Nature Writing 101: Day 2

We began the day by outlining the first body paragraph of the nature writing essay (this was collected). This essay will be written next week, but we'll be working on a piece of it each day. Two handouts were given as a part of this assignment as well.

The rest of the day was spent reflecting on last night's HW and preparing for tonight's HW.

HW Write another one page journal. This time, instead of taking a human perspective, take the point of view of some non-human thing. Just as with yesterday's assignment, try to be very descriptive and employ those same techniques used by Emerson and Thoreau.

The Return of the Counselors

Today we began the day with a few thoughts on grades, credits, summer school, and honors programs from our esteemed counselors.

We then continued our examination of Thoreau and Emerson, followed by a short clip about the Redwoods from the Planet Earth series.

HW Write a one page journal entry about the video. Take the perspective of an observer (as Thoreau and Emerson did) and write DESCRIPTIVELY about some part of the video. What would you see if you were hanging from the rope in or between the trees? How would you describe the scene with the baby owls? If you weren't here, go outside (or look out a window), observing some aspect of nature for five to ten minutes, and do the assignment above.

Today Mrs. Nystrom led students in an examination of the difficult vocabulary in the passages from Emerson and Thoreau.

HW Revisited both passages and complete your detailed annotation.

Portfolio Reflection and Nature Writing Begins

Today I handed back research papers and talked about them a bit. Students who have not yet handed in research papers or received incompletes should hand in completed papers ASAP as they are now late.
Next, we had a look at our writing portfolios, filling in some of the portfolio coversheet, and doing a short reflection on our work so far.
Finally, we started the nature writing unit with a few notes and a homework assignment.

HW Read and annotate the Emerson & Thoreau handout, looking specifically for difficult vocabulary.

Research Papers and Presentations

Today we handed in research papers and then spent the rest of the period preparing for presentations and, ultimately, presenting.

Have a good break!

Poster Day

Today we divided up into groups and worked on posters for the research presentations tomorrow. Remember, that papers are due tomorrow!

Work Time

Today students had the whole period to work on their research papers.

Due Friday:

• The typed final draft with a works cited page in correct MLA format.
• The outline.
• All the research notes.

Essay Evaluation

Today we examined first drafts of the research paper, checking topic sentence focus, in-text citations, and the balance of evidence and commentary in the body paragraphs. The activity is available here.

HW Continue revision and begin typing final drafts. Due Friday.

Conclusions and the Works Cited Page

Today we took a few notes on how to do a works cited page. We spent the rest of the period working on the conclusion paragraph of the research paper.

HW: Reread and revise this first complete draft of the paper.

Time to Write

Today we began with a few notes on in-text citation and students spent the rest of the period writing the bodies of their research papers based on their outlines.

HW Finish a draft of your research paper without the conclusion (we'll do conclusions Monday).

Outlines and Intros

Today students turned their research notes into an outline and an introductory paragraph for their research papers.

HW Finish intro paragraph (plus outline and research if necessary)

Final Research Day

Today we spent the entire day researching. Tomorrow we begin writing. Make sure you have what you need to start.

HW Research if you need to. See requirements in yesterday's post.

Research Time

Today we went over the basics of focusing student research and students began researching. We will spend tomorrow researching as well, but students should be researching on their own time too.

• You need 1 book, 1 eLibrary source (username EUREKAREMOTE password REMOTE001), and 1 additional source MINIMUM.
• Look for answers to your research questions; don't just look around.
• Take Cornell notes. these shoulld be mostly paraphrase with a few good quotations.
• Do not print. Take notes instead.
• Gather all the works cited information you need,
• Remember that non-eLibrary web pages must pass an evaluation (using our form) before you may use them.

Research Begins

We began the day with a short reflection on last week's presentation, reviewed works cited entries, and spent the rest of the period looking at eLibrary.

HW Start your research.