Week at a glance Jan 3 - 7, 2011

Curriculum focus: differentiates between connotation and denotation, determines meaning of words based on context clues (11.1.3.K1), generates ideas from personal experience (11.7.1.1), selects a topic and relevant details for form, purpose, and audience (11.7.1.2), composes narrative writing (11.7.2.1a), writes using descriptive text structure (11.7.2.4a), develops clear and purposeful ideas with sufficient evidence and/or relevant details (11.7.1.1c), organizes ideas in a logical structure (11.7.3.2), writes with energy and enthusiasm using appropriate tone and word choice (11.7.3.4), creates text that flows easily with a variety of sentence structures (11.7.3.5), uses standard writing conventions effectively to enhance readability (11.7.3.6), and produces final written products that are of a quality to present to others (11.7.3.7).

Welcome back! This week we'll hit the ground running with our first essay of the semester: a definition essay. A definition essay in an essay in which we thoroughly explain a word or phrase, including connotations, denotations, and personal connections. This may sound vague and abstract now, but it will make much more sense as we work step-by-step together in class. Look for a copy of the assignment and rubric to be posted on this site by Wednesday.

• Mon: No school - staff workday
  
• Tues: Course overview and review. Definition Essay - assignment overview and expectations. Graphic organizer due Wednesday.
  
• Wed: Definition Essay - check graphic organizer. Creating and informal outline and first paragraph. Informal outline checked by the end of the hour.
  
• Thurs: Definition Essay - creating a rough draft. Use time in class wisely to generate a handwritten rough draft of the essay.
  
• Fri: Definition Essay - peer review and student/teacher conferences. Rough draft due by the end of the hour.