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

Welcome to Writing 3 @ CHAT!

Greetings!

This is just a short note to say "Hello!" and to welcome both students and parents to my Writing 2 class at CHAT.  (I see a great mix of familiar and new names on the list. ) 

I'll be sending a longer, "here's what you need to know before school starts" email over the weekend, so this is just a brief greeting.  

This year I will be using Google Classroom for all of the assignments, so if you don't already have one, you should be getting from Mrs. Nelson a student chatclasses email for your child who is enrolled in this class.  My practice is to send all class emails and updates to parents and students, so if you want to use another email in addition to this one, please let me know.  

I hope you've had a good, fun, and relaxing summer.  And I also hope you're looking forward to a new school year.  I know I am!!

Blessings, 

Mrs. Prichard

Mrs. Prichard’s Guide to Technology for 2021 - 2022

Greetings CHAT families!

Last year because of the potential restrictions from COVID-19, I put all of my materials and assignments on Google Classroom.  For many students, Google Classroom helped them keep track of assignments, was a repository of any handouts from class that they had lost, and offered an online way to complete homework.  Considering those benefits, I will again be using Google Classroom for my classes at CHAT.  Below are explanations and descriptions of some helpful resources to help you get set up for the year.

Online Option using Zoom.

• If at any point we require distance learning this year, the classes will meet via Zoom

• Students who are sick or out of town can attend my classes via Zoom.

• Follow this link:   Tamera Prichard’s Zoom classroom.  (password:  chat)

• Note:  Google Classroom offers a Google Meet address for the classes, but at this time I will not be using Google Meet

The G-Suite for CHAT Classes

Kim Nelson has assigned an email account with chatclasses.com to all of my students.  (Last year’s students will continue with their emails.)  This is essential for using Google Classroom and the multiple tools that come with the G-Suite for education.  Mrs. Nelson has also made some videos and a teaching sheet for using your CHAT email account and getting into Google Classroom.  She uses an Algebra 1 class as an example, but the steps will be the same for my writing classes.  

• How to Sign in to Gmail and Google Classroom for CHAT students

• How to Forward Your Email and Create a Filter

• Intro to Google Classroom for Students (20 minutes)

• How to scan a multi-page document using Genius Scan (free) and get it into Google Classroom  (Note:  Genius Scan is phone app that scans documents and saves them as PDFs.)

• Student Quick Guide to Google Classroom

• Another Google Classroom Tutorial

Google Drive

• With the G-Suite, students have access to Google Drive, which is a multi-dimensional platform for documents, slides, spreadsheets, etc.  Think of it as a filing system for your digital content.

• To get started, students should create separate folders for each of their classes.  For some classes, they might want folders within a folder.  (e.g. A Writing 2 folder could have subfolders for Essays, Grammar, Literature.)

• A well-organized Google Drive will help students stay better organized with their school work.  

Google Classroom

• All assignments for the semester will be posted in Google Classroom even if we’re face to face.  

• Students will be added to the roster and will get an invitation to join the class.  Follow the links in the email.  Parents will also be added.  If you prefer to not be added, let me know.  

• The assignments will come in one or more of the following formats:

• An attached Google Doc on which students can type

• A quiz or form that students can complete

• A discussion question on which students can type a comment or respond to a classmate

• An assignment where a student can upload a document or some other type of electronic work

• Students will need to remember to “Turn in” their homework via a button on the assignment page.

• Google Classroom has an attached gradebook and should be used for checking for missing work.  This year I will be using it as my online gradebook.  

• Google Classroom also has a calendar that keeps track of due dates for assignments.

Communication

• Email:  My email is tammy.prichard@chatclasses.com.  (Some of you have my older gmail account, so please change it to this one.)

• Blog:  I send weekly notes in an email and post them on the class blog.  I will also use the blog for sharing other information, such as videos, websites, etc.

• Writing 1

• Writing 2

• Writing 3

Finally, the 2 most important questions

• “Where to find worksheets and materials?”

• Attached to Class Notes emails.

• Attached to Google Classroom assignments

• In the shared folder for your class

•  Writing 

• Writing 2

• Writing 3

• Note:  These documents can only be accessed by students with CHAT emails; they are also set to be “View Only.”

• On the grade book after the assignment has been posted on Classroom.

• “How can students hand in homework?”

• When we’re face to face, all work can be handed in physically in class

• For face to face OR distance learning:  Via the Google Classroom assignment (using the attached document or uploading material)

• If and only if the Rocketbook app is not working or a student is still in the process of figuring out Google Classroom

• Send an electronic version (i.e. pdf, Google docs, or Word document – NO Pages or photos) via email.

• The specific name of the assignment must be in the subject line.

• Send only one assignment per email.  

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 14 (December 10)

 Greetings!

Now, we are truly down to the home stretch for Writing 3 and our research papers.  In class we talked about that bittersweet feeling when you near the end of a bigger project; most people feel both relief and a bit of a letdown when they finish something that has taken a lot of work.  

We started class with a Quick Write, using these prompts:

Option 1: What is your favorite restaurant? Why? What do you like to order there? Option 2: What is your least favorite kind of music? Why don’t you like it? Option 3: What is the most generous thing you’ve done? Would you do it again? Why?  

I had chosen these prompts from a list from another class, but the music-related prompt set us up for Martha's presentation.  

Following the Quick Write discussion, I covered again some of the details about in-text citations and the Works Cited page.  This is one of those topics that only fully makes sense when you are actually writing a paper and using that knowledge to correctly document your sources.  

We had two strong Presentations today:  Annika shared about weddings and low cost options, and Martha spoke about music.  Both were well-prepared and thought-provoking.  Next week we will only do presentations, and these are the people presenting:  Sophia, Abby Kate, Will, Laura, Isaac, Jacob, Brad, and Katie.  (No Quick Writes or instruction!)  We are not allowed to eat in our classroom, but I will bring some treats for afterwards.

I reminded the students that their Final Drafts are due next week (Dec. 17), but I also told them that I would take any work until 5:00 pm on Sunday, Dec. 20.  However, I will not take any more rough drafts after next 8:00 AM, Wednesday, Dec. 16.  I spend almost an hour on rough drafts of research papers, going over not only the body of the paper but also each reference on the Works Cited page.  Students should also feel free to have peers, parents, or siblings go over their papers.

Note:  Students, if you hand in anything between now and next Thursday, please also send me an email so that I know it's there.  

Until next week,

Mrs. Prichard

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