Another great class! Our discussions were good, and we learned quite a bit, too.
I asked the students to write "Literary Love Letters" for the Quick Write this week. Every year I use this as a prompt during the class closest to Valentines Day. I have a collection of these letters written by previous students. (See the links below,)
Our Latin roots for our Words of the Day:
dict -- Latin, "to say/speak" -- derivatives: dictate, dictation, dictionary, contradict, predict, dictator,
dorm -- Latin, "to sleep" -- dormant, dormancy, dormitory, dorm
duct -- Latin, "to lead" -- conduct, conductor, introduce, introduction, reduction, abduct, deduct
When I handed back homework, if students were missing any pieces of homework, they got a print out listing that homework. Now that I'm more familiar with My GradeBook, I'm hoping to get these out every 3 - 4 weeks so that students don't get behind with their work. Students and parents can also check on progress. For specific information for signing in, follow the link at the bottom. (Please contact me if you have any questions.)
I handed back the Rough Drafts of the Mystery Stories -- these were all very well written papers. We discussed the most common errors found in the essays: punctuation with dialogue, appropriate verb tenses, run-on and comma splice sentences, and paragraph divisions. I chalk up to the story-telling aspect of this assignment, but many students wrote their longest papers so far. The Final Drafts are due next week. (Note: A couple students have mentioned having a hard time with the creative writing nature of this assignment. If this was the case, they have permission to write an essay that is either a narrative essay or one that discusses some "mystery.")
We've finished our Sherlock Holmes stories, and we discussed what the students wrote in their Take Home Essays, "What Makes a Hero?" As I had thought would happen, the class was divided on their opinions about Sherlock Holmes character and heroic capabilities. I listed their ideas on the board, and after some discussion, we had some points and counterpoints written on the board.
Next week they will get their next books, Great Short, Short Stories.
Finally, I gave a quick but brief explanation of restrictive and non-restrictive clauses along with appositives and parenthetical phrases. They have 3 worksheets for next week.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Final Draft of Mystery Story
-- 3 Comma Worksheets
Links for this week:
Class Notes
Have a great weekend! Rumor has it that warmer weather is coming!
Mrs. Prichard
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