WRITING
This skill specially focuses on developing word choice, and tone; on sentence clarity, brevity, and grammar. It also helps you hone your thesis statements, and integration of information.
Early colonial America: Expansion and Limitations of Freedom
My 9th grade history class was US History Survey. In this class we learned about the first "discovery" of the Americas up until the Civil War Period. In this assignment my classmates and I were asked to write an essay exploring the meaning of freedom. At the time we were learning about the early colonial period (mid 1600's to 1730's approximately) when the white settlers were first coming to what would become the united states and developing their ideas of freedom including who was entitled to the privileges and rights of full citizen.
Story Modeled After "Asunder" by Robert Lopez
At the very beginning of my 9th grade my English class did a close reading of "Asunder" by Robert Lopez. We discussed his word choice, pacing, and sentence structure and then were given an assignment to imitate his unique writing voice and style in a piece of our own. This is a one page short story written in the same vague almost cryptic style modeled by Lopez.
The Constitution: A Document to Protect the Elite
In my 9th grade US history class we also had a Constitutional study block so we could get very familiar with our founding document. We were given the assignment to asses whether or not we believed the Constitution to be a democratic document. Given the fact that the Constitution both secured the principle of limited government and institutionalized slavery there has been debate over whether or not it is truly democratic so we were given an assignment to decide for our selves.
Unfortunate Men of the Wild: McCandles and Knight
In my 9th grade US history class we also had a Constitutional study block so we could get very familiar with our founding document. We were given the assignment to asses whether or not we believed the Constitution to be a democratic document. Given the fact that the Constitution both secured the principle of limited government and institutionalized slavery there has been debate over whether or not it is truly democratic so we were given an assignment to decide for our selves.
Sophie Davis: Musician and Climate Activist
In my 10th Grade year I applied to do a semester program at Chewonki and this is my one of the essays I wrote as a qualifying essay. "'I believe that...' Please complete this statement in the form of an essay describing a person, issue or event that has been significant to you in some way, and explain why" This was the prompt and I decided to focus on a person who was significant to me. She was my violin teacher for a few years and is the one of the central reasons I am the violinist I am today. This essay describes her blending of climate activism and classical music.