Election Debate

We won't be meeting for much of our class tomorrow, but I will be collecting your notebooks for our first notebook check. Here's what I'm looking for:

Section 1: Notes
Section 2: Notes and Questions
Section 3: Notes and Questions
Section 4: Questions

Industrial Revolution

I'm announcing it here first: Friday we'll have a quiz on the Industrial Revolution.

I'll also be doing a notebook check at the same time. Please make sure you have the following recorded:

Section Notes 1-4
Questions for Sections 2-4
"Hard Times" response

Get it ready now ... don't wait!!

Hardships of the Industrial Revolution

Please read over Section 3. Take notes and answer questions 1-6 at the end.

Also finish the questions from Section 2 started in class today.

Britain Takes the Lead

Remember: The revision of your Electricity essay is due tomorrow.

In class, we discussed why Britain was primed to lead the rest of the world into the industrial revolution. They had the resources, the technology, the protection of a strong army, and, most important, the capital.

Finish reading the section we started in class, and please create your own notes.

Revise and Edit

You were given back the first draft of your Electricity essay today in class.

Please go through and incorporate the edits into the second draft. Please revise your work as you write this next version.

Due on Friday.

Essay: Modern Marvel

Over the long weekend, please take the topic you chose and turn it into your first expository essay. You should download this graphic organizer to help you structure your writing.

Notice that there is a place for you to jot down the source you used for this essay. Your essay should have at least one source listed in the bibliography. Use correct format. If you need help. try EasyBib.

Remember: your essay is due on the Wednesday we are back.

Modern Marvels

How has population changed through history?

We looked today at a great video that showed us how population has grown incredibly over the last 200 years compared to the thousands of years prior.

No doubt, technology -- whether it be the tools of farming or building skyscrapers -- have impacted people and the way we live.

Tonight, I'd like everyone to choose one modern technology or innovation and research when it was invented.

Looking for a good research site? I like Answers.com.

First Essay

Tonight you should finish your first full length essay that was started in class.

Keep in mind all the lessons we learned over the last coupld of weeks:

• Use your Golden Bricks
• Show, don't tell when you are writing
• Break up the grocery lists
• Use an attention-grabbing lead
• Have a clear topic sentence.
• Supporting paragraphs need clear and distinct ideas.

I'm looking forward to reading them this week.

Are You Fit?

We'll find out tomorrow how well we did in our writing boot camp by putting together the last two weeks and writing a full-length essay.

Golden Bricks

The Golden Bricks of writing give your essay strength.

They are:

Quote
Statistic
Amazing Fact
Anecdote
Descriptive Segment

We'll talk next week about how to write leads and conclusions, and wrap up our Writing Boot Camp.

Break Up That Grocery List!!

Today we looked at why using long lists in our writing doesn't get us very far ... down the page, or in helping to paint a vivid picture.

Each detail of your paragraph deserves its own sentence. Give it!

Tonight, please rewrite the paragraph handed out in class using the detail-seeking questions as a guide to help you develop it into a rich, full piece.

Revising and Writing Main Idea Sentences

I like sailing.
I like cooking.
I like hiking.

Aren't you glad we know how to write sentences that aren't that dull? Tonight you will continue the work we started in class by writing exciting and interesting main idea sentences.

Sentence Types

We spent most of today's class talking about the different sentence types.

Simple
Compound
Complex

There are some great practice activities on the class website.

Make sure you also complete the Open Response question tonight.

Pick, List and Choose

When writing an essay, you should follow these steps to help identify broad but distinct main ideas for your supporting paragraphs.

1. Pick a topic.

2. List out all the ideas connected with that topic that you can think of.

3. Choose broad but distinct ideas from the list that you generated.

For homework tonight, you will be making a list and choosing ideas for supporting paragraphs for two topics: smoking and going to the mall.