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English I students are currently fine tuning their writing skills by writing a descriptive essay of a meaningful place. They are learning the stages of writing including Prewriting, Writing the first draft, Evaluating, Revising, Proofreading, and Publishing. Through this writing unit, students have also learned characteristics of strong writing which we call the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing: Ideas, Organization, Voice, Sentence Fluency, Word Choice, Conventions, and Publishing. The peer editing process has also proved very beneficial to students improving first and second drafts. While writing, we are still covering grammar chapters which address such common writing errors as fragments, run-ons, and commas. We are confident our final drafts will be worth all the time and effort we've put into them!
The second semester will primarily be devoted to literature and two classics: To Kill a Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet. Students will gain a true understanding of why these stories have stood the test of time with their rich themes, motifs and symbols. Not only will students learn about important literary devices and techniques, they will also learn about the history in which the two stories took place. Daily discussions bring these classics to life as we relate issues in the stories to our own lives.