Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 6 (September 28)

 Hello All!

I don’t know about the students, but I look forward to our class each week–and this week didn’t disappoint.  They were engaged again today, ready to learn–and the time flew by!

We got to it with a QuickWrite about quirky collections and chocolate milk.  Our class has some interesting collections–including a collection of 1,000 Pokemon cards and a collection of foreign currency.

After that, we spent some time Peer Reviewing Essay #2:  How Does This Work?.  Each student brought their Rough Draft and they filled out a feedback sheet for a classmate.  I took an informal poll and most students have found this peer review time valuable–so we will continue with that practice.  Those sheets will be used as they work on their final drafts and can be turned in when the final is due (10/12) or sooner, if they wish.

After that, we stayed in Writing mode as we read two Mentor Texts that explained a process–one about how to be a friend and one about how to make marinara sauce.  We analyzed the introductions looking for hooks, topic sentences and roadmap sentences.  They had a chance to compare the two different styles and get some inspiration.  Since they need to have two MLA style quotes and 2 references for this essay, we will go over that in greater detail next week. In the meantime, if they need some help with their quotations, reference MLA Sample and the MLA/Works Cited slideshow on Google Classroom.

Next up was our Literature Circles discussion.  I heard some insightful comments as I circulated the room–these students are digging into the reading and were well-prepared for the discussion.  It makes me so happy to hear discussion about the foreshadowing and symbols they are encountering in this book.  Very rich!  Keep reading and do the 3 Response worksheets for chapters 11 & 12.

Because our literature discussion was going so well, it was decided to table our Misplaced Modifiers lesson for next week–so no Grammar worksheets this week!

Have a blessed weekend!

Warmly,

Mrs. G

Homework

Essay 1 Final Draft–due Oct. 12

Essay 2 Final Draft–due Oct. 12

(Work on Essay 2 after your RD is graded by me this week)

Read Chs. 11 & 12 Peace Like A River

3 Response Worksheets

Literature Circles Evaluation

Links for This Week

Sample MLA Format

MLA/Works Cited Slideshow

Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 4 (9/14)

 Greetings Class!

We had a very nice class together today.  We made good progress and also paused for a check-in about the writing portion of the class.

As indicated in an earlier email, the writing schedule has been adjusted and today students recieved an updated class syllabus, homework checklist and updated writing schedule (all located on Google Classroom.)  I think the students will find the new schedule simpler and easier to follow.   

On that note, next week (9/21) they are to bring a hard copy of Essay 1 Rough Draft to class where we will spend time peer reviewing and editing.

The bulk of class time was spent on Grammar.  There was a mini-lesson on verbs, verb tenses, interjections and conjunctions.  Students had time in class to complete, correct, and turn in their worksheets.  They were pleased to not have grammar homework!

For Literature, we had an informal discussion of Peace Like A River.  The consensus is that this book is a page turner!  After pondering a few questions, students got into groups to discuss the climactic and symbols so far.  In the large group, I was impressed to hear their sharp insights.  These students are deep thinkers!  They are to keep reading Peace Like A River and do the take home quiz.  

Have a blessed weekend!

Mrs. G

Homework

Essay 1 Rough Draft

Essay 1 Pre-Write 

Bring a copy of your RD to class!

Grammar

–Action Verbs Review

–Verb Tenses Review

–Interjections Review

–Circling Conjunctions Review

Read Peace Like A River

Take Home Quiz #

Links for this week

Updated writing schedule

Syllabus 

Homework checklist

Writing 2 Class Notes--Week 3 (9/7)

 Greetings Students!

Today was a wild adventure–for me at least!  Trying to fit in instruction AND time to actually write in a writer’s workshop is a challenge!  My hope is that the more we do it, the more efficient we will get.  Some had tech challenges with slow internet connection–I appreciate students rolling with the punches as we may have some trial and error as we figure it out as we go.

We started the day with a QuickWrite.  A short text by Rick Reilly called “I Really, Really, Really Miss Sports” written during the pandemic served as our mentor text.  We observed how the writer used anaphora–repetition of the beginning of sentences for emphasis as well as rhythmic language. After they added those Craft Moves to their charts, students tried their hands at writing about something they “missed.”  As they shared a word, a sentence or a phrase from their writing, I heard some students trying the craft moves we had highlighted together!

We covered a lot of ground in the writing portion of the class.  The first item of business was introducing Essay 2.  This is a process analysis essay where students will research a process, decide on an audience and explain the process step by step.  It will feature a diagram which illustrates the process.  Students will need to research and include MLA citations.   They were given some time to brainstorm and pre-write.  They now have two essays going and should be working on both of them at home.

How we submit writing and conduct writer’s workshops this year is new, so we took some time to discuss these procedures. The slideshow we walked through is posted on Google Classroom along with a video tutorial that takes students step-by-step through the process of pre-writing, conferring, peer review, rough drafting and final drafts.

Because of the time we invested in learning the procedures, we didn’t get to the workshop for Essay 1 or conferences.  Students will need to come to my office hours to confer next week→Tuesdays 12-1 and keep working on both their essays!

For literature, we did a check-in for Peace Like A River.  Some students seemed fuzzy on the main climatic event, so I heartily recommend they get going on their reading.  For homework, they will read chapters 4 & 5 and do 3 Reader Responses.

Last, for the grammar portion, students were given the KEY to all the grammar worksheets for this semester.  I explained that as we work through our grammar–parts of speech and phrases–they will need to correct their own work.  There is alot of learning that happens in that process! The KEY is also posted on Google Classroom–I won’t be handing out another one.  For the most part, I will teach grammar mini-lesson and they will have some in class time to complete their worksheets.  This works well so I can answer any questions they might have while we are all together.  Today, we reviewed nouns, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs.  They have two worksheets.

Whew!  We covered a lot of ground today.  Please reach out if you have any questions!

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Homework

Essay 2 PreWrite

Rough Draft to Final Draft video tutorial

Essay 2 How Does This Work?  Rough Draft

Keep working on Essay 1–My Favorite Mistake

Confer with Mrs. G Monday 12-1 (if you are ready).  

Peer Review (when you are ready)

Essay 1

Essay 2

Read Chapter 4 & 5 PLAR

3 Reader Responses

Nouns and Pronouns Review

Adjectives and Adverbs Review

Links for this week

QuickWrite

About Essay 2–How Does This Work?

Writer’s Workshop Procedures slideshow

Grammar KEYs

Writing 2 Class Notes--Week 2 (August 31)

 Hello All!

I appreciated the students’ hard working attitudes today as they dove into another great day of learning together.

We started out class with a QuickWrite which was about something we all have experienced:   mistakes and regrets.  We used a mentor sentence and analyzed it for grammar and language and recorded those Craft Moves on a chart they will be compiling throughout the semester. After that, we tried our hands at a five minute QuickWrite.  I challenged students to incorporate a complex compound sentence, a metaphor and or vivid verbs!  In partners, we shared a word, a phrase or a sentence before turning those in.

After that, we switched gears to Literature and focused on our novel, Peace Like A River.  After refreshing each other about the major themes of the novel, we had story time!  I read aloud the first few pages so we could get a feel for the characters, setting and conflict.  It’s a gripping opening and I think students are excited about reading it.  They are to read chapters 1-3 and do three study guide questions. 

In the Writing portion of the class, we turned our minds back to thinking about mistakes and regrets. I assigned Essay 1 “My Favorite Mistake”.   It’s a reflective piece of writing where students will need to be able to both recall the event that happened, and also reflect on how the mistake impacted their life–positive or negative.  They read an example essay and, using highlighters, they marked examples of areas of writing that were either expressing (recalling)  and areas that are reflecting on the impact of the event.  I handed out the Pre-write and students had a short time to begin their essay.  Though I didn’t bring paper copies of the essay description, it is posted on Google Classroom, and it can be accessed there. The Rough Draft template is posted and they should begin their essays this week.  Next week we’ll have more time devoted to writing in a Writer’s Workshop, and again in Week 5 for this essay.

In the last few minutes of class, we touched on the topic of why learning grammar is important.  We watched a short video from Grammar Girl where she gives us some insight on why the study of grammar is important in our world today.  I recommend the students give the Grammar Girl podcast a listen sometime.  As an “exit ticket” students got in groups to come up with three reasons grammar is important and three questions they have about grammar.  Some groups had a hard time coming up with questions, but we’ll cover more grammar topics in the weeks to come.

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Homework

“Who Am I (As A Writer)? from Week 1

About Essay 1 “My Favorite Mistake”

Work on Essay 1 “My Favorite Mistake”

• Pre-Write

• Rough Draft

Read Chapter 1-3 Peace Like A River

3 Responses

LInks for This Week:

Craft Moves Identification Chart

Grammar Girl podcast

Writing 2--Week 1 (Aug. 24)

 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 started with a quick Icebreaker before we got into some nitty gritty class details:  Class Policies, homework deadlines and Syllabus.  I went through an example schedule for Writer’s Workshop.  It’s important for students to grasp this in order to get the most out of our time together–understanding these dates will help them to come to class prepared and NOT get surprised on the Final Draft Due Date.

A sample Workshop Schedule looks like this:

Week 1→Introduce Essay 1

Week 2→ Workshop Essay 1A

Week 3 Introduce Essay 2

Week 3 Workshop Essay 2A

Week 4→Workshop 1B OR 2B 

Week 5 Workshop 1B OR 2B 

Week 6→Final Drafts Due Date

As you can see, they will have two essays “simmering” at the same time and have 6-8 weeks to take it from Pre-Write to Final Draft.  “Workshop” means they will be given about 30 minutes in class to WRITE!  Obviously, there  are many stages to writing a piece, and students may be at different stages during the Workshop.  Some will be composing, some will be  working on  Peer Review and some will be Conferring with me.  They will obviously need to work on their writing outside of class in order to not get snowed under onFinal Draft Due date.  

Speaking of due dates, though there is some grace with the Literature and Grammar homework,  the Writing due dates are non-negotiable.  Any late writing work will be deducted 10% each day past the Due Date.  On the Due Date, the Final Draft and ALL process pieces are due.  The “Process Pieces” include:

• Peer Review Sheet

• Conferring Google Form

• Rough Draft

• Final Draft

• End Notes

Checking in this way really helps students to track progress from stage to stage and helps me to know that they are actually engaging with their writing.  With the advent of AI coupled with the fact that we meet just once a week, it can be tempting to skip the messy thinking process that writing entails.  A Workshop model sets the stage for high writing engagement.

After all that, we got to the business of writing with our first Quick Write.  I asked students to reflect on their writing life so far and ask:  Who Am I As A Writer?  They will develop this piece into a longer piece (due Week 3) and will include it in their end of the year Writing Portfolios.

Our Literature selection for this semester is Peace Like A River  by Leif Enger.  We partnered up again and, with Post-It notes in hand, they circulated the room and discussed themes written on posters from the upcoming book.  After discussing whether they agree or disagree with the statement, they left a Post-It behind stating their reasoning.  I heard some insightful comments!  We will be wrestling with big themes throughout this novel so it was a good introduction.  We will start the  novel next week, but for this week, they are to read the introduction on Google Classroom and complete the Quiz.

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)

Writing 2 Class Guidelines (signatures needed)

Before school started assignments–Students can still do these:

Welcome Back #1

Welcome Back #2

Links for this Week:

Writing 2 Assignments Checklist

Writing 2 Syllabus

Homework and Late Dates

QuickWrite

Who Am I (As A Writer?) Reflective Piece (due Week 3)

Intro to Peace Like A River

Intro to Peace Like A River Quiz 

Thoughts & Details 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.  For some students, grades have the tendency to become 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 and Miscellanea, 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.  These scores are also weighted; in other words, not all of the categories have the same importance.  The Quick Write points are 15% of the total grade, the Writing assignments are 30%, the Literature homework is 28%, and the Grammar work is 27%.   (You will see that each of these categories has subcategories.  This is  for the purpose of keeping the internal category weighting correct.)

The grade breakdowns for Writing 2 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 4)

 Greetings everyone!

We had a marvelous final day of Writing 2 at CHAT for the 2021-22 school year.  This was my very first year teaching Writing 2 and I can’t think of a better group of students with which to take this journey. 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.   Though I  know that some students do not enjoy poetry, I appreciated their good attitudes and risk-taking as they shared poetry with their classmates.  I was especially touched by the surprising number of original poems!

After the Ambiance Committee got the chairs in place and the lighting on point, the Emcee/Judging/Awards Committee took charge and explained their judging system.  Our co-Emcees Charlotte and Ike explained that there would be two rounds and the scores from each round will be added together by the class-mate judges to find the winners.

Congratulations to all the winners!  Actually, they were ALL winners in my book–and the judging committee provided each student with a small trophy (thanks, Nick!)

Now that it is all over, I want to let you know that I am working on getting all the grading finished.  I had given students until Saturday May 6 @ 8am to hand any work in. On a personal note, I am traveling for two weeks with my oldest daughter to celebrate her graduation.  Because of that, Final Grades will be out the last week of May. In the meantime, you can look at Google Classroom to get a pretty good idea of your grade.

This has been a great year with these students.  They're bright and engaging, and they've worked hard this year. I wish them God’s best in their future academic endeavors.

Blessings,

Mrs. G