We had a good, full day in class this week. The class is doing a great job engaging in topics and growing as students.
Our Quick Write today was in honor of Veteran's Day, which is November 11. Many students have close family members who have served or are serving in some branch of the military. They could write about them or they could write about how they see themselves serving or making a sacrifice for our country or for our world.
These were the Words of the Day:
enchilada -- fr. Spanish, enchilado, "seasoned with chili" -- a tortilla rolled and filled with a seasoned mixture and covered with a sauce flavored with chili. (Most members of the class seemed to think that their moms made the best enchiladas!)
encore -- fr. French, encore, "once again" -- a repeat or extra performance in response to the demands of an audience
en garde -- fr. French, en garde, "watch out, beware" -- an interjection used by fencers at the beginning of a match
enigma -- fr Greek, ainigma, riddles or fable -- a puzzle or mystery (We talked briefly about the enigma machine used most notably by the Nazis in WW2.)
ennui -- fr. French, enui, "annoyance, disturbance" -- a feeling of utter weariness, boredom, or tedium
Students have handed in the Final Drafts of their Extended Definition or Classification Essays, so it is time for the next writing assignment. For this, they are to write a Comparison/Contrast Essay. Personally, I think this is one of my favorite kinds of essays: the organization is fairly straight forward, and students can choose straightforward or creative topics. We did some in class brainstorming about how we might write a C/C Essay about cheeseburgers and pizza. An important aspect to remember is that these essays must have a strong thesis statement. In other words, they must not only pick out two items to compare, but they must have an opinion/stand related to this comparison. They should think about the importance or significance of the similarities or differences. This next week they should be working on any pre-writing that this assignment requires; this includes any necessary research in addition to the outline or mind map that they will hand in with the rough drafts.
We had three good My Antonia presentations this week. Julia brought us a chocolate cake, just like the one Mrs. Burden baked in chapter two. Katelyn prepared a fun and challenging Jeopardy game to test our knowledge of the events of the book, and Madi painted two scenes that represented aspects of Antonia and the Shimerda's home. Next week, we'll have presentations from Noah, Bryce, and Emily. On November 30, Sofia, Daniel, Caitlin, Audrie, Akaya, David, Carter, Kai Rose, Isabella, and Kayla should be ready to prepare. If necessary, we will also have presentations on December 7.
We finished the class with a quick mini-lesson on Active and Passive verbs.
Note: A number of students left the room during class, presumably to use the restroom. Because the class follows the longer break set aside for lunch, students should also take that time to use the restroom. However, if a student needs to leave the room for this purpose, it has been my policy that he/she can simply leave quietly and return in a timely manner. As long as this is not abused, I will continue this practice, but going forward, no more than one student may be gone from the room at the same time.
Assignments for Next Week:
-- Prepare for presentations
-- Comparison/Contrast Pre-Write
-- Active/Passive Worksheet (front side only)
Links for this Week
Class Notes
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Prichard
No comments:
Post a Comment