Writing 2 Class Notes -- Week 7 (Oct. 10)

Greetings!

Our Quick Write for today was this prompt:  If you could learn anything from anyone, what would it be and from whom would it be?  The purpose of this prompt was to cause students to look inward, forward, and outward. In life, it helps when we can identify what we want to learn for the sake of our futures; then we need to engage in the world around us to find mentors and teachers.  They shared both practical ideas and more abstract, personal growth ideas.

We did not have any Words of the Day this week.

This week the class handed in their final drafts of their Process Essays, along with their rough drafts, so it was time to assign another essay.  This time, they can choose to write either a Classification Essay or an Extended Definition Essay.  We took time to discuss what each of these essays would look like, how to choose a topic, and how to organize these types of essays.  If a student wants to, he/she can write 2 essays and get extra credit for the second one.  Most students won't need that much extra credit for a good grade, but they might want the extra essay-writing practice. 

During our discussion of the essay, I also explained the new stage of the writing process that we will be using for this and the rest of our essays.  In addition to a rough draft and final draft, students are to do a Pre-Write for their essays.  This can look like a mind map or an outline, and the goal of a pre-write is to facilitate brainstorming and organizing. (Here is a link with a picture of a mind map.)  This will give them an extra week to plan, research, and organize their essays.   (In fact, for this essay, they have the extra week of fall break.)

For the Literature Discussion about our book, My Antonia, the students broke into small groups to discuss 2 questions about our current reading assignment:  How were Lena and Antonia different from one another? and Why did Cather devote a large portion of the book to this "secondary" character?  As a circulated through the classroom I heard some good, insightful comments.  

Many students have already handed in their proposals for their My Antonia Book Project, but those who haven't need to hand them in next week (Oct. 10)  We will start presentations on Nov. 14.

We did not have any direct Grammar instruction, but I gave the students some work to do related to sentence patterns.  Their work will tell me how much instruction on this topic will be needed. 

A note about My GradeBook:  I worked with a couple of students and discovered that they were putting the class code where the password should go.  If you are having difficulties, remember that the temporary user name (until you change the primary log in) is the class code, and your student's first name and last initial (unless I've had to change it for you) is the password.  

You'll also find a link at the end of this email to a new feature of the class -- Student Notes (Rocketbook).  Every week I will have a student take notes, especially those elements that are written on the board.   

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read pages 141 - 153

-- 3 Reader Responses

-- 5 Vocabulary Words

-- Pre-Write for Extended Definition Essay OR Classification Essay

-- Sentence Patterns Practice Worksheet (Mr. Jackson)

-- Sentence Patterns Practice Worksheet (Three of my friends)

Links for This Week

Class Notes

Student Notes (Rocketbook)

Mind Map Image

My Antonia Proposal

My Antonia Final Project

Sentence Patterns Practice (Three of my friends)

Six Basic Sentence Patterns

Sentence Patterns Practice (Mr. Jackson)

Have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Prichard

Six Basic Sentence Patterns

SIX BASIC SENTENCE PATTERNS

There are six basic sentence structures in the English language.

1. Subject-Verb

Examples:

• The boy plays.
• Jack eats.
• Sara sits.

2. Subject-Verb-Direct Object

Examples:

• The girl pets the cat.
• I love apples.
• Bill kicks the ball.

3. Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object

Examples:

• The girl bakes her mother a cake.
• I bought Frank a book.
• Cindy gave me a present.

4. Subject-Linking Verb-Adjective

Examples:

• Lisa is pretty.
• They are nice.
• I am sad.

5. Subject-Linking Verb-Noun

Examples:

• I am the teacher.
• Jon is a carpenter.
• The boy is a student.

6. Subject-Verb-Adverb

Examples:

• Maria laughs loudly.
• The dog jumps high.
• Apples are everywhere.

Expanding Sentences

The examples above are basic sentences. Basic sentences can be expanded, or lengthened, by adding adjectives, adverbs and objects.

1. Subject-Verb

• Jack eats.
  This is the basic subject-verb pattern.
• Jack quickly eats.
  An adverb is added (quickly) to tell how Jack eats.  
   
• Jack quickly eats carrots.
  An object is added (carrots) to tell what Jack eats.
• Jack quickly eats carrots at home.
  Another adverb is added (at home) to tell where Jack eats.
• Jack quickly eats fresh carrots at home.
  An adjective is added (fresh) to tell what kind of carrots Jack eats.

2. Subject-Verb-Direct Object

• Bill kicks the ball.        
  This is a basic subject-verb-object pattern.
• Bill kicks the red ball.
  An adjective is added (red) to tell the color of the ball.
• Bill kicks the red ball hard.
  An adverb is added (hard) to tell how Bill kicks the ball.
• Bill kicks the red ball hard every day.
  Another adverb is added (every day) to tell when Bill kicks the ball.
• 
  

3. Subject-Verb-Indirect Object-Direct Object

• The girl baked her mother a cake        
  This is a basic subject-verb-object pattern.
• The girl baked her mother a chocolate cake.
  An adjective is added (chocolate) to tell the kind of cake..
• The girl skillfully baked her mother a cake.
  An adverb is added (skillfully) to tell how the girl bakes the cake..
• The girl baked her mother a cake yesterday.
  Another adverb is added (today) to tell when the girl bakes the cake

4. Subject-Linking Verb-Adjective

• She looks pretty.
  This is the basic subject-verb-adjective pattern.
• She looks pretty tonight.
  An adverb is added (tonight) to tell when she looks pretty.
• Lisa looks pretty tonight.
  The subject is identified with a name (Lisa).
• 
  

5. Subject-Linking Verb-Noun

• The boy is a student.
  This is the basic subject-verb-noun sentence pattern.
• Jon is a student. 
  The subject is identified with a name (Jon).
• Jon is a smart student.
  An adjective is added (smart) to tell what kind of student Jon is.
• Jon is a smart student at school.
  An adverb is added (at school) to tell where Jon is a smart student.

6. Subject-Verb-Adverb

• Apples are everywhere.
  This is the basic subject-verb-adverb pattern.

• Green apples are everywhere.
  An adjective is added (green) to describe the apples.

• Ripe, green apples are everywhere. 
  A series of adjectives are added (ripe and green) to describe the apples.

• Children sing happily.
  The subject-verb-adverb pattern can also use action verbs.

• Children sing happily today.
  Additional adverbs may be added to inform when.

• Children in the choir sing happily today.. 
  Prepositional phrases may be added to explain which children.

Final Grammar Exam

Final Grammar Exam

1. Write a N-LV-N sentence.
2. Write a N-LV-Adj sentence.
3. Write a sentence with 3 prepositional phrases
4. Write a compound sentence.  Label the subjects and the verbs.  Circle the coordinating conjunction.
5. Write a complex sentence.  Label the subjects and verbs in the independent and dependent clauses. Circle the subordinating conjunction.
6. Write a sentence with exactly 5 errors.
7. Correct #6.

Sentence Combining Worksheet

Name:  ____________________________

Sentence Combining Worksheet

Combining into Compound Sentences

Directions

Combine the following sentences with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

1)  She went to daycare.  She did not want to go.

2) The toddler could not decide which jacket to wear. She cried instead.

3) The teacher said she must wear her jacket. She must stay inside.

4)  Helping parents is hard. No one said helping parents with their children would be easy.

5)   The toddler would not give up the toy. He would not come inside.

6)  He loves to play outside during the day.  I will let him play after lunch.

7)  The girl was hungry.  She had not eaten since breakfast.

8)  The girls couldn’t think of anything better to do.  They decided to play in the art room.

9)  A book can be a lot of fun to read.  A book can be boring.

10)  Toddlers love to use their power. They use it whenever they can.

Sentence Combining Using Subordinating Conjunctions

Directions

Combine the following sentences with a subordinating conjunction (after all, although, while, because, before, however, therefore).  This may require a semicolon!

11)  They made plans to go to the school meeting.  They ended up not being able to make it.

12)  Professionals can view toilet training from an independence point of view. Parents can view it as a struggle.

13)  Babies like to put things in their mouths. Learning about objects in this way is how they use all of their senses.

14)  Parents often want to shower children with toys. Children learn from simple exploration of natural things, like sand and water.

15) One aspect of a child’s developing mind is using her imagination. They can use their imagination to make connections between perceptions and assumptions.

16)  Don’t give her a hard time.  She is just trying to be friends with you.

17)  We don’t believe children should be spanked.  Hitting teaches hitting.

18)  It’s going to rain today. You need to bring your raincoat to daycare.

19)  The two weren’t always this close.  When his sister went to kindergarten, he missed her.

20)  The boy refused to admit he took it.  He put the lunch box back on the shelf.

Sentence Combining with Subjects and Verbs

Directions

The following sentences share either the same subject or the same verb.  Combine the sentences into one sentence.

21)  Tommy and his mother walked to the store.  The store is two blocks away.

22)  The child is thirsty.  The child is not getting enough water.

23)  My mug was in the cupboard.  My mug is no longer in the cupboard.

24)  Drew’s dog jumped into the air.  Janine’s dog jumped into the air as well.

25)  The book fell to the floor.  It opened to a page I had never read before.

26)  Your face has freckles on it.  Your face looks friendly.

27)  The boy painted at the easel. The boy painted a rainbow. The rainbow arched colorfully.

28)  Everyone is being mean to me!  Everyone is tyring to keep me from joining in the game.

29)  Stop dancing like that.  No dancing in the classroom. Sit back down in your chair.

30)  The children sat in a circle. The children were quiet. The children waited for the teacher.

Sentence Combining in Paragraphs

Directions

Combine as many sentences as you can in the following paragraph, using the above examples to guide you.

The Sunshine Day Care Center is has sixteen children. To be eligible for Sunshine Day Care Center children have to be potty trained. Rudy’s mom is worried. Rudy needs daycare so her mom can take the full time job she is trying to get. Rudy is not potty trained yet. Rudy is three years old and insists on wearing diapers. The teacher at Sunshine Day Care Center told Rudy’s mom not to worry. She believed that once Rudy started at the center, she would see the other children using the toilet. Rudy would want to be a big girl. She would want to learn how to use the toilet, too. She would no longer be interested and diapers. The teacher encouraged Rudy’s mom to take Rudy shopping for big girl underwear. Rudy’s mom took Rudy shopping. Rudy picked out purple underwear with flowers on them. When they got home, Rudy’s mom said it was time to say goodbye to the diapers. Rudy was excited. She looked forward to being a big girl. She looked forward to going to Sunshine Day Care Center and using the big girl toilet, too.  Rudy’s mom looked forward to being able to take the full time job. She is proud of Rudy. She is glad Rudy is transitioning to child care so well.

Sentences -- Revising Run-ons

DIRECTIONS

Decide which of the following groups of words are run-on sentences.

_ If the group of words is a correct sentence, write S; if it is a run-on, write R-O.

_ Revise each run-on sentence by (1) making it two separate sentences; (2) inserting a semicolon,  or (3) using a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

______ 1. Brown bears include the grizzly and the kodiak, the largest brown bear is the kodiak.

______ 2. Kodiak bears weigh as much as 1,700 pounds, they grow to a height of ten feet.

______ 3. Bears can live more than 30 years in the wild.

______ 4. Bears’ sense of smell is more developed than their hearing or sight.

______ 5. Females give birth to as many as four cubs, the cubs stay with their mother two

or three years.

______ 6. Many people are afraid of bears, encounters with bears are actually infrequent.

______ 7. Grizzly bears are solitary animals, they do not want to interact with people.

______ 8. Generally, bears attack only when they are surprised, or when they are protecting

their young.

______ 9. People should always store food and garbage properly, bears could be attracted by

the smell.

______ 10. Never try to outrun a bear, it can run more than 30 miles per hour.

______ 11. School in Munich was too rigid and boring for young Einstein he did not do well.

______ 12. However, young Einstein showed a talent for mathematics, at the age of 12,

he taught himself Euclidean geometry.

______ 13. After finishing secondary school, he entered the Federal Polytechnic Academy

in Switzerland, he did not like the teaching methods there.

______ 14. The academy frustrated him he could learn in a way that interested him.

______ 15. Einstein chose to educate himself, he missed classes often and spent the time studying physics on his own.

______ 16. His professors had low opinions of him, he graduated anyway in 1900.

______ 17. In 1905, he published a paper on physics the University of Zürich awarded him a Ph.D. for this work.

______ 18. In the same year, he published four more papers that presented new thoughts on the

nature of light and other important concepts.

______ 19. Physicists resisted his ideas at first, eventually his general theory of relativity was

confirmed through observation.

______ 20. Einstein achieved international recognition, in 1921 he received the Nobel Prize

in physics.