As part of the Research and Writing class, students must prepare a presentation of the their topic for the class. Condensing the work they've done into a 5 - 10 minute presentation is an important skill. It challenges the students to really "own" the material to such an extent that they can freely select the most important points and share them with an audience. This is a common practice in college and graduate schools. Two of my children have been asked to present their work at national conferences. It's both difficult to abbreviate the work of many weeks, but it's also very rewarding.
Below are some links that might prove helpful as they put the finishing touches on their own presentations.
Toastmaster -- This international organization is dedicated to helping people with their public speaking skills. They have some good information on Visual Aids, Gestures & Physical presentation, 10 Tips, and 10 Common Mistakes.
Youtube -- Always a wealth of information: 10 Things NOT to do; Body Language Tips; 5 Tips; Overcoming Stage Fright;
My best bit of advice -- Have fun! You've worked hard, and you can do this!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Writing 3 Class Notes -- November 28
Greetings!
Another great week in class! Parents, you should feel proud of your diligent, bright, and thoughtful young adults. Most of these students were in my first Writing 1 Class, and I've grown quite attached to them. It's a real joy to watch them grow as writers and as thinkers.
For our Quick Write today, I had them reflect on their own personal process of writing the research paper. The specific writing prompt was "What would I do differently." Besides the obvious (not putting it off/ procrastinating), they had some great insights. All along, I've been telling them that this paper is as much about the process as it is about the result. My hope is that they would learn more about themselves as writers, researchers, and learners.
They also had some great ideas for ways in which I could make changes to improve the class for the next batch of students. Some of the items mentioned were a part of the instruction but need to be emphasized and explained more clearly. They also mentioned more intermediate writing opportunities. I love it when a student asks for more to do!
We are moving into the home stretch. We have two weeks left of classes for this term. I've gone over the two rough drafts, but if a student wants to e-mail me any portions of their paper to read before the final draft is due on December 12, I would be glad to read and comment on anything they send. As of this Wednesday, none of the students felt they would be ready for giving his/her presentation next week. If that changes, they can let me know.
Our last week is December 12; all of the papers and presentations are due that week. I haven't talked with the students about having parents there for the presentations. I don't mind if parents want to attend, but this should be a conversation that you have at home. Sometimes my kids want me at their school events, and sometimes they don't.
We closed the class with another group response to an ACT/SAT writing prompt. With 4 girls and 4 boys in the class, we divide pretty evenly. They also like to pick the question that the other group has to answer. This week we discussed teacher tenure and fast food restaurants in schools. These cooperative discussions help everyone think more broadly about a topic.
Assignment for Next Week:
-- FINISH!!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Writing 3 Class Notes -- November 14
Greetings!
As always, we had a productive class. I really enjoy this group of students. For our Quick Write today, we played a word game, Give Me Five, that I had gotten while in England. The game consists of a deck of cards with categories (Fruits and Vegetables, Items found in a Bedroom, Pets, Types of Meals, etc.) and letters of the alphabet. Either I or a student drew a card, and the students had to write 5 things that fit that card. The students got points for any answers they had written that were unique; in other words, they were the only ones who had written that answer. We played a few rounds. I like activities like this because it 1) plays with words; 2) causes everyone to be involved; 3) forces the students to think creatively; and 4) is interactive and helps us to continue to develop good class dynamics.
We had another in-class writing activity. I had the students write a paragraph or two about why they had chosen their topics. As we're nearing the finish line, I wanted them to refresh themselves regarding their chosen topics. It's very easy to lose that initial enthusiasm and get lost in the details of the researching and writing. I asked each of them share with the class their thoughts and perceptions about their topic and their thesis. Hopefully, they were encouraged by hearing from each other.
I handed back some rough drafts with my comments and corrections. With the first draft, I looked for content and organization. With this draft, I was primarily focused on mechanics and grammar. I made a few comments about content, but for the most part, we're in the "fine tuning" stage. We talked this week about looking at the paper paragraph by paragraph. And then sentence by sentence. I had one professor who challenged us by saying, "Pretend you have to pay for every word. Since none of us wants to waste money, make every word count."
We also had some discussion about the MLA citation guidelines. If the students have questions about how to cite a specific type of source, they can check one of these places:
Son of Citation Machine
Easy Bib
Purdue OWL MLA Formatting
Class Notes from Oct. 24 (which has other links to other blog posts)
Week 6 Handout
Week 10 Handout
No Class Next Week! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Prichard
As always, we had a productive class. I really enjoy this group of students. For our Quick Write today, we played a word game, Give Me Five, that I had gotten while in England. The game consists of a deck of cards with categories (Fruits and Vegetables, Items found in a Bedroom, Pets, Types of Meals, etc.) and letters of the alphabet. Either I or a student drew a card, and the students had to write 5 things that fit that card. The students got points for any answers they had written that were unique; in other words, they were the only ones who had written that answer. We played a few rounds. I like activities like this because it 1) plays with words; 2) causes everyone to be involved; 3) forces the students to think creatively; and 4) is interactive and helps us to continue to develop good class dynamics.
We had another in-class writing activity. I had the students write a paragraph or two about why they had chosen their topics. As we're nearing the finish line, I wanted them to refresh themselves regarding their chosen topics. It's very easy to lose that initial enthusiasm and get lost in the details of the researching and writing. I asked each of them share with the class their thoughts and perceptions about their topic and their thesis. Hopefully, they were encouraged by hearing from each other.
I handed back some rough drafts with my comments and corrections. With the first draft, I looked for content and organization. With this draft, I was primarily focused on mechanics and grammar. I made a few comments about content, but for the most part, we're in the "fine tuning" stage. We talked this week about looking at the paper paragraph by paragraph. And then sentence by sentence. I had one professor who challenged us by saying, "Pretend you have to pay for every word. Since none of us wants to waste money, make every word count."
We also had some discussion about the MLA citation guidelines. If the students have questions about how to cite a specific type of source, they can check one of these places:
Son of Citation Machine
Easy Bib
Purdue OWL MLA Formatting
Class Notes from Oct. 24 (which has other links to other blog posts)
Week 6 Handout
Week 10 Handout
No Class Next Week! Have a great Thanksgiving!
Mrs. Prichard
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Writing 3 Class Notes -- November 7
Greetings!
This was an interesting day of classes. Most students were processing the election results. I talked at length about our responsibility to pray for and bless all those who were elected into office last night. 1 Tim. 2: 1-4 commands us to do this. It's always good to align ourselves with God's plan.
I gave the students 2 options for the day's Quick Write. They could either discuss how an elected politician should represent his constituents OR a quote from John Steinbeck about words. They had thoughtful responses.
We did some Grammar work this afternoon. One challenge students seem to have is knowing where to place commas, so we discussed restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. Commas are used with nonrestrictive clauses. Hopefully this will help them as they continue to work on their rough drafts.
We went around the class and talked about the research and writing process for each student. They have really worked hard and are becoming experts on the topics they have chosen. With this kind of project, the process is as important as the final product.
They handed in their Rough Draft #2 this week. We discussed that if only a portion of the paper was ready for me to go over, they could hand in a portion and e-mail other portions later.
We're nearing the end of the term and the final days of this class. Good work, y'all!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
This was an interesting day of classes. Most students were processing the election results. I talked at length about our responsibility to pray for and bless all those who were elected into office last night. 1 Tim. 2: 1-4 commands us to do this. It's always good to align ourselves with God's plan.
I gave the students 2 options for the day's Quick Write. They could either discuss how an elected politician should represent his constituents OR a quote from John Steinbeck about words. They had thoughtful responses.
We did some Grammar work this afternoon. One challenge students seem to have is knowing where to place commas, so we discussed restrictive and nonrestrictive clauses. Commas are used with nonrestrictive clauses. Hopefully this will help them as they continue to work on their rough drafts.
We went around the class and talked about the research and writing process for each student. They have really worked hard and are becoming experts on the topics they have chosen. With this kind of project, the process is as important as the final product.
They handed in their Rough Draft #2 this week. We discussed that if only a portion of the paper was ready for me to go over, they could hand in a portion and e-mail other portions later.
We're nearing the end of the term and the final days of this class. Good work, y'all!
Have a great week!
Mrs. Prichard
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Writing 3 Class Notes -- October 31
Greetings!
Before our Quick Write today, the students got a history lesson. Yesterday was not only Halloween, but it was Reformation Day. We discussed Martin Luther and the 95 theses. We did a word study of "reformation," "rebellion," and "catholic." To top of the lesson, we watched the "Reformation Polka," a youtube cartoon.
For this week’s Quick Write, the girls chose an SAT question for the boys, and the boys did likewise for the girls. Coincidentally, they chose the same question. This week they not only brainstormed the pros and cons of the question, but formulated thesis statements. Next week, they will be writing introductions and an outline for an essay.
We discussed important considerations when working on the next rough draft. They should think about content (Do they have enough of the right information?), organization (Is the information presented in a logical way with smooth transitions?), format (Have they checked margins, headers, and MLA format guidelines?) and mechanics (Spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structures).
The second rough draft is due next week. They should hand in whatever they have ready. If some sections are incomplete, they can hand those in the next week. As we near the end of the term, we have fewer weeks together which means fewer opportunities to hand in portions of their papers and less time for me to read through them.
Feel free to contact me with any questions (both students and parents)
Have a great week,
Mrs. Prichard
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