One of the best ways to become a better writer is simply to write…and that’s exactly what we did today in English class.
G2 chose an essay topic they felt most comfortable tackling as they responded to an in-class timed essay exam on Criterion over Dracula.
In G4, we discussed the questions over the final chapters of Stargirland wrote a timed in-class essay over how we met our best friends (this is a narrative essay, which is different than the persuasive essays we’ve been writing thus far). In narrative writing - such as today’s essay on meeting your best friend - the goal is tell a captivating story, with more attention to establishing setting and character rather than persuasive arguments and supportable ideas.
Many students dropped the ball in Speech class today by not having a persuasive speech ready to deliver. We have worked well over a week on crafting these speeches and 1/3 of the class failed this assignment by not having one ready to deliver. For some it may be a symptom of Senioritis, for others it is forgetfulness. In any event, it’s detrimental to your progress in the class so you’ll need to ensure your final speech (a demonstrative speech on a topic of your choice) is stellar to compensate for this hole in the grade book.
Today after school the faculties of BHSN and BHSS will convent at BHSS’ auditorium for a presentation on the New Tech High School program. At 7:00 p.m. this evening there will be a community forum about New Tech High, but I will be at the North Choir Winter Concert! The BHSN Choir concerts are always fun to attend and the Winter Concert is one of the year’s highlights: you can hum along with some familiar carols, hear some enchanting classical songs fit for the winter season, and see some fun choreography with a holiday twist. Mrs. W and all 0f the vocal music students at BHSN do a fantastic job year-round. Come on out tonight and support our choirs!
2 responses so far ↓
1
Karen
// Dec 13, 2006 at 8:57 am
What is Criterion and how do you like it?
2
mrhelmsing
// Dec 13, 2006 at 9:17 am
Hi Karen,
Criterion is an online tool that helps students refine their writing skills by evaluating texts they compose based on a variety of prompts developed by Criterion or writing prompts written by the classroom teacher. It provides analytical feedback for students to consider as they revise their writing extensively during the writing process. My regular students (called Core 40 in Indiana) seem to write better when using Criterion. For my Honors/pre-AP classes, it is not as useful since most of their writing assignments invole responding to and analyzing literature.
Your IP address comes up as ETS in Princeton, NJ so you might already be familiar with the Criterion product which is owned and operated by ETS.
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