Class Notes–Week 5 (2/15)

 The snowflakes flew today-finally!  They are actually a welcome sight, but may have kept some at home today as we were down a few students.  If you were gone, just read these and you’ll be in good shape!

Our Quick Write today was a creative one!  After watching this video, students brainstormed some ideas for villains compiled a to-list for this villain’s day off.  It is humorous to imagine Darth Vader’s downtime from being a bad guy.  Maybe he binge watches “Wild Kratts”? 

After that, we got down to the business of Writing.  As a reminder, the writing assignment is not a traditional essay as we have been working on in this class.  Instead, this is a writing project with two parts.

 Last week Part A of our Propaganda Project was introduced where students use propaganda techniques and choose to compose a poster, a speech or an advertisement.  After answering a few questions about that project, I reminded students they will need to bring a copy of their projects to class next class for Peer Review.

Today, Part B:  Brief Blog Post was introduced.  In this part, students will choose an advertisement (Youtube is a good source) and they will analyze it for propaganda techniques and rhetorical devices.  They will post their analysis and link to their ad.  In order to get full credit, they will need to comment on another classmate’s post.

Literature

Today’s class was the last day of discussion about Animal Farm because we have officially finished it!  Before students take the Animal Farm Final Exam posted on Google Classroom, I wanted to pause and allow students to think deeply about the connections between characters, themes, symbols and allegorical elements of the novella.  We accomplished this by diving into a “Hexagon Discussion.”  Honestly, I was impressed with the deep thinking that took place–I heard many insightful connections!  At the end of discussion time, each group shared their most profound connection–students will be graded on the quality of their assertions.

I passed out our next book which is a collection of short stories by O. Henry.  They are to read two of them and complete a Short Story Worksheets.

Deep discussion takes time!  Because of that, I did not assign any Grammar worksheets.  Take a break from that and next class we’ll dive in with both feet.

Have a wonderful week off of CHAT and reach out with any questions you might have.  I hope to get Grade Reports out early next week, so keep an eye out for those.

Blessings,
Mrs. G

Homework

About Part A:  Create Your Own Propaganda

Create Your Own Propaganda

About Part B:  Create Your Own Blog Post

Post Your Blog Post (due (3/7)

Animal Farm Final Exam

Read:  “Gift of the Magi” & “After Twenty Years”

Short Story Worksheets

Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 5 (2/8)

 Greetings!

The weather was unseasonably warm and our class was in high spirits.  What a joy these students are to teach every week!

Secrets!  We had several Quick Write prompts dealing with secrets, surprises or mysteries today.  Students could pick one and respond in writing.  They had fun sharing some mysterious activities by neighbors–both fictional and in real life!

After that, we had a wonderful, insightful class discussion on Animal Farm in the Literature section of our class.  We have read up to chapter 8–almost done with the book–and today’s discussion topic centered around the theme of truth and lies.  I asked students to take a moment to think about the role deception played in the events so far.  They shared thoughts within pairs and then with the large group.  They had some very interesting observations relating to real events in world history.  We watched a short video on the role propaganda played in Animal Farm and then students generated some examples of propaganda from the novel.  

Since we are wrapping up the novel next week, we took some time to think about all the different characters we’ve met so far. They had some time to brainstorm 3 strengths and 3 weaknesses of one of them.  For homework, they’ll need to write a “character sketch” that details these aspects of their chosen character.  They should finish the novel and complete the Reader Response questions.

For Writing,  the Final Drafts of the Urban Legend essays and Endnotes were due today, I rolled out the next writing assignment.  This time, we won’t be writing an essay, but instead diving into a writing project.  Fittingly, the topic is propaganda and there will be two parts to this project.  Part 1 of the Propaganda Project is student choice.  They will choose to compose a poster, write a speech or create an advertisement based on either Animal Farm or a real life issue.  In Part 2 of the project, they will do a write up explaining why they made the creative choices they made. After that, they worked in pairs, on a propaganda worksheet and were assigned to watch an Edpuzzle video/Quiz on the topic during the week. There is no Pre-Write for this project; you will need to be ready to Peer Review it on 2/29. 

At the end of class, I assigned the Grammar worksheets, practicing identifying and classifying prepositional phrases.  Prepositional phrases function either as adjective phrases or adverb phrases, and it can be tricky to tell what kind of phrase it is.  They have these as homework.

Blessings on your weekend!

Mrs. G

   

Homework

Read Ch. 8 & 10 Animal Farm

Ch. 9 & 10–3 Responses

Animal Farm Character Sketch

About the Propaganda Project

Propaganda Edpuzzle & Quiz

Classifying Prep Phrases

Prepositional Phrases -- Adj or Adv

Links for This Week

Propaganda Video 

Propaganda Techniques Worksheet and KEY

CHAT Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 4 (2/1)

 Hello All,

It was great to have class again this week amidst this crazy, wonderful, warm winter weather!

As usual, we started out with a Quick Write on the topic of their choosing:  Read-alouds, handwriting, or pies.  They are random–but based on the National Days calendar.  It was fun to hear what they had written about!

We spent the bulk of our time on Writing.  I have returned the Urban Legend Rough Drafts and we went over some areas of weakness that were common in the papers I have graded.  First, we talked about a “Secret Weapon”:  A Formula for Essay Writing.  We revisited all the components of a well-written essay and discussed what elements are essential for each part by filling in an outline.  Students may keep that for reference in the future.  

After that, we talked about the importance of citing sources to avoid plagiarism.  With the prevalence of tools like ChatGPT (AI) and the ease of simply cutting and pasting, it’s more important than ever for students to be equipped to use these tools in an ethical manner.  We discussed some strengths of AI and some weaknesses and a few students had some great ideas!  

One way to use these tools with integrity is to cite sources.  We reviewed the basics of MLA citations and Caroline gave us a quick tutorial on how to do an awesome Works Cited page.  One key she gave was:  when in doubt, check with Purdue OWL.  Thanks, Caroline!  Urban Legends Final Drafts are due next week!

We are moving along in Animal Farm and are up to chapter 6.  We broke into groups and had a 4 Square Style Discussion over the significant events in those chapters.  I told the students I wish we had the entire class time to just talk about the book and many agreed.  Instead of reader response questions, they have a take home quiz to complete on Google Classroom.

Alas, time moves on and Grammar awaits.  Today’s topic was on a Simple Sentences Review and the other was practice on prepositional phrases.  Make sure to correct your work before you turn it in!

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Homework

MLA Citations

Urban Legends Final Draft

Urban Legends End Notes

Urban Legends Endnotes

Take Home Quiz #2

Simple Sentences Review

Prepositional Phrases Practice

Links For This Week

Essay Formula + Citations Two Ways/Using AI

CHAT Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 3 (1/25)

Greetings!

We had a fun, fast-paced class today where we accomplished a lot!

We started out with our Quick Write and students had a choice of prompts to write about:

• What is a favorite childhood memory?

• What is one of the best days of your life?

• What was a highlight of your week?

They shared some interesting stories!

After that, we dove into a Grammar lesson on simple sentences.  Since we haven’t had time in the past few weeks to focus on grammar, we took an extended amount of time to dig in and catch up. The topics were Subject-Verb agreement and Compound Subjects and Compound Predicates.  Using the doc camera and big screen, we worked through several examples where we practiced identifying subjects and predicates and made sure those two were in agreement, and looked at how to vary sentences by inverting that order.  Students should complete and correct their worksheets and hand them in next week.

Next, we switched gears to the Writing portion of our class where we talked about the Urban Legend Rough Drafts.  We briefly discussed the fact that they need four reliable sources and use at least four MLA Style citations and a Works Cited page.  We are building on skills they acquired in the first semester, and there are materials students can access on Google Classroom with information on those skills.  Students had some time to Peer Review a classmate’s essay using the Peer Review sheet.  If they didn’t finish in class, they should have a friend or family member complete it at home.  Once they get feedback from me, they are clear to begin recording their Final Drafts.  

In Literature, we had a short check-in about the Animal Farm.  We are getting momentum in the story now and we reviewed the ballad that was sung in chapter 1–”Beasts of England.”  We discussed how the song was filled with descriptive images, hope for a bright future of what life will be like when they finally get rid of the oppression of man.  After that, we stood up and sang it to the tune of “O My Darling Clementine.”  In true capitalist style, enthusiastic singers received a grammar homework coupon.  (In true communistic style, they ALL received one! ;)  As homework, they are to read chapters 5 & 6 and complete 3 Study Guide questions.

Homework 

Subject-Verb Agreement

Complete Subj-Predicate/Inverted Order

Simple Sentences (Compound Subjects)

Simple Sentences (Compound Predicates)

Urban Legend Rough Draft (if not yet done)

Urban Legend Peer Review

Read Chs. 5 & 6

Ch. 5 & 6 Questions

Links for this Week

MLA Citations Review & Works Cited Review

O My Darlin’ Clementine Karaoke (for “Beasts of England”)

Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 2 (January 18)

 Today’s class absolutely flew by!  I think it must have been because we were having fun?  At least I can speak for myself.  Here’s a recap with some links.

We started our day with a Quick Write as usual.  Students could choose from a list of prompts I had gathered from some of my previous classes:

• What are some of your pet peeves?

• What do you do that really annoys other people?

• What is the grossest thing you've ever eaten?

• What is the best and worst part of your house?

After that, we did a deep dive in the Writing section of our class about our upcoming essay–Urban Legends.  Since they are required to research and have at least four sources of information, we had a mini-lesson on vetting RELIABLE sources of information.  Since our world is so full of “misinformation”, fake news and bias, I want to help students sharpen their critical thinking skills as they assess where information is coming from and whether it should be trusted.  To that end, I introduced the “sniff test”--I  mean the CRAAP test (is that any better?)  We watched a video and took notes on Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose.  As they are choosing resources, they should put each one through this reliability test.  We discussed the fact that on its own Wikipedia is not a reliable source because it lacks authority.  However, it is a valuable site as a source of other linked sources. In other words, Wikipedia is a good place to start their research, and should not be a stand alone resource.

After that, we read aloud the Mentor Text for this essay.  They were given a checklist and then found different pieces like hook, thesis, roadmap sentence, transitions, quotes and so on.  They compared notes with their group and discussed the essay’s effectiveness.  The Rough Drafts are due next week (1/25). Bring a hard copy to class for peer review.

Grammar

As I mentioned, the class time zoomed by and there was just enough time for me to introduce this semester’s grammar focus:  Basic Sentence Patterns.  I handed out two worksheets and students are to complete and correct them.  Don’t forget to mark your corrections!

Literature

This is where we were pinched for time.  I didn’t get to go over this part very much in class, so please read this carefully:  keep reading Animal Farm (ch. 3 & 4) and complete a Quiz on Google Classroom over chapters 1-4.  The assignment “What Makes A Good Leader?” is due next week along with a quick Discussion Question on Google Classroom on a leader’s top character quality.  Finally, students should prepare for a class discussion by reviewing the 4 Square Discussion questions.

Homework

Urban Legend Rough Draft–Bring a hard copy to class for Peer Review!

Sentence Patterns–N-V

What is a Sentence?

Read Ch. 3 & 4 of Animal Farm

Animal Farm Quiz Ch. 1-4

“What Makes a Good Leader?”

Discussion Question;  Top Character Quality

Four Square Discussion Questions

Links for this Week

Basic Sentence Patterns

CRAAP Test

Writing 1 Class Notes–Week 1 (January 11)

 Hello Dear Students,

It was good to be back together again in the new year!  The sun was even shining, which matched the shining faces I saw 🙂

We started the day out with a Quick Write.  They had a choice to either write about National Kiss A Ginger Day (yes, that’s a real day!) and National Tea Day.

After that, we previewed the Spring Syllabus, Homework Checklist and Late Homework dates linked below.  We highlighted the important due dates and took a brief look at what this semester has in store.

The first essay for Writing this year is a persuasive essay about Urban Legends.  I am excited about this topic and writing an essay right along with them!  We discussed what an urban legend is and watched a video about six fairly famous ones.  After that, we talked about their mission:  to explain an urban legend, discuss why so many people believe it’s true and then to convincingly debunk it.  This essay will require researching (they need four reliable sources) and MLA citations and Works Cited page.  As such it is a more involved paper that will involve many skills we have learned so far.  This week, we tackled the Pre-Write (due next week) and discussed the structure of how they might organize their paper.  Next week, we’ll talk about how to vet reliable sources and review MLA citations.

After that, we switched gears to introduce the novella Animal Farm.  After thinking about the three topics of Leadership, Government and Equity students had some time to discuss with each other and with the large group.  They had some interesting insights!  They especially had a lot to share on the topic of equity/equality.  There were some that argued that though we are all created with equal rights, some people have different gifts and therefore, in reality, it is impossible for everyone to be “equal.”  How smart is that!!  And in the current culture we live in, I am really glad to hear this common sense!  I told them that as the novella unfolds, we will see more of these themes.  

After our spirited discussion, we listened to the audio version read aloud for a few minutes.  They should continue reading (Ch. 1 & 2) and answer 3 Study Guide questions.  They also have a Vocabulary Worksheet that they should be filling out as they read–it will be due at the end of the unit.  To shed light on the background of the novella, they are to complete an EdPuzzle video on the Russian Revolution and read the Introduction to Animal Farm.  They should take the Quiz on the introduction after they have read it.

We had enough on our plate with a new essay and novel to introduce, so we will jump into Grammar with both feet next week–no Grammar this week;)

Enjoy your weekend!

Blessings, 

Mrs. G

Homework

Syllabus

Homework Checklist

Homework & Late Dates

Urban Legend Slide Show + Video

About Essay 1:  Urban Legends

Urban Legend Pre-Write

“What is Animal Farm” Slideshow

Read Ch. 1 & 2

Animal Farm Vocabulary Worksheet

Ch. 1 & 2 Study Guide Questions

EdPuzzle:  Animal Farm and the Russian Revolution

Introduction to Animal Farm

Introduction to Animal Farm Quiz (GC)

“What Makes A Good Leader?” Response (due Week 3)