Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 10 (March 26)

Greetings!

We started our adventure of online learning for Writing 2.  I was so blessed and impressed by this group of students.  I know it's going to get boring sitting in front of the computer for long periods of time, but they did a great job.  As the week's progress, I'll work out some of the kinks and find more ways to make the learning enjoyable and effective.  That said, it's important to remember that this is school even if you're curled up on a cozy couch or sitting in your bedroom.  The same rules about distracting technology use, respecting one another, and focusing on the what's going on in class apply.

After checking sound levels and admitting everyone to the room, we did our usual Quick Write.  For these Quick Writes, students can either write on a piece of paper and then take a picture of it and email it, OR they can type their responses directly into an email.  I gave them 3 prompts from which to choose:  1) What's the craziest thing you've done; 2) How are you staying connected with people during our "shelter in place;" and 3) If we're going to do our best to stay home, what last minute items do you need to purchase?

I had to adjust the presentation of our Words of the Day because the view of my whiteboard was not clear.  We used the Zoom chat feature for that.  These words came from Merriam-Websters March Words of the Day

fusty --  British : impaired by age or dampness : moldy;  rigidly old-fashioned or reactionary

crwth -- an ancient Celtic stringed instrument that is plucked or bowed

ambidextrous -- using both hands with equal ease or dexterity

retronym -- a term (such as analog watch, film camera, or snail mail) that is newly created and adopted to distinguish the original or older version, form, or example of something (such as a product) from other, more recent versions, forms, or examples

oleaginous -- 1 : resembling or having the properties of oil : oily; also : containing or producing oil; 2 : marked by an offensively ingratiating manner or quality

Writing

Most students had watched the video last week that gave an explanation of the next writing assignment -- an Evaluation Essay.  An Evaluation essay starts with choosing a topic and then establishing criteria.  Part of the essay will include explaining the criteria, and the other part will include measuring the topic with the criteria.  (I used the Breakout Room feature of Zoom to put them in small groups to discuss topic ideas.  In Zoom, I'm able to go from to room to room and listen to their conversations.  Having academic conversations can be difficult to get used to in this digital format, but I plan to use the Breakout Rooms every week.)  The Rough Draft and Pre-Write of the Evaluation Essay are due next week.  Students can 1)share a Google Doc, 2) send a Word attachment, 3) send a pdf, or copy the text of the paper into an email if they are using Apple's Pages.

Literature

We have finishing our short stories, and I'm a little disappointed that we couldn't have longer discussions about last week's and this week's stories.  We did take some time in Breakout Rooms to discuss one of my favorites, "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin.  Every year when we read it, students comment that the mother should not have spent money on herself If you're interested, I've included a link to the story below.  Read it and let me know what you think.

Now, we are onto Poetry; I'm intentionally starting the Poetry work a week early, so the syllabus will be a little off.   For those students who picked up their packets from me on Tuesday or from Mrs. Johnson, you can read the poems from the book.  For the rest of you who have chose the digital option, the specific poems are listed below with links to websites.  The first task of the students is to read the handout, Interpreting Poetry.  Then students must read all of the assigned poems, and they are to choose 2 poems to respond to.  Here are their options for responding to the poems:

1.  Fill out a Poetry Worksheet for one or both (link to blog or use attached document below)

2.  Write a paragraph about the poem(s) that analyzes it using the ideas of Imagery, Sound, and Structure as explained in the Interpreting Poetry handout.

3.  Instead of writing a paragraph, record a video commentary about the poem.  Youtube LiveStream or some other app on a device is OK as long as it can be seen by me.

4.  Do a piece of art that connects with the content and meaning of the poem.  

5.  Find a recorded version of someone reciting the poem AND make a video of your recitation of the poem.

Grammar

I've put together some short videos to review what we've learned so far this year.  (The videos aren't professional quality, but they get the job done.)  Using Edpuzzle, students are to watch the videos and answer questions as they pop up throughout the videos.  This is their grammar homework for this week.  Here's what students need to do:

1.  Go to Edpuzzle and click on Student.  

2.  The next screen will ask for a class code.  The code for Writing 2 is ciujder.

3.  The next screen will have you sign in to the website, and then it will take you to class site with the assigned videos.

4.  Watch the videos and answer the questions -- there are 3 videos for this week.

5.  Note:  You will have to stay on the website; if you leave it, the video stops.  You can't fast forward, either.  I'm afraid you'll just have to do the whole assignment.

Have a great weekend!  I'm so excited to be seeing the students again!

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week

-- Write the Pre-Write and Rough Draft of the Evaluation Essay

-- Read all of the poems listed below

-- Choose 2 poems and respond (see notes above)

-- Complete Edpuzzle assignment

Links for This Week

A Pair of Silk Stockings by Kate Chopin

Class Notes

3/19 Quick Write -- National Let's Laugh Day

Interpreting Poetry

Poetry Worksheet

Edpuzzle

Writing 2 Google Drive

Evaluation Essay

Poetry for Week 11 (April 2)  (Note:  I've added some poetry that wasn't on the syllabus)

     Holmes (p. 21 - 22)  Old Ironsides

     Emerson (p. 4, 5) Concord Hymn, and The Snowstorm

     Longfellow (p. 6 – 10) The Arrow and the Song, and The Builders, and Paul Revere's Ride

     Whitman (p. 22 – 26) I Hear America Singing, and Miracles, and  O Captain, My Captain

     Dickinson (p. 29 – 32)    Because I could not stop for death, and Hope is a thing with feathers, and

          If I can stop one heart from breaking, and  I'm nobody, who are you? and  

          Success is counted sweetest, and  There is no frigate like a book, and 

          This is my letter to the world

National Let's Laugh Day

One time my sixteen-year-old cousin on my mom's side got very confused about our family trees. Steven, my cousin, saw that I had been hanging out with my cousin, Matthew, on my dad's side. Steven texted me and asked who Matthew is. I told him he's my cousin. Steven proceeded to ask how he and Matthew were related. I spent twenty minutes trying to explain to him why he was my cousin and not his. He finally says, "Omg, it all makes sense now...He's my second cousin!" I practically died of laughter! I ended up drawing a chart of our families, trying to explain again. He said he understood, but to this day, I am unsure he does! 

What does a nosey pepper do?

It gets jalapeno business.

One of my favorite jokes goes like this. One day a man walked into a bar. He sat down next to a man. The man turned to him and told him that his drink was magical. Then he jumped out a window, flew around the building three times and returned to his seat. Seeing this the original man asked the bartender for the drink, drank it, then jumped out the window and fell four stories to his death. The bartender turning to the other man said, “Superman you are a real jerk when you are drunk.”

One more of my favorite jokes is. One time there were two muffins in an oven. One muffin turned to the other and said, “it is hot in here.” the other muffin said, “AHHHHHH A TALKING MUFFIN!”

Why was nine afraid of seven?  Because seven eight nine.  

Evaluation Essay

Definition

            In an essay of evaluation, a writer acts like a roving critic, exploring the significance of your topic.  The purpose of an evaluation essay is to demonstrate the overall quality (or lack thereof) of a particular product, business, place, service, or program.  To develop an essay of this type, think in terms of a subject’s value, impact, and significance; its strengths and weaknesses; its place in the scheme of things.

Choosing a Subject

            An Evaluation Essay explores a particular event, a current trend, an extended project, a recent decision, a new product, and so on.  Consider recent experiences, conversations, and headlines for possible ideas.  It can focus on current events, political or social events, or developments in medicine or technology.

Thesis Development

While any evaluation involves injecting some form of opinion, if an evaluation is done properly, it should not come across as opinionated.  Instead, the evaluation should seem reasoned and unbiased. 

Organization

In order to give a clear representation and reasonable, unbiased discussion of your topic keep the following elements in mind:

• Critera – This refers to the elements or qualities that demonstrate an ideal for any similar situation.  Having clear criteria establishes your paper with facts and details so that it does not appear to be only an opinion.  For example, if evaluating a restaurant, you would choose the common characteristics of menu items, cleanliness, staff, prices, etc. 
• Judgment – This establishes whether or not your topic meets the appropriate criteria that you’ve chosen to consider in your evaluation.  Using the example of a restaurant, if you’ve chosen as criteria the quality of food, the judgment states whether or not the particular restaurant offers food that meets or exceeds this stated quality.
• Evidence – These are the details that support your judgment of the criteria.  Again, in the restaurant example, if you have determined that the quality does not meet a certain standard, give an explanation that serves as evidence.

Generally, each body paragraph of an evaluation essay is going to focus on one specific criterion, which should be fully explained, followed by the judgment and a variety of evidence offered as support.  Because of this, it is important that any evaluation contains several different criteria, judgments, and evidence.

Essay Guidelines

– Due dates:  Pre-Write due March 26; Rough Draft due April 4;  Final Draft due April 23

– Essay length:  800 – 1000 words (between 3 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

Poetry Worksheet

Title of Poem:  ___________________________                    

Author:  ____________________________

1.      What is the dramatic situation of the poem? (What is taking place literally?)

  

2.      Who is the speaker in the poem? (Or, at least, what do we know about him/her?)

  

3.      Where is the setting of the poem? Where is the speaker? When does it take place?

  

4.      What is a possible theme of the poem?  In other words, what ideas or concepts does the author want you to think about?

  

5.      How does the poet use language? Is it elevated or fancier language? Is it more vernacular, colloquial, or casual?

INTERPRETING POETRY

WHAT IS POETRY?

Poetry is often considered mystical or spiritual.  It has been called “the most intimate and volatile form of literary discourse” that can deepen “our capacity for personhood, our achievement of humanity.”  Poetry also “conveys heightened forms of perception, experience, meaning, or consciousness in heightened language” (Brogan 938). As a “heightened mode of discourse,” poetry exhibits “intensified speech” by using conventions that are considered defining characteristics (Hirsch 27).

ELEMENTS OF POETRY

DICTION

Diction refers to the poet’s choice of words.  Poets often choose words that contribute to the poem’s meaning on both a denotational and a connotation level.

·         Denotation:  the object or idea that the word represents; the dictionary meaning

·         Connotation:  the subjective, emotional association that a word has for one person or a group of people.

·         Wordplay:  double meanings and puns.

SYNTAX

Syntax is sentence structure, the way words go together to make sentences. Poets often invert the normal word order so that they can make a sentence rhyme, to fit a metrical pattern, or to emphasize an idea.  Further difficulties arise because sentences are so long that we forget how they begin. 

CHARACTERIZATION, POINT OF VIEW, PLOT, SETTING AND THEME

Poems do not always offer a “story” in a conventional sense, but action may be implied, a place or time may be important, and characters may dramatize the key issues of the poem.

POINT OF VIEW

According to T.S. Eliot, in any poem there is always a speaker, “I” of the poem.  The first voice is the voice of the poet talking to himself (or to nobody).  The second voice is the voice of the poet addressing an audience, whether large or small.  The third is the voice of the poet when he is saying, not what he would say in his own person, but only what he can say within the limits of one imaginary character addressing another imaginary character.  (Eliot, 96)

IMAGERY

Descriptive Language:  The poet often uses descriptive imagery to underscore other elements in a poem, such as tone, meaning, and characterization.  All of the senses can be engaged (touch, visual, motion, sound, thermal/temperature)

Figurative Language:  A second consideration about imagery refers to a conscious departure from normal or conventional ways of saying things. 

·         Tropes (literally “turns”) extend the meaning of words beyond their literal meaning.

·         Similes:  Using comparative words (like or as), a simile makes an analogous connection between two items.

·         Metaphors:  Generally, a metaphor is any analogy which shows similarity between things that are basically different.  Specifically, a metaphor is a type of figurative language that assumes a connection or comparison without using like or as.

·         Personification:  A more indirect analogy, personification bestows human characteristics to any inanimate object, animal, or abstract quality.

·         Extended Metaphor:  When a poet carries out a singular analogy throughout an entire poem, he has written an extended metaphor.

·         Symbolism:  Symbolism appeals to poets because symbols are highly suggestive.  A symbol is an object that represents an abstract idea or ideas.  The most powerful symbols are those that do not exactly specify the ideas they represent and carry meaning on multiple levels.

THE SOUND OF POETRY:  MUSICAL ELEMENTS

Rhythm:  One of the most naturally pleasing elements of poetry, rhythm, is related to the pulse, the heartbeat, the way we breathe. 

Meter:  All human speech has rhythm, but poetry regularizes that rhythm into recognizable patterns.  These are called meters.  Metrical patterns vary depending on the sequence in which the poets arrange the accented (á) and unaccented (ă) syllables.  The unit that determines that arrangement is the foot; a foot is one unit of rhythm.

Word Sounds

·         Devices using word sounds:

·         Onomatopoeia:  the use of words that sound like what they mean (“buzz,” “boom,” “hiss,” “pop,” etc.)

·         Alliteration:  the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or at the beginning of accented syllables.

·         Assonance:  the repetition of vowel sounds followed by the different consonant sounds.

·         Consonance:  the repetition of final consonant sounds that are preceded by different vowel sounds.  Consonance is the opposite of alliteration which features initial consonance sounds.

·         Rhyme:  the repetition of accented vowels and the sounds that follow.  There are subcategories of rhyme:

STRUCTURE

Structure is the way the whole poem is organized and put together.  Poets give structure to their poems in two overlapping ways:  by organizing ideas according to a logical plan and by establishing a pattern of units. 

Lines:  Poetry is organized in lines while prose is divided into paragraphs. They use various criteria for choosing line lengths.  The best known criterion is meter – the number of feet per line.

Enjambment:  Enjambment is the continuance of a phrase from one line to the next so that there is no pause at the end of the line.  An end-stopped line has a definite pause at the end.  Enjambed and end-stopped lines create different effects. 

Blank Verse:  A line form that is always enjambed is blank verse.  The sentences run from line to line as if the lines don’t exist.

Stanza:  Stanzas in a poem typically resemble one another structurally.  The have the same number of lines, length of lines, metrical patterns, and rhyme schemes.  They are physically separated by a space.

Rhyme scheme:  Any pattern of end rhyme is a traditional method of organizing stanzas.  Rhyme scheme refers to that pattern. 

TYPES OF STRUCTURES

The Sonnet:  The most famous fixed form in English, sonnets consist of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. A Shakespearean sonnet rhymes abab/cdcd/efef/gg and has a structural division of three quatrains and a couplet.  A Petrarchan sonnet rhymes abbaabba in the octave and cdecde in the sestet.  Each kind of sonnet has a turn, a point in the poem at which the poet shifts from one meaning or mood to another.  The turn in the Shakespearean sonnet occurs between lines 12 and 13.  In the Petrarchan sonnet the turn occurs between the octave and the sestet.

The Ballad:  Defined as “a song, transmitted orally, which tells a story,” (Abrams, 18), ballads feature intense conflicts, emotional and melodramatic narratives, and are condensed retelling of portions of the whole story.

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Abrams, M.H.  A Glossary of Literary Terms.  7^th ed.  Fort Worth, TX:  Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.

Brogan, T.V. F. “Poetry.” The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics.  Ed. Alex

Hirsch, Edward.  How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry.  San Diego:  Harcourt, 1999.

Preminger and T.V.F. Brogan.  Princeton, NJ:  Princeton UP, 1993.

Eliot, T. S. “The Three Voices of Poetry.”  On Poetry and Poets.  New York: Octagon Books, 1975, 96 – 112.

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 8 (March 12)

Greetings!

This will be a brief "Class Notes," but I will have more to share in a couple of days about what students should do during our week away from  Grace Church next week.

Quick Write prompts:  Pets; Pencils or Pens; Favorite drink

Words of the Day (Contronyms or Janus Words)

with -- to be alongside; to be against

bolt -- to fasten; to leave quickly

weather -- to withstand (as in a trial); to wear away

screen -- to hide from view; to sho

cleave -- to separate; to bind together

buckle -- to fasten; to fall apart

The bulk of our discussion this week was on how to incorporate quoted material into our papers; how to format an in text citation; and how to format a Works Cited page.

Look for a longer email from me that will lay out my plan for next Thursday!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week

-- Read Chopin (p. 30); London (p. 122); Mansfield (p. 130); Gilman (p. 50)

-- Complete on Short Story worksheet (both sides)

-- Final Draft of Cause/Effect or Problem/Solution Essay

-- Self-Evaluation Rubric

-- No Grammar Worksheets

Links for this week:

Class Notes

Quote Sandwich Video

MLA In Text Citations

Hanging Indent in Microsoft Word

Hanging Indent in Google Docs

Hanging Indent in Pages

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 7 (March 5)

Greetings!

In class today, we started, as usual, with a Quick Write.  For this week, I pulled the prompts from the National Days Calendar.  March 4 was National Grammar Day; March 5 was National Cheese Doodle Day; and March 6 is National Day of Unplugging.  Students could write about their love or hate of grammar, about their favorite cheese snacks, or about their use of technology to entertain themselves or waste time.

Our Words of the Day dealt with fears.  I've been using a book by Richard Lederer, Crazy English, for some of our words. The Greek root phobia means "fear" 

acrophobia -- fr. Greek, akron, tip, heights -- a fear of high places  (by the way, the word "acrobat" has the same root, akron)

nyctophobia -- fr. Greek nux, "night" -- a fear of darkness or night

ombrophobia -- fr. Greek ombros, "storm or rain" -- fear of rain or storms (by the way, the word "umbrella" also has the same root.)

phengophobia -- origin unknown  -- fear of daylight

basophobia -- fr. Latin bas, base -- a fear of falling; a fear of standing

arachibutyrophobia -- a fear of getting peanut butter stuck on the room of your mouth

And one more

hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia -- the fear of long words

After our beginning of class activities and a check in on the homework that was passed back, the class took a quiz on our short stories for this week.  As we corrected the quiz in class, we discussed the stories. The quiz was not difficult, but it gave me an opportunity to see if they had read and understood the stories.  We had a short discussion following the quiz about being accountable to our work as students.  About this time of year, students have a tendency to ease up on the diligence that they had at the beginning of the year.  With that in mind, I will have My GradeBook updated later in the week so that students can check their work, especially for missing work.

Next week they are to read the stories by Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Stephen Crane.  They are to do one worksheet.

Students handed in their rough drafts for the Cause/Effect and Problem/Solution essays.  I will go over those this week, but for next week they are to bring 2 paragraphs from their rough drafts.  One paragraph should be their introduction and the other can be any other paragraph in the paper.  Next week we will divide up into Writing Circles to share the paragraphs with one another.

For our Grammar discussion, we are again continuing to work with commas.  IN the previous weeks we've discussed commas with compound sentences, complex sentences, and non-restrictive clauses/phrases.  This week, we're working with the serial/series/Oxford comma. 

Have a wonderful weekend.  Weather looks great, so enjoy!

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week

-- Read the following short stories:  Harte (p. 64); Twain (p. 175); Jewett (p. 87); Crane (p. 34)    

-- Short Stories Worksheet 

-- Grammar Worksheets:  Series Comma worksheet (both sides)

-- Bring 2 paragraphs, including the introduction paragraph

Links for This Week

Class Notes

National Grammar Day  

National Cheese Doodle Day;  

National Day of Unplugging  

Writing 2 Spring Words of the Day

Spring Grammar Google Folder

Short Stories Worksheet

Short Stories Worksheet

Answer the following questions which are critical to help your understanding of the story that you have read.

 Title of the Story:  __________________________________________________________

1.      Who is the main character? Does this person’s character change during the course of the story? Do you like the main character? What sort of person is he or she?

2.      What is the theme of the story? Can you state it in a single sentence?

3.      Does the author’s style of writing affect your interpretation of the story? If so, how would you describe the style? For example, is it conversational or formal? Familiar or unfamiliar? Simple or ornate? Ironic or satiric?