Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 1 (January 21)

 Greetings!

It was good to be back in the classroom and to see everyone's faces (at least I'm sure there were faces behind the masks.)

For our Quick Write today, I asked the students to write something somewhat connected with our mystery stories.  I had them think about what they would do if they were on the run -- either from some bad guys or some good guys (which meant they might be a bad guy.)  They were to think of possible options for hiding and staying safe.  This is a very creative bunch!  I heard some of their ideas and look forward to reading what they wrote.

For our Words of the Day for the rest of the semester, students can bring in interesting words for our weekly Words of the Day part of our discussion.  Here's how it will go:  Students can bring in 1 word a week written on a note card, Post-it note, or small piece of paper; we'll put them in the Homework Bin and randomly pull a few out.  For these words, they also need to include the etymology and a definition.  Students will get extra credit for bringing a word in, whether or not we use it that day.

Before we dug into our new topics for the semester, I quickly reviewed some of the basics, including Google Classroom and Track My Grades.  As last semester, all assignments will be posted in Google Classroom.  With the exception of our essays and a few online quizzes, students can hand in their homework when they come to class.  However, last semester some students preferred to do them on Google Classroom.  Either way will work, but students MUST remember to only hand in their homework in one place -- EITHER during class OR via Google Classroom.  Not both.  Note:  For those who have been trying to get onto Google Classroom, the site had been down for a couple days.  It's up and running and at its regular speed. 

Last semester I used a set of grade sheets that I built out of Google Sheets, but it didn't quite do everything I wanted it to do, so this semester I'm using Trackmygrades.com.  You should have received an invitation (and I will send another following this email).  To log in, you will need your chatclasses.com email and the 4-digit password that they have assigned you.  The best way to differentiate Google Classroom and Track My Grades is this:  Google Classroom will give you the specifics of an assignment and will tell you if you are missing any work; Track My Grades will tell you the scores for the work that has been handed in.  

The first topic we covered was our first Writing assignment -- a Mystery Story.  In years past, most students have really liked this assignment, but some would rather not do the creative writing.  If that is the case, a student can write a non-fiction essay about something that is mysterious or hard to solve.  The Pre-Write and Rough Draft are due February 4.

Next on the agenda was our first book for the semester.  We are reading some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories.  I'm a big fan of mysteries, and most students have a passing knowledge of his stories.  We'll be reading 2 stories a week and answering study guide questions. 

This spring we will become "Masters of the Comma."  I love the comma, and I'm pretty picky about its use in essays.  We start with compound sentences and move onward.  Coincidentally, when you learn the comma, you also learn a lot of other important grammar rules while you're learning about commas.

Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week

Mystery Story Pre-Write

Holmes: Read “A Scandal in Bohemia” & “The Red-Headed League”  
Week 2 -- Study Guide Questions

Week 1 -- Compound & FANBOYS

Week 1 -- Compound Sentences & Commas 

Week 1 -- Simple or Compound Sentences

Links for This Week

About the Mystery Story

Writing 2 Assignments Checklist

Writing 2 Spring Syllabus

Spring Writing 2 Students Google Drive folder

Comma Reference Sheets

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 1 (January 21)