Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 5 (February 18)

Greetings!

Another great class!  We began our class with our usual Quick Write.  This week, I had the students about their favorite childhood toys or games.  The prompt for this was a February 13, 1988 event -- the first International Building Competition sponsored by the LEGO Company.  We heard about board games, made-up games, little miniatures, and other toys.

Our Words of the Day were words of Latin origin:

quorum -- the minimum number of persons required for a business or board to make decisions

quid pro quo -- "something for something" or "this for that" -- an exchange of goods or services, where one transfer is contingent upon the other

cave canem -- Beware the Dog

Fac ut vivas -- "Get a life"

And our final phrase is one that often gets brought up when people are joking about knowing Latin.  

Semper ubi sub ubi  -- translates as "Always where under where"

Students handed in the final copies of their Mystery Stories.  I am really looking forward to reading these.  I've asked the students for permission to post their stories on the blog.  I did this with last year's group.  If any students really don't want their stories posted, they are not required to.  

We are now ready for our next essay: either a Cause/Effect Essay or a Problem/Solution Essay.  I gave them handouts for each, and they may choose one of the essays.  If they would like, they can write both kinds of essays; one would be for extra credit.

I handed out our next book, Great Short, Short Stories.  This book has a selection of European and American short stories.  For our next time together, they are to read 4 British stories.  Instead of worksheets or study guide questions, I would like the students to come up with 2 Discussion Questions for each story.  These questions should be those that are more than who, what, where, or when questions.  They should be how and why questions.

Finally, during our Grammar portion of the class, we had some more instruction and practice on the following phrases:  prepositional, participle, and gerund.  We had time to do a few from each section.

We do not have class next week.  The next time we meet is March 3.

Assignments for March 3:

-- Cause/Effect or Problem/Solution Pre-Write

-- Read Dickens, Wilde, Kipling, and Munro Short Stories

-- Write 2 Discussion Questions for each story

-- Grammar Worksheet

Links for this week:

Class Notes 

Phrases Worksheet

Note:  If you are curious, you can read last year's stories.  They are on the side bar of the blog.

Have a great weekend and a good break!

Mrs. Prichard

PHRASES WORKSHEET

Name:  _______________________________

PHRASES WORKSHEET

Prepositional Phrases, Participle Phrases, Gerund Phrases

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES:  These phrases are either adjectives or adverbs depending upon how they are used.  A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun.

            Examples:

·  At the high school, Mr. Thompson taught history.  (adverbial modifying taught)

·  The gym at the high school is sold out for the big game.  (adjectival modifying gym)

·  In 1892, James Corbett became the heavy weight champion of boxing.  (first phrase is and adverb; second phrase is an adjective)

            Same phrase used two different ways:

·  Ann found in her drink a fly.  (adverb phrase modifying found)

·  The fly in her drink bothered Ann.  (adj. phrase modifying bee)

·  From the shore, Randy caught fifteen catfish.  (adverb modifying caught)

·  Greg visited his friend from the shore of Lake Superior.  (adj. modifying friend)

PRACTICE

For each sentence, put the prepositional phrase in parentheses.  Circle the preposition.  Finally, determine if this phrase is an adjective phrase or an adverb phrase.  Draw an arrow to the word it modifies.        

                       

1.     The table in the kitchen was my mother’s.

2.     We put the table in the kitchen

3.     The keys in my pocket belong to my boss.

4.     I found the keys in my pocket.

5.     The bridge over the river is longer than the one over the creek.

6.     Using the bridge, the cars went over the river.

7.     The stars beyond the solar system are still a mystery.

8.     Let’s build a rocket that goes beyond the solar system.

9.     Between you and me, this cake of my aunt’s is dry on the outside.

10.                        The house of the father of my best friend’s uncle from Kansas is for sale.

PARTICIPLE PHRASES:  These phrases function as adjectives and contain a present or past participle.  Participles all tend to end in “’ing” (present participle), “-ed,” “-d,” “-en,” “-n,” or “-t” with a few exceptions like “swum” and “hung.”  Participial phrases are made up of a participle along with an object or modifier or both.  These adjective phrases are usually placed as near as possible to the words they modify.  Participles are the third and fourth principle parts of verbs.

Examples:

·  Fortified against an attack, Macbeth’s army almost deserted their leader.

·  Singing “Aida” in the shower, Gary annoyed his roommates. 

·  Marching in the parade, Patrick showed his Irish pride.

·  Dedicated to the health of the poor, Mother Theresa helped others.

·  Thrashing the shore with great force, the storm pounded the rocky coast of Maine.

PRACTICE

For each sentence below, underline the participle phrase.  Include the present or past participle and other parts of the phrase.  Draw an arrow to the noun or noun phrase that the participle phrase modifies. 

1.     Sam, encouraging his brother, cheered him on at the finish line.

2.     The growing population forced the city to build a new school.

3.     Studying math, Calvin is planning a career as an accountant.

4.     The mother quieted the sleeping baby.

5.     April, expecting an important phone call, waited in the hallway outside.

6.     The defeated soldiers laid down their weapons.

7.     The coffee shop, located on the north side, hosted a sing-along.

8.     She found the exhausted doctor asleep on one of the hospital beds.

9.     Mr. Larsen found the opened letter on his desk.

10.                        The basketball players walked away with wounded pride.

GERUND PHRASES:  Like any noun, a gerund phrase can function as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, or predicate nominative.  The gerund phrase is made up of the present participle (“-ing”) and can contain an object and/or a modifier (and sometimes many modifiers).  The gerund is a verbal noun.

Examples:

            Gerund phrase as a subject:

·  Making the varsity team is a challenging endeavor.

Gerund phrase as a direct object:

·  The rookie catchers practiced protecting the plate.

Gerund phrase as an indirect object:

·  If students give learning grammar a fair chance, their writing will improve.

·  My brother once gave swinging a golf club his undivided attention.

Gerund phrase as an Object of the Preposition:

·  Carrie got first prize by memorizing the most poetry.

Gerund phrase as a Predicate Nominative:

·  Robyn’s greatest accomplishment is singing in the opera.

PRACTICE

For each sentence below, underline the gerund phrase.  Label the phrase Subject, Direct Object, Indirect Object, Object of the Preposition, or Predicate Nominative.

1.     I love eating burgers and fries.

2.     Listening to the orchestra inspired me to practice more.

3.     Mrs. Jones heard loud growling in his back yard.

4.     A trait of successful employees is working cheerfully.

5.     I can hear from my window the hammering on the building.

6.     Ben is not very good at staying awake after 10:00 pm.

7.     Jumping on the trampoline gives Mandy all the exercise she needs.

8.     I am not very good at locating cities on a map.

9.     The candidates reveal their personalities by arguing with one another.

10.                        Some women use group cooking to prepare food for their families.

Literary Love Letter, 2016

Each year, either just before Valentine's Day or right after, I assign the students to write a "Literary Love Letter" as their Quick Write.  Below are this year's contributions.

A love letter to periods:
Oh Period,
How small and insignificant you are. How steadfast and strong, separating long and boring sentences like a bar.  With the other punctuation you stand, without praise, without song.  Among the others, you are most vital.

Words!  I love that you can express with them!

To a Quick Write
How I love your personality
Everything has a problem
Rambunctious at times
Melodramatic in nature
Incredibly worried about homework
Owl exams far in advance
Nothing compares to you
Emeralds remind me of you.

To My Dearest Adjective,
I must write to you to tell you how incredible you are.  Your talent at spicing up sentences and brimming life to them is something unparalleled.  Your broad range of ability is nothing short of amazement.  You truly are the best part of speech.

Dear Miss Elizabeth Bennett,
I am very very ill.  I have not been able to leave my bed since you left from your visit to Pemberly.  I feel like a child deprived of candy.  Like the moon without stars to shine with.  The sun has ceased to shine.  The grass has turned a dismal brown.  The flowers have died.  Oh, how I long to see you so that my life will have the light of the sun.  So that the flowers grow and the grass turns green.  The moon will have the stars to shine with the earth will have the warmth of the sun.  My wells have gone dry since you left.  Return to me so I may have water again. The crops have failed since you left.  Return so I have may have food.  I have declared my love for you.
Love,
Mr. Darcy


Dear Words,
What can I say -- you make me feel happy, joyful, excited.  But you also make me feel angry, hurt, and down.  You make me confused and disgusted.  Out of all these things, you make me feel loved.  Opening up a new book full of you makes me happy -- you create and express new stories in so many different ways.  You make me feel anxious and make me hold my breath.  You leave me second guessing.  There are no words to describe you, the way you make me so excited and hung up on a certain book.

Dear Words,
You make papers and letters love  You make love letters.  Words can be fancy and extravagant or the can be simple.  They can be loud or quiet.  I love you, Words.  You make words full of joy and love most of the time.
Love,
A Grateful Student

Dear Spellcheck,
You complete all my unfinished words.  You help me even when I didn't know I needed help.  Sometimes you spell my last name wrong, but it's OK.  I love you despite your flaws with names.  You are the reason I get through writing papers.  I couldn't do it without you!
Love,
Abigail

Dear Mrs. Prichard,
You are the best teacher CHAT has seen.  You make every class extraordinary to its fullest potential.  Thank you for being an amazing writing teacher.
Happy Valentine's Day,
Your favorite student

To Words,
If it weren't for words, we wouldn't know how to express ourselves.  We couldn't share our thoughts or feelings with one another.  In fact, I think it would show the true colors of someone because you would have to learn who they truly are by their actions, not their words.
~ Your Student

To the Pen or Pencil,
You're such a blessing to all.  Without you two, we wouldn't be able to express our thoughts.  We would hardly have creativity, but you brought that to us.  I love you, guys, and hope you will continue to bring us joy as we write and become more creative.
~ Your Student

Dear Titles of Papers,
Thank you for giving me an idea of what I'm about to read.  Without you, I would know whether I was reading about chickens or nuclear waste.
Thank you,
Love,
Your Student

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 4 (February 11)

Greetings!

We had a good week in class again.  Since this weekend we are celebrating Valentine's Day, I asked the students to write a Literary Love Letter as their Quick Writes.  We had comments of affection and appreciation for authors, punctuation marks, and even the spaces between words.  I plan to type them into the blog later this week.

Our Words of the Day were "Reduplicatives." These expressions are pairs of words that can repeat (bonbon), be similar (ping pong) or rhyme (higgeldy-piggeldy).  Our words:

shilly-shally -- to procrastinate, hesitate, or vacillate

tussie-mussie -- a bunch of flowers, a bouquet, nosegay

herky-jerky -- moving in a sudden, spasmodic, irregular way

wishy-washy -- lacking in decisiveness, determination, or purpose

I handed back the rough drafts for their Mystery Stories in class.  Well, I handed back most of them.  They were exceptionally prolific writers for this assignment; some of the stories were almost 10 pages long.  This has been, by far, the most fun I've had correcting rough drafts.  Unfortunately, I didn't budget enough time to get through all of them.  The remainders were sent out Thursday evening.

In class today we discussed some of the common errors that were found in the rough drafts of their Mystery Stories.  The primary difficulties were punctuating dialogue and being consistent with verb tenses.  Using their own writing is one of the best ways to teach grammar and writing principles.  This is one case when learning from mistakes is a great strategy.

We have finished the Sherlock Holmes stories and took time to discuss their definitions of heroism and their opinions about Sherlock as a hero.  As has happened in years past, the class was fairly evenly split in their opinions.  I look forward to reading their essays.

Assignments for Next Week

-- Final Drafts of Mystery Stories

-- No Literature assignment

-- No Grammar Worksheets

Links for this Week:

Class Notes

Happy Valentine's Day!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 3 (February 4)

Greetings!

We had a productive day in class this week.  Our Quick Write began with a discussion about figures of speech and cliches related to "hands."  We compiled quite a list: 

I gotta hand it to you; in the palm of my hand; being fingered for a crime; wrapped around my finger; 5-finger discount; back of my hand; a slap in the face; thumbs up/down; give me five; lend a hand; hand it over, etc.  After this little brainstorming, I asked the students to write something about hands.  They could use some of our cliches or they could write about the use of their hands.  When they were done, I had them watch a short video about hands by spoken word artist, Sarah Kay.

This week's Words of the Day were "coined words;" in other words, they were words that someone just made up and they ended up "sticking" in our American vocabulary.

boondoggle -- coined by Robert H. Link, a Boy Scout leader, in reference to a small braided piece on the scout uniform.  It has come to mean some project or venture that is a useless waste of time and resources.

heebie-jeebies -- coined by cartoonist Billy DeBeck in the early 1900s; a feeling of nervousness and creepiness

runcible -- coined by Edward Lear as a word with obscure meaning, it was later applied to a combination spoon, fork, and knife utensil; like a spork.

We discussed the Rough Drafts of their Mystery Stories this week.  One question that some students had brought up was concerning the suggested word count.  Most of them were finding that they were going over the limit and that it was pretty easy to write a lot.  My advice to them was to write what the story needs.  If it's short and concise and yet complete, they can consider it done.  This prompted a general conversation about word counts for essays.  Since they have shown themselves to be conscientious writers, we can discontinue the word counts for the next essays.  I feel that they have a good sense for when they have fully covered a topic.

I am especially excited to sit and read the rough draft of their stories.  While the rest of the American world is watching the Super Bowl, I will be curled up with a cup of tea reading these!

We're working on Phrases during the grammar section of class this semester in Writing 2, and we took time to work as groups on Prepositional Phrases.  In their groups, they were to come up with a selection of prepositional phrases, then write sentences using them, then determine if the phrases in the sentences were adjective phrases or adverb phrases, and finally draw an arrow from the phrase to the word it modifies.  Students can understand that an adjective or adverb is a word that modifies a noun or verb, respectively.  It's a bit harder to view a group of words (i.e. phrases) that do the work of an adjective or adverb.  They did marvelously!

Our final topic of discussion for the class time was their Final Essay Exam for the Sherlock Holmes stories.  After reading all six stories, I would like them to respond to this question:

What Makes a Hero?

Is Holmes a hero?  What qualities do you admire in heroes?  In at least 3 paragraphs, discuss whether or not Holmes possesses these qualities, using examples from the text.  Specific instances and quotes should support your comments.  You may want to consider whether some of the flaws Watson acknowledges keep Holmes from becoming truly heroic in their eyes.  Feel free to compare Holmes with other literary characters.

For this essay, they should first define what a hero is and then explain whether Holmes fits this description or not.  I will grade this essay on how many independent points and how many specific references they include. This is an open

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read "The Final Problem" and "The Empty House"

-- Final Exam for Sherlock Holmes

This Week's Links:

Class Notes

Sarah Kay's "Hands"

Writing 2 -- Sarah Kay's "Hands"

Sherlock Holmes -- The Final Problem audiobook

Sherlock Holmes Final Exam

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Sarah Kay's "Hands"

Our Quick Write began with a discussion about figures of speech and cliches related to "hands."  We compiled quite a list: 

I gotta hand it to you; in the palm of my hand; being fingered for a crime; wrapped around my finger; 5-finger discount; back of my hand; a slap in the face; thumbs up/down; give me five; lend a hand; hand it over, etc. 

 After this little brainstorming, I asked the students to write something about hands.  They could use some of our cliches or they could write about the use of their hands.  When they were done, I had them watch a short video about hands by spoken word artist, Sarah Kay.

Sherlock Holmes Final Exam

What Makes a Hero?

Is Holmes a hero?  What qualities do you admire in heroes?  In at least 3 paragraphs, discuss whether or not Holmes possesses these qualities, using examples from the text.  Specific instances and quotes should support your comments.  You may want to consider whether some of the flaws Watson acknowledges keep Holmes from becoming truly heroic in their eyes.  Feel free to compare Holmes with other literary characters.