CHAT Writing 1--Week 1 (August 27)

 

We've started out our new school year well.  I'm looking forward to working with this group of students.  Below are the Class Notes for this week.  Every week I will send out notes similar to these.  I include the topics of the class and the direction of instruction.  At the bottom of each email I list the homework and links to the blog, to the Google Classroom assignments, and to any other helpful information.

We started with a timed in-class writing assignment. I gave them a prompt, handed out Blue Books and set the timer for 20 minutes. The rationale for this assignment is to simply get their writing juices flowing AND to give them a baseline of their skill level. My hope is that by the end of the year, they will see vast improvement in their ability to write clearly and effectively. I “suffered” along with them by participating myself.  (I hope everyone comes back next week. 🙂) 

During a short break, they enjoyed a “food reward” while filling out a “name tent one-pager” with their names and some information about themselves. Having the names is not only a help for me, but for them as they get to know each other better and we build a supportive class community.

After that, we got right into the nitty-gritty class details: expectations, homework deadlines and the syllabus. I talked about the importance of “budgeting” for about one hour each weekday to Writing class. I suggested they map out their week by designating a chunk of homework to that day.  

For example:  

Fridays=literature 

Mondays=grammar worksheets

Tuesdays & Wednesday=essays & writing

By chunking it down, they will avoid having that work pile up. They have an assignment of having a parent sign the Guidelines–they can bring them in next week or submit on GC. 

Included in our class business was a slide show that presented a sort of “carrot and stick” approach to generative AI. I hoped that this would be a “pep talk” about the importance of learning how to think critically and write clearly. 

The carrot:  Writing is simply thinking–it’s thinking made manifest. To think is a God given gift. The author John Warner said that “To outsource writing and reading is to cease being human.” We took a minute to discuss the validity of that statement. 

The stick: We talked about acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI and I reviewed the consequences of using AI to do your homework or write essays instead. I have also sent a summary of the Academic Integrity Agreement along with a home with students for both students and parents to sign.

On to more delightful topics: our Literature selection for this semester –Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.  Today, we read Peter’s origin story from  chapter 2 Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. This book was written for adults in 1906 and in it we get a glimpse of Peter before he is more fully developed in Barrie’s later work, Peter Pan & Wendy. Definitely different from the Disney version! 

For homework, students should finish that chapter and continue on to chapters 1 & 2 of Peter Pan. Then they should complete the Reader Response.

No Grammar this week -- we'll jump in with both feet next week! 

Assignments for Next Week

Welcome Back #1

Welcome Back #2

Signed Guidelines & Assembled Binders

Finish Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens ch. 2

Read Peter Pan chapters 1 & 2

Audiobooks

Reader Response–new book “Fortune Teller”

Materials for this Week:

Writing 1 Assignments Checklist

Writing 1 Syllabus

Homework and Late Dates

Audiobooks

About the Author J.M. Barrie

Scanning handwritten homework tutorial

How to turn off notifications tutorial

Warner, John. More than Words. Basic Books, 4 Feb. 2025.