Writing 1: Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 7 (October 15)

Greetings!

This would have been our fall break, so I feel that we should all get a merit badge for having a good class this week. For our Quick Write, I asked students to write about a strong opinion that they have. Then, they were to give three specific points about that opinion. Following that, they were to think about what the other side might think. The goal of this Quick Write was to encourage the students to think about how others think about the same topics. As I told them, being able to actively listen to others while trying to understand their perspectives is a sign of maturity. In this day and age, God needs us to value those around us, whether we agree with their strong opinions or not. (By the way, one of the most controversial topics for all classes today was "Does pineapple belong on pizza?")

We had a short Words of the Day portion of class. Here are our words:

comma -- fr. Latin, comma, and Greek komma, which means a "piece which is cut off." -- The comma is that little bit of punctuation that separates parts of a sentence.

noun -- fr. Latin nomen, "name" -- The noun is the part of speech that names a person, place, things, or ideas.

veb -- fr. Latin verbum, "word" -- The verb is the part of speech that communicates action or state of being.

Students handed in their Final Drafts of their Personal Essays. Now, it's time for the next essay, which is a Biography Essay. For the rest of the year, students will be doing a 3-step process that includes a pre-write, a rough draft, and a final draft. The pre-write is any kind of composing that shows brainstorming of ideas and organization. This can include a formal or informal outline, a mind map, or a digital brainstorming file. (I have a document in the links below that further expounds on pre-write tools and gives links to some interesting web platforms for making a digital outline or mind map.) I don't require the students to hand in their pre-writes until they hand in their rough drafts. Note: Students should work on the gathering and organizing of their information during this next week (in other words, prepare the pre-write) so that the following week they are ready to write the rough draft.

I have 3 short writing-related assignments: Writing Goals (in preparation for a future writing circle), Discussion Question for the Personal Essay, and a Discussion Question for the Biography Essay. The Discussion Question for the Biography Question includes instructions to respond to a classmate's comment.

We have finished Animal Farm, and many of the students were surprised at the ending and even a little disappointed. We will talk more about the book and the characters next week. To prepare for next week, students are to complete a Character Sketch for one of the characters in the book. This writing should include 3 strengths, 3 weaknesses, and a one sentence summary of the chosen character.

For the Grammar portion of the class, Rachel and Nina gave a great presentation on Adjectives. Their activity was "Adjectives Battleship" that played like a 20 questions game, and students could only use adjectives. For homework, students have a 2-sided sheet in their packets, OR they can do the worksheets on Google Classroom. I also have for them an Adjectives Evaluation.