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Welcome to Words Alive!

Do you like Egyptian mummies? Roman gladiators? Medieval knights? Do you want to learn how to make the words you write come alive?

Then you are in the right place! There are several goals for this class:

  1. Learn how to write by rewriting the ideas of others.
  2. Learn how to put your own ideas into words with style and flare.
  3. Learn punctuation and grammar rules.
  4. Learn interesting and exciting facts about ancient and medieval history.
  5. Learn how to read and discuss books.

Expectations

As with most things in life, what you get out of this class will be directional proportional to what you put in.

This is an apprentice level class. That means you are learning how to show up prepared and engaged each week.

Prepared means that you will have completed your assignments – in your workbook, in your journal, written papers, or pages to read. You will come with your assignments ready to hand in. And you will be ready to engage in the class discussion.

Your thoughts and questions are important – and we look forward to hearing your unique perspective. In order to successfully include everyone, please remember the following class rules:

  1. Show RESPECT to each other.
    Ÿ give time for thinking and speaking
    Ÿ make space for different opinions – disagree without being disagreeable
  2. Manage your communication devices.
    Ÿ put your phone away
    Ÿ talk when it’s your turn
  3. Give 100%.
    Ÿ be prepared
    Ÿ participate

Class Structure

You will do several different types of activities in this class.

  1. Listen to lectures and learn how to write well.
  2. Play games and participate in activities to learn more about writing and history.
  3. Fill out your timeline and do work on maps to learn more about history.
  4. Work in small groups – creating and sharing stories and other writing.
  5. Discuss the books that you are assigned to read.

Homework

Each week you will have homework. Your assignments will include Fix-it’s, vocabulary words, workbook assignments, writing assignments, books to read, and other activities. You will have an Assignments Coversheet that will list what you need to do and how many points each assignment is worth. You will turn this in stapled on top of your assignments.

Each assignment is worth a certain number of points. In order to receive those points, you must complete the assignments and add up your total. You even get some points for filling out your Assignments Coversheet before class on the day the assignments are due!

 

Class Website

All the homework assignments will be posted on the class website the morning following class. If there are additional resources you need to finish the assignment, including handouts or videos, you will also find them there.

Checking the website one last time before you come to class is a great way to make sure you’ve done all of your homework.

Incentives

When you’re learning how to consistently complete homework, it helps to have a “bonus” built in. In this class, there are two rewards that you can earn.

  1. A leather-bound journal

You can earn your own journal by getting a total of 650 points on your assignments during fall semester. This means you will have successfully turned in 90% of your assignments. (Winter semester will have a different incentive.)

  1. A class party

Together, with your classmates, you will work toward a class party on the last day of fall semester. As a class you must get 13,650 points to earn the party.

Paper Format

Part of this class is writing papers and stories. To make it easier to read and understand, you must type your papers, following the format in your binder. You cannot turn in your paper unless it is typed.