Greetings!
We had a full day in class today. I'm sure enjoying this group of students!
Quick Write
Today's prompt was inspired by the fact that is was on this day, September 30, in 1890 that Yosemite was named a national park. I'm afraid I gave some incorrect information. Yellowstone was the first national park, not Yosemite. For the prompt, students were to write about some "great out of doors" adventure. For responses, I heard about some close calls and some good times in nature.
Words of the Day
Vernacular -- fr. Latin verna (home-born slave) & vernaculus (domestic; native) -- "home-style language;" common language
Colloquial -- fr. Latin com (with) & loqui (to talk) -- language of a conversational style
Dialect -- fr. Greek dialektos (talk, conversation, speech) and fr. PIE -leg (to collect, gather, or pick out words) -- language specific to a particular region
Idiom -- fr. Latin idiomas (peculiarity in language) -- a figure of speech; words that have meanings other than their literal meaning
Homework Check
Usually after the beginning of class activities, I check in with the students about any homework questions. We discussed assignments on Google Classroom. I want to clarify an issue relating Google Classroom and the Grades Report that is emailed. If students are missing an assignment, it will say "missing" on Google Classroom. When I import the scores onto a Google Sheets spreadsheet using a grade book app, the missing scores are changed to zeros.
Another note about homework. I don't have a specific day that I correct homework, but the plan is to have it done and returned for the following class period. When I'm done correcting work, I will update Google Classroom to reflect both the paper homework that was handed in during class and the assignments finished on Google Classroom.
Writing Discussion
Students handed in the rough drafts of their Process Essays. We also discussed the final drafts of their Personal Essays that were returned. These were graded using a rubric that takes a holistic view of the writing process. It considers the following categories: Focus, Content, Organization, Sentence Structures, and Mechanics. (For this essay, I did not grade the Focus area because I did not require an introduction, conclusion, or thesis statement.)
We took time and did some brainstorming about thesis statements for these process essays. Thesis statements for a process essay should include why the process and the end product are important. These are often difficult to write.
Next Week we will meet in small groups for Writing Circles. They were given a handout that they can fill out beforehand to prepare themselves for the small group discussions.
Literature Discussion
We had a short discussion about My Antonia. We're in the section of the book title "Hired Girls." I read a portion that included Jim Burden's comments about winter on the prairie. I did notice that few of the students were ready to answer questions, which sometimes is an indication that students haven't read the material. Sometimes when that happens, I prepare a pop quiz the next week. Just sayin'. . .
I introduced our end of book project. When we are finished reading My Antonia, the students will complete a project that illustrates some aspect of the book. It can be an art project, something baked, a paper, etc.
Grammar Discussion
The first grammar unit was a short review of parts of speech. There is a Parts of Speech Quiz for students to take this week. This week's grammar worksheets deal with misplaced modifiers, which are adjective or adverb phrases placed in the wrong places. There is a document describing misplaced modifiers on Google Classroom (link below)
Assignments for Next Week
Discussion Question -- Process Essay (Google Classroom only)
Read My Antonia Book II, Sections VIII – XV (p. 94 – 118)
Links for This Week
Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 6 (September 30)
Have a wonderful Fall weekend!
Blessings,
Mrs. Prichard
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