Week 1 Recap & Suggested Assignments

Nice job today students & moms!  You were tremendous troopers today! (hey, is that alliteration??)  Getting all that information at once is exhausting and can leave your brain spinning. You all dove right in and I'm so proud of you all!


IN REVIEW:
~~ GRAMMAR ~~

**112 Classifications** (Mastery Chart A)

8 Parts of Speech (POS)
1. Noun
2. Verb/Predicate
3. Pronoun
4. Adjective
5. Interjection
6. Conjunction
7. Adverb
8. Preposition

These are the ingredients for our sentences. :)

5 Parts of a Sentence

Now that we know the ingredients for our sentences, we must next understand that a sentence just isn't a sentence without the following 5 components-

1. It must contain a subject.
2. It must contain a verb/predicate.
3. It must make sense.
4. It must begin with a capital letter.
5. It must end with a punctuation mark.

Once we've established that a group of words form a proper sentence, we can begin classifying them by
STRUCTURE-

A sentence will fall into one of four structure categories-

SIMPLE =
A simple sentence consists of one independent clause that expresses a complete thought.

Jesus wept.    
Mrs. C bakes.

COMPOUND =
A compound sentence is a sentence that consists of at least two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.

Jesus wept yet He sang.
Mrs. bakes and she devours cookies.

COMPLEX =
A complex sentence consists of an independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Jesus, who laughed, wept.
Mrs. C, a chocolate lover, bakes.

COMPOUND-COMPLEX =
A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses (like a compound sentence) and at least one dependent clause (like a complex sentence).

Jesus, who laughed, wept, yet He sang.
Mrs. C, a chocolate lover, eats and she devours chocolate chip cookies.

Now that we've classified the sentence by structure, we can determine their PURPOSE-

DECLARATIVE =
A declarative sentence makes a statement and contains a period.

Jesus wept.
Mrs. C bakes.

INTERROGATIVE =
An interrogative sentence asks a question and contains a question mark.

Did Jesus weep?
Does Mrs. C bake?

EXCLAMATORY =
An exclamatory sentence shows excitement/strong emotion and contains an exclamation point.

Jesus wept!
Mrs. C bakes!

IMPERATIVE =
An imperative sentence gives a command/directive and typically contains a period.

Weep. ("You" is the implied subject in these sentences.)
Bake. ("You" is the implied subject in these sentences.)

UNDERSTANDING COMPONENTS OF A SENTENCE:

Phrases = a group of words that do not contain both a subject and a verb
Clauses = a group of words that do contain both a subject and a verb
Independent clauses = clauses that can stand alone
Dependent clauses = clauses that cannot stand alone


~~ WRITING ~~
Today we talked about how a paper needs both structure & style.  Structure is the way our paper is put together (our "plans") and style is the sprinkler system that helps bring our writing to life!


We learned about quality adjectives, alliteration, strong verbs & ly words (lessons 1 & 2 Ancient History Based Writing).


A Note to the Parents: In effort to prepare the students for more challenging work, I will be encouraging them to take notes in class. Due to the varying levels of comprehension and technical aptitude, a younger student might have difficulty keeping up/getting all the notes transcribed. I am a firm believer in empowering the student to feel confident, not defeated, in their efforts. Therefore, I encourage you to discuss this with your child. You may wish to encourage your student to take the notes in class as best they can, but assure them that you too will be taking notes. This way, the student will feel accomplished in their own ability in meeting your expectations, yet will not worry that he's missing something because he knows you are his back up. If you have questions or concerns about this, please contact me. =~)


PARENTS - SUGGESTED ASSIGNMENTS*:
~~GRAMMAR~~
("At Home" p 29-30 in EEL Guide)
Mastery Chart A & B - Focus on Memorizing Parts of Speech; 5 Parts of Sentence; Sentence Structures, Purposes & Patterns; Practicing model sentences for Mastery Chart B
**No EEL Tasks this week!


Don't forget the Editing, Punctuation & Capitalization Rules, Spelling Rule & Homophones at the end of the lesson if you choose to use.   Also don't forget there are spelling lists in the Excursion Section of the EEL guide.  (FYI - I won't reference these each week.)


Examples for scaling:
1st year student - focus on memorizing some of Mastery Chart A like Parts of Speech, 5 Sentence Parts - whatever you feel is important for them to learn; Mastery Chart B - focus on simple sentence for all purposes and start with first pattern
2nd - 3rd year student - work towards mastery of Chart A & B; moving towards creating their own sentences for structures, purposes & patterns for Chart B


Remember - only you know you're child's current level of grammar knowledge & your goals for them this year.  Set the bar high, but don't be afraid to start slow & work your way up. 


Related OMT (Our Mother Tongue) Lessons: 10-12 & 26


CHALLENGE:  Say the 5 parts of a sentence & sentence structures (from Mastery Chart A) from memory for a sweet treat!  2nd & 3rd yr students add 8 parts of speech & 2 other sections of Mastery Chart A (As with all "sweet treat rewards", this will be done with parent & parent will let me know if you completed this challenge.)


~~WRITING~~

This week you'll be writing a poem - Ancient World Poem p 8 or The Great Flood Poem p 12 in Ancient History Based Writing Lessons (remember you can make changes to the model - (definitely encourage for 2nd-3rd yr student)
Be sure to add quality adjectives, some alliteration, STRONG ACTION VERBS & ly words! (Refer to sample poem on page 10 or 14)
REMEMBER TO ALWAYS HAVE YOUR SRN OUT WHEN YOU ARE WRITING TO HELP YOU ADD ALL THAT SNAZZY STYLE!

Parents: Their is a checklist for stylistic techniques on p 14 (you will notice there is a checklist with each writing assignment).  It's a great idea to use this to make sure your child is adding in those dress-ups etc & not using banned words.  Once your writer is more experienced (2nd-3rd year student), then feel free to modify those to suit your needs (i.e. add  or replace with advanced techniques etc).


Vocabulary - Cut out & learn lesson 1 vocabulary words (Ancient History Based Writing Lessons Student Book in back)


Sample Writing Schedule:
Wednesday
Brainstorm adjectives & strong verbs for "topics" listed on p9 or 13 (or others if you made changes to the model); choose the best ones then write or type a draft of your poem (you have your SRN out right??)


Thursday
Revise and edit to make sure you have adjectives that best (& properly) describe your "topics".  Also remember those strong verbs & ly words.  Check to see that you have some alliteration - remember use sparingly!


Friday
Type or write your final paper - YOU'RE DONE!!!  Relax & enjoy the holiday weekend!!


Scaling examples:
1st year student - hand write papers or you may type for them.  They can also dictate to you.
2nd - 3rd year student - have them make changes to the model or create their own and/or do both poems


*Parent Note:
These are suggested assignments.  YOU are the teacher so you have final say over the assignments for both writing and grammar. So don't stress!! :)