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.  You students are such a joy to teach!  Read on for a recap of all we accomplished in class today!

Visual Vocabulary

Today’s words are acumen and cogent.  Acumen means the ability to make quick and accurate judgements and decisions, especially in practical matters.  Cogent means convincing or believable, especially in terms of an argument, explanation, or reasoning.  We decided it would be awesome to be able to make a cogent argument with acumen!

Writing

Now that we have handed in our Weaknesses as Strengths narrative essays along with our notes of apology.  

We spent some time today analyzing a sample, brainstorming some ideas for topics and also some strategies for organizing itNow that those are in, we are ready to embark on our last “from scratch” essay–the Persuasive Essay.  This essay requires students to pull all their writing skills together and to write a five paragraph essay with a thesis statement, bibliography and complete style checklist.  The KWO is due next week (April 3) and the final draft is due after break (April 17.)

For the Literature portion of our class, 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.

Grammar

Our topic today was parentheses, dashes, and ellipses.  After reading some tips about using these, students got to work practicing on their worksheets. I had printer problems, so there are only two worksheets this week instead of three!  

Homework for this week

–Persuasive/Pro/Con Essay KWO

- Read Week 11 Poetry 

 Week 11 Poetry Pt. 1 -- Emerson, Holmes, Longfellow

 Week 11 Poetry Pt. 2 -- Whitman, Dickinson

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

-- Poetry Response (2 Poems)

        Week 11 Poetry Pt. 1 -- Emerson, Holmes, Longfellow

         Week 11 Poetry Pt. 2 -- Whitman, Dickinson

Grammar:  Wk10 - Dashes & Parentheses

Grammar:  Wk10 - Parentheses & Dashes

Grammar:  Wk10 - Ellipsis

Links for this week

About the Persuasive/Pro/Con Essay KWO

CHAT Writing 2 Class Notes--Week 9 (3/20)

 Hello!  

We are in the thick of it and the weather is turning warm.  Just as spring should be!  We had another great class together today.  Here’s what we did.

Quick Write

The topic today was designed to get students thinking about success, qualities in others they admire, people they admire and fictional characters they’d love to meet IRL 🙂.  They were given five minutes and they could choose whichever topic piqued their interest.

Writing

Today we had a check-in on their Weakness as Strength essays that were assigned last week.  The subject of this essay is to think deeply about how to switch your perspectives on some character traits in order to see it from the positive side. Sometimes, in our weaknesses, we make mistakes; sometimes our mistakes require us to give an apology.  So today, we explored the art of a proper apology.  Although it’s not customary to write a note of apology–we usually do this in person–we took the opportunity to think deeply about how to give and receive an apology.  We watched a few short videos on this topic.  After that, each student picked out some stationary and they got started. Their finished apology notes are due along with their essays next week.  

While they were writing, I went around and gave them credit if they met the deadline for their KWO.  Their KWOs were due this week and most students look like they are tracking well.  

Two more sentence openers were added to our checklist for this next assignment and today, we learned the [5] adverbial clause opener and the [1] subject opener. The [5] sentence opener is very straightforward if you remember the WWW.ASIA.B  dress-up.  You just start the sentence with that. The only trick is to make sure to use a comma after the adverbial clause.  Remember:

AC, MC  

That stands for adverbial clause COMMA main clause.  (You need to use a comma after the www.asia.b clause when you use it to start the sentence.)   For example:

[5] When you use this adverbial clause, you must put the comma after the clause.

 The subject opener is SUPER SIMPLE!  It's what you write as a default--which is why I leave this one until last.  You simply start the sentence with a subject.  (You may use an adjective or article to precede if necessary.)  Don't overuse this because it can be very tedious to read.  For example:

[1] This sentence opener is very easy.

Literature

This class is enjoying our short story unit and today we had an enjoyable Literature Circles Discussion.  After refreshing ourselves on the other three stories from last week, we spent the rest of the time focusing on “A Pair of Silk Stockings” by Kate Chopin.  In this Jigsaw style discussion, students became “experts” on one aspect of the story:  Plot, Theme, or Setting & Characters.  After they had thoroughly discussed, they re-grouped and shared their information.  They were to come to a consensus on this question:   What is your opinion about Mrs. Sommers' choices for how she spent her money?  Once again, they had some wonderful insights!  They are to read the next batch of short stories for next week and do the worksheet.  There will be a Quiz over this week’s and next week’s reading in class next week–so make sure you are prepared!  

Our topic for Grammar was fairly simple. There are two worksheets on Hyphens and End Marks & Abbreviations.  Though we didn’t have time to work together in pairs on these, I did post an information sheet on hyphens in case more support is needed.  They are to be corrected and are due next week.

Homework

Weakness as Strength Essay

Note of Apology (& videos)

Read:  Larsen (110); Anderson (1); Hardy (56); London (122)

Audio versions

Short Story Questions

Using Hyphens

End Marks and Abbreviations

Links for this week

About Weaknesses as Strength Essay

Literature Circles Discussion

Hyphens Rules

Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 8 (3/13)

 Visual Vocabulary

Our words today were modicum (noun) and brusque (adj).  Students worked with those words today.

Literature

Today, we had a review day.  After putting the students in groups, they had some time to talk over the main points of the stories we have read so far:  plot, characters, tone, etc.  After they had reviewed, it was time for the promised quiz.  It pays to be prepared for class!

Writing

The “Franken-essays” were due this week.  Now that they have had some practice writing effective introductions and conclusions, they are ready to sink their teeth into some proper essays.  

I introduced the “Strength as Weakness Essay.”  We watched the Ted Talk on this topic, where the speaker discusses his disabilities and how his mind was blown when he realized that, when applied to different contexts, these disadvantages could actually be  “superpowers.”  I love this concept!  We took a few minutes to brainstorm ideas and discussed two options to organize this essay.

 

Option 1:  take three weaknesses and discuss how they can actually be strengths in other settings/contexts.

Option 2:  take one weakness/character flaw and discuss three ways they can be strengths in other settings/contexts.

The Key Word Outline is due next week (either bring it to class OR scan and upload it to GC.  I won’t be accepting submissions after the due date for that one ; It’s worth 20 points!)  Next week, we will talk Style (dress-ups, sentence openers.  However, if you want to get a jump on drafting your essay, the template is posted right now.  It will be due Week 10 (March 27th.)

Grammar

We are forging ahead with our comma unit and today’s topic was a review on where to put the commas in dates and addresses.  There are two worksheets due next week–they are to finish and correct them.  Please note, the worksheet “Commas in Dates and Addresses”

Homework 

Read:  Chopin (30); Mansfield (130); Pirandello (149); de Maupassant (134)

PDF and Audio Versions

Short Story Packet #2

Weakness as Strength KWO

Weakness as Strength Essay (if you want to start early; not due until 3/27)

Commas in Dates and Addresses

Commas in Dates, Addresses and in Letters

Links for this week

“How Our Weaknesses Can Become Strengths” Ted Talk by David Rendall

About the Strength as Weakness Essay

CHAT Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 6 (2/20)

 Hello Dear Students!

We made it to our first break of Spring semester–and I think we are ALL ready for it!  Some surprised me by not knowing that we have next week off–I think that’s a good sign.  ;)

We began the class with two new Visual Vocabulary words:  nascent and panacea.  

Writing

Next, we checked in about the Writing From Pictures assignment.  After re-capping the process on the board, they got in groups to compare their Key Word Outlines and to discuss the pictures they chose and the Checklist.  I heard some great ideas and it seems like they are enjoying this creative writing assignment.

I circulated and gave them credit if they met the deadline for the KWO.  When time was up, I fielded some questions that they couldn’t answer in their small group and assigned the Mystery Pictures essay which is due after break (3/6).  

Literature

We are continuing on in our short story units now and today we had a Literature Circles discussion.  After discussing different types of conflicts found in literature and generating some examples on the board, they broke into small ”expert” groups to draw a diagram plot on an assigned story from last week and to discuss its main conflict.  

We hovered in our expert groups and didn’t end up organizing into mixed groups for those discussions. I must say that this class is full of deep (and lively!) thinkers and they made some insightful connections.  

For homework, they have four more stories to read and a Short Story Packet to complete

Grammar

Because we devoted more time to a quality literature discussion, instead of a live grammar lesson, I will post a video in case some extra support is needed.  Today’s topic of commas was about how they appear in appositives for grammar. Appositives, a special kind of parenthetical expression, can add flair and are positioned next to another noun/noun phrase to identify it or give additional information.  (The appositive is underlined in the previous sentence.)  As they were discussing their short story, I handed out 3 worksheets that deal with that concept.  They are to finish those as homework.

I hope your break is brimming with rest, relaxation and some time with a good book!

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Homework for this week

Mystery Pictures KWO (due today)

Mystery Pictures assignment

Read:  Hawthorne (73); Bierce (10); Poe (156); Harte (64)

Short Story Packet #1

Appositive Phrases

Comma Worksheet Appositives and Parenthetical Phrases

Interrupters Phrases

Links for this week

Literature Circles Discussion

Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 5 (2/13)

                                    Greetings!

The weather was seasonably cold today and I had more than a few out with different viruses.  We are one week away from a break, and I sense we are in need of some time off!  These students are a joy to teach–even when circumstances are challenging.

Since Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, our Quick Write today was on the subject of conversation hearts.  After watching a short video on this candy’s history, students brainstormed as many aspects of, things about and topics pertaining to this subject.  I even challenged them to come up with as many “Gen Z” messages as possible.  The heart shaped lollipops helped this process along!  Students also made some Valentine’s for a friend or family member.  Sweet!

Literature

On to the Literature portion of our class.  We reviewed the three Russian stories and discussed their themes of poverty and integrity.  Once again, I was impressed with some of their insights and their ability to think critically.  It was also very clear there were some students who hadn’t read the stories.🫣  I warned them that they never know when a pop quiz might happen–so they should make sure to do their readings each week!

They need to read 4 more stories for next week and do the Short Story Responses.  Read all four; answer one side for one of the stories; the other side for a different story.

Writing

We started another writing project today which is writing a detective story a la Sherlock Holmes.  After reading a hand out about characteristics of detective stories, I assigned a pair of pictures to each student.  The pair of pictures assigned are moody and suggestive of a story, but very open ended. I gave another  option which was to choose a series of three pictures for their mystery stories. Like our last round of writing from pictures, though the images are suggestive of a story, they are minimal.  That leaves room for lots of creativity!  

We very briefly reviewed the basics of asking good questions and making a Key Word Outline for this assignment.  Those KWOs are due next week.

To wrap up today’s lesson, students had a chance to play a round or two of Mystery Mansion.  They grouped up and used the cards to take turns telling the story.  They had fun with this and it was good practice for the upcoming assignment!

At the end of class, I handed out the Grammar  worksheets.  The topic is about the commas that follow introductory elements.  These elements can include interjections, personal addresses, prepositional phrases, and dependent clauses.  They have 2 worksheets to  practice this.  I wasn’t able to do any teaching on this, but the concept is laid out in the directions.  If you have any questions, just reach out.  Remember to correct your own work!

Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Homework for this week

Short Story Responses

About Writing A Mystery from Pictures

Mystery Pictures KWO

Commas After Introductory Phrases

Introductory Commas

Links for this week

History of Conversation Hearts–video

Animal Farm The Graphic Novel

Mystery Mansion Game & Characteristics of a Detective Story document

CHAT Writing 2 Class Notes–Week 4 (2/6)

Hello All,

We’ve hit a cold snap in Minnesota, but that didn’t keep these lovely Writing 1 students from the task at hand this week.  It was good to be together again!

Our Visual Vocabulary words today were clemency and munificent.  We took a few minutes to discuss the words. They wrote some sentences (and drew pictures!) to help cement these words into their brains.  I always look forward to reading these sophisticated words in their writing!

Writing

Before they passed their Visual Vocabulary in, we added two new sentence openers to our style sheets and practiced writing sentences using the #3 -ly adverb opener and the #4 -ing opener.

These will be added to our checklists for the next compositions!

Though we are wrapping up our Sherlock Holmes unit, the mystery writing continues as their Writing from Pictures assignment was due today.  We will start our next writing assignment next week.

Literature

With regret, we are finished with our Sherlock Holmes unit.  We used our Characterization of Sherlock worksheets that were due today to help them make a chart listing the hero's positive and negative traits.  They then got in small groups and had a mini-debate on whether they think Sherlock was actually a hero or not. They have a Sherlock Final Exam that focuses on that topic. It was a great display of critical thinking and public speaking.  I was impressed with their efforts!

After that,  I passed out the new books which are a collection of short stories.  They are to read three for next week and answer the Short Story Questions.

For Grammar, we have two worksheets on independent and subordinate clauses again.  This time, they will identify those clauses and write sentences that contain both.  Due to the fact that we didn’t have time to work on those in class,  I plan to make and post a quick teaching video in case anyone needs support learning these concepts.

Blessings,

Mrs. G

Homework

Sherlock Holmes Final Exam

Read Short Stories: Pushkin (162), Tolstoy (169), Checkov (26)

Short Story Worksheets

Identifying Ind/Sub Clauses

Writing Ind/Sub Clause

Links For This Week

Style sheet

Hero Debate