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

Quick Write (11/18)

Comparison/Contrast Pre-Write

Comparison/Contrast Rough Draft

My Antonia Self-Evaluation Rubric

Phrases Review

Links for This Week

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

Week 12 (11/18) Zoom Recording

About the Comparison/Contrast Essay

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Blessings!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 14 (December 14)

Greetings!

Every Thursday this semester it's been delightful to see the smiling faces of this class.  I love this place in the school year when we've gotten to know one another and have a productive learning community.

We started class with a Quick Write, using these prompts that came from their list of suggestions:

Option 1:  What is your favorite Christmas tradition?  Describe it.

Option 2:  What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done.? Tell about it.

Option 3:  What is something you’ve always wanted as a little kid?  Why?

Our Words of the Day were winter-related words:

solstice -- from Latin solstitium, from sol, "sun" and sistere, "stopped, stationary" --  the time or date at which the sun reaches its maximum or minimum declination, marked by the longest (June 21) and shortest (Dec. 22) days.

hibernate -- from Latin hibernare, from hiberna ‘winter quarters’, from hibernus ‘wintry’ -- when a plant or animal spends the winter in a dormant state.

apricity -- from Latin apricus, "having lots of sunshine" or "warmed by the sun" -- the warmth of the sun (We talked about how cats are especially good at finding that one sunny spot in the house.)

subnivean -- from Latin sub, "under" and nives, "snow" -- the area between the surface of the ground and the bottom of the snowpack.

The Rough Drafts of their Comparison/Contrast Essays were handed back, and I commented on how much I enjoy teaching writing because I get to learn about so many topics from their essays.  I covered some common writing issues/errors, including writing dates and numbers, correcting comma splice sentences and revising "there is/are" sentences.  The Final Drafts are due next week.

To end our Grammar portion of the class for the semester, I have 2 short assignments:  a phrases review Nearpod presentation.  Nearpod is an online platform for presentations that includes interactive capabilities.  Students should sign in with Google using their chatclasses email.  At the end of the presentation I have a short 4 question quiz.  I also have a Phrases Final Exam for them to take for next week.

The rest of our class was spent enjoying the Book Projects for My Antonia.  This included a set of memes, some artwork and inspirational quotes, a children's ABC book, a quiz, and some yummy baked goodies.  I'm afraid I don't have pictures this week.  I was so busy enjoying the presentations that I forgot to take them.

We will finish up our projects next week.  Everyone who hasn't already presented will present.  Speaking of next week, I like to spend that last week before Christmas doing fun stuff.  We can't have food in the classroom, but we can set up a table in the hallway for treats and eat out there.  Students are invited to bring goodies.  

Since we're almost at the end of the semester, students should finish up any work they have not done.  In the assignments list, I've included a couple past assignments in case students have forgotten to do them.  (All assignments are on Google Classroom in case students no longer have the paper version.)  ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE WEEK 15 (DECEMBER 17).  I will accept work until midnight on that day, but nothing after that.  

Note:  Students, if you hand in any work that is late, please also send me an email so that I can record it.  

You've worked hard this semester; just a few more sleeps until our long Christmas break!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week:

Quick Write 12/10

Comparison/Contrast Final Draft

Comparison/Contrast Pre-Write (missing many of these!)

Discussion Question -- Improved!

Discussion Question -- Christmas Fun!

My Antonia Rubric -- Self-Evaluation

Verbals Practice #1

Verbals Practice #2

Phrases Review (Nearpod)

Phrases Final Test

This Week's Links

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 14 (December 10) 

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 13 (December 3)

 Greetings!

It's hard to believe that we're in December already and that there are only 2 weeks left.  I feel like I'm just getting to know the students, so I'm already looking forward to working with them again next semester!

For our Quick Write, I chose from the long list of ideas that the students put together.  Here are the prompts for this week:

• Option 1: Do you like to take pictures or be in them? Why?
• Option 2: Do you re-watch TV shows or re-read books? Explain.
• Option 3: Share a story about a long car ride. 

After the Quick Writes we enjoyed some more obscure, Christmas-related words for our Words of the Day:

natal -- fr. Latin natus, "pertaining to one's birth" -- often this word is used to describe the star that appeared over Bethlehem, i.e. Jesus' natal star  [Note:  nativity also comes from the same root.]

epiphany -- fr. Greek epiphainein, "to reveal" -- a festival, manifestation, or commemoration; traditionally, Epiphany is on January 6 and is a celebration of the the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).

poinsettia -- fr. John Poinsett, an ambassador to Mexico who brought this plant to the attention of botanists -- a plant of large green leaves and large red blossoms that is used to decorate at Christmas.

wassail -- fr. Old Norse, ves heill, "be well/healthy" -- a greeting of good cheer; also hot mulled cider, drunk traditionally as an integral part of wassailing, a Medieval Christmastide English  ritual intended to ensure a good cider apple harvest the following year.

swaddling -- fr. Middle English, swathlen, to bind with clothes -- longs strips of cloth used to wrap or bind.  Jesus was "laid in swaddling clothes."

Note:  For the Spring semester, I've encouraged students to bring in unusual or interesting words that they find.

Following our beginning of class activity, we had a thoughtful discussion about the role of grammar instruction.  I had read a study about teaching grammar in 3 different ways:  through direct instruction, in the context of student writing, and in the context of reading quality material.  In this study, students in the writing-only and reading-only groups scored higher on a post-test.  For that reason, I like to incorporate as much of my grammar instruction with the students' own papers and with the literature we read.  As I mentioned to the class in response to a question, this does NOT mean that I will discontinue grammar lessons.  In the study, those who experienced grammar through direct instruction still learned a lot!

The bulk of our class time was given to the My Antonia student presentations of their book projects.  I love seeing the creativity of the class and encourage them to find a way to respond to their reading that fits who they are.  We had a short dramatic interpretation of Jim's encounter with the snake (thanks, Michael, James, Ethan, and Carson), a waltz lesson from Nalani, a quiz from Ava, some amazing sketches from Ingrid, and a game of My Antonopoly from Tyler.  (I've post pictures and videos on the blog -- see link below)

Here's the schedule for the next two weeks:

December 10

Jesse T

Josh

Bennett

Jessie M

Anna

Kara

Michael S

Ellie

Josie

Maddy

Grace

December 17

Philip 

Elliot

Leighton

Zach

Peter

Levi

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Quick Write for 12/3 (for those absent)

-- Discussion Question -- How improved (GC)

-- Comparison/Contrast Rough Draft

-- Comparison/Contrast Pre-Write

-- Verbals Practice #1

-- Verbals Practice #2

Links for This Week

Class Notes Blog Post 12/3

My Antonia Book Projects, Day 1

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature

My Antonia Project Self Evaluation Rubric

Name:  _________________________________

Description of Project

  

SELF EVALUATION

Rate yourself and your project

	0	1	2	3	4
Connection to the Book	Not at all connected	Vague connection	Some connection	Good connection	Strong connection
Project Quality	No effort; no product	Weak effort; poor product	Some effort; satisfactory product	Good effort; commendable product	Exemplary effort; insightful & impressive product
Presentation	No presentation	Vague & indistinct comments	Clear but incomplete comments	Clear & thorough comments	Thought-provoking & perceptive comments

TEACHER EVALUATION

Rate yourself and your project

	0	1	2	3	4
Connection to the Book	Not at all connected	Vague connection	Some connection	Good connection	Strong connection
Project Quality	No effort; no product	Weak effort; poor product	Some effort; satisfactory product	Good effort; commendable product	Exemplary effort; insightful & impressive product
Presentation	No presentation	Vague & indistinct comments	Clear but incomplete comments	Clear & thorough comments	Thought-provoking & perceptive comments

COMMENTS:

My Antonia Project Proposal

NAME:  ___________________________________________________

Parent’s Initials:  ___________

My Antonia Project Proposal Form

Description:

At the end of reading My Antonia by Willa Cather, students will present a project related to the book as a whole. Most of the projects are meant for individual work, but some can be expanded to a group project.  (Permission must be acquired for group projects.)  Some of the project ideas involve other media, and you are encouraged to be creative and to choose something that fits your interests, abilities, and personality. 

Due dates:

Project Proposal:  Week 8 (10/10)

Project Presentations:  Weeks 12 & 13 (11/14 & 11/28)

Presentations:

The format for the presentations will be dependent on the types of projects chosen.  Some projects will be suitable for a “science fair” format with stations, and others will be more performance or audio-visual oriented.  We will plan our two days for presentations accordingly.

My Proposed Project: 

  

Why have you chosen this particular project?

  

Will you be working with anyone else?

  

How will you present your project?  (for example, performance, poster board, artwork, written work, etc.)

Will you need any special materials for do your project?  If so, do you have plan for getting these?

My Antonia Final Project

Description:

At the end of reading My Antonia by Willa Cather, students will present a project related to the book as a whole. Most of the projects listed below are meant for individual work, but some can be expanded to a group project.  (Permission must be acquired for group projects.)  Some of the project ideas involve other media, and you are encouraged to be creative and to choose something that fits your interests, abilities, and personality. 

Due dates:

Project Proposal:  Week 8 (10/12)

Project Presentations:  Weeks 12 & 13 (11/16 & 11/30)

Presentations:

The format for the presentations will be dependent on the types of projects chosen.  Some projects will be suitable for a “science fair” format with stations, and others will be more performance or audio-visual oriented.  We will plan our two days for presentations accordingly.

FINAL PROJECT OPTIONS/IDEAS

1.      Design book covers for the five sections

2.      Create a travel brochure for Black Hawk

3.      Create a soundtrack or playlist for the five sections of the book

4.      Design a graphic novel for one of the sections of the book

5.      Write a radio play excerpt for one of the sections of the book

6.      Perform live or record a dramatic reading of a portion of the book (at least 3 pages).

7.      Prepare a TV commercial related to the book.

8.      Write a series of correspondence between you and the author or one of the characters (at least 6 letters)

9.      Play charades for the characters in the book.

10.  Design/draw clothing for 3 of the characters.

11.  Design/draw the various pieces of clothing that one of the characters would wear throughout the span of the book.

12.  Make a piece of clothing (full-size or miniature) for one of the characters.

13.  Make a diorama of a scene from the book.

14.  Design/build a board or card game for the book.

15.  Perform or record a scene from the book as a “silent movie.” 

16.  Create a children’s book for a section of the book.

17.  Write and perform a dramatic monologue for one of the characters.

18.  Create a movie trailer for the book.

19.  Create an ABC book that correlates with aspects of the story.

20.  Make a t-shirt that connects to the book.

21.  Create a mobile of characters, items, etc. that are a part of the book.

22.  Create a timeline for the whole of the book.

23.  Design/draw a set of maps for the pertinent sections of the book.

24.  Create a “book in a bag.”  Choose 10 items that represent the people, places, events, and other parts of the story.  Place them in a paper or fabric bag and write a key describing each of the items and their importance to the story.

25.  Create a sculpture of a character. 

26.  Create a book award that might be given to this book.  Create a ribbon, a certificate, and a press release.

27.  Write a report chard for two of the characters.  Come up with 5 areas of his/her personality to grade based on behavior in the book.  Design a report card to go with it.

28.  Write a test for the book that includes multiple choice, true/false, and short answer responses. (at least 20 questions)

29.  Make a stop animation video.

30.  Make a jeopardy game to go with the book.

31.  Put together a PowerPoint presentation that explains one of the following literary elements:  characterization, setting, plot, conflict, etc.

32.  Make a set of three inspirational posters using quotes from the book.

33.  Write an imagined interview with one of the characters.

34.  Write a song.

35.  Write about yourself in 20 years.

36.  Create a newspaper about the book that includes comics, ads, weather, letter to the editor, etc. along with news stories.

37.  Create a “lost scene” from the book.  Write and/or perform.

38.  Create a puppet show for the book.

39.  Write/perform a newscast for the book.

40.  Write an alternate ending for the book.

More ideas can be found at

http://teachnet.com/lessonplans/language-arts/more-ideas-than-ever-book-reports/

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 11 (November 9)

Greetings!

We had a good, full day in class this week.  The class is doing a great job engaging in topics and growing as students.

Our Quick Write today was in honor of Veteran's Day, which is November 11.  Many students have close family members who have served or are serving in some branch of the military.  They could write about them or they could write about how they see themselves serving or making a sacrifice for our country or for our world.

These were the Words of the Day:

enchilada -- fr. Spanish, enchilado, "seasoned with chili" -- a tortilla rolled and filled with a seasoned mixture and covered with a sauce flavored with chili.  (Most members of the class seemed to think that their moms made the best enchiladas!)

encore -- fr. French, encore, "once again" -- a repeat or extra performance in response to the demands of an audience

en garde -- fr. French, en garde, "watch out, beware" -- an interjection used by fencers at the beginning of a match

enigma -- fr Greek, ainigma, riddles or fable -- a puzzle or mystery (We talked briefly about the enigma machine used most notably by the Nazis in WW2.)

ennui -- fr. French, enui, "annoyance, disturbance" -- a feeling of utter weariness, boredom, or tedium

Students have handed in the Final Drafts of their Extended Definition or Classification Essays, so it is time for the next writing assignment.  For this, they are to write a Comparison/Contrast Essay. Personally, I think this is one of my favorite kinds of essays:  the organization is fairly straight forward, and students can choose straightforward or creative topics.  We did some in class brainstorming about how we might write a C/C Essay about cheeseburgers and pizza.  An important aspect to remember is that these essays must have a strong thesis statement.  In other words, they must not only pick out two items to compare, but they must have an opinion/stand related to this comparison.  They should think about the importance or significance of the similarities or differences.  This next week they should be working on any pre-writing that this assignment requires; this includes any necessary research in addition to the outline or mind map that they will hand in with the rough drafts.

We had three good My Antonia presentations this week.  Julia brought us a chocolate cake, just like the one Mrs. Burden baked in chapter two.  Katelyn prepared a fun and challenging Jeopardy game to test our knowledge of the events of the book, and Madi painted two scenes that represented aspects of Antonia and the Shimerda's home.  Next week, we'll have presentations from Noah, Bryce, and Emily.  On November 30, Sofia, Daniel, Caitlin, Audrie, Akaya, David, Carter, Kai Rose, Isabella, and Kayla should be ready to prepare.  If necessary, we will also have presentations on December 7.

We finished the class with a quick mini-lesson on Active and Passive verbs.  

Note: A number of students left the room during class, presumably to use the restroom. Because the class follows the longer break set aside for lunch, students should also take that time to use the restroom. However, if a student needs to leave the room for this purpose, it has been my policy that he/she can simply leave quietly and return in a timely manner.  As long as this is not abused, I will continue this practice, but going forward, no more than one student may be gone from the room at the same time.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Prepare for presentations

-- Comparison/Contrast Pre-Write

-- Active/Passive Worksheet (front side only)

Links for this Week

Class Notes

Enigma Machine

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

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

Greetings!

Again, my apologies for the very late e-mail last week. This week, the class notes are first on my list instead of my pile of rough drafts from the class.

Our Quick Write this week was prompted by the fact that November 3 is National Sandwich Day.  I asked students to write about their favorite sandwiches; they could write a description, an advertisement, or an explanation about the importance of sandwiches.  We had a discussion about whether wraps or hamburgers qualified as sandwiches.

Our Words of the Day were ghost words.  In 1886, a lexicographer named Walter Skeat first used the phrase "ghost words" to describe words that he said had "no real existence."  Ghost words are words that weren't real to begin with -- they came about because of an error or misunderstanding -- but they made it into the dictionary anyway.

gravy -- from the French, "graine" -- became a word when a 14th century misread a French cookbook and substituted a "v" for an "n"

tweed -- from the Scottish word "tweel," which is a type of wool and from which we got the word "twill."  Some think the word was misheard as the Tweed River.

Dord -- the original dictionary was supposed to be "D or d" (capital "d" or lowercase "d") as an abbreviation for density in physics or chemistry.  Whoever worked for the dictionary misread it as a word spelled d-o-r-d.  It entered the dictionary in 1934 and was taken out in 1947.

esquivalience -- This is not a real words at all but was invented by an editor at the New Oxford American Dictionary and was included in the 2001 edition to help the company track copyright violators who were lifting entries from the dictionary.

We went over the returned rough drafts of the Classification or Extended Definition Essays.  The students have started a page in their notebooks titled "Watch Out For."  When I write notes on their rough drafts, I often have a section with that heading and list common errors or patterns that I see in their rough drafts.  I would like them to keep track of these and to use them to guide their writing throughout the year.  We discussed at length the writing of introductions and conclusions.  The final drafts are due next week.  

Following our writing discussion, we read sections from the chapter from O. E. Rolvaag's first chapter of Giants in the Earth.  Authors of prairie literature delighted writing about the vastness and open spaces of the landscape as part of telling their stories.  Our next bit of literature is a collection of rural poems.  Students should read all of them and then choose one to re-write in prose.

At the end of class, they signed up for a time to present their My Antonia projects. Some projects have a strong visual or audio component, and students will have a chance to talk about these and show off their handiwork.  For those students who wrote something for their project, I will simply have the students share a couple of sentences about their works.  

November 16 (next week)

Katelyn

Julia

Madi

Noah

November 30 (after Thanksgiving)

Sofia

Daniel

Caitlin

Christianna

Audrie

Bryce

Kai Rose

Isabella

David

Carter

Just a little note about classroom dynamics.  I've switched up the table arrangement so that instead of a "U" shape, the tables are in rows, and I've also given the students assigned seats.  This is an experiment to see if it increases overall student engagement while diminishing extraneous distractions.  As I mentioned before fall break, students have been coming in late to class, and this has a negative effect on the flow of the class.  I start the class with a Quick Write, and students who are present to start this activity with the rest of the class will get scores for their Quick Writes, but those who come in late will have zeros.  

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Poetry selections

-- Re-write one poem into prose

-- Take Home My Antonia Final Test

-- Final Drafts of Extended Definition/Classification Essays

-- Finish My Antonia projects

Links for This Week

Class Notes

O.E. Rolvaag selection

Prairie Poetry

Final Exam for My Antonia (in Google Drive)

Grammar -- Quick and Dirty Tricks

Sources of Ghost Words

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard