Friday, October 28, 2022

Writing 1 Class Notes--Week 9 (October 27)

 It was good to see the students again after our Fall Break.  I hope they all had a chance to relax a bit.  They came back and were ready to learn!


Quick Write

Students responded to an excerpt about intelligent octopuses (yes, that is a legitimate pluralization of that word!)


Words of the Day

Today’s Words of the Day are seasonal in nature.  Students are continuing to compile these words with definitions, etymology and examples and sketches to “make them stick.”


macabre (adj)–ghastly; having weird, uncanny or exotic features; from Latin “chorea Machabaeorum” or “Dance of the Maccabees” a medieval stylized representation of the slaughter of the Maccabees; French “danse macabre” denoted a figure representing death who enticed people to dance with him until they dropped dead.


confection (n,v)--a sweet preparation of fruit, a preserve, a candy; the process of compounding, preparing, making something; something made up or confected.  Latin “confectionem”--a preparation, a medicament” the making by means of ingredients, act of compounding different substances into one preparation; in late 14C. Also “something prepared or made with sugar or syrup.”


masquerade (n,v)--A costume party at which masks are worn; a masked ball.  A disguise or outward show; a pretense.  From “mask”--1530’s “a cover for the face; a false face from French “masque”; medieval Latin masca “specter, nightmare.”


Homework Check

We did a brief check in on homework.  It can be challenging to have several assignments going at once–part of being a student in this style of classroom–and also as they move ahead academically. We talked about due dates. I hope to send out grade reports after I have graded the Rough Drafts this week which will be helpful.


Literature

I introduced our next novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  We watched a brief video about the author and discussed how our Christmas celebrations have evolved over the years. Interestingly, 

Dickens has named each of the five chapters of his book “staves”--like the lines on a music staff.  There are five lines/staves in musical notation, and there are five chapters.  It is a carol (song) afterall! 

 I have assigned some introductory material and a quiz over that material on Google Classroom (due next week.)  I also assigned a Vocabulary Sheet students should be using as they work their way through the book.

Last, we did a very brief review of the characters in Animal Farm, the novel we just finished. Students signed up for a character and next week, they’ll work together to write campaign speeches for each character if time permits.


Writing

The Biography Essay Rough Draft and Prewrite were due today.  The final is due November 11.


Grammar

This week we had a lot of Grammar work!  There were two presentations:  Interjections and Conjunctions.  They both presented a video, a short teaching, and the Conjunctions group had an activity.  Next week, the Adverbs group will present.  Be ready!

They were given homework from the groups AND from me.  Those are due next week.

They also have a review of the four parts of speech that have been covered so far:  IVAN.  The IVAN Review is posted on Google Classroom–also due next week..  

Students should complete evaluations of the groups’ presentations.  If you presented, fill out the Self-Evaluation.


Homework

Introduction to A Christmas Carol

Quiz on Introduction to 

ACC Vocabulary Sheet

Biography Essay

Biography Prewrite

Biography Rough Draft

Interjections HW

Interjections Evaluation

Conjunctions HW

Conjunctions Evaluation

IVAN Review: Interjections

IVAN Review:  Verbs

IVAN Review:  Adjectives

IVAN Review:  Nouns

Parts of Speech Self-Evaluation

Links for This Week

Quick Write (10/27)

Charles Dickens YouTube video

Interjections & Conjunctions videos


Thursday, October 13, 2022

October 13–Week 8


Quick Write

Today we had a choice of options revolving around events that happened on October 13 in different years in history–ranging from ancient to modern. We really skipped around!


Words of the Day 

No words of the Day today


Writing

Students handed in their Final Drafts of their Personal Essays.  As soon as we complete one essay, we start ite next. Our next essay is a Biography Essay. In this essay, they are to make sure that they have an opinion about the person and write in a way to show the significance/importance of that person.  For our previous papers, we followed a 2-step process (rough draft to final draft).  For the rest of the papers we write this year, we’ll follow a 3-step process:  pre-write, a rough draft, to a final draft.  We discussed pre-writing techniques such as using a mind map or outline.  I demonstrated composing an online Mind Map using a free website.  The Pre-Write and Rough Draft is due Oct. 27.


Literature 

We've finished Animal Farm, and as a final activity, but unfortunately did not have time to do our last activity.  Perhaps next class period.  They are to take the Final Exam posted on Google classroom.


The next book that we'll read is Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol.  I gave them their books.  Below I'm posting the background information and the Introduction Quiz. Please note:  The quiz is not due until Nov. 3.


Grammar

We're continuing with the Parts of Speech presentations, and today we had the Nouns group.  They gave a short teaching, showed a video and had a game for the students to play.  They have homework to practice identifying nouns.  (A reminder:  students should fill out the evaluation of ALL the presentations we’ve seen so far:  Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives and Nouns.  If you presented, fill out the Self-Evaluation).   


Fall Break

We don't have CHAT classes next week; October 20 & 21 are our Fall Break days.  I hope you can find some fun outside activities to do.


Homework

Biography Essay

Pre-Write

Rough Draft

Animal Farm Final Exam (GC)

A Christmas Carol Introduction 

Quiz on A Christmas Carol (GC)due Nov. 3

Nouns Homework

Nouns Video

Nouns Evaluation

Nouns SELF Evaluation (if you presented)

Adjective Evaluation (if you haven’t completed yet)

Verbs Evaluation (if you haven’t completed yet)



Links for This Week

Quick Write


Friday, October 7, 2022

Class Notes Week 7–October 6

Once again, it was a jam-packed class.  We are accomplishing a lot in our short time together!  Students are really getting into a good groove.


Words of the Day

We have been starting with this portion of our class, and I did warn students that there will be a quiz on these words by the end of the semester.  It would be a good idea to review these words periodically.  These two words are Fall-related.  Can you see how these words are related to the season?


quietus (noun)--death that is a relief/eterna rest; death of an argument.From Latin “quietus est”=he is quiet; his debt is paid.


Students were asked to write about their own personal quietus–the welcome end of something in their lives.


deciduous (adj)–falling off or shed seasonally or at a certain stage of development in the life cycle.  Latin→de=down; off +caedere→to fall.  Related to the words decay and decadence→to fall from a condition of health or perfection. 


Quick Write

Students viewed and responded to the painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Clouds by romantic German painter Caspar David Friedrich. 


Homework Check

I touched on the fact that I had sent out detailed grade reports during the past week.  Students should note that each assignment is very important.  If something is not turned in, it says “Missing” on Google classroom.  Those marked “Missing” will automatically be transposed into a“0” when when imported to the grade book.  After three weeks, I will no longer grade work.  


Another noteworthy item is that the gradebook is broken up into weighted categories.  You can now easily see your progress in each category and how that impacts your overall grade.  Since grades are weighted, figuring out your own grade wouldl be a very complicated math problem!  If you calculate your total points and it doesn’t reflect the grade you are receiving, it might be due to the weighting.  


Grammar

The adjectives group presented this week.  They put together a teaching video on adjectives (link below). Fill out the evaluation form for that group’s presentation on Google Classroom.


 The class was assigned homework on adjectives as well.  The worksheet and the worksheets must be self-corrected.  Make sure you note those corrections!.


Due to illness, the Interjections Group wasn’t able to present.  They (Lydia, Grace, Celia)  will present next week along with the Nouns Group (Vivi, Annie, Phoebe).  Be prepared!  I reminded the students they are responsible for:  a short teaching to explain the part of speech and a worksheet. They must coordinate with their group members to make it happen.  


Literature

We have finished Animal Farm and today we had a discussion about the characters and some themes and conflicts–specifically leadership, manipulation and propaganda (link to Google Slideshow below).  After that, students broke into groups to discuss their Character Sketches that were due today.  We will use this as a basis for our class activity next week.


Writing

Today was our first Writing Circles discussion.  We did not have time to discuss our writing goals, but students were to have filled out a short 4 question worksheet which was due today.  I wanted to devote time to peer reviewing the Personal Essay Rough Drafts.  


There is great  value in reading others’ writing–and value for both the writer (feedback!), and the reader who gets the chance to experience the essay from other angles.


We briefly discussed proofreading/editing marks and transition words/phrases.  I asked students to read the essay through a few times to evaluate mechanics and organization. The essays were made anonymous which helped ease any stress, and students were able to take their classmates’ feedback home with them to use during the revision process.  Personal Essay finals are due next week (Oct. 13).


Have a blessed week!

Mrs. G


Homework

Links for this Week

 

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