Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 15 (December 11)

Greetings!

For our final week was wonderful!  We listened to 6 very good presentations, finishing the presentation portion of our semester.  After students have done so much work, I’m glad that each one had an opportunity to share with the rest of us the work he/she had done.  Today we heard about automobile safety, drones, hunting, effects of music, the Lincoln assassination, and orca whales.  They were all well-spoken and interesting.

After our presentations, we had a short discussion about the class, the timing of the assignments, and the research paper writing process.    I not only like to get feedback from the students, but  it was an opportunity for them to think about themselves as writers and as students.  Some comments included having the first draft due earlier in the semester with a minimum page requirement.   When asked how many procrastinated, every hand went up, which is what I expected.  When working on a sustained project like this research paper, students learn a lot about time management and organization.

Each of these students deserves a pat on the back, a hearty handshake, and maybe an extra dessert.  They have worked really hard this semester; writing papers involves multiple steps and necessitates focus, creativity, and higher level thinking.  I’m really proud of them, and you should be, too.

Since this was the last day of class, the Final Drafts were due, but I’ve given those who need a little extra time until next week to get their papers in.  A couple of students forgot their rough drafts to hand in along with the final drafts.  Those can be scanned and e-mailed to me.

Students, pat yourselves on the back for a job well done.  Parents, congratulate your students for completing a hard task.

Reminders:

-- Send in your Final Drafts when you finish.

-- Send in your rough drafts if you didn’t bring them to class today.

Merry Christmas to all!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Research Paper Rubric

Research Paper Rubric

Criterion	Points	Insufficient	Limited	Adequate	Proficient	Exceptional
Format	10	Elements missing; incorrect margins, font, spacing, bibliography, endnotes.  (0 – 2 pt)	Some elements missing; flaws that detract from flow of paper (3 – 4 pt)	All elements present with occasional mistakes (5 – 6 pt)	All elements well-presented and flows smoothly (7 – 8 pt)	All elements thoroughly presented, extremely well-organized, no flaws (9 – 10 pt)
Student Scores
Mechanics	50	Frequent errors, seriously impairs flow & meaning of paper (0 – 9 pt)	Regular errors; flow/meaning of paper breaks down (10 – 19 pt)	Errors noticeable, and occasionally detract from flow or meaning of paper (20 – 29  pt)	Some errors, which are minor in nature and don’t detract from overall meaning of paper (30 – 39 pt)	Essentially faultless;   errors may result from risk-taking and do not detract from meaning of paper.  (40 – 50 pt)
Student Scores
Organization	50	Elements missing; minimal organization and lack of flow; understanding seriously impaired (0 – 9 pt)	Regular breaks in organization impede flow and meaning (10 – 19 pt)	Occasional disorganization within paragraphs, but paragraph organization well presented. (20 – 29  pt)	Well organized and flows smoothly; no distractions in organization; (30 – 39 pt)	All sentences and paragraphs flow well; smooth and logical flow; crisp and clear (40 – 50 pt)
Student Scores
Content	50	Little to no examination of data; failure to present relevant information (0 – 9 pt)	Some examination of data; little evaluation of material; little understanding of relevant information (10 – 19 pt)	Adequate understanding and examination of data; some attempts to incorporate material into paper (20 – 29  pt)	Skillful examination shows strong degree of evaluation; strong understanding of various points of argument (30 – 39 pt)	Demonstrates thorough examination of data; shows ability to evaluate; reveals mature insight (40 – 50 pt)
Student Scores
Thesis/Position	15	Position incomplete; support ineffective; explanation minimal (0 – 3 pt)	Positions partially presented; weak information; lack of relevant details. (4 – 6 pt)	Position substantially   presented; some imbalance in positions and missing or gaps in explanation.  (7 – 9 pt)	Position completely presented, relevant, accurate, clear and well-explained.   (10 – 12 pt)	All positions thoroughly presented; each point clearly explained; relevant and accurate support of positions (13 – 15 pt)
Student Scores
Presentation	25	Unprepared; unorganized; no eye contact; too casual (0 – 4 pt)	Shared minimal information; occasional eye contact (5 – 9  pt)	Good organization; shared relevant and interested information (10 – 14 pt)	Well-organized; material interests and engages audience; very good eye contact.  (15 – 19 pt)	Flawless presentation; covers key information; confident, engaging (20 – 25 pt)
Student Scores

Total Score – 200 possible points

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 14 (December 4)

Greetings!

We had another round of excellent Presentations this week.  Last week we learned about sleep, the Common Core, and homeless youth in the metro area.  This week, we heard about the Second Amendment from Hannah, stem cell research from Taylor, and fast food from Zac.  Each of the students spoke confidently and knowledgeably about their topics, and the class had insightful follow-up questions.  This is the time in the class when students begin to feel that their hard work is paying off.

Next week is our last week, and because we have 6 presentations scheduled for that week, we've decided that it would be good to start class a little early.  We will start our presentations at 8:45, sharp.  If any of the students have PowerPoint presentations, they should e-mail them to me before Thursday.

The final drafts of the papers are due on the last week of classes.  I've talked with the students about this due date and have told them that if they need an extension, they should talk to me about it.  Though I understand how life can be hectic and that it is sometimes a challenge to get everything done on time, I encouraged the students that if they need an extension to not let it go too far past that last day of class.  From my experience, I have found that once the class is over, students (and the teacher) lose momentum.

I'm including a link to the rubric that I will use to evaluate the papers.  The students have paper versions of the rubric.

I usually bring Christmas cookies for the last day of class before the break.  Feel free to bring any treats to help us celebrate the hard work this class has done all semester!

This week's links

Class Notes

Research Paper Rubric

Until next week,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 13 (November 20)

Greetings!

We have come to one of my favorite parts of the Writing 3 - Research Writing class:  the Presentations.  Students have worked hard researching and writing about a topic of interest.  The difficulties of this project are many:  finding a good topic, finding suitable resources, fitting in the research and writing into busy schedules, and, finally, writing a clear, insightful, coherent paper.  When we start the presentation part of the class, I feel so proud of the students for working so hard and doing their best.  Even if a student isn't completely satisfied with the work he or she has done, something has been learned in the process.

This week, we had the following presentations:

Cynthia Krause spoke on homeless youth in the Twin Cities.  She had great statistics about causes and effects of this situation.  She also gave us good information about organizations working to help young adults and youth who find themselves on the streets.

Sally Russell's research project was about the Common Core, an educational initiative aimed at centralizing curriculum in our country.  She shared pros and cons, its origins, and information regarding who supports it and who doesn't.

Luke Swenson gave his presentation of his research about sleep.  We learned about  what causes us to sleep, the benefits of sleep, sleep disorders, and biphasic sleep.

Each of the students had PowerPoint presentations to go along with their oral comments.

As you know, we won't have class next week due to our Thanksgiving break.  This is an important family time and can be really busy, but having the extra days off from CHAT classes gives students more opportunities to work on revising the rough draft and preparing the Final Draft.

We have two weeks left in class.  Their Final Drafts are due on the last week of class.  I told them that I would accept a late paper, but it's best to get them done on time.  Once the class is over, the energy and drive to finish the paper will dissipate.

The schedule for the following presentations:

Week 14 (December 4)

Zac

Taylor

Hannah

Makana

Week 15 (December 11)

Garret

Josh

Grant

Lena

Spencer

Have a great Thanksgiving celebration!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 12 (November 13)

Greetings!

We had a productive class this week.  As we near the end of the semester, more of their work is happening outside of our weekly class time.

I began the class with a trial test-taking activity.  With #19 on our SAT/ACT prompts list, they were given 15 minutes to work on writing their responses.  This particular question happened to be an ACT question, and in real life they would have had 30 minutes to write.  When it comes time to take these tests for real, I feel that each of the students will be able to formulate and write strong essays.

I handed back their second rough drafts this week.  I read their first rough drafts for content and organization.  These were read for mechanics, grammar, and writing style.  Those students who have had me for other classes are accustomed to the manner in which I mark up rough drafts.  In other words, they are used to the multitude of marks and comments.  I took a significant amount of time to go over the types of corrections that I made and some common errors.  We also talked about style and strategic writing that yields strong sentences.  

In addition to talking about their individual rough drafts, we went over the guidelines for standard MLA formatting.  For those who are comfortable with their second rough drafts, they can hand in their final drafts on either Week 14 or Week 15 (the last 2 weeks of class.)  For those who would like to do a third draft, they can hand those in next week or the week after.  That will give me enough time to go over the drafts and get them back.

We start presentations next week.  Luke, Cynthia, and Sally have volunteered to present.  The rest of the class still needs to sign up for a slot.

They've all worked hard.  I'm really looking forward to their final drafts and their presentations.

Assignment for Next Week:

-- Revise and Edit the rough draft

-- Prepare the presentation.

This week's Class Notes

Have a great weekend!  Keep warm!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 11 (November 6)

Greetings!

This week in class we covered a number of items related to the research papers.  We began our class with another Quick Write.  The day of our class, November 6, was James Naismith's birthday.  He was the inventor of the game of basketball, which he did as a class assignment.  The topic of the Quick Write was to write about a creative project they had done or would like to do for school.

In class, we discussed the format and details for the Works Cited page.  If they have any doubts about this part of the paper, they can check some of the online resources listed below.

Another topic for the day was their Presentations that they are to give at the end of the semester when their papers are due.  Some students really dislike this part, while others have a lot of experience speaking in front of others.  The reason for the presentations is that many times deeper learning happens when you explain to others what you're learned.  They are doing this in the process of writing the paper, but they will also be doing this via the presentation.  They should be thinking about what key points from their research they would like to share with their classmates.  

We watched a short video on giving presentations.  Also, I shared with the students the following statistics:

People remember 10% of an oral presentation; 35% from a visual presentation: and 65% of one that is oral and visual.

The students had a worksheet with a sample edited portion of a paper.  In groups, they discussed why the various edits were made.

Rough Draft #2 was due this week.  If it wasn't handed in at class, it should be e-mailed to me.  I will hand them back next week.

Assignment for Next Week:

-- Presentation Plan

This Week's Links:

Class Notes

MLA Format for Citations

MLA Guide (from Purdue OWL)

Examples of a Bad Presentation Video

Keep warm; winter's coming!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 10 (October 30)

Greetings!

We had a good day in class.  As we continue to work on the the research papers, we're at the place where the students should be finished with research and doing mostly writing.  That being said, many times as students are writing, they find that they have gaps in their research, and off they go to another website or book to find the missing bit of information in order to support their theses.

I had the students do a Quick Write today from the College Application Essay Prompts.  Our prompt today was #40 -- If you were a door to door salesperson, what would you be able to sell?  We had a window salesman with a catchy sales pitch about "panes."  Again, the goal of the college application prompts is to help students think creatively and reflectively.

I had three videos for them today.  The first one was a spoken word presentation about words, conviction, and the tendency of today's society to end declarative sentences with that little lift of the voice that makes it a questions.  Following that, we watched of video about the writing process as a whiteboard animation lecture.

Next week Rough Draft #2 is due, and we took time to go over revising and editing strategies.  Revising refers to the broader questions related to content, organization, and paragraph structures.  To edit a paper students should re-read their papers and go through it carefully, sentence by sentence.  Obvious matters of spelling, missing, and doubled words will be noticed as they read.  As more mature writers, they should also be aware of stylistic points.  They took notes during class to help them with as they work on these rough drafts.

I was reminded by a student that today is Reformation Day.  We closed out the class with a video called "Reformation Polka."

Assignment for Next Week:

-- Rough Draft #2

This week's links:

Class Notes

Taylor Mali -- Conviction

Writing Process Animation

Reformation Polka

OWL Revising & Editing

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 9 (October 23)

Greetings!

My apologies for the lateness of the week's e-mail; it's been a busy week at the Prichard house.  You never know when it's going to be this nice again for yard work.

Our beginning of class activity was to work through one of the ACT test prompts, which proved to be timely since this Saturday was a test day for the ACT.  The question we worked on was #10 and had to do with dress codes. I had the students individually brainstorm for ideas that both supported and opposed a dress code.  Then, I assigned them to a side (pro or con), and had them work together to come up with the main points of an essay.  Strong thinkers are able to look fully at both sides of an argument.

I took some time to have a class-wide check-in about their progress.  When working on a research paper, students often find that one step of the project is harder than others.  Whether it is researching, organizing information, the actual writing of the paper, or simply finding enough time to get it all done, each and every student encounters small to overwhelmingly large road blocks.  Many times, procrastination sets in when we reach those personally challenging spots.

We talked more about MLA formatting and the Works Cited pages.  For the most part, the Works Cited page is done according to a formula.  The harder part is figuring out exactly what needs to be cited and how to cite it in the body of the paper.

A reminder of our upcoming due dates:

Class	Discuss	Hand In
Week 10	Revising & Editing	Works Cited Draft
Week 11	Giving Presentations	Rough Draft #2
Week 12	MLA formatting	Presentation Plan
Week 13	Presentations	Rough Draft #3   (opt)
Week 14	Presentations	Final Draft
Week 15	Presentations	Final Draft

The Works Cited draft is due next week; the next rough draft is due in two weeks.  It doesn't take too much time to do the Works Cited, so students should also be working on their rough drafts.

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Works Cited draft

This week's links:

Helpful videos for MLA in-text Citations

Class Notes

Have a great week!

Mrs. Prichard

MLA Style for Citations (Video Links)

Below are some links for helping with MLA Citations:

MLA Tutorial #1 -- Basic Paper Formatting

MLA Tutorial #2 -- Basic Citation Format

MLA Tutorial #3 -- Works Cited Page Formatting

MLA Tutorial #4 -- Web Citation

MLA Tutorial #5 -- Citing Research

MLA Tutorial #6 -- In-Text Citation

MLA in text Citations for Beginners
Easy Bib for Websites
In Text MLA Style

Reverse Outline

Reverse Outlines

Many times students make a plan to write an essay in a certain orders with certain details, but as they do the actual writing it seems to take a different turn.  Sometimes fresh ideas come to mind as they are in the process of writing.  Other times, they can’t find the material they had hoped to include.  A helpful strategy is to write a Reverse Outline.  This kind of outline shows them more clearly what they actually wrote in their essays.

If you think of an outline, the major points coincide with Roman numerals (i.e. I, II, III, etc.) and the important points that come under those points are designated with capital letters (i.e. A, B, C, etc.). The specific details are numbers and lower case letters (i.e. 1, 2, 3, etc.; a, b, c, etc.)

In the structure of a paper, the capital letters  are the topic sentences for the paragraphs and the numbers and letters are the details, often individual sentences within the paragraph.  To construct a Reverse Outline, a student re-reads his paper, and fills in the headings for the various layers of an outline.

Example

I.  Introduction

                A.  Attention grabber  (add specific ideas)

                B.  Thesis & road map

II.  First Important Point

A.      Topic of Paragraph 1

1.    Detail (These are the data or ideas as they appear in the sentence)

2.    Detail

3.    Detail (You may many details for each paragraph, but they should fit with the topic of that paragraph)

B.      Topic of Paragraph 2

1.    Detail 

2.    Detail

3.    Detail

C.  Topic of Paragraph 3

1.    Detail 

2.    Detail

3.    Detail

III.  Second Important Point

A.      Topic of Paragraph 1

1.    Detail

2.    Detail

3.    Detail

B.      Topic of Paragraph 2

1.    Detail 

2.    Detail

3.    Detail

C.  Topic of Paragraph 3

1.    Detail 

2.    Detail

3.    Detail

and so forth

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 8 (October 16)

Greetings!

Another beautiful fall day and another great class!

We began the day with a Quick Write.  I gave the students the prompts for the essay for the Common Application.  One of the key aspects of these essays is that they are intended for the student to show some his/her personality and character.  Admissions counselors are looking for those characteristics that cause the student to stand out.  Today, I had the students choose one of the prompts and brainstorm some ideas that they could include in an essay.  I often tell students that the writing part is easy; it’s the thinking part that is the challenge.

I handed back their copies of Rough Draft #1 that they handed in to me.  As I read through them, I didn’t correct grammar, mechanics, or sentence structures.  I read them primarily for content and organization.  I was purposely looking for areas in which they could expand, and I usually propose questions for further research.  

For part of the instruction time, I went over introductions.  A good, strong introduction makes a world of difference in a paper.  In short essays, the introduction is a paragraph.  In longer papers, the introduction can sometimes be 2 paragraphs.  Keys to a great introduction include engaging the reader and establishing a common ground, writing a clear thesis, and giving a the readers a road map of the direction of the paper that includes the primary subtopics.

We spent some in-class time starting on the Peer Edits.  These are assigned to be due next week, but I wanted the students to get started in case they had any questions for me or for the writers of the papers they were working on.

Another helpful strategy to check organization and content is a Reverse Outline.  Their detailed outlines were plans for what they intended to write.  A Reverse Outline shows them what they really did write.  Follow this link for an illustration of a Reverse Outline

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Peer Edit

-- Keep researching and writing

This week's blog:

Class Notes

Reverse Outline

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

College Application Brainstorming

1.       What can you do that no one else can do?

2.       List your top 10 favorite places.

3.       Name a family tradition and explain why it is significant to you.

4.       If you could have a dinner date with anyone, who would it be, why would you choose that person, and where would you go?

5.       Tell your favorite joke and explain why you think it’s funny.

6.       In what novel would you like to be a character?  Why?

7.       What sets your heart on fire?

8.       What makes you really angry?

9.       Would you rather go to an orchestra concert or an art museum?  Why?

10.   Give your name as an acronym so that it reflects who you are.

11.   Your assignment:  give away $1,000.  Where would you give it?  Why?

12.   Describe in complete sensory details your favorite meal.

13.   Your house is on fire, and you can only grab 3 items.  What would they be?  Why?

14.   You are a brilliant and forward thinking inventor.  What would you invent?

15.   How is your family different from any other family?

16.   Describe your favorite childhood memory.

17.   If you could re-live any day, what day would that be?

18.   What have you learned from your grandparents?

19.   You are suddenly invisible.  What would you do?  Where would you go?

20.   List 20 things that you don’t do well.

21.   What do you NEVER want to do again?  Why?

22.   Describe a day without technology.

23.   Tell about a time when you were disappointed by an adult.  What happened?  What did it feel like?

24.   Why did you come to school at Arcadia?  Was it a good decision?

25.   You’ve been given a 10- day, all expenses paid trip.  Where would you go?  Why?

26.   What holiday is most meaningful to you?  Why?

27.   What is your favorite school subject?  Why?

28.   Describe something you do really well.

29.   What is the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?  What made it hard?

30.   Describe yourself in 140 characters – the length of a tweet.

31.   Write 20 adjectives that describe you.

32.   Do you make decisions quickly or slowly?  Describe the process of making decisions.

33.   Describe what is boring to you.

34.   Describe what is exciting to you.

35.   Describe how you are “quirky.”  What makes you just a little odd?

36.   List your top 10 weaknesses.

37.   You've been grounded for 10 days.  What did you do and how will you spend your time at home?

38.   When you are a parent, what will you do the same as your parents and what will you do differently?

39.   A group is hotly discussing a political issue.  Will you join in, quietly listen, or walk away?  Why?

40.   If you were a door to door salesperson, what would you be able to sell? 

41.   What place have you been to that you could go back to over and over again?

42.   What is your least favorite school subject?  Why?

43.   Create for yourself a personal motto.  Explain it.

44.   Describe a time in the last 3 years when you change your mind.  What prompted the change?

45.   You can travel back in time.  When and where would you go?

46.   Write a radio ad to “sell” yourself. 

47.   Tell about a time when you volunteered for an organization.

48.   What causes are you passionate about?  Why?

49.   How would you like to change the world?

50.   What is wrong with our world today?

51.   What is best about your life?

52.   What is worst about your life?

53.   What is right about our world today?

54.   Would you rather wash the dishes, mow the lawn, or babysit a toddler?  Why?

55.   Would you rather write a paper, take a math test, or give a speech?  Why?

56.   Would you rather go to church or go to a political rally?  Why?

57.   Would you rather help at a homeless shelter, clean up garbage in a park, or work a political phone bank?

58.   Describe yourself as a learner. 

59.   You've inherited a library.  How do you feel?  What will you do?

60.   If you could be 2 people, what would the other “you” be like?