Writing 1 Class Notes--Week 4 (February 2)

Hello!

We had a fun class today -- as usual, we covered a lot of material.  We started with our Quick Write.  Here are the prompts for the day:

• February 2 –  World Read Aloud Day.  Do you have a favorite story that was read aloud to you

when you were young?  Write about it.

• February 4, 2004 –  the day that Facebook was launched.  Do you use Facebook?  What are

your thoughts about social media?

• February 4, 1789 – the day that George Washington was elected our first president by a

unanimous vote of the first electoral college. 

• Do you have any opinions about the electoral college?  Do you have opinions about what makes

for a good elected leader?

No Words of the Day today

We had a “Think, Pair, Share” style discussion about Richard Hannay and The Thirty-Nine StepsWe talked about what we liked and didn't like about the book, and shared an Annotation that stood out to

them and why.

 The students had some profound statements about the plot and the writing style. 

We watched a clip from the 2008 adaption of the book and then discussed if the Hannay in the movie

was like the one we imagined.  In the chapters that they will read for next week, the spy aspect of the

story will evolve, so that by the end, there is a solution to the whole mysterious situation.  For next week,

they will read Chapters 7 & 8 and take a quiz.  

ATTENTION:  I did not mention the quiz in class.  It is posted in Google Classroom.

We are catching up on Grammar this week.  Our topic was a short teaching on Compound Subjects and Compound Predicates along with a prepositional phrases review.  We worked on it for a bit in class, and students should correct their work before handing it in.  There are 4 worksheets due next week.

I graded the rough drafts of the Narrative Essays last week..  These were very enjoyable essays to read.  Many students wrote more than they usually did, and they told interesting stories in the contexts of their essays. I graded them as is my usual practice.  Because I want students to have more agency during their revision process, we tried a new way of editing today: Editing Stations.  I handed each student a copy of their Rough Draft, along with a rubric.  I divided the room into 6 different stations and, in pairs, students rotated through to edit/revise a specific aspect of their essay at each station.  The stations were:  Grammar (comma splices/run-ons and fragments), Dialogue, Sensory Language, Conflict, Peer Review, Teacher Review.  Since we had limited time to work with, students decided to spend longer at two stations, rather than to rush through more.  They are to take what they learned today, combine it with my suggestions and their own thoughts to produce a polished Final Draft.  (Due 2/9.)

Assignments for next week

• Narrative Essay Final Draft

• Read Ch. 7 & 8 of The 39 Steps

• Quiz:  Ch. 5 – 8 (GC) & Annotations (not listed on Syllabus)

• Ch. 7 & 8 Study Guide Questions

• Grammar – Wk4:  Compound Subjects

• Grammar -- Wk4:  Compound Predicates

• Grammar–Wk4:  Simple Sentences Review

• Grammar–Wk4:  Prepositional Phrase Review

Links for This Week

• The 39 Steps Audiobook and Youtube video options

Blessings on your week!

Mrs. G