Friday, April 15, 2016

EVOLVE

Have suggestions for the EVOLVE staff.  This is the place to put them. :)

Monday, February 15, 2016

Annotate An Explanatory Essay

Read the essay:
       Did you know you can save water in your homes by doing a few simple tasks each day?  I have recently read two texts: Watch Your Water and Valuable Water.  These two texts address the problem of wasting water.  There are many ways to save water.  In this thesis, some ways to conserve water both inside and outside of their homes will be addressed.
     First, there are many things you can do inside your house to save water.  You can change your toilet, facet, and shower head to low flow models.  Also, taking showers instead of baths and turning the faucet off when you brush your teeth can help.  The text says, "these two small acts can save gallons of water each day."  
     There are many things you can do outside your house to save water.  Instead of washing your car at home, go to an automatic car wash.  Reuse water outside as much as possible.  One example of this is catching rainwater and using it to water your plants later.  If you must water your lawn, do so in the early morning or evening.  The text says, "watering your lawn in the afternoon will result in a lot of water being quickly evaporated by the hot sun."
   In conclusion, there are many ways people can conserve water, both inside and outside of their homes.  Be aware of your use of water when brushing your teeth, taking a shower, water you lawn, or washing your car.  Imagine, if every person made an effort to conserve water.  Millions of gallons of water would be saved.  It is important to save water both inside and outside of the home.

Discussion Question: 
Make a list of at least 4 things this person did well (be specific)?  What is 1 thing they could have done better (be specific)?

Friday, January 8, 2016

Practicing the Introduction of an Opinion Essay

Below is an example of part of a possible writing task you could see on the TN Ready Part 1 Assessment.  We have practiced the parts of an opinion essay.  We have become excellent at the first part, the introduction, of an opinion essay.  I want you to prove you are excellent at writing an introduction!  Read the prompt below and write an introduction that shows me what you can do.

You are a writing for a popular WWI website.  You have been assigned to give your opinion on whether or not the U.S. should have entered WWI.  You have read two texts to help you prepare for this task:

  1. The Sinking of the Lusitania and Submarine Warfare
  2. Transcripts of the Zimmerman Telegram
Remember all the skills we have worked on in class this week.  Be sure to focus on using great grammar skills when you write.  I can't wait to read them.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Introduction in Opinion Writing

We have worked hard on learning the parts of an introduction in an opinion essay.  Below, is an opinion writing task.  Please, write an introduction for the task.  Remember to include all four parts of an introduction.


You have recently read two texts: 

  1. Readworks: The League of Nations 
  2. excerpts from Growth of a Nation.  


You’ve been asked to write an opinion piece for a blog about WWI giving your opinion about why the U.S. didn’t support Woodrow Wilson’s League of Nations.  In your opinion piece, state your opinion, provide logically ordered reason, and support your reasons with details and facts from the source texts.