Howdy, y'all. Here are tonight's homework questions for our Using Possessive Nouns unit:
Write each sentence. Change each underlined phrase to include a possessive noun.
1. The safety habits of the students should be perfect.
2. The students listen to the opinions of adults.
3. The comments of the visitors are helpful.
4. The hands of many pupils are raised now.
5. The work of the hall monitors improves safety in our school.
6. The principal reminds students to use the office of the nurse.
7. The goals of the assembly have been met.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Grammar Assessment
Just a few quick reminders/announcements -
1. Remember to be working on your book report.
2. Your two story drafts will be returned to you next Monday. We will not be writing a story this
week.
3. Your Grammar Assessment is this Friday.
So... what's going to be on the Grammar assessment?
Some "old stuff" that we've been talking about all year:
1. Subjects and Predicates
2. Prepositions
3. Capitalization
4. Fixing run-on sentences
AND
Some "newer stuff" from this week:
5. Possessive Nouns (singular and plural)
What will it look like?
You will identify the subjects/predicates/prepositions for a few sentences.
You will fix the capitalization and basic punctuation of a few incorrect sentences.
You will fix a few run-on sentences by rewriting them.
You will incorporate possessive nouns, both singular and plural, into sentences.
There will be a total of 20 questions. Each question is worth multiple points. Look over your grammar notes. We will be reviewing in class.
1. Remember to be working on your book report.
2. Your two story drafts will be returned to you next Monday. We will not be writing a story this
week.
3. Your Grammar Assessment is this Friday.
So... what's going to be on the Grammar assessment?
Some "old stuff" that we've been talking about all year:
1. Subjects and Predicates
2. Prepositions
3. Capitalization
4. Fixing run-on sentences
AND
Some "newer stuff" from this week:
5. Possessive Nouns (singular and plural)
What will it look like?
You will identify the subjects/predicates/prepositions for a few sentences.
You will fix the capitalization and basic punctuation of a few incorrect sentences.
You will fix a few run-on sentences by rewriting them.
You will incorporate possessive nouns, both singular and plural, into sentences.
There will be a total of 20 questions. Each question is worth multiple points. Look over your grammar notes. We will be reviewing in class.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Stranded on an Island
Your word limit for this story is 500 words. Please, please, please remember to double-space. This is due when we return from spring break.
Writing Prompt:
You are fortunate to be alive. On the way to a very expensive field trip to research wildlife in the South Pacific, your class crash-landed on a deserted tropical island. There were only students on the plane, and the pilot, unfortunately, was ejected from the plane somewhere above the ocean. The only things you have are your suitcases, which contain all of the normal things you'd take on vacation. Remember, no weapons are allowed on a plane.
What happens on the island? Which students emerge as leaders? Who is helpful to your group? What efforts do you make to survive/be rescued? Please try to include everyone in your class and what role he/she plays on the island.
Writing Prompt:
You are fortunate to be alive. On the way to a very expensive field trip to research wildlife in the South Pacific, your class crash-landed on a deserted tropical island. There were only students on the plane, and the pilot, unfortunately, was ejected from the plane somewhere above the ocean. The only things you have are your suitcases, which contain all of the normal things you'd take on vacation. Remember, no weapons are allowed on a plane.
What happens on the island? Which students emerge as leaders? Who is helpful to your group? What efforts do you make to survive/be rescued? Please try to include everyone in your class and what role he/she plays on the island.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Book Report Project
WOW, guys. I can't believe we're already on our last official book of the school year!
Your Book Report project is due Friday, May 23rd.
Book choice
- Please make sure you book is school appropriate. That means no excessive violence, inappropriate content, etc.
- Your book should be somewhere around 180 pages. 150 is the absolute minimum. There is no maximum - just make sure you choose wisely and budget your time accordingly.
- "Can it be a book I've read before?" - Because we're going to be using this project to take a very in-depth look at the story you read, yes. But you will most likely need to re-read your book in order to effectively complete the assignment.
Identifying Literary Elements
Your report will need to identify the following literary elements in the story you choose:
1. Theme - Identify the theme of your story and briefly explain why that's the theme you chose.
2. Setting - Include location and time.
3. Main characters - Identify the main protagonist, the main antagonist, and give an example of a static character and a dynamic character.
4. Conflict - Identify the main conflict that drives the story.
5. Plot - Summarize the plot by identifying (1 sentence each) the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. We will talk more about these elements during class - don't worry! :)
The Work (dun dun dunnnn!)
There are two parts to this project. Part 1 is Identifying Literary Elements. Part 2 is an oral presentation.You have a few options for Part 1 of your book report.
Options for Part 1:
1. Video News Report
Present your information via a "news broadcast." You can feature your friends/family if their parents give you permission. Get creative! Maybe... have a Plot segment instead of Sports? :) And, yes, this project still requires you to give us the information in person for your oral report.
2. Book in a Box
Redecorate a cereal box to advertise your story. The box must include all of the Literary Elements, so take time to plan the layout of your box. Example: Instead of listing ingredients on the side, list the main characters and the static/dynamic characters.
3. Book Report Sandwich
Make a 3D representation of your story by turning into a sandwich! Nommmm! The top slice of bread should contain the title of the book and the author's name. Then the rest of your sandwich should identify the literary elements. For example, the lettuce should contain the plot summary, the tomato slice should contain the main characters, etc. If you use paper, be sure to staple your sandwich together!
4. Newspaper Front Page
*This must be typed*
Using a template from Word or from the Web, create a news story about your book by dedicating the first page of a newspaper to the story. You will need to identify the literary elements using different newspaper columns, "photographs," etc. Suggestions: Use a date that fits in with the setting of the story; draw/scan pictures of the characters as you imagine them; conduct imaginary character interviews and type them up into columns...
Grading
Your rubric is as follows (total of 100 points):
Part 1 - Identifying Literary Elements
Theme - 10 pts.
Setting - 10 pts.
Characters - 8 pts.
Conflict - 10 pts.
Plot summary - 20 pts.
Name on project - 2 pts.
Creativity - 10 pts.
Part 2 - Oral Presentation
Preparedness - 5 pts.
Eye Contact - 5 pts.
Speaking (be loud and clear!) - 10 pts.
Logical Order (we'll talk about this in class) - 10 pts.
If you're reading this before we discuss it in class, don't stress. I will be going into detail during class. :)
Your Book Report project is due Friday, May 23rd.
Book choice
- Please make sure you book is school appropriate. That means no excessive violence, inappropriate content, etc.
- Your book should be somewhere around 180 pages. 150 is the absolute minimum. There is no maximum - just make sure you choose wisely and budget your time accordingly.
- "Can it be a book I've read before?" - Because we're going to be using this project to take a very in-depth look at the story you read, yes. But you will most likely need to re-read your book in order to effectively complete the assignment.
Identifying Literary Elements
Your report will need to identify the following literary elements in the story you choose:
1. Theme - Identify the theme of your story and briefly explain why that's the theme you chose.
2. Setting - Include location and time.
3. Main characters - Identify the main protagonist, the main antagonist, and give an example of a static character and a dynamic character.
4. Conflict - Identify the main conflict that drives the story.
5. Plot - Summarize the plot by identifying (1 sentence each) the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. We will talk more about these elements during class - don't worry! :)
The Work (dun dun dunnnn!)
There are two parts to this project. Part 1 is Identifying Literary Elements. Part 2 is an oral presentation.You have a few options for Part 1 of your book report.
Options for Part 1:
1. Video News Report
Present your information via a "news broadcast." You can feature your friends/family if their parents give you permission. Get creative! Maybe... have a Plot segment instead of Sports? :) And, yes, this project still requires you to give us the information in person for your oral report.
2. Book in a Box
Redecorate a cereal box to advertise your story. The box must include all of the Literary Elements, so take time to plan the layout of your box. Example: Instead of listing ingredients on the side, list the main characters and the static/dynamic characters.
3. Book Report Sandwich
Make a 3D representation of your story by turning into a sandwich! Nommmm! The top slice of bread should contain the title of the book and the author's name. Then the rest of your sandwich should identify the literary elements. For example, the lettuce should contain the plot summary, the tomato slice should contain the main characters, etc. If you use paper, be sure to staple your sandwich together!
4. Newspaper Front Page
*This must be typed*
Using a template from Word or from the Web, create a news story about your book by dedicating the first page of a newspaper to the story. You will need to identify the literary elements using different newspaper columns, "photographs," etc. Suggestions: Use a date that fits in with the setting of the story; draw/scan pictures of the characters as you imagine them; conduct imaginary character interviews and type them up into columns...
Grading
Your rubric is as follows (total of 100 points):
Part 1 - Identifying Literary Elements
Theme - 10 pts.
Setting - 10 pts.
Characters - 8 pts.
Conflict - 10 pts.
Plot summary - 20 pts.
Name on project - 2 pts.
Creativity - 10 pts.
Part 2 - Oral Presentation
Preparedness - 5 pts.
Eye Contact - 5 pts.
Speaking (be loud and clear!) - 10 pts.
Logical Order (we'll talk about this in class) - 10 pts.
If you're reading this before we discuss it in class, don't stress. I will be going into detail during class. :)
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Thursday, 3/20
Hello all.
We're going to do things differently this week regarding our weekly creative writing assignment. For now, please hold on to the "donkey" stories, and be sure to have them tomorrow (I will definitely be there!!!).
Since it's the craziest week of the school year, and you've got show nights up until Sunday, I do not expect you to write a short story over the weekend. Instead, let's complete it in class today. Don't forget about the length requirements!
Today's writing prompt:
A national crisis has forced our government to look for a very special leader. It's a Tuesday morning, you've just finished your Eggos and are in the middle of brushing your teeth when a Secret Service agent arrives at your home. She informs you that you've been elected to be the President of the United States of America, effective immediately.
In today's short story, tell me what the crisis is, how you plan to help resolve the crisis, and anything else you plan to do as president.
If everyone finishes their stories, you may print them out and play a round of Sparkle for Units 12 and 13.
6A Sparkle leader - Anna
6B Sparkle Leader - Patrick
See you all tomorrow.
We're going to do things differently this week regarding our weekly creative writing assignment. For now, please hold on to the "donkey" stories, and be sure to have them tomorrow (I will definitely be there!!!).
Since it's the craziest week of the school year, and you've got show nights up until Sunday, I do not expect you to write a short story over the weekend. Instead, let's complete it in class today. Don't forget about the length requirements!
Today's writing prompt:
A national crisis has forced our government to look for a very special leader. It's a Tuesday morning, you've just finished your Eggos and are in the middle of brushing your teeth when a Secret Service agent arrives at your home. She informs you that you've been elected to be the President of the United States of America, effective immediately.
In today's short story, tell me what the crisis is, how you plan to help resolve the crisis, and anything else you plan to do as president.
If everyone finishes their stories, you may print them out and play a round of Sparkle for Units 12 and 13.
6A Sparkle leader - Anna
6B Sparkle Leader - Patrick
See you all tomorrow.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Writing Portfolio Info/Assignment for 3/17
Hello everyone,
Your portfolios should be in the following format:
- A section in your binder (remember to use a hole-puncher for your stories)
OR
- A folder
I will be completing portfolio checks periodically to ensure that you are keeping up with it. During these checks I will be looking to see that you have all of your assigned stories in the right place.
For the first six portfolio assignments, this is how grading will work:
1. You will be given a creative story prompt on the blog on Fridays to be completed over the weekend. The story will be due the following Monday (for a completion grade). It will need to follow the same format as my previous post - same font, spacing, etc. ***Please remember to keep the story between 150-250 words (250 maximum).
2. I will return your stories to you on Wednesday. You will have until Friday to edit your story and make any corrections I've noted. Then you will hand your final draft in on Friday, which I will grade for grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc.
For the remaining portfolio assignments, your stories will be assigned on Fridays, and final drafts (to be graded for grammar, spelling, etc.) will be due the following Tuesday. I will not correct your first draft and hand back to you for these pieces.
Your new creative writing assignment (due Monday, 2/17) is to write a story based on the picture below. Remember that a story needs a conflict and a resolution, even when it's short! Have fun!
Your portfolios should be in the following format:
- A section in your binder (remember to use a hole-puncher for your stories)
OR
- A folder
I will be completing portfolio checks periodically to ensure that you are keeping up with it. During these checks I will be looking to see that you have all of your assigned stories in the right place.
For the first six portfolio assignments, this is how grading will work:
1. You will be given a creative story prompt on the blog on Fridays to be completed over the weekend. The story will be due the following Monday (for a completion grade). It will need to follow the same format as my previous post - same font, spacing, etc. ***Please remember to keep the story between 150-250 words (250 maximum).
2. I will return your stories to you on Wednesday. You will have until Friday to edit your story and make any corrections I've noted. Then you will hand your final draft in on Friday, which I will grade for grammar, spelling, sentence structure, etc.
For the remaining portfolio assignments, your stories will be assigned on Fridays, and final drafts (to be graded for grammar, spelling, etc.) will be due the following Tuesday. I will not correct your first draft and hand back to you for these pieces.
Your new creative writing assignment (due Monday, 2/17) is to write a story based on the picture below. Remember that a story needs a conflict and a resolution, even when it's short! Have fun!
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Grammar Assignment AND Creative Writing Assignment
Helllloooooooo!
Tonight's assignment is below. Feel free to print this out if you'd like, or you may write your sentences on a separate sheet of paper. ***Please see instructions for your new creative writing assignment AFTER the grammar questions.***
Run-On Sentences A run-on sentence is a sentence with at least two independent clauses (complete thoughts) which are forced together instead of being properly connected.
To correct these sentences, you have several options:
1) Separate clauses using punctuation.
2) Separate clauses using a conjunction.
3) Rearrange the sentence (you may add or remove words).
Run-on sentence: He put on some sunscreen, the sun was so extremely hot, and he
wanted to go inside.
"He put on some sunscreen" 1st clause
"the sun was so extremely hot" 2nd clause
"he wanted to go inside" 3rd clause
Corrected sentence: He put on some sunscreen because the sun was extremely hot. He
wanted to go inside.
In the corrected sentence, we separated the 1st and 2nd clauses using the conjunction "because", and we removed the word "so". We also separated the 2nd and 3rd clauses using a period.
Note: Just because a sentence is long does not necessarily mean it is a run-on. Some long sentences are grammatically correct, while some short sentences are run-ons.
Note: Simple, short sentences are the easiest to read and understand!
Directions: try to correct the following run-on sentences.
1. My mother and father and sister are coming to dinner tonight.
________________________________________________________________________
2. I like learning English it makes me tired.
________________________________________________________________________
3. My sister was taller than me when we were young now I am the tallest it is fun.
________________________________________________________________________
4. I love school, I love learning, my teacher is nice.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. I don’t want much for Christmas just some chocolates and a little toy car.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. Blue is my favorite color it is the color of the sky and the sea and it reminds me of my favorite insect which is the butterfly.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. When I get older I want to have a big family I like big families.
________________________________________________________________________
8. We usually leave at 11:00 but today is different we are leaving at 10:30.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. I like Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I like Fridays because the weekend starts on Friday.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. We should get moving there’s no time to waste.
_____________________________________________________________________
****************************************************************************
Creative Writing: Portfolio Piece 2
DUE Monday, March 10th (print before class)
Length: 150 words
Format: 11 point font, Calibri
Standard margins
Double-spaced
Prompt: You know that noise we hear coming out of the heating unit in our classroom? The weird
one that randomly sounds like there's a creature trapped inside, or maybe a small army of
imaginary people? Tell me what it is. I'd like to know who or what is in there, what it's
called, why it's there, and what it's doing. Be as descriptive as you can - tell me what it
(or they) look like.
Grading: Appropriate length (around 150 words) - 10 pts
Creativity - 10 pts
Correct format - 6 pts
Grammar - 10 pts
Spelling - 10 pts
Final draft (to be completed after corrections) - 4 pts
*Please double-check your paper for punctuation, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, correct capitalization, and so on!*
Tonight's assignment is below. Feel free to print this out if you'd like, or you may write your sentences on a separate sheet of paper. ***Please see instructions for your new creative writing assignment AFTER the grammar questions.***
Run-On Sentences A run-on sentence is a sentence with at least two independent clauses (complete thoughts) which are forced together instead of being properly connected.
To correct these sentences, you have several options:
1) Separate clauses using punctuation.
2) Separate clauses using a conjunction.
3) Rearrange the sentence (you may add or remove words).
Run-on sentence: He put on some sunscreen, the sun was so extremely hot, and he
wanted to go inside.
"He put on some sunscreen" 1st clause
"the sun was so extremely hot" 2nd clause
"he wanted to go inside" 3rd clause
Corrected sentence: He put on some sunscreen because the sun was extremely hot. He
wanted to go inside.
In the corrected sentence, we separated the 1st and 2nd clauses using the conjunction "because", and we removed the word "so". We also separated the 2nd and 3rd clauses using a period.
Note: Just because a sentence is long does not necessarily mean it is a run-on. Some long sentences are grammatically correct, while some short sentences are run-ons.
Note: Simple, short sentences are the easiest to read and understand!
Directions: try to correct the following run-on sentences.
1. My mother and father and sister are coming to dinner tonight.
________________________________________________________________________
2. I like learning English it makes me tired.
________________________________________________________________________
3. My sister was taller than me when we were young now I am the tallest it is fun.
________________________________________________________________________
4. I love school, I love learning, my teacher is nice.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. I don’t want much for Christmas just some chocolates and a little toy car.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
6. Blue is my favorite color it is the color of the sky and the sea and it reminds me of my favorite insect which is the butterfly.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
7. When I get older I want to have a big family I like big families.
________________________________________________________________________
8. We usually leave at 11:00 but today is different we are leaving at 10:30.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
9. I like Tuesdays and Wednesdays and I like Fridays because the weekend starts on Friday.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
10. We should get moving there’s no time to waste.
_____________________________________________________________________
****************************************************************************
Creative Writing: Portfolio Piece 2
DUE Monday, March 10th (print before class)
Length: 150 words
Format: 11 point font, Calibri
Standard margins
Double-spaced
Prompt: You know that noise we hear coming out of the heating unit in our classroom? The weird
one that randomly sounds like there's a creature trapped inside, or maybe a small army of
imaginary people? Tell me what it is. I'd like to know who or what is in there, what it's
called, why it's there, and what it's doing. Be as descriptive as you can - tell me what it
(or they) look like.
Grading: Appropriate length (around 150 words) - 10 pts
Creativity - 10 pts
Correct format - 6 pts
Grammar - 10 pts
Spelling - 10 pts
Final draft (to be completed after corrections) - 4 pts
*Please double-check your paper for punctuation, run-on sentences, sentence fragments, correct capitalization, and so on!*
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