We continued reviewing Drew's essay on a "special place', for him the Smokey Mountains . I provided instruction on maintaining a single subject in each paragraph by discussing where and how to transpose sentences to maintain this consistency. We then worked on drafting a conclusion that does more than reiterate the first paragraph or the prior points. Next, we moved on to Drew's literary essay. I addressed the standard elements of a first paragraph ,including introducing the characters and the setting. Drew's essay did a good job with character introductions but lacked setting context that would be relevant to the topic of bravery. We worked on adding an historical setting context to the first paragraph which we completed.
For our first session, we first discussed novels and books Grace has studied this year. We then turned our attention to Grace's fiction writing sample, a portion of a short story. I noted her impressive use of strong verbs and used her work to discuss the use of metaphor and personification ,two terms she had not yet encountered. Next, I provided punctuation instruction when using quotes, as well as run-on/fragment instruction. Grace edited her work to remove the run-ons Last, I discussed paragraph cohesion in a descriptive paragraph. After I provided a list of cohesion phrases /words , Grace revised a descriptive paragraph in her story using the organizational techniques and phrases studied.
We initially reviewed the books Nate has been reading in English and in history class as well as the types of writing he has been preparing for school. After I addressed certain general principles of writing, we examined Nate's essay on Nature. We worked on methods to eliminate the colloquial "you " construction and examined why some of his essay was "off topic" or not supportive of his main thesis. He readily recognized the issue . We will continue our review and editing next week.
For our initial session, I first introduced the difference between conversational English and formal academic English. We then began reviewing Drew's essay on Nature. I provided guidance on eliminating the "you" construction in formal writing and demonstrated how to revise this construction. Drew then did very well in revising sentences to remove this construction. We then addressed dangling modifiers, combining sentences, and run -on sentences. Again,Drew adroitly was able to recognize the issue and revise accordingly. Last, we began a discussion of forming a thesis statement in the opening paragraph.
As James' next FVS assignment requires him to write an AP style essay on the 14th Amendment's due process clause ,we today examined the prompt. As James had no prior knowledge of this amendment , to assist his writing the essay, today I provided instruction on the history of the Civil War, the Civil War amendments to the Constitution, and most notably, the meaning of the 14th Amendment's due process clause. I discussed procedural and substantive due process and elaborated on the 14th Amendment's incorporation of most of the Bill of Rights thereby making its protections applicable to the states. We will begin the essay next session.
We completed James' FLVS assignment on the application of the 4th Amendment. First, we completed the thesis statement and discussed why the thesis properly constitutes a debatable claim. James then addressed the next part of the assignment , applying his news article to the 4th Amendment by asserting a position contrary to the thesis. We discussed various contra arguments to the thesis to incorporate into the paragraph. .After James completed his work, we addressed edits and revisions. We focused on academic word choice as well as the use of "that/which/ and who.
We worked on understanding what the AP exam is asking when the essay requires a thesis statement and a line of reasoning. I placed a model thesis on the board and discussed how the thesis -a debatable claim- fits with the Fourth Amendment news article James selected. We then addressed the need for evidence to support the thesis. I worked with James in identifying three pieces of evidence to cite in his essay . I explained how the Amendment itself is a form of evidence as is the news article . We then molded the statements of evidence to correspond with and support the thesis claim. During our session, I also provided instruction on the meaning and historical context of the amendment.
We continued working on James' assignment discussing the Fourth Amendment. We first located and then in a single paragraph summarized a recent news article addressing warrantless searches and arrests of suspected illegal immigrants. Next, we studied the essay prompt and discussed how to create a thesis statement that contains a line of reasoning . After James completed his thesis statement , we studied the last portion of the assignment that requires the student to address how to balance the needs of law enforcement with the individual's right to be free from unreasonable searches and arrests.
Today we completed James' essay on the First Amendment followed by our beginning to study the next essay assignment on the Fourth Amendment. I provided instruction on word choice as well as where and when to use the connecting phrases : for example, specifically, likewise, and similarly. After we reviewed the assignment on the 4th Amendment , I began instruction on the purpose and function of the amendment highlighting the requirement of government action to invoke the amendment's protections. We discussed the balance between the need for law enforcement and individual rights of privacy.
