--Pick up a copy of the "The Grammar Hammer" document from the front table. Spend the first 10 or so minutes of class carefully completing the document in order to review our next set of common errors.
*AS YOU WORK, I WILL...
- RETURN YOUR "THE GRAMMAR HAMMER--PARTS OF SPEECH--POST-TEST" DOCUMENT
- PLEASE NOTE WHETHER OR NOT I HAVE DRAWN ANY ASTERISKS NEXT ON YOUR DOCUMENT. IF YOU DID NOT EARN A SCORE INDICATIVE OF MASTERY, CONSIDER TAKING THE INITIATIVE TO DISCUSS YOUR PERFORMANCE WITH ME SO THAT WE CAN COME UP WITH A PLAN FOR REACHING MASTERY.
- BRING YOU BOTH A SHORT STORY AND AN "INDEPENDENT PURPOSEFUL READING/SUMMARY ASSIGNMENT" HALFSHEET FOR YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT.*
--list of students needing to revise for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio shared:
- Would anyone like to schedule a meeting for a time slot during my office hours (posted on the front board)?
--agenda/HW
--ceremonial dropping of the hammer/slides prepared for next activity
Review/Instruction and Informal Assessment -- The Grammar Hammer--Missing Comma in a Compound Sentence/Unnecessary Comma Before a Coordinating Conjunction & Missing Comma in a Complex Sentence/Unnecessary Comma Before a Subordinating Conjunction
--rules/errors modeled on the front board with the following two sentences:
--rules/errors modeled on the front board with the following two sentences:
- School was fun in kindergarten.
- I still cried at least once a week.
--directions given for informal assessment
--Transition--pick up a tile, an Expo marker, and a scrap for erasing from the front bookshelf--be kind to my markers!
--indicate responses as directed by the PowerPoint slides/take any necessary notes in preparation for the assessment next class
--For HW, prepare for the Grammar Hammer assessment stemming from today's work. As with the last assessment, you must really “know your way around” these two errors and fixing them in order to be successful on said assessment. Also, as you work on improving your most recent essay for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio, RE-READ based on your understanding of today's lesson and see if you can make any improvements in the Control of Conventions category!
Transition -- return materials to the front of the classroom
Old Business #1 -- Think-Aloud--The Four Cs of Quality Academic Writing
--"top dog" paragraph annotations and scoring shared on the SMART Board--this is intended to clarify expectations as you prepare for writing your next unifying theme statement paragraph as part of the unit exam
Old Business #2
--note-taking (Naturalism as a Literary Movement)--date the page in your notebook (11/10/2015)
Transition
--pick up an index card for today's closure piece and write your name at the top of the index card
--spend a few minutes "gearing up" for discussion by planning some potential contributions (after directions below are shared)
--form an alphabetical-by-title-of-your-favorite-movie circle out of the desks
Story #3 -- “The Open Boat”
--oral reading/think-aloud of section I of the story
--engage in discussion via a modified version of the protocol (one contribution minimum/three contributions maximum today--third contributions cannot be shared until all have contributed once :))--contributions assessed via the "Discussion Contribution Rating Scale"):
--spend a few minutes "gearing up" for discussion by planning some potential contributions (after directions below are shared)
--form an alphabetical-by-title-of-your-favorite-movie circle out of the desks
Story #3 -- “The Open Boat”
--oral reading/think-aloud of section I of the story
--engage in discussion via a modified version of the protocol (one contribution minimum/three contributions maximum today--third contributions cannot be shared until all have contributed once :))--contributions assessed via the "Discussion Contribution Rating Scale"):
- notes written on the "Short Story Analysis Sheet"/the text itself (especially thoughts/questions formulated during purposeful reading of the story)
- miscellaneous (Essential Questions/Standards/"Short Story Writing Assignment" Revisions):
- What is a short story?
- Crane's command over the short story as a genre
- How does purposefully reading a short story enhance our understanding of the human experience?
- What are some themes that emerge in "The Open Boat"?
- When and how do these themes emerge?
- What literary techniques does Crane use to develop some of the emergent themes, and how does he use these techniques effectively?
- What does Crane want readers to think about these themes/what insights into the human experience is he presenting (theme statement vs. mere theme)?
- How often do we really stop to think about the ideas about the human experience conveyed to us in literature, from story-to-story, etc.?
HW (Class Preparation)
--Prepare for the Grammar Hammer assessment stemming from today's work, which will take place at the beginning of class next time (Friday, 11/13). As with the last assessment, you must really “know your way around” these two errors and fixing them in order to be successful on said assessment. Here are the directions for each of the sections of the assessment:
- Read the paragraph below about the performance of the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team in order to get the gist. Then, RE-READ the paragraph. Fix any errors related to comma usage with coordinating conjunctions. If a necessary comma is missing, add a LARGE comma in the appropriate area. If a comma is unnecessary, put a LARGE X over the comma.
- Carefully read each of the sentences below. If a sentence contains an error, fix the error so that the sentence is correct. If a sentence is correct as written, write the letter C in the margin next to the sentence.
- Create your own complex sentence below using the correct punctuation for the provided subordinating conjunction (WUBAIS word)—YOU MUST PUT THE WUBAIS WORD IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR SENTENCE!
- Create your own complex sentence below using the correct punctuation for the provided subordinating conjunction (WUBAIS word)—YOU MUST PUT THE WUBAIS WORD AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR SENTENCE!
--Read your free reading book for at least 15 minutes between now and next class. ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS. You have up until the first week of December to finish your book.
--The due date for submitting a revised Thematic Writing Assignment--Partner Interviews essay for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio is Friday, 11/13 (three days from today)--YOU MUST schedule a meeting with me to go over your revisions; simply handing in the revisions is unacceptable as per the protocol. When time permits, meetings can/will occur during class time.
- As you work on improving your essay, RE-READ based on your understanding of today's grammar hammer lesson and see if you can make any improvements in the Control of Conventions category!
