Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 6–(September 29)

This class was full today.  I sure am enjoying this group of students!

Quick Write

Today’s prompt was responding to a comic that “seemed like a good idea at the time.”  We enjoyed hearing about some of the childhood experiences the students shared.  It’s amazing we all survived!

Words of the Day

Wry–bent, twisted, or turned usually abnormally to one side; made by a deliberate distortion of the facial muscles often to express irony or mockery; cleverly and often ironically or grimly humorous.  From the Old English wrigian=to turn, tend in a particular direction.  Related to wr-words:  wrist, writhe, wriggle, awry

jocular–Wryly amusing, slightly odd and humorous; positive attribute; fun to be around.

Students drew wry emojis and jocular circumstances on the backs of their index cards.

Not only do I encourage students to use these words in conversation and writing, but I warned them I would be giving a quiz over them by the end of the semester.  

Grammar

Today was the first day of our Parts of Speech Presentations.  The Verbs group of Maesen, Lily and Stella were the brave souls to go first as the other group was absent.  (The absent group will present NEXT week along with the Adjectives group.)  The girls did a good job as our guinea pigs showing verbs with the game Simon Says, a worksheet (thanks, Lily!) and a short lesson.  I also assigned two worksheets which are due next week.   As part of the presentations, students fill out an evaluation (linked below.)

Writing

I have graded and handed back (on Google Classroom) the Descriptive Final Essays.  Today the Personal Essay Rough Drafts were due.  We discussed the fact that the comments/suggestions I make on the Rough Drafts will be aggressive! :0  My goal is to help students turn in the very best Final draft they possibly can.  For that reason, they may be surprised to see so many edits and corrections from me.

 I will be using a rubric to grade this Rough Draft–this is a change from the first essay and it might be an adjustment for students.  I told them not to be discouraged if there are alot of corrections on their Rough Drafts.  It is better to have lots of revisions needed to the Rough Draft than the Final paper–by that point it does NO good.  I want them to benefit from the comments when there’s still time to make revisions.

Students were told that my suggestions/edits are a GOOD PLACE TO START.  Please take the edits and expand in order to make the best writing possible.

To that end, we spent some time discussing Introductions/attention-getters.  I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with.  (Class notes linked below.)

Last, in our writing discussion is that we will be having our first Writing Circle next week.  Students were to fill out the questions concerning their writing goals in order to be prepared for discussion next week. Please  answer the  Discussion Question about the Personal Essay if they haven’t done so already.

Literature

We didn’t take time to discuss Animal Farm this week because of our Writing/Grammar heavy class period.  Next week, we will have our next Literature Circle. To prepare for this, I asked students to write out a Character “Sketch”--three points about the strength/weaknesses of a character of their choosing.  We will use these to explore the characters in our discussion.

Students will read Ch. 9-10 of Animal Farm, fill out the 3 Study Guide Questions, and do Take Home Quiz #2 on Chs. 5-8.

Homework

Verbs Worksheets (2)

Verbs Evaluation

Vebs Group–do  your OWN Presentation Evaluation HERE

Adjectives/Interjections Groups–Be ready to present

Class Notes on Introductions/Attention-getters (Personal Essays)

Discussion Question–Personal Essay (Google Classroom)

Character Sketch

Read Ch. 9-10

Take Home Quiz #2 (Ch 5-8)

Study Guide Questions, Ch. 9-10

Links for the Week

Quick Write (9/29)

Personal Essay Rough Draft

Class Notes Week 6 (Sept. 29)

Writing 1 Class Notes–(Sept. 22) Week 5

Greetings,

Class went well today.  The students worked well and we covered a lot of material.

Quick Write:  

Today in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.  We read a portion of that document today and students had an opportunity to respond.  They could choose to write about the meaning of freedom, the Emancipation Proclamation itself or that era in US history.  They could also write about the photograph of Lincoln and share their thoughts on it.  Of course the last option is that they can choose their own topic, but they MUST write!  Students did a good job keeping those pencils/cursors moving!

Words of the Day: Just one today–

querulous– Given to complaining;Habitually making peevish complaints

Etymology:  Old Fr=querelos “quarrelsome, argumentative”; Latin=querulous “full of complaints, complaining;Root:  quarrel

Students drew a picture or listed a dinner/food that might tempt them to become querulous.

Writing Discussion

The Descriptive Essay final drafts were due today. This essay is relatively simple because it is narrative in nature and gives  me a good idea of where students are in their writing.  However, as the year goes on, the writing will progressively become more challenging.  The goal is to bring students to their next level–I am confident they will do just that.  

On that note, I  introduced a new concept:   the Rough Draft Rubric.  On the last essay students received a base grade if they turned it in.  I made corrections and comments on that.  Those comments are a great way to START—my expectation is that they will  incorporate what I give them and move beyond that.  I should see vast improvements from their Rough Draft to their Final Draft.  To that end, I will be “ruthless” on their Rough Drafts and their scores will reflect that.  We will continue this process throughout the semester.

We discussed thesis statements and topic ideas in pairs.  Hopefully this will give them further direction as they work on their Personal Essay Rough Drafts.

Literature Discussion

We had no Grammar discussion as I wanted to give ample time for students to work on their Parts of Speech Presentations.  

Students are assigned Ch. 7-8 in Animal Farm; they also have Study Questions assigned.

Grammar Discussion

We viewed the winner of our IVAN CAPP mascot competition.  Congratulations on Zach!  Students filled in a quick worksheet on the different parts of speech.  We watched an example video from past classes, and, after fielding a few questions, students got into their groups to begin planning their presentations.  They are responsible to teach the class their part of speech and for a worksheet of some kind.

Next week the Interjections and Verbs group will present. Students may find they need to connect with their classmates outside of class in order to complete this project. 

Homework:

1. Quick Write

2. Personal Essay Rough Draft

3. Rough Draft Rubric

4. Read Ch. 7-8

5. Study Questions for Ch. 7-8

6. Parts of Speech Unit

Links for this Week

7. Parts of Speech Planning

8. Parts of Speech Rubric

Writing 1 Class Notes Week 4 (Sept. 15)

 Greetings!

I cannot believe how the time flies with these students!  What a great group!  We covered a lot, but I find myself wishing we had more time.

Quick Write

They had four eclectic  topics to choose from today: 

– Last week–and still today, there are many flags flying at half staff.  The original reason is in observance of Patriot’s Day.  On that day, we remember the victims and the heroes of the September 11, 2001 terror attack that toppled the World Trade Center in NYC and crashed into the Pentagon building in VA.  What thoughts do you have about that tragic event?

–The second reason is that it was announced that Queen Elizabeth had passed away on 9/8.  What thoughts do you have on her passing?  On British royalty? 

OR: 

–Eclectic=(adj) deriving ideas, styles or tastes from a broad, diverse range of sources.  How does the word “eclectic” connect to an experience you’ve had?

–Of course, choice number four is to write on a topic of their choosing.

Words of the Day

awkward (adj) Lack of dexterity or skill; not easy to handle or deal with.  From middle English awk=wrong way around.  The meaning shifted from “perverse→ill-adapted→clumsy

Adroit (adj) having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations; from Old French ‘a =to + droit=”right”;  latin=directum = “right, justice, law”; expresses predominately “a trained right hand”

spurious (adj) fake; counterfeit.  From latin=false; applied specifically to false marriages

On the reverse side of their cards, students were asked to sketch a situation that is awkward and one that is adroit.  They also enjoyed drawing up a spurious ID.  

HW Check:

We spent some time reviewing how to use some aspects of Google Classroom.  Some students have been having trouble turning in assignments–we looked at how to “Make A Copy” of the Rough Draft/Final Essay Templates and how to “Turn In”.  Students can choose to submit their assignments on  paper if they wish, however, I do require all Essays/Rough Drafts to be submitted through Google Classroom.  It is much more expedient for grading and returning leaving students time to revise as needed.  The same process of “Make a Copy” works for other assignments as well–we talked especially about the 3 Reader Responses.  As you type in the box, it will expand to fit your answer.  Please answer the questions with specific examples from the book!

Writing Discussion

The Descriptive Essays are due next week.  Most students are finishing their essays, so I assigned the next one.  The next essay is a Personal Essay.  For this essay they should choose a personal experience or a topic that is of strong personal interest to them.  We touched on topic ideas and thesis statements.  The rough draft is due next week.

Literature Discussion

We're reading Animal Farm, and this week we had a good discussion about our reading.  We used the 4 Square Discussion model to discuss the content.  We also did a little singing. If you have been in the hallway, you would have heard animal noises to the tune of La Cucaracha and Clementine.  Students were assigned Chapter 5-6 and 3 Responses.  They will also need to complete a Week 4 Take Home quiz

Grammar 

Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could have our Grammar portion of class, but we will remedy that next week.

 Since we are covering Parts of Speech using the memory device IVAN CAPP, we will have a short contest for our mascot.  A number of students contributed drawings and pictures. The drawings are posted on Google Classroom.  I'll let them know the winner next week.

Students have been put in groups of 3, and they are to research and come up with explanations about their assigned parts of speech.  Additionally, they are to come up with an activity/game/video for the class.  Some students use PowerPoint or other types of presentations.  Sometimes videos are helpful.  I've extended the first presentation.  Instead of starting next week, I've pushed the first presentation off until Sept.29 (Week 6).  Interjections and Verbs will be presented that week.  We will use a bulk of our class time to work on these presentations next week.  STUDENTS SHOULD CONNECT WITH THEIR GROUP MEMBERS TO PLAN AFTER CLASS!

Parts of Speech Groups

Interjections -- Celia, Grace, Lydia 

Verbs -- Lily, Stella, Maesen

Adjectives -- Doug, Gabe

Nouns -- Vivi, Annie, Phoebe

Conjunctions -- Elliot, Judah

Adverbs -- Teegan, Jack

Pronouns --Kirsten, Avery, Esther 

Prepositions -- Zach, Henry

Assignments for Next Week

About the Personal Essay

Personal Essay RD (due WK 6–9/29)

Descriptive Essay–Final Draft

Discussion Question–Top Character Quality

Week 4 Take Home Quiz

Read Chapters 5 & 6

Reader Response for Chapters 5 & 6

Links for This Week

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 4 (September 16)

Quick Write–Sept. 15

Animal Farm 4 Square Discussion

Discussion Question–Descriptive Essay

Parts of Speech Checklist

Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 3 (Sept. 8)

We had a good class today.  The students were ready to learn and we got a lot accomplished.

Quick Write

The students had a prompt today about “Fun theory”.  They watched a short video about a company’s attempt to encourage commuters to take the stairs instead of the escalator because it’s healthier.  Does making something “fun” encourage people to make better choices?  

• How would you describe “Fun theory”?

• Describe a time you devised a way to make an odious task more “fun”.

• Pretend you are one of those stairway goers–describe your experience

• How could you incorporate “fun theory” into your life?

• Or whatever!

Words of the Day

I started something new this week for Words of the Day.  I handed out punched index cards with an O ring.  Students are to write the definition and etymology of the word.  On the reverse side, they’ll do a short activity to make the definition “stick”--like make a list or a quick drawing.  Research shows interacting with a word helps us remember it.  I hope to hear students using these words in conversation or to incorporate them in their writing.

(Learning-process related words)

Dilettante–fr Latin delectare, to delight, charm, please; formerly positive connotation, but has shifted to negative connotation.  Means a person who takes up an art, subject or activity merely for amusement; a dabbler

Neophyte–fr Latin neophytus; neo=new; phytos=planted; means a beginner or novice

Writing Discussion

I handed back the Descriptive Rough Drafts either on paper or Google Classroom–wherever it was submitted.  We went over a few common mistakes.  Students were to start a document in their folders or notebooks titled either "Watch out for ..." or "Areas to Work On."  On this page I want students to keep track of their own common writing mistakes.  We will refer to this list often over the course of the year, using it to set personal writing goals and to gauge progress.

Literature Discussion

The class has read the first 2 chapters of Animal Farm and done their first set of reader responses.  We talked a bit about the tenets of Animalism.  Next week we will have a 4-Square Discussion on Chapters 1 - 4.  (More on that next week.)

Grammar Topics

I gave the students two documents to help them plan for their parts of speech presentations.  Students grouped up for their parts of speech using a random name generator.  I took the liberty to tweak the arrangements and assign the parts of speech to save time.  (See the list below).  Students will  have time next week in class to prepare for their presentations.

As an Extra Credit assignment, they can submit a picture of "IVAN CAPP" (our mnemonic device for the parts of speech) to be voted on as a class favorite to use as a mascot for this unit.  As a class, they decided to make this a competition.  May the best IVAN CAPP win!  We will vote next week, so if a student hasn't done a picture but wants to, there's still time.

Parts of Speech Groups

Interjections -- Celia, Grace, Lydia 

Verbs -- Lily, Stella, Maesen

Adjectives -- Doug, Gabe

Nouns -- Vivi, Annie, Phoebe

Conjunctions -- Elliot, Judah

Adverbs -- Teegan, Jack

Pronouns --Kirsten, Avery, Esther 

Prepositions -- Zach, Henry

Assignments for Next Week

–Week 4 Take Home Quiz

–Ch 3-4 Questions (EXTRA CREDIT)

–Discussion Question–Descriptive Essay (on Google Classroom)

–Extra Credit IVAN CAPP drawing

–Descriptive Final Draft:  due 9/22

Links for This Week

–Piano Stairs

–Parts of Speech Planning Worksheet

–Parts of Speech Checklist (both docs for group work next week)

–Grammar Review Sheet

Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 2 (September 1)

 Today we had a full class.  What a delightful class of students I have!  I am looking forward to working with you this year!

Quick Write:

How would you “show up” in the world if no one knew you yet?  Today students responded to a piece of writing on Google slides about what you want to be known for–what kind of “kid” do you want to be?  The kind of kid who speaks with a British accent?  The one who wears shorts no matter the weather?  The kid who is known for being welcoming and kind?  

Students could respond with “I am the type of kid who…”, or list some unique facts about themselves or, of course they could write whatever piqued their interest.  They just need to write!:)

Words of the Day:

• Halcyon:  past period of happiness and success (figuratively)

Greek–”days of the kingfisher”; (literally) 14 days of calm weather attributed to the “magic” of the kingfisher. Too late to share with the class, I found the following:

The name is from Latin halcyon, alcyon, from Greek halkyon, variant (perhaps a misspelling) of alkyon "kingfisher," a word of unknown origin. The explanation that this is from hals "sea; salt"

• Author:  latin-auctor; creator, originator, power to create (authorize, authority).  Today we use it to refer mainly to the written word

Students can submit their notes for Extra Credit.  

Google Classroom

I took a few minutes to go over Google Classroom specifically around turning assignments in.  I had a volunteer come and help with a simple tutorial. Some students haven't used Google Classroom and are unfamiliar with this resource.  It might take a while to become completely comfortable with all of the necessary aspects of Google Classroom.  

Writing:

The Descriptive Essay Rough Drafts were due today.  Students could hand in a paper copy or hand it in on Google classroom.  I will go over them and hand them back next week.  I clarified that students will receive a basic score this time, but in the future, I will be using a rubric to grade them.  Also, students will need to hand in their Rough Drafts on Google Classroom for quicker turnaround time.  The final essay is due Week 5 (9/22).

Literature Discussion:

We started our book Animal Farm.  Students watched a short Youtube video and a slide show to get familiar with the themes and ideas.  Students are to think about “What Makes a Good Leader?” and submit it next week–although some finished and handed it in today.  We discussed the subtitle:  A fairy story and if they thought it was appropriate.  We also discussed the meaning of the slogan:  “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  There were some good thoughts!

I gave students an introduction to the book and a study guide.  For each reading assignment, they're to complete 3 Reader Responses, and those could be study guide questions or something from the "Ala Carte" section at the end of the study guide.  They can do a mix of questions and ala carte options.  Students should complete a vocabulary list as they read.

Grammar:

This week I introduced our grammar unit:  The 8 Parts of Speech.  Students will be the teachers–in teams they’ll gather information about their assigned part of speech and present it to the rest of the class.  We will divide up into groups next week.  For their homework, they are to complete a Parts of Speech Pre-Test.  They can complete the paper copy or the Google Classroom copy.

As an Extra Credit assignment, they can submit a picture of “IVAN CAPP” (our mnemonic device for the parts of speech) to be voted on as a class favorite to be used as a mascot for this unit.  As a class, they decided to make this a competition.  May the best IVAN CAPP win!

Assignments for next week:

–Read Ch. 1-2 Animal Farm

–Animal Farm Vocab. Sheets (due WK 8)

–3 Responses

–What Makes a Good Leader?

–Animal Farm Introduction

–Quiz (on the Animal Farm Introduction)

–Grammar Pre-Test

–IVAN CAPP drawing (Extra Credit)

Links for this week:

Links for This Week:

Syllabus (w/signature)

Blessings,

Mrs. G.