Greetings!
After a few weeks of lighter-hearted Quick Writes,
I chose a more serious topic for today. Using the following quote from
Mark Twain, I asked to the students to comment on the relationship of
writing to truth. "Most writers regard the truth as their most valuable possession, and therefore are most economical in its use."
I also chose our Words of the Day since I had forgotten my alphabet dice at home. The words were: jojoba (Spanish; a small shrub whose waxy substance taken from the seeds is used in shampoo products), jodhpurs (Hindi; a style of riding breeches cut wide at the hip and close fitting at the calf), and joie de vivre (French; enjoyment of life or general enthusiasm).
I handed back their first Final Drafts
for this class. They all did a very good job. I'm excited about
seeing them grow as writers. I'm trying a new method for evaluating
their papers. (As a matter of information, pre-writes, which we will
start doing after
this next paper, are worth 5 points; rough drafts are 10; final drafts
are 40; and 5 reasons for corrections are 5.) In the past, I gave 10
points in each of the following three areas: content, organization, and
mechanics. I've devised an Essay Rubric for Writing 2 that
looks more holistically at different areas related to the writing of the
essay. In addition to the 3 areas mentioned above, I will also
evaluate the thesis, introduction, and conclusion of the paper. I've
attached an unmarked copy for you to look at. I've found
that students will struggle in one area but will do really well in
another. This rubric not only takes into account strengths and areas
needing growth, but it also can help the student choose which area
he/she would like to work on. Today we went through each area and each
level of writing
(Beginning, Developing, Proficient, Exceptional). Please let me know if
you have any questions or comments.
After our writing discussion, we covered some more Grammar.
Today the topic was parallel structures. Often you read a sentence,
and you know that it doesn't flow smoothly, but you're not quite sure
why. A common mistake for writers to make is when they are listing
items, and they use faulty parallel construction. We broke into groups
and the students came up with 2 bad sentences for the rest of us to
correct.
Our literature discussion was brief. We are in a new section of My Antonia.
Jim as moved into town with his grandparents, and Antonia has moved in
with his neighbors as a "hired girl." We are also moving away from the
rich descriptions of the prairie as Jim's life is more consumed with his
relationships with the people in town, especially the variety of hired
girls.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Grammar Worksheet on Parallel Structures
-- Read p. 94 - 118 of My Antonia
-- Using the study guide, answer 2 questions from Week 5 and 2 questions from Week 6 (4 all together.)
This week's blogs:
Class Notes
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Prichard
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