As always, we had a productive class. I really enjoy this group of students. For our Quick Write today,
we played a word game, Give Me Five, that I had gotten while in
England. The game consists of a deck of cards with categories (Fruits
and Vegetables, Items found in a Bedroom, Pets, Types of Meals, etc.)
and letter of the alphabet. Either I or a student drew a card, and the
students had to write 5 things that fit that card. The students got
points for any answers they had written that were unique; in other
words, they were the only ones who had written that answer. We played a
few rounds. I like activities like this because it 1) plays with
words; 2) causes everyone to be involved; 3) forces the students to
think creatively; and 4) is interactive and helps us to continue to
develop good class dynamics.
We corrected the Final Exam for My Antonia, which was a fairly easy multiple choice test. As an end to our study of this book, we had two more presentations. One student spoke about the theme of recreating memories of the past and another presented his thoughts about the character Otto Fuchs. I am so pleased with how they've studied this book and come up with their own insights. I'll be correcting the essay responses over break.
We'll be reading some American Poetry for the rest of the semester. We read aloud a poem by Abraham Lincoln, "My Childhood's Home I See Again." Coincidentally, it also had a theme of remembrance. Below, in the assignments section, is a complete explanation of what they students are to read and how they are to respond to the poems.
I handed back their final drafts of their Comparison/Contrast Essays.
As the students work on revising their rough drafts into final drafts,
I'd like to remind them to carefully pay attention to the corrections and
comments that I made on the rough drafts. The rough drafts are to be
learning opportunities. The final drafts are opportunities to show that
they've been learning. I was pleased to see that some students not
only made grammar and punctuation corrections, but rewrote sections or
added more material. They are all becoming more skilled as writers of
essays. The students are to be working on their next writing
assignment, either an Extended Definition Essay or a Classification Essay, over their break.
No class next week. Have a happy Thanksgiving.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Write Extended Definition Essay or a Classification Essay rough draft
-- Read the following poems:
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
"Old Ironsides"
Walt Whitman
"I Hear America Singing"
"I Sit and Look Out"
"A Noiseless Patient Spider"
"O Captain! My Captain"
"When I Heard the Learn'd Astronaut"
Frances E. W. Harper
"Bury Me in a Free Land"
"Songs for the People"
Emma Lazarus
"The New Colossus"
-- For each poem:
Write the meaning for each poem in one or two sentences.
Note any symbols or images that contribute to the meaning of the poem.
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
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