CHAT Writing 2- Class Notes--Week 1 (9/28)

 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:

Welcome Back #1

Welcome Back #2

Signed Guidelines Assembled Binders

Peace Like A River Introductory document 

PLAR Introduction Quiz

Reader Response–New Book “Fortune Teller”

Links for this Week:

Writing 2 Assignments Checklist

Writing 2 Syllabus

Homework and Late Dates

Scanning handwritten homework tutorial

How to turn off notifications tutorial

Warner, John. More than Words. Basic Books, 4 Feb. 2025.

End of the Year Wrap Up!

 Dear CHAT Writing 1 & 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.

Grading Thoughts:

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.

Essay Grades:  “Trigger Warning!”😉

A unique aspect of this grading system is that each student can earn 100% on each essay if they simply complete the checklist.  I find if they have met all the requirements on the checklist, their writing is poised, polished and sounds pretty darn good!  

On the other hand when a student has missed a required element (or two), the checklist has not been completed.  Therefore, the assignment has not been completed.  Therefore the essay cannot be graded.  🫠

When (not if) this happens, the essay is returned “In Process”-- aka 0 points.  But hear me out!  This zero is due to the parameters of the Google Classroom grading system and is temporary!  Don’t get frustrated at this point!  Simply stick with the revision process.  I like to emphasize that the “0” in this case is like the oil light on the dashboard of your car.  It simply indicates that the essay needs your attention—perhaps only ten minutes to sit down, look at your work and your checklist.  Any missing element is pinpointed and very specific.  

The feedback I have gotten from students is that even though it might be super ANNOYING to see a “0” on an essay that you’ve sweated over, it has really helped to force the editing process. They have told me that once they are over the initial shock, the revision goes really fast and, in the end, they have earned 100%--and have an essay they can be really proud of. As a writing tutor, I have seen huge improvements in students’ writing and I have appreciated the objectivity the checklist presents—no guesswork for students or tutor.  You either do the checklist or you don’t do the checklist. By the end of the year, students become very familiar with the mantra:  

Do what you check; check what you do!

Grading Categories:

For this class, I gave points for Quick Writes & Visual Vocabulary, short assignments, literature assignments, grammar exercises, and longer essays. The final drafts of the essay assignments were graded using a checklist that included style elements, structure, organization, and formatting requirements that varied for each assignment. 

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.  These scores are also weighted; in other words, not all of the categories have the same importance.  The Quick Write/Visual Vocabulary points are 15% of the total grade, the Writing assignments are 30%, the Literature homework is 28%, and the Grammar work is 27%. 

The grade breakdowns for Writing 1 & 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 parent) will receive an email with percentages and a suggested overall grade for this semester. Though I have had to part ways with the external grade book that I’ve used to send reports in the past, I trust the reports I do send will be just as easy to understand.  If you have any questions, first check Google Classroom.  If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.  

Blessings to all,

Mrs. G

Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 15 (May 8)

 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 business meeting, we were ready to begin.  I must say, the Ambiance Committee really outdid themselves:  the “club” theme really shone through with the music (Julia), and mixed drink “mocktails''!  Very impressive and festive! Using the club-themed program (designed by William and Nate VanOss) our Emcee duo of Vivi and Ben took charge and explained the judging criteria and the flow of the event.  The judges (Evangeline, Lydia & Sam) did a great job of evaluating the poem and the delivery style–and though it was difficult, they did come up with a winner!  

The top 3 won a beautiful 3-D printed trophy and some candy.  First place won all that and a sweatshirt. (Thanks to Nathan for making those amazing prizes!) 

Congratulations to first prize winner Abby Bochnicek!

Please watch Google Classroom for a link to the photo album from this event (thanks to Caleb R. for putting that together!)

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 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.

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 (5/1)

 Greetings!

This week was our penultimate class for the year -- the one before the last one!

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.”  What a great reward for taking great 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 (4/24)

 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, they wrote a “color poem”--using a template to help them get started, they were prompted to use powerful imagery to write a poem about colors that evoke strong feelings.  I think the results were pretty amazing!

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. 

Speaking of the Poetry Event, which will be the last day of class, we spent some time introducing this project.  It takes a lot of work to put on an event like this, and to split up the labor, each student will sign up for a role on a committee.  Their grade on this project will depend on not only their poetry performance techniques, but also how well they worked as a group. They are to consider which committee they want to join and as homework, they are to answer two Discussion Questions about their first and second preferences of which committee they’d like to participate in.  They should also begin to narrow down the poems they would like to perform.  They should post the names of two “found poems” and one original poem to the discussion question on Google Classroom.  The “found poems” can be from our poetry book, your own poetry collection, from the library or another source.  Each poem should be at least 4-5 lines and CHAT appropriate.  We will spend the bulk of next class period on committee work.

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.  

Last, for Writing—now that students have turned in their FINAL formal essay for me (whoohoo!) they will submit a more informal Reflection Essay.  I passed out the guidelines for that assignment.  It is due the last day of class (May 8).

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.

Assignments for Next Week:

–Which Committee? Discussion Question

–Which Poems?  Discussion Question

--Choose 3 poems for your contribution to the Poetry Jam (Here is the scoring/committee information)--Two found poems; one original poem

–Finish composing “Where I’m From” poem

About the Reflection essay

–Reflection Essay (due May 8)

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

Links for This Week

Color Poem

“Where I’m From” George Ella Lyon audio

Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 12 (4/17)

*Scroll down for the link to the Writing Contest 

Welcome back to CHAT!  I hope you had a wonderful break and are ready to finish the year STRONG!  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.

As per my email, you may check Google Classroom for your current grade.  I have lost the battle with my grade book, so I won’t be sending any more reports this year.  

Writing

Today, the Persuasive Essays were due. This essay required research, citations, and a Works Cited page. It also had a lot of Style elements required.   This essay required some research, citations and Works Cited page. It also requires the most amount of Style elements for this year.  For some, this list of Style elements is a comfortable challenge and for some, it has been a tough stretch. 

If you are in the second category, I talked about how to reduce the checklist.  I demonstrated using the document camera how to choose just a few elements from both the Dress-Ups and Sentence Opener categories and how to indicate those chosen elements all the way through their essay.  If you are wondering which elements you should choose, I like to use the EZ + 1 strategy.  That is, choose the elements that feel easy for you, and then add one more.  

Be strategic about this!  Your checklist should not look sporadic! For example, if one of your chosen elements is an -ly adverb, then I should see that -ly adverb in each paragraph.  Please write “Reduced Checklist” on your Checklist if you decide to narrow it down.Unless you have indicated that on your checklist, I will expect all boxes to be checked–but DO WHAT YOU CHECK & CHECK WHAT YOU DO! 😀

In light of this new information, I extended the deadline.  It will be due next week (4/24). I recommend students use their time well and get in any compositions/essays that are still in the “In Process” category.

Literature, 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!

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

 

That is all!  Blessings on your Easter!

He is risen!

Mrs. G

Homework

Week 13 Poems

Poetry Response Packets

“I am Nobody–” Poetry Imitation

Week 12 Grammar 

–Italics & Quotation Marks

–Using Italics

Persuasive Essay (if not finished)

Links for This Week

Visual Vocabulary

A bit about Dickenson

*IEW Writing Contest

CHAT Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 11 (4/3)

 

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.

In that vein, our Quick Write was a poetic one.  I asked students to think of three questions–(serious, funny, or mundane) and to write them in a list.  We took a few minutes to arrange them into a poem while we listened to music.  I am looking forward to reading them!

Writing

Today, the KWO for the Persuasive Essay was due.  Students who met their deadline received 20 points. Since two quotes and two sources are required for this composition, today we reviewed how to write both direct quotes and paraphrases for online sources.  We talked through how to cite sources both with and without an author.  After that, we reviewed how to put together a Works Cited page using some common generators.  They should be in good shape to write one for this essay.

The Literature portion of  class was dedicated to poetry. Some students enjoy poetry and some are not crazy about it.  We talked about how poetry is art made with words.  I told them that it is said that poets are born–but the rest of us can learn how to write verse and enjoy it.  :) 

After refreshing ourselves on last week’s poetry selections, we had a short discussion on themes and what stuck out to us.  It was interesting to hear their insights.  Their homework is to read the poems for next week and respond to two.  

For the Grammar portion of the class, we had a special lesson on the semicolon.  Most people (students and adults alike) are confused about the bit of punctuation; they use it as a comma or as a colon.  I use the Reese's peanut butter cups as an object lesson.  Ask your students about how the semicolon is like this candy.  They also have 2 worksheets to practice putting semicolons and colons in the right place.

Blessings on your weekend!

Mrs. G

Homework for this week

• Persuasive Essay

• 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

Links for this week

MLA In-Text Citation practice

Poetry Quick Write