We had a good class time this week. They usually come to class with lots of energy!
For the Quick Write prompt this week I asked students to give me a list of at least 10 prompt ideas. We've had 11 weeks of writing these quick writes so they have an idea about the types of prompts they like. I will take those prompts and use them for most of our Quick Writes for the rest of the year. I had each student share one of his/her ideas. I'm looking forward to using their ideas throughout the year.
Our Words of the Day (click here to see these words)
cattywampus -- 19th century slang; askew or disarrayed
bumfuzzle -- to confuse, perplex, or fluster
gardyloo -- an interjection yelled before throwing slops out the window; possibly from the French phrase garde a l'eau ("Attention! Water!")
The class has been assigned a Comparison/Contrast Essay, and the rough draft and pre-writes are due next week. Writing a clear thesis statement that includes the topic and the writer's stand on that topic can be really difficult. Thesis statements are different from topic sentences in that they are meant to give purpose and to direct the focus of the paper. We reviewed the elements of the introduction and did some brainstorming how to come up with that elusive thesis statement. Along with the rough drafts and pre-writes, I want students to fill out the rough draft rubric. This rubric can serve as a checklist for students to determine the strength of their introductions, conclusions, content, and organization.
We had our first Book Project Presentations for My Antonia, and each one was wonderful. David wrote a children's story about Jim and the snake, Joseph drew fresh book covers for the five sections of the novel, Julia brought yummy chocolate cookies, and Katie drew portraits of Jim and Antonia. (see pictures in the blog!) I'm looking forward to the next two weeks! (Note: some students have requested to change their projects. That is OK.)
The upcoming presenters:
Nov. 21
Trinity A
Annika C
Elliana & Aaron
Alyse P
Abbie Kate W
Irene S
Emma M
Laura M
Olivia R
John D.
Dec. 5
Michael & Aaron
Justin K
Eli A
Caleb K
Caralynn N
Isaac B
Sophia H
Brinna K
During the final minutes of class, we reviewed the Grammar topic of subject-verb agreement. Basically, this means that if the subject is singular, the verb is singular. If the subject is plural, the verb is plural. It's a simple enough concept, but longer sentences with prepositional phrases and restrictive clauses/phrases complicated the issue. They have two worksheets to practice. (Note: attached to this email is an handout explaining a little more about subject-verb agreement in case the information presented in class wasn't clear.)
Assignments for Next Week
-- Rough Draft & Pre-write of History Essay
-- Rough Draft Rubric (self-evaluation)
-- My Antonia project
-- 2 Subject-Verb Agreement worksheets
Links for This Week
Class Notes
Have a beautiful weekend!
Blessings,
Mrs. Prichard
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