Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 15 (December 16)

 Greetings!

We had a marvelously full day today.  Most of the class was there early at 8:30 so that we could get all of the presentations in.

I always feel so proud of my students on our presentation days.  They have worked hard on their research papers, and listening to them talk about aspects of their topics allows the rest of the class to appreciate their hard work.  Another aspect of the presentations is that the students are able to give visual images for the information that they had been putting into words.  Whether it's maps, charts, videos, etc.  these items provide broader representations of their topics.  They also all did especially well with the question and answer section.  As their classmates asked questions, they skillfully contributed more information, showing just how well they knew their topics.  

For those who are interested, I've posted 3 Google Classroom materials posts with the slide shows for the presentations.  A couple of students have video presentations that will also be posted on Google Classroom when they are turned in.

Now, all that's left to do is get the final drafts in. As I told them last week, I will take any work (except rough drafts) until Sunday at 11:59 p.m.   

I would love to get everything graded and have grades out before Christmas, but that might not happen.  I have final drafts from all three classes, so the whole process might take a little longer.  When I am done, I will have paper copies with notes to give to them; these can be picked up at CHAT in January.  I can also scan and send the papers digitally.

This class has been a pleasure.  May all of the students have a well-deserved rest!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Links for this Week:

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 15 (December 16)

Presentations for December 2

Presentations for December 9

Presentations for December 16

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 14 (December 9)

 Greetings!

We had a great class today.  We began with a Quick Write (Christmas traditions) and then proceeded to student presentations.

This morning we heard about Shintoism from Benjamin, AR-15s from Philip, and Psychopathy from Josie.  Not only did all three present good information, but they expertly fielded questions from the rest of the class.

We have one class period left.  I've been going over drafts as they come in; students who handed in papers in the past couple of days will get them over the weekend.  We're at the point that students should be polishing up their drafts ready for the final draft.  Some of the refinements needed included correcting grammatical errors, fixing in text citations, and correctly formatting the Works Cited page.  

We still have quite a number of presentations to get through, and to do that, I gave the students options.  First, we're going to start at 8:30 next week -- I promised food -- so that we have more time.  Also, a couple of students were interested in recording their presentations and posting them on Google Classroom so that the rest of class could see them.  

Students who want to record their presentations can do a video of themselves speaking.  If you want to do a presentation that includes slides (Google Slides or Powerpoint) you can use Zoom to do that.  Basically, you have a Zoom meeting with just yourself.  You can share your screen and record the meeting.  The Zoom app then converts the recording, and that recording can be uploaded to Google Classroom.  Here's a good video that explains the process:  Record a Virtual Presentation.  If a student wants to do this, please contact me!

Next week is the last week of classes for CHAT.  We'll start at 8:30, and even though we will be doing presentations, it will be our end of the semester Christmas party.  Students can bring goodies to share if they'd like.  Because we will have a full class period of presentations, I won't be taking time for the end of class reflection that I usually do.  Students should complete the reflection on this Google Form.  

The goal is to have all work done on the last day, December 16.  That said, I have told the students that I would take final drafts until Sunday, December 19.  If a student is not sure what work needs to be done, Google Classroom is the place to look.  I will send out a Grade Report over the weekend so that you can see current percentages.

Assignments for Next Week:

Finish all the things!

Have a great weekend! 

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 12 (November 18)

Greetings!

We had a good day in class and covered a lot of ground.

Quick Write

For today's Quick Writes, we had the following prompts:

1 -- Contribute to the list of Quick Write ideas to be used for my classes for the rest of the year.

2 -- Write about a sports mis-hap that happened to you or that you know about.

3 -- November 18 is National Princess Day and November 16, 1553, was the day that Queen Elizabeth I became the queen of England following the death of her sister, Mary.  Write about any royalty that you are especially interested in.

Words of the Day

We had no words because I anticipated the class time to be too full.

Homework Discussion

We went around the room, and the students shared where they were in the process of their papers and what challenges they were experiencing.  Some common themes about their challenges came up:  time management issues, difficulties finding the right resources, personal challenges, overcoming perfectionism,  refining and defining the focus and topic, etc.  The students are all in different places in their progress, but they're all moving forward.  Some rough drafts have been handed in the the past couple of days, and I will get them back to students over the weekend.  

One of the common challenges was finding enough resources. I recommended trying ProQuest or EBSCO, online databases of peer reviewed, academic articles.  Most local, public libraries have access to these articles and journals.

Presentations

Students are required to present something to their class.  It can be a quick overview of all their topics or a focused look at one aspect.  They can have some kind of visual aid to help them in their presentation.  Lots of students use PowerPoint slides, but they could use a poster or use some other object.  Because we have a large class, the presentations will need to be short (10 minutes), about which some students are really glad.  I showed them a short, humorous video about giving presentations.  I'm also posting some of next week's assignments, because they're related to our presentation.  

Below is our Presentation schedule:

December 2 -- Michael, Gabi, Philip, Levi, Tyler, Jessie

December 9 -- Benjamin, Elliot, Josie, David, Kara, Maria

December 16 -- Ellie, Ethan, Carson, Brooke, Leighton

Sample Paper Reading

Students took some time to read a sample paper by one of my students from about 8 years ago. This was a well-written paper, but not perfect.  They were told to look for what the writer did well and what was not as strong.  

Helpful Resources

In the links below I've included some websites that might be helpful at this stage of their writing.  Some students might need help with in text citations and the Works Cited page.  Even though we've talked about this multiple time, it's always a little different when you're actually doing it.  One resource listed below is something that one of the students, Kara, said she was using.  Supernotecard is an online note-taking app.

We won't have class next week. Enjoy your family and Thanksgiving weekend.

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Homework for Next Class (12/2)

Research Paper Assignments

Research Paper Rough Draft #1

Research Paper Rough Draft #2

Research Paper Rough Draft #3 (opt.)

Presentation Assignments

Presentation Outline

Presentation Self Evaluation

Links for This Week

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 12 (November 18) 

Quick Write (11/18)

Zoom Recording -- November 18

Presentation Rubric

SuperNoteCard

How to Sound Smart (TEDTalk)

How to Give a Great Presentation (video)

EasyBib Writing Center

Purdue OWL General MLA Format

Purdue OWL Works Cited page

MLA Works Cited page on Google Docs (video)

MLA Works Cited page in Microsoft Word (video)

How to Format Entries on a Works Cited page
 

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

 Greetings!

We had another full class time this week.  When I first started teaching at CHAT, I didn't know how I would fill a 90 minute class.  Now I wish I could have the students for even more time because there's always more to cover.  On Google Classroom this week I have a couple of posts that include material that might be helpful as they work on their in text citations and Works Cited pages.

Quick Write

Our prompts for today:

Nov. 10 was the birthday of the US Marine Corps

Nov. 11 was Veterans/Armistice Day

Nov. 12  was National Chicken Soup for your Soul

Students could write something about the military or about something that has to do with social/mental/emotional self-care.

Words of the Day

Today's words were war-related:

military -- fr. Latin militis, "soldier" -- of or relating to war, soldiers, army

veteran -- fr. Latin, veteranus, "old, aged, experienced" -- someone who has served in the military; someone who has had long experience in an occupation/skill

armistice -- fr. Latin, arma, "weapons" and stitium, "to stand, be firm" -- a temporary halt in battles

war -- fr. PIE (Proto-Indo-European) wers, "to confuse, mix up" -- a fight carried on in battle using arms

Homework Check

At this point in the semester, all of the students are in varying places in their writing.  The first rough drafts were due a few weeks ago, and some of the students are still working on that draft.  As I've said, the purpose of the rough draft is to make sure students have enough content and have a good organizational plan.  After any content and organizational issues are corrected, the paper is then ready for me to go over with a "fine tooth comb."  If students are behind, they need to find the time to get their writing done.

Students Led Discussions

We had a presentation on transition words from Tyler, the Works Cited page from Josie, and Works Cited entries from Carson.  

Writing Instructions

We continued looking at in text citations and the Works Cited page.  We also covered hanging indents.

Assignments for Next Week

Research Paper Rough Draft #1

Research Paper Rough Draft #2

Citations Quiz (on Google Classroom)

A Note on Assignments on Google Classroom -- All drafts of the Research Paper should be submitted on Google Classroom instead of paper copies in class.  If students do this, I can read and correct them sooner and get them back to the students.

Links for This Week

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

Citation Resources

Video:  Formatting Works Cited in MLA in Google Docs

Video:  How to Set up Works Cited page in MLA in Google Docs

Video:  How to Set up Works Cited page in MLA in Word

Enjoy the changing seasons!!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 10 (November 4)

 Greetings!

We had a full day, but the we do every week!

Quick Write

For today, we had a few options:

• November 3 was National Sandwich Day
• November 4 was National Candy Day
• November 5:  Guy Fawkes Night (1605) and the day Susan B Anthony was arrested (1872)
• And as always -- the "Whatever" option

Students could write about favorite sandwiches, candy, and political activism.

Words of the Day

Autumn -- fr. Latin autumnus, "increase" -- the season of harvest between summer and winter

Equinox -- fr. Latin aequus, "equal" and nox, "night" -- the time when day and night are equal length

Cornucopia -- fr. Latin cornu, "horn" and copiae, "plenty" -- a horn-shaped container containing food, drink in endless supply

Susurrus -- fr. Latin susurrus, "humming, whispering" -- a soft murmuring or whispering sound

Hibernaculum -- fr. Latin hibernaculum, "winter residence" -- the winter quarters of a hibernating animal

We did a small group check about their rough drafts.  In groups of 3 - 4, students shared their topics, thesis statements, challenges, and progress.  All of them are feeling a bit challenged with writing the rough drafts of their papers. The students are in all phases of writing their papers; they should let me know as soon as they submit their rough drafts on Google Classroom.

We had 2 student-led discussions:  Parallel structure and Expletives and "There is/are."  Here's the video for parallel structure.  

We closed out the class with some discussion about what to look for in rough drafts and how to revise.

Assignments for Next Week 

-- Rough Draft #1 (if not done)

-- Evaluating and Editing your Own Paper

-- Extra Credit -- Evaluating Introductions

Links for this Week

-- Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 10 (November 4)

-- Revising a Rough Draft

-- Parallel Structure video

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

Greetings!

Great class today, as always.  This is a lively and engaged group of students.   Writing 3 is a great way to start my Thursday!

Quick Write

For today's Quick Write, I asked students to choose a topic about which they have strong opinions.  It could be something light-hearted and close to home, or it could be a topic of current cultural or political interest.  Then, they were to think about the perspectives of those who are on the other side of the issue.  My goal is that they would take some time consider what others think.  Not so that they could change their minds about their opinions, but so that they could be more understanding of those who they might view as opponents.  Being able to do this is a mark of a mature, wise, and graceful thinker.

Words of the Day

stubborn -- fr, OE, stybb, "stump" -- fixed or set in an opinion; refusing to change

dogmatic -- fr. Greek, dogmatikos, "pertaining to doctrines" -- adhering only to principles or dogma 

indomitable -- fr. Latin, in, "not" and domitare, "to tame" -- incapable of being subdued

inexorable -- fr. Latin, in "not" and exorabilis, "moved/persuaded by entreaty" -- not convinced or persuaded by requests or petitions

Writing

We enjoyed and learned from the student-led discussions about signal phrases, quote sandwiches, in text citations, and block quotes.  Philip, Elliot, Maria, Gabi, Benjamin, Josie, and Ellie did a good job.  All of these topics relate to how students should incorporate their researched material into their papers.

Rough Draft

Students should be well on their way with their research and have a good idea about what material/subtopics they should include in their papers.  The first rough draft is due when we come back after fall break.  For this rough draft, I will be looking primarily for content and organization.  

Fall Break

We don't have CHAT classes next week; October 20 & 21 are our Fall Break days.  I hope you can find some fun outside activities to do.

Assignments for 10/28

Rough Draft #1

Signal Phrase & Block Quotes Quiz

Links for this week

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

Quick Write (10/14)

Persuasive Writing Techniques

Incorporating Material Resources

Have a marvelous Fall Break!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 6 (September 30)

 Greetings!

We had a full day in class today.  I'm sure enjoying this group of students!

Quick Write

Today's prompt was inspired by the fact that is was on this day, September 30, in 1890 that Yosemite was named a national park.  I'm afraid I gave some incorrect information.  Yellowstone was the first national park, not Yosemite.  For the prompt, students were to write about some "great out of doors" adventure.  For responses, I heard about some close calls and some good times in nature.

Words of the Day

Vernacular -- fr. Latin verna (home-born slave) & vernaculus (domestic; native) -- "home-style language;" common language

Colloquial -- fr. Latin com (with) & loqui (to talk) -- language of a conversational style

Dialect -- fr. Greek dialektos (talk, conversation, speech) and fr. PIE -leg (to collect, gather, or pick out words) -- language specific to a particular region

Idiom -- fr. Latin idiomas (peculiarity in language) -- a figure of speech; words that have meanings other than their literal meaning

Homework Check

Usually after the beginning of class activities, I check in with the students about any homework questions.  We discussed assignments on Google Classroom.  I want to clarify an issue relating Google Classroom and the Grades Report that is emailed.  If students are missing an assignment, it will say "missing" on Google Classroom.  When I import the scores onto a Google Sheets spreadsheet using a grade book app, the missing scores are changed to zeros.  

Another note about homework.  I don't have a specific day that I correct homework, but the plan is to have it done and returned for the following class period.  When I'm done correcting work, I will update Google Classroom to reflect both the paper homework that was handed in during class and the assignments finished on Google Classroom.  

Student Led Discussion

Two groups of students presented to the class today.  First we heard about Note-taking from Eliana and Leighton.  The Madeleine and Levi gave us important bibliographical information related to Works Cited pages.  In addition to hearing about Evaluating Sources from Tyler & Carson, here's the plan for next week:

Week 7 (10/7)	Paraphrasing & Summarizing	1. Gabi Fletcher
		2.   Ethan Barns
	Mosaic Plagiarism	1. Madeleine Choe
		2.   Kara Smith
	Common Knowledge	1. Michael Miller
		2.   Ethan Barns

Student Group Discussions

After our presentations, I divided the students into small groups to discuss their topics and to work on their thesis statements for their research papers.  Their Research Proposals were due this week, and a preliminary outline is due next week.  As I've told students, the work for the first part of the semester is pretty light, but now it's picking up.  The first rough draft is due in two weeks!

Assignments for Next Week

Write Your Own Thesis Statement (2nd half)

Research Paper Outline

Links for This Week

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 6 (September 30)

About Note-Taking

Research and Relevant Sources

Have a wonderful Fall weekend!

Blessings!

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 4 (September 16)

 Greetings!

This week's class was productive, but I always find myself wishing we had more time together.  They are a great group of students!

Quick Write

This week's prompts was a little more academic.  On September 16, 1620, the Mayflower departed from England.  In addition to bringing faith to this new land, the Pilgrims helped lay the foundation for democratic, self-government for the sake of community well-being in their document, the Mayflower Compact.  I had the students write about what they felt were essential rights AND responsibilities.  These could either be attributed in a large scale to humanity as a whole or closer to home (e.g. I have a right to my personal space and a responsibility to keep it clean.)  AND, if they were not thinking so deeply, they could write about their favorite fall beverage!

No Words of the Day this week.

Writing Discussion

In class we continued our discussion about choosing topics.  We also talked at length about developing thesis statements.  The Research Paper that the students will be writing will be a thesis-driven paper.  Many times, coming up with the essential question that drives a paper can be one of the hardest aspects of writing this research paper.  

We also took time this week to do some peer evaluations.  In small groups, students read one another's rough drafts of their essays.  They are to revise their rough drafts into final drafts.  

Assignments for Next Week

Narrowing the Subject

Understanding the Thesis Driven Paper

Final Draft of Essay #1

Links for This Week

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 4 (September 16)

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 3 (September 9)

 Greetings!

We had a good class today.  The students came into class ready to learn, and we had a productive time.  

Quick Write

Sept. 10 is National Swap Ideas Day, and it encourages us to share a creative or helpful idea with someone and trade them for their thoughts in return. 

• Where do you go to get good ideas?  

• What great ideas do you have to share with others?  

• What kind of group that you’d like to be in to share ideas.

On Sept. 8, 1930, the American company 3M began marketing a transparent adhesive tape that later became known as Scotch® tape.  On Sept. 10, 1846, American inventor Elias Howe was granted a patent for his sewing machine, which revolutionized garment manufacture in the factory and in the home.  

• What is one of your favorite inventions/gadgets?  

• What invention do you think the world needs? 

Words of the Day  (These were invention-related words to go with our Quick Write.)

Patent -- fr. Latin, patere, to lie or be open; including litterae patentes, which means open letters. -- a document that is a license issued by the government conferring rights of ownership of an invention.

Innovation -- fr. Latin innovare, to change or renew -- a new method, idea, or product

Enigma -- fr. Greek ainigma, a dark saying or riddle -- a problem, puzzle, or mystery

Revised Syllabus

This week I was going to hand back the rough drafts of their Essay #1 and go over common writing errors, but I'm afraid my week took a turn that I had not expected.  I was with my mom from Friday to Tuesday until she passed away on Tuesday.  The papers weren't graded, so I pushed back the due dates of some of the writing assignments.  I will have the rough drafts back to them next week and will have all of the homework corrected and updated on Google Classroom.

Google Classroom

I reminded the students that if they don't do an assignment on Google Classroom, they should leave it alone.  I will update the scores for work that was handed in during class.

Student-Led Discussion

This week Kari and Philip gave us good information about standard MLA formatting for papers.  Below are our next presenters for Week 6

Week 6 (9/30)	Evaluating Sources	1. Tyler Kretsinger
		2.   Carson Berry
	Note-Taking for Research	1. Eliana  Hammond
		2.   Leighton Hanish
	Bibliographical information	1. Madeleine Choe
		2.   Levi Martens

Writing/Research Discussion

The other topic of the day centered on choosing and narrowing a topic.  We did some in class brainstorming using sample topics, and the students have some homework to do more of that.  

Assignments for Next Week

-- MLA Quiz (either the paper version or the Google Forms version)

-- Topics, Leading Questions, and Searches

Links for This Week

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 3 (September 9)

Student-Led Topics

Brainstorming 3 Topics

Sample MLA Paper

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 2 (September 2)

 Greetings!

We had a good class today.  The students were engaged and interacted with the material and with one another.  

Quick Write

Students had 4 options today:  1) Sept. 1 was National No Rhyme Day  Students could try to rhyme some words that don't have clear "rhyme partners."  2) Sept. 2 is National Blueberry Popsicle Day.  Students could write about favorite frozen treats or foods "on a stick." 3) Sept. 3 is National Lazy Mom's Day, and students were prompted to write about tasks they could do for their moms or tasks that their moms do that they would never want to do.  4)  "Whatever."  Students could write about something else that was one their minds.  

Words of the Day

• Pertinacious -- fr. Latin, pertinax, "very firm, tenacious" -- stubbornly persistent.
• Ulotrichous --- fr. Greek, oulos, "curly, woolly" and thrix, "hair" -- having very curly, wool-like or stiff hair
• Gobbledygook -- a word coined by Maury Maverick in 1944 - means unintelligible, whether in communication is nonsense/gibberish or overly complicated

Google Classroom Instructions

I took a few minutes to go over the CHAT classes email and Google Classroom.  Some students haven't used Google Classroom and are unfamiliar with this resource.  It might take a while to become completely comfortable with all of the necessary aspects of Google Classroom.  

Student-Led Discussion

Over the course of the semester, students will take the floor and explain various topics related to research or writing. (Here's the link to the list of topics and student names.) Next week we will hear about MLA paper format from Kara and Philip.

Writing & Research Topics

The rough draft of their short essay was due today.  I will go over those this week and hand them back next week for the students to revise into final drafts.  We transitioned into a discussion about the research paper, which is the focus of this class.  We discussed reasons why writing a research paper is important.  In small groups I had students brainstorm the steps they think they would take to write a well-researched, well-written, and well-documented paper.  They all agreed that this is a fairly complicated process.

Grades & Scores

I had intended to use Google Classroom's grade book, but it doesn't seem to give parents access to scores, just completed and missing homework.  So, I've found an app to use with Google Sheets that imports Google Classroom scores.  I will send out weekly scores to the students and parents.  If you don't want to get the weekly updates, let me know.  (I'm aware that our inboxes can get way too full.)

Assignments for Next Week

Preparations for your Student-Led Discussion topic

Brainstorm possible topics for your research paper

2 Extra Credit options

     Explore Online Mind Map options

     Visit your nearby library and give proof of that visit.

Links for This Week

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 2 (September 2)

Michael and Ethan at the library

Essay #1 Outline (due 9/2)

Essay #1 Rough Draft (due 9/2)

Student-Led Topics Sign Up

Types of Informative Essays

Pre-Writing Resources

The Research Paper

Blessings!

Mrs. Prichard

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 1 (August 26)

 Greetings!

We've started out our new school year well.  I'm looking forward to working with this group of students.  Below are the Class Notes for this week.  Every week I will send out notes similar to the ones to these.  I include the topics of the class and the direction of instruction.  At the bottom of each email I list the homework and links to the blot, to the Google Classroom assignments,  and to any other helpful information.

I almost always start class with a Quick Write and sometimes with a Word of the Day.  I use a variety of prompts for these short writing opportunities that give students a chance to shift into a writing mode.  These prompts are sometimes serious but usually light-hearted.  For our Words of the Day, I like to choose unusual words, words of current interest, or words with interesting backgrounds.  I especially enjoy looking at the etymologies of words and trying to figure out the journey of the word from its ancient meaning and the modern meaning.

For this week's Quick Write I asked students to respond to these 3 questions:  1) What do you need to be successful this school year?  2) What do you need from others, including me, to be successful this year? 3) What can you do for others in order to help them be successful?

We had 3 Words of the Day:

education -- fr. L. educare, to lead or bring out -- the act of teaching or receiving knowledge

teach -- fr. OE takn, token, to show, point out, declare -- to show or explain how to do something.  

heteroclite -- fr. Gk, hetero, different and klitos, a bend or inflection  -- a person who deviates from the norm and/or chooses and unusual/uncommon path.

I'm afraid I had some difficulties with the Zoom aspect of the class.  I used by Samsung Tablet, and I think some of the settings were different from the one I usually use.  Next week I will have my computer, webcam, and new microphone.  I apologize for the problems that it caused for my students attending via Zoom.

Much of our first class of the year is spent taking care of logistics and looking at some Class Resources.  I gave the students a Class Policies handout, a syllabus, and a checklist of assignments.  These are important documents that will help us be organized with our work this year.  (Note:  Parents, please read the class policies and initial it)

In addition to an overview of the topics in the class, we discussed Google Classroom.  All of the materials and assignments will be posted on Google Classroom.  If they haven't, students need to sign in to their chatclasses email and then join the Google Classroom for Writing 3.  

Students will help with some of the teaching this semester.  On the Student-Led Sign Up document, hey signed up for topics related to research, writing, and plagiarism; they are to research these topics and present the information to their classmates.  

I introduced the first writing assignment of the semester, Essay #1.  The bulk of the semester will be spent writing a hefty research paper,  but I want the students to begin the year with a shorter essay so that I can get to know their writing styles and so that they can "warm up" their writing skills.  

Assignments for Next Week

Writing 3 Class Policies (signatures needed)

Student-Led Topics Sign Up

Essay #1 Rough Draft  (Please use the Google Doc template attached to this assignment.)

Essay #1 Outline 

Before school started assignments

Welcome Back #1

Welcome Back #2

Welcome Back #3

Links for this Week:

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 1 (August 26)

Mrs. Prichard's Guide to Technology 2021 - 2022 (on the blog)

Mrs. Prichard's Guide to Technology 2021 - 2022 (on Google Classroom)

Writing Assignments Checklist

Writing 3 Fall Syllabus

30 Steps to a Research Paper

Essay #1 Requirements

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 15 (December 17)

 Greetings!

We had a marvelously full day today.  I always feel so proud of my students on our presentation days.  They have worked hard on their research papers, and listening to them talk about aspects of their topics allows the rest of the class to appreciate their hard work. 

Another aspect of the presentations is that the students are able to give visual images for the information that they had been putting into words.  Whether it's the animals of the national forests, bridges and buildings, or paintings by Degas, these items provide broader representations of their topics.

Today we heard about the Dutch language, Degas and Impressionism, technology's benefits and pitfalls, cultural differences in architecture, the national parks, and the history of the piano.  We had some technical difficulties for one of the slide presentations, but other than that, the students were wonderful!

Now, all that's left to do is get the final drafts in. As I told them last week, I will take any work (except rough drafts) until Sunday at 5:00 p.m. 

I would love to get everything graded and have grades out before Christmas, but that might happen.  I have final drafts from all three classes, so the whole process might take a little longer.  I will send electronic copies of my notes and rubrics, but if a student wants the physical copy, he/she should let me know.  It could be picked up at CHAT in January, or I could mail it.

This class has been a pleasure.  May all of the students have a well-deserved rest!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Links for this week

(Note:  I've included links to the slide presentations.)

Class Notes

History of the Piano (Abby Kate)

Technology (Will)

National Parks (Isaac)

Architecture (Jacob)

Dutch Language (Laura)

Degas (Katie)

Low Cost Weddings (Annika)

Trafficked (Dellia)

Chemical Warfare (Lilly)

Writing 3 Class Notes -- Week 13 (December 3)

 Greetings!

It's hard to believe that we're in December already and that there are only 2 weeks left.  I feel like I'm just getting to know them as students, and we're going to be done.  

For this week's Quick Write, I offered the following prompts:

• Option 1: On December 2, 1867, Charles Dickens gave his first reading in America. People waited in mile long lines in New York to hear him read. Is there an author, speaker, or other person whom you would wait in a long line to hear? Why?
• Option 2: On December 1, 1824, the results of the election went to the House of Representatives because no presidential candidate had received a majority of the total electoral votes in the election, and according to the 12th amendment, Congress turned to the House to decide. What do you think of the election results and the efforts to find evidence of fraud?
• Option 3: On December 4, 1783, George Washington bid farewell to his officers, leaving military life before being elected in 1797 the first president of the United States. Do you have a favorite found father, military leader, or world leader? Who and why?

Following our Quick Write discussion, I went over the various rubrics that we're using with our final products.  For the Presentations, I will evaluate the students with a rubric, students will use the same rubric for a self evaluation, and classmates will use a shortened version for a peer evaluation.  Rubrics allow for a more holistic evaluation; a student can be strong in one point but weaker in another, and a rubric acknowledges those differences.  An important part of learning (and thinking) is to both reflect on work done and to think about the work of others.  I also use a rubric for the Final Draft of the Research Paper; students will fill out the same rubric as a Self-evaluation.

Here are the links to the Self-Evaluation Rubrics

Presentation Self-Evaluation Rubric

Research Paper Self Evaluation Rubric

After looking at those rubrics, we had our first Student Presentations.  Joseph told us about the dangers of rotational falls and frangible technology in the context of cross-country eventing.  Lilly, whose paper is about World War I, chose to focus on one aspect, the details of the chemical warfare of WWI.  Finally, Dellia had done research about the issue of trafficking in the United States and shared some sad, yet important statistics about this concern.  As I told the class, they've worked hard on their papers, and not only is it good for the rest of the class to learn some of what they've learned.  

With two weeks left, students should not only be finalizing their presentations, but they should be finishing up their papers.  Every student is in a different place and in varying stages of rough draft revisions and final draft preparations.  As soon as a student has a draft ready for me to go over, he/she should submit it to Google Classroom AND send me an email.  I'll do my best to get it back ASAP.  If there's a concern about a draft or any questions, please let me know.  The Final Draft of the Research Paper is due on December 17, which is the last day of class.

Here are the links to the Google Classroom assignments for each of the drafts:

Rough Draft #1

Rough Draft #2

Rough Draft #3 (opt)

Final Draft

Looking forward to more presentations:

December 10

Sophia

Annika

Abby Kate

Martha

December 17

Will

Laura

Isaac

Jacob

Brad

Katie  

We're down to the homestretch!

Mrs. Prichard

Tamera M. Prichard

Writing Instructor at CHAT

Writing 1, Writing 2, Writing 3

ACT Prep, British Literature