We had a full class and great discussions yesterday. They've worked hard this semester, and their spring break is well-deserved!
For our Quick Write today, they could choose from three options:
1. The first day of spring was this week and next week is Spring Break. Any plans?2. Yesterday was National Common Courtesy Day. What can they do to increase the levels of politeness and respect in the world around them.3. Yesterday was National French Bread Day. What would they do with a good loaf of French bread?
We had some great comments about lack of respect that we see in the world today. And while the students might not say anything to you, they realized that parents who are intentional and diligent in training towards respect, courtesy, and honor should be thanked because these characteristics are really needed.
We didn't have any "official" Words of the Day this week, but we did have a brief discussion about the word "word" and the word "of." As a Germanic language, many of our small, every day words have Germanic roots, but because England was invaded multiple times by the French and Romans, we also have a lot of borrowed words, especially in our academic or religious vocabulary.
As I promised last week, we had a Quiz today with questions about their assigned short stories for today. If they had read their stories, the questions were pretty easy. On the other hand, if they had not done the reading, they would not have been able to answer them. I don't do quizzes like this very often -- just often enough to keep them on their toes. When we finished the quiz, we discussed "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin. Every year, I get different interpretations of this story. Some see the mother as frivolous and selfish while others see the justification in the way she spent her money and time. You can read this story here -- how do you interpret the story?
The Problem/Solution or Cause/Effect Essays have been handed in, and we're on to the next essay. (This will be the last "from scratch" essay that they will do this year.) This essay is an Evaluation Essay, and it is a little more involved than some of the others. For this essay, the students are to first establish some criteria that they will use to evaluate their topic. Similar to the Sherlock Holmes Final Essay in which they first defined what a hero was and then used that definition to determine whether Holmes was or was not a hero, the students will explain the criteria, determine what good and bad look like in those areas, and then evaluate their topic. We brainstormed how we might do this with a political figure, a book, or a type of restaurant. The Pre-Writes for these should be done by the week after break.
For our Grammar work, we did some work with comma splice and run on sentences. We worked on them in class so that they could ask questions. We've gone over this material, but it takes a while for it to fully stick in our heads so that it makes a difference in our writing.
Assignments for April 5
-- Evaluation Essay Pre-Write
-- Read Pirandello (p. 149); de Maupassant (p. 134);
-- Write 3 Discussion Questions for each story
-- 2 Grammar Worksheets
-- Correcting Comma Splice
-- Run-on Sentences Practice
Links for This Week
Class Notes
Have a WONDERFUL Spring Break!
Mrs. Prichard
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