Hello Writing 2 Students and Parents!
We've started out our new school year well. I'm looking forward to working with this group of students. Below are the Class Notes for this week. Every week I will send out notes similar to these. I include the topics of the class and the direction of instruction. At the bottom of each email I list the homework and links to the blog, to the Google Classroom assignments, and to any other helpful information.
We got right into the nitty-gritty class details right away: A timed in-class writing assignment. I gave them a prompt, handed out Blue Books and set the timer for 20 minutes. The rationale for this assignment is to simply get their writing juices flowing AND to give them a baseline of their skill level. My hope is that by the end of the year, they will see vast improvement in their ability to write clearly and effectively. I “suffered” along with them by participating myself. I do hope the music and the snack may have softened the blow just a bit. (I hope everyone comes back next week. 🙂)
After that, we shook our hands out and did an ice breaker activity. At their tables, students enjoyed filling out a “name tent one-pager” with their names and some information about themselves. Having the names is not only a help for me, but for them as they get to know each other better and we build a supportive class community.
Then, we got right into the nitty-gritty class details: expectations, homework deadlines and the syllabus. I talked about the importance of “budgeting” for about one hour each weekday to Writing class. I suggested they map out their week by designating a chunk of homework to that day.
For example:
Fridays=literature
Mondays=grammar worksheets
Tuesdays & Wednesday=essays & writing
By chunking it down, they will avoid having that work pile up. I will read They have an assignment of having a parent sign the Guidelines–they can bring them in next week or submit on GC.
Included in our class business was a slide show that presented a sort of “carrot and stick” approach to generative AI. I hoped that this would be a “pep talk” about the importance of learning how to think critically and write clearly.
The carrot: Writing is simply thinking–it’s thinking made manifest. To think is a God given gift. The author John Warner said that “To outsource writing and reading is to cease being human.” We took a minute to discuss the validity of that statement.
The stick: We talked about acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI and I reviewed the consequences of using AI to do your homework or write essays instead.
On to more delightful topics–our Literature selection for this semester is Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. Before reading a bit out loud, we watched a video on a recent and local real-life miracle. As homework, they are to read the introductory material about Peace Like a River on Google Classroom and complete the Quiz and to read chapters 1-3.
No Grammar this week -- we'll jump in with both feet next week!
Assignments for Next Week
(Note: The links will take you to the Google Classroom post for the particular assignment. If you plan to do the paper version, you can ignore the link. If an assignment is labeled "GC," that means that is something that must be done on Google Classroom. These are usually quizzes or questions)
Before school started assignments–Students can still do these:
Signed Guidelines Assembled Binders
Peace Like A River Introductory document
Reader Response–New Book “Fortune Teller”
Links for this Week:
Writing 2 Assignments Checklist
Scanning handwritten homework tutorial
How to turn off notifications tutorial
Warner, John. More than Words. Basic Books, 4 Feb. 2025.
