pronouns)  Students were given a rubric to evaluate themselves and their presentations.  The last step for this unit is a final test that they are to do at home. These tests need a parent's signature to verify that it was done without any materials to help.

A note about the Parts of Speech Post Test -- The second page directs students to find nouns, verbs, etc. in two sentences.  The numbers in parentheses are not accurate.  Please disregard them.

Assignments for Next Week

-- Read Stave Five

-- No Study Guide Questions & No Vocabulary Words

-- Parts of Speech Post-Test

Links for This Week

Class Notes

11-21 Whiteboard Notes

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1A Class Notes -- Week 13 (Nov. 21)

Greetings!

We started the class with a Quick Write using the student ideas for the prompts:  Today we wrote on about 1) favorite movies and 2) getting gifts vs. giving gifts.  As always, students did some good thinking and writing.  The students had great ideas, and we now have a list of over 200 ideas to choose from.

Our Words of the Day:

tarradiddle -- a fib, petty lie, or pretentious nonsense, 

widdershins -- counter clockwise, contrary to customary direction, left-handed

The students are really creative about coming up with possible definitions for these unusual words.

Students handed in their Rough Drafts of their History Essays along with their Pre-Writes and a self-evaluation Rough Draft Rubric.  (Note:  If students did not hand their essays in class, they can email them as Word Documents or share them as Google docs.  I can not open documents from Apple/Mac Pages.)

We're near the end of A Christmas Carol, so I thought it was time for a short quiz.  I grouped the students to first answer questions from Staves One and Two.  Then they finished a Vocabulary Quiz in groups; they worked really well in their small groups. In our next class period we will finish up this short Dickens classic.

We've finished the Parts of Speech presentations, so we did a little reviewing of the 8 parts of speech (interjections, verbs, adjectives, nouns, conjunctions, adverbs, prepositions, and pronouns)  Students were given a rubric to evaluate themselves, their group work, and their presentations.  The last step for this unit is a final test that they are to do at home. These tests need a parent's signature to verify that it was done without any materials to help.

A note about the Parts of Speech Post Test -- The second page directs students to find nouns, verbs, etc. in two sentences.  The numbers in parentheses are not accurate.  Please disregard them.

Assignments for Next Week

-- Read Stave Five

-- No Study Guide Questions & No Vocabulary Words

-- Parts of Speech Post-Test

Links for This Week

Class Notes

11-21 Student Notes

11-21 Whiteboard Notes

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1A Class Notes -- Week 12 (Nov. 14)

Greetings!

We had a good class time this week.  They usually come to class with lots of energy!

For the Quick Write prompt this week I asked students to give me a list of at least 10 prompt ideas.  We've had 11 weeks of writing these quick writes so they have an idea about the types of prompts they like.  I will take those prompts and use them for most of our Quick Writes for the rest of the year.  I had each student share one of his/her ideas.  I'm looking forward to using their ideas throughout the year.

Our Words of the Day (click here to see these words)

cattywampus -- 19th century slang; askew or disarrayed

bumfuzzle -- to confuse, perplex, or fluster

gardyloo -- an interjection yelled before throwing slops out the window; possibly from the French phrase garde a l'eau ("Attention!  Water!")

The class has been assigned a History Essay, and the rough draft and pre-writes are due next week.  Writing a clear thesis statement that includes the topic and the writer's stand on that topic can be really difficult.  Thesis statements are different from topic sentences in that they are meant to give purpose and to direct the focus of the paper.  We reviewed the elements of the introduction and did some brainstorming how to come up with that elusive thesis statement.  Along with the rough drafts and pre-writes, I want students to fill out the rough draft rubric.  This rubric can serve as a checklist for students to determine the strength of their introductions, conclusions, content, and organization.  

We have just finished reading Stave Three of A Christmas Carol.  In this stave, the Ghost of Christmas comes and takes Scrooge to visit his family and Tiny Tim.  I had the class divide into small groups to discuss some questions related to the purpose of Charles Dickens' writing and the changes in Scrooge.  Before doing this, we discussed how to have good academic discussions using specific Talking Stems.  (see the Student Notes and Whiteboard Scan for examples of these Talking Stems.)  Strong academic conversations help students to learn to analyze and think critically "on their feet."

 Next week we will read about the Ghost of Christmas Future.  (There might be a quiz, so they should get caught up on their reading.)

Our Grammar portion of the class was a presentation of Prepositions by Leighton, Levi, and Logan.  We had a video, and in class activity, and homework.  We're nearing the end of this unit will start reviewing.  

Assignments for Next Week

-- Rough Draft & Pre-write of History Essay

-- Rough Draft Rubric (self-evaluation)

-- Read Stave Four

-- 3 Study Guide Questions & 4 Vocabulary Words

-- Preposition Homework

-- Parts of Speech Review Packet

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Student Notes

Student Notes from 11/7

Whiteboard Notes

Rough Draft Rubric

History Essay

Parts of Speech Review Packet (blog)

Parts of Speech Review Packet (pdf on Drive)

Have a beautiful weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1B Class Notes -- Week 12 (Nov. 14)

Greetings!

We had a good class time this week.  Some of our Thursday afternoons have been challenging because it's the last class of a long day of classes.  All of us seem a little droopy by that time of day.  I do my best to provide them opportunities to engage and interact so that we can have this class be a strong learning time.

For the Quick Write prompt this week I asked students to give me a list of at least 10 prompt ideas.  We've had 11 weeks of writing these quick writes to they have an idea about the types of prompts they like.  I will take those prompts and use them for most of our Quick Writes for the rest of the year.  I had each student share one of his/her ideas.  I'm looking forward to using their ideas throughout the year.

Our Words of the Day (click here to see these words)

cattywampus -- 19th century slang; askew or disarrayed

bumfuzzle -- to confuse, perplex, or fluster

gardyloo -- an interjection yelled before throwing slops out the window; possibly from the French phrase garde a l'eau ("Attention!  Water!")

The class has been assigned a History Essay, and the rough draft and pre-writes are due next week.  Writing a clear thesis statement that includes the topic and the writer's stand on that topic can be really difficult.  Thesis statements are different from topic sentences in that they are meant to give purpose and to direct the focus of the paper.  We reviewed the elements of the introduction and did some brainstorming how to come up with that elusive thesis statement.  Along with the rough drafts and pre-writes, I want students to fill out the rough draft rubric.  This rubric can serve as a checklist for students to determine the strength of their introductions, conclusions, content, and organization.  

We have just finished reading Stave Three of A Christmas Carol.  In this stave, the Ghost of Christmas comes and takes Scrooge to visit his family and Tiny Tim.  Next week we will read about the Ghost of Christmas Future.  (I also warned them that there might be a quiz, so if they should get caught up on their reading.)

Our Grammar portion of the class was a presentation of Prepositions by Brooke M.  We had a video and did our homework in class.  Instead of paper copies (due to printing issues) we projected the homework on the whiteboard and did it at a class.  

Assignments for Next Week

-- Rough Draft & Pre-write of History Essay

-- Rough Draft Rubric (self-evaluation)

-- Read Stave Four

-- 3 Study Guide Questions & 4 Vocabulary Words

-- No preposition Homework

-- Parts of Speech Review Packet

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Student Notes

Rough Draft Rubric

History Essay

Parts of Speech Review Packet (blog)

Parts of Speech Review Packet (pdf on Drive)

Have a beautiful weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1B Class Notes -- Week 11 (Nov. 7)

Greetings!

This week will be a brief set of notes because I might not have access to my computer for a couple days after tonight.

The Quick Write prompt:  1)  What is the most expensive thing you own or would like to own; 2) What are your spending habits or your attitudes towards money?  Cheapskate, thrifty, frivolous, or generous.

Words of the Day:

(Go here for more information on these words)

meldrop -- a drop of mucus at the end of the nose, whether produced by cold weather, sickness or otherwise.

obelus -- the division symbol; used in dictionaries to denote variations in pronunciation

agelast -- someone who never laughs

Writing

Students handed in their final drafts (along with rough drafts.)  The next essay is a History Essay.  Although they have 2 weeks to do the pre-write and rough draft, they must have a draft of their thesis statement for class next week.

Grammar

We had the Pronouns presentation today from Raya.  Because we are nearing the end of the parts of speech unit, I gave them a packet of exercises to start their review.  They have a review packet from the beginning of the semester that they can use.  This is due on Nov. 21.

Literature

We had a brief discussion about A Christmas Carol, but it seems a number of students had not finished the reading.  We will have a quiz next week, so they should be sure to get caught up on their reading assignments.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Stave Three  (and Staves One and Two)

-- Respond to 3 Study Guide questions 

-- Define 4 Vocabulary Words

-- History Essay Pre-Write

-- History Essay thesis statement draft

-- Pronoun Homework

-- Start Parts of Speech Review Worksheets

Links for this week

Class Notes

Parts of Speech Review Packet

Parts of Speech Review Worksheets

History Essay

Have a wonderful weekend.  It's time to get out hat and mittens!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 1A Class Notes -- Week 11 (Nov. 7)

Greetings!

This week will be a brief set of notes because I might not have access to my computer for a couple days after tonight.

The Quick Write prompt:  1)  What is the most expensive thing you own or would like to own; 2) What are your spending habits or your attitudes towards money?  Cheapskate, thrifty, frivolous, or generous.

Words of the Day:

(Go here for more information on these words)

meldrop -- a drop of mucus at the end of the nose, whether produced by cold weather, sickness or otherwise.

obelus -- the division symbol; used in dictionaries to denote variations in pronunciation

agelast -- someone who never laughs

Writing

Students handed in their final drafts (along with rough drafts.)  The next essay is a History Essay.  Although they have 2 weeks to do the pre-write and rough draft, they must have a draft of their thesis statement for class next week.

Grammar

We had the Pronouns presentation today from Ingrid, Tyler, and Elliot.  Because we are nearing the end of the parts of speech unit, I gave them a packet of exercises to start their review.  They have a review packet from the beginning of the semester that they can use.  This is due on Nov. 21.

Literature

We discussed 3 questions to cover Staves One and Two.  For next week, they are to read Stave Three.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Stave Three

-- Respond to 3 Study Guide questions 

-- Define 4 Vocabulary Words

-- History Essay Pre-Write

-- History Essay thesis statement draft

-- Pronoun Homework

-- Start Parts of Speech Review Worksheets

Links for this week

Class Notes

Parts of Speech Review Packet

Parts of Speech Review Worksheets

History Essay

History 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 14; Rough Draft due November 21; Final Draft due December 12. 
• 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 

Parts of Speech Worksheets

Interjections Practice 

Underline the interjections in the following sentences: 

1. Aww, look at the cute kitten. 
2. I missed the bus.  Oh well. 
3. Oops!  She dropped that expensive dish. 
4. Whoa, you need to slow down. 
5. No, there is no homework tonight. 

Verbs Practice 

Underline the verbs in the following sentences. 

1. Our work has become harder this year. 
2. Elizabeth looked everywhere for her homework. 
3. This plant looks dead. 
4. Mrs. Jones called the doctor. 
5. Her son is sick. 

Fill in a verb for each of the following sentences: 

1. Jane __________________ the cake yesterday. 
2. My muscles __________________ after gardening. 
3. The police man  _____________________ the speeding driver. 
4. The little boy ___________________ in the river. 
5. Northfield __________________ my home. 

Adjectives Practice 

Underline the adjectives in the following sentences. 

1. My ancient grandfather wrote an insightful book about his long time as a cattle rancher. 
2. The woman’s new wool coat sold for fifty dollars at the neighborhood discount store. 
3. The tangy red ketchup on the grilled hamburger dripped on the clean picnic table cloth. 
4. This smelly garbage in my uncle’s car is gross and disgusting. 
5. My amazing essay was read by some appreciative students. 

  Fill in adjectives for each of the blanks in the sentences below. 

1. My _____________________ book is both ______________  and  ___________________. 
2. The _________________, ____________________ kitten slept on the _______________ blanket. 
3. The ___________________________ weather ruined my ________________________ trip. 
4. My __________________________ sailboat on the _______________________ lake was   _________________. 
5. The __________________________ student in the _______________________ class studied for the  _______________________ test. 

 Conjunctions Practice 

Circle the coordinating conjunctions in the sentences below. 

1.  I bought four books, for I love to read. 
2.  I have many bookshelves, and I love to fill them with new and used books. 
3.  My sister doesn’t read many books, nor does she own as many as I do. 
4.  I offered to give her some books, but she didn’t want any. 
5.  I will give my extra books to the library, or I might donate them to the school. 

  

Circle the subordinating conjunctions in the following sentences. 

1.  Because we bought too many books, our bookshelves are full. 
2.  I will give some to you if you ask nicely. 
3.  Whenever I get rid of books, I usually feel a little sad. 
4.  My house will be cleaner after I get rid of these 20 boxes of books. 
5.  Although I try to stay away from book stores, I can’t help it. 

Adverbs Practice 

Underline the adverbs in the following sentences. 

1. The horse raced speedily around the very crowded racecourse. 
2. The man next to her coughed annoyingly all through the performance today. 
3. Katherine accidentally deleted her files. 
4. We silently watched the amazingly beautiful sunset. We will all take that infuriatingly difficult test tomorrow. 

Fill in adjectives for each of the blanks in the sentences below. 

1. The boy ran ______________________________   
2. Jackson  ______________________________  finished his homework. 
3. I  ______________________________  drove to the store. 
4. Corey ______________________________  handed in his essay. 
5. The team  ______________________________   played the game. 

 Prepositions Practice 

Put the prepositional phrases in parentheses and underline the prepositions in the following sentences. 

1. The book of pictures on the shelves is my favorite. 
2. Before lunch I had a meeting of student writers. 
3. The man in the yard threw the ball over the fence. 
4. I ate the cookie with chocolate chips. 
5. She was humming during the lecture about physics. 

Fill in prepositions for each of the blanks in the sentences below. 

1. The muffin _____________ the table is mine. 
2. I put the box ___________________ the chair.
3. The horse ran ___________________________  the road. 
4. My papers fell ____________________  my desk. 
5. She sat ______________________ the fireplace. 

 Pronouns Practice 

Underline the pronouns in the following sentences. 

1. Sally, your mother needs you to call her. 
2. Steve brought his own lunch because he is allergic to most foods. 
3. I have strong opinions, but my sister doesn’t agree with them. 
4. The amazing performance brought the crowd to its feet. 
5. You can tell her because she will keep it a secret.