Grammar Equations

Equation for a Sentence

     Subject

     Verb

+  Complete Thought

    SENTENCE or

    Independent Clause

Equation for a Dependent Clause

     Subordinating Conjunctions

    Subject

     Verb

+  Unfinished Thought

    Dependent Clause or

    Subordinate Clause

Compound Sentence Formula

S+V , fanboys S+V 

OR 

Independent Clause, fanboys Independent Clause

Complex Sentence Formula

Dependent Clause , + independent clause

     (Note:  Use a comma when you begin a sentence with the dependent clause)

OR

Independent clause + dependent clause

     (Note:  Don’t use a comma when the dependent clause comes at the end of the sentence.)

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 13 (April 23)

Greetings!

We're nearing the end of our classes here at CHAT, and I can sense a change is the atmosphere.  While the students are doing their best to stay engaged, you can tell that the end of the school year is just around the corner.

This week on April 23 was the 10th anniversary of Youtube.  For the Quick Write, I asked the students to write something about Youtube, which could include opinions about videos or their favorite  videos

Our Latin Roots of the Day:

navis -- L. ship -- English derivatives:  navy, nautical, navigate, circumnavigate, navigable, nave

nihil -- L. nothing -- English derivatives:  nihilism, nihilist, annihilate, annihilation, nil

nocto -- L. night -- English derivatives:  nocturnal, nocturne

nova -- L. new -- English derivatives: innovation, novice, novel, renovate, supernova, novelty

Students handed in the Final Drafts of their News Stories, and in return were given their final writing assignment:  an Essay Re-Write. For these essays, they are to select one of the essays to edit and revise.  This can be what they would consider a "worst essay" or an essay they would like to spend more time on.  They should consider the previously written final draft as the rough draft for their Re-Write.

Next week is a big week for our class.  For me, it's better to have the important, end of the year assignments due the week before the final week.  During the final week, we celebrate the end of the year with some poetry presentations and treats.

To finish out our Grammar unit of commas, we will have a test next week.  Similar to the Comma Review of last week, the test will be 37 sentences that require commas.  In class, we discussed how to study for this test.  They can go over past worksheets and assignments, check out previous e-mails, and read through blog posts from this semester.  To help, I'm sending the answer key for last week's "Mastering the Comma" assignment.

As we reviewed some comma rules, we found ourselves discussing at length compound and complex sentences.  We had some real teamwork going on as the students worked hard to fully understand.

Note:  If you will NOT be in class next week, let me know and I will send you the grammar test to take at home under the watchful eye of a parent.

Finally, the Poetry.  Next week we will start our "Poetry Jam."  The class will be divided into teams and as individual players will each present a poem for their teams.  

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Essay Re-Write

-- Study for the Spring Grammar test

-- Prepare at least 1 poem for the Poetry Jam

Links for this week:

Class Notes

Grammar Equations

Essay Re-Write

Comma Usage Handout (from Week 1)

Purdue OWL:  Conquering the Comma

The Comma Song video

How to Use Commas Correctly video

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Prichard

Essay Rewrite

Definition

The purpose of this essay is to improve editing skills by rewriting a previously written essay.  Effective editing is a step-by-step process.  One key is to re-read a paper multiple times, looking for only one kind of error at a time.

Editing Plan

As you re-read your paper, look for any errors in the following areas:

·       Complete sentences:  Each sentence should have a subject, verb, and a complete thought.  Look for incomplete and run-on/comma splice sentences.

·       Parallel Constructions:  Faulty parallel construction leads to unclear and awkward sentences.

·       There are/is/was/will be, etc.:  Any sentences with this type of construction must be changed.

·       Punctuation:  Pay close attention to commas and ending punctuation.

·       Agreement:  Make sure all subjects and verbs agree; also look for noun/pronoun agreement.

·       Spelling:  With the spell check function for most word processing software, this is not as much of a problem as it used to be.  However, your computer will not know if you’ve put the wrong word in, or it may autocorrect and change the word from the one you intended.

·       Paragraph construction:  Each paragraph must have a main idea.  Make sure that all of the thoughts expressed in the paragraph are part of that main idea.  Do any sentences need to be moved to another paragraph?  Does the paragraph need to be divided into smaller paragraphs?

·       Organization:  Is the overall organization of the paper logical?  Does each point lead to the next?  Should it be rearranged?

·       Content:  The essay should give sufficient information to support your thesis. Have you included enough background information?  Have you satisfactorily covered the material?  As you re-read, look for ways to expand your essay.  Also, note any information that seems unnecessary. 

Thesis Development

Your essay should have a clearly defined thesis that you explain and support.  Sometimes a thesis is simple and straightforward; sometimes they are more complex.  Your reader should never be confused as to your topic and your decided opinion or stand on that topic.    

Additional Assignment

Along with a revised and improved version of a previous essay, the following are also to be included:

–  Thesis Statement

–  One paragraph entitled “What I’ve Learned as a Writer this Year.”  (100 – 200 words) This paragraph can include thoughts about grammar and mechanics, organization, thesis development, sentence structures, etc.

Essay Guidelines

– Due date:  April 30

– Essay length:  500 – 700 words (between 2 and 4 pages)

– Additional work:  Thesis statement and a paragraph about what you’re learned as a writer.

– Final draft format:

– Typed (if this is not possible, please let me know)

– 1 inch margins

– Name and date on the upper right hand corner

– Number the pages on the lower right hand corner

– Title centered above the text of the essay

Mastering the Comma Review

Punctuate the following sentences.

1.     Throughout these four essays a theme of fitting into society is found.

2.     Jim hand forgotten to change his watch to daylight saving time so he missed the first meeting of the day.

3.     In the essay “Ring Leader” the writer does not try to hide her peculiarities but becomes more forceful in making them apparent.

4.     He was speaking to me his sister as if I were a child.

5.     Nick told me that Joan was an employee of the college the wife of a professor.

6.     When I looked the car over I saw that its tire seemed to be losing air so I drove to the station on the corner and filled it up.

7.     From the start to finish the defense insisted that the one and only issue in the case was whether the college had deprived Jane of her right to free speech.

8.     The professor thought of Janet the only mother in her classes who cooked in a diner all day and came to school at night worn out.

9.     She filed an official grievance which worked its way through the institutional process.

10.            Even though Matt was angry with Carrie he decided to call her anyway.

11.            I realized that I could gain another 15 minutes of sleep if I went to class in my pajamas but I noticed that my fellow classmates had made the same discovery.

12.            From changing our hairstyles to changing our physical appearances surgically some of us have strong desires to conform to society’s demands to fit in.

13.            Society is no help for it tells us again and again that we can most be ourselves by looking like someone else.

14.            From the moment I got out of bed and answered the phone today great things began to happen.

15.            She was not in the popular group and she wished that she could feel accepted by her peers.

16.            The paper which she finally decided to write on an aspect of the Civil War received an A.

17.            The newspaper that covered the story misspelled my name.

18.            My aunt Mary Ann said that her inn was filled over the Thanksgiving holiday.

19.            When we bought the new house Josie helped paint all the downstairs rooms.

20.            For the reunion my family came from England France Italy and South Dakota.

21.            While the children sang in the recital their parents watched with rapt attention.

22.            She cared so much about the way others looked at her that she forgot what really matters which is feeling comfortable with oneself.

23.            He rooted for his home baseball team and he wished it would win more often.

24.            As she grew older Anna found that her home and garden became more important to her.

25.            Leah and her suitemates Carla Heather Jessica and Samantha went skiing during winter break.

Writing 1 Class Notes -- Week 11 (April 9)

Greetings!

We had a good class this Thursday.  It was good to be back after our break.  It's good to have a break from some classes so that we can return to our CHAT classes refreshed and ready to work hard for the next few weeks.

Our Quick Write this week was in recognition of World Health Day on April 7. I asked the students to write about a healthy life; it could be either serious or ironic.  One student suggested a Buddy the Elf diet consisting of maple syrup, chocolate syrup, and Pop Tarts.

Our Latin Roots of the Day were:

laborare -- Latin, to work -- English derivatives:  labor, laborious, collaborate, elaborate, laboratory

lingua -- Latin. tongue, language -- English derivatives:  linguist, linguistic, language, linguine (from L. tongue)

luc -- Latin (genitive) light, bright -- English derivatives:  lucid, elucidate, translucence, Lucifer

lumen -- Latin, light -- English derivatives:  illuminate, luminary, Illuminati, bioluminescence 

lux -- Latin (nominative) a light -- English derivatives:  luxurious, luxury

I usually take time while students are doing their Quick Writes to hand back their homework.  After discussing the Quick Writes, we discussed the assignments.  Some students had some old, missing assignments which they handed in.  They also handed in their rough drafts of their News Stories.  I look forward to reading them this weekend.

We have switched gears with our literature.  We began the semester with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, spent a few weeks reading O. Henry's short stories.  And now we have a book of poetry.  We discussed three specific poems this week:  "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" by Langston Hughes; "Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost; and "the Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams.  As we read these poems, we look for meaning and symbolism.  For next week's poetry reading, they are to write 2 critical thinking questions for two poems.

We've also made a transition in our grammar.  Having finished with some commas work, we're focusing on other bits of punctuation.  The worksheets from last week dealt with quotation marks and italics.  This week we went over dashes, parentheses, and hyphens.  They were given a worksheet and a handout discussing specific hyphen use.

About our worksheets

We worked on 14-3 in class.  We finished # 1-10 in class.  The final five problems and the other side of the worksheet can be done as extra credit.

We finished part of 15-4 in class; 15-3 should be finished as homework

Assignments for Next Week:

-- Read the poems by the following poets:

      Wordsworth (p. 12); Browning (p. 19); Bronte (p. 24); Hopkins (p. 31)

-- For 2 of the poems, write 2 discussion questions

-- No essay homework, unless you have not finished the News Story rough draft.

This week's links:

Class Notes

William Carlos Williams' Red Wheelbarrow

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening analysis

The Negro Speaks of Rivers analysis

Have a beautiful weekend!  Maybe, just maybe it won't snow!

Mrs. Prichard