Board Notes 2/126/19

Advanced Reading Comprehension Skills

Synthesis – Combining information from multiple sources in order to make connections. 

Inference – Reading between the lines to understand what is implied but not said directly.  Avoid only reading on the surface, but really THINK about what is going on in the text.

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Copy into Grammar Cheat Sheet:

Adjective Phrases are group of words (that do not contain a subject and predicate) that give the reader information about the noun that they are modifying.  They often begin with an adjective.

Adjective Clauses are clauses (that do contain a subject and a predicate) that describe a noun and generally start off with words like:  who, whom, whose, when, where, which, that, and why.

This Week's Agenda 2/25 - 3/1

Sentence Composing Slides #091 - #099 (Dialogue)

Reflections on Micro CERS Final

CLAIMS

Student Claims that scored a "1" (approaching expectations) often made these mistakes:

KEY WORDS:  Ambiguous, Unclear, Made Up

- Failed to take a position.  Pick one side.
- Made factual errors, referring to events that never happened in the source text
- Their position was unclear or confusing.  Be directly and clear.


Student Claims that scored a "3" (exceeding expectations) sometimes made these great choices:

KEY WORDS:  Focused, Provides Context

+ Set up their Evidence by describing the scene that occurs leading up tot he quote.
+ Contrasts with mentioning a Counter Claim before making their Claim strongly.
+ Didn't not simply parrot the model, but used original word choices, switched up the order, and made it all flow.
+ Set up the subject matter by talking about Ponyboy's background and relationships with others.


EVIDENCE

Student Claims that scored a "1" (approaching expectations) often made these mistakes:

KEY WORDS:  Sloppy, Careless, Obvious

- Didn't quote the source text correctly.  Make sure to copy the quote EXACTLY
- Didn't re-read their draft in order to edit for sloppy or careless typos
- Selected a quote used in the prompt.  Get your own quote.
- Selected a quote that didn't really speak to the prompt (about Ponyboy changing)
- Didn't not follow proper MLA format


Student Claims that scored a "3" (exceeding expectations) sometimes made these great choices:

KEY WORDS:  Precision, Focus, Insight, Research, Specific

+ Selected an amazing quote that was rarely used, showing great research skills.
+ Expertly used ellipses (...) in order to remove unnecessary parts of the quote that didn't speak to the prompt
+ Included important information in the quote that set up the main idea and ended the quote at the most important part
+ Added a segue or introduction to the quote by setting the scene where the quote takes place.
+ Selected a quote that goes deep, not only focusing on the "WHAT?" but the "WHY?" of the prompt.


REASONING

Student Claims that scored a "1" (approaching expectations) often made these mistakes:

KEY WORDS:  Off Topic, Unconnected, Filling Space without Saying Anything, No Logic

- Lost focus on the Evidence. Talks around the Evidence rather than speaking directly about the Evidence.  Reasoning should unpack the Evidence by restating, explaining, elaborating, defining, and connecting the Evidence to the Claim like a bridge.
- Students wrote massive, run-on sentences without breaking up their thoughts into chunks of sentences.
- Failed to show logical relationships between the story events like cause and effect. 
- Restated the Evidence in mostly the same words.
- Argued for the wrong side.  Student switched sides accidentally and forgot what their Claim was.
- Repeated the same idea in multiple ways without saying something new.  This may fill space, but anyone reading it and paying attention will recognize the fraudulent thinking.


Student Claims that scored a "3" (exceeding expectations) sometimes made these great choices:

KEY WORDS:  Unpack, Lawyerly, Cause and Effect, Define, Uses Logic, Clarification

+ Stays focused on the Evidence and connecting the Evidence back to the Claim.
+ Ideas easily flowed from one to the other without taking excessive space to get to the point.
+ Recognizes a deeper insight into the prompt, going from if Ponyboy changed or not to why he changed.
+ Examines the quotation / Evidence really deeply, exploring what is being said and why it is relevant.
+ Clarifies the distinction between complex ideas


Synthesis

Student Claims that scored a "1" (approaching expectations) often made these mistakes:

KEY WORDS:  Unclear, Recycled Word Choices, Dull

- Restates the Claim in mostly the same word choices
- Fails to repeat which side of the argument the writer is on
- Creates confusion with awkward wording
- Sentence is very basic, flat, and unimaginative

Student Claims that scored a "3" (exceeding expectations) sometimes made these great choices:

KEY WORDS: 

+ Fresh and interesting word choices and turns of phrase
+ Finishes on a stark, direct emotional level that packs a punch
+ Pulls references from the source text to underline the student writer's respect for the material
+ Goes beyond the "what" and delves into the "why" of the prompt about change

This Week's Agenda

EDIT:  Creative Paragraph Due Tuesday, 2/12 by 3:15 pm. 
Micro CERS Reflection Due Wednesday 2/13 in class.

Great Class for Seaholm Freshman Writers

Hey 8th Graders,

As we are doing scheduling next week, I wanted to share an opportunity with my most excellent writers.

There is a new class being offered to incoming Freshman at Seaholm High School next year, a class that was previously only available to 10th graders and higher.

JOURNALISM (previously called Writing for Publication) has been overhauled to include areas ranging from print to podcasting.  It's a good lead in for students who might be interested later on in working on either the Yearbook or the Newspaper.  Students who become editors for one of the publications can hear honors credit as well.

If you're interested in developing yourself as a writer, this is an excellent class choice!

Mini Lesson: Using Quotes in Dialogue

INSTRUCTIONAL LINKS:

https://youtu.be/uYoX_Qyknao

https://youtu.be/V7LNkNcDMEY

https://youtu.be/dWSfn9oPnJg

Creative Paragraph #05 - Dashes, Hyphens, and Ellipses

Due submitted to Turnitin.com before the end of the school day on Tuesday, 2/12/19 at 3:14 pm.

Choose your favorite sentence from #81 - #90 (Dashes, Hyphens and Ellipses)

Copy and Paste that sentence into a new document.  It will be the first sentence.

Jump into a creative narrative using that sentence as a launching point.  Use your imagination and have fun.

Continue the story until you have at least 400 words. 

Make sure to include at least one compound word that uses a hyphen, at least one section that uses a  dash or dashes, and at least one use of an ellipses.  Underline all of these so they are easy to identify. You may use whatever elements are in your first sentence.

*NEW BEFORE YOU SUBMIT

Have a friend or partner read your paragraph.  They will type their name on the bottom of the document along with a single sentence commenting on either your plot, characters, setting, or word choices. 

This Week's Agenda