Friday, November 19, 2021

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 12 (November 18)

 Greetings!

We had a good day in class and covered a lot of ground.

Quick Write
For today's Quick Writes, we had the following prompts:
1 -- Contribute to the list of Quick Write ideas to be used for my classes for the rest of the year.
2 -- Write about a sports mis-hap that happened to you or that you know about.
3 -- November 18 is National Princess Day and November 16, 1553, was the day that Queen Elizabeth I became the queen of England following the death of her sister, Mary.  Write about any royalty that you are especially interested in.

Homework Check
A reminder to students:  make sure you correct your grammar worksheets and show on the worksheet or the Google Classroom assignment that you're corrected it.  Also, make sure you turn in assignments that you've done on Google Classroom.  A number of assignments have been finished, but students have forgotten to turn the work in .  

Writing Discussion
Students have been assigned another essay -- a Comparison/Contrast Essay.  The Pre-Write and Rough Draft are due the week after Thanksgiving break.  We did some brainstorming about how to organize a Comparison/Contrast Essay.  On the handout that they were given, they have a couple of organizational plans.  

Literature Discussion
We started with our My Antonia book project presentations.  We had a model of the farmland around Antonia and Jim's home, an original song, and a "book in a bag."  Joe, Tate, Rachael, and Annelise did great work.  After Thanksgiving, we'll have presentations from Grace A, Michael C, Sofia P, Nina N, Danica, B, Katelyn G, Gracie M.  As part of the project, students need to fill out a self-evaluation rubric about what they think of their own work.  (See the link below.)

Grammar
For homework, students are to complete a Phrases Review, which is posted as a Google Form on Google Classroom.

Assignments for December 2

Links for This Week
Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 12 (November 18)


Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!
Blessings!
Mrs. Prichard
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Saturday, November 13, 2021

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 11 (November 11)


 Greetings!


We had another full class time this week.  When I first started teaching at CHAT, I didn't know how I would fill a 90 minute class.  Now I wish I could have the students for even more time because there's always more to cover.  

Quick Write
Our prompts for today:
Nov. 10 was the birthday of the US Marine Corps
Nov. 11 was Veterans/Armistice Day
Nov. 12  was National Chicken Soup for your Soul
Students could write something about the military or about something that has to do with social/mental/emotional self-care.

Words of the Day
Today's words were war-related:
military -- fr. Latin militis, "soldier" -- of or relating to war, soldiers, army
veteran -- fr. Latin, veteranus, "old, aged, experienced" -- someone who has served in the military; someone who has had long experience in an occupation/skill
armistice -- fr. Latin, arma, "weapons" and stitium, "to stand, be firm" -- a temporary halt in battles
war -- fr. PIE (Proto-Indo-European) wers, "to confuse, mix up" -- a fight carried on in battle using arms

Writing Instruction
The final drafts of the Extended Definition or Classification Essay were due this week, and we're on to the next essay -- a Comparison/Contrast Essay.  For the rest of the essays that they will write for Writing 2, students will write a Pre-Write, Rough Draft, and Final Draft.  I have the Pre-Write "due" next week because I want students to take the week to plan and research for their essays.  However, they don't have to hand in the pre-writes until they hand in the rough drafts, which will be on December 2 (3 weeks from this week.)

I divided students into 5 small groups for Writing Circles so that they could talk about some sample introductions.  Reading samples, even bad ones, of introductions helps students get a better idea about how to write ones themselves.  I overheard some good discussions.

Note:  If students are late in handing in their essays, they should send me an email so that I can correct it as soon as possible.  ALL rough drafts and final drafts must be handed in via Google Classroom.

Literature
We didn't talk about Giants in the Earth this week.  Next week we'll talk about Giants in the Earth and Grapes of Wrath.

Grammar
This week's Grammar discussion centered on Indicative and Subjunctive moods of verbs.  For the most part, students get these correct when they write (or it's easy for me to correct), but they often struggle when they are learning a foreign language.  We did half of a worksheet together, and I have a video posted below that gives a more detailed explanation.

Assignments for Next Week
First 5 Corrections (if not done)
Comparison/Contrast Essay Pre-Write (work on for 11/19 and due 12/2)
My Antonia Final Exam (if not done)
Read Grapes of Wrath excerpt


Links for This Week
Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 11 (November 11)

Enjoy the changing of the seasons!!
Blessings,
Mrs. Prichard
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Thursday, November 4, 2021

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 10 (November 4)

 Greetings!


We had a full day, but the we do every week!  We had some difficulties with Zoom today.  I'm not really sure what happened, but I've recorded the class and posted it on Google Classroom.  The link is at the bottom.

For today, we had a few options:
Students could write about favorite sandwiches, candy, and political activism.

Words of the Day
Autumn -- fr. Latin autumnus, "increase" -- the season of harvest between summer and winter
Equinox -- fr. Latin aequus, "equal" and nox, "night" -- the time when day and night are equal length
Cornucopia -- fr. Latin cornu, "horn" and copiae, "plenty" -- a horn-shaped container containing food, drink in endless supply
Susurrus -- fr. Latin susurrus, "humming, whispering" -- a soft murmuring or whispering sound
Hibernaculum -- fr. Latin hibernaculum, "winter residence" -- the winter quarters of a hibernating animal




Homework Check
Usually our first concern after our beginning of class activities is to check in regarding homework.  Because last week was a rough draft week for all 3 of my CHAT classes, I did not enter all of the scores for the other homework.  That will be done by next week.

Writing Discussion
I handed back their rough drafts of the Extended Definition or Classification Essays.  (Those who didn't get theirs back will get their rough drafts by Saturday)  We talked about these common writing errors:  the word 'things" and "there is/are" sentences..  Students should revise their rough drafts into final drafts. They were also given an 1/2 sheet to list their first 5 corrections on the their essays and their primary area to work on.  Those who still need to hand in their rough drafts, should send me an email as soon as they've submitted their essays on Google Classroom.

Literature Discussion
We've finished My Antonia by Willa Cather and discussed whether we liked or disliked the book.  The students made many astute comments about the content and quality of the writing.  For next week, students should read the handout with the first chapter from O. E. Rolvaag's Giants in the Earth.  This is a classic about immigrant life on the prairie. As they read this piece, they should pay special attention to the description of the place that they feel will have an effect on the story.  For next week they should also complete a final exam that is posted on Google Classroom.

Here's the schedule for our My Antonia book projects:
November 18 -- Tate & Joe, Grace A, Rachael T, Annelise S
December 2 -- Michael C, Sofia P, Nina N, Danica, B, Katelyn G, Gracie M
December 9 -- Lilia W, Eden R, Julia S, Cale B, Anthony S
(Note:  Those who were absent should sign up for a time.)

Grammar
The grammar topic for today was Active and Passive verbs.  We started both sides of the worksheet and did a few as a class.

Assignments for Next Week
     While reading, highlight or underline aspects about the land/place that you feel affect the story


Links for This Week
-- Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 10 (November 4)

Have a wonderful weekend!  Enjoy your extra hour of sleep!
Blessings,
Mrs. Prichard
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