We had a productive class this week. This is a good, engaging group of students.
We began the class with a discussion about the elements that a homeschool student would include in a college application. From time to time during class we will do some brainstorming and developing strategies for the SAT and ACT essay portions of the tests. However, these entrance tests, though important, are only one piece of who a student is. This week we worked on a sample ACT essay prompt.
They handed in their Writing Proposals, and we talked about their expected challenges and anticipated audiences.
Our next topic in our quest to write wonderful research papers is finding and evaluating resources. We talked especially about online resources. Using a worksheet for a guideline and a student-suggested topic of "Dogfighting," we did an initial Google search and evaluated the first websites that came up for relevancy, accuracy, authority, and trustworthiness. We also discussed how we would determine bias in written works.
I had mentioned to my students that the middle school students at my other school had been discussing the CRAAP Test for evaluating web sources. Here's the link.
The next step in our writing is an informal outline. This is a preliminary outline that tells where you think your paper is headed. It doesn't need to have all of the details, but it should sufficient sub-points.
Assignments for Next Week
-- Read through Step 17 in the 30 Steps Handbook
-- Write an Informal Outline that includes your subtopics
-- Continue researching
Links for this Week:
Class Notes
Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Prichard
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