Past Participles and Roots Study

Study the roots and derivatives for words 1 - 48.  You will need to be able to recognize the root from which the derivatives flow.  For example, if you were given the derivative "manuscript," you would need to recognize the word "manus" as its root.

Complete pages 69-70 in grammar.

Study Time!!

Study Root Cards including the derivatives.  Be prepared for an exam on cards 1 through 48 on Friday, December 14th.

Be prepared to recite the following knowledge this Tuesday:

the 8 parts of speech, the 6 noun positions in sentences, the 6 verb tenses (each having a progressive form), and be able to orally conjugate the verb "to walk" in all 6  tenses and in the progressive form as shown on page 5 in your grammar book.

Present Participle Practice!

I could see in class today who has been working to learn from their recently assigned grammar studies!  Keep going over the verbals you have been learning in recent weeks so you become really comfortable with them and easily recognize them. 

Complete pages 63 - 65 in your grammar book, following all instructions.

Also, for those who have not completely memorized the different verb groups, please be prepared to recite them perfectly on Friday.

Vocabulary Test and Grammar Study

When you are ready to take the test, you may do so ~ it is due Tuesday.

Re-read to understand pages 53-54 and page 57 ~ all about infinitives and gerunds.

Be ready to recite all state-of-being, linking, and helping verbs on Tuesday.

Gerunds and Root Cards

Complete pages 59-60 carefully.  Think through each sentence as you do it, understanding how to recognize the gerund phrase as the part of speech that it is in that sentence. 

Look back to pages 57-58 and review recognizing infinitive phrases.

Study your Root Cards.  We will have a Winner's Circle competition on Friday, and you will have a take home test on Roots 25-36.

No Homework!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Infinitive Phrases

Thoughtfully read pages 53-54, taking time to notice the details of the sentence examples.  This will help you learn the positions the infinitive phrase can take in a sentence.  Complete work pages 55-56.

Study root words and their derivatives.

Pronouns and Antecedents

Read page 51 in your grammar book about maintaining clarity in pronoun usage.  Practice what it teaches by completing the exercise on page 52.

Study your root words and their derivatives.

Indefinite Pronouns

Read to understand page 49 in your grammar book and do page 50.  Review everything to do with pronouns, between pages 43 and 49.

Continue studying your root cards. We need to get more of your names into the Winner's Circle!

More Pronouns

Complete page 48 in your grammar text.  Refer back to page 47, re-reading as needed.

Study root words and derivatives 28-32, preparing for your next quiz in class on Tuesday.

Pronoun Practice

Review pronoun information on pages 43 and 44.  Then, complete page 46.  However, also write above the pronoun you put in the blank, the position in that sentence that particular pronoun is playing.

Study root words!

Personal Pronouns

Do sentences 4-11 on page 45 in your grammar  text.

Study all your root words and meanings.

Exam and Reading

When you are ready, take the vocabulary exam which is due this Friday.

Read pages 43-45 in your grammar text to be ready for upcoming teaching on pronouns.  No written exercises are assigned for this Friday.

Interjections

Complete page 42 with well written sentences.

Study your Roots and derivatives!  You will receive a take-home exam on Tuesday that covers Roots 1-24 along with many derivatives which you will have to match to its root.

Conjunction Practice and Quiz

After you have finished reviewing for the Roots Quiz, take the quiz and return to me on Friday.

In your grammar text, do page 41.

Study and Study Some More

Prepare for your next Roots Quiz by studying Roots 17-24.  Remember to understand meanings for your derivatives.

Re-read pages 37-38 for reviewing the class teaching.

Study any grammar knowledge in which you are lacking, including any of the information which you should have memorized.  It would be good for you to look through your grammar book to ensure you are right on track!

Using Adverbs in Writing

In your grammar book, use pages 35-36 to write according to the instructions.  Read and follow those, please.  You may opt to use separate paper if you prefer or even to type your paper.  Just remember to still use the instructions on the textbook page. 

Study your Root cards, completing those begun in class today.  You will likely remember the derivatives better if you write them with their meanings.

Review any elements of grammar you know need attention!  We are drawing near the end of the first quarter, so get ready to show your mastery of the knowledge and understanding pursued thus far.

Adverb Practice and a Complete Review!

Re-read to understand pages 31-32.  Then complete through sentence 5 on page 33, following the method we used in class of drawing arrows to the word each adverb or phrase modifies.

Memorize the questions that adverbs answer: Where, When, Why, How, How Much, Under What Condition, or To What Extent?

All of the grammar knowledge we have been dealing with so far this year should be coming together for you.  Take time to carefully review the following material below from your text and notes, perhaps spending more time on items that were corrected on your work pages.

Review and Study:  the 8 parts of speech, the 6 noun positions in sentences, the questions adjectives answer, the parts of speech modified by adjectives and adverbs, and the list of linking verbs and helping verbs which should certainly be memorized.

Complete your new Root card ~ "ad."

Adjective Search

Complete pages 28 and 29.  Take your time and think through what you are doing.  Use the examples done in class, and use your notes and text teaching as needed to review all about adjectives.

Complete the 3 new Root Cards begun in class today:  Nomen/Nominis, Pro, and Prae.

Continue reviewing your Root Cards, especially cards 9-16.  Your Quiz will be in class on Friday.

Unpack Your Adjectives

 Watch this introductory video - mostly for fun - before learning more about adjectives!

Then, complete page 26 if you did not finish all 10 sentences in class.

Read page 27 to understand its teaching.  Use page 27 as your reference if needed as you complete the first 7 sentences in the exercise on page 28.

Study your Root Cards 9 - 16 for your next quiz in class on Tuesday.

Positions Practice and Studies

Complete pages 23-24 carefully.  Do your very best.

Study the Root Cards, especially all the newer ones!

Memorize the Linking Verbs in the order given to you; Memorize the Helping Verbs in their order also!  Remember that both of these are listed on the "Verb" Page on the right of this blog.

More Noun Work

Complete pages 21-22.  If there are sentence parts you need to review first, please use book pages 15 and 17, and any notes and diagrams written down from class.  Think through what you are doing rather than just focusing on accomplishing the task of completing the work.  Build on the progress we made in class to become a master of noun sentence parts!

Complete your card for the root "sonus" and study it.

Diagramming & Root Study

Complete the worksheet handout of diagramming you received in class today.  Do as much of it as you possibly can, but all the parts covered in class today should certainly be completed.

Study all of your root cards for a test this Friday.  Understand the derivatives and what they mean, becoming very familiar with them, but their meanings do not have to be memorized word for word.

I am proud of your attentive work in class today; keep up the good work in your homework studies!

Practice and Study

Practice creating sentences while recognizing the parts of a sentence by doing exercise D on pages 19-20.

Study all your root cards after making sure you have completed the list of derivatives and their meanings on the backs of them.  You will be tested on all root cards next Friday, September 21st.

Much To Do With Nouns!

Read page 15.

Do page 16 after reading page 15.

Read page 17 thoughtfully.

Review all tenses and forms for verbs found on page 5.

Review your new root cards, completing writing the derivatives and their meanings on the backs of them.

Practice and Study

Due Tuesday, September 11, 2012 : pages 7-8 of Stewart's text, using the Past and Future Tenses only once out of the ten sentences, and using all other tenses twice out of the ten sentences.

"WINK" ~ hint, hint!

Study all 4 of your root cards: know the roots on the fronts of the cards with their meanings, and be able to match the derivative words with their meanings.  Study these as if you were going to have a quiz.

Word Study and Grammar

Finish copying the derivatives for the first 3 Greek root words on the back of your cards.  Thoughtfully read the cards every day, memorizing the Root Words with their meanings.

Complete pages 3-4 in Priniciples Plus.  Also, read page 5.  When you get to the bottom of this page, notice how the main verb of each sentence is italicized.  Would any other action words in those sentences have tricked you, causing you to think they were the verbs instead of the true main verbs?  Make sure you understand from those examples how to locate the main verb words in a sentence.

Also, make sure you know the names of the 6 verb tenses:  Past, Present, Future, Past Perfect, Present Perfect, and Future Perfect.

English ~ From the Roots Up!

Bring both text books to class where I will see you tomorrow!

The Whole Thing Now!

Taking your returned 2 parts of the Super-Essay, comb through them correcting errors and troubled sentences and adding missed elements to complete a final polished copy of your Super-Essay!

All prior papers should have been polished and filed in your Polished Notebooks; make sure yours is up to date as likely your moms will want this commemorative collection of your progress in writing.  Bring these to class Friday also.  We will take a look over how far you came this year.

See you on FRIDAY, the last day of this school year!

Super-Intro & Conclusion

For Tuesday, using page 192, write and re-write a Super-Introduction and a Super-Conclusion for your Super-Essay, which I hope will be super indeed!  Remember that these introduce and conclude the whole essay and will therefore relate to the Themes of your paper.

When you put them with your whole essay, the essay should smoothly flow from one paragraph to the next.  I am looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday!

Level A Correction

The correct checklist page to also use for the final draft of Part 2 of the Super-Essay is page 193.

Vocab. & Super Essay, Part 2

Be fully prepared for your Final Vocabulary Exam, which will test you on ALL the vocabulary words, providing a word bank.  You do not have to focus on the similar words, unless they help you to remember the original word and definition.  Please be prepared for taking this test in class on Friday.

The Super-Essay Part 2 Final Draft is also due on Friday.  Level B should use the Checklist on Page 189.

Level A, you are to re-use the same checklist you used for part 1: page 185.

Keep in mind that this does NOT fully complete the project, as we will see in Friday how we are going to pull the two parts together to make the Full Super-Essay, which will be re-submitted after you make corrections to the 2 parts when you get them back this Friday (part 1) and next Tuesday (part 2).  The completed project must get done by next Friday of course ~ unless you wish to have a little "summer school" the following week??
Just Kidding - as none of us want that :)

Work hard to do your best work these last weeks!  See you on Friday, Lord willing.  (:

Completed Paragraphs

Complete the first 2 BODY paragraphs for Part 2 of the Super-Essay.  Just follow the same procedure you used for the body paragraphs of part 1.  Level B students may also do the third body paragraph.

Use at least 2 sources of information for each paragraph, which of course have different topics within your second theme.

Remember to bring your sources with you to class on Tuesday so you are able to make the most of your time in class.  You will need whatever sources you plan to use for writing the third body paragraph, unless you complete it by Tuesday, in which case you will be writing your Introduction and Concluding paragraphs instead.

Remember to write down using proper formatting, all the information for your Bibliography.

Final Draft of Part I of Super-Essay

Level A will use the Checklist on Page 193.  This checklist asks you to incorporate at least 2 pictures into your essay; it will be fitting for you to include them within the body of your paper as opposed to attached to the end.


Level B will use the Checklist on Page 185.  You are not required to insert pictures, but you are allowed to if you just want to do so.

Super-Essay Intro to Part 1

All students are to have completed the first 3 body paragraphs and the introduction for them by this Tuesday.

All instructions were explained in class today, and you can find them in your text book as well, as needed.

You are free to also complete the conclusion to this part of the essay, if you would like to do so.  Otherwise you may work on it in class on Tuesday.  Additionally in prep for Tuesday, you will need to bring 2 sources for beginning part 2 of the super-essay: whatever info. or source books you will be using to write about your 2nd theme.

Super-Essay Body Paragraphs

All students should have completed by Friday, the first 2 body paragraphs and the fused outline for the 3rd body paragraph.

Students may choose to proceed further and complete the 3rd body paragraph as well if you are ready and have time to do so!

Remember to save the proper information of your sources to list in your Bibliography.  The bottom of page 191 gives instructions for documenting the text book sources if you are using those.  The other notations for proper bibliography are found on page 89.

Topic A / Fused Outline Topic B

Due Tuesday:  Complete the first paragraph.  This paragraph is not the first paragraph of the paper, but the first paragraph of the body of the paper.  On the outline on page 173, it represents point III.

Also, get to the point of making your fused outline for Topic B.  This is point IV on the same outline above.

Remember, each of these topics should be information which you have fused together from 2 different sources. You may use 3 sources if you wish, but I am not requiring that at this point.  Remember to keep a list of your sources for your bibliography.

Polished Contrast & Super Essay Planning

Make your Polished Copy of your Contrast Essay and place it in your Polished Notebook.

To begin Lesson 26, you may choose the themes you prefer to use for the Super-Essay.  The book gives sources of information if you choose to use artists as one of your themes, but I will not require you to do so.  Of course, that then means you will have to fully come up with your own sources of information.

Level A: You only need 1 theme for RENAISSANCE MEN.  Choose the sources for your theme. Write the outline for the first body paragraph.  {None of this is anything new! - (Whew, what a relief that is :) }

Level B: You need 2 themes; choose them before Friday.  Choose the sources for your themes.  Write the outline for the first 2 body paragraphs.  Each of these paragraphs will be about a different artist, inventor, or whatever type of Renaissance men you choose.  Looking at the text Outline that explains the project on page 173, these instructions should make sense.  This assignment is for Roman numerals III and IV on that outline, except you are only writing the OUTLINES for them at this point!  Now is all that as clear as mud?  I sure hope not, as I have great confidence in your intelligences!

FINAL Drafts

Your contrast essay Final Drafts are due Tuesday.  Please have all the proper markings, the copy of your outline, and the attached checklist!  Thank you.

Rough Draft Lesson 25

Your Rough Draft for the Lesson 25 paper is due this Friday.  Continue putting true thought and effort into this paper.  I look forward to seeing your progress on Friday!

Final Draft of Lesson 24

Your Final Draft of the Lesson 24 paper is now due this Tuesday!

Lesson 24

Begin working on your Final Draft for the Lesson 24 paper: choose one discipline you believe it is important for a society to study it.

Remember the importance of supporting your reasons with examples and details and then commenting on them.  Using the outlines in the text will help you organize your paper.

You are to consider how the subject benefits a society and what the negative effects would be if it were not studied.  This consideration helps you form your reasoning, and your reasons (separately) are the topics for body paragraphs within the paper.  

The Final Draft will be due on Tuesday, April 17th.  No one should be late in turning this in on that date as you have plenty of time to accomplish the assignment at this point.

Freedom Writing!!

Here is an opportunity for which you have been waiting!  Write at least a 2 page, double-spaced paper of any type on any topic of your choice, without any quota of required elements.  It may be typed or handwritten, but it must be neat and grammatically correct.  You may not use banned words either.

Have a wonderful Easter break, and I look forward to seeing you back the following week.

Creative Writing

Complete your outline for your creative writing response to a prompt.  Additionally, write the rough draft paragraph (level A) or paper (level B) for this assignment.

I look forward to hearing about the interesting  ideas you each have in response to the prompt!  Please put forth genuine effort and interest to develop your ideas in your paper.  Your support information will give your ideas further credibility.  Please, enjoy doing your work :)

Is the Tailor Admirable?

Write your Final Draft for the paper that answers the question "Is the Tailor Admirable?".  Follow your Checklists carefully and be alert to proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar.  Remember that from now until the end of the year, I will be taking away additional points for misused commas, contractions, possessive pronouns, and sentences structures.

Is the Tailor Admirable?

Polish the Final Genghis Khan papers you received back in class today.  File the Polished Copy in your Polished Notebooks.  Please note that these should be placed in sequential order according to the lesson order followed in the book.  Those who did not have these in order today should bring them back to me on Friday.

Complete the Rough Draft for Lesson 23 which you outlined and began in our classes last week.

Vocab. Study and Polished Notebooks

Be prepared for your vocabulary quiz on Tuesday.  Remember that synonymous words will not be words found within the definitions of the vocabulary words.

Bring your Polished Notebooks to class for their quarter grading.  They should contain the Polished Copies of all papers graded, which will be through Lesson 18, the Narrative.

Descriptive Final Drafts

Lesson 22's Descriptive paper's Final Draft is due this Friday.

Continue studying your vocabulary cards.

Final Genghis Khan papers

Now, (drum role), you may write the Final Draft of your Genghis Khan papers!  Remember to follow the Checklists carefully.  I will deduct points now for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, particularly those we have repeatedly mentioned or reviewed.

Continue to study your vocabulary cards.  Those who did not cut them our or find similar words for them should make sure they do that by this Tuesday.

Vocab. and Lesson 22 Rough Drafts

Remember to refer to all the pages in Lesson 22 that are helpful for completing your Rough Draft of this Descriptive paper.

Cut out vocabulary cards for Lessons 20 and 21, remembering to write similar words on the back of them, and study the word definitions and the similar words.

Remember that the Polished Notebooks will be due on March 20th.  You received the Final Draft of your Narrative stories back today, which may be polished and placed in your notebook file!

Rough Drafts of Genghis Khan

Complete the Genghis Khan Rough Draft.  Be sure to use the outlines on pages 132 - 135.  Make sure you read page 134 before building your conclusion.  Use the appropriate Checklist for your grade level as you write the completed Rough Draft.

Critiquing Stories

Cut out and study the vocabulary cards for Lesson 19.  Remember to find some synonyms to add to the back of the card for study also.

Using pages 132 - 133, write outlines for parts that contain the Introduction, Characters, and the Conflict.  Then write the Rough Drafts for these paragraphs.  We will continue working on this project in class on Friday.

The Polished Notebooks will be due for grading on Tuesday, March 20.  You may now take the Sword and the Stone papers you received today and make a Polished Copy for this notebook, but I will only be checking it along with all other polished copies on March 20.  You will want to be working on all other graded papers that were not polished to add those to the notebook as well.

Final Draft for Narratives

Write your Final Draft for your Narrative story.  Remember to follow and attach your Final Checklist and to mark the required elements within your paper.

The Borrowed Conflict Rough Draft

Complete page 125 and write the remainder of your story.  If you are at all confused about how your story should be playing out, please refer back to page 123 which instructs you in borrowing the plot line from another familiar story.  This is the Rough Draft form that is due on Friday, so the more inclusive you are to use all the elements and follow the instructions, the less clean-up work you will have to do for the Final Draft.

Review all your vocabulary cards thoughtfully.  In fact, that would be good to do before your writing so the words are readily to your mind.

Narrative Stories

In Lesson 18, the adverb clause, called the "because clause," jumps into the list of dress-ups for your writing.

Using the outline on page 125, think through the development of the setting, characters, and background for your narrative story, and then write the rough draft of paragraph 1.

Cut out and study the vocabulary words for Lesson 18; don't forget, Level B students, to add synonyms to the back of the cards.

The Sword and the Stone

Now it is time for finalizing this paper!  We should all be together in this now ~ so everyone bring in your Final Draft for The Sword and the Stone (although you may change the title if you wish - based on your Final Clincher of course!).

Be sure that your paper has the correct Checklist attached.

Please note the changes about markings for this paper:

1) You do not have to mark every single adjective, strong verb, etc.  Just mark the minimum of each element for each part of the paper.  (It's okay if you have already marked more than the minimum.)  The Checklist is quite specific regarding what should be highlighted, so please refer faithfully to the Checklist.

2) I will now be taking off points for grammar and spelling errors where I had not so much been doing before, even if the checklist does not tell me to take off for them.

Finally ~ Happy Writing!

Vocab Quiz 3

Take the weekend to really know the vocabulary from lessons 1 - 16!  Whew ~ Can you believe we have made it this far!?  Don't forget to study your similar words as those are an important part of the quiz.

Take Quiz 3 and bring it back to class on Tuesday!

Vocab Words and Rough Drafts

Cut out and study the vocabulary words for Lesson 16.  Level B students should remember to find similar words to write onto the backs of the vocabulary cards.

Then complete the Sword and the Stone story by putting it into Rough Draft Form with the attached Checklist from page 118.  (Yes, I did say in class to go ahead and do the Final Draft, but I did change my mind.  Many students did not complete the 3rd paragraph in class, and I want to give extra time to really be extra thorough with all the elements of the story.)

You will exchange stories in class this Friday and critique each others' paper for the elements and for making suggestions to improve them.  Therefore, be sure to underline and label the elements appropriately.

The Sword in the Stone, part II

Follow the same sequence of steps as in Part I, using page 112 to answer the questions on page 113, brainstorm on pages 114 and 117.  Then use those pages to write the second paragraph of your story.  Amend the first paragraph I returned to you today as well. Don't forget to utilize the checklists and to label the elements in each paragraph, underlining them too.

These papers should be very neat if handwritten so as to not provide difficulty in me reading them.  Keep up the good work; I liked a lot of what I read from you all today!

It will take me a few days to get caught up on prior papers and grading for your Grammar report cards; thank you for your patience.

Story Sequence Part 1

First, thank you wonderful ones for such a warm welcome back to school today; you made my day!


Setting and Characters


Page 108 - #2 - As the instructions explain, you will use pages 110 - 111 to complete the assignment.  Please do this as they describe, step by step. 

After you have done as instructed on pages 110 -111, then use your outline on page 109 along with what you wrote on pages 110 - 111 to write the Rough Draft of this opening paragraph of your story.


That is all; do not make it complicated; just do what it says:)  Enjoy writing and remember to use the style checklist on the bottom of page 109 as you write the paragraph!

Now, for those who have read this whole assignment, you may search for a decoration within this blog post.  If you find it, I will have a treat for you Friday in class!

Research Papers

Continue working on your Rough Draft of the research paper if you have not completed it.  It should be finished when you come to class Tuesday.  Bring it to class along with your sources for this paper.

Review all your vocabulary words.

Due Friday, Jan. 20th

Complete whatever portion of the Rough Draft topical paragraphs that were not completed in class on Tuesday, Jan. 17th.  What is required at this point is the outlining, the fused outlines, and the rough draft paragraph that is written from the fused outline.

Keep your eyes on your checklist as your write your Rough Draft, but you will still have opportunity to make changes next week.  Writing, re-writing, and re-writing is what makes a final written piece mighty fine!  Thus, knowing this should give you patience and perseverance for this end goal.  Enjoy!

Due Tuesday, Jan. 17th ~ Vocab.

If you completely worked through the first topic rough draft process in class today, then you do not have any writing to do unless you want to tweak it a little more for your satisfaction.  If you did not write the first rough draft paragraph for Topic A of the research paper, then you must finish it over the weekend.

Cut out Lesson 15 vocabulary cards and study all of your words, but especially the new ones.  Level B students must also write 3 similar words on the back of each card as well.

Due Friday, Jan. 13

Make a Polished Copy of your Magic Lamp story if you received the grade for your Final Draft.  For those who have second chances to fix the Final Copy, you obviously will not yet be able to do your Polished Copy.

Complete the story of the Knight and the Dragon and form into its Final Draft Form.  Remember to attach the correct Checklist page to it.

Bring at least 2 sources which you have chosen to use for the next research paper to class on Friday.

Dominique Westman-Barth will be substituting in my absence.  Please make doing so more enjoyable for her by being prepared for class and by being ready to work when you come to class.  The more you seriously work in class, the less you will have to do later.  I look forward to being back with you as soon as possible!