As I often do, I am wondering where my holiday went. One thing I did accomplish, however, was using many of the suggestions you wrote in your end of the semester letters. I'd like to share a few things I learned from your letters.
First, a number of you expressed a desire to review rules of
punctuation and grammar. You will notice there are new links on the right of our home page, and these will take us to a web site called
Grammar Bytes. There you will find interactive exercises which will review many of the writing challenges we all face. We will start with punctuating a sentence, and though that seems a simple place to begin, it is indeed an area of concern: sentence fragments and run-on or fused sentences.
The exercises games are fun, and you'll get credit for completing them by recording your scores on hand-outs to go with each. Our class will complete an exercise link each period, and then we'll quiz over the material. This means that our first day back, which is January 6th, we will begin with the five activities in exercise 1. On Thursday we'll complete exercise 2, handouts 1-3, and on the following Monday there will be a quiz. We will continue with grammar during the following weeks, but this will get us started.
Next, I'd like to address the area of
late work. In many of the end-of -the-semester letters, students voiced a concern about distractions from students who come in unprepared, or distract us with off-task behavior, or don't participate. There will be no more credit assigned for late work. Period. Unless you have an excused absence due to illness, there is no late work. If you have a school related activity and have to miss class, hand in your paper ahead of time!
I thought it went without saying, but I'll say it again:
plagiarism will result in a score of a zero, and the work cannot be made up.
On a lighter note, we will free write at the beginning of each class, which will give you a great jump start on your
writer's notebook, which should be a college rule spiral or composition notebook. Your first installment will be due on Friday, January 23rd. Who knows? If you really buckle down during class, you probably won't have as much to do outside of class toward your notebook!
Reading responses will come in the form of articles posted to our blog, which you can read and respond to. They may not necessarily be due on Fridays. We will read and post as we go. The dates for responding will be the beginning of the next class unless otherwise noted. Several of you commented about the difficulty to balance the writing projects we did along with the writer's notebook and the reading responses. This should help. I'll post an article, and you'll have some time to read during class and post your response. If and when you don't have time to finish, it becomes homework to complete before the next class.
So there it is, my response to your concerns! Let's have an awesome 2015. My word for the year is "tranquility," or at least that's my goal. I will get there by working ahead, finding some quiet time for contemplation, and sharing a peaceful classroom setting with self-directed, motivated, and engaged students dedicated to success. Happy 2015!
Oh, yes, want to start off with a few extra points? Before class on Tuesday, turn in a piece of paper with your name and "Grammar Bytes" on it for a bonus!
Each day, we will freewrite for the first 10 minutes or so using a new genre so that you may constantly be thinking of ideas for your projects. Remember that your goal is to represent your chosen topic in as many forms and perspectives as possible.
Here's a riddle: what's blonde but evenly balanced, two-footed, one-armed, and usually a part of our class? Another hint: she's disappointed that her physical therapy keeps her from returning till next Wednesday. Yay for Ms. Reaves!
1. In-text Citations: These are references to the works cited page, which will be included as the last page of your research paper. Anytime you quote, paraphrase, or use any information that you did not know prior to your research, give credit to the original source.
Don't cut this part (reading and searching) short so you can begin writing the paper. Knowing how to efficiently search is a talent that you'll use in the future. Some of you who are having trouble finding sources will benefit by playing with the words you type in the search bar, both on Google and our databases. Remember the tips our librarians gave us about making advanced searches, and also their presentation about how to "Search Like a Boss" on Google, if you use that site. Sometimes it takes a lot of patience and perseverance.
I'll give bonus points to those of you who moved heaven and earth to hand in your annotated bibliography on time, and I'll accept and grade bibliographies next week in an effort to provide enough time for reading. I'll ask the substitute to mark those that were turned in this week. You'll need to hand in bibliographies before the next due date, which is the first draft of your research paper due Thursday, February 26th.
Here is a link to an introduction to the Multi-Genre project created by a teacher at Colorado State University. The opening quote justifies its importance:
We will be starting our next writing project soon, and I hope you will find a topic to consider for our next project. You may find a passion in the United Nations Millennium Goals. Read through them and consider where your passions are. What do you see as the most urgent issues here at home? What does ethical citizenship mean? Be thinking about your passions and ready to decide what you would like research and learn more about (oops...ended in a preposition...).
Please read the article carefully, and respond by creating a response post similar to those you have posted all year. 
Today's free writing topic, if you so choose, is about artist Sue Austin. As a TED talks speaker, Sue Austin describes her journey to freedom, all while being confined to a wheelchair. It's an amazing story of creativity and finding new perspective in the world. As writers, we might think about what confines us, what our limitations are, and how we can make use of what we have.
