Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 3 (Sept. 17)

 Greetings!

We had a great class yesterday.  This is a good, conscientious group of students.

We started with a Quick Write.  For today's prompt, I offered them 2 options.  September 15 was Agatha Christie's birthday, and she is known as the "queen of mysteries" with over 80 books to her name.  She also wrote the world's longest running play, The Mousetrap.  Students could write their opinions about mysteries, a mysterious event, or an original mystery.  The other option was related to National Apple Dumpling Day (Sept. 17).  Baked apple goods seem to be the quintessential fall food.  Students could write about apples or some other favorite fall food.  (And, as always, they can always choose the third, "Whatever" option and write on something completely different.)

Following our Quick Write, I went over some Google Classroom "Protocols," hopefully clarifying questions that students have had.

• 99.9% of your assignments are on Google Classroom (GC)
• You can hand in work on GC or in class but NOT BOTH
• If you do the assignment on Google Classroom, remember to "Turn In"  (button in the upper right corner of the window.)
• If you have handed in an assignment during class (the paper version), please the Google Classroom assignment alone.  I will assign a grade and return in.
• Some assignments can ONLY be done on Google Classroom. When that is the case, those homework assignments will be designated (GC)
• For the Final Drafts of your essays, follow these steps IN ORDER:
• Open your Rough Draft document, select/highlight all of the content (Ctrl-A) and copy it (Ctrl-C)
• Open the Google Classroom assignment for the Final Draft and then open the document/template.
• Paste the contents of the Rough Draft onto this document.
• Make corrections and revisions. (DO NOT MAKE CORRECTIONS WHILE IT IS STILL IN THE ROUGH DRAFT DOCUMENT!)
• Turn it in!

This week, students were to take notes of class, and these notes are due in class next week.  Sometimes when we are covering a significant amount of content, I will have students take notes and then turn in copies of those notes.  Students can hand in the paper copies of their notes next week OR upload copies to the Google Classroom assignment.  

I handed back their Rough Drafts of their Personal Essays.  I believe that students learn grammar best in the context of their own writing, so I like to take a generous amount of time to go over common mistakes and for them to ask questions from their own mistakes.  I had the students write on post it notes either the error most-corrected on their rough drafts or a grammar issue that they didn't understand.  After they brought these up to the white board, I covered those areas that seemed to need the most attention.  This week, those areas included contractions, the use of numbers, sentence fragments, and commas with compound sentences.

For the Final Drafts of these essays, students should submit them via Google Classroom (see the notes about the protocols.)  They should also bring to class on Sept. 24 their rough drafts with my corrections.

This week we didn't talk a lot about our book, My Antonia, but we took time to set up our literature circles for next week. Literature Circles are a way for students to have academic conversations for which they each have specific roles and responsibilities.   The students gathered in their groups and chose their roles:  discussion leader, illustrator, luminary, word nerd, connector, summarizer.

• Discussion leader -- be ready to lead the discussion by reading the assigned portion; be thinking about the major events and themes of that portion; 
• Illustrator -- draw a picture of one of the scenes or an interpretation of one of the themes
• Luminary -- find quotes that seem to sum up the main points of the section; choose quotes that seem particularly thoughtful, funny, or serious
• Word Nerd -- select words that are especially unusual and look up their roots
• Connector -- be ready to connect events, themes, character types, etc. with real world examples
• Summarizer -- at the end of the discussion, summarize and connect 

When they gather next week, they should come prepared.   The two topics that should guide their preparations and discussions are:  1) The conflicting worldviews between the immigrants and the other Black Hawk residents; and 2) The connections between the landscape and the people.  In addition to the Literature Circle preparation, students should complete 3 Reader Responses for pages. 24 - 47. 

Because we have more literature to do this week, the grammar assignments are postponed a week.  

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week

-- Final Draft of Personal Essay (GC)

-- Remember to bring the rough draft to class on 9/24

-- Read Cp. 24 - 47 in My Antonia

-- 3 Reader Responses

-- Literature Circle Preparation

-- No Grammar this week  (If students have already done them, they won't have to do them next week.)

Links for This Week

Fall Writing 2 Google Drive Folder

Class Notes 9/17

My Antonia audiobook, part 1

My Antonia audiobook, part 2

My Antonia audiobook, part 3

My Antonia audiobook, part 4

My Antonia audiobook, part 5

My Antonia on Vibrivox (downloadable)

Writing 2 -- Homework & Google Classroom

 Greetings!

A couple notes about handing homework, Google Classroom, and the Grades page on Classroom:

• Students DO NOT need to do an assignment both on paper and in Google Classroom.
• Most homework assignments can be handed in during class.  
• If a student hands an assignment in class, they DO NOT need to do anything with the Google Classroom assignment
• I will mark those assignments as done and return them with a score AFTER I've corrected the paper versions
• If a student does the assignment on Google Classroom, they DO NOT need to hand in a paper version
• Some assignments can ONLY be done on Google Classroom (e.g. quizzes, discussion questions)
• I will designate these assignments as (GC) and include a link to the assignment
• Some students have handed in homework using the Rocketbook app and uploading it to the Google Classroom assignment.  When they do that, they DO NOT need to hand it in again in class.
• When I grade some homework on Google Classroom, I use my Samsung tablet
• I can "write" on the document, and it saves as a pdf and attaches to the assignment, which students will see with their returned work.
• I'm experimenting to figure out the best way to correct rough drafts.  I've done it with pen and paper for years, but I'm going to do one set with my tablet, and then one set comments in Google Docs.  Students can give feedback about what works best for them.
• The gradebook for Google Classroom is not the greatest format for communicating with students their scores.  
• If students see a score but the comment "not turned in," it's because they turned the work in during class.  I have updated the score to match the one on paper.
• Some students don't like seeing the "Missing" when they know they have turned in their work.  They need to be patient for me to correct the material handed in during class.  
• PLEASE DON'T TURN IN A BLANK ASSIGNMENT to get rid of the "Missing" designation.  I will take care of that.
• The best place to check on grades is on your student's personal Gradesheets.  This document will be updated every other week.

I apologize for confusion or challenges with Google Classroom.  Learning new systems always takes a bit of time, and my hope is that over the course of the semester we will all find the benefit of having this online repository for all of our assignments and resources that enables us to not only stay on top of our work (i.e. not lose stuff) and to participate digitally if we can't be face to face.

If you need your link to your Google Gradesheets, please let me know.  

One other tip -- an idea that has been helpful for me:

Since I'm online so much these days, often with multiple tabs open every day, I've started bookmarking and organizing those bookmarks to be more efficient. Students should consider bookmarking their chatclasses.com email, Google Classroom, and their Gradesheets.  Here's a link for how to create bookmarks and how to create folders of bookmarks.  (I have a folder called CHAT Stuff, and when I right click on the folder, all of the tabs open.)

Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 2 (Sept. 10)

 Greetings!

We had a great class yesterday.  These students are coming in with a readiness to learn and are encouraging a positive perspective for one another.

Our Quick Write today was from the National Days Calendar.  Yesterday was National Swap Ideas Day, in which people are encouraged to share their ideas and creativity with one another.  I asked them to write about any big, outside-the-box ideas they've done or had.  They could also write about whether or not they are creative.  I've just finished reading their Quick Writes, and this class has a wonderful variety of creative and practical students!

This week students handed in their first paper assignment of the year, their Personal Essay Rough Drafts.  I'm looking forward to reading them.  My procedure with student papers is to go through and correct them after they're handed in and then hand them back the next week.  Students are to take that following week to make revisions.  If they haven't already, they should answer the Discussion Question posted on Google Classroom, "From your perspective, what is the easiest part of writing an essay and what's the hardest?"

Last week for the Literature portion of the class, we started My Antonia by Willa Cather with an  introduction and a quiz on Google Classroom.  Before they started reading the book, they also wrote a little bit about their family history.  For next week, they are to complete 3 Reader Responses.  We talked in class about the study guide questions that are listed per chapter and also the ala carte options if students would like more creative opportunities to respond to their reading.  Students can do any combination of questions and ala carte options -- they just need to choose 3.  NOTE:  These reader responses can be done on paper and handed in during next week's class time OR they can be done on the Google Classroom assignment.  Students DO NOT need to do it both ways.

For the final third of the class time, we covered some Grammar.  Last year in Writing 1, the students did parts of speech projects during which they were the teachers.  I'm starting this year out with quick reviews of those parts of speech.  This week, the assigned worksheets are reviews of Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, and Adverbs.  All of the grammar worksheets for the semester will be on the Rocketbook template, so if students want, they can either hand in the assignment during class next week OR scan the worksheet using the Rocketbook app and upload it to the Google Classroom assignments.

Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

This Week's Homework

Note:  Many of the assignments have hyperlinks to the Google Classroom assignment.  If you're doing the paper version of the assignment, you can disregard the Google Classroom assignment.  ONLY if it has GC after the assignment is it required that you do it on Google Classroom.

-- Read p. 1 - 23 of My Antonia

-- 3 Reader Responses. 

-- Writing Discussion Question (if not already done) (GC)

-- Grammar Worksheets:  Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives, and Adverbs

This Week's Links

Class Notes -- Week 2 (Sept. 10)

Mrs. Prichard's  Zoom link 

National Days Calendar.  

National Swap Ideas Day

Writing 2 -- Information about Google Classroom, CHAT emails, and the Rocketbook app

 Greetings,

Our discussion in class about chatclasses emails, Google Classroom, and the Rocketbook app took up a good part of our logistics discussion, so I thought it would be good to address some of the important points in a separate email.   

• Students must use their chatclasses email to join Google Classroom.  Most of the students have done this, but for those who haven't, they can follow this link to the Writing 2 Google Classroom. (One difficulty some students have had is that they are going to Google Classroom via another email account.  To avoid this, try closing your other email accounts so that the chatclasses account is the only one open.)  The class code for the Writing 2 Google Classroom is  *******.
• If a student joined Google Classroom from another account, I've removed that account.
• Some students are forwarding their chatclasses emails to another personal email account.  This is a personal preference issue.  I initially had mine forwarded, but then disabled that function because it was causing way too many emails in my personal account.  (Here is the link to the video that Mrs. Nelson did about forwarding emails.)
• All assignments will be posted on Google Classroom.  Students who are face to face can hand in assignments during class UNLESS I've designated an assignment as "GC" for Google Classroom.  (All Zoom students should hand in all of the assignments via Google Classroom.)  I recognize that this will be confusing until we settle into the flow of the classroom.  Google Classroom is meant to be both a repository of assignments AND a place that makes distance learning an option.  
• Here's a good video about Google Classroom:  Google Classroom for Students and Parents
• All worksheets have been formatted onto a Rocketbook template.  Again, if students are face to face and can hand in work in person, they won't need to think about the Rocketbook app.  However, those students attending via Zoom or who are absent for any reason will need to use  either the Rocketbook app, a flatbed scanner, or another scanning app. 
• Here's an article about Rocketbook and Google Classroom
• The Rocketbook app Instructions video (including IOS)
• A video about setting up destinations.
• One student mentioned the plethora of emails regarding Google Classroom assignments.  If students are careful to check for assignments on the Writing 2 classroom, they can disable the notifications.  To do this, go to the settings page (click the 3 horizontal lines in the upper left corner and scroll to the bottom of the list).   Students can choose to receive all notifications, some notifications, or no notifications.  
• Another helpful mobile app is the Google Classroom app.  
• Here's a video for how to install the app and get started (This video shows the step by step process with a music background, but some of the words on the screen are in Hindi.)
• Make sure you sign in using the chatclasses email
• The class code for Writing 1 is *******.

One of the greatest challenges last spring was getting homework in all shapes, sizes, and formats, so I'm narrowing down those options. As I said, most of the time face to face students will physically hand in homework during class, but some assignments will need to be done on Google Classroom and will be specifically designated.  For the first weeks of the semester, I'll require a number of "GC" assignments so that we can get used to using this format and can troubleshoot any problems.  It might be helpful for both student and parent to explore Google Classroom together so that everyone is familiar with the site.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  At some point all of the technology we use will become "old hat," but when it's new and unfamiliar we often wonder if it's more trouble than it's worth.

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 1 (Sept. 3)

 Greetings!

It was so good to be in class again.  The students all brought good, attentive attitudes to the room, and I think we're going to have a good year together.  All the students are new to me, so we'll hopefully be able to quickly get to know one another.  In my classes, I incorporate full class and small group discussions, which I think we can still do in a socially distanced manner.  

Our first order of business for our class periods, after praying, of course, is to complete a Quick Write.  The prompts for these are usually light-hearted, but occasionally the topics require a little more serious thinking.  For today, I asked students to write about what they would put in a "Back to School Survival Kit."  Each student shared aloud one or two items, and snacks, drinks, and music were the top choices of items that students wanted to help them get their homework done.(You'll notice the embedded link -- it is for the Google Classroom assignment.  I will include these homework links in these emails; they will be especially helpful for students who were absent, who forgot what an assignment was, or who lost an assignment.)

We had a small group of students joining the class via Zoom, and I'm hoping it worked well for those students.  This is an option for any students who might miss a week for one reason or another.  

Most of our first morning together was spent in getting acquainted with materials and some of the logistics of the class.  I'm trying something new this year:  I handed out a complete Materials Packet for the whole semester, which included essay explanations, writing-related material, literature study guides, grammar worksheets, extra Rocketbook pages, etc.  I recommend that students put all of this material in a 3-ring binder and insert dividers or a piece of colored paper between the Writing and Literature papers and between the Literature and Grammar papers.  If the binder has inside pockets, the front pocket could be for homework to hand in and the back one could be for homework that is returned.  In the past I've handed out materials one week at a time, but this year I thought having everything at the beginning would help avoid the issue of any missing papers should a student be unable for any reason to be in class.  

One piece of paper from the packet needs both the student's and the parent's attention:  the Class Policies handout.  Students are to read it and put their names (not initials) in the top margin, and then I would like parents to read it and initial it.  Thank you!  (You can do the paper version or the Google Classroom version.)

I also took time to check in on the chatclasses emails, Google Classroom, and the Rocketbook app.  I will include that information on another email.  

Our first Writing assignment is a rough draft of a Personal Essay, which is further explained in "About the Personal Essay."   For this essay, students should choose to write something that they are personally interested in.  This could be a current event, a hobby, a value or belief, etc.  This is meant to be a shorter essay, and a prewrite/outline is not required.  The rough draft should be submitted on Google Classroom.  Students can type their papers on the Word or Pages, but they will need to copy and paste them onto the Google doc template attached to the assignment.  (They can also hand in a paper copy in class if they would like.)

We will start reading My Antonia by Willa Cather after next week.  For this week, they are to read the Introduction and take the short quiz that is posted on Google Classroom.  They also have a short writing assignment, "Family History."

Finally, for the Grammar portion of the class, we will start next week on a review of the parts of speech and then into more advanced topics that include verbal phrases, passive voice, and subjunctive. More on this next week!  For now, I would like students to give some brief thought to the question, "Why Grammar?"  I've posted this as a question on Google Classroom, and I'd like them to answer it before class.

If you are new to my classes, this is what the weekly Class Notes will look like.  I'll tell you about Quick Writes, writing assignments, literature discussions, and grammar lessons.  I'll include links to the Google Classroom assignments and attach any pertinent materials.  At the bottom of the email I'll list the homework and any links.  (I've found that most students simply scroll to the bottom of the email to get homework info.)  These class notes will be the record of what we cover in class.

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy our beautiful weather.

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Homework for Next Week:

(Note:  Any assignments that are designated GC must be completed on Google Classroom)

-- Class Policies -- signed & initialed

-- Organize your materials packet  (binder? folders?)

-- Personal Essay rough draft  (GC)

-- My Antonia Introduction

-- My Antonia Quiz (GC)

-- Family History (GC)

-- Discussion Question:  Why Grammar?

Other Links for this week:

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 1 (Sept. 3)

Note:  The Class Notes blog post will not contain any of the hyperlinks to Google Classroom information or to Google Drive documents.  

Writing 2 Google Drive folder

About the Personal Essay.  

Writing 2 -- Information about Google Classroom, CHAT emails, and Rocketbook