ACT: Writing: January 2020

Thursday, January 30, 2020

Announcements

Quiz Bowl Jamboree will be taking place at LEC this weekend. If students want to help Friday afternoon with set up, see Ms. Penwell. This may be an opportunity to earn community service time.
Any students that are interested are welcome at Chess Club next Wednesday (2/5/2020) after school until 3:45 in Room 16.
Seniors! Do not forget! There is still time to buy Senior Advertisements for the yearbook. Photos and payments are due by Friday, January 31. See Ms. Regan for more information.

Math Day Two

January 30, 2020

Warm-up: Have students go over the ACT_Math_Formulas pages for about 5-7 min as warm -up

Have students take Math Practice Test 2 (it’s only 15 questions) at the following website:

https://www.crackact.com/act/math/test102.html

When students submit their answers they will be taken to a page that tells them the correct answer, their answer, and the result. There is also a link for them to click on that has the explanation.

For each question students get wrong have them write the correct answer on a separate paper in clear steps. They may help each other.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Math Day One

ACT MATH REVIEW DAY 1 LESSON PLAN
Warm-up:
Have students go over the ACT_Math_Formulas pages for about 5-7 min as warm -up

Activity

Have students take Math Practice Test 1 (it’s only 15 questions).

When students submit their answers they will be taken to a page that tells them:
the correct answer,
their answer,
and the result.
There is also a link for them to click on that has the explanation.

For each question students get wrong have them write the correct answer on a separate paper in

clear steps.

Submit test corrections and how many you answered correct each day.

Friday, January 24, 2020

Reading day 4: Revisions

January 27 and 28, 2020

Starter:

Resource of the Day: ACT QOD

Activity

Review yesterday’s passages (graded):

You have the opportunity to submit revisions following this format (these are due Wednesday).
You may earn back partial credit (50%) for revisions that follow this format. If you are completing a revision for a question that you missed because you didn’t originally choose an answer, pick an incorrect choice to analyze in order to follow the format.
Revisions can be completed on paper (turn in to your advisory teacher by the deadline) or through a Google Doc (send to kregan.lec@lee.k12.nc.us).

Closure

Complete reflection.

Answer the questions honestly.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Reading Day Three

January 23, 2020

Starter:

Resource of the Day: ACT QOD

Activity

1. Top ACT Vocabulary Terms

This list includes 150 words that frequently appear on the ACT.
The words highlighted in blue are the highest-frequency words (mostly appear as
verbs in questions -- i.e., analyze). While this list mostly reflects the Reading test,
there is also a section towards the bottom of the document that is catered towards
vocabulary on the Science test.

2. Practice passages (17 minutes)

Your teacher will provide 17 minutes for you to test out the game plan you submitted
at the end of yesterday’s class. You will read 2 passages and answer 20 questions.
You may divide your time however you’d like, but remember not to leave any questions
blank.
Good luck!

These practice questions will go for a grade.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Reading Day Two

January 22, 2020

Starter:

Resource of the Day: ACT QOD

Activity

1. Practice Activities

Proceed through the following listed activities. After each activity, you’ll click “NEXT EXERCISE” in the bottom left hand corner. For these activities to be helpful, it is important that you read the instructions in bold at the top of each. The exercises are also timed (these are in parentheses below) -- if you want to start the time over on any of these, click the refresh button.

Skimming (2:30)
Scanning (2:30)
Timed reading (5:30)
Vocabulary (2:30)

**Stop here for now. If you have time later, the activities from this point on are helpful in reviewing for the English test.

2. Reading Plan

Develop your strategy game plan for the Reading test. Considering that you have only an average of 8 ½ minutes per passage, what strategies would you like to use on tomorrow’s practice passages?

You will read 2 passages in 17:00 minutes.

Submit your plan here.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Reading Week

January 21, 2020

Starter:

Resource of the Day: ACT QOD

Activity

1. Review format of Reading Test:

4 passages, 750 words each
40 questions
35 minutes
8 to 8 ½ minutes per passage

2. Reading speed and considerations for your strategies:

Practice 1: Prose

Take 2 ½ to 3 minutes to read the above passage.
Based off of how far you are able to get, you will assess their typical reading speed.
This document helps to identify one’s natural reading pace and discusses implications
for pacing.

How many passages do I plan to read?

Still using the same document, weigh the pros and cons of planning to read 3 vs. 4
of the 4 passages. Remember that on any section, you should always keep track of
time and guess on any questions that you did not have time to get to, as time nears
a close.

Practice 2: Social Science

Take 3:00 to read; 5:30 to answer the questions.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

1/16 Announcements

Announcements for January 16, 2020

There will be a McTeacher Night tonight (Thursday) at the McDonald’s on Spring Lane. Come get dinner between 5 and 8 and support LEC!
Rotary Club will meet today (Thursday) after school in room 20. This is a new year and they are looking for lots of new members! We will meet until about 3:30.
The Gardening Club would like to welcome everyone to their interest meeting this Friday afternoon in Ms. Bradian's room. We will meet from 2:45 to 3:30 to discuss upcoming gardening projects and to get excited about our club's goals for this Spring!
Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and Super Seniors - We are looking for volunteers to help with Interview Night on Tuesday, February 11 from 4 - 8. Interested students should speak with their advisor about how to participate in this volunteer opportunity.
Students in 10 - 12 grade can apply to participate in the Duke Summer Session. This is an opportunity to spend time on Duke’s campus this summer, take classes, and earn college credit. Visit https://summersession.duke.edu/high-school-students for more information.
Seniors! Do not forget! There is still time to buy Senior Advertisements for the yearbook. Photos and payments are due by Friday, January 31. See Ms. Regan for more information.
There will be no classes for both high school and college next Monday, January 20.

Peer Edits

January 16, 2020

Starter:

Create a diagnostic writing concern (DWC) for one item you would like feedback on.

Activity:

Peer Edit

Use the form to complete a peer edit for one other person.

Peer Edit Form

The peer edit is worth 22 points.

Each row is worth two points.

If they only answer part of the question, the student earns half the credit.

No row should be answered in one word.

Closure

Write a five sentence reflection on the quality of your writing.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Counterclaims and Conclusions

January 15, 2020

Day Three : Counterclaims and Conclusions

Starter: (5 minutes)

“In conclusion, I think machines should not be used to take over a human job because
machines can not think only humans can think and make right or wrong decisions.
Machines do not have brains, their not wired to think so why have them do stuff that we
can do ourselves” (act.org).

Give a plus and delta for this concluding paragraph.

Activity:

Notes (10 minutes)

Use the link to take notes on how to write counterclaims and conclusions.

Counterclaims:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmqETlEJLyk

(You may choose to show the video to the whole class or have them watch it at their seats.
There isn’t any talking so it shouldn’t require any volume.)

Conclusions:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/argument_papers/conclusions.html

Practice (20 minutes)

Use the class time to create continue working on the essay you drafted yesterday.

Tomorrow, we will be peer editing based on your sample essays.

You must have a full draft in order to peer edit.

I will be checking during the starter whether or not this is complete.

The peer edit will be collected and is worth 22 points.

If you are not prepared, you will not be able to work on this assignment during class.

You will need to complete your draft in class, and you will need to finish the peer edit for homework.

Closure: (5 minutes)

How did you manage your time between the last two days when writing your essay?

Were you able to create a complete draft? Why or why not?

Introductions and Body Paragraphs

January 14, 2020

Day Two: Introductions and Body Paragraphs

Starter:(5 minutes)

Create a thesis statement based on the following information:

Topic 1: Education is important to have.

Supports:

1. It could enable one to get a better paying job.

2. It makes a person a more interesting individual.

3. It makes a person a more informed citizen.

Thesis Statement ________________

Activity:

Notes (10 minutes)

Read through the links and take notes on introductions and thesis statements.

Introduction:

https://www.sophia.org/tutorials/paper-writing-introductionbodyconclusion

Thesis:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/thesis_statement_tips.html

Practice (20 minutes)

Individually, select one of the sample ACT essay prompts to respond to in an essay.
You may not choose a prompt that we have already done (Kids Stuff and Intelligent Machines).
For today, you are only required to create an introduction and body paragraph(s).

On Friday, you will receive feedback and reflect on your writing.

Link to Prompts: https://blog.prepscholar.com/act-writing-prompts-the-complete-guide

Closure (5 minutes)

How does your body paragraph connect to your thesis?