Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 14 (April 29)

 Greetings!

We had a wonderful day in class.  We started the class period with a Quick Write, and today's prompt was connected with the fact that it is National Poem in Your Pocket Day.  I gave the students a sheet of paper with an extra large pocket outline. They were to write a poem within the lines of that pocket.  They could write originals or copy one from our poetry book.  (Note:  We also watched one of my favorite spoken word artists, Harry Baker, for some inspiration.)

This week was our penultimate class for the year -- the one before the last one!  We had fun during class, which can be a very good thing, especially since, according to research, "humor activates the brain's dopamine reward system, stimulating goal-oriented motivation and long-term memory, which means that humor can improve retention in students of all ages.? (Edutopia, 2015)

The Essay Re-Write was due this week, and their final writing assignment, a Reflection Paper, is due next week.   For this paper, they are to write about what they learned this year, what they learned about themselves this year, and what did and didn't work well this year.  At the bottom of this email is a link to an article about the value of reflection as a part of learning.

Last week, students took home, completed, and then corrected their Mastering the Comma Review.  This week, they have the Spring Grammar Test test to take home, complete, and then correct.  They should use different colored pens/pencils for correcting their work and be sure to make their marks clearly.  I will figure the final scores for their tests.  The test and the answer key are posted on Google Classroom.  If for some reason they are not able to access Google Classroom, they should still take the test and bring it to class.  I will then correct it.

And, finally, it was time in class for the Poetry Jam, 2022!  The class was divided into 4 teams and took turns coming up to the front to recite their chosen poems.  We had an exceptional panel of judges:  Levi M, Gabi F, Maria B, Halle H, and Mike M, all alums of Writing 2.  I loved listening to all of their poems (and heard a number of my favorites.) 

Here are the final places for Teams and Individuals

Team Scores	Round 1
1st Place	Anonymous Notes
2nd Place	Rhythmic Rhinos
3rd Place	Bull Frogs
4th Place	Things

Individual Scores	Round 1
1st Place	Michelle
2nd Place	Rachael
3rd Place	Michael
4th Place	Annelise
5th Place	Nina

     

On Thursday I sent an email telling the students that all of the scores were pretty close.  I also included a survey to find out what their thoughts were about Round 2 of the Poetry Jam.  Most people said it didn't matter what we did.  I would really love to have everyone read again, so unless someone is super opposed to reciting, ALL FOUR TEAMS will be in Round 2.    EVERYONE  should each bring another poem to recite.  The individual finalists (Michelle, Rachael, Michael, Annelise, and Nina) will present separately, and their scores will be added to the team scores   We'll finish our year with a "Party," and I'll set up a table in the hallway with some snacks.  (Students can bring some if they'd like.)

Next week is the final week, and I've told students that I will accept homework until Saturday, May 7 at 7:00 AM.  My experience is that once the CHAT classes are done, students really lose momentum for completing late homework.  My plan is to get final grades out within the week.  

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Any old homework

-- Essay Re-Write

-- Spring Grammar Test

-- The Reflection Paper

-- Bring a poem -- EVERYONE!

Links for this Week:

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 14 (April 29)

The Value of Reflection Papers

Harry Baker:  99 Problems but Maths Ain't One & Dinosaur Love

See you next week!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 14 (May 6)

 Greetings!

This week we had our penultimate class for the year -- the one before the last one!  We had fun during class, which can be a very good thing, especially since, according to research, "humor activates the brain's dopamine reward system, stimulating goal-oriented motivation and long-term memory, which means that humor can improve retention in students of all ages.? (Edutopia, 2015)

For our Quick Write, I gave the students the following options:

-- Write about Star Wars (May the 4th is National Star Wars Day)

-- Write some fanfiction about another movie, book, or TV series

-- Write about anything else that's on your mind.

For our Words of the Day, we had the following words brought in my the students:

zealot -- a person who exhibits extreme zeal for a cause or ideas

sumptuous -- something that is luxurious and lavish

patootie -- an attractive girl; someone's "backside"

pogonotrophy -- the act of cultivating and growing a beard

The Essay Re-Write was due this week, and their final writing assignment, a Reflection Paper.  For this paper, they are to write about what they learned this year, what they learned about themselves this year, and what did and didn't work well this year.  At the bottom of this email is a link to an article about the value of reflection as a part of learning.

Last week, students took home, completed, and then corrected their Mastering the Comma Review.  This week, they have the final test to take home, complete, and then correct.  They should different colored pens/pencils for correcting their work and be sure to make their marks clearly.  I will figure the final scores for their tests.  The test and the answer key are posted on Google Classroom.  If for some reason they are not able to access Google Classroom, they should still take the test and bring it to class.  I will then correct it.

And, finally, it was time in class for the Poetry Jam, 2021!  The class was divided into 6 teams and took turns coming up to the front to recited their chosen poems.  Not only did the other teams help out with the judging, but we had an illustrious Writing 2 alumni, Nicholas Westerberg, join us as a guest judge.  Nicholas had taken Writing 1, 2, and 3 and Latin 1 from me and is now in college. He wrote a number of original poems for our Poetry Jams!  

I loved listening to all of their poems (and heard a number of my favorites.)  I recorded the Poetry Jam and have posted the video on Google Classroom.  All of the judges' scores have been tallied, and here is the list, in no particular order, of the top 3 teams and top 3 individuals who will complete in the finals next week:

• Teams
• Team 3 (Carson, Peter, Bennett, Ellie, and Ava)
• Team 5 (Elliot, Benjamin, Levi, and Michael S.)
• Team 6 (Philip, Tyler, Michael M. and Jesse T.)
• Individuals
• Kara
• Nalani
• Peter

For the Final Round of Poetry Jam 2021, the team members should each bring 1 poem.  The individuals should also bring 1 poem.  I will also have a poem that we will do as a whole class.  We'll finish our year with a "Party," and I'll set up a table in the hallway with some snacks.  (Students can bring some if they'd like.)

I hope to finish getting all of the scores for current and late homework in my the end of the weekend.  As I've told the students, all work should be in by 11:59 PM on May 15.  I will send an email for you to double check your scores on Track My Grades.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Any old homework

-- The Reflection Paper

-- Bring a poem if you are a finalist

Links for this Week:

Class Notes

The Value of Reflection Papers

Poetry Jam 2021 Video

Blessings!

Mrs. Prichard

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 14 (April 30)

Greetings!

We had a very full hour and a half for this, our penultimate class period.  April 30 is National Poem in Your Pocket day, so I gave them a sheet with a pocket shape for them to write their own original poetry on.  (Some students used these poems for our Poetry Jam, later in class.)

Following our Quick Write, the students took their Grammar Final.  Similar to the Mastering the Comma Review that they handed in last week, this was a "commas only" test.  They worked diligently to finish these.  I've graded most of them, and they all did well.  Hopefully, they can confidently consider themselves "Masters of the Comma."

The remainder of the class time was spent on our Poetry Jam.  A cross between a Poetry Slam,for which students write their own original poems, and Poetry Out Loud, for which the choose for a selected list of poems.  Both of these events are competitive poetry presentations.  The students were divided into teams; each student gave an individual presentation.  The other teams then scored the "players" using a rubric that divided the presentation into the following areas: level of difficulty, memorization, physical presence, and dramatic voice and articulation.  Players received an extra 2 points if the poem was an original.  

After we worked out the kinks of the scoring method -- adding & averaging then adding and averaging again -- we had a good solid round of presentations.  We had a mix of serious, light-hearted, and original poetry.  Even those who dislike poetry were good sports and gave good readings.  We have two teams who will participate in the "Play Offs" at the beginning of class this week.  For this round, I will provide the poetry.

This Thursday is our final week of classes for the CHAT school year.  I have 3 items on the agenda for this week:  a short reflection paper as the Quick Write, the Poetry "Play Offs," and a final exam for the students.  This exam looks a lot like a bingo game, complete with prizes.  Students may bring refreshments to share.

Assignments for our last week:

-- Bring in any missing homework

-- For those in presenting poetry, warm up your presenting voice.

Links for this week:

Class Notes

Value of Reflection Papers

National Poetry Month

Poetry Slams

Poetry Out Loud

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 13 (April 24)

Greetings!

We had a great class yesterday.  Beginning our class with a Quick Write, we celebrated William Shakespeare's birthday (a day late) with our own stories about "star crossed overs."  I asked them to be creative about pairing 2 unlikely candidates.  Of the stories, we had a clever, pun-filled account of a relationship between a stone wall and a window.

Our Words of the Day came from a book of common sayings and their origins.  The phrases we looked at this week were:

"Great Scott!" -- an exclamation taken from Winfield Scott, a general of the Mexican War and an arrogant, pompous presidential candidate opposing Franklin Pierce.

"Hat in the ring" -- a phrase that means to join a political race, taken from Ringstrasse, a city center in Vienna that was a gathering place for those politically involved in the city.  Gentlemen would be visible because of their hats.

"Hobnob" -- to socially mix with those of a higher class taken from the old English word that means "to give and receive."  People would gather at pubs and offer toasts to one another.

"Kit and Caboodle" -- the whole collection of things, taken from a set of tools/objects (kit) and personal items (fr. Dutch boodle)

Students handed in their Evaluation Final Drafts today, along with their self-evaluations.  I had asked the students to use the same rubric that I use to grade/score the papers.  Our next essay is a Re-Write of one of the essays that they've written for this class this year.  They might want to choose a paper that they feel needs improving or a favorite essay that they would like to work more on.

We had a a good amount of time to talk through some of our Poetry selections.  Those who had taken Writing 1, remember our class discussion about William Carlos Williams's short poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow."  While it may seem an insignificant poem, I've always enjoyed unpacking it with students.  We also looked at Carl Sandburg's poem, "Chicago," and Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Less Traveled."  We had a wonderful discussion about the ways we take the unconventional paths in life.

We're winding down our semester of classes, and part of our next two classes will be our "Poetry Jam."  Combining the ideas of a poetry slam (a competition featuring original poems) and Poetry Out Loud (a competition featuring pre-selected poems) students will read or recite poems for the class. James Stephenson, a Writing 1 student, set up a bracket for us to use.  I've divided the students into teams (please remember your number!).  They are to bring 1 - 2 poems next week.  We will take time for some team collaboration before starting.

We ran out of time to discuss the Reflection Paper that I would like them to write.  Next week, as the class's Quick Write, I will be asking them to take a longer time to write about what they've learned about writing and about themselves as writers this year.  I would like each student to take some time before class time to brainstorm their ideas about this topic.  If they would like, they can write some notes or compose a kind of prewrite that they can use to answer this.  I'm attaching a link to a scholarly article about the value of reflection as part of the learning process.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Essay Re-write

-- Select 1 - 2 poems

-- Reflection paper brainstorming

This week's links:

Class Notes

Improving Learning through Reflection

William Carlos Williams information

The Red Wheelbarrow

Carl Sandburg

Robert Frost

Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Slams

Have a beautiful weekend!

Mrs. Prichard