Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 2 (January 25)

Greetings!

We had a good class today.  the students were all attentive and engaged in our conversations.  

Our Quick Write was prompted by the fact that today is National Opposite Day.  I challenged the students to write about loving something they hate or hating something they love.  Or, they could try to write using a lot of double negatives.  It was fun hearing them talk about the topics they liked that as if they didn't.

Our Words of the Day were chosen by Samantha from my book of foreign words and phrases:

brouhaha -- fr, French, originally, brou, ha, ha! -- used by characters to represent the devil in 16th century drama -- a fuss, commotion, hullabaloo

ex delicto -- fr. Latin, "from a transgression" -- a legal term the refers to the consequences of a crime

paladin -- fr. Latin, palatinus, "an imperial palace" -- a knightly or heroic champion

We had a quick check in about their first writing assignment for this semester -- a Mystery Story.  Some of the students are not as confident about this assignment because creative writing is more unfamiliar ground.  For students who really don't want to write a mystery story, they can write an essay about something that is "mysterious."    The blog for Writing 2 has along the right hand column some links to last year's short stories.

We've started our first stories Six Great Stories from Sherlock Holmes.  For those of you who are familiar with these stories, the first one, "Scandal in Bohemia" is about Irene Adler, the one woman who fascinated Holmes.  This story along with our other story for today, "The Red-Headed League" gave us good scenes for understanding Holmes' observation abilities.  They also provided some glimpses into mystery story elements -- the misdirected clues, disguises, knowledge of human nature, etc.  Students, make sure you read the assigned stories so that you can participate in the class discussions.

Our Grammar portion of the class was a continuation of work with parallel structure. Students worked hard, and most of them got the worksheets done before the end of the class.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read "The Speckled Band" and "The Engineer's Thumb"

-- Answer 4 study guide questions

-- Mystery Story Rough Draft

-- 2 Grammar Worksheets

Links for this Week

Class Notes

Parallel Structure 4 Worksheet

Parallel Structure Practice

Librivox -- Audioversion of Scandal in Bohemia and Red-Headed League

Librivox -- Audioversion of The Speckled Band and The Engineer's Thumb

The Speckled Band video

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on Youtube

Have a great weekend!  Stay safe and healthy!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 1 (January 18)

Greetings!

We've had a great start to our Spring semester.  It's always good to see the students again after a long break.

Our agenda for the class will follow pretty much the same pattern that I've used all year.  We start with a Quick Write, move on to the Words of the Day, and then into our content areas:  writing, literature, and grammar.  Some times we take rabbit trails or stay on one topic longer than others, but this is fairly standard for our weekly class time.

This week, our Quick Write prompts were inspired by the birthdays of two notable men.  Benjamin Franklin was born on January 17, 1706, and A.A. Milne was born on January 18, 1882.  I asked the students to either write about some invention or community service group that they thought the world needed or to propose another childhood toy/companion similar to Winnie-the-Pooh.  We had a couple of cool inventions mentioned and some story ideas.

Our Words of the Day will be coming from my book Foreign Words and Phrases.  The plan is to have a different student every week choose words from this book.  This week, our words were:

detritus -- Latin, deterere, "to rub away" --  any disintegrated material or debris

Katzenjammer -- German, katzen, "cat" & jammer, "discomfort, wailing" -- an uproar or wailing, akin to cats yowling

pyromaniac -- Greek, pyro, "fire" & mania, "madness" -- someone who compulsively sets things on fire.

The first class of the semester usually entails handing out a lot of papers, which I did.  The first was a Class Policies sheet that reviews the information from the fall, but also has two new points of interest.  The first new point is connected to homework.  In an effort to recognize the realities of life and with concern for the best learning opportunities for the students, I'm revising my "you can hand in any late homework" to one that allows late homework only up until three weeks after the work was assigned.  The other new detail concerns absences and tardys. Please read the Class Policies sheet and initial it.  Also, please let me know if you are getting the e-mails.  

The next handout was the Syllabus for the semester.  This has the topics we'll cover and the weekly assignments.  This piece of paper should have a prominent place in their folders.

Our first book of this semester is a compilation of short stories about Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Each week, we will read 2 of the 6 short stories.  The students were given a handout describing the main elements of a detective story, a page of quotes by Holmes from the stories, and a study guide.  

In keeping with our mysteries theme, the first writing assignment for the semester is a mystery story.  A few years back, some students lobbied to have me include one creative writing opportunity, and these seemed a good place to fit it in.  I must confess, that these have become some of my favorite pieces of student writing.  If you are curious about past stories, some of them are on the blog, listed in the far right-hand side of the page.  For any student who REALLY doesn't want to try his/her hand at story writing, I've also offered another option:  write an essay about something that seems a mystery or explainable.

For our Grammar work this semester, I'm focusing on areas where I see common mistakes in students' writing.  Our first topic is parallel structures.  We discussed this topic, and students started on their worksheet.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Class Policies signature

-- Read "Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Red-Headed League"

-- Answer 4 questions in any combination from the 2 stories

-- Mystery Pre-Write

-- Grammar Worksheet -- Parallel Structures

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Class Policies

Syllabus

Characteristics of a Detective Story

Sherlock Holmes Quotes

Sherlock Holmes Study Guide

Mystery Story

Parallel Structures

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Mystery Story

Write your own Holmes mystery

Using what you have learned about characteristics of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, write your own. It can be a significant mystery (someone stole my car!) or a small one (why do my socks go astray in the dryer?).  It can be funny or serious in tone. As a reminder, include some of the following: 

a. Retelling of an action sequence 
b. Holmes using deductive reasoning 
c. Holmes taking justice into his own hands 
d. Character from a foreign land with a dark past 
e. Holmes unable to solve the case 
f. Exotic murder weapon 
g. Young woman about to be married 
h. Grotesque details 
i. Crime committed

Story Guidelines

– Due dates:  Pre-Write due January 25; Rough Draft due February 1;  Final Draft due February 15

– Essay length:  500 – 900 words (between 2 and 6 pages)

– Rough drafts can be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.

– Final draft format:

– Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)

– 1 inch margins

– Name and date on the upper right hand corner

– Number the pages on the lower right hand corner

– Title centered above the text of the essay

Characteristics of a Detective Story

C. Hugh Holman’s A Handbook to Literature defines a detective story as “a novel or

short story in which a crime, usually a murder – the identity of the perpetrator unknown –

is solved by a detective through a logical assembling and interpretation of palpable

evidence, known as clues.”

            The first detective stories were written by Edgar Allan Poe, and Conan Doyle acknowledged their influence on his writing.  A good detective story generally follows six “unwritten rules.”  

First, the crime must be significant, worthy of the attention it receives.  Most stories involve murder, though Conan Doyle tied the majority of his crimes to greed and theft. 

Second, the detective must be in some way a memorable character.  He or she must be very intelligent, of course, unusually clever and observant, but also quirky, possessing perhaps some odd idiosyncrasies that distinguish him or her.  Kojak’s lollipop, Columbo’s crumpled raincoat, James Bond’s unruffled cool and high-tech gadgets, all of these things make the hero somehow distinct.  

Third, along with an exceptional detective, there must be an outstanding opponent, a criminal clever enough to be a match for the hero.  Solving the crime can’t be too easy. 

Fourth, because a large part of the attraction of a detective story is the opportunity for the reader to try to figure out the solution along with the detective, all suspects of the crime must be introduced early in the story, and

Fifth, all clues the detective discovers must be made available to the reader also. 

Finally, at the end of the story, the solution must seem obvious, logical, possible.  The crime must not have resulted from accident or supernatural intervention, and the detective must be able to explain all aspects of the case in a reasonable way.  A fine detective story should meet each one of these standards. 

Study Guide for Sherlock Holmes Stories

“A Scandal in Bohemia”

1.       What does Sherlock Holmes think of Iren Adler?

2.       Describe Holmes’ and Watson’s situation in the beginning of the story.

3.       How does Holmes prove his intelligence?

4.       Who is the client? How does Holmes know who he is and how does he treat the client?

5.       What was Watson’s job for when they get Irene Adler’s house?

6.       How did Irene Adler outsmart Holmes?

“The Red-Headed League”

1.       Holmes lists the “obvious facts” that he deduces from Mr. Wilson’s appearance. What are they and how did Homes know?

2.       What is the only requirement needed to apply for a vacancy in the Red-Headed League? What are the benefits?

3.       Describe the work Mr. Wilson must do for the League. What exactly is it? When must he do it? What is supposedly the purpose? What happens if he leaves the office during working hours?

4.       Holmes begins to question Mr. Wilson about his assistant. List here some of the things that he learns.

5.       What detail suggests that Holmes already knows who this man is? Why does Holmes pretend to be lost and ask the way of Mr. Wilson’s assistant? What other odd thing does he do in front of Mr. Wilson’s place of business?

6.       Who are Mr. Jones and Mr. Merryweather? Who is John Clay?

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band”

1.    Why has Helen Stoner decided to visit to Sherlock Holmes at that particular time?

2.    Why is Helen Stoner afraid when she comes to see Holmes in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”?

3.    Why does Holmes quickly suspect that Dr. Roylott is the criminal?

4.    What, if any, significance does Dr. Roylott’s interest in Indian animals have as evidence

5.    Explain which relevant clues you were able to identify in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” and which false clues may have led you astray.

6.    Which of the five senses are used by Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of the speckled band?

“The Engineer’s Thumb”

1.    What details make the mood of the story spooky?  Find five details that contribute to the mood.  

2.    Do you think that the engineer in this story should have known something illegal was going on at Colonel Stark’s home?  What clues might have led him to this conclusion?

3.    If you had been the engineer at the beginning of the story, needing a job desperately but offered such unusual conditions, what would you have done?

“The Final Problem”

1.       What is the significance of the title?

2.       Describe Prof. Moriarty’s criminal activity.  How is he the “Napoleon of crime?”

3.       How do Watson and Holmes outwit Moriarty on the train?

4.       Why does Watson refuse to let Holmes travel alone?

5.       Describe the scene between Holmes and Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls.

“The Adventure of the Empty House”

1.       How does Sherlock Holmes reveal himself to Watson?

2.       How did Sherlock Holmes fill his time while he was “dead?”

3.       Describe the new mystery that Holmes and Watson are go solve?

4.       What previous knowledge of the situation does Holmes have?

5.       What clues are given?

6.       What unusual twist occurs and foils the murderer’s plot to kill Holmes?

Sherlock Holmes Quotes

“A Scandal in Bohemia”

·         You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.

·         It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.

·         To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name.

“The Red-Headed League”

·         I know, my dear Watson, that you share my love of all that is bizarre and outside the conventions and humdrum routine of everyday life.

·         It is quite a three pipe problem, and I beg that you won't speak to me for fifty minutes.

 “The Five Orange Pips”

·         A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library...

·         As Cuvier could correctly describe a whole animal by the contemplation of a single bone, so the observer who has thoroughly understood one link in a series of incidents should be able to accurately state all the other ones, both before and after.

·         It is not so impossible, however, that a man should possess all knowledge which is likely to be useful to him in his work, and this, I have endeavored in my case to do.

·         A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.

“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”

·         My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don't know.

·         On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences.

·         My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don't know.

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band”

·         "You are Holmes, the meddler."
My friend smiled.
"Holmes, the busybody!"
His smile broadened.
"Holmes, the Scotland Yard Jack-in-office!"
Holmes chuckled heartily.

·         "When a doctor does go wrong, he is the first of criminals. He has the nerve and he has the knowledge."

·         Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.

“The Adventure of the Copper Beeches”

·         "Data! Data! Data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay."

·         The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.

·         "I am glad of all details," remarked my friend, "whether they seem to you to be relevant or not."

·         "Do you know, Watson," said he, "that it is one of the curses of a mind with a turn like mine that I must look at everything with reference to my own special subject. You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there."

Writing 2 Spring Syllabus, 2018

Week/ Date	Literature	Assign. Due	Writing Due	Grammar Topic
Week 1 (1/18)	Introduction to Sherlock Holmes			Intro Parallel Structures
Week 2 (1/25)	Holmes:  “A Scandal in Bohemia” & “The Red-Headed League”	Answer 4 Questions for “The Red-Headed League”	Mystery Story Pre-Write	Review Parallel Structures
Week 3 (2/1)	Holmes: “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” & “The Engineer’s Thumb”	Answer 4 questions for one of the two stories	Mystery Story Rough Draft	Intro:  Sentence Parts, Simple Sentences
Week 4 (2/8)	Holmes:  “The Final Problem” & “The Adventure of the Empty House"	Holmes Final Exam		Review:  Sentence Parts, Simple Sentences
Week 5 (2/15)	Short Stories: Pushkin (p. 162); Tolstoy (p. 169); Chekhov (p. 26)	2 Short Story Worksheets	Mystery Story Final Draft	Intro:  Compound & Complex Sentences
Week 6 (3/1)	Short Stories: Dickens (p. 45); Wilde (p. 189); Kipling (p.101); Munro (p. 140)	2 Short Story Worksheets	Cause/Effect OR Problem/ Solution Pre-Write	Review:  Compound & Complex Sentences
Week 7 (3/8)	Short Stories: Hawthorne (p. 73); Bierce (p. 10); Poe (p. 156)	2 Short Story Worksheets	Cause/Effect OR Problem/ Solution Rough Draft	Intro:  Fragments, Run-on, Comma Splice Sentences
Week 8 (3/15)	Short Stories: Harte (p. 64); Twain (p. 175) Jewett (p. 87); Crane (p. 34)	2 Short Story Worksheets		Review:  Fragments, Run-on, Comma Splice Sentences
Week 9 (3/22)	Short Stories: Chopin (p. 30); London (p. 122); Mansfield (p. 130); Gilman (p. 50)	2 Short Story Worksheets	Cause/Effect OR Problem/ Solution Final Draft	Intro:  There is/There are sentences
Week 10 (4/5)	Short Stories: Pirandello (p. 149); de Maupassant (p. 134);	2 Short Story Worksheets	Evaluation Pre-Write	Review:  There is/There are sentences
Week 11 (4/12)	Short Stories: Larsen (p. 110); Anderson (p. 1); Hardy (p. 56)	2 Short Story Worksheets	Evaluation Rough Draft	Intro:  Combining Sentences
Week 12 (4/19)	Poetry: Holmes (p. 21); Emerson (p. 4, 5); Longfellow (p. 6 – 10); Whitman (p. 22 – 26); Dickinson (p. 29 – 32)	2 Poetry Worksheets.		Review:  Combining Sentences
Week 13 (4/26)	Poetry:Wilcox (p. 33); Thayer (p. 34); Dunbar (p. 41 – 43); Frost (p. 44 – 50); Sandburg (p.53 – 54); Williams (p. 60 – 61); Hughes  (p. 75 – 78)	2 Poetry Worksheets	Evaluation Final Draft	Review
Week 14 (5/3)	Poetry Presentation		Re-Write	Grammar Test
Week 15 (5/10)	Poetry Presentation		Final Exam