Writing 2: Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 10 (April 5)

Greetings!

It might not feel like it as you look at the weather forecast for this weekend, but it is spring, and we are beginning the homestretch for the semester. We are two-thirds of the way through!

For the Quick Write, I gave the students these options as prompts: National Burrito Day, National Deep Dish Pizza Day, National Caramel Day or Prompt #14 from Toastmasters -- What is the difference between existing and living. We had some great comments for all three prompts, and at the end of our discussion, I asked students to list three things in their lives that make life worth living. I'm looking forward to reading what they wrote.

Our Words of the Day were contributed by Carter

cuesta-- fr. Latin, costa, "rib" -- a long, low ridge with a relatively steep face on one side

quodlibet-- fr. Latin quod libet, "as you please" -- a subtle or elaborate argument or point of debate, usually on a theological or scholastic subject; a humorous musical composition

shampoo-- fr. Hindu campne, "to press" -- a cleaning preparation to clean hair, carpets, etc.

I handed back homework, and we had a brief discussion about the e-mails that I sent out this week. If students have any homework that has been graded but they see that it is not on the online grade book, they should hand it in again. I had a student in Writing 1 who had done two assignments on one piece of paper, but I hadn't seen the second assignment on the back. If a student is ever absent, all of the homework can be found in these places: attachments in the weekly class notes, copies on the class blog, and with a link to the document on Google drive.

We had a brief discussion about the next writing assignment: an Evaluation Essay. We brainstormed using my can of La Croix mineral water how the students were to develop criteria for the topic that they choose to evaluate. Within this criteria, they need to establish "what good looks like." The rough draft is due next week.

We are almost at the end of our short stories unit, and this week we discussed two stories by European authors. Neither or them were as dark as others that we have read, but they both had a sad element. Our final short stories will be read for next week and then we will head into our poetry unit There will be a quiz next week, so read the stories!

For the grammar section of our class, we are working on revising sentences, especially comma splice and run-on sentences. We took the final minutes of class to work on the worksheets.

Finally, I've been asked to send out again the directions for accessing the student accounts on My GradeBook. (Due to concerns for privacy, this information will not be on the class blog.)

My GradeBook: This is my online grade book for the class. I keep it fairly up to date, but occasionally fall behind when my weeks get too busy. Some parents check it regularly, and some don't feel that it is needed for their students. Below are instructions for signing up for this semester's class:

Directions for Signing Up:

1. Go to www.mygradebook.com

2. In the username box, give the class code:

writing2spring2018

3. Your password is the student's first name and the first letter of the last name, all lower case. For example, Bobby Smith's password would be "bobbys."

4. Click on "My Account," and on that page click on Create Primary Login.

5. Set the Primary Login (username) and Primary Login Password that you want to use for this class. (Note: This username and password will be the same for the student's account, so parents and students should communicate the choices with one another.)

6. If any of the e-mail information needs updating, click on "update email."

7. When all information is updated, click on "save."