We first reviewed James' topic : the need for the government to impose stricter regulations on the food industry. I then demonstated how to use the internet for research,and more importantly how to cull and write notes based on the research. After we looked at some statistics and material on the rise of obesity, we began our first paragraph. I provided suggestions as to a first sentence: a startling statistic, an interesting instructive ancedote, or a rhetorical question. James began his essay with a statistic and began to construct from this juncture sentences that will logically lead to his thesis statement which we are placing as the final sentence of the first paragraph. James will work on a few paragraphs on his own which we will look at next class.
PJ worked on learning how to compose an answer to an essay question. He put together an
introductory paragraph, three paragraphs about the themes of the book, and a closing paragraph.
James first completed our final assessment exercise on sentence clarity and paragraph organization. He did very well. As such, I then distributed material on essay drafting and organization. We initially discussed areas or subjects that James might be interested in exploring and using as an essay subject. He decided to argue in his essay that US goverment should more aggressively regulate the food industry in order to produce healthier choices. We then worked on a thesis statement followed by an outline of pros and cons to address in the essay. We will study organization of the essay and begin drafting next week.
Creative Writing Comparing and Contrasting "The Tell-Tale Heart" to "To Kill a Mockingbird"
Lesson Outline
PJ worked on a Chapter by Chapter review of "To Kill a Mockingbird," and then compared it to the short story, "The Tell-Tale Heart" which was also written from the 1st person point of view. We discussed the reliability of the two people telling the stories. Both stories show how the writers used language to create suspense and hold the reader's interest.
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
I subbed for PJ in his creative writing class. I put it under writing enrichment because I couldn't find it listed. There was only creative writing honors listed.
We completed writing exercises today on run-on/fragments, misplaced and dangling modifiers, and varying sentence structure. I demonstrated how to combine and vary sentences using conjunctions and subordinate clauses and James rewrote sentences demonstrating mastery of these skills. We then explored and completed exercises on how to identify and correct run-ons and fragments. Last, James completed an exercise on sentence structure identifying the best structured sentence . He did well applying all of the instruction to the exercises.
We first reviewed some basic punctuation skills followed by completing exercises on rewriting sentences and varying sentence structure. We worked on using strong active verbs, rather than passive verbs, and combining sentences using conjunctions and subordinate clauses. James is a very cooperative student and did well absorbing instruction and recognizing how the rewritten sentences provided clarity and interest to the writing.
Review how to revise and edit using short passages with errors to correct. Discuss how these errors and sentences that need work will improve the writing when corrected.
