Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 15 (December 14)

 Greetings!

We had a wonderful day today.  I try to get most of the hard work of the class done before this last week so that we could have some fun on this final day.  

Homework & Grades

Students handed in their final drafts of their Essay 4:  A Leads to B and Essay 4 Endnotes. I will go over the essays and any other homework that was handed in; my goal is to have final grades out soon.  I mentioned to the class that I will take any homework submitted by December 17 at 11:59 p.m. If there are any questions, please contact me.  Because I have final drafts from all of the classes, I know that I won't have the essays and homework ready for final grades until after Christmas.  Look for them some time after the New Year.  

A Test

First, we had a review in the shape of a Jeopardy game.  Most of the categories were related to A Christmas Carol, but there was one for Christmas jokes.  I divided the class into 4 teams, and they took turns answering questions.  There were 20 questions which they answered or tried to answer; when they got the wrong answer, the next team had an opportunity to “steal.”  It was a fairly competitive game.  (By the way, research also indicates that using gamification to ignite learning increases recall, retention, and cognitive growth.  So while we were having fun, we were still intellectually engaged in our topics.) After that, I handed out the paper test with 20 multiple choice questions.

A Contest

Following the test, we had the Annual Writing 1 Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest–there were some other choices for coloring and word searches too (as per their request last week.)  They were pretty intent on their drawing and coloring, which I complemented with some Christmas music.  We also enjoyed a Hot Chocolate Bar and cookies–thanks to the students who brought treats to share.  The class really enjoyed this wrapping up time together.

Links for this Week

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 15 (December 14)

Reindeer Games (all of the links for today's class)

Ugly Christmas Sweater Template

Gamification & Learning

ACC Vocabulary Worksheet (40 pts.)

ACC Vocabulary Quiz

Essay 4:  A Leads to B Final Draft

Essay 4:  A Leads to B Endnotes

My prayer is that all of you have a great Christmas that includes lots of love and laughter!

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Class Notes–Week 14 (December 8)

 We had a wonderful day in class today.  A lot of the hard work of the semester is over, so our "work" today was a little more fun.

No Quick Write today

Writing

I have graded the rough drafts of Essay 4:  A Leads to B. They should have them in their inboxes by now.   I really enjoyed reading these; they've chosen some fascinating topics, and they're becoming better writers.  The final drafts and Endnotes are due next week.   

Grammar

I took the Parts of Speech Post-Test in class today.  With the exception of the last page, it was identical to the Pre-Test.  

The best way of learning grammar is through lots of reading and writing. Direct instruction of grammar is important and helpful, and combined with literature and writing it can be pretty potent.  Next semester we'll be working on sentence structures.

Literature

First, I reminded the class about the A Christmas Carol vocabulary worksheet that is due next week.  If they have been defining four vocabulary words from each Stave as they have been reading, it should be a simple matter of finishing. It is worth 40 pts, so it is a bigger project.  

Along with that, they were assigned A Christmas Carol Vocabulary “Quiz”--they got started on it after the test and can finish it at home.  It is due next week.

Next is when we had some fun.  We will finish our second book, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  The class was divided into groups and, after looking at some examples, they chose an Improv type of presentation topic using A Christmas Carol characters and scenes.  They were to create a one minute story , a late night talk show, a news broadcast, a mime of a scene, or a new ghost for Scrooge.  I look forward to presenting them next week!

Next Week

Our last week of the semester is next week, December 14.  All work should be handed in by that date.  That said, they will be given until Sunday, December 17 to get any last work in.  They should not wait until then to do their work and hand it in.  Next week we will have our "Classy Classmas Party."  I will bring warm drinks, and students can bring goodies if they like.  We will combine work & play:   During the first part of the class,we will have the A Christmas Carol Final Exam followed by the Improv Presentations.  The rest of the class time we’ll spend enjoying Christmas games, music and holiday cheer. 

Assignments for Next Week:

Essay 4:  A Leads to B Final Draft

Essay 4 Endnotes

Be ready to present your ACC Improve presentations

ACC Vocabulary

ACC Vocabulary Quiz (Take Home)