Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 5 (February 10)

 Greetings!

We had a delightful class this week.  Our class time was quite full.

We started with a Quick Write, and these were our prompts:  

• Ask me (Mrs. Prichard) 3 questions, and I will answer at least one of them.
• Tell me something you've not told anyone.
• Write about keeping a secret or planning a surprise.
• Tell about something mysterious that has happened to you
• Whatever . . . 

Our Words of the Day came from Ike, Megan, and Grace.  

avuncular-- fr. Latin, avunculus, "uncle" -- pertaining to an uncle

uxorious -- fr. Latin, uxor, "wife" -- devoted to or ruled by a wife

ataraxia-- fr. Greek, ataraxia, "impassiveness" -- calmness; impassivity

hystricine-- fr. Latin, hystrix, "porcupine" -- pertaining to porcupines 

ailorophile-- fr. Greek, ailouros, "cat" and philo, "love" -- a lover of cats 

We are now in Week 5, so students need to check in on their homework. I give students three weeks to get assigned work in (actually, they have 4 weeks from the assigned date until I will no longer take it.)  After that extended time, assignments will be given zeros.  According to my late homework policy, any assignments due on Week 2 is now overdue.  You will be getting a Grades Report sometime over the weekend.  

Students handed in the final drafts of their Mystery Story.  I'm really looking forward to reading these because their rough drafts were so good!  As a reminder, they should hand in their rough drafts with my marks/corrections when they hand in the final drafts.  The final drafts should be handed in to the Google Classroom assignment. 

When we finish one paper, we start another.  For the next round of essays,  students can choose to write an Cause/Effect Essay or a Problem/Solution Essay.  We did a lot of brainstorming about how to structure these kinds of essays.  Students have the next three weeks to do their brainstorming and research.  The pre-writes and rough drafts should be handed in on March 3.

We have finished our Sherlock Holmes stories and are not reading from a selection of short stories. For this week they read 3 stories by Russian authors, and we discussed the main points and overarching themes for each.  Then I gave the students cards from a game, Storymatic, and they were to compose a story that incorporated one of the themes from the Russian stories.  When they were done, they shared their stories with the rest of the class.

At the end of class, I gave a very brief Grammar  "power lesson" about the commas that follow introductory elements.  These elements can include interjections, personal addresses, prepositional phrases, and dependent clauses.  The have 2 worksheets to  practice this.  

I want to commend this class in its ability to take down the room every week.  Because we're the last class to meet in our room, the students have to fold the tables and take them to another room down the hall.  Then they have to load all of the folding chairs onto a rack.  They always do it with cheerful attitudes, and I'm so grateful for their work!

Next week my son Ryan Prichard will be subbing for me.  I will Zoom in for part of the class and he will take charge of the rest.  

Assignments for March 4

Cause/Effect OR Problem/Solution  Pre-Write (due Mar 3)

Cause/Effect OR Problem/Solution  Rough Draft (due Mar 3)

Read Dickens (45); Wilde (189); Kipling (101); Munro (140)
Week 6:  Dickens, Wilde, Kipling, Munro (Short Story Worksheet)

Grammar:  Wk5 - Introductory Commas

Grammar:  Wk5 - Commas after Introductory Phrases

Links for This Week

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 5 (February 10)

About Cause/Effect and Problem/Solution Essays

Have a good weekend and a wonderful week off!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 1 (January 16)

Greetings!

What a great first day!  It's always good to see everyone after a long  break.  We've added a few more to our numbers, making this a fairly large class.  

As always, we began the class with a Quick Write.  For this week I asked the students to write a letter to themselves.  Starting with "Dear Future Me,' they could write about goals, interests, or questions.  Rather than hand them in, they are to go to the Future Me website, type in their letters, and set the letters to be sent to them on January 1, 2021.

We will continue doing Words of the Day at the beginning of class.  This semester, I will focus on foreign words and phrases; unusual expressions, and Latin roots.  There will be a test at the end of the semester.  Today's words were for those little bits and pieces that we might simply call "thingamajigs" or "whatchamacallits."

meme -- fr. Greek mimeme; to imitate -- a digital image combined with text to express a cultural comment.

pintle -- the pin or bolt that is used in hinge.

ferrule -- the metal cap on the end of an umbrella

aglet -- the cover of the end of a shoe lace

Students were given a shortened version of the Class Policies that they should have you read and sign.  Reminders of class expectations is a good way to start a fresh semester.  I also made some brief comments about having a good system for keeping track of homework and for planning time wisely so that assignments get done.  

Our first Literature selections for the semester are short stories from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  (Unfortunately something went wrong with my book order, so some of the students got pdf versions of the first two stories.  The books will be here by next week, so they will have the full collection.)  We'll be reading six stories from this book, answering study guide questions, and participating in small group and whole class discussions.  Most students really enjoy this literature unit because they've seen some versions of the Sherlock Holmes stories.  

This then leads to our first Writing assignment for the semester:  a Mystery Story!  A few years ago a group of Writing 2 students lobbied for some creative writing to be incorporated into the class, and this assignment has become a favorite.  Not all students enjoy writing fiction, so I've adjusted the parameters of the assignment.  They can write a bona fide mystery with clues and a detective, or they can write an essay about a topic that is "mysterious," which could include a scientific problem that is hard to solve or the elements of crime-solving. The students should begin work this week, and the pre-write and rough draft are due in two weeks.  (Note:  On the blog are some samples of stories from previous years.  They are on the right hand side bar.)

Our Grammar focus for this semester will be commas and other punctuation.  Last semester I polled the students, and that topic was the one that the majority of the students wanted to conquer.  Fortunately, in order to fully understand where to place commas, students will need to know a lot of other grammar topics, so they will be learning about more that where to put the small bit of punctuation.  We had time in class to work on the worksheets.

Finally, a note about our class culture.  I enjoy a lively class and encourage discussion and camaraderie among the students.  With 24 students in the class, we will probably break into small groups more often so that each student has an opportunity for his/her voice to be heard.  I will also be "cracking down" on side conversations and off-topic chatter.

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy the snow!

Mrs. Prichard

Assignments for Next Week

-- Read the handouts about the Sherlock Holmes stories

-- Read "Scandal in Bohemia" and "The Red-Headed League"

-- Answer 4 Study Guide questions

-- Mystery Pre-Write

-- Letter to Future Me

-- Grammar -- 3 worksheets about compound sentences

Links for This Week

Spring Writing 2 Technology

Class Notes

Google Folder for Spring Writing 2

     Grammar

     Literature

     Writing

Rocketbook Class Notes

My GradeBook Instructions

Class Policies

Future Me

Characteristics of a Detective Story

Sherlock Holmes Study Guide

Sherlock Holmes Quotes

Mystery Story/Essay

Comma Usage at a Glance

Names, Repetitions, etc. and Commas

Characteristics of a Detective Story

C. Hugh Holman’s A Handbook to Literature defines a detective story as “a novel or

short story in which a crime, usually a murder – the identity of the perpetrator unknown –

is solved by a detective through a logical assembling and interpretation of palpable

evidence, known as clues.”

            The first detective stories were written by Edgar Allan Poe, and Conan Doyle acknowledged their influence on his writing.  A good detective story generally follows six “unwritten rules.”  

First, the crime must be significant, worthy of the attention it receives.  Most stories involve murder, though Conan Doyle tied the majority of his crimes to greed and theft. 

Second, the detective must be in some way a memorable character.  He or she must be very intelligent, of course, unusually clever and observant, but also quirky, possessing perhaps some odd idiosyncrasies that distinguish him or her.  Kojak’s lollipop, Columbo’s crumpled raincoat, James Bond’s unruffled cool and high-tech gadgets, all of these things make the hero somehow distinct.  

Third, along with an exceptional detective, there must be an outstanding opponent, a criminal clever enough to be a match for the hero.  Solving the crime can’t be too easy. 

Fourth, because a large part of the attraction of a detective story is the opportunity for the reader to try to figure out the solution along with the detective, all suspects of the crime must be introduced early in the story, and

Fifth, all clues the detective discovers must be made available to the reader also. 

Finally, at the end of the story, the solution must seem obvious, logical, possible.  The crime must not have resulted from accident or supernatural intervention, and the detective must be able to explain all aspects of the case in a reasonable way.  A fine detective story should meet each one of these standards.

Mystery Story

Write your own Holmes mystery

Using what you have learned about characteristics of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, write your own. It can be a significant mystery (someone stole my car!) or a small one (why do my socks go astray in the dryer?).  It can be funny or serious in tone. As a reminder, include some of the following: 

a. Retelling of an action sequence 
b. Holmes using deductive reasoning 
c. Holmes taking justice into his own hands 
d. Character from a foreign land with a dark past 
e. Holmes unable to solve the case 
f. Exotic murder weapon 
g. Young woman about to be married 
h. Grotesque details 
i. Crime committed

Story Guidelines

– Due dates:  Pre-Write due January 25; Rough Draft due February 1;  Final Draft due February 15

– Essay length:  500 – 900 words (between 2 and 6 pages)

– Rough drafts can be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.

– Final draft format:

– Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)

– 1 inch margins

– Name and date on the upper right hand corner

– Number the pages on the lower right hand corner

– Title centered above the text of the essay

Study Guide for Sherlock Holmes Stories

“A Scandal in Bohemia”

1.       What does Sherlock Holmes think of Iren Adler?

2.       Describe Holmes’ and Watson’s situation in the beginning of the story.

3.       How does Holmes prove his intelligence?

4.       Who is the client? How does Holmes know who he is and how does he treat the client?

5.       What was Watson’s job for when they get Irene Adler’s house?

6.       How did Irene Adler outsmart Holmes?

“The Red-Headed League”

1.       Holmes lists the “obvious facts” that he deduces from Mr. Wilson’s appearance. What are they and how did Homes know?

2.       What is the only requirement needed to apply for a vacancy in the Red-Headed League? What are the benefits?

3.       Describe the work Mr. Wilson must do for the League. What exactly is it? When must he do it? What is supposedly the purpose? What happens if he leaves the office during working hours?

4.       Holmes begins to question Mr. Wilson about his assistant. List here some of the things that he learns.

5.       What detail suggests that Holmes already knows who this man is? Why does Holmes pretend to be lost and ask the way of Mr. Wilson’s assistant? What other odd thing does he do in front of Mr. Wilson’s place of business?

6.       Who are Mr. Jones and Mr. Merryweather? Who is John Clay?

“The Adventure of the Speckled Band”

1.    Why has Helen Stoner decided to visit to Sherlock Holmes at that particular time?

2.    Why is Helen Stoner afraid when she comes to see Holmes in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”?

3.    Why does Holmes quickly suspect that Dr. Roylott is the criminal?

4.    What, if any, significance does Dr. Roylott’s interest in Indian animals have as evidence

5.    Explain which relevant clues you were able to identify in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” and which false clues may have led you astray.

6.    Which of the five senses are used by Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of the speckled band?

“The Engineer’s Thumb”

1.    What details make the mood of the story spooky?  Find five details that contribute to the mood.  

2.    Do you think that the engineer in this story should have known something illegal was going on at Colonel Stark’s home?  What clues might have led him to this conclusion?

3.    If you had been the engineer at the beginning of the story, needing a job desperately but offered such unusual conditions, what would you have done?

“The Final Problem”

1.       What is the significance of the title?

2.       Describe Prof. Moriarty’s criminal activity.  How is he the “Napoleon of crime?”

3.       How do Watson and Holmes outwit Moriarty on the train?

4.       Why does Watson refuse to let Holmes travel alone?

5.       Describe the scene between Holmes and Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls.

“The Adventure of the Empty House”

1.       How does Sherlock Holmes reveal himself to Watson?

2.       How did Sherlock Holmes fill his time while he was “dead?”

3.       Describe the new mystery that Holmes and Watson are go solve?

4.       What previous knowledge of the situation does Holmes have?

5.       What clues are given?

6.       What unusual twist occurs and foils the murderer’s plot to kill Holmes?

Mystery Story

Write your own Holmes mystery

Using what you have learned about characteristics of a Sherlock Holmes mystery, write your own. It can be a significant mystery (someone stole my car!) or a small one (why do my socks go astray in the dryer?).  It can be funny or serious in tone. As a reminder, include some of the following: 

a. Retelling of an action sequence 
b. Holmes using deductive reasoning 
c. Holmes taking justice into his own hands 
d. Character from a foreign land with a dark past 
e. Holmes unable to solve the case 
f. Exotic murder weapon 
g. Young woman about to be married 
h. Grotesque details 
i. Crime committed

Story Guidelines

– Due dates:  Pre-Write due January 26; Rough Draft due February 2;  Final Draft due February 16

– Essay length:  500 – 900 words (between 2 and 6 pages)

– Rough drafts can be typed or hand-written, but must be double-spaced.

– Final draft format:

– Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)

– 1 inch margins

– Name and date on the upper right hand corner

– Number the pages on the lower right hand corner

– Title centered above the text of the essay