Hello All!
There’s a light at the end of the tunnel and I cannot believe this semester is coming to a close–that means we are starting to wrap things up.
Quick Write
Today we discussed the last sentence opener of the semester: the Subject-Verb opener aka the [1]. These are the very ordinary, run-of-the-mill sentence patterns that are our default to use. This is the reason we call it the [1] AND why it is taught last. We naturally use this in our writing and my job as a writing teacher is to help students branch out and use all those other wonderful sentence patterns for variations and interest. Nonetheless, it is useful to call attention to this useful pattern and use it sparingly.
After that, we were ready to write about some special Christmas traditions your family does. The topic choices were:
December 4–NATIONAL SANTA’S LIST DAY
December 6–NATIONAL ST. NICOLAUS DAY
December 8–NATIONAL TIME TRAVELLER DAY
Writing
Urban Legend Essays were due today. I answered a few questions and we reviewed how to make your own Style list to make sure all the style points are included in each paragraph. I hope to get the essays back ASAP so that students can perform the Final Edits and turn them in by the last day of class.
Speaking of final edits, the Process Essay Final Edits were also due today. As a reminder, that is where students use the Grammar and Content Codes to isolate and fix the errors that are coded on their essays. Those must be handwritten, stapled to the paper essay and rubric I handed back to them. This is a requirement for all students. As an option, if a student wishes to improve their grade for this essay, they may edit and polish using the codes and Resubmit their paper for a regrade. CAUTION: Thinking of resubmitting? Great! Just know that every code I mark needs attention. A resubmission that fixes only two out of ten errors is like washing one sock—it doesn’t really help anyone, and it wastes my time. Aim high and revise them all.
Literature
There is a one-week extension on the Magical Realism One-Pager assignment. Since I saw that the syllabus states it is due next week–extra credit to those who finished it today.
We spent the rest of our Literature time today listening to the students present their Peace Like A River Podcasts. I know some of them were nervous to play these for the class, and I am proud of each one for putting themselves and their work out there. I find that students really rise to the occasion when there is a real, live audience. Today, we heard Brecken, Liam and Wesley present their awesome projects while students colored and enjoyed a cup of popcorn. Next week, the rest of the class will present their projects. By the way, meeting deadlines is such an important academic skill. To that end, if you are late to post your podcast, points will be deducted. The podcasters we heard from today earned extra credit for putting themselves out there. Since I had to cut Wesley’s short, I posted it below if you’d like to finish it!
Grammar
“If I were a rich man!” This week’s grammar discussion centered on Indicative and Subjunctive moods of verbs. We have been examining different aspects of verbs–phrases (prepositional, gerunds, infinitives and participial). We have considered voice–passive/active. Today we looked at mood–indicative and subjunctive. Now we know that the subjunctive mood is mainly used to express a wish and sometimes for a demand. We listened to the last 3 minutes of a podcast by Grammar Girl on the subject. The subjunctive worksheet is due next week.
Blessings on your weekend!
Mrs. G
Homework
Writing catch-up–if needed
PLAR Podcast Presentations–get ready for next week
Subjunctive Homework Worksheet
Links for this Week
Quick Write #6
Content Codes for Expository Essays
Grammar Girl Podcast–Subjunctive Mood
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