Spring Grades Comments

Dear CHAT Writing 2 Students & Parents,

I've just finished calculating the grades for the Spring semester, and you will be finding them in your inbox by the end of the week.  As tutors, these are suggested grades for you as homeschooling families to consider.

For those who are new to my classes, let me share my thoughts on grades.  As I homeschooled, I didn't give my children grades.  I felt that grades were far too subjective.  I taught my own children for mastery.  We didn't proceed with a topic until they were ready no matter how long that took. 

Letter grades are a funny thing.  For some students, it becomes the only motivation for doing well.  For some, it becomes a measure of their worth as a person or as an academic learner.  I personally don't like these "side effects" of the grading system.  On the other hand, grades can be a valid reflection and reward for working hard, being diligent, and understanding the materials.

When teaching students to be good writers, I give a lot of consideration for growth and improvement. Each student has a starting place; over time I look for him or her to learn the mechanics of grammar, good writing techniques, and analytical thinking skills.

For this class, I gave points for attendance, participation, short assignments and longer essays.  We also did a few grammar exercises.  I tend to be an "easy grader" and like to see my students encouraged to do their best.  For this class, the final drafts were graded using a rubric that divided the papers into the following categories:  focus, content, organization, and mechanics.

Each student (and parents) will receive an e-mail with percentages and suggested grades for this semester.  I’ve seen each student improve with each paper.  Good Work!

Blessings,

Tammy Prichard

Poetry Jam Play-Offs

Below is Team One's rendition of T. S. Eliot's "Macavity the Mystery Cat."

Below is Team Two's rendition of a Lewis Carroll poem, "A Strange Wild Song."

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 15 (May 7)

Greetings!

We had another full class for our last week of classes.  After our customary opening prayer, I had the students write their Reflection Papers.  They were to write about what they've learned about grammar, writing, and literature.  Some students had already written one, so they had the opportunity to write an extra credit Quick Write:  what do you see yourself writing in the future?

Following the Quick Writes, we finished the Play-Offs for our Poetry Jam.  I gave the two teams each a poem that I had brought for them.  T. S. Eliot's "Macavity" cat poem and Lewis Carroll's "I saw an Elephant."  The class scored the finalists, and they were within 1/4 of a point.  (I took videos of their performances, but I'm having trouble uploading them.  Once I figure out the technology, I'll post them.)

Finally, we had our Final Exam for the class.  Rather than looking like a Bingo game, it was a Jeopardy game.  The class was divided into 5 teams and answered questions from the following categories:  Grammar Terms, Writing Terms, Animal Farm, Jekyll Hyde, and Other Literature.  (You can go here and see the game .)  They did pretty well, and had some fun in the process.

I'm pretty proud of these kids.  They've written well, engaged well in class discussions, worked hard on homework, and been generally great all-around kids.  We had a marvelous year reading and writing!

I have a few bits and pieces of homework that have come in from students.  (In anyone has anything they haven't handed in, please get it in by Monday.)  Once those have been graded and I have everything entered in Engrade, I will get the grades sent out.  My goal is to have them done by next Thursday.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!

This week's links:

Class Notes

Jeopardy Final Exam

Have a great summer!

Mrs. Prichard

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

Grammar Equations

Equation for a Sentence

     Subject

     Verb

+  Complete Thought

    SENTENCE or

    Independent Clause

Equation for a Dependent Clause

     Subordinating Conjunctions

    Subject

     Verb

+  Unfinished Thought

    Dependent Clause or

    Subordinate Clause

Compound Sentence Formula

S+V , fanboys S+V 

OR 

Independent Clause, fanboys Independent Clause

Complex Sentence Formula

Dependent Clause , + independent clause

     (Note:  Use a comma when you begin a sentence with the dependent clause)

OR

Independent clause + dependent clause

     (Note:  Don’t use a comma when the dependent clause comes at the end of the sentence.)

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 13 (April 23)

Greetings!

We're nearing the end of our classes here at CHAT, and I can sense a change is the atmosphere.  While the students are doing their best to stay engaged, you can tell that the end of the school year is just around the corner.

This week on April 23 was the 10th anniversary of Youtube.  For the Quick Write, I gave the students two options.  They could write something about Youtube, or they could combine the following words (gathered randomly from the class) into a short story:  Ghana, wallaby, walking, and purple.

Our Latin Roots of the Day:

navis -- L. ship -- English derivatives:  navy, nautical, navigate, circumnavigate, navigable, nave

nihil -- L. nothing -- English derivatives:  nihilism, nihilist, annihilate, annihilation, nil

nocto -- L. night -- English derivatives:  nocturnal, nocturne

nova -- L. new -- English derivatives: innovation, novice, novel, renovate, supernova, novelty

Students handed in the Final Drafts of their Evaluation Essays, and in return were given their final writing assignment:  an Essay Re-Write. For these essays, they are to select one of the essays to edit and revise.  This can be what they would consider a "worst essay" or an essay they would like to spend more time on.  They should consider the previously written final draft as the rough draft for their Re-Write.

Next week is a big week for our class.  For me, it's better to have the important, end of the year assignments due the week before the final week.  During the final week, we celebrate the end of the year with some poetry presentations and treats.

To finish out our Grammar unit of commas, we will have a test next week.  Similar to the Comma Review of last week, the test will be 37 sentences that require commas.  In class, we discussed how to study for this test.  They can go over past worksheets and assignments, check out previous e-mails, and read through blog posts from this semester.  To help, I'm sending the answer key for last week's "Mastering the Comma" assignment.

Note:  If you will NOT be in class next week, let me know and I will send you the grammar test to take at home under the watchful eye of a parent.

Finally, the Poetry.  In class, we watched a couple video presentations of poems:  "Chicago" by Carl Sandburg read with period photos and an analysis of "The Red Wheel Barrow" by William Carlos Williams.  Next week we will start our "Poetry Jam."  The class will be divided into teams and as individual players will each present a poem for their teams.  

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Essay Re-Write

-- Study for the Spring Grammar test

-- Prepare at least 1 poem for the Poetry Jam

Links for this week:

Class Notes

Essay Re-Write

Comma Usage Handout (from Week 1)

Purdue OWL:  Conquering the Comma

The Comma Song video

How to Use Commas Correctly video

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Essay Rewrite

Definition

The purpose of this essay is to improve editing skills by rewriting a previously written essay.  Effective editing is a step-by-step process.  One key is to re-read a paper multiple times, looking for only one kind of error at a time.

Editing Plan

As you re-read your paper, look for any errors in the following areas:

·       Complete sentences:  Each sentence should have a subject, verb, and a complete thought.  Look for incomplete and run-on/comma splice sentences.

·       Parallel Constructions:  Faulty parallel construction leads to unclear and awkward sentences.

·       There are/is/was/will be, etc.:  Any sentences with this type of construction must be changed.

·       Punctuation:  Pay close attention to commas and ending punctuation.

·       Agreement:  Make sure all subjects and verbs agree; also look for noun/pronoun agreement.

·       Spelling:  With the spell check function for most word processing software, this is not as much of a problem as it used to be.  However, your computer will not know if you’ve put the wrong word in, or it may autocorrect and change the word from the one you intended.

·       Paragraph construction:  Each paragraph must have a main idea.  Make sure that all of the thoughts expressed in the paragraph are part of that main idea.  Do any sentences need to be moved to another paragraph?  Does the paragraph need to be divided into smaller paragraphs?

·       Organization:  Is the overall organization of the paper logical?  Does each point lead to the next?  Should it be rearranged?

·       Content:  The essay should give sufficient information to support your thesis. Have you included enough background information?  Have you satisfactorily covered the material?  As you re-read, look for ways to expand your essay.  Also, note any information that seems unnecessary. 

Thesis Development

Your essay should have a clearly defined thesis that you explain and support.  Sometimes a thesis is simple and straightforward; sometimes they are more complex.  Your reader should never be confused as to your topic and your decided opinion or stand on that topic.    

Additional Assignment

Along with a revised and improved version of a previous essay, the following are also to be included:

–  Thesis Statement

–  One paragraph entitled “What I’ve Learned as a Writer this Year.”  (100 – 200 words) This paragraph can include thoughts about grammar and mechanics, organization, thesis development, sentence structures, etc.

Essay Guidelines

– Due date:  April 30

– Essay length:  500 – 700 words (between 2 and 4 pages)

– Additional work:  Thesis statement and a paragraph about what you’re learned as a writer.

– 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