Today, we started our Visual Vocabulary words for Spring. This is where we work with some ACT/SAT vocabulary words; we learn the definition, the part of speech, and use it in a sentence. I gave them this semester’s worksheet where the words will be cumulatively compiled. They turned in the sentences or prompts that they completed to help cement this word in their memories and to “furnish the mind” as writing teacher Andrew Pudewa says. I hope to see some of these words in composition this semester! The words today were: bellicose and presume.
Literature
We had a quick check-in today on Animal Farm. I asked them to think/pair/share on a few questions. They had some thought-provoking answers! After touching on the qualities of a good leader, I shared with them a free resource on the topic of socialism and communism. It’s a FREE course through Hillsdale College for those students who are interested in learning more about the political background of this novel. It is excellent!
Writing
Our focus today was largely on a paragraph technique called the TRIAC technique. The beauty of this model is that the paragraph almost writes itself. The paragraph uses the topic-clincher rule and the acronym stands for:
Topic
Restriction Make a statement or claim about the topic, which focuses the paragraph.
Illustration Give an example illustrating the statement or claim.
Analysis Explanation of the illustration.
Clincher
Together, we analyzed an example paragraph about pet iguanas. After that, we practiced with two more paragraphs where students found the function of each sentence in the paragraphs and noticed if there were any signal phrases used. The next step is to use this model to write a paragraph of their own as homework. They are to write a TRIAC paragraph on “What qualities make a great leader?” I hope this style of writing a paragraph will serve them to write purposeful paragraphs for years to come!
Grammar
After that, I introduced this semester’s grammar focus: Basic Sentence Patterns. I explained that while English depends largely on word order to convey meaning, other languages often rely on inflection (modifications to word forms) to determine relationships between words, making their sentence structures more flexible in comparison. Some students have studied another language, so they were able to illustrate that with examples.
We watched a Youtube Short on the Basic sentence patterns and I handed out two worksheets.
Students had time to get started on those and are to complete and correct them. Don’t forget to mark your corrections! (Please note that we are one week behind on our grammar worksheets. Hopefully we’ll catch up next week.)
Homework
Read Animal Farm Ch. 3 & 4
“What Makes a Good Leader?” TRIAC paragraph
Grammar worksheets
Links for this week
Hillsdale College Socialism/Marxism course
No comments:
Post a Comment