Greetings!
We started our class today with a Western Quick Write. Last week my town Northfield celebrated the Defeat of Jesse James,
and I thought I would extend the theme to my class. I did my best to
put on a cowboy/western accent. The students can be the judge regarding
how well I did. I must admit that my cheap, fake cowboy boots only
made it about 10 minutes through the class.
We spent the bulk of our time discussing grammar and writing issues that came up in their Rough Drafts.
I find that you can teach a lot of grammar rules, but it isn't until a
student does his own writing that the rules start to make sense. If
your students are having any problems or don't understand my comments,
please have them contact me. For first essays, the students have done
wonderful jobs.
As the students work on their rough drafts preparing them as Final Copies,
they should pay special attention to the marks and comments that I've
made. I'd like them to hand in both the rough drafts and final copies
together.
Because we spent so much time on the rough drafts, I didn't cover the other materials from the Grammar Plan.
I gave the students a handout for prepositional, participial, and
gerund phrases. We'll discuss those next week. I will also be sending
another e-mail with links to some grammar videos. One of their
assignments for next week is to watch one video and list 3 grammar
facts.
The students were assigned pages 24 - 47 of My Antonia
which
we discussed this morning. I pointed out to them that this book is an
"episodic novel." In other words, the book doesn't have a typical plot
that has rising action, a climax, and a resolution/ denouement. Instead,
it's a series of snapshots that Jim Burden remembers about Antonia.
A note about the classroom: I like a lot of discussion and
interaction in my classroom. Today, however, we had too much
interaction, unnecessary comments, and "inappropriate disruptions," so
I'd like to remind everyone about the CHAT policies:
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS: Each tutor has the
responsibility and authority to set behavioral expectations in order to
maintain an educational setting that provides for effective learning
without inappropriate disruption. In these individual settings, each
student is to comply with each tutor’s requirements with the
understanding that there will be variances between classes.
The explanation of consequences are at this link. Please re-read them.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Final Copy of Personal Essay.
-- Read WEEK 3 grammar worksheet.
-- Read pages 47 - 69 and be prepared to discuss the questions on the study guide.
-- Watch one of the videos (message with links in another
e-mail) and list 3 new grammar details that you learned.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
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