Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 2 (August 31)

Greetings!

We had another good class this week.  I'm working hard to get to know this class, especially the new students.

For our Quick Write today, I used the fact that September 1 - 7 is National Childhood Prevention Week, and I asked the students to write about some injury or accident that happened to themselves or to someone they have known .  As a mother of 7, I've made 8 trips to the ER with my kids, and I heard about big and little injuries from the students.

Our Words of the Day were French expressions that have become parts of our day to day language:

RSVP -- fr. French "Répondez s'il vous plaît" -- Please respond; a request for a response to an invitation

déjà vu -- fr. French "already seen" -- th feeling that a situation has already occurred

du jour -- fr. French "of the day" -- used to describe something that is being served on the day or of a current interest

faux pas -- fr. French "false step" -- a slip or slight blunder

bon voyage -- fr. French "good travels" -- an expression used to express good wishes on a journey

For every week's class, I put the agenda for that day along the side of the whiteboard.  We always start with the Quick Write and Words of the Day, and following that, we cover writing, literature, and grammar topics.  This week, we covered our writing assignments, then literature, and finished with grammar.

Students have finished and handed in the Rough Drafts of their Personal Commentary Essays.  I will go over them this week and hand them back next week.  They will then revise the rough drafts and hand them in the following week.  Another short writing assignment for them for next week is to write 1 paragraph titled "Penguins as Pets."  I teach writing classes at Arcadia Charter School, and this year I'm having students from each school write paragraphs that students from the other school can use for editing practice.  These paragraphs should have at least 5 mistakes; these mistakes can be spelling, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, or usage related.  

We've started our book, My Antonia, and have read the first portion.  In it, we were introduced to two of the most important characters, Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda.  Another "character" in the book is the prairie landscape of Nebraska.  As the students read, I want them to pay special attention to the significance of the landscape and to the dynamics of the relationships that Jim has with others.

Students have a Study Guide of questions for each reading assignment, but they may also choose up to 2 reading response from the "ala carte" portion at the end of the study guide.  I also told the students that I would include links to audio versions of the books.  Many students find that either listening or listening while reading helps with reading comprehension.  We discussed for a little bit the final project for the book.  We will talk more extensively about the proposals in the weeks to come.

In the Grammar portion of our class, we did a quick review of the parts of speech (including IVAN CAPP and interjections, verbs, adjectives, nouns, conjunctions, adverbs, prepositions, and pronouns).  They have a worksheet for review, complete with a "MadLibs" story. 

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read Sections VII - XII (p. 24 - 47)

-- 3 Reading Responses (you can do up to 2 ala carte options)

-- 5 Vocabulary Words

-- Write 1 paragraph -- "Penguins as Pets" (at least 5 errors)

-- Parts of Speech Review Sheet

Links for this week:

Class Notes

Parts of Speech Review

My Antonia Audible

My Antonia Librivox

My Antonia Youtube

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Fall Class Policies (2017)

Student’s Initials ______________________                                           Parent’s Initials ______________________   

Writing 2 – 2017/2018

Classroom Policies

Classroom Conduct

·        As we explore the topics in our literature selections and the various aspects of writing, we’ll engage in whole-class and small group discussions.  Be polite and respectful of each other’s time and comments.

·        We only meet once a week and need to make the most of our time.  Come to class prepared and with the appropriate materials (books, notebook, pens, etc.).  Avoid unrelated and unnecessary conversations and activities that will distract us from learning.  Turn off ALL electronic devices.  (They may be confiscated until the end of the CHAT school day.)

Communication

·        Weekly updates that include the material covered and upcoming assignments will be sent to the e-mail addresses that parents submitted when registering for the class.  I will also collect e-mail addresses from students.  I prefer to communicate via e-mail, but can be reached on my cell phone if the concern is urgent.  (507/581-0270)

·        I’m using two other on-line resources: a blog and a document storage site, Dropbox.  Here’s how they will work:

–  Writing 2 – www.chatwriting2.blogspot.com.  The blog entries will contain the same information from the e-mail updates.  I’m hoping these entries will serve as a consolidation and reference for our weekly lessons for the semester.  Hopefully we can avoid forgotten assignments or missing e-mails.  If students or parents are unsure about an assignment, they have two places to go to find the information.

–  Google Drive –Most of the handouts will be available on a shared folder in Google Drive either as Word documents or PDF files.  Parents and students will receive an e-mail and be invited to view the “Writing 1” folder.  These documents can be downloaded and printed from home computers.

–  MyGradeBook – www.mygradebook.com. This is an online grade book on which I will enter the grades and scores for completed assignments.  Parents and students can log in to check progress.  Note:  Scores may not be immediately added to the website; feel free to contact me for any questions.

Homework Guidelines

·        Short writing assignments should be handed in at class time when it is due.  Unless arrangements have been made with Mrs. Prichard, any assignments handed in after this time will be considered late.  While a lot of grace and patience will be given for overdue homework, students must show effort and must communicate about any difficulties they are having.  Having a number of late assignments will be reflected in a lower score for the class.

·        Keep on schedule with the reading assignments.  Students who have read the assigned portions will engage more actively, learn more effectively and enjoy more fully the class discussions.

·        Rough drafts must be handed in on time, either in class or via e-mail so that they can be corrected and handed back on time.  If a rough draft does not get handed in, the student will miss out on the opportunity to learn from mistakes.  His/her composition will be graded as a final draft.

·        Final copies of assigned essays should be handed in when due or e-mailed on the Monday after it was assigned.  With special permission, an essay will be given an extension.

·        Extra credit activities will be offered from time to time.  The thrust of these will be mostly “fun and interest.”  Even though the scores will be added to the cumulative scores for the class, they are not a substitute for regular assignments.

Grading Policy

·        Accumulating points is the NOT an important aspect of this class.  My goal is that students grow as learners and writers; this is not always reflected in classroom points.  However, points are a helpful indicator of diligence, improvement, and, to some extent, quality.

·        Points will be given in the following areas:

–  Quick Writes & Vocabulary Builders – 5 pt. /day.  These exercises at the beginning of each class will not be graded for content, but will receive points for participation.

–  Short writing assignments, including lists, grammar exercises, 1 paragraph answers, etc. – points are dependent on the assignment.

–  Extra Credit – 2 – 10 pt. each, depending on the assignment.

–  Pre-Writes – 5 points for outlines, mindmaps, and any activity that shows brainstorming and researching.

–  Rough Drafts – 10 points for handing it in on time.

–  Final Essays – 40 pt.  Essays will be graded in four areas:  Focus, Content, Organization, and Mechanics /Grammar.

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 4 (February 9)

Greetings!

Another great class!  Our discussions were good, and we learned quite a bit, too.

I asked the students to write "Literary Love Letters" for the Quick Write this week.  Every year I use this as a prompt during the class closest to Valentines Day.  I have a collection of these letters written by previous students.  (See the links below,)

Our Latin roots for our Words of the Day:

dict -- Latin, "to say/speak" -- derivatives:  dictate, dictation, dictionary, contradict, predict, dictator, 

dorm -- Latin, "to sleep" -- dormant, dormancy, dormitory, dorm

duct -- Latin, "to lead" -- conduct, conductor, introduce, introduction, reduction, abduct, deduct

When I handed back homework, if students were missing any pieces of homework, they got a print out listing that homework.  Now that I'm more familiar with My GradeBook, I'm hoping to get these out every 3 - 4 weeks so that students don't get behind with their work.  Students and parents can also check on progress.  For specific information for signing in, follow the link at the bottom.  (Please contact me if you have any questions.)

I handed back the Rough Drafts of the Mystery Stories -- these were all very well written papers.  We discussed the most common errors found in the essays:  punctuation with dialogue, appropriate verb tenses, run-on and comma splice sentences, and paragraph divisions.  I chalk up to the story-telling aspect of this assignment, but many students wrote their longest papers so far.  The Final Drafts are due next week.  (Note:  A couple students have mentioned having a hard time with the creative writing nature of this assignment. If this was the case, they have permission to write an essay that is either a narrative essay or one that discusses some "mystery.")

We've finished our Sherlock Holmes stories, and we discussed what the students wrote in their Take Home Essays, "What Makes a Hero?"  As I had thought would happen, the class was divided on their opinions about Sherlock Holmes character and heroic capabilities.  I listed their ideas on the board, and after some discussion, we had some points and counterpoints written on the board.  

Next week they will get their next books, Great Short, Short Stories.

Finally, I gave a quick but brief explanation of restrictive and non-restrictive clauses along with appositives and parenthetical phrases.  They have 3 worksheets for next week.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Final Draft of Mystery Story

-- 3 Comma Worksheets

Links for this week:

Class Notes 

Introductory Elements

Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses

Appositives and Parenthetical Comments

My GradeBook Information

Literary Love Letters, 2016

Literary Love Letters, 2012

Literary Love Letters, 2015

Have a great weekend!  Rumor has it that warmer weather is coming!

Mrs. Prichard