Today’s class is a bit of an oddball: we’re finishing up with Definition Paragraphs (Unit 6), and then jumping forward into Process Paragraphs (Unit 7).
We’ll start by talking about Definition Paragraphs a bit more, and move on to Process Paragraphs later in Lesson 1.
Lesson 1
For Lesson 1, we did the following:
We discussed how to build a mind map for a Definition Paragraph, and how to think about the order of the points.
We brainstormed ideas for today’s Paragraph Blog and for the Process Explanation Video you’re making for next week’s class.
I also discussed five unique elements in Canadian culture. Ahem.
- The Moose Blood Festival. This is an annual festival people gather in the countryside and drink moose blood every April 1, to celebrate the arrival of spring.
- Burnday, an annual national holiday on 24 August when Canadians celebrate the British troops who burned the White House down in Washington.
- The Beaver Law, the little-known law that requires all Canadians to provide food and safety for any beaver who needs it. If you do not help a beaver who needs it, you may go to jail for up to 10 years.
- Royalmania, a rare mental illness (although it is becoming more common) where the main symptom is becoming obsessed with the British royal family. (The Queen of England is, technically, also the Queen of Canada.)
- The snowshoe closet, a special closet Canadian houses all have where you can put your snowshoes (see link), and why Canadian houses still have them even though most Canadians don’t use snowshoes regularly anymore.
These examples will be useful for you in your Paragraph Blog post for this week.
Finally, we discussed the Homework Assignment for this week, your Process Explanation Video. (See the bottom of this page.)
Practice Paragraph for Week 11
As I explained in the third Non-Textbook Related Video for today’s class, this week’s Practice Paragraph should be a Definition Paragraph explaining a fake thing from your culture. It can be a food, a holiday, a tradition, a type of clothing or structure, or anything you want. The examples I shared were fake Canadian cultural features, but I made them all up! However, it would be fun to write a Definition Paragraph defining them to shock and amaze non-Canadians who might not realize they’re fake!
Have fun making up something in your own culture that someone from another culture might not realize is fake. Your goal here is to write a definition that does all three of the following things:
- It contains enough details to make it believable.
- It is ridiculous and could not be real.
- It is funny.
This is a challenge, but hopefully a fun one. It’s also a great way to practice the Q&A Method I explained in the first Non-Textbook Related Video for this today, since imagining what questions someone would ask will help you to invent facts avbiout this imaginary thing.
Do your best, and don’t stress out about it being perfect or believable: trying and having fun with the exercise is the important part.
Textbook Related Videos
In Great Writing 2, please do the following:
- Read What is a Process Paragraph? (pg. 122)
- Complete Activities 1–2 (pg. 123–125)
In Great Writing 2, please do the following:
- Read Sequencing and Chronological Order (pg. 125)
- Complete Activities 3–6 (pg. 126–128)
In Great Writing 2, please do the following:
- Read Grammar: The Imperative (pg. 129)
- Complete Activity 7 (pg. 129)
Optional Textbook Work
If you want more practice, you can also to the following work in Great Writing 2:
- Complete Activities 12–15 (pg. 132–134)
- Choose a topic from the Additional Topics for Writing on page 135 and write a paragraph about it.
(Mandatory) Homework Assignment 1
In preparation for next week’s Day 1 class, please prepare a Process Explanation Video of approximately 5 minutes. This is simply a video in which you “walk through” the process that you’re planning to write about. No fancy editing is required, and if it’s a bit longer, that’s okay. The important thing is that you need to do the two following things:
- demonstrate the process (do it in real life, and film the process)
- explain the process (talk about how to do it, what to be careful about, and so on)
I don’t care at all about video quality, so don’t waste time editing it or making it beautiful (unless you want to, for example if you want to practice making nice videos, feeel free, but you don’t have to.) You also don’t need to show your face onscreen unless it’s necessary for the process. You do need to show the process being done, and you need to narrate the process, explaining your actions at each step, along with the why and how of each action when it seems necessary, as well as any special warnings or advice, or tips or tricks that you have that help improve your results. Imagine you’re explaining the process to a friend in English.
This is really just a kind of preparatory step, and a sort of alternate method of brainstorming that will focusing your attention on specific steps you might forget, advice or things to be careful about, and so on. Making this video is supposed to help you prepare to write a process paragraph, but it especially is supposed to help you think about what (besides basic steps) you need to explain when you are teaching someone a process.
Bring a copy of the video to class on Week 12, so you can share it with a group. Part of our classtime will be spent watching the videos and giving feedback about the process explanations in them.
NOTE: Previously, there was a link for uploading videos, but I’m no longer requiring that. Just bring your video for next week’s first class and that’s good enough.
As a (terrible) example, please watch some of the video below. It’s too long, and badly made, but it should at least get you to understand how relaxed I want you to be about this homework assignment. You’re not making a video to publish online, just preparing to write a Process Paragraph.