Winning Writing

Summer Schedule Open

2011-06-17T18:38:00.005-05:00

Could your child use a boost?

Are you hoping to help your child catch up, keep up, reinforce areas of weakness, or pursue areas of interest before the next school year?

Is your student facing college entrance exams?

Are you intimidated by Shakespeare, compare/contrast essays, or MLA research papers?

Could you use an experienced coach?

I am available to evaluate, instruct, and encourage your students in multiple subjects and skills. My specialities are writing and test preparation, with proven results and testimonies. I generally emphasize academic writing, though I also enjoy teaching fiction writing (short stories and novels) and poetry. I am experienced in teaching and remediating reading, spelling, grammar, literature, and more. I have taught all subjects at elementary levels, and most core subjects at higher levels.

Please help me spread the word that I have openings for group classes and private tutoring in the Frisco/Little Elm, Texas, area this summer. I am organizing class sessions around expressed interest.

During the school year, I teach English, journalism, history, and more at a small Christian homeschool/day school hybrid, Grace Covenant Academy of Frisco.

I am also available to tutor and teach classes on a limited basis during the school year, too, so keep me in mind.

4th - 6th Writing, May 1

2009-05-04T13:00:00.003-05:00

The year is wrapping up quickly, and we are spending the next two weeks on our last assignment of this course.

Lesson:
First, I collected the students' finished five-paragraph essays or alternate assignments; as agreed, some students had written compare/contrast paragraphs, which was also fine.

Feeling that we needed more review of pronoun problems, I stressed again the need to be clear about pronoun antecedents, and the need to avoid "you" statements except in personal or informal communication such as letters, emails, or blogs.

After drawing our five-paragraph flowchart on the board, I talked the class through the important parts of the essay's structure. Then we read aloud several of the essays, looking for the key components, especially the thesis statement.

Though most had a bit of trouble getting the format exactly right, which is to be expected at first, the students overall did surprisingly well. In fact, the class did as well as I might have expected from a junior high class encountering this type of essay for the first time. I was quite pleased.

Assignment:
We will finish the year with another five-paragraph essay for those who are able. If that is too difficult, feel free to contact me for an alternate assignment, which is also perfectly acceptable.

Students may choose their own topics for this final essay.

Students are to prepare and bring a rough draft of their paper for this coming class.

We will go over them in class in small groups. Then students will have to final week to revise and edit before our last class day.

7th - 8th Writing, May 1

2009-05-04T11:27:00.002-05:00

(Oops! I forgot to hit the publish button on this post! Sorry this is late.)

We are in the final stages of our final project.

Lesson:
Using handouts I provided, we discussed in detail how to write the rough draft, including the use of parenthetical citation in MLA format.

We also briefly covered how to prepare the title page and the works cited page. To aid with that, we played with citationmachine.net as a resource for formatting sources.

Assignment:
Students are to bring as much as they have of their research project drafts, including:
source cards
note cards
title page
outline
research paper
works cited page

We will spend the class period in preliminary read-arounds, checking for completeness and correctness, helping one another over any rough spots or snags.

Additionally, we will schedule an extra optional session for early next week, to give us enough time to dig in (over pizza) and polish all the research papers.

The final project due on May 15.

9th - 12th Writing, May 1

2009-05-04T10:43:00.003-05:00

(Oops! I forgot to hit the publish button on this post! Sorry this is late.)

Lesson:
We are in the final stages of our final project.

Using handouts I provided, we reviewed writing the rough draft, including the use of parenthetical citation in MLA format. Next, we briefly covered how to prepare the title page and the works cited page. To aid with that, we played with citationmachine.net as a resource for formatting sources.

Assignment:
Students are to bring their complete research project drafts, including:
source cards
note cards
title page
outline
research paper
works cited page

We will spend the class period in read-arounds and helpful suggestions.

If that is sufficient, students will complete any needed revisions on their own the following week, with the final project due on May 15.

If desired or needed, we will schedule an extra optional session early that week, though this class is well on track without it so far.

4th - 6th Writing, April 24

2009-04-28T21:55:00.002-05:00

(This is a quick post for now; I will edit with more detail later.)

Lesson:
We went over more detail about the structure and format for a standard five-paragraph essay. The students have several pages of notes for this.

Assignment:
Students are to write a five-paragraph expository essay. This can be an expansion of their earlier essays on friendship or on some other abstract concept. It can also be a more tangible topic of their choice. The format is the main thing in this lesson.

If this assignment is too great a stretch for some students, please contact me for an alternate assignment.

7th - 8th Writing, April 24

2009-04-28T21:48:00.003-05:00

(This is a quick post for now; I will edit with more detail later.)

Lesson:

This week, we covered how to prepare an outline for a research paper. I provided handouts with examples.

Assignment:
Students are to prepare an outline with thesis statement.

9th-12th Writing, April 24

2009-04-28T21:36:00.003-05:00

(This is a quick post for now; I will edit with more detail later.)

Lesson:
Class was small, with some students camping. In view of how few weeks were left, I went ahead with the lesson anyway. I have handouts available for those who missed.

I covered how to approach writing the rough draft, including how to cite sources within MLA format.

Assignment:
Students are to begin writing their rough drafts. We will have another week for this also.

4th - 6th Writing, April 17

2009-04-21T17:08:00.004-05:00

Lesson:
This year seems to have gone quickly. I wish we had more time together, because I would like to teach so much more to this class. Still, these students have worked hard and progressed quite well. I am pleased with their overall development as writers so far.

In the first part of the class period, I took some time to address problems that many of the students have been having in several areas. We briefly reviewed sentence problems like comma splices, run-on sentences, and fragments. Then we discussed tricky pronoun issues like the need for pronouns to refer clearly to their preceding nouns and to agree in number and gender with their verbs.

The students had made what for most, if not all, was their first attempt at a compare/contrast essay. Reading aloud several students' papers, I was happy to see that they had understood and practiced the concept. We will return to this for another assignment after this.

Since the co-op year is almost over, I decided to introduce the five-paragraph essay for those students who are ready for it. Normally, I would save this only 000rfor fifth graders and up, but this class is strong and capable. With such a large range of age and experience in the class, I will not expect all of the younger students to grasp this type of essay. In fact, I do not expect any of the students to master it fully in the time we have left; however, I do want to lay this foundation for their future academic writing.

Writing a Five-Paragraph Essay

Just as a sentence is a group of words that go together to state a complete idea, and a paragraph is a group of sentences that go together to discuss one main topic, so an essay is a group of paragraphs that go together to discuss one subject.

I drew a flow chart on the board (which I do not know how to reproduce on here) and briefly described the format of a five-paragraph essay. It is actually a simple structure that only requires three main ideas. Essentially, a five-paragraph essay unpacks a topic in three points, one point per paragraph, with an introductory paragraph at the beginning for set-up and a concluding paragraph at the end for wrap-up.

The most important sentence in an essay like this is the thesis statement, which serves as the topic sentence of the entire essay. The thesis statement should be the last sentence of the introductory paragraph. It will consist of a statement with three points about the subject.

Examples of thesis statements for five-paragraph essays:

Three desirable aspects of a good friendship are compatibility, kindness, and loyalty.

Some parents choose homeschooling as a way to provide their children with close family relationships, solid academics, and strong moral values.

Football, basketball, and baseball are the most popular team sports in the United States.

Christians can grow in grace through Bible study, prayer, and fellowship.

Since the thesis statement provides the framework for the essay, many writers find it helpful to compose the thesis first.

The Introductory Paragraph:
The purpose of the introductory paragraph is to capture the reader's interest and to provide whatever background information is needed or helpful for the thesis. A good essay will open with a strong 'hook', then set the stage with perhaps a definition, a narrative, an example, a brief history, a quotation, etc. It is helpful to think of an introductory paragraph as a funnel which will begin with broad information, then gradually narrow down to focus on the thesis statement at the end.

Though it occurs first in the essay, the rest of the introductory paragraph (except for the thesis statement) is sometimes written last.

Three Body Paragraphs

Once the thesis with those three main points are set in order, they then provide the topics for the three main paragraphs that comprise the body of the essay. Each of the three stated points is discussed in detail in its own paragraph, in the same order as listed in the thesis statement.

As with all paragraphs, each of these three body paragraphs will need a topic sentence, some detail sentences, and a concluding sentence. The detail sentences will inform, explain, give examples, etc., to develop the topic. The concluding sentences will often repeat or reflect the topic sentence in different words.

In addition, each body paragraph topic sentence will need a transition expression to keep the subject flowing smoothly from point to point. With the thesis statement written, it becomes fairly easy to write the topic sentences for the three body paragraphs.

Some examples of body paragraph topic sentences with transitions:

While kindness between friends is important, loyalty is the crucial ingredient that holds friends together through times good and bad.

Along with Bible study, Christians grow in their faith through prayer.

The Concluding Paragraph:

The thesis statement, which is placed last in the first (intro) paragraph, is flipped around, restated in different words, and placed first in the last (concluding) paragraph.

After the thesis statement recap, each body paragraph is recapped in turn in a sentence or two. Then the last paragraph wraps up gracefully with a general summary, overall statement, opinion, prediction, or quotation.

NOTE: I need to get this published as I head out the door to help with the third day of achievement testing. I will come back later to finish these posts.

4th -6th Writing Class, April 3

2009-04-09T01:03:00.012-05:00

Lesson:
We read some of the students' definition essays about friendship. The class seemed to have a grasp of the assignment, and most successfully incorporated the sentence variety we have been practicing.

We spent the remainder of the class period teaching the concept and format for a simple block-style compare/contrast paragraph. Later we will learn to expand these to a five-paragraph essay.

To compare is to find how things are alike.
To contrast is to find how things are different.

For a simple contrast paper, students are to choose two things which seem similar, then explore the features that distinguish them as different. Examples might include:
cats and dogs (both small mammals commonly kept as household pets)
McDonald's and Wendy's (both fast food burger joints)
Target and WalMart (both large discount chain stores)
football and soccer (both team sports moving a ball down field to score)
FDR and Churchill (both allied leaders during WWII)
Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia (both beloved classic fantasy with Christian underpinnings)
and many, many more.

Whenever the subjects being compared or contrasted are mentioned together, they must remain in their original order. So, if cats are mentioned before dogs in the beginning, cats will always be mentioned first in any sentence where dogs are also mentioned. Therefore, choose the starting order strategically.

Begin by providing background and acknowledging similarities in at least the topic sentence; continue in a few following sentences if that helps explain things or add interest.
For example, one might say "Cats and dogs are perennially the most common and popular household pets. Fully half of all American families own at least one of these pets; 31% of households have cats, 39% have dogs, and some have both. While cats and dogs have many similarities, they are different in some important ways."

The next sentence should delineate whatever categories of differences the author chooses to highlight. (In a longer essay, this sentence would be at the end if the first paragraph, and would become the thesis statement.) For example, one might write, "Among other features, cats and dogs differ in ease of training, usefulness, and sociability."

The next section, the main body of the paragraph, will then contrast cats and dogs on those three points in that order. In our example, that would be:
(1) ease of training
(2) usefulness
(3) sociability
Usually, it works best to place whatever one considers to be the strongest point at the end.

Writers employ two different patterns for writing compare/contrast essays. One pattern involves a point-by-point, line-by-line examination, while the other considers all the points about one subject before switching to discuss all the points of other subject.

The line-by-line approach can be clear and effective, but it can also read like a ping-pong match of back-and-forth statements, if not done well.

Line-by-line example:

(1) Cats do not generally exhibit cooperation or obedience, but dogs can be trained to perform any number of elaborate, entertaining, and even valuable tasks. (2) Although some cats might deign to catch mice from time to time, many dogs serve valuable, even life-saving functions, such as: guarding homes and businesses; herding animals on farms and ranches; serving as eyes, ears, and able bodies for physically-challenged individuals; aiding law enforcement with search-and-rescue operations; and more. (3) Looking at the wild cousins of cats and dogs, one sees the biggest difference of all: cats are territorial while dogs are pack animals. Generally, cats are often aloof and independent, while dogs want to belong to a group. Thus, cats are carry themselves as rulers of their domain, while dogs are known as man's best friend.

Block style is the other major way of writing compare/contrast papers, and the one we will use for this assignment. Though we will still consider the same points about the same subjects in the same order, block style 'batches' these together in a few sentences devoted to each, so it has less of the ping-pong effect.

Block-style example:

(1)Even among cat fanciers, these regal felines are notorious for their lack of cooperation and obedience. Though cats may be beautiful and graceful, they simply do not do what they are told when they are told. (2)Certainly, these lovely creatures may occasionally catch mice if and when it suits them, but they seldom take pains to serve or please their human housemates otherwise. (3) Considering the natural behavior of big cats in the wild, this makes sense. Cats are territorial and independent. Placed in a household with humans, they coexist peacefully, even pleasantly, without yielding their innate sovereignty. On the other hand, (1)dogs have been trained quite easily for centuries to perform any number of elaborate, entertaining and even valuable tasks. (2) Working only for the occasional treat or pat on the head, perhaps even just for the sheer joy of doing what they were bred to do, dogs serve important, even life-saving, functions every day. Eagerly, canine companions guard homes and businesses, herd animals on farms and ranches, aid law enforcement with search-and-rescue operations, serve as eyes, ears, and able bodies for physically-challenged individuals,and more. (3) Because they are pack animals, dogs want to belong, to please, to know their place. Under the right leadership, dogs can do amazing things and display undying devotion and loyalty. Dogs are man's best friend.

Note that we use a clear transition expression (e.g., On the other hand,) to indicate when we switch from the first subject to the second.

Finally, we will wrap up the paragraph gracefully with at least a final concluding sentence, or clincher, that reflects the topic sentence in slightly different words, while bringing everything together again.
For example, if remaining impartial, we might say, "Cats and dogs are both popular pets whose differences make them beloved by different people."
If expressing a preference, we might rework the 'dog' block to end with "Though cats and dogs are both popular pets, only dogs are man's best friend."

So, putting it all together:

Cats and dogs are perennially the most common and popular household pets. Fully half of all American families own at least one of these pets; 31% of households have cats, 39% have dogs, and some have both. While cats and dogs have many similarities, they are different in some important ways. Even among cat fanciers, these regal felines are notorious for their lack of cooperation and obedience. Though cats may be beautiful and graceful, they simply do not do what they are told when they are told. Certainly, these lovely creatures may occasionally catch mice if and when it suits them, but they seldom take pains to serve or please their human housemates otherwise. Considering the natural behavior of big cats in the wild, this makes sense. Cats are territorial and independent. Placed in a household with humans, they coexist peacefully, even pleasantly, without yielding their innate sovereignty. On the other hand, dogs have been trained quite easily for centuries to perform any number of elaborate, entertaining and even valuable tasks. Working only for the occasional treat or pat on the head, perhaps even just for the sheer joy of doing what they were bred to do, dogs serve important, even life-saving, functions every day. Eagerly, canine companions guard homes and businesses, herd animals on farms and ranches, aid law enforcement with search-and-rescue operations, serve as eyes, ears, and able bodies for physically-challenged individuals,and more. Because they are pack animals, dogs want to belong, to please, to know their place. Under the right leadership, dogs can do amazing things and display undying devotion and loyalty. Though cats and dogs are both popular pets, only dogs are man's best friend.

Assignments:
Each student will write a block-style contrast paragraph on any suitable subjects of choice. Students may choose cats and dogs, as long as the thoughts and words are their own.

Students may treat the subjects in an impartial way, or may clearly state a preference.

Everything else we have learned applies. Besides vivid word choice and strong active verbs, this means students will need to work in ALL of the sentence variety we have been practicing.

This assignment is due April 17. Class will NOT meet this week, April 10.

With the extra week, any student who wishes to do so may submit an original poem or short story for extra credit.

7th - 8th Writing, April 3

2009-04-08T18:11:00.004-05:00

We spent most of the class period discussing the poems the students had been assigned. We looked at the meaning of each poem, as well as some background information on the poets themselves, and then the various poetic devices employed.

Assignment:
Student are to write a poetry explication of any of the poems distributed so far. Explication means explanation; poetry explication is essentially literary analysis for poetry.

We will learn two formats for poetry explication. Both are correct, so choose whichever format better suits your chosen poem.

Standard five-paragraph essay format
Intro paragraph, ending in thesis statement (Intro is a good place to discuss form of poem, number of stanzas, narrative elements, poet info, etc.)
1st body paragraph: Sound Devices (meter, rhyme scheme, assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.)
2nd body paragraph: Figures of Speech (simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, etc.)
3rd body paragraph: Imagery/Themes (tone, mood, meaning, etc.)
Concluding paragraph: (Restate thesis, summarize points, opinion/comment on poem)

Stanza-by-stanza, line-by-line poetry explication
Intro paragraph, ending in thesis statement (as above, plus include meter and rhyme scheme. This format does not require standard thesis of statement plus three-part comment; a statement alone is sufficient.)
1st body paragraph: 1st stanza, explained line by line
2nd body paragraph: 2nd stanza, explained line by line
3rd body paragraph: 3rd stanza, explained line by line
and so on, as many body paragraphs as stanzas
Concluding paragraph: as above

Stanzas in poetry are similar to paragraphs in prose. In many poems, stanza breaks are easy to see by the way the poems are laid out visually. In other poems, stanzas may be identified by ideas or rhyme scheme. Stanzas are named by how many lines they contain:
2 lines: couplet
3 lines: tercet
4 lines: quatrain
6 lines: sestet
8 lines: octave

Shakespearean (or English) sonnets, which always have four stanzas of three quatrains and a couplet, work well with the second type. In that case, the explication will have four body paragraphs plus an intro and conclusion.

With the extra week, any student who wishes to do so may submit an original poem or short story for extra credit.

9th - 12th Writing, April 3

2009-04-07T12:06:00.008-05:00

Lesson:
We are embarking on our final MLA research project for the year. This paper serves as the final exam for this course.

I distributed the first batch of handouts for the project, and we discussed the overall style of the paper (which is to contain an "argumentative edge"), the scoring system, and the week-by-week deadlines.

This class will need to write papers of at least 5-7 pages (not counting the title page, outline, and works cited page) though 8 - 11 pages would be preferred. We will be following the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. All rough drafts, note cards, and source cards must be turned in with the final report.

First, we spoke about the nature of research and its role in higher education, particularly in obtaining advanced degrees and furthering the accepted body of knowledge in the world. We discussed the difference between primary (first-hand accounts written at the time or shortly after an event) and secondary sources (second-hand, after the fact), and how to select appropriate and credible sources.

We discussed how to choose a suitable topic of sufficient interest with enough material available and not too broad in scope to be treated within this length. Examples of topic categories include:
- an author, artist, musician, or filmmaker and his or her impact
- a historical figure or event and his/her/its significance
- a scientific discovery/invention and its importance
- a controversial topic about which the student has not yet written
Most of the students had a rough idea for their topic before class ended.

Having chosen a general topic, students will need to make sure they have focused in on a narrow enough slice of that topic. Then, they will need to develop a hypothesis, which is a rough draft of the thesis they expect their research will support. It may be something quite simple, such as "Emily Dickinson is an innovative and brilliant American poet" or "Emily Dickinson is an emotionally imbalanced and overrated American poet." The hypothesis is to be written on its own 3 x 5 card, and will guide the students in choosing reference materials, and help to keep them on track while taking notes. Students may change their hypotheses if subsequent research leads them to changes their minds. Eventually, their hypothesis, revised or not, will become the thesis of their final paper.

Next, I explained how students are to go about their research, beginning with a survey of any materials at hand, but certainly including several hours at the library SOON. The best advice I can give in that regard is to gather few friends, a pile of index cards, a few pens, and a fat pocketful of change for the library copy machine; get thee to the library as soon as possible; and ASK THE LIBRARIAN FOR HELP! Those good people have training and degrees in how to find just what students need, so take advantage of that. (Give them a break --- go at off hours, be clear and patient, and say please and thank you.)

Finally, we discussed how to gather and format source cards and note cards. Cards are to be written on 3 x 5 index cards for ease of use, and written in pen so that they are still legible after weeks of shuffling and handling.

Sources: Students need to gather information from at least 5 good sources (though a few more wouldn't hurt).
Sources may be books, magazines, no more than one encyclopedia, no more than one textbook, and reliable internet sites, though not all sources may be online.
Each source is to be recorded on its own source card according to the examples given in class handouts. For internet sites where students may be uncertain which example to follow, bookmark those into a common heading for this project for now, and we will look at those more closely. (TIP: email those site links to yourself if you are on a library computer.)

Notes: Each single bit of information that a student might use must be written on its own note card and properly cited. Each idea or statement gets its own card.

When taking notes, students should write the author and page number of the source on the top right corner of each note card, while they have that information in front of them. That will make it simple to incorporate and cite their sources into the body of their paper as per the MLA format, as well as to prepare their Works Cited page. (See the examples on the class handouts.)

Another helpful tactic will be to write the specific sub-topic on the top left corner of each note card, as illustrated in the class handouts. This will be valuable when sorting and arranging notes for the outlining and actual composition of the paper. For example, if writing about a person, possible sub-topics might include childhood, education and training, marriage and family, etc.

Students will write three different types of note cards: quote, summary, and paraphrase. Students should label each note card accordingly (as a quote, summary, or paraphrase) at the center of the bottom line.

Quote cards: Quotes must be copied EXACTLY, with identical wording, spelling, and punctuation.
Quote when:
~ a particular phrase or sentence is so emotionally powerful or well-worded that you cannot improve upon it, or
~ the statement comes from a famous person whose name adds the weight of authority to your work.
No more than 1/4 to 1/3 of your note cards should be quotes.

Summary cards: A summary is simply the main idea of a statement put into your own words and your own sentence structure. Summaries are shorter than the originals, which is much of the point of summarizing. Often, a paragraph or several paragraphs can be condensed into a few sentences or less.
Summarize when:
~ you need to cite the basic information without all the detail included in a source
~ the original is not especially well-worded
Probably 1/2 of your note cards will be summary cards.

Paraphrase cards: To paraphrase is to rewrite the original statement completely, phrase by phrase, into your own words and structure. A paraphrase is not substantially shorter than the original.
Paraphrase when:
~ you want to cite all the information, including the specific detail, included in the original, yet
~ the words and style are not skillful, memorable, or emotionally powerful
Probably at most 1/4 of your note cards will be paraphrase cards.

Assignment:
By the next class on April 17, students are to have done their research and taken their notes. They are to bring to class on note cards, properly completed:
~ a hypothesis
~ at least 5 good source cards
~ at least 20 note cards, though double or triple that would not be at all too many

It is possible that the next step, writing an outline, might reveal gaps that would require more research, but let's try to avoid that by making the most of this extra week before our next class.

I am available for an extra research session next week at the Frisco library if that would be helpful, though I hope no one waits that long to start.

With the extra week, any student who wishes to do so may submit an original poem or short story for extra credit.

4th - 6th Writing, March 27

2009-03-29T22:59:00.000-05:00

Lesson:
We are continuing our study of expository writing with a type of essay similar to what older students write as a definition essay. Ours will be more flexible and simple, but the idea is to define an intangible quality or idea. This can include dictionary definitions, scriptures, discussions,quotations, examples from life, history, fiction, etc. This can also include discussion of what the defined idea is NOT.

Our assigned topic for the week is FRIENDSHIP. We spent most of the class brainstorming a list of ideas connected with friendship. What is friendship? What is the value of friendship? What makes people become friends? What qualities are desired in a friend?

Assignment:
Students are to write a good long paragraph about friendship. I do not want students to turn this into a description of a particular friend. This is meant to discuss friendship in a general way, developed with examples where appropriate.

After students compose their rough draft of this paragraph, I would like them to revise it for sentence variety, including at least one each of the six primary ways we have learned to start sentences.

Later, we will learn to expand a basic paragraph like this into a longer essay.

7th - 8th Writing, March 27

2009-03-29T20:53:00.008-05:00

Lesson:
I collected their literary analysis essays, then discussed with the class the timeline for our remaining lessons. We will take a brief look at poetry in the next couple of weeks, then begin our final unit, an MLA -style research report.

To review information about poetry, read previous posts from the high school lessons. We will not study poetry as deeply as the upper classes, but the information and the assignment for this week is the same:
POETRY REVIEW from Winning Writing: 9th - 12th Writing, March 13

9th - 12th Writing, March 27

2009-03-29T20:08:00.002-05:00

Lesson:
We discussed the students' choices of poems and styles of explication, as well as any difficulties.

Then we talked our way through some select poems, looking at background, meaning, and poetic devices.

Assignment:
Each student is to choose another poem and write another explication in either of the styles we have discussed. (See last week's blog post to review the two possible approaches.)

4th - 6th Writing, March 20

2009-03-23T18:53:00.007-05:00

Lesson:
We continued to review and drill on sentence variety. I spent some time clearing up some confusion students have been having about how to use words that appear on both the preposition list and the clausal starter list.
For example:
Because of the weather, the game was canceled.
Here, because is a prepositional phrase starter, with the noun weather as object of the preposition.
Because it was raining, the game was canceled.
Here, because is a clausal starter. Clauses have a subject and a verb; in this case, it is the subject, and was raining is the verb.

I had the students write another quick Brainwarmer. From those, I asked various students to read an example of each kind of opener we have been learning.

Here is a review of sentence openers, borrowed from the Institute in Excellence guidelines from Andrew Pudewa.
1. Subject
2. Prepositional phrase
3. "-ly" (Adverb)
4. "-ing" (Participle)
5. Clause (Dependent clause)
6. VSS (Very short sentence)
7. "-ed" (Past participle --- optional, for more advanced students)

Examples:
1. Subject: A hare always boasted about how fast he could run.
2. Preposition phrase: In his opinion, he was the speediest animal around.
3. "ly"/Adverb: Surprisingly, the slow tortoise challenged the arrogant hare to a race.
4. "ing"/Participle: Running as fast as he could, the hare was soon far ahead of the plodding tortoise.
5. Clause: Since he was sure he would win, the confident hare lay down for a nap and slept while the tortoise passed him by and crossed the finish line.
6. VSS: The tortoise had won!
7. "ed" /Past Participle: Pleased, he declared, "Slow and steady wins the race."

Assignment:
I have made available four simple paragraphs for the students to use as a base for improving sentence variety. The students may also use any of their recent Brainwarmers as a basis for revision.

The homework assignment is to revise any two paragraphs, using in each paragraph all the sentence openers we have learned without using the same one twice in a row.

I would like the students to write the number of the opener they are using in the left margin of their papers.

7th - 8th Writing, March 20

2009-03-23T14:12:00.007-05:00

Lesson:
This was an unusual class. Some students apparently took the week off for spring break; one got called away during class because her brother broke his wrist. It left our class too small to continue on to the scheduled lesson for the second week in a row.

Since the remaining students like to write fiction, we spent the class period discussing how to write interesting characters.

Characters may be flat or round, and may be static or dynamic. Good lead characters are complex, multi-dimensional, realistic beings who change and grow during the course of the story.

Here is a concise discussion of basic character types:
Fictional Characters

Students who write fiction will benefit from How to Create a Character Profile

Assignment:
Regrettably, I could not assign any new work. I will expect the pending assignment to be done to a high standard, since students have had so much time to work on it.

I hope that we can still complete the main coursework I had planned for the rest of the year, which was a poetry unit, then a major research project. To do this, I may omit any additional literary analysis and in-class timed writing.

9th - 12th Writing, March 20

2009-03-21T16:56:00.003-05:00

Lesson:
We spent most of the class period discussing the poems the students had been assigned. We looked at the meaning of each poem, as well as some background information on the poets themselves, and then the various poetic devices employed.

This was unfamiliar to most of the class, so we went more slowly and less deeply than I might have liked. We will continue to develop these concepts next week. In the meantime, I distributed a sample poetry explication, along with a few more poems.

Assignment:
Student are to prepare at least a rough draft of a poetry explication of any of the poems distributed so far. I would prefer finished essays, if possible. Explication means explanation; poetry explication is essentially literary analysis for poetry.

We will learn two formats for poetry explication. Both are correct, so choose whichever format better suits your chosen poem.

Standard five-paragraph essay format
Intro paragraph, ending in thesis statement (Intro is a good place to discuss form of poem, number of stanzas, narrative elements, poet info, etc.)
1st body paragraph: Sound Devices (meter, rhyme scheme, assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.)
2nd body paragraph: Figures of Speech (simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, etc.)
3rd body paragraph: Imagery/Themes (tone, mood, meaning, etc.)
Concluding paragraph: (Restate thesis, summarize points, opinion/comment on poem)

Stanza-by-stanza, line-by-line poetry explication
Intro paragraph, ending in thesis statement (as above, plus include meter and rhyme scheme. This format does not require standard thesis of statement plus three-part comment; a statement alone is sufficient.)
1st body paragraph: 1st stanza, explained line by line
2nd body paragraph: 2nd stanza, explained line by line
3rd body paragraph: 3rd stanza, explained line by line
and so on, as many body paragraphs as stanzas
Concluding paragraph: as above

Stanzas in poetry are similar to paragraphs in prose. In many poems, stanza breaks are easy to see by the way the poems are laid out visually. In other poems, stanzas may be identified by ideas or rhyme scheme. Stanzas are named by how many lines they contain:
2 lines: couplet
3 lines: tercet
4 lines: quatrain
6 lines: sestet
8 lines: octave

The example essay distributed in class follows the stanza by stanza format. Since it explicates a Shakespearean sonnet, which always have four stanzas of three quatrains and a couplet, the example has four body paragraphs plus an intro and conclusion.

4th - 6th Writing, March 13

2009-03-16T21:16:00.004-05:00

Lesson:
We opened the class period with a five-minute Brainwarmer, since we had not done that in a while.

Then we reviewed the various sentence openers we have learned so far, discussing them with more examples.

After that, we read through student homework, identifying the type of sentence openers the students had used for each sentence.

I was quite pleased with the progress in sentence variety that the class showed.

Assignment:
I offered the students four more basic model paragraphs to rewrite for greater sentence variety; student are to complete at least two of them. Students also have the option of including their brainwarmer as one of their reworked samples.

As before, these can be reworded, rearranged, and restructured, but no major information is to be added or omitted. Students are to use each of the six primary sentence openers at least once (and the seventh, optional opener, if desired) and should not use the same type of opener twice in a row. NOTE: the openers do NOT need to be used in any particular order.

These are due this coming Friday, March 20.

7th - 8th Writing, March 13

2009-03-16T21:01:00.003-05:00

Lesson:
Almost the entire class was absent due to conflicting events. The one student attending received a private lesson.

Assignment:
The previous assignment will carry over for another week, and is due this coming Friday, March 20.

9th - 12th Writing, March 13

2009-03-16T14:21:00.009-05:00

Lesson: We began the class period with a brief discussion of the students' experiences writing literary analyses about The Giver. After collecting their essays, we launched into our next unit of study, poetry.

Poetry differs from prose in several ways, including:
rich use of literary devices --- figures of speech such as similes and metaphors
reliance on sound devices --- rhythm, rhyme, assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.
economy of expression --- worlds of thought and emotion packed in few words of carefully structured language

Poetry uses language not just for its obvious literal meaning, but also for its sound and shape, for the visual and auditory imagery it evokes, and for the tone and mood it creates.

We discussed poetry terms from a list I distributed.

We also learned how to determine and mark rhyme scheme (if any --- not all poetry rhymes, though most will). Mark the end of the first line and all lines that rhyme with it as a. The next non-a line and all lines that rhyme with it will be b, then the next new end rhyme will be c, and so on.
English (or Shakespearean) sonnets, for example, have a rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg.

Finally, we discussed the process of scansion used to identify the rhythm and meter of a poem. We first "pound out" the meter (clap 'strong' or 'weak' while reciting the poem) to find the rhythm of stressed and unstressed syllables which allows us to identify the metrical foot used.

Metrical feet include:

Iamb */ The most common metrical foot in English, iamb consists of two syllable sounds, unstressed followed by stressed, as in "reTURN"
Trochee /* Often used in children's verse as it creates a 'rocking horse' rhythm, trochee consists of two syllable sounds, stressed followed by unstressed, as in "TOPsy".
Anapest **/ Anapest consists of three syllable sounds with the accented stress on the third syllable, as in "interVENE".
Dactyl /** Dactl consists of three syllable sounds with the accented stress on the first syllable, as in "MERrily".

These are the primary feet in which entire lines or entire poems might be written. However, it is common for a poet to include an occasional exception, whether for deliberate effect or just because it turns out to be unavoidable.
Such occasional feet include:

Spondee //: two stressed syllables, as in "FOOT BALL"
Pyrrhic **: two unstressed syllables, as in "in the"
Other metric feet exist, but these are the primary patterns.

Having noted the type of metrical foot, we then count the number of feet per line to determine line length.

1 foot per line: monometer
2 feet per line: dimeter
3 feet per line: trimeter
4 feet per line: tetrameter
5 feet per line: pentameter
6 feet per line: hexameter
7 feet per line: heptameter

Type of foot + line length = meter.
Thus, iambic pentameter (the most common in English poetry) consist of five iambs (*/) per line of poetry: */ */ */ */ */

Nevertheless, poetry is art, not science. Even the best poets do not adhere perfectly to rhyme or meter, and some do not even try. The essence of poetry is richness of expression and emotion, not meter.

Assignment:
Each student was given a packet of poems to be read and marked with notes. Students are to read each poem through multiple times, including at least one or two readings aloud, since poetry is meant to be heard as well as seen. (In fact, someone has described poetry as a composed and compact wave of energy which moves from eye to ear to inner ear to inner eye.)

Read each poem at least once or twice for meaning. What is the poem saying? What is its mood and tone? Note observations, ideas and questions.

Then read though for rhyme scheme and mark that.

Then scan for meter. Pound out and/or mark to determine the type of metric foot (iamb, trochee, etc.) and number of feet per line. What meter is that?

Continue to reread and make notes for individual poetic elements such as simile, metaphor, alliteration, etc. Work through the list of terms; observe all you can.

Bring the notated poems back to class on March 20. We will discuss how to write poetry explication from there.

4th - 6th Writing, March 6

2009-03-09T14:49:00.003-05:00

Lesson:
We spent most of the class period reading aloud and evaluating country reports. It was evident that the students worked diligently on these.

We spent the last part of the class period reminding students about various ways to begin sentences for more variety.

Borrowed from the Institute in Excellence guidelines from Andrew Pudewa, those basic sentence openers include:
1. Subject
2. Prepositional phrase
3. "-ly" (Adverb)
4. "-ing" (Participle)
5. Clause (Dependent clause)
6. VSS (Very short sentence)
7. "-ed" (Past participle --- optional, for more advanced students)

Examples:
1. Subject: A hare always boasted about how fast he could run.
2. Preposition phrase: In his opinion, he was the speediest animal around.
3. "ly"/Adverb: Surprisingly, the slow tortoise challenged the arrogant hare to a race.
4. "ing"/Participle: Running as fast as he could, the hare was soon far ahead of the plodding tortoise.
5. Clause: Since he was sure he would win, the confident hare lay down for a nap and slept while the tortoise passed him by and crossed the finish line.
6. VSS: The tortoise had won!
7. "ed" /Past Participle: Pleased, he declared, "Slow and steady wins the race."

Assignment: I provided each student with two starter stories and some accompanying handouts. The students are to rewrite the two sample paragraphs for more variety. Each rewritten paragraph should contain all six of the sentence openers listed here. However, the openers do not need to be in the numbered order given here. Any sentence can begin with any opener that will work for it, and the sentences can be reworked as needed, as long as the ideas stay the same.

Students are not to do any topic research; the rewritten paragraphs should include the same information, with nothing significant added or omitted.

7th - 8th Writing, March 6

2009-03-09T13:44:00.003-05:00

Lesson:
We spent the class period discussing the students' reactions to The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe.

After defining a few vocabulary terms, we identified basic literary elements. This story is set in an undisclosed European city (presumably in Italy) at an undisclosed time (probably late 1700s or early 1800s). The action occurs from dusk into darkness "in the supreme madness of the carnival season" (similar to Mardi Gras) and descends progressively from street level to the deepest recesses of ancient catacombs.

The protagonist (though not the typical "good guy") is Montressor. Montressor is a French name meaning "My treasure". It is the name of a noble French family and their accompanying castle and small town. The Montresor motto in our story is the actual motto of the Scottish royal family and also of the Scottish Order of the Thistle, a knighthood which sometimes included knights from non-Scottish European noble families. However, the coat of arms is quite different. Poe apparently borrowed ideas from different times and places to weave his tale of horror.

The antagonist is Fortunato, an Italian nobleman and wine connoisseur, whose very name is ironic, considering his fate. (Since he mentions his Lady Fortunato, we may conclude that he is, himself, Lord Fortunato.)

The tale is told in Montressor's words, which, since Montressor is at least twisted, if not insane, categorizes our reading as being in the first person unreliable point of view.

The story is rich in symbolism, irony, and word play, which we discussed at length.

Assignment:
Each student will write a five-paragraph literary analysis essay about Poe's The Cask of Amontillado. Each essay will follow standard format, with the three body paragraphs discussing setting, character, and theme, in that order. Various other literary elements, such as Poe's use of irony and symmbolism, should be discussed wherever appropriate.

9th - 12th Writing, March 6

2009-03-09T11:44:00.002-05:00

Lesson:
We spent the class period discussing the students' opinions and ideas of The Giver by Lois Lowry. All agreed that it was well-written, easy to read, intriguing, and thought-provoking.

Among their observations:
This fictional novel, set in an undisclosed future time and place, discusses what at first appears and then is eventually discovered behind the scenes of a utopian (or rather, dystopian) society, where emotion, memory, autonomy, and even color have been relinquished for safety and Sameness.

The point of view is third-person limited omniscient, as the narrator relates the inner thoughts and feelings of the protagonist Jonas, and the observed actions of other characters.

The plot conflict is primarily person vs. society, with elements of person vs. self and person vs. nature.

The title itself has some significance --- who is the Giver?

The ending is deliberately written to be ambiguous --- do Jonas and Gabe live or die?

Assignment:
Students are to write a five-paragraph literary analysis of The Giver. This may follow the usual format in which the three body paragraphs are devoted, in turn, to the author's use of setting, character, and theme. Students also have the option of choosing a particular aspect of the author's work to explore. In any case, the essays should include mention of the various literary elements we have been used to including.

Students who choose to explore a theme must be certain to analyze this from the novel itself, and not just use the story as a jumping-off point for an essay about a theme. In other words, it WOULD be valid to discuss how the author establishes the tradition of ceremonial "release" to Elsewhere, and then allows Jonas to discover that "release" means death by euthanasia. It would NOT be valid simply to discuss euthanasia in abstract.

All Writing Classes, February 27

2009-03-02T19:47:00.002-06:00

All classes were canceled due to illness.

All lessons previously assigned will carry over an extra week.

4th - 6th Writing, February 20

2009-02-24T22:16:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
We first went around the room asking the children what countries they had chosen and if they had begun their research. I recommended that they consult several sources, not all online. We talked about how to group related into together, and how to add more sentence variety and interest to their writing.

Then I asked the students to pull out the papers with the 3-words-per-sentence notes from last week, and we tried to recreate the original paragraph from their notes, which they did quite nicely.

When I asked what they thought of the paragraph we recreated, they correctly said it was boring, and even accurately identified some problems with it. We talked about how to improve it, and spent some time revising it to be more interesting and effective. The three biggest problems with the paragraph are things I also want the class to improve in this paper.

Organization --- Group related information together.

Lively Language --- Add vivid action verbs and descriptive modifiers to add interest.

Sentence Variety --- Rather than beginning all sentences with subjects, mix it up with different kinds if opening expressions. Try some adverbs, phrases, and clauses followed by a comma, before getting to the subject.

(I distributed handouts for this earlier in the year, and will be reviewing those often.)

Assignment:
Students will complete their expository reports on their chosen foreign countries. They may not report on the United States, nor write about ancient cultures.

See last week's blog post for more information about what to include. Remember to include a map and a Works Cited page. For help with formatting the Works Cited page, check out http://citationmachine.net/.

This week, we are emphasizing sentence variety.

7th - 8th Writing, February 20

2009-02-24T16:22:00.004-06:00

Lesson:
We read aloud and critiqued student papers, looking especially for how well the students discuss the literary elements and incorporate snippets of text to support their observations and opinions.

In general, the students are progressing well. We will continue to practice this type of essay, since it is so common is high school and college.

Assignment:
The students will read, reread, and make notes on a well-written short story in preparation for writing their next literary analysis essay.

I prefer that the students' next story be a work of Poe, specifically The Cask of Amontillado, which can be downloaded here.

(I thank Janine Angrisano for emailing all the students the link and vocabulary list, since my printer is not working properly.)

9th - 12th Writing, February 20

2009-02-23T12:35:00.002-06:00

Lesson:
At this level, most lessons involve discussion of the reading and writing the students have been doing. This is what we did this lesson, as well, discussing how to understand and write about characters, conflict, symbolism, irony, and ambiguities in literature.

Assignment:
Students are to read a short novel and make notes for analysis. I am suggesting The Giver by Lois Lowry. Written for junior high and up, this controversial book has won more acclaim (ten prestigious awards) and stirred more challenges (efforts to ban) than perhaps any other work in recent times. Its delicate treatment of important but disturbing themes has made it a "must-read" in almost every curriculum in the nation, including among many Christian homeschooling programs. It is easy to read, yet difficult to digest. All of that makes it ideal for literary analysis at this level.

I am providing copies for students to borrow and parents to review. Any parents who object to The Giver may offer alternate titles for analysis.

7th - 8th Writing, February 13

2009-02-17T13:05:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
This week, we discussed the story the students had read for their first literary analysis essay. We talked through the various literary elements such as point of view, nature of conflict, symbolism, and so on, and discussed how to feature those in their essays.

Assignment:
Students are to write five-paragraph literary analysis essays of the story they have analyzed. The three body paragraphs should discuss the author's use of setting, character, and theme, in that order. Other elements may be discussed in the intro paragraph or in whatever body paragraph suits best. Quoted excerpts are to be woven into the essay.

9th - 12th Writing, February 13

2009-02-17T12:12:00.002-06:00

Lesson:
For this class period, the students each read aloud for critique a paragraph from their literary analysis essays on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. We used the students' completed essays as a springboard for our discussion of how to integrate quoted excerpts of the literary work into their analyses.

Assignment:
I suggested several short stories for our next assignment, notably some by Poe. Students are to choose a short story, read it through at least several times to understand and make notes, and then write a finished five-paragraph literary analysis essay this week.

Co-op Newspaper Debuts

2009-02-14T11:22:00.003-06:00

I would like to commend several students for their initiative in starting a co-op newspaper following our journalism unit. This promises to be a lively addition to the co-op, a good source of information and connection, and a marvelous way to showcase co-op efforts.

To Claire Barber, Erin Arbogast, Louisa Nickel, and Samantha Schaefer: Great work and congratulations on your first edition!

4th - 6th Writing, February 13

2009-02-14T00:40:00.010-06:00

Lesson:
This lesson was divided into two parts. We spent most of the lesson going over our next project, which is a country report. After that, we devoted the last part of our class time to introducing an exercise from Andrew Pudewa's Institute for Excellence in Writing. We will continue both of these sessions over the next class period.

Country Report:

Obviously, to write a comprehensive report about any country would require much more time, effort, and page length than we are devoting to this assignment. Therefore, students will need to be selective in choosing information that is most important in helping fellow classmates learn what is essential and distinctive about their chosen countries. Though not all items on the following list would apply in equal depth to all countries, some important information to consider might include:

- Name of country (and any previous names)
- Location (continent, region [north/south/east/west], near neighbors, etc.)
- Landforms (coastal, peninsular, mountainous, desert, plains, etc.)
- Climate (temperate, tropical, arid, etc.)
- Natural Resources (oil, gold, minerals, timber, fishing, etc.)
- Population/Demographics (number, ethnic mix, old/young/ rural/urban, etc.)
- Language(s)
- History (settling/founding, invasion/war, dramatic turning points)
- Government (form [democracy, monarchy, dictatorship, etc.], capital)
- Religions(s) (Which beliefs? actively practiced? freedom of religion? etc.)
- Culture (way of life --- food, clothing, social structure, customs, etc.)
- Economy (income sources, financial condition)
- Special Features (places to visit, distinctive attributes, interesting facts)

Students should include a map on a separate sheet. This may be printed from an up-to-date internet source. The map source must be cited.

Assignment:

Students are to choose any current country; this is not a report on ancient countries or cultures. I suggested that the students may want to report on countries where their ancestors lived, or where the students have visited, or perhaps where they may know friends or missionaries; however, that is not a requirment.

As with the recent animal reports, students are to do light research into their chosen topics, taking simple notes, and crediting their sources. From those notes, student will write one to three long paragraphs about their chosen topic. These paragraphs are to:

~ begin with an interesting "hook"
~ include well-chosen details
~ flow smoothly in logical order
~ use effective transitions and a variety of sentence openers
~ demonstrate lively word choice
~ conclude gracefully

Students are to add a Works Cited page following their report. It will follow the guidelines in last week's post, moving more toward correct and complete MLA format. The best tool I know for easily formatting resources is http://citationmachine.net/.
To use that, click on the link here to access the site; then click on the words MLA in the top left column of the page that opens; then click on the words in the left column describing the type of resource you are using (book, magazine, online article, etc.). Enter the prompted data, then click the word Submit; the website will format the citation correctly.

Students will have two weeks to complete this assignment.

7th - 8th Writing, February 6

2009-02-09T14:09:00.001-06:00

Lesson:
These students have been asking for some time to begin literary analysis, and, at last, we began.

For convenience, I am simply copying a previous blog entry I made about this topic.

Lesson:
This week, we launched into literary analysis.

First, we discussed basic dramatic structure:
Exposition - intro to setting, main characters, situation (Older works often devote a chapter or more to this, though modern writers usually shorten this or skip it altogether to begin the story in medias res, in the middle of things.)
Complication - the inciting moment that sets up the conflict
Rising action - the unfolding of the conflict leading up to a crisis
Crisis - moment of decision when protagonist commits to a course of action
Climax - peak point of conflict; turning point
Falling action - unraveling/aftermath of conflict
Resolution - also called denouement; conclusion
Moral - sometimes clearly stated in older works; seldom included in modern works

Though not every story has all these elements fully developed, nearly every work will have rising action, climax, and resolution, at least.

In a short story, the dramatic structure is efficiently condensed, with nearly every word or detail packed with significance, which makes short stories an excellent genre for literary analysis.

Next, we defined and discussed essential literary terms and devices, such as:
setting
character (especially protagonist and antagonist)
theme
conflict (of various types, man vs. man, man vs. nature, etc.)
point of view
and more.

I explained the general structure of a five-paragraph literary analysis essay, with intro and concluding paragraphs framing the three body paragraphs devoted to setting,character, and theme.

Assignment:
Students are to select and analyze a short story. I suggested that students read their selections three to five times. The first reading is for the story itself; the subsequent readings are to ferret out the various literary elements, especially as they relate to setting, character, and theme. Students will make notes, highlight passages, etc., in preparation for writing an essay next time.

4th - 6th Writing, February 6

2009-02-09T11:31:00.005-06:00

Lesson:
We spent part of this class period going over the list of sub-topics to include in this report, detailed in last week's blog entry.

We spent most of the time discussing the problems of plagiarism, including unintentional plagiarism, and the need to properly cite our sources, so that we are not using the ideas and information of others without giving them credit.

Thd students will eventually learn complete Modern Language Association (MLA) style parenthetical citation, but for now, we are beginning to learn how to compile a Works Cited page. Since the students are consulting a wide variety of resources, including non-standardized internet sites, they will encounter many variables, almost too many to teach in advance. For this assignment, I will be satisfied with almost any attempt to cite sources. As we work though the next few assignments, the students will improve correctness with practice and application.

A Works Cited page is simply a list of resources consulted and used in the report. Many of us probably learned to call this a bibliography. This will be a separate page from the report itself, with the student's last name and page number in the upper right margin. (If the student's paper is two pages long, the Works Cited will be page three, e.g., Winn 3. If more than one student has the same last name, also include the first initial after the last name.)

~ Center the words Works Cited on the top line (without underline or quotation marks).
~ Alphabetize the list of works cited by the first letter of each entry.
~ Begin each entry with the author's name, last name first. (Smith, John C.)
~ Then give the title of the work. Underline titles of books and magazines; put quotation marks around titles of articles.
~ Then follow with source information such as publisher, place of publication, and date of publication. (Consult handouts for exact guidelines.)
~ Indent all but the first lines of each entry.
~ Double-space the list.

Were my printer working as it should, I would have distributed handouts detailing standard MLA formatting. This will be corrected this week. In the meantime, here are some sites that explain the information:

From Duke University, this page contains links that thoroughly detail almost every possible variation.

This page simply and briefly covers the most common types of sources.

This page is somewhere in between the previous two.

This page is the most simple guide.

Here is a nifty website that actually formats proper citations for you. It provides a variety of styles; choose MLA.

Though this seems complicated (and it can be!), we will be taking it step by step, learning by doing. I am not asking the students to learn the full MLA documentation --- just the basics. I will be happy with author's name and work title, and website address where applicable, for now.

Assignment:
Each student is to complete a final draft of an animal report, including a separate Works Cited page. The body of each report is to be at least a good long paragraph, up to three paragraphs, and should fill at least three-fourths of a page to one and a half pages, double spaced. The Works Cited will be listed alphabetically on a separate page.

9th - 12th Writing, February 6

2009-02-09T09:52:00.001-06:00

Lesson:
We covered the basic format for a five-paragraph literary analysis essay, then read through an example together.

After that, we discussed the short story which is the subject of this week's homework: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Assignment:
Each student is to compose a five-paragraph literary analysis essay on this week's reading. As in our previous assignment, the three body paragraphs are to discuss setting, character, and theme; incorporate brief quotations of the work to support your statements. The other literary elements may be discussed either in the intro paragraph or in the body paragraphs, wherever they seem to fit best. The thesis statement should include the full title and author of the work.

4th - 6th Writing, January 30

2009-02-02T14:39:00.000-06:00

Lesson:
The journalism assignment led to some lively discussion which occupied the entire class period. I will be publishing a summation and follow-up to the journalism exercise later this week.

Assignment:
Going back to expository writing, students will prepare to write a report about an animal. This report is not meant to describe a particular animal, such as a pet; rather, this is meant to inform readers about a genus (such as elephants in general) or species (such as the Asian elephant). Since we have practiced writing the type of essay a student might need to produce for a history class, we are now practicing a typical science class essay.

At this point in the class, we are also bridging gently into longer, stronger, and more detailed academic writing.

NOTE: This assignment will take two weeks. For now, students should at least brainstorm, take notes, and organize ideas, perhaps even write a rough draft. After class this week, students will gather any additional info they need, then proceed through the steps to a finished report.

Information to cover might include:

Name Give including common and scientific names and any alternative names. (For example, the cougar, puma concolor, is also known as puma, mountain lion, or panther.)

Class State scientific class.(For example: mammal, bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, insect, spider, crustacean)

Anatomy and Appearance Describe distinguishing characteristics, such as shape, size, colors, covering, features, etc. (For example: four legs, two legs, no legs, wings? fur, feathers, scales? teeth, claws, horns, antlers, stingers? etc. )

Locomotion Tell how the animal moves. (Does it run, climb, swim, fly, dig, or jump? Is it fast or slow?)

Habitat and Range Identify continents, countries, regions, terrain, or ecosystems where it lives, such as:
~ Polar/arctic area
~ Mountain
~ Ocean
~ Desert
~ Savannah/grassland/prairie
~ Tropical rainforest
~ Woodland/forest
~ Tundra
~ Taiga
~ Wetland area/marsh
~ Pond
~ River/lake
~ Coral reef
~ Deciduous forest
~ Tide pool

Diet Explain what the animal eats and how it gets it food. (For example, is it carnivore [meat-eater], herbivore [plant-eater] or omnivore [both]? In the food chain, is it typically predator, prey, or both? Does it have unusual feeding habits? )

Enemies/Defense/Offense Identify any natural enemies the animal may have, as well as ways it attacks or defends itself. (Do other animals attack and/or this animal? Does anything else endanger this animal? Does it use camouflage, teeth and claws, armor, poison, etc.?)

Habits Note distinctive behaviors. (For example, does the animal hibernate? Or migrate? Is it nocturnal? Is it found alone, in herds, in packs, etc?

Life Cycle Explain how this animal lives and reproduces. (For example, does it lay eggs or give birth? How many young at once? Do family groups stay together, or are the young on their own? How long do they live?)

Environmental Impact Discuss how this animal interacts with humans, as applicable. (Are these endangered animals? If so, why? Are they useful [or harmful] to humans? If so, how? What impact would the extinction of this animal create?)

Individual Distinctives Explain anything else about this animal that makes it special or interesting.

Like all our assignments, students will need to:
~ brainstorm ideas and gather information
~ sort and sift those to choose the necessary and the best
~ arrange the chosen details in logical and balanced order
~ write a rough draft, placing those details into strong sentences
~ be sure to begin with an interesting topic sentence
~ be sure to end with a satisfying concluding sentence
~ add a title that draws the reader
~ check for active voice and lively language
~ check for sentence variety, using different openers and transitions
~ check for accuracy of fact, grammar, and spelling
~ produce smooth final draft

This time, remember, we have two weeks to accomplish this. Therefore, I will be expecting more from each student, in quantity, quality, or both.

7th - 8th Writing, January 30

2009-02-02T13:46:00.002-06:00

Lesson:
We started the class period discussing the student's journalist experiences, particularly how difficult it was for them to write objectively. This sparked a long discussion which took all our class time.

Later this week, I will post a summation of all the classes' feedback and discussions about journalism.

Assignment:
The assignment is just the opposite of objective neutrality. Students are to write a newspaper editorial OR persuasive essay taking and defending a strong personal position.

Since most of the class is also in the Starting Points class, they may combine the two by writing a five-paragraph essay that fulfills both class assignments.

9th - 12th Writing, January 30

2009-02-02T12:57:00.000-06:00

Lesson:

Most students were missing class, due to conflicting events such as a speech and debate tournament, so the class ended up being more of a tutoring session.

The rest of the class will need to read the homework assignment in time for our next class.

Assignment:
Students will read and analyze F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It can be downloaded here. Note literary elements, particularly those related to setting, character, and especially theme.

(Note: I have not seen the film, so do not know how it follows the story. I assume the movie adds in more. We are analyzing the written story, not the film.)

All Writing Classes, January 23

2009-01-24T11:10:00.005-06:00

For the first time, all classes have the same assignment, at different difficulty levels. With all the press given recently to the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, this seems like a good time for a lesson in journalism.

Lesson: A journalist, or reporter, is one who gathers and presents news to the public through news media.

News is information about recent events or happenings, distributed through print or broadcast media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and internet.

Reporters can sometimes choose what they cover, but are often assigned stories by their editor, who is the person in charge of the publication or broadcast program overall. Big news events (like the recent presidential inauguration) will involve many reporters, each reporting different angles and aspects of the central story.

Reporters usually prepare news stories through research, investigation, and/or interviews. They may look up information that is already publicly available, talk to people involved with the subject, talk to people about their opinions of the subject, and so on.

To prepare for an interview, a reporter usually arranges an appointment with the interviewee (person being interviewed) to meet in person, or sometimes to talk on the phone or by email. Some brief interviews are spontaneous. In any case, a good reporter will have prepared a list of possible questions, and will take detailed notes and/or record the interview for accuracy.

The most useful tools for a journalist are the standard reporter questions:
who?
what?
when?
where?
why?
how?
These questions are the essential basis for any news story, and are, in fact, tremendously useful for almost any type of writing. Good reporters ask as many of these questions in as many ways as are needed to tell the whole story.

To write a news story, a journalist will:
gather plenty of information about the story.
sift and sort that information.
- keep the best
- discard the rest
organize the flow.
add a hook. (Lead in with a catchy opener)
note the impact. (What's the big deal?)
tie it together and wrap it up. (good writing, transitions, conclusion)
double-check all facts. (names, dates, numbers, spelling, etc.)

Journalists not only inform the public, but they can influence society by the stories they cover and how they cover them. Since the US Constitution guarantees freedom of the press, Americans can say or write almost anything about anyone without getting into legal trouble, especially if what they say is true or at least a truly-held opinion. Because journalists have greater potential to use and misuse the freedom of the press, reputable journalists follow a code of ethics.

Ethics in Journalism:

Objectivity - Though reporters certainly have personal viewpoints like anyone else, they must not present their own opinions as fact. They must keep their opinions to themselves, and present the news in a balanced and objective way, fairly showing different points of view without prejudice.
(News outlets do include editorial opinion pieces and advertising, but they must be labeled clearly that way, never as news.)

Credibility of Sources -
News information should come from trustworthy sources as close to the subject as possible. Those sources should be accurately represented, correctly quoted, and properly attributed (given credit). [Note: Though this does not apply to this lesson, when a credible source has a good reason to remain anonymous, the reporter must protect the source's confidentiality.]

Factual Accuracy - Facts should be verified as much as possible. Things should not be reported as fact unless they have been verified. A journalist MAY factually report an individual's statement, even if the statement is an unverified opinion of the individual. A journalist may factually report that someone has been accused of something, but not that the person is actually guilty until it is proven.

Limitation of Harm - Sometimes, a reporter might obtain information or photos that would unnecessarily invade an individual's privacy, expose an innocent person to harm, compromise a legal investigation, or otherwise offend to no good purpose. A good journalist should weigh the public's right to know against the potential negative effects of revealing information.

A good news report gives information in a brief, clear manner. A great news report also tells a story in an interesting way.

Assignment:

Students are to write a news report of some aspect of the recent U.S. presidential election and inauguration of President Barack Obama, to be edited for a special edition class newspaper.

To treat this as a news assignment and not an editorial, students will need to set aside whatever personal feelings and opinions they may have, gather information, and write objectively. They may choose which aspect of the election or inauguration they wish to cover.

Younger students will probably write short news articles of straightforward, basic facts. Older students will probably write longer pieces about more sophisticated aspects of the Obama presidency.

We will not be doing original investigative reporting. Students may gather research info via print (newspapers, magazines, etc.) or electronic sources (television or internet), as long as they properly credit their sources. In fact, this is the main research avenue open to our students for this assignment, since they are not regular journalists with press credentials or access to inside sources. However, students must not plagiarize a previous news report. Rather, they may gather information from several different sources to use in writing their own articles.

Students may also interview people they know. This would be good for a news article about different opinions and reactions to various aspects of an Obama presidency. They must be careful to quote their sources accurately.

Here are some possible news article ideas, though students may choose other news angles.

Obama's early family history and upbringing
Any of Obama's family members: father, mother, stepfather, siblings, grandparents
Obama's educational background and history
Obama's religious upbringing and beliefs
Obama's career before politics
Obama's entry into politics and his political affiliations and history
Obama's campaign; aspects such as fundraising, supporters, etc.
Obama's marriage, children, and family life
Michelle Obama (her original family, her education, her career, any aspect)
The role of the First Lady; Michelle Obama's role as First Lady
Children in the White House
Pets in the White House
The inauguration ceremony and day's activities
Obama's inauguration speech (impact, responses)
Record-breaking crowds at the inauguration
Responses and opinions of the inauguration
The end of Bush's presidency
The Bushes' departure from the White House and return to private life
The armored car used by the President
The role of the Secret Service in protecting presidents and their families
Air Force One
Obama's appointments (the people he picked) to serve in the administration
The decisions Obama made in his first few days in office
The role of race in the election
What Obama's election means to many black Americans
How those who did not vote for Obama view his presidency
What Christians think of Obama's presidency
The impact of Obama's presidency on the pro-life movement
The challenges facing Obama (economic crisis, Iraq, etc.)
and many more

I am not expecting ground-breaking journalism, but I do want the students to try their skills at reporting. They will be exposed to news media all their lives, so they may as well learn how journalism works.

4th - 6th, January 16

2009-01-19T22:09:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
We began with our five-minute brainwarmer writing exercise, then read aloud a few of those.

After that, I reviewed what we are looking for in our writing, especially a variety of sentence openers. With that list in mind, we read aloud and discussed the students' compositions.

Though most of the class wrote about the same topic, Davy Crockett, it was interesting to see how differently the students approached the topic.

One point that became evident as we evaluated the essays was the need to limit the scope of the topic to the size of the paper. This is an important lesson for any writer to learn: narrow the topic.

Many of the students dealt with that by highlighting one major aspect of the topic rather than attempting to cram a whole lifetime into a few sentences.

Assignment:
Students are to write another report on a different historical figure of their choosing.

They are to structure their papers to deal with their main points in a balanced way. The best way to accomplish that would be to limit their details to those they feel are most important to highlight their subject.

Students also have the option to write a longer composition than usual, though that is optional.

7th - 8th Writing, January 16

2009-01-19T21:51:00.003-06:00

For convenience, I am copying the post I originally made here

Lesson:
In this lesson, I taught the basic principles of persuasive writing.
Persuasion is the art of guiding and influencing others to think, feel, and behave in a desired manner. Persuasion involves establishing a need or problem, proposing a solution, supporting that solution with sound evidence and argumentation that will appeal to the audience, foreseeing and countering any resistance or opposition to the proposed solution, and issuing a clear call to action.

Persuasion involves:
ethos - an appeal from the authority and integrity of the writer (or speaker)
pathos - an appeal to the emotions of the audience
logos - am appeal to fact and logic

Logic without emotion may be dry or merciless, and may fail to stir many people to act or change.
Emotion without logic may be shallow at best, and may fail to produce lasting change.
Persuasion without ethos becomes propaganda, manipulation, or brainwashing.

We discussed how to structure and support an argument, how to choose the best terms to define one's arguments, how to understand and counter opposing viewpoints, how to gain the trust of the reader (in part by not alienating the reader with overblown claims, unsupported absolutes, or inflammatory language), and how to move the reader along to the desired conclusion.

Assignment:
Students are to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay on a topic of their choosing, whether a political, moral, or practical policy issue. This must be a topic about which decent, honest people may disagree, and which calls for and allows for a change of mind or behavior.

9th - 12th Writing, January 16

2009-01-19T21:24:00.000-06:00

Lesson:
Students had read and made notes on the short story The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. We spent the class period discussing the story, particularly how the author's choices contributed to his desired effect.

Assignment: Each student will compose a five- paragraph literary analysis essay on the selected short story. The main body paragraphs will discuss the setting, character, and theme of the work.

4th - 6th Writing, January 9

2009-01-12T17:12:00.003-06:00

Our first class back from our Christmas break was exuberant and delightful. I was happily surprised that quite a few students had done the optional extra credit writing.

Lesson:
We began again with our brief Brainwarmer exercise, which the students seem to enjoy. Many of the students read their stories aloud to the class afterwards.

For the main part of the lesson, I showed the class an easy formula for answering simple essay questions such as those which may be found in textbook chapter reviews or quizzes.
Subject: Turn the question around to make it a statement beginning with what or who is the subject.
Sort: What sort (category, classification) of person/place/thing is the subject?
Specifics: What specifically is important about this subject in this context?

For example, suppose the question asks Who was Louisa May Alcott?
Subject: Louisa May Alcott was
Sort: a nineteenth-century American author
Specifics: who wrote Little Women and other novels.

In another example, if the question asks What is photosynthesis?
Subject: Photosynthesis is
Sort: a biochemical process
Specifics: whereby plants use produce food energy from sunlight.

This basic pattern provides easy answers which are appropriate for simple questions that can be answered in one sentence. In addition, these answers can serve handily as topic sentences when paragraph-length responses are needed.(With a slight expansion of specifics, these answers become thesis statements for longer essay answers.)

Students will face many essay questions from now through college, so this practice should help them tremendously.

Assignment:
Write a strong paragraph in response to the essay question, "Who is [historical person of choice]?"

Use the pattern above (Subject, sort, specifics) to form a topic sentence.

Write the rest of the paragraph as usual, with solid information arranged in sensible order, with a variety of sentence openers, and lively, vivid word choices. Be sure to finish with a concluding sentence. Add an interesting title.

Since so many students were happy to discuss Davy Crockett when we used him as one of our class examples, I suggested him as our homework topic. In that case, students would write a paragraph answering the question, "Who is Davy Crockett?"

Other students asked to write a paragraph answer to "Who is Louisa May Alcott?" or "Who is Laura Ingalls Wilder?" That is fine. In fact, students may choose any historical figure for this assignment.

NOTE: This is not meant to be a big research project. I do not want the students to start from scratch reading and writing about someone with whom they are unfamiliar. I prefer they write about someone they have already studied, ideally someone who interests them.

Students this age tend to begin these assignments in minute detail like they might have read in a book-length biography. Partway through the process, when they have written three-fourths of a page just about their subject's birth and early childhood, they suddenly realize they are rewriting a book, so they hastily sum up their person's adulthood, accomplishments in a few scant sentences. The result is comically imbalanced. Therefore, I cautioned the students against starting their paragraphs with overly detailed information. Instead, they will need to choose the pertinent details that tell the essential story of their subject in a balanced way.

7th - 8th Writing, January 9

2009-01-12T14:03:00.004-06:00

I was pleased to resume classes with these students after our long vacation. They were more confident in their most recent writing, and we are ready to move on. I intend to start literary analysis with this class soon, which most of them are eager to begin, as well. First, however, we need to address academic essay questions and then persuasive writing.

Lesson:
I showed the class an easy formula for answering simple essay questions such as those which may be found in textbook chapter reviews or quizzes.
Subject: Turn the question around to make it a statement beginning with what or who is the subject.
Sort: What sort (category, classification) of person/place/thing is the subject?
Specifics: What specifically is important about this subject in this context?

For example, suppose the question asks Who was Louisa May Alcott?
Subject: Louisa May Alcott was
Sort: a nineteenth-century American author
Specifics: who wrote Little Women and other novels.

In another example, if the question asks What is photosynthesis?
Subject: Photosynthesis is
Sort: a biochemical process
Specifics: whereby plants use produce food energy from sunlight.

This basic pattern provides easy answers which are appropriate for simple questions that can be answered in one sentence. In addition, these answers can serve handily as topic sentences when paragraph-length responses are needed. With a slight expansion of specifics, these answers become thesis statements for longer essay answers.

Of course, most questions at this grade level are not so simple, so we also discussed how to answer more complex questions. I stressed that students should be careful to read the question accurately, being certain that they fully understand all that is being asked. In fact, it often helps to underline key words which call for a particular type of response. We discussed many of these, such as:
classify
compare
contrast
define
describe
discuss
evaluate
explain
identify
list
outline
prove
relate
review
state
trace
etc.

Students should pay special attention to any question with more than one part, to be sure to answer completely. For example, an essay question might ask What was humankind's greatest invention, and why? A response that only names or describes a significant invention without discussing its valuable impact on human culture misses the point completely.

Assignment:
Write a five-paragraph essay in response to a question from your other schoolwork this week. (This can be from history, science, literature, etc. Many students are taking the Starting Points course, so that would coordinate well.) Be sure to include the question being answered.

9th - 12th Writing, January 9

2009-01-09T22:11:00.007-06:00

It was great to be back after a long break. We will be picking up the pace this second semester, since the students are ready for more challenging writing.

Lesson:
We embarked on our study of literary analysis this week.

First, we discussed basic dramatic structure:
Exposition - intro to setting, main characters, situation (Older works often devote a chapter or more to this, though modern writers usually shorten this or skip it altogether to begin the story in medias res, in the middle of things.)
Complication - the inciting moment that sets up the conflict
Rising action - the unfolding of the conflict leading up to a crisis
Crisis - moment of decision when protagonist commits to a course of action
Climax - peak point of conflict; turning point
Falling action - unraveling/aftermath of conflict
Resolution - also called denouement; conclusion
Moral - sometimes clearly stated in older works; seldom included in modern works

Though not every story has all these elements fully developed, nearly every work will have rising action, climax, and resolution, at least.

In a short story, the dramatic structure is efficiently condensed, with nearly every word or detail packed with significance, which makes short stories an excellent genre for literary analysis.

Next, we defined and discussed essential literary terms and devices, such as:
setting
character (especially protagonist and antagonist)
theme
conflict (of various types, man vs. man, man vs. nature, etc.)
point of view
and more.

I explained the general structure of a five-paragraph literary analysis essay, with intro and concluding paragraphs framing the three body paragraphs devoted to setting,character, and theme.

Assignment:
Students are to analyze a short story from those provided. I suggested that students read their selections three to five times. The first reading is for the story itself; the subsequent readings are to ferret out the various literary elements, especially as they relate to setting, character, and theme. Students will make notes, highlight passages, etc., in preparation for writing an essay next time.

4th - 6th Writing, December 12

2009-01-05T12:34:00.002-06:00

Lesson:
Since it was the last class before Christmas vacation, I chose not to teach significant new material. Instead, we practiced a quick technique called Brainwarmers. Brainwarmer activities are meant to be a fast and fun way to write creatively and quickly. We will be doing more of this from now on, so I will explain it more later.

Assignment:
I did not give any assignment for this class.

Students may, at their option, write for extra credit. They may rewrite any previous assignment for a higher grade, or they may write anything they please, including poetry, fiction, longer essays, etc. However, that is completely at their discretion, not required.

7th - 8th Writing, December 12

2009-01-05T12:17:00.002-06:00

Lesson:
As planned, students spent the class period writing timed definition or compare/contrast essays. This was the quietest class session of the year for these students, but also, by far, the most intense.

Assignment:
I did not assign homework.

Students may rewrite any previous paper for a higher grade, if they choose, but that is entirely optional.

9th - 12th Writing, December 12

2009-01-05T11:41:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
Common wisdom posits that the best way to learn is to teach. Another axiom tells us that it is easier to spot our faults in others than in ourselves. Perhaps both of these statements come into play during class read-arounds. Evaluating their classmates' writing and making suggestions for improvement helps students to turn a more objective eye on their own efforts.

I had expected to collect the students' most recent persuasive essays and issue a new assignment. However, the students all said that the previous read-around session had helped them tremendously, which I could see for myself when I quickly scanned their newest essays. The class also said that, though they felt more capable and confident with persuasive writing, they still needed more practice. Looking over their work, I concurred.

So, we spent a brief portion of this class period reviewing a few tips, such as organizing one's points for greatest impact, and choosing terms which would advance one's case without offending one's reader.

After that, we spent the remainder of the period in class read-arounds of their most recent persuasive essays.

Assignment:
Students were to take home and revise their latest persuasive essays.

AP Writing, December 11

2009-01-05T10:57:00.003-06:00

Lesson: As is typical for an AP class, we discussed the selected literary readings. Our main focus for this class was the author's craft --- why he or she might choose a particular point of view or setting or pacing, etc. I encouraged them to look past whether they like the story, past the overall theme or impact, into whether or how the author's choices work effectively. Our aim was to evaluate the stories not as readers but as writers.

By way of example, when I listen to music, I enjoy it (or not) based simply on whether it appeals to me. If I think about it more, I might say it depends on the overall sound, especially the melody and lyric, and perhaps the mood. I usually don't hear more than that unless I make a deliberate effort. However, my husband and children who can work a soundboard and play various instruments (among them, guitar, bass, drums, piano, clarinet, mandolin, harmonica) easily hear much more than that. With their musical sensibilities more attuned, my family cannot help but hear each instrument, how it contributes to the overall sound, and how the production values affect the mix. They can appreciate the skill (or notice the lack thereof) in a musical piece, whether the style suits them or not.

Likewise, literary analysis is not about how we like a story, but, rather, how the author weaves the various literary elements into a finished composition. It is linguistic 'backwards engineering.'

Assignment:
Students were to submit their literary analysis papers for their selected short story.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T09:18:00.003-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I thoroughly enjoyed all the festivities with family and friends as we took a break from our routines to celebrate the birth of Christ. Though this past year has had its share of challenges, the Lord has been most kind, and life here is good.

One way in which God has been gracious to me is through you all. I am so thankful for our writing classes! The process of teaching is deeply satisfying to me, and even more so because these students are so delightful. I appreciate their diligence and their positive attitudes.

Now the new year has begun, and with it a new semester of writing classes. Though Christmas vacation was a welcome holiday, I am ready to get back to business. I hope you all feel the same, since classes resume this week.

The students have made tremendous progress in their writing so far. Building on that foundation, we will be picking up the pace in the second semester. I am confident that these young writers will more than meet the challenge.

4th - 6th Writing, December 5

2008-12-10T15:16:00.006-06:00

Lesson:
We began with a brief review of the things we are looking for in our paragraphs, especially action verbs and a variety of sentence openers. We discussed the difference between revision (re-seeing) and mere editing. I encouraged the students to read over their first drafts several times during the revision process, checking each time for specific things like verbs and openers. I also recommended that the students read their papers aloud at least once during the revision, because their ears will sometimes notice things their eyes might miss. Once they are satisfied that they have done their best revision, then the students should edit for grammar, spelling, and punctuation before typing or writing their final copy.

We spent most of the class time reading aloud and critiquing the students' "how-to" process papers. Some of the students had even brought examples, which were a hit with their classmates --- especially the food items!

We decided to make a booklet of all the students how-to paragraphs as our class Christmas project. I asked the students to email me their work so I can compile it for the class.

Assignment:
In honor of the season, students are to write an expository paragraph with a Christmas theme. They may choose their own Christmas topics, but their paragraphs need to be informative, not personally narrative.

Examples might include:
the meaning of Christmas
the history of Christmas
the traditions of Christmas
Christmas celebrations around the world
Christmas carols (e.g., how Silent Night was written, etc.)
Christmas stories or movies
the best part of Christmas
Christmas at the White House
the origin of Christmas stockings
the origin of Christmas trees
giving to others at Christmas time
etc.

or, another process paper, explaining how to:
make an ornament
choose or wrap a gift
prepare a Christmas treat
etc.

(Reminder: Please email me a copy of your child's how-to paragraph from last week. Thanks!)

7th - 8th Writing, December 5

2008-12-09T16:14:00.010-06:00

Lesson:
I was gratified to read this week's work. Though some previous essays showed misunderstandings and gaps in knowledge, the students applied our recent review lessons with good results. I appreciate their receptive attitudes and willingness to work at writing.

Assignment:
Our next class period will be devoted to an in-class timed writing exercise. This is an important skill to master for college entrance exams and college essay tests, so I want to give these students exposure and practice.

Students will have the full class period to complete a five-paragraph essay. (Hint: Be on time, kids! In fact, you would be wise to be comfortably settled and ready to write as soon as class begins.)

A merely adequate but complete essay will score better than a brilliantly begun but incomplete essay. These essays will not be graded to the same standards as at-home compositions, but still must follow standard five-paragraph format with clear thesis statements, sensible organization, and solid development of arguments.

Students should prepare ahead of time and may bring to class one 3 x 5 index card of notes. Smart preparation might include selecting a topic, brainstorming, writing a thesis statement, organizing and/or outlining main points, choosing and jotting down supporting details, even up to writing out a full practice essay. The note card may be written on both sides, and may contain whatever notes the student deems helpful, such as a prepared thesis statement, outline, quotations, etc.

(Note: Many timed writing exercises, certainly college entrance exams, do not allow so much preparation; often, even the topic is not known in advance. However, we are taking a more user-friendly approach.)

Students may choose to write either a definition essay or a compare/contrast essay from the topic list provided below. (Students may not write on a topic that they have covered previously.)

Topic Choices

~Definition Essays~
Christmas Spirit
Generosity
Faith
Faithfulness
Servanthood
Joy
Contentment

~Compare/Contrast Essays~
The original Christmas nativity and modern Christmas observances
Secular/"pop" Christmas songs and spiritual/traditional Christmas carols
Islam and Christianity
Dating and courtship
PC and Mac
Spiderman and Batman (or any two superheroes)
Sherlock Holmes and Gregory House

(P.S. --- This has nothing to do with this assignment, and I don't suppose this topic would appeal to many people, anyway, but I just thought of an intriguing comparison. I think it might be interesting to compare the roles and relationship of Star Trek's Captain Kirk and Spock with U2's Bono and The Edge.)

9th - 12th Writing, December 5

2008-12-09T14:56:00.002-06:00

Lesson:
We spent most of the class period reading and critiquing student essays. The read-arounds during the last session paid off handsomely; these persuasive essays showed notable improvements over the original drafts.

Many of the students tackled thorny topics like abortion policies or immigration reform. Those are challenging subjects, especially for an essay of this size, but the students did well.

We again stressed the need to remember their target audience, to structure their arguments to appeal to the readers' needs and viewpoints, and to issue a clear call to action.

Assignment:
Each student will prepare another five-paragraph persuasive essay on a different topic of choice.

AP Writing, December 4

2008-12-09T14:10:00.003-06:00

These students continue to excel. I enjoy seeing how they apply what we discuss from week to week.

Assignment:
Having examined selected short stories, students will write five-paragraph literacy analysis essays with emphasis on setting, character and theme.

4th - 6th Writing, November 21

2008-12-02T23:29:00.002-06:00

Lesson:
This was a fun class. It was time to move into expository (informative) writing, beginning with process papers, also known as "how-to" writing. To illustrate, I asked the students to pretend that I was an alien whose ship landed in the back yard, and that I had wandered in for lunch. They were to tell me step by step how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and I would do exactly what they told me to do. Their directions led to some entertaining actions before they realized how to present step-by-step instructions for an edible sandwich.

After that, we reviewed different sentence openers that will add variety to their writing. Then we read aloud their second personal descriptions, which were nicely done..

Assignment:
Class will not meet during Thanksgiving Week, but will resume December 5.
Students are to write a process paragraph explaining how to perform a task of their choosing. These paragraphs are to employ a variety of sentence openers to describe the steps to completing a process. Some example topics might include:
how to bathe a dog
how to clean a bedroom
how to choose a gift
how to be a good friend
how to make bead jewelry
how to make a grilled cheese sandwich
how to do a skateboard trick
etc.

7th - 8th Writing, November 21

2008-12-02T22:38:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
This was a rough class session. Recent student papers show serious errors and deficiencies that I needed to address. I realize many of the students have missed different lessons here and there, due to camping, speech/debate, etc., so may have spotty understanding. I scrapped the planned lesson and reviewed key points instead.

Assignment:
Class will not meet Thanksgiving week, but will resume December 5.
The students are to revise their latest compositions to meet all the criteria we discussed in class.

9th - 12th Writing, November 21

2008-12-02T18:07:00.004-06:00

Lesson:
Since several students have missed a few key sessions lately, I thought it best not to move on to a new assignment immediately before Thanksgiving break. Instead, we spent most of the class period in read-arounds of their persuasive essays. Read-arounds, wherein students pass around and critique one another's major papers, are a common practice in college. In our case, it not only acquainted the students with that procedure, but it also gave them a chance to hone their editing and revision skills together.

Assignment:
We will not meet during Thanksgiving week, resuming again December 5.
Students are to revise and edit their five-paragraph persuasive essays. They should take into account the critiques of their classmates, though they are not bound by those, and must still exercise their own best judgment.

AP Writing, November 20

2008-12-02T16:52:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
We spent most of the class period evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the students' literary analysis compositions. Overall, the students' insights were more than satisfactory and their writing was solid.

Assignment:
We will not meet during Thanksgiving week, resuming again December 4.
Before the next class, each student is to choose another short story, reading it least several times and making notes for the next literary analysis.

4th - 6th Writing, November 14

2008-11-17T17:25:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
I spent the first part of the class period teaching the students different ways of starting sentences to add variety to their paragraphs. For this, I used Andrew Pudewa's material from his Institute for Excellence in Writing, with a little bit of grammatical explanation for the older students.

Sentence Openers:

Subject: typical "the noun verbed" format
The happy children played all day.

Prepositional: prepositional phrase
At the park, the happy children played all day.

"ly": adverb
Happily, the children played at the park all day.

"ing": participle or participial phrase
Laughing with delight, the happy children played at the park all day.

Clausal: dependent clause beginning with when, while, where, as, if, since, although
Since it was summer vacation, the happy children played at the park all day.

After that, Mrs. Arbogast read aloud the student compositions describing persons. The paragraphs were well done and the students enjoyed them immensely.

Assignment:
Students will write another paragraph describing a person. They are to include a good variety of sentence openers as we discussed.

(I would have preferred to move on to a different type of writing, but I thought it too much for the students to learn two new lessons at once.)

7th - 8th Writing, November 14

2008-11-17T16:54:00.004-06:00

Half the students were participating in a speech/debate tournament, so we did not go on to a new lesson. Instead, we read aloud and critiqued their most recent essays.

The students have learned the format of the five-paragraph compare/contrast essay fairly well. In general, their writing is technically correct and their points are clearly stated. I am pleased with that.

My next step is to help the students tighten up their compositions. Their writing would be more effective were it leaner and stronger. To that end, I am encouraging the class to choose active verbs and to omit unnecessary words. We want more muscle and less flab.

Assignment:
Students will write another compare or contrast essay, their choice. They are to edit aggressively, choosing active verbs and omitting unnecessary words.

9th - 12th Writing, November 14

2008-11-17T16:02:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
Our class was quite small since some students were away participating in a speech/debate tournament. Rather than move on to the planned lesson with so many absent, we used the class period as a workshop for the students who were there.

We read their thesis statements, discussed their topics, and brainstormed ways to frame their arguments in more positive and compelling terms. I reiterated their need to be clear about their specific call to action --- to know in no uncertain terms exactly what they are asking of their readers. Only then can they guide their readers skillfully to that conclusion.

Assignment:
Students are to complete a five-paragraph persuasive essay on a topic of their choice.

AP Writing, November 13

2008-11-17T13:12:00.003-06:00

Lesson:
The students came to class with copies of their chosen short stories, which they had read multiple times and marked with highlighted notes from their preliminary analysis. We talked through how the various literary terms and devices we are studying apply to those particular works. We also discussed how to structure their compositions.

The students chose interesting stories and had keen insight; I look forward to their analyses.

Assignment:
Each student will compose a five-paragraph literary analysis essay, discussing the setting, character, and theme of the selected piece, as well as other pertinent features such as point of view, conflict, and so on.

4th - 6th Writing, November 7

2008-11-12T19:54:00.004-06:00

Lesson:
We spent most of this class period reading aloud the place descriptions the students had written, matching them up with the photos that inspired them. The students were successful in that their classmates were easily able to match the correct image to its corresponding description. In fact, I thought they did a fabulous job, especially with the similes, metaphors, and personification I had asked them to include. I was pleased and impressed.

We also discussed how to describe a person. All that we learned in our previous lessons will still apply, of course, including vivid word choice, strong sensory details, and so on. More than that, I hope the students will be able to imbue personality in their descriptions. As I told them, we want to 'meet' a person, not read an autopsy report.

As we discussed the best ways to convey someone's unique personality, the class came up with wonderful ideas that were exactly right. In particular, in addition to straightforward physical descriptions, the students decided to focus attention on:
eyes (sad, kind, twinkling, tired, etc.)
mouth (smiling, frowning, scowling, laughing easily, etc.)
facial expressions
hand gestures
body language (posture, style of walk, etc.)
personal choices (grooming, clothing choice, etc)

We concluded by reading aloud two example descriptions, one of Jo from Little Women, and one of Mr. Lorry from Tale of Two Cities.

Assignment:
Students are to write a descriptive paragraph of a person. Their description is to be both accurate and kind, bearing in mind the feelings of others. They are NOT to make a story or report of it --- just straight description, with as much detail and life as they can muster.

7th - 8th Writing, November 7

2008-11-12T19:30:00.000-06:00

Lesson:

We spent part of the class period reviewing the structure of our recent compare/contrast essay assignment, especially the set-up in the intro paragraph. We also read over and discussed some student essays.

The students are doing solid work, showing excellent progress. I am pleased with the breakthroughs I have seen recently.

Assignment:
Students are to write another five-paragraph compare or contrast essay on topics of their choosing. Those who wrote a contrast last time will write a comparison this time.

9th - 12th Writing, November 7

2008-11-12T19:08:00.005-06:00

Lesson:
In this lesson, I taught the basic principles of persuasive writing.
Persuasion is the art of guiding and influencing others to think, feel, and behave in a desired manner. Persuasion involves establishing a need or problem, proposing a solution, supporting that solution with sound evidence and argumentation that will appeal to the audience, foreseeing and countering any resistance or opposition to the proposed solution, and issuing a clear call to action.

Persuasion involves:
ethos - an appeal from the authority and integrity of the writer (or speaker)
pathos - an appeal to the emotions of the audience
logos - am appeal to fact and logic

Logic without emotion may be dry or merciless, and may fail to stir many people to act or change.
Emotion without logic may be shallow at best, and may fail to produce lasting change.
Persuasion without ethos becomes propaganda, manipulation, or brainwashing.

We discussed how to structure and support an argument, how to choose the best terms to define one's arguments, how to understand and counter opposing viewpoints, how to gain the trust of the reader (in part by not alienating the reader with overblown claims, unsupported absolutes, or inflammatory language), and how to move the reader along to the desired conclusion.

I distributed a list of some common logical fallacies, such as ad hominem attacks, straw man arguments, etc.
We discussed some of these, and will spend more time next lesson discussing logical fallacies and identifying them in common usage.

Assignment:
Students are to write a five-paragraph persuasive essay on a topic of their choosing, whether a political, moral, or practical policy issue. This must be a topic about which decent, honest people may disagree, and which calls for and allows for a change of mind or behavior.

AP Writing, November 6

2008-11-10T12:49:00.005-06:00

Lesson:
This week, we launched into literary analysis.

First, we discussed basic dramatic structure:
Exposition - intro to setting, main characters, situation (Older works often devote a chapter or more to this, though modern writers usually shorten this or skip it altogether to begin the story in medias res, in the middle of things.)
Complication - the inciting moment that sets up the conflict
Rising action - the unfolding of the conflict leading up to a crisis
Crisis - moment of decision when protagonist commits to a course of action
Climax - peak point of conflict; turning point
Falling action - unraveling/aftermath of conflict
Resolution - also called denouement; conclusion
Moral - sometimes clearly stated in older works; seldom included in modern works

Though not every story has all these elements fully developed, nearly every work will have rising action, climax, and resolution, at least.

In a short story, the dramatic structure is efficiently condensed, with nearly every word or detail packed with significance, which makes short stories an excellent genre for literary analysis.

Next, we defined and discussed essential literary terms and devices, such as:
setting
character (especially protagonist and antagonist)
theme
conflict (of various types, man vs. man, man vs. nature, etc.)
point of view
and more.

I explained the general structure of a five-paragraph literary analysis essay, with intro and concluding paragraphs framing the three body paragraphs devoted to setting,character, and theme.

Assignment:
Students are to select and analyze a short story. I suggested that students read their selections three to five times. The first reading is for the story itself; the subsequent readings are to ferret out the various literary elements, especially as they relate to setting, character, and theme. Students will make notes, highlight passages, etc., in preparation for writing an essay next time.

4th - 6th Writing, October 17

2008-10-18T23:35:00.010-05:00

Lesson:
I am thrilled with how well this class is learning! They are so enthusiastic about their writing, and their interest and effort are producing wonderful results. Their compositions show marked improvement every week as they apply their new lesson.

We opened class with a brief review of basics we have covered so far:
Clear communication
expressed in a lively way (vivid word choice, use of senses and emotion)
in correct paragraph form
with sensible organization
and sentence variety. (We will work more on this.)

We then spent some time explaining what we are seeking in the next assignment, which is a place description. I provided large color landscape pictures taken from calendars, from which students could choose their favorite. I asked the students to think about how many photos a photographer might take to get one great shot, and why he or she might have chosen that particular photo instead of another one. In other words, what is interesting, unusual, or special about this photo? Where is its drama? That is what we want to capture.

Like description in general, students will need first to observe the place in question, using as many of the five senses as apply. The difference, for most students, is that they must do this in their imaginations. I asked them to pretend they were in the location of their photo:
What do they see? Shapes, sizes, colors, textures? What colors? (Choose color names like those in the 64-crayon box, not the 8-crayon box.)
What might they feel around them? Soft, warm breezes? Hot, heavy stillness? Cool frosty chill? Piercing bitter cold?
What might they hear? Spring leaves rustling gently, autumn leaves crunching crisply? Songbirds lilting, seabirds cawing? Bees buzzing, crickets chirping, toads thrumming? Thunder clashing, waterfalls crashing, mountain streams splashing? Surf pounding? Silent stillness resounding?
What might they smell? Fresh air after a rain? Fragrant flowers in full bloom? Dry, windblown dust? Damp sea air?
What might they taste? Any notable taste in the air? (Though unlikely in most landscape settings, taste might factor in scenes full of dust, sand, or salt water.)

What movement might take place? Ripe grain heads bobbing and bowing in the wind? Water cascading downstream? Lightning flashing across the sky? (Motion helps to add life, so include it if appropriate.)
What overall mood prevails? Calm and peaceful? Stormy and foreboding? Lonely? Awestruck? Joyous? Powerful? Majestic? Welcoming? Comforting? Hostile? (Choose descriptive words that fit the mood.)

In selecting descriptive phrases, students should make the effort to include at least one, preferably two, instances of the following figures of speech:
Simile --- a comparison using the words "like" or "as"
"My love is like a red, red rose . . ." Robert Burns
Metaphor --- a comparison without using the words "like" or as"
"Love is a rose . . ." Neil Young
Personification --- ascribing aspects of personhood or personality to inanimate objects
"Love is blind . . ." William Shakespeare

As they 'observe' their setting, students might jot down their ideas and comments as we have done for previous paragraphs. From those notes, students can filter, edit, combine, and eliminate details to choose what they wish to include. They will then need to organize their select observations in a physical order that makes sense for the scene they are framing: top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right, right to left, panorama to zoomed-in close-up, focused detail to wide-pan vista. Their words will guide the reader's eye.

With those details in order, students will proceed with the normal writing process. They will compose a catchy topic sentence, an effective conclusion, and an intriguing title. They will join sentences together using transition expressions, creating sentence variety with opening phrases and clauses. [We will continue to cover this more.] After a "breather" period, students will go back to edit and polish their work to their satisfaction, then prepare a smooth final version.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After explaining that lesson, we rounded out the class session by reading aloud some of the object descriptions the students had written the previous week. Many students brought to class the object under examination, so their classmates enjoyed matching the description to the actual item.

Assignment:
Each student will compose a paragraph describing a natural landscape, as described above. Most students will use the calendar pictures I provided, which they will return when they hand in their homework. A few will choose another familiar landscape, but should bring in a photo for the class to view. As we read the paragraphs aloud during our next session, the class will try to match up the photos with their descriptions.

These papers are to be pure description, not narratives. Students are not to make up stories to superimpose upon the settings.

This assignment will be due October 31. Class will not meet next week,October 24.

With an extra week available, some students may choose to write a longer paper this time, or even to write two papers. That is an extra-credit option, but is not required.

7th - 8th Writing, October 17

2008-10-18T22:46:00.004-05:00

Lesson:
In this class period, we addressed common errors uncovered in grading the students' previous assignment.

I again stressed the need for unambiguous clarity regarding the thesis. I told the students that they need to be able to reduce their thesis statement to short, straightforward, powerful bullet points. Those bullet points then plug into the corresponding slots on our five-paragraph essay diagram. That structure forms the skeleton of the essay. From there, the students should flesh out those bones with supporting examples and details, and fully clothe their creation in elegant, flowing prose. However, when all is said and done, the clarity and power of those original bullet points should be just as clear to the reader as they were to the author in the beginning.

Other errors addressed were as follows:
Number agreement
Tense agreement
Parallel construction of concepts at the thesis level
Naming the subject (nouns, not pronouns) in the thesis statement

For all that, I must say that the definition essays turned in this week exhibit a much higher level of writing skill than the previous assignment. The students show that they are incorporating and applying what they are learning each week. In general, their word choices and sentence variety were excellent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We spent the remainder of the class period teaching the concept and format for a block-style compare/contrast essay. (If I get access to a scanner, I will attach a diagram here.)

For a simple contrast paper, students are to choose two things which seem similar, then explore the features that distinguish them as different. Examples might include:
dogs and cats (both small mammals commonly kept as household pets)
McDonald's and Wendy's (both fast food burger joints)
Target and WalMart (both large discount chain stores)
football and soccer (both popular team sports played by moving a ball down a field to score)
FDR and Churchill (both allied leaders during WWII)
Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia (both beloved classic fantasy with Christian underpinnings)
Star Trek and Star Wars (both influential sci fi series and cultural icons)
and many, many more.

Provide background and acknowledge similarities in the intro paragraph. Then delineate the categories of differences in the thesis statement. ("Cats and dogs differ in sociability, trainability, and usefulness." )

The body paragraphs will follow, each developing in order one of the three main points of the thesis statement. In our example, the next paragraph will discuss differences in the animals' sociability, the following paragraph will address their comparative levels of trainability, and the one after that will explore their relative degrees and roles of usefulness.

Finally, the concluding paragraph will begin with a restatement of the ideas of the thesis statement, followed by a sentence of two recapping the main point of each of the three body paragraphs. From there, that last paragraph broadens out to an overall conclusion, which might include a statement of preference, prediction, quotation, etc.

How this differs from the previous five-paragraph essays is that each of these three main points must be discussed for each of these two subjects. So, in the paragraph discussing sociability, for instance, the author will lead in with a topic sentences, then spend several sentences exploring the social behavior of cats. Next, with a pivot expression, ("on the other hand" . . .) the author will turn the topic to sociability in dogs for a few sentences, before concluding the paragraph gracefully with a reflection of the topic sentence. The same idea goes for the other two body paragraphs as well.

Whenever these subjects are mentioned together, they must remain in their original order. So, if cats are mentioned before dogs in the thesis statement, cats will always be mentioned first in any paragraph or sentence where dogs are also mentioned. Therefore, choose your starting order strategically.

Assignments:
Each student will write a five-paragraph block-style contrast essay on a topic of choice.

Students may treat the subjects in an impartial way, or may clearly state a preference.

Everything else we have learned applies.

This assignment is due October 31. Class will not meet next week, October 24.

With the extra week, students may opt to rewrite a low-scoring paper for an extra-credit grade.

9th - 12th Writing, October 17

2008-10-18T20:07:00.010-05:00

Lesson:
These students show remarkable improvement in clarity and expression of thought. In fact, they are making evident progress in word choice and sentence variety each week.

We spent the largest part of this class period addressing various problem areas from the students' most recent essays. Most errors were fairly minor and infrequent; a few were more fundamental and serious.

Specifically, I asked students to:

~ organize arguments logically
Sensible organization not only makes writing easier, but it also makes a greater impact on the reader.
The most likely method of organization for this type of essay is order of importance, from least to greatest.
Another possible method might be cause to effect.

~ make subject and verb agree in number (singular/plural)
All students (plural) should bring their (plural) notebooks. (plural)
or Each student (singular) should bring a notebook. (singular)
NOT Everyone (singular) should bring their (plural) notebook.

~ make verbs agree in tense (past/present)
(NO 'time-travelling' allowed --- that technology has not been perfected yet.)

~ use parallel construction for items in series
Leadership requires courageous vision, determined responsibility, and persuasive communication.
NOT Leadership requires courageous vision, determined responsibility, and communicating well.
(NOTE: Students generally did quite well at this in the ways we discussed last time, so I was able to teach some fuller applications and refinements.)

~ qualify statements; avoid absolute statements
Unless we may be absolutely certain that our claim is completely true and accurate in every single instance, at all times and in all places without exception, we ought to avoid absolute terms such as always, never, every, all, each, etc.

Instead, use qualifying words and expressions, such as almost always, virtually never, nearly every, usually, seldom, most, many, some, etc.

When we make unsubstantiated absolute statements, we tend to provoke resistance and lose the trust of our readers. However, when we speak accurately by qualifying our statements, we generally find our ideas receive a more responsive hearing.

Assignment:
Each student will write another compare or contrast essay in five-paragraph block form.

This assignment will be due October 31. Class will not meet next week.

With the extra week available, students may, at their option, rewrite their lowest-scoring paper for a higher grade.

AP Writing, October 16

2008-10-18T19:45:00.004-05:00

Lesson:
We briefly discussed the students' experiences with the revision process. Having graded their revisions since class, I can attest that their revised essays showed tremendous improvement over their first efforts, so I am quite pleased with their final essays.

Then we discussed each students personal strengths and weaknesses as writers, with suggestions for growth. Some areas we touched on included:
clarity of topic focus
restraint in breadth of discussion (e.g., avoiding rabbit trails)
awareness of and appeal to target audience
selection of appropriate supporting evidence
correctness of form

These students are doing wonderfully and maturing rapidly in their composition skills.

Assignment:
Each student will write one more compare or contrast essay, their choice, in five-paragraph block form.

This assignment will be due October 30. Class will not meet next week.

4th - 6th Writing, October 10

2008-10-10T23:12:00.006-05:00

Lesson:
We spent the first part of the class reviewing some basic ideas:

~ Collect your good ideas and put them into the correct paragraph form.

~ Make that paragraph easy for the reader to understand and follow by clear, logical organization that leads your reader along with you step-by-step from intro to conclusion.

~ Keep that well-organized paragraph lively and interesting to your reader by choosing vivid action verbs and strong descriptions that evoke the senses, motion, and emotion.

~ Add even more readability to your interesting paragraph by using a variety of ways to begin different sentences.

We added There is, There are, It is, and similar expressions to our no-no list as legal but weak ways to begin sentences.

To help organize and add variety to sentences, I provided each student with a sheet of transition expressions. These transitions are organized into groups that can be used to show time, location, similarities, differences, and so on, so that students can easily choose words that suit their method of organization for any writing project. We will be discussing more about using these transition words skillfully in the coming weeks, especially as we begin to emphasize sentence variety.

Up until now, most of our early writing assignments have been narratives, organized in chronological(time) order. Now we are switching to descriptive papers for a few weeks, with details organized in spatial (place) order. I told the class to imagine they are movie directors, deciding how the camera will reveal their object on screen. Will they choose to start at the top and work down? Start at the bottom and work up? Start out with a general shot and then zoom in for a close-up? Start with close focus on some small detail and then pan out to an overview? As directors, they decide what will work best. All I ask is that they be consistent,not jumping all around but rather flowing smoothly through their description, using transition expressions to guide the reader's mind like a movie camera guides the filmgoer's eye.

Next, we talked about preparing to write a description of a physical object by first spending some time observing that object using as many of the five sense as we can, really paying attention to what we can discover as we jot down our observations on our brainstorming mind maps. I showed some example objects to the class as we talked together about how we might describe the colors, textures, and so on.

To wrap up, we read aloud a few student papers, commenting on the good features, suggesting one way the authors could now use what we are learning about transitions and sentence variety to make their next papers even better.

Assignment:
Each student will write an interesting, well-organized paragraph describing a physical object. This may be any individual tangible item: a sea shell, rock, figurine, banana, apple, orange, baseball, soccer net, basketball hoop, old shoe, tea cup, candlestick, --- almost anything. We will be describing places and people later, so I do not want students to tackle those yet. A few students asked about describing pets; that is acceptable as long as the paragraph is limited to physical description, not behavior or personality. It might be easier, though, to choose an inanimate object.

Students should incorporate all we have learned, with special effort to incorporate some appropriate transitions and some sentence variety.

7th - 8th Writing, October 10

2008-10-10T21:08:00.006-05:00

Lesson:
We spent this class period addressing many of the same issues covered in the older classes last week and this. We talked about organizing our thoughts, honing our thesis statements, and using parallel construction. For more review of these principles, please read what I posted for the AP and 9th-12th classes these past two weeks.

We also revisited the need to use active rather than passive verbs in general, and especially to avoid beginning sentences with statements like these:
There is
There are
There were
. . .etc.

I suggested that students read through their papers several times during the revision process, first looking in general for areas that need improvement, then targeting specific troublesome elements by reading JUST verbs for active voice, then JUST sentence openers for variety. These extra measures will elevate their writing from good to excellent.

Assignment:
Each student will choose another abstract concept (e.g., honesty, patriotism, kindness) to define, explain and explore in another five-paragraph essay.

9th - 12th Writing, October 10

2008-10-10T12:13:00.015-05:00

Lesson:
With all students present this week, we took a deeper look into the issues discussed last week, namely:

that clear, focused thinking is essential to writing a fluent essay,

that those clear thoughts should be stated in a correctly-worded thesis statement that then guides the essay, and

that the wording of the thesis statement should be in congruent, parallel terms.

Specifically, we discussed clarifying thoughts by narrowing the range of possibilities that could be explored about any given topic, then (for our purposes in the five-paragraph essay) choosing three primary points that can be developed in a clear and balanced way. Students who fail to limit their topic and thus try to pack too many ideas into their papers usually lose their way. Students who choose as their three main points ideas that are too dissimilar, overlapping, or disconnected find themselves working much too hard to try to make sense of things. Like the prep work done before painting, half the work of writing an essay is done before actual composition begins.

I reiterated the need to choose similar grammatical construction for items in series. This is an aspect of congruence or parallelism. In our case, the three major points of a five-paragraph essay may be listed in various ways, including simple nouns, noun phrases, gerunds, infinitives, various kinds of phrases, subordinate clauses, and more. Parallel structure requires that the same format be used for all three points whenever they are listed together. If the points of a thesis cannot be rephrased somewhat comfortably into compatible terms, the thesis likely is flawed in its basic concept. If so, that would be good to know before wasting days trying to force incompatible ideas to hang together.

I hope that this stress on fundamental organizational, even if heavy on grammatical terms, will provide a solid foundation for future academic writing.

For more explanation of how to treat items in a series, check here.

For a summary of gerunds, infinitives, and participles, which together are known as verbals, check here, along with the related links at the bottom of the OWL page.

Assignment:
Since the process of finding similarities and drawing distinctions is so central to learning and to writing, each student will compose another five-paragraph, block-style compare/contrast essay. Those who wrote a comparison last time will write a contrast essay this time, and vice versa.

AP Writing, October 9

2008-10-09T19:58:00.001-05:00

Lesson:
This week, we had a hard, real-life lesson in the revision process.

Revision is much more than editing or proofreading. While editing can be as simple as switching a sentence around, as obvious as swapping out an overused word for a fresh synonym, revision can be painful. "Revision" means re-seeing; revision is looking with new eyes, a a critical reader might. Revision is rethinking the paper altogether, looking objectively at what is working and what is not, and taking whatever steps are needed to fix things.

Since the students in this small class are advanced writers, I felt they were ready for a stiff challenge. We spent the class period stringently dissecting their latest essays for every single less-than-ideal choice, whether in scope, thesis, argumentation, supporting evidence, word choice --- everything. I was more brutally exacting than is my normal teaching style, but my purpose was to walk the students through steps to take when they realize something just isn't working as well as they intended.

For more info on the revision process, read here.

Assignment:
Students will completely revise their most recent essays, keeping in mind what we discussed in class.

4th - 6th Writing, October 3

2008-10-06T15:45:00.004-05:00

Lesson:
We spent the majority of the class period reading aloud and commenting on the personal narrative paragraphs that students had turned in the previous week. Generally, I was quite pleased with what the students had written, and their classmates received their work with appreciation and encouragement, as well.

Based on student writing so far, we reviewed two issues that trip up some students: concluding sentences and word choice.

I restated the need to finish each paragraph with a final sentences that 'wraps up' the paragraph, giving the reader a satisfying sense of completion. The concluding sentence should not contain any significant new details, or else it would simply be another detail sentence. It should, however, summarize the paragraph, state an impression, or in some other way 'tie a bow around' the topic. A concluding sentence should reflect the topic sentence, like twin bookends holding the detail sentences in the middle together.

We created a list of overused "no-no" words, which so far includes:
nice
good
fun
a lot (or alot)
awesome (unless used for something TRULY worthy of awe, like God or the Grand Canyon)

We spent the last part of the class period addressing some ideas to make their writing more vivid and to connect with their readers in a more memorable way. I taught that good writing should "show, not just tell." Specifically, we discussed giving life to our writing by including the elements of life:
the senses
motion
emotion

Assignment:
Each student is to write another personal narrative paragraph, which will be a vivid recounting of some small but interesting slice of their lives. This incident must be true, and may be funny, sad, heart-warming, scary, embarrassing, exciting, etc. In particular, they are to include descriptions from at least two of the five physical senses, together with showing motion and/or emotion.

7th - 8th Writing, October 3

2008-10-06T13:51:00.010-05:00

Lesson:
We were missing a couple of students this week, since several families were camping. We used class period primarily to discuss some issues that had arisen in students' papers.

The first issue we discussed was use of transitions. Good transitions are essential to lead readers along through the flow of the essay, particularly between the body paragraphs in a longer essay. Specifically, I stated that I prefer that students include transition statements in the opening of each inner body paragraph, rather than at the conclusion of the previous paragraph, as some had been doing. In other words, Paragraph #3 should begin with a brief word or phrase linking to Paragraph #2 before pivoting to discuss the main thought of the new paragraph #3. In this way, each paragraph retains the integrity of a single main topic, which is central to the very idea of a paragraph as a unit of writing.

I realize opinions differ, and other teachers may teach otherwise. In some cases, their way may be preferable. However, this way (linking transitions at the beginning of the new paragraph) is consistent with what I teach about the structure of writing, and also agrees with authorities such as Purdue University Ongoing Writing Labs.
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/, specifically http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/574/01/)

The second major issue we discussed was the use and format of the concluding paragraph of a five-paragraph essay. The students already have hand-outs detailing this, but seemed to benefit from a refresher. Generally:
~ The first sentence of the final paragraph should reflect the thesis statement.
~ Following that, write a sentence or two reiterating the main point of each body paragraph. (That will be three to six sentences or so.)
~ Depending upon the type of essay, the conclusion ends with a strong statement of the writer's position, a projection of impact, a call to action, or other appropriate way of wrapping up the topic. A pertinent quotation is often effective here, as well.

Assignment:
Each student will write a five-paragraph essay exploring a single intangible quality, such as liberty, leadership. friendship, courage, peace, etc.
To that end, students will want to define terms in their intro paragraph.
They may also want to define the quality in terms of what is is NOT.
They might consider how the quality might be attained or developed, or any other angle that seems helpful in discussing the quality in its essence.
They will need to give examples of their quality in action. These examples may be from any arena: from general and common knowledge, from Scripture, or from the lives of specific individuals(s), living or dead, historical or fictional, etc.

Here is an excerpted example of an intro paragraph defining wisdom:

The majority of people seem to assume rather vaguely that wisdom increases with age and experience. The idea is that if one lives long enough, or makes enough mistakes, one will gather enough knowledge to become wise. By that definition, wisdom is just the knowledge gained during a lifetime. However, wisdom is much more than just knowledge gained. Biblically, wisdom signifies the pursuit of knowledge, the application of that knowledge with understanding, and the personification of God's will in action.

9th - 12th Writing, October 3

2008-10-06T12:41:00.001-05:00

Lesson:
More than half the class was absent today, having gone camping with a group of families from church. For those who were present, we spent the class period reviewing their essays in depth, discussing the revision process with detailed recommendations for improvement.

Specifically, we emphasized fine-tuning thesis statements to make them more workable. My primary point was that whenever an essay just won't flow and the writer finds himself or herself wrestling for clarity, chances are that the thesis of the essay was not clearly focused in the writer's mind first. If thoughts won't congeal, writing never will. Therefore, the writer should first reorganize thoughts, then check that the thesis statement accurately and fully covers the points the writer will be making in the body paragraphs --- no more, no less.

We also briefly covered the concepts of parallel construction and congruence of terms.
Examples of "fuzzy", incongruent thesis statements:
Leadership is seeing a clear course of direction, courage, and communicating.

Steak 'n Shake is superior to McDonald's in menu selection, taste, and it is open more hours, too.

Examples of revised thesis statements:
Leadership requires seeing a clear course of direction, pursuing it with courage, and communicating it to others persuasively.

A leader motivates others through clear vision, courage of convictions, and persuasive communication.

Steak 'n Shake is superior to McDonald's in hours of operation, menu selection, and taste.

Steak 'n Shake is superior to McDonald's because it remains open later, offers a wider menu, and serves fresher food with better flavor.

Assignment:
Since so many were absent, I opted not to assign a new paper.

Rather, students should spend time revising the previous assignment, a five-paragraph compare/contrast essay, with special thought given to clarity of thought and congruence of thesis statement.

AP Writing, October 2

2008-10-06T12:26:00.001-05:00

Lesson:
We went over the timed in-class essays the students had completed, discussing strategies to address specific strengths and weaknesses.

The rest of the class period was devoted to how to write more advanced compare/contrast essays.

Assignment:
Each student will write a five-paragraph, block-style, compare/contrast essay, on a non-literary topic. (The literary prohibition is primarily because these students are so literary already that I want to nudge them out of that comfort zone a bit. Besides, we will be writing many literary analysis papers soon.)