Writing 2 - Categories & Scores

Another e-mail about grades

This year I am using a new online grade book, My Gradebook, and similar to Engrade, I can group homework by categories.  Below is an explanation of the categories.

Assignments:  This category is mostly Quick Writes, but it also includes the Word of the Day Test.  In part, you can view this as the classroom participation portion of the grade.  The intent of these low key assignments is to engage students with writing and with one another.  This category is also a catch-all for extra credit and miscellaneous assignments that don’t fit elsewhere.

Literature:  These are all of the assignments related to our literature selection.  They include study guide questions, vocabulary words, quizzes, tests, activities, etc.  For the most part, this is a quantity-related score.  If students did all of the assignments, their score is higher than if they had not done the homework. (Note:  I allowed students to do extra study guide questions and vocabulary; if they missed the work for one week, they could do extra the next to make that up.  That’s why you might see a high score in literature even though your students has “MIS” on some assignments.)

Grammar

This semester’s scores for the grammar portion of the class are mostly quality-related.  For work that I assigned, their scores reflect how much they got right and how much they got wrong.  Occasionally we do work in class, and that score is a participation score.

Writing:  The scores for this category reflect both quantity and quality.  Students are given a base score for the outlines and rough drafts.  Their final drafts are graded with a rubric; if they heed my comments and corrections, their papers are more likely to have higher scores.

As you can see, the different aspects of the class are weighed and scored differently.  In other words, a 100% score for Quick Writes does not carry the same importance as 100% in writing or grammar or literature. Because we do a variety of activities and homework options, grading for this class is not a strict numbers issue.  For that reason, I give the scores for the separate categories and then suggest a combined score.

Grades are coming soon,

Mrs. Prichard

Thoughts about Grades

Dear Parents & Students,

I've just finished calculating the grades for the first semester.  Please remember that I am a “tutor,” and these are suggested grades for you as homeschooling families to consider.

Before I send the grades, let me share my thoughts about them.  As I homeschooled, I didn't give my children grades because I felt that grades were far too subjective.  Learning to write well is a process, and I am more concerned that my students stay engaged in the process than I am in the final products.

                Letter grades are a funny thing.  For some students, it becomes the only motivation for doing well.  For some, it becomes a measure of their worth as a person or as an academic learner.  I personally don't like these "side effects" of the grading system.  On the other hand, grades can be a valid reward for working hard, being diligent, and understanding the materials.  Incentives and consequences are a part of life; God uses them, too.

                When teaching students to be good writers, I give a lot of consideration for growth and improvement. Each student has a starting place; over time I look for him or her to learn the mechanics of grammar, good writing techniques, and analytical thinking skills; they then move on from that original starting place.

                For this class, I gave points for attendance, participation, short assignments and longer papers.   I tend to be an "easy grader" and like to see my students encouraged to do their best.  Becoming a good writer is hard work, and too often students are discouraged before they’ve given themselves a chance to succeed.

                Each student (and their parents) will get an e-mail with percentages and suggested grades for this semester. I will explain more about the specific scores and categories in another e-mail.

Blessings,

Tammy Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 15 (December 15)

Greetings!

We've done it!  We've successfully finished another semester!  This has been a great class, and the students have worked hard reading and writing.

Our Quick Write today was more of a Quick Draw.  I asked students to draw an Ugly Christmas Sweater, and those who were willing entered those into a class "contest."  They were quite creative!  I'll attach the handout in case any moms or dads want to design a sweater.

We did not have a Word of the Day today because we had a Word of the Day TEST.  It wasn't very hard if the students were familiar with most of the words.  We corrected it in class, and they did a good job.

Students handed in their Final Drafts of their Comparison/Contrast Essays (along with the rough drafts, of course).  I had also sent out an e-mail asking them to bring in any old, late assignments.  (More about this later.)

Finally, we played a game called "Bowls."  I pre-selected some Christmas/Winter-related words and put them in a bag.  Students had to get their teammates to guess the words (like Catch-Phrase).  For the second round, they had to get their teammates to guess the words using only actions (like Charades).  I'm afraid that we ran out of time, but for the final round, they would have tried to get their teammates to guess the words using only one word as a clue.  Here's a link to a variation of this game.

We also played a Mad Libs with "The Night Before Christmas."

For the most part, students are "Homework Free" for the Christmas break.  As soon as I get the final papers graded and the test scores entered, I will be sending out grades.  I'm using a new, online grade book this year that is not as easy to use as my old one, so I'm still figuring out the best way to send those scores.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.  

We've had a great semester, and I'm looking forward to seeing this amazing group of students in January!

(By the way, remember that if you are planning on taking the Spring semester of this class, you need to register with Kim Nelson.  Even though it's a year long class, you register a semester at a time.)

Have a very blessed Christmas!

Mrs. Prichard

Links for this Week:

Class Notes

The Night Before Christmas Mad Libs

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest

Word of the Day Test

Bowls Game

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest

Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest

Word of the Day -- Final Test

A.      Match the words from the Words of the Day list with its synonyms.

Placid                                             Unconquerable

Avaricious                                      Chaos

Candid                                           Ask

Impregnable                                   Frail

Pandemonium                                 Dagger

Squabble                                        Peaceful

Inquire                                            Frank

Feeble                                            Quarrel

Dirk                                               Greedy

Discrepancy                                   Inconsistency

           

B.     Fill in the blank with the missing words of the sentence.

1.      The _____________________ little village could have been a postcard

2.      The ______________________ in the old lady’s hands made it hard for her to knit.

3.      The spy was __________________ when she came to school posing as a teacher.

4.      Known for his _______________, the knight fought back many dragons.

5.      She inherited a __________________ of a landscape from her great grandmother.

6.      The ______________________ planned many performances throughout Europe.

7.      The _______________________ is the back of the hand.

8.      The people applauded the king’s _________________________ after his noble deeds.

9.      She mixed _______________________ with herbs for a delicious sauce.

incognito                       prowess                       yoghurt             opisthenar                     picturesque

impresario                    magnanimity                  rheumatism                   chromo

C.      Circle the correct answer to complete the sentence

1.       A yeshiva is a place where students

a.       make yogurt.

b.      sing Christmas songs.

c.       study and learn about Jewish religion.

d.      exercise their toe muscles.

2.      The curved tip on the wooden handle of a knife is called a

a.       neb

b.      point

c.       flebber

d.      kabuzzle

3.       You might learn about the techniques for impasto at

a.       preschool

b.      cooking school

c.       military school

d.      art school

4.      If something is anomalous, it is

a.       expected

b.      abnormal

c.       boring

d.      extravagant

5.      A big, clumsy person is a

a.       waffle

b.      lubber

c.       colporteur

d.      boffola

6.      Mr. Jones held his umbrella and poked me with the

a.       ferrule

b.      lovone

c.       halo

d.      waffle

7.      My father fixed the hinge by putting the _______ in place.

a.       pintle

b.      plenty

c.       palladium

d.      plank

8.      A blatherskite is someone who

a.       blethers

b.      sings and dances

c.       spends lots of money

d.      never talks

D.     True or False

________  1.  An aglet is the plastic end of a shoe lace.

________  2.  Limpid refers to water that is clear, transparent, or calm.

________  3.  Serious and responsible people are known for their frivolity.

________  4.  An eloquent person stumbles over his words and never knows what to say.

________  5.  A good night’s sleep can be a good palliation for a cold or flu.

________  6.  The Mongolians assemble yurts for their families to live in.

________  7.  A yarlmulke is a multi-colored cape worn by native Antarcticans.

________  8.  Jowls are the back sides of your elbows.

________  9.  A chimb is the metal rim of a barrel.

E.      Match the phrases with their meanings.

Laus Deo                                 Latin, “a praiser of times past”

Laudator temporis acti  Latin, “deeds not words”

Res publica                               Latin, “in [his] absence”

Res non verba                          Latin, “restorer”

In abstentia                               Latin, “chamber pot”

Resaurateur                              Latin, “Praise be to God”

Lasagne                                    Latin, “of the public”

F.      Below are lists of synonyms.  Cross out the two words in each line that doesn’t fit in the line.

         1.         say      chat      verbalize      write      articulate      converse      gossip      talk       jump

         2.         walk       amble      cry      move       saunter        shuffle       hike      stroll      slumber

         3.         leave      go      relocate      transfer       propel       whine      proceed       cringe

         4.         mention       declare       respond      tell      bake      communicate      sauté       announce

EXTRA CREDIT:

Of these 3 words, which do you like the most and why?  Make sure you give the definition for the word.

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 14 (December 8)

Greetings!

Fourteen weeks down and ONE to go.  Since I know what we're going to do next semester, I'm already looking forward to another 15 weeks of writing and reading with this great group of students.

For our Quick Write this week, I asked students to invent something that they feel the world needs.  While it may be a while until technology catches up to some of the ideas, they had some practical and creative new items to add to our world.

Our final Words of the Day were Christmas-related words:

yule -- origin uncertain -- the winter festival celebrated by Germanic peoples that was Christianized and reformulized into Christmas

nativity -- fr. Latin, nativus, born -- birth, especially referring to the birth of Jesus

carol -- fr. Middle English, carole, a ringdance with song, fr. Latin corolla, a pipe dance -- a song of joy, especially referring to Christmas songs

epiphany -- fr. Latin, epiphania, to appear -- the manifestation of Christ to the Magi

Speaking of Words of the Day, we will have our Words of the Day Test next week during class.  I've attached a study guide with all of our words.  The test will be a combination of multiple choice, true/false, matching, and fill-in-the-blank.  It won't be a hard test, but it is another opportunity for me to promote my passion for words!

I handed back the Rough Drafts of their Comparison/ Contrast Essays.  We went through common corrections made on these essays.  I maintain that students learn best how to write by simply writing and then learning from their mistakes.  Some of these mistakes that we talked about this week:  using last or whole names instead of first names, comma splice sentences, fragments, parallel construction.

Students were given a half sheet for them to fill out as they revise their rough drafts.  They are to note the first five errors in their papers and to comment on the area they want to focus on for their next papers.

We finished up the class watching a couple videos about Mark Twain.  The first was a story about Twain's brush with death via a duel.  The second was a Hal Holbrook presentation as Twain, in which he talks about lying and slavery.  Twain was able to be funny and profound at the same time.

Next week, we will take the Word of the Day test, have some literature/Christmas activities, and share some treats.  We had some requests for ugly sweaters.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Final Draft of Comparison/Contrast Essay

-- First Five Mistakes sheet

-- Study for Words of the Day Test.

Links for this week:

Class Notes

My First 5 Errors

Words of the Day Study Guide

Mark Twain's Gunfight

Mark Twain on Lies and Slavery

Blessings and stay safe in the snow!

Mrs. Prichard

Words of the Day Study Guide

Week 1

ferrule:  the cap at the end of the staff of an umbrella

pintle:  the verticl pin inserted in a hinge

aglet:  the plastic end of a shoe lace

chimb: the metal rim of a barrel

neb:  the curved tip on the wooden handle of a knife

opisthenar:  the back of the hand

Week 2

candid -- (fr. Latin, candidus, white); frank, outspoken, open and sincere

blether -- (fr. Old Norse, blathr, nonsense); foolish talk

magnanimity -- (fr. Latin, magnus, great, large); a high-minded, noble act

Week 3

picturesque -- visually charming or quaint, as if resembling or suitable for a painting

anomalous -- deviating from or inconsistent with the common order, form, or rule; irregular; abnormal

impregnable -- strong enough to resist or withstand attack; not to be taken by force, unconquerable

Week 4

Prowess-- fr. Old French proesse, bravery -- exceptional bravery, courage, or ability

Feeble-- fr. Latin flebilis, lamentable -- physically weak; frail

Dirk-- fr. Scottish -- a dagger from the Scottish Highlands

Week 5

Pandemonium -- fr. Milton's capital of hell in Paradise Lost -- a wild uproar or unrestrained chaos

Lubber -- fr. Middle English lob, a clumsy person -- a big, clumsy, stupid person

Squabble -- fr. Swedish sqvabbel, to quarrel or gossip -- to verbally engage in a petty quarrel

Limpid -- fr. Latin limpidus, clear -- clear, transparent, calm, especially with water

Week 6

Chromo-- fr. Greek, khroma, color -- a shortened version of chromolithograph, which is a picture printed in colors from a series of lithographic stones or plates

Inquire-- fr. Latin, inquirere, to seek for -- to seek information by asking

Frivolity-- fr. Latin, frivolus, worthless, trifling-- an act that is self-indulgent and carefree, lacking seriousness

Week 7

Jowls-- fr. Middle English, chawl, jaw -- the lower part of the cheeks

Discrepancy  -- fr. Latin, discrepare, to sound discordant -- the state of being inconsistent or in disagreement

Eloquent -- fr. Latin, eloquent, speaking out -- having fluent, forceful, and appropriate speech

Week 8

Rheumatism-- fr. Greek, rheu/rhei, flow, stream -- any disorder of the extremities or back, characterized by pain and stiffness

Placid-- fr. Latin placidus , calm, quiet -- pleasantly calm or peaceful

Avaricious-- fr. Latin, avaritia, greed -- characterized by an insatiable greed for riches; an inordinate, miserly desicre to gand and hoard wealth

Palliation-- fr. Latin palliatus, to cloaked, covered-- relieving or lessening without curing; alleviate, mitigate

Week 9

impasto -- fr. Italian, impastare, a paste,  -- laying paint thickly or using pigmented plaster to create a raised effect

impresario -- fr. Italian, imprendere, to undertake  -- a person who organizes and produces a theatrical performance

in absentia -- fr. Latin, in absentia, in [his] absence -- in the absence of a person indicated

incognito -- fr. Latin, incognitus, unknown -- having one's identity concealed, as under an assumed name

Week 10

res publica -- Latin, res, "thing," and publica, "of the public" -- a public affair, of or belonging to the state or commonwealth

res non verba -- Latin, res, "thing," non, "not," verba, "words" --  deeds, not words

restaurateur -- French restaurater fr. Latin restaurator, "restorer" -- the owner or manager or a restaurant

     [Note: We talked for a bit about how the word that meant "restorer" became the word that means an owner of a restaurant.  I love making those connections between original roots of a word and the current day meaning.  Our language is so very rich!]

Week 11

lasagne-- fr. Latin, lasanus, chamber pot -- a one-dish, layered pasta meal with strips of pasta, meat, cheese, and tomato sauce

laudator temporis acti-- Latin -- a praiser of times past; one who loves the "good old days"

Laus Deo-- Latin -- "Praise be to God"

Week 12

I used the Words of the Day exercise to expand our vocabulary around common and over-used words:  said & moved.  We brainstormed a some other creative expressions for these words.  Then, we used them to describe 1) a baby, 2) a cowboy, 3) a happy person, 4) a frightened person.

Week 13

yurt -- fr. Russian, yurt—a circular tent used in northern Asia, especially Mongolia

yoghurt – fr. Turkish. yog, to condense – a fermented dairy product

yarmulke -- fr. Turkish, raincap – a small prayer cap worn by Jewish men

yeshiva -- fr. Hebrew, yəshībhāh, to sit – a college or seminary for Jewish men

My First 5 Errors

Name:  _____________________________________

Topic:  _____________________________________

My First 5 Errors

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Primary area to work on

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