Saturday, December 17, 2016

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

Greetings!

We've done it!  We've successfully finished another semester!  This has been a great class, and the students have worked hard researching and writing.

I don't usually do a Quick Write with this class, but we did more of a Quick Draw.  I asked students to draw an Ugly Christmas Sweater, and those who were willing entered those into a class "contest."  They were quite creative!  I'll attach the handout in case any moms or dads want to design a sweater.

We had our final two presentations today:
Anna gave us wonderful presentation on GMOs, their origins and effects on agriculture and our health.  It was very informative and enlightening.
Preston spoke well about performance-enhancing drugs that today's athletes use.  He gave us some good background information and some ramifications of doping to think about.

I can't tell how proud I am of all of these students.  They worked hard, wrote well, spoke with grace and intelligence, but mostly learned not only about their topics but about themselves.  When we finished our presentations, we talked about what worked well and what was challenging.  Every year, students admit to procrastinating and losing motivation. That being said, they all rose above those challenges and have handed in good papers. I am excited to sit down and read the polished final drafts of their research papers.

Finally, we played a game called "Bowls."  I pre-selected some Christmas/Winter-related words and put them in a bag.  Students had to get their teammates to guess the words (like Catch-Phrase).  For the second round, they had to get their teammates to guess the words using only actions (like Charades).  I'm afraid that we ran out of time, but for the final round, they would have tried to get their teammates to guess the words using only one word as a clue.  Here's a link to a variation of this game.

As soon as I get the final papers graded, I will be sending out grades. 


Have a very blessed Christmas!
Mrs. Prichard

Links for this week:
Class Notes

Friday, December 9, 2016

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 14 (December 8)

Greetings!

My apologies for not sending a note last week.  I've had almost 70 rough drafts from all of my classes to read since last Thursday, and the week went by too quickly to get everything done.

This is the part of Writing 3 that is my favorite -- the presentations!  The students have worked really hard on these papers, doing multiple drafts and learning the finer points of incorporating research material and doing parenthetical citations.

Last week we heard --
Nicholas Westerberg about the history of weapons, especially knives.  The passed around some knives, including a home-made version of a balisong, a butterfly knife.
Luke Troyak spoke about the details of the war in Bosnia.  He had some pictures and also spoke of a personal interest because of his missions trip there.
Harrison Pennell gave us a good presentation on synesthesia. He had some good analogies and activities for the class. He was able to get this complex idea across to us.
Nicole Miller spoke and inspired us with the life of Daniel.  She spoke clearly about this man who lived a godly life in the face of opposition.


This week we heard -- 
Abigail Bjorlin gave an eloquent  presentation about third wave feminism.  She spoke with conviction about aspects that seem to counter God's ways.
Eden Heille spoke about the history of toys and the effects of toys on child development.  We were especially interested to hear about electronics and young children.
Christopher Johnson presented information about God's use of music.  His passion for music and its use for God's kingdom were apparent.

What's Next?
Next week is our last week, which means our final presentations.  We will hear from Anna, Katie, and Preston.  Also, the Final Drafts of their papers are due at that time.  A couple of students have sent me a third rough draft, and I will have them back before the end of the weekend.  AND, if there's time, we'll play a Christmas game, eat treats, and show off our ugly sweaters.

Assignments for Next Week
-- Final Draft!

Links for this week
Class Notes

These students have done a great job!  Give them hearty pats on the back!
Blessings and stay warm and drive safely!
Mrs. Prichard