Thoughts about Grades

 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 in just a few minutes.  As tutors, we give you suggested grades for you as homeschooling families to consider.

Allow me to share my thoughts on grades.  As I homeschool my own children, I don’t give them grades.  I feel that grades are far too subjective, especially coming from their mother.  Instead, I teach my own children for mastery, and we don’t proceed with a topic until they are ready, no matter how long that takes.  In a class setting, knowing where each student is with regards to his/her understanding of a topic is not always possible, so any grade given is not a complete representation of what the student learned or accomplished this year.

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 people or as  academic learners.  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 Quick Writes, short assignments, literature assignments, grammar exercises, and longer essays. The final drafts of the essay assignments were graded using a rubric that divided the papers into the following categories:  focus, content, organization, and mechanics.  

The scores for class work are divided into the following categories:  Quick Writes & Visual Vocabulary, Writing, Literature, and Grammar.  A student may have been strong in one area and not in another, and this will be reflected in these categories.  

The grade breakdowns for Writing 1 are as follows:

98% - 100% (A+), 93% - 97% (A), 90% - 92% (A-),

87% - 89% (B+), 83% - 86% (B), 80 % - 82% (B-),

77% - 77% (C+), 73% - 76% (C), 70% - 72% (C-),

67% - 69% (D+), 63% - 66% (D), 60% - 62% (D-),

55% - 59% (Pass), 50% - 54% (Fail); 0% - 49% (Incomplete)

Each student (and parents) will receive an e-mail with percentages and a suggested overall grade for this semester. (Note:  You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the document.)   I’ve seen each student improve with each paper and have truly enjoyed my interactions with this class. Good Work!

Blessings to all,

Mrs. G

Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 15 (May 7)

 Greetings everyone!

We had a marvelous final day of Writing 2 at CHAT for the 2024-25 school year.  We have covered so much over the course of the year, that our heads are full; but the weeks go by so quickly that it seems hard to think that we're at the end.  

As the culminating event, students have been working towards staging our class Poetry Event.  They all had a role to play on on a committee and they worked collaboratively to make this event a success.  I am proud of the way they communicated, split up the work and let their talents shine as they organized and then performed their poetic pieces.   I was especially touched by the quality and the authenticity of original poems that were shared.  What a talented bunch!

After the Committees met to put the finishing touches together and we had a short class The stage was set, the refreshments ready and the decorations were amazing!! Thank you all for working so hard at putting this all together. It really made it special!

After  a short class business meeting, we were ready to begin. In the pre-round, all students performed the poem they have memorized this semester “Annabel Lee.” Students who could recite it without looking at the poem received extra credit! Then, using the beautiful student designed program our dynamic Emcee duo of Brecken and Liam took charge and explained the judging criteria and the flow of the event.  A panel of judges used a scoring system to evaluate the poem and the delivery style–and though it was difficult, they did come up with the top three performances.  After a tie-breaker for third place, the winners were announced and prizes were given:

Congratulations to 

3rd place: William

2nd place: Casha

1st place:  Peter–with a British accent!

Please watch Google Classroom for a link to the photo album from this event. 

Now that it is all over, I want to let you know that I am working on getting all the grading finished.  I have given students until tonight–Friday @ 11:59 PM  to hand any work in.  Final Grades will be out sometime next week.  If for some reason that won't work, please contact me. Look for 2 emails from me:  one that explains how I grade and then the grades themselves.  In the meantime, you can look at Google Classroom to get a pretty good idea of your grade. (Heads up:  your grade may appear higher on GC than it is especially if you are missing a lot of assignments! Remember that Google Classroom doesn't default those missing scores to zeros. That’s what happens in the grading program I use).

This has been a great year with these students.  They're bright and engaging, and they've worked hard this year. I will truly miss them as they move on to their future academic endeavors.

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Writing 2 Class Notes--WK 14 (4/30)

 Greetings!

We had a lightning fast round Visual Vocabulary today in order to get our last two in before we took the Spring Visual Vocabulary Quiz.  Our words today were languid and florid.  We talked them through and students jotted down the definitions.  This was great, because the vocabulary quiz was “open worksheet.”   It is a well-deserved  reward for taking comprehensive notes all semester!

After that, I gave the students five minutes to review for the Grammar Test and to make sure all was in order for the Vocabulary Quiz.  Since their homework was a Mastering the Comma Review that they finished and corrected, they should have done really well on it!  I had them help me correct it when it was all over and then we were ready to switch gears.

The rest of the class time was dedicated to committee work for the big event next week.  As we discussed, it takes a lot of work to pull off a successful event.  When students have “skin in the game” with planning and organizing an event, I find there’s a high level of ownership and engagement.  After discussing how the committee work should flow,  they were split  into groups and got busy dividing and conquering their committee’s punch list.  I encouraged them to exchange contact information.  The theme was decided upon:  Game Show!  I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with–it should be fun!

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.

Next week is the final week, and I will accept homework until Sunday, May 11 at 11:59 PM.  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.  

Blessings on your weekend!

Mrs. G

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Any old homework

-- Reflection Paper

–Practice your poems!

–Committee work

CHAT Writing 2 Class Notes--WK 13 (4/23)

 Hello There!

Today was another great day with this group.  They are such a blessing as we continue to work and learn together.

As usual, we started the day with a Quick Write–since we are working our way through poetry, we watched poet Phil Kaye perform his poem called “Before the Internet.” Afterwards, students wrote about what stood out to them most about the poem and the way it was delivered. Then they were challenged to brainstorm some of their own early childhood memories and to add sensory details and “word pictures” to help bring the memory to life.  I think the results were pretty amazing!

After that, we took a few minutes to recite the poem we are attempting to commit to memory:  “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe. The homework was to memorize it up to stanza four. After reviewing for a few minutes, students stood up and attempted to recite it from memory. Keep working on it! The goal is to recite it at our Poetry Event on the last day of class.

Writing

Now that students have turned in their FINAL formal essay for me (whoohoo!) they will submit a more informal Reflection Essay.  Reflect on what, you ask? At the beginning of the year, students were given a Blue Book, a simple writing prompt and a 20 minute timer. Today, I passed those same Blue Books back and gave them the same prompt and set the timer once again.  Their Reflection Essay will ask them to compare their writing from the beginning of the year and to evaluate their own writing growth. I hope students will be encouraged to witness their growth this year! I passed out the guidelines for that assignment.  It is due the last day of class (May 7).

Literature

After that students had another opportunity to try their hands at writing some original poetry. We read George Ella Lyon’s autobiographical poem “Where I’m From”--and listened to the poet recite it.  They had some insightful observations!  Students had time in class to compose their own autobiographical poem in a style of their choice or based on the “Where I’m From” poem template.“I could tell some really got into “the zone” writing these and my hope is to hear some of these performed at our Poetry Event. 

They are to consider which committee they want to join and as homework, they are to answer two Discussion Questions by Sunday, April 26th!  The questions are about their first and second preferences of which committee they’d like to participate in and the two poems they would like to perform.  The poems can be any combination of “found poems” and original poems. “Found poems” can be from our poetry book, your own poetry collection, from the library or another source.  Each poem should be 4-5 lines long minimum and should be CHAT appropriate!  I mentioned that if the poem is from a source outside of our class poetry book, it must be submitted to me for approval. If it is not approved by me, the poem will not be able to be performed and you will miss out on the points for this project. We will spend the bulk of next class period on committee work.

Grammar

To conclude our Grammar for the year, I have a Mastering the Comma Test that they will take next week.  For this week, they have a review sheet that they should complete and then correct. (The Key is on the Google Classroom assignment.)  Correcting their own work will further help them review and will be much more beneficial than waiting a week to see if they got the answers right.  

We have a couple fun weeks planned to finish out our year, so let's make sure you get caught up on any late work.

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Assignments for Next Week:

–Which Committee? Discussion Question–due Sunday, 4/23!!

–Which Poems?  Discussion Question

--Choose 2 poems for your contribution to the Poetry Event

--Any combo of found and original poetry

–Finish composing “Where I’m From” poem

About the Reflection essay

–Reflection Essay (due May 7)

Complete the Mastering the Comma Review sheet and correct it. (Bring the corrected version to class)

Links for This Week

“Before the Internet”

“Annabel Lee”

“Where I’m From” George Ella Lyon audio

Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 12 (4/16)

 The buds are budding and the sun is shining–and had another great class with this group!

We started with Visual Vocabulary.  Today’s words are:  catalyst and deleterious.Our vocabulary is growing–we only have one more installment of Visual Vocabulary before the end-of-semester quiz.  Use this week to catch up on any essays/compositions that are overdue.

Writing

Today, we took some time to analyze the poem “I’m Nobody–Who are you?” by Emily Dickinson.  We watched a video about her life and discussed how her poem reflected some aspects of her life.  As homework, students will try to write their own “I am __________” poem in her style.  We can learn a lot when we imitate great writers!

Literature

We had a Poetry Devices Scavenger Hunt.  After discussing different Poetic Devices like onomatopoeia, imagery, and enjambment, we practiced identifying devices together in the large group.  After that, I assigned groups and they were given time to read and “scavenge” their own poems for different devices.  We had time for a few station rotations of this.  I hope they found some favorites among the batch.

Grammar

After that, I handed out two worksheets on italics and quotation marks.  Students had some time to work the worksheets in class.  They are due next week.

 

That is all! 

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Homework

Week 13 Poems

Poetry Response Packets

“I am Nobody–” Poetry Imitation

Week 12 Grammar 

–Italics & Quotation Marks

–Using Italics

Links for This Week

A bit about Dickenson

CHAT Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 11 (4/9)

 I had to travel out of state for a family event over the weekend. So, I left the class in the capable hands of my sub, Mrs. Burns.

April is Poetry Month in Writing Class!  As an English teacher, it’s probably not surprising that I enjoy poetry.  But honestly, I haven’t really gotten into it until later in life.  If they are not already enjoying it, my goal is to open a door of poetry enjoyment for my students through reading some great poetry and attempting to write some lines of our own.

Visual Vocabulary

Today, our words were:  cogent and acumen. When you work on your writing skills, you gain acumen to make cogent arguments!

Writing

Today, the Formal Critique Essay was due.  I will be working my way through grading and coding those this week. Once you receive those, the last batch of Final Edits will be due since this is our last “from scratch” essay!  

Literature

Today, since we are rolling on poetry, students got to enjoy reading a famous American poet William Carlos Williams. Then, they all got out their phones and their earbuds (wow!  Did I just say that?  Usually phones are banned!  When the cat’s away…) and they spent the next few minutes enjoying a podcast that had overlapping themes. Students analyzed these themes on a worksheet and then had some time to discuss as a class.

Their homework is to read the poems for next week and respond to two.  

Grammar

After that, they had time to work on some worksheets about the finer pins of hyphens, dashes and parentheses. You may consult the handout if you have questions.  Please finish and correct your work.

Blessings on your weekend!

Mrs. G

Homework for this week

• Poetry:  Read Wilcox (33), Thayer (34-35), Sandburg (p. 53-54), Williams (p 60-61), Johnson (41), Dunbar (p. 41 – 43)

• Week 12 Poetry (pdfs on Google Classroom)

• 2 Poetry Responses

• Grammar – Wk11:  The Colon

• Grammar – Wk11:  Using the Semicolon and Colon

CHAT Writing 2--Week 10 (3/27)

 Hello Everyone!

Time flies when you are having fun–and it sure flew once again today in Writing 2.   Read on for a recap of all we accomplished in class today!

Quick Write

Because we are coming up on Holy Week, I pivoted. We had another Quick Write responding to an allegorical animated short film that beautifully parallels the sacrifice, the death, and resurrection of Jesus and what that means for us. The best stories convey truth— I pray students will internalize the truth of God’s great love for us.

Literature 

Today, we finished our short stories unit with an in-class quiz, then we started our next unit–poetry.  Our poems come from a book titled 101 Great American Poems, and they will be reading a chronological collection of poems, starting with poetry from the early 1800s to that of the mid-1900s.  Students have the books, but I will also post the poems on Google Classroom.  

We talked about how each week from here on out students will read all the assigned poems and respond to two of them.

Here are their options:

1. Fill out a Poetry Worksheet for one or both

2.  Write a paragraph about the poem(s) that analyzes the poem; discuss what you think it means and why you like or don't like it.

3.  Instead of writing a paragraph, record a video commentary about the poem.  Youtube LiveStream or some other app on a device is OK as long as it can be seen by me.

4.  Do a piece of art that connects with the content and meaning of the poem.  

5.  Make a video of your recitation of the poem.  Our poetry unit will culminate in a Poetry Jam (poetry contest.)  More details on that to come.

Writing

Last week I introduced our last “from scratch” essay–the Formal Critique. The KWO for that was due today. I circulated around the room, checked in with each student and gave credit to those who met their deadline for this assignment. After that, we talked through some more helps for this essay. I passed out a two sided-sheet with a “thesaurus” for writing this type of essay and more helpful vocabulary for discussing topics like themes, character qualities and general analysis words.  These are posted in the About the Formal Critique material on Google Classroom.  Please avail yourself of these helps when writing your essays over the break. You’ll sound as smart as you are!  The Formal Critique is due April 9th–when you get back from break.

To further support you as students write their critiques, today we watched a video on Story Types.  We learned there are basically 4 types of stories:  whole, healing, broken, and twisted. After generating a few more examples of each story type, we read through a famous short story by one of our featured short story writers Saki called “The Interlopers”  WHAT an ending!  Though we weren’t able to finish it in class, please read on over the break and see that it is a great example of a mostly broken story.  It is a cautionary tale of what happens when we have unforgiveness–or we forgive too late. Familiarity with story types will be helpful as they write their critiques. 

Grammar

Our topic today was parentheses, dashes, and ellipses.  After reading some tips about using these, students can get to work practicing on their worksheets. Remember to grade and mark your own work!

That’s all for now, folks.

Blessings on you!

Mrs. G 

Homework for this week

–Formal Critique Essay (due 4/9)

- Read Week 11 Poetry 

- Poetry: Read Emerson (4-5); Longfellow (6-10); Holmes (21), Whitman (22-26),Dickinson (29 - 32)

-- Poetry Response (2 Poems)

       Grammar

Grammar:  Wk10 - Parentheses & Dashes

Grammar:  Wk10 - Ellipsis

Links for this week

Foreverergreen–animated short film