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)

Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 13 (November 30)

Students were energetic and ready to engage today.  I can’t believe we are nearing the end of the semester already!

Quick Write

Yesterday, November 29th was C.S. Lewis’ birthday.  Today’s QuickWrite is in honor of him.  After listening to the opening paragraphs of Voyage of the Dawn Treader, students invented a character of their own.  They used Lewis’ genius opening lines to imitate:

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he/she almost deserved it.

Students shared some amazing character descriptions.  I was impressed!

Writing

Essay 4 Rough Draft and Pre-Writes were due today.  Students had the opportunity to read and give feedback to each other on their Rough Drafts.  When you get comments and feedback from me, then you’ll start the process of revising and editing.  The Finals are due December 14–the last day of class.

Grammar

We had a fun and helpful Grammar review today.  We played a classroom version of the game “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” where we went over key grammar concepts from IVAN CAPP.  They should be prepared for the Grammar Post-Test that we’ll do on paper in class next week.  A helpful tip is to review the Grammar Pre-Test from the beginning of the semester before next week. The post-test will be the same, but will have some extra questions at the end.

Literature

Because this was a big review week for Grammar, we did not discuss Stave 3 of A Christmas Carol.  Next week we will work with the text in class.  Attention!!  I did not assign this in class–but Stave 4 and Study Guide questions are due next week.  There is also a Discussion Question posted.

Blessings on the rest of your week.

Mrs. G

Homework

Study for Grammar test

Read Stave 4 of ACC

Stave 4 Study Guide Questions

Discussion Question–The Best Scrooge

Essay 4 Peer Review (if you didn’t do it in class)

Links for this Week

QuickWrite (12/1)

“Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” Words of the Day Review

Grammar Review Packet

“Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” Grammar Review Game

Writing 1 Class Blog

Writing 1 Class Notes (Week 12)--November 16

 I am grateful for these students AND grateful for these last warm days of fall.  I hope you can find some time to enjoy this lovely weather.

Quick Write

Today’s Quick Write was Thanksgiving inspired as we focused on gratitude.  We watched a short video by Brene Brown.  We discussed the difference between these two statements:

It’s not joy that makes us grateful.   It’s gratitude that makes us joyful.

On that note, students filled out a gratitude journal page for their QuickWrite today.  

Homework Check

A reminder to students:  make sure you correct your grammar worksheets and show on the worksheet or the Google Classroom assignment that you're corrected it.  Also, make sure you turn in assignments that you've done on Google Classroom.  Grade reports were sent out last week for students to check which assignments may be missing.

Writing

Students have been assigned their last essay of this semester -- “A Leads to B”.  The paper is similar to a cause and effect essay, and the focus is on the connection between two events.  They are to think critically and ask how A leads to B.

 In class, we brainstormed possible topic ideas.  After that, students were given a skeleton outline of an A Leads to B essay about  Thanksgiving. The topic was:   How the tragic and miraculous life of Squanto (A) lead to the celebration of modern day. (B) 

Students spent some time drafting an introduction and conclusion for the skeleton essay.  They also answered some questions about where they are in the process of writing their own paper.  After thinking, they got into groups and discussed their answers.

The Pre-Write and Rough Draft are due the week after Thanksgiving break.  

Grammar

We had our last presentation for our parts of speech unit.  Today we heard from the Prepositions duo.  They had a slide presentation, a game, and a worksheet.  Students have Prepositions worksheets and evaluation to do for homework.  They also have a review of the last 4 parts of speech before the final test.  (CAPP Review)  I did not announce this in class!  Those are all posted on GC.

Literature

Though we didn’t have time to discuss the reading today, students are to keep reading A Christmas Carol Stave 3.  For homework they are to complete a 3 Responses worksheet.  Also, answer the Discussion question on Google Classroom.

Homework Links

Quick Write

Prepositions–1

Prepositions–2

Prepositions Evaluation

CAPP Review–-Conjunctions

CAPP Review–Adverbs

CAPP Review–Pronouns

CAPP Review–Prepositions

A Leads to B Rough Draft

Read Stave 3 of A Christmas Carol

Stave 3 Study Guide Questions

Discussion Question–Favorite Christmas Foods (GC)

Links for this Week

Brene Brown on Gratitude

Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 11 (11/9)

Hello Class!

We had a great, fast paced class today where students were engaged and learning well.  I love working with this group!

For our QuickWrite today students watched a short video by Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator Jordan Peterson.  After watching, they responded to whether they agree with Peterson’s claim that 

Writing is Thinking

We discussed whether they agreed or disagreed and I hope they were inspired to take ownership of their writing–learn to be articulate and deadly as Mr. Peterson asserts!

Grammar took the lion’s share of our class today–we had three presentations:  Conjunctions, Adverbs and Conjunctions.  The groups did a good job presenting their information!  Students got to interact with the material through activities, short lessons by me and worksheets.  They have two Adverbs and two Pronoun worksheets due next week.  Our last group will present next week and then we will finish the unit.

With the remaining class time was devoted to Writing and our last essay of the semester was introduced.  It’s called Essay 4: “A Leads to B”.  Students will be examining the connection between two events.  The example given in class was:

Event A=Covid restrictions, DEI curriculum, school discipline problems Led to Event B=a surge in homeschooling

As homework, they will need to brainstorm a major change or event and explain how this change came about.  Another angle is to look at something that exists today and explain how that thing came to be.  Ask:  How did A inspire B?  Their task is to explain the connection.

There are more examples on their Prewrite worksheet and that is due next week.  Rough draft is due Week 12 (11/30)-- the week after Thanksgiving break.  The Final is due the last day of class.

Enjoy the next few warmer fall days!

Blessings, 

Mrs. G

Homework

Conjunctions Evaluation

Adverbs HW–1

Adverbs HW–2

Adverbs Evaluation

Pronouns HW–1

Pronouns HW–2

Pronouns Evaluation

About Essay 4:  A Leads to B

A Leads to B Prewrite

Links for This Week

Jordan Peterson video

Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 11 (9/2)

 Dear Students,

Today was another full day.  The class was engaged and ready to learn–just what I like!

For our QuickWrite today, students had a choice on whether they would like to reflect on their thoughts about Halloween, or if they’d like to try their hand at writing an epitaph.  Afterall, it is National Epitaph Day today–as weird as that sounds.  They had fun making up a person and writing a few rhyming words to honor them.  Here is an example:

Here lies poor Billy.

Although it sounds silly,

he never ate anything green.

The candy that filled him

is also what killed him

the day after last Halloween.

Writing

I have graded and returned the Rough Drafts of Essay 3:  Who is This Special Person?  Students did a great job on their first pass at honoring someone special.  However, I noticed that many RD’s sounded a lot like narrative essays–essays sharing a personal experience.  I challenged the class to shift their focus instead to focus on their special person.  Instead of simply sharing personal stories and experiences from the student’s own perspective  about their person, they should instead write about what ingredients make their person so special.  Their Final Draft (due next week) should contain some combination of these elements:

After reading a model Mentor Text essay about my grandfather, students got into groups to discuss the hook, thesis, and roadmap sentence.  They also identified transition words and phrases and analyzed the conclusion.  Last, we  identified the controlling metaphor of the paper.  

The Final drafts are due next week along with all the process pieces:  Pre-Write, Peer Review, Final draft and Endnotes.  I am looking forward to seeing how students incorporate these elements!

Literature

To prepare for our next novella, students read  some introductory material and took a quiz over that on Google Classroom as homework last week. I introduced our next novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  We looked at Mr. Dickens’ original manuscript and read the opening paragraphs. 

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! We discussed the fact that though this story might be familiar to most, I want the students to focus on the music of Dickens’ writing as they read.  His word usage and sentence structure are masterful!

On that note, (ha!) students have been assigned a Vocabulary Sheet students should be using as they work their way through the book.

Grammar

Instead of squeezing in our Grammar Presentations and rushing through, we decided to have a mega-grammar week next week.  The Conjunctions, Adverbs and Pronouns group will all present their lessons next week, so buckle up!  No grammar homework this week!

Homework

Vocabulary Sheet

Stave 1; 3 Responses

Essay 3 Final Draft

Essay 3 Endnotes

Links for This Week

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol manuscript