Thirty-Ninth Class: First Quarter Grades, Sentence Errors, and Comma Rules

Today was the first day in our new classroom! Students received a printout of their first quarter grade. Mr. Stone emphasized that this was not a permanent grade, but rather a midterm "dipstick" grade since this is a semester course. Students had an opportunity to check graded papers against the scores recorded on the printouts. Mr. Stone defined and gave examples of five common sentence errors: run-on sentences, comma splices, sentence fragments, rambling sentences, and fused sentences. He also began to discuss comma principles: coordinate, introductory, interrupters, series, and standard. hu Mr. Stone introduced the upcoming book report assignment. Students should begin selecting a book and getting it approved by their parents and Mr. Stone. Reading time will be given in class on Thursday. Book approval forms will be available tomorrow. Homework: Add commas to the following five sentences as needed. 1. Janet likes purple blue and orange. 2. She makes her preferences clear in wearing purple socks eating only from blue dishes and driving an orange bike. 3. She has a blue plate a blue bowl and a blue mug. 4. Shades of purple that are pale like lilac that are bright like eggplant and that are dark like concord grapes can all be seen in her sock drawer. 5. Not only is the frame of Janet's bike orange, but also its handle bars seat and basket.

Thirty-Eighth Class Period: Sentence Combining

In response to errors made by students in the writing of their short stories and in preparation for the editing of the students film analysis essay, Mr. Stone reviewed five options for combining two clauses. Students practiced combining clauses. Homework: Finish any of the sixteen examples not completed in class.

Thirty-Seventh Class Period: Moving

Students were given the opportunity to help move classroom materials and furniture to the classroom in the new student services building. Any students who did not wish to help were allowed to study for another class. No homework was assigned.

Thirty-Sixth Class Period

I will catch up on this post.

Thirty-Fifth Class Period: Peer Critiquing Introduction

Mr. Stone checked for the students completion of a revision of their third body paragraph, their introduction prewriting table, and a rough draft of their introduction. Students completed a peer critique of a classmate's introduction. Mr. Stone listed the three elements needed for the essay's conclusion: 1) Remind readers of the context--What is the question to which you are responding? 2) Clarify your response the the question--agreement, disagreement, other option. 3) Restate your thesis. Homework: Draft a conclusion. Bring to class your five paragraph essay.

Thirty-Fourth Class Period: Peer Critique Body Paragraph Three

The teacher explained how to write a funnel-shaped introduction and provided a prewriting table for gathering information for their introductions. Students peer critiqued a classmate's third body paragraph. The teacher worked on checking for the revision of the second body paragraph, the prewriting table for the third body paragraph, the rough draft of the third body paragraph, and the completion of a peer critique for the third body paragraph. Homework: Revise the third body paragraph. Complete the introduction prewriting table if not completed in class. Draft the introduction.

Thirty-Third Class Period: Peer Critique Film Essay Body Paragraph 2

Students peer critiqued a classmate's second body paragraph for the film analysis essay and worked on completing the prewriting table for the third body paragraph. Mr. Stone checked for the completion of the revision of the first paragraph of the film essay, the prewriting table for the second body paragraph, the rough draft of the second body paragraph, and a completed peer critique of the second body paragraph. Homework: Complete revision of body paragraph two, prewriting table of body paragraph three, and draft body paragraph three.

Thirty-Second Class Period: Peer Critiquing Body Paragraph 1

Students were to come to class with the rough draft of their first body paragraph for their film analysis essay. Students used a peer critique sheet to guide them in evaluating the rough draft of a classmate's first body paragraph. Students were to complete a second expository body paragraph prewriting chart in preparation for drafting the second paragraph of their film analysis essay. Homework: Revise the first paragraph of the film analysis essay and draft the second paragraph. During the next class, Mr. Stone will be checking for a second completed prewriting table, a draft of a second body paragraph, and a revised first body paragraph. He will ask students to show him the changes they made to their first paragraphs.

Thirty-First Class Period: Connecting the Topic Sentence & Commentary

Mr. Stone lectured about relationship between the topic sentence and commentary. He reminded students that an essay's thesis consists of the paper's topic and the author's viewpoint. Each body paragraph's topic sentence consists of a subtopic and the author's viewpoint. The author's viewpoint expressed in each body paragraph should clearly relate to the topic and viewpoint of the essay's thesis. When does a writer develop his/her viewpoint?/ When should a writer develop his/her viewpoint? An author's viewpoint on a topic typically comes after prolonged thinking on the topic and its subtopics. Following a line of inductive thought, the writer experiences/examines the specific details, expresses/exchanges dialogue analyzing/interpreting this data, which ultimately leads to a conclusion or generalization. This generalization typically becomes a writer's viewpoint. Other times, a writer through previous experience or cultural influence comes with a predisposed bias/viewpoint. This generalization is expressed/tested against specific details. The process of writing may lead a writer to reconsider his/her previous/original conclusions. In the case of the film analysis assignment for this class, most students have never seen the 1947 film version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The student's viewing of the movie provided them with a series of specific details which through reflection and discussion they concluded a generally positive/negative viewpoint of the film. This general viewpoint becomes the thesis of the student's film review essay. The aspects of the film (humor, casting, plot structure, etc.) that caused the writer's positive/negative viewpoint of the film become the subtopics of the essay. Each subtopic along with the author's viewpoint becomes the topic sentence of a body paragraph. A student supports the viewpoint expressed in each body paragraph's topic sentence by providing three examples (concrete details) from the ffilm. The writer clarifies the meaning of his/her topic sentence's viewpoint and the overall viewpoint of the essay through the commentary (analysis, interpretation, opinion, etc.) written about each example/concrete detail provided. Mr. Stone emphasized the need to focus on a single subtopic in each body paragraph. He warned students about the dangers of confusing readers by expressing more than one viewpoint in each paragraph's topic sentence. Repetition of the key word of the paragraph's viewpoint or use of synonyms helps readers to see the connection between each paragraph's topic sentence and the commentary provided about each supporting detail. Homework: Students need to draft their first body paragraph for their film essay. This draft should be typed from the ideas written on the expository writing body paragraph prewriting table. Students should make revisions as they draft.

Thirtieth Class Period: Writing Expository Paragraphs

Mr. Stone shared a PowerPoint presentation on Jane Schaffer's approach to writing expository paragraphs. Schaffer's color-coded system allows students to visualize basic components of expository paragraphs (topic sentences, concrete details & commentary. Students discussed with Mr. Stone subtopics that could be used to support a positive or negative viewpoint on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty film. Mr. Stone made a list the names of the chapter scenes from the DVD to help students select scenes to use as their concrete details. Homework: Students are to fill in the three body paragraph sections of the prewriting sheet they received during the last class period and the expository body paragraph prewriting table they received in this class period.

Twenty-Ninth Class Period: Finish The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Quiz: "Talk" Students finished viewing the Danny Kaye version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Mr. Stone passed out the Film Review Instructions and Worksheet. Homework: Students are to make a list of at least twenty-five similarities and dissimilarities between James Thurber's short story and Ken Englund and Everett Freeman's screenplay. Write "S" next to the similarities and "D" next to the dissimilarities.

Twenty-Eighth Class Period: More of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Quiz: Ray Bradbury's "The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind" Students continued viewing a DVD version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in preparation for writing a film analysis paper. Homework: Read Harold Courlander and George Herzog's retelling of the Ashanti folk tale "Talk" (412-414) A hypertext link to e-text for this tale is not available because e-text could not be located. Read the story twice. It is quite short.

Twenty-Seventh Class Period: Begin Viewing The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Quiz: James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" Students began viewing the 1947 Danny Kay version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Homework: Read Ray Bradbury's fable, "The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind" (178-182) or link to the left.

Twenty-Sixth Class: Short Story Submission & Process Journal Entry

Devotional Text: Colossians 1:13 Students wrote a one-page, single-spaced reflection on the process of writing their short stories. Mr. Stone directed students to describe what worked well for them and what gave them difficulty. He suggested organizing their ideas following the five stages of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and presenting. Students reviewed Chapter 24 of The House on Mango Street, "Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water." Mr. Stone summarized the lecture he just heard at the Huntington Library about how seventeenth century English decided which stories of witches were fact and fiction. He noted how laws relating to witches have been repealed as a believe in witches has waned. The class discussed the clues in "Elenita, Cards, Palm, Water" that Esperanza does not ultimately believe in palm reading. Homework: Read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (357-352) or use link to the left.

Short Story Grading Rubric

Here's a link to the grading rubric for the short story writing assignment.

Twenty-Fifth Class: Peer Editing

Journal Prompt for Ch. 23 of The House on Mango Street, "Born Bad": Describe how Esperanza views herself (good/bad) and why. Describe how you view yourself (good/bad) and why. Students received a peer editing checklist for a classmate to use to edit the revised draft of their short story. Students were to swap papers with a peer, make editorial marks on his/her revised short story, and complete the peer editing checklist. Homework: Complete final draft of short story.

Twenty-Fourth Class Period: Peer Critiquing

Journal Prompt for Chapter 22 of The House on Mango Street: Describe how Esperanza is affected by her grandfather's death. Then, describe how you have been affected by the death of a grandparent/other close family member--yes, pets can be considered, and/or describe how you could value a family member more while they are alive. Mr. Stone checked to make sure students had completed their tall tale prewriting and a rough draft of their tall tale. Students swapped their tall tales with two class mates, read their classmates' drafts, and responded on a separate sheet of paper: 1. What did you like most about his/her tale? Affirm the writer. 2. As a reader, what were you missing?/What would you like to have seen more/less of in his/her tale? Help the writer see a reader's perspective of his/her tale. Sign and staple your comments for the tall tale to the corresponding rough draft. Students then swapped their rough draft of their short story with one classmate and critiqued. They were directed to write affirming and helpful comments directly on his/her partner's rough draft. They were to sign the bottom of the draft. Homework: Complete a revised draft of your short story. (Period 7 needs to revise their tall tale as well.) Students will peer edit a classmate's short story next class period. The final draft of the short story is due at the beginning of the third English I class period this week. (Remember that the picnic has been postponed.)