Greetings!
I can't believe that we're 2/3 of the way through this first semester. At the beginning of the year, I think many of us were uncertain about how school would go, but the students have been amazing. Working with Google Classroom, attending class via Zoom when necessary, and wearing masks has not daunted this great group of students. Pat yourselves on the back and thank God for his abundant grace!
Our Words of the Day were common Latin abbreviations, some I often use in notes to students and others students might encounter in their reading:i.e. -- Latin id est, "that is"-- this signals an expansion on a comment. (Make sure you do your homework, i.e. your rough draft and worksheets.)
e.g. -- Latin, exempli gratia, "for the sake of example" -- this signals possible examples. (You must create a project, e.g. an activity, artwork, or game.)
c.f. -- Latin, conferro, "to compare with" -- this is often used in reference materials as a shortcut to point out comparisons
n.b. -- Latin, nota bene, "note well" or "a good note" -- used to draw attention to a side, related comment.
Rough drafts of the Extended Definition and Classification Essays were handed back, so it was time for me to discuss common errors found in the essays. I especially took time to go over the introductions. Personally, I think one of the hardest and yet most important aspects of writing an essay is developing a strong thesis statement and giving a clear road map/plan of development. By the end of an introduction, the reader should know not only the topic, but should know the driving idea (the thesis tells why it's important) and where the essay is headed (the road map tells what subtopics will be covered to support the thesis.) Strong thesis statements elevate a paper from a report with some details to an essay with a strong purpose. The Final Drafts are due next week.
Following our discussion of the Grammar topics related to the essays, the students broke into small groups to discuss some sample introductions. They worked together to find the hooks, thesis statements, and road maps.
The last portion of the class was spent discussion active and passive voice, which refers to the verb and whether or not the action of the verb is being done by the subject or the action of the verb is being done to the subject. e.g. The boy hit the ball (active voice). The ball was hit by the boy (passive voice). They have two worksheets to do for this topic.
A quick note about Google Classroom -- I have rearranged the assignments in the category so that the newest assignment is at the top of the list and the assignments are now in order from the newest to the oldest. (This should save some time for students because they won't have to scroll through the whole list.) And a reminder -- if you go into Google Classroom from another gmail account, you will not be able to answer discussion questions, fill out quizzes, or turn in homework. If you're not sure if you are in the right account, look in the upper right hand corner of the screen where the settings and Google apps icon are. Hover your cursor over the small circle to the right. This will tell you what account you're in.
Have a wonderful weekend! Enjoy this great fall weather, Rumor has it that winter is coming!
Mrs. Prichard
Assignments for Next Week
-- Complete the My Antonia Final Test (GC)
-- Read the handout of the first chapter of Giants in the Earth
-- Answer the Discussion Question for Giants in the Earth
-- Active & Passive Voice Homework: Active/Passive Voice, Fun with Active/Passive, Using Active/Passive in Writing
-- Extended Definition or Classification Final Draft
Links for this Week
Class Notes (11/15)
Fall Writing 2 Google Drive folder
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