The prompts for this week's Quick Writes came from the student list: 1) Describe your favorite smells, and 2) If you could see Jesus face to face, what would you say and/or do. As usual, I also encourage the students to write about anything else that is on their minds.
Our Words of the Day:
zenana-- fr. Hindi, zan, "wife" -- a part of a house in which women and girls are secluded; harem
caddy -- fr.French, cadet, "chief, captain"; fr. Latin capitellum, "small head" -- a rack, container, or device for storing small items; i.e. a tea caddy; also a person who carries a golf players equipment
triskaidekaphobia -- fr. Greek, triskaideka, "thirteen"-- a fear of the number 13.
Students handed in their rough drafts and pre-writes for their Mystery Stories. And I'm really looking forward to reading them! If students did not bring their essays to class, they can email them or share them as a Google Doc. If the essay is not done, a student should contact me to discuss an appropriate extension. I know that some weeks or some assignments are more challenging, so I want to give extra time if needed, and students are more likely to give themselves that extra push if they have a specific deadline.
For our in class discussion of our stories from the book, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, I divided the class into small groups of 3 or 4, and we used the Triangle/Square Strategy: one student asked the study guide question, the second answered, and the third and fourth agreed, disagreed, or added to the response. When that question was satisfactorily discussed, the students rotated the triangle and their roles changed. (See the attached document for clarification.) I heard lots of good talk, and this strategy ensures that everyone gets involved in the discussion.
Students have been assigned a Final Essay Exam for this Sherlock Holmes unit. Most college classes will incorporate this type of testing, so it is important to have some experience composing an essay exam. For the exam, they must answer the question, "Is Holmes a Hero?" To do this, they first need to define "hero" and then explain how Holmes fits or doesn't fit their definition. The essay needs to be written in paragraph form (not lists or diagrams), and I will award points for distinct points for their hero definition and their supporting details/evidence. Using a somewhat unconventional method of grading, I will award 5 points per individual point/evidence, expecting a base score of 50 points but with the opportunity to receive more than that. In other words, the more thorough a student is, the higher the score. I will be grading on content and form (intro, body, conclusion, organization); I will not be grading on grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.
For Grammar this semester, we are working on commas, starting with commas used in compound sentences and complex sentences. These commas separate the 2 independent clauses of a compound sentence, and they separate an introductory dependent clause from the independent clause. One student asked why we even needed to write complex sentences if a compound one would work. What students often don't realize is that they think in complex sentences all of the time, so it's important to be able to get their writing to reflect the thinking that they are already doing.
Have a great weekend! Enjoy the sunshine!
Mrs. Prichard
Assignments for Next Week
-- Read "The Blue Carbuncle" and "The Man with the Twisted Lip."
-- No Study Guide Questions
-- No new worksheets; finish or re-do the ones from last week.
Links for This Week
Class Notes
No comments:
Post a Comment