Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 6 (March 3)

Greetings!

A week off from class was a nice break, but it is also good to be back to our CHAT classes.  

Before our Quick Write, I told the students about a opera performance in Berlin by Luciano Pavarotti.  Following the performance, Pavarotti had a record 165 curtain calls and a 67 minute standing ovation.  I asked the students to write about either a memorable concert experience or a singer/group they would like to hear in concert.  While most students like concerts, a few were not as interested in attending any special performances.

Our Words of the Day:

philophaster -- a pseudo-philosopher  (the suffix "aster" implies an incomplete resemblence or counterfeit)

autocrat -- from Greek, auto (self) and crat (rule/power) -- a ruler who has absolute power; 

satrap -- a governor in ancient Persia

epizootic -- a disease spreading through an animal population

trilemna -- a difficult choice involving 3 options

We had a quick check in on our Essays.  For this round of essays, students can choose either a Cause/Effect Essay or a Problem/Solution Essay.  They can even choose to do both essays.  The Rough Drafts for these essays are due next week.

We started our next Literature unit, a collection of Short Stories.  For this week, students read stories by British authors.  The class was in agreement that the Charles Dickens story, "Nobody's Story," was not a favorite.  Dickens wrote from a vague, philosophical perspective that was confusing for most.  The two favorites of the day were "Wee Willie Winkie," a story about a 7 year old who becomes a hero, and "The Open Window," a story about a 15 year old who scares a man with a nervous disorder.  For next week, they are to read 3 American authors and write 3 discussion questions for each story.

Finally, we forayed into a grammar discussion that involved phrases.  Today, our specific topic was Gerund Phrases.  These are verbal phrases are verbs in -ing form that are used as nouns.  As we've discussed in class, sometimes one part of speech can be used in another.  In the homework section, I have three videos that will help explain Gerund Phrases, Infinitive Phrases, and Appositive Phrases.  (We will be discussing the latter in class next week.) I would like the students to watch them before the next class.

Assignments for Next Week:

EDpuzzle Infinitive Video 

EDpuzzle Appositive Video

EDpuzzle Gerund Video

Cause/Effect or Problem/Solution Rough Draft

Read Hawthorne (p. 73), Bierce (p. 10), and Poe (p. 156)

Write 3 Discussion questions for each story

No Grammar Worksheet

Links for This Week:

Class Notes

Videos for Infinitives and Appositives

Video for Gerunds

Note:  The videos listed in the Assignments section of this e-mail are the same as the listed in the Links section; one link goes to the blog and one goes to the EDpuzzle site.  Some students have had trouble accessing one or the other site, so I'm including both.  Students need only watch the videos once.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Prichard

Video for Gerund Phrases

Please watch this video to review gerunds.  Take notes if it will help!

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 6 (March 3)

Oops!  I posted the Class Notes for Writing 1 in the Writing 2 blog.  Please follow this link to the Writing 1 class blog.

Videos for Infinitive and Appositive Phrases

Watch and take notes if it would help. Infinitive Phrases



 Appositive Phrases

Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 5 (February 18)

Greetings!

Another great class!  We began our class with our usual Quick Write.  This week, I had the students about their favorite childhood toys or games.  The prompt for this was a February 13, 1988 event -- the first International Building Competition sponsored by the LEGO Company.  We heard about board games, made-up games, little miniatures, and other toys.

Our Words of the Day were words of Latin origin:

quorum -- the minimum number of persons required for a business or board to make decisions

quid pro quo -- "something for something" or "this for that" -- an exchange of goods or services, where one transfer is contingent upon the other

cave canem -- Beware the Dog

Fac ut vivas -- "Get a life"

And our final phrase is one that often gets brought up when people are joking about knowing Latin.  

Semper ubi sub ubi  -- translates as "Always where under where"

Students handed in the final copies of their Mystery Stories.  I am really looking forward to reading these.  I've asked the students for permission to post their stories on the blog.  I did this with last year's group.  If any students really don't want their stories posted, they are not required to.  

We are now ready for our next essay: either a Cause/Effect Essay or a Problem/Solution Essay.  I gave them handouts for each, and they may choose one of the essays.  If they would like, they can write both kinds of essays; one would be for extra credit.

I handed out our next book, Great Short, Short Stories.  This book has a selection of European and American short stories.  For our next time together, they are to read 4 British stories.  Instead of worksheets or study guide questions, I would like the students to come up with 2 Discussion Questions for each story.  These questions should be those that are more than who, what, where, or when questions.  They should be how and why questions.

Finally, during our Grammar portion of the class, we had some more instruction and practice on the following phrases:  prepositional, participle, and gerund.  We had time to do a few from each section.

We do not have class next week.  The next time we meet is March 3.

Assignments for March 3:

-- Cause/Effect or Problem/Solution Pre-Write

-- Read Dickens, Wilde, Kipling, and Munro Short Stories

-- Write 2 Discussion Questions for each story

-- Grammar Worksheet

Links for this week:

Class Notes 

Phrases Worksheet

Note:  If you are curious, you can read last year's stories.  They are on the side bar of the blog.

Have a great weekend and a good break!

Mrs. Prichard

PHRASES WORKSHEET

Name:  _______________________________

PHRASES WORKSHEET

Prepositional Phrases, Participle Phrases, Gerund Phrases

PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES:  These phrases are either adjectives or adverbs depending upon how they are used.  A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun.

            Examples:

·  At the high school, Mr. Thompson taught history.  (adverbial modifying taught)

·  The gym at the high school is sold out for the big game.  (adjectival modifying gym)

·  In 1892, James Corbett became the heavy weight champion of boxing.  (first phrase is and adverb; second phrase is an adjective)

            Same phrase used two different ways:

·  Ann found in her drink a fly.  (adverb phrase modifying found)

·  The fly in her drink bothered Ann.  (adj. phrase modifying bee)

·  From the shore, Randy caught fifteen catfish.  (adverb modifying caught)

·  Greg visited his friend from the shore of Lake Superior.  (adj. modifying friend)

PRACTICE

For each sentence, put the prepositional phrase in parentheses.  Circle the preposition.  Finally, determine if this phrase is an adjective phrase or an adverb phrase.  Draw an arrow to the word it modifies.        

                       

1.     The table in the kitchen was my mother’s.

2.     We put the table in the kitchen

3.     The keys in my pocket belong to my boss.

4.     I found the keys in my pocket.

5.     The bridge over the river is longer than the one over the creek.

6.     Using the bridge, the cars went over the river.

7.     The stars beyond the solar system are still a mystery.

8.     Let’s build a rocket that goes beyond the solar system.

9.     Between you and me, this cake of my aunt’s is dry on the outside.

10.                        The house of the father of my best friend’s uncle from Kansas is for sale.

PARTICIPLE PHRASES:  These phrases function as adjectives and contain a present or past participle.  Participles all tend to end in “’ing” (present participle), “-ed,” “-d,” “-en,” “-n,” or “-t” with a few exceptions like “swum” and “hung.”  Participial phrases are made up of a participle along with an object or modifier or both.  These adjective phrases are usually placed as near as possible to the words they modify.  Participles are the third and fourth principle parts of verbs.

Examples:

·  Fortified against an attack, Macbeth’s army almost deserted their leader.

·  Singing “Aida” in the shower, Gary annoyed his roommates. 

·  Marching in the parade, Patrick showed his Irish pride.

·  Dedicated to the health of the poor, Mother Theresa helped others.

·  Thrashing the shore with great force, the storm pounded the rocky coast of Maine.

PRACTICE

For each sentence below, underline the participle phrase.  Include the present or past participle and other parts of the phrase.  Draw an arrow to the noun or noun phrase that the participle phrase modifies. 

1.     Sam, encouraging his brother, cheered him on at the finish line.

2.     The growing population forced the city to build a new school.

3.     Studying math, Calvin is planning a career as an accountant.

4.     The mother quieted the sleeping baby.

5.     April, expecting an important phone call, waited in the hallway outside.

6.     The defeated soldiers laid down their weapons.

7.     The coffee shop, located on the north side, hosted a sing-along.

8.     She found the exhausted doctor asleep on one of the hospital beds.

9.     Mr. Larsen found the opened letter on his desk.

10.                        The basketball players walked away with wounded pride.

GERUND PHRASES:  Like any noun, a gerund phrase can function as a subject, direct object, indirect object, object of the preposition, or predicate nominative.  The gerund phrase is made up of the present participle (“-ing”) and can contain an object and/or a modifier (and sometimes many modifiers).  The gerund is a verbal noun.

Examples:

            Gerund phrase as a subject:

·  Making the varsity team is a challenging endeavor.

Gerund phrase as a direct object:

·  The rookie catchers practiced protecting the plate.

Gerund phrase as an indirect object:

·  If students give learning grammar a fair chance, their writing will improve.

·  My brother once gave swinging a golf club his undivided attention.

Gerund phrase as an Object of the Preposition:

·  Carrie got first prize by memorizing the most poetry.

Gerund phrase as a Predicate Nominative:

·  Robyn’s greatest accomplishment is singing in the opera.

PRACTICE

For each sentence below, underline the gerund phrase.  Label the phrase Subject, Direct Object, Indirect Object, Object of the Preposition, or Predicate Nominative.

1.     I love eating burgers and fries.

2.     Listening to the orchestra inspired me to practice more.

3.     Mrs. Jones heard loud growling in his back yard.

4.     A trait of successful employees is working cheerfully.

5.     I can hear from my window the hammering on the building.

6.     Ben is not very good at staying awake after 10:00 pm.

7.     Jumping on the trampoline gives Mandy all the exercise she needs.

8.     I am not very good at locating cities on a map.

9.     The candidates reveal their personalities by arguing with one another.

10.                        Some women use group cooking to prepare food for their families.

Literary Love Letter, 2016

Each year, either just before Valentine's Day or right after, I assign the students to write a "Literary Love Letter" as their Quick Write.  Below are this year's contributions.

A love letter to periods:
Oh Period,
How small and insignificant you are. How steadfast and strong, separating long and boring sentences like a bar.  With the other punctuation you stand, without praise, without song.  Among the others, you are most vital.

Words!  I love that you can express with them!

To a Quick Write
How I love your personality
Everything has a problem
Rambunctious at times
Melodramatic in nature
Incredibly worried about homework
Owl exams far in advance
Nothing compares to you
Emeralds remind me of you.

To My Dearest Adjective,
I must write to you to tell you how incredible you are.  Your talent at spicing up sentences and brimming life to them is something unparalleled.  Your broad range of ability is nothing short of amazement.  You truly are the best part of speech.

Dear Miss Elizabeth Bennett,
I am very very ill.  I have not been able to leave my bed since you left from your visit to Pemberly.  I feel like a child deprived of candy.  Like the moon without stars to shine with.  The sun has ceased to shine.  The grass has turned a dismal brown.  The flowers have died.  Oh, how I long to see you so that my life will have the light of the sun.  So that the flowers grow and the grass turns green.  The moon will have the stars to shine with the earth will have the warmth of the sun.  My wells have gone dry since you left.  Return to me so I may have water again. The crops have failed since you left.  Return so I have may have food.  I have declared my love for you.
Love,
Mr. Darcy


Dear Words,
What can I say -- you make me feel happy, joyful, excited.  But you also make me feel angry, hurt, and down.  You make me confused and disgusted.  Out of all these things, you make me feel loved.  Opening up a new book full of you makes me happy -- you create and express new stories in so many different ways.  You make me feel anxious and make me hold my breath.  You leave me second guessing.  There are no words to describe you, the way you make me so excited and hung up on a certain book.

Dear Words,
You make papers and letters love  You make love letters.  Words can be fancy and extravagant or the can be simple.  They can be loud or quiet.  I love you, Words.  You make words full of joy and love most of the time.
Love,
A Grateful Student

Dear Spellcheck,
You complete all my unfinished words.  You help me even when I didn't know I needed help.  Sometimes you spell my last name wrong, but it's OK.  I love you despite your flaws with names.  You are the reason I get through writing papers.  I couldn't do it without you!
Love,
Abigail

Dear Mrs. Prichard,
You are the best teacher CHAT has seen.  You make every class extraordinary to its fullest potential.  Thank you for being an amazing writing teacher.
Happy Valentine's Day,
Your favorite student

To Words,
If it weren't for words, we wouldn't know how to express ourselves.  We couldn't share our thoughts or feelings with one another.  In fact, I think it would show the true colors of someone because you would have to learn who they truly are by their actions, not their words.
~ Your Student

To the Pen or Pencil,
You're such a blessing to all.  Without you two, we wouldn't be able to express our thoughts.  We would hardly have creativity, but you brought that to us.  I love you, guys, and hope you will continue to bring us joy as we write and become more creative.
~ Your Student

Dear Titles of Papers,
Thank you for giving me an idea of what I'm about to read.  Without you, I would know whether I was reading about chickens or nuclear waste.
Thank you,
Love,
Your Student