Hi, everyone!

Today, we are going to use an archived posting of mine to see how well we are doing at this point in 2024!! We will look at lessons from January - March 2021 to check how effectively the skills we have learned this past term match up to what a similar class was doing in 2021! As usual, I will have the hard copy that matches this work ready for you to use! We will begin together, but you will eventually work on your own.

I will also collect your papers when you are finished, so please try your best (and please . . . do not ask a friend for help or look at your notebooks!). 

​You can do it!!

GOOD LUCK!!! 
Maria

I am positive you will find great uses for the appositive!!

Directions: Each section below contains a different way of practicing the placement of an appositive in a sentence. Remember that the goal of writing is to be clear and concise; if we need to add ideas, they need to be important enough to make our sentences more interesting!! The appositive can do the job!

Part One.
Locate and circle the appositive in each sentence below.

1. I went shopping with my friend Jen, someone I have known for years.
2. It's great to work in Somerville, a busy city north of Boston.
3. Selena, the hostess at the restaurant, could not find our reservations.
4. The restaurant, Trattoria Amalfi, was packed with many customers that evening.
5. My friend dropped his cellphone, the latest iPhone, and the screen cracked.
6. I ordered my favorite dish, butternut squash ravioli!

Part Two.
Now add your own appositive to each sentence. Be sure the details you create work well with the meaning of your sentence. Also, be careful NOT to begin the appositive with a preposition! The appositive itself functions as a noun!!

1. My sister bought me a new laptop, _a_______________________, for Christmas.
2. We need to go to that new restaurant, ____________________________, when you get out of work tonight.
3. Is that car, _the__________________________, yours?
4. She wanted to buy food for Dino, _her_________________________.
5. Do you shop at that store, ______________________________.

Note: You can check to see if you have created an appositive by taking away the noun it renames and seeing if the sentence still makes sense.  Here is an example below:

Example: My dad, a well-known Boston surgeon, was awarded a prize for being such a good doctor.

Let's see if I can take away the noun dad and replace it with the appositive in bold print. It would read:
A well-known Boston surgeon was awarded a prize for being such a good doctor.

Let's also see if the sentence makes sense without the appositive.
My dad was awarded a prize for being such a good doctor.

Note: The appositive in the sentence above is just another way to say my dad. It provides more detail about this person without using more adjectives. 

More practice will follow in the days to come, but I hope you are getting a good idea of how the appositive, a part of speech that functions as a noun, can make your sentences come alive!

Bonus: Can you find the appositive in the sentence we just read?

In addition to today's work, we will be going to our archives for last January and February (2023) for more practice and review work!
​Enjoy!!

Happy New Year! Let's begin 2024 in the best way possible!! Make today the beginning of the greatest chapter of your life!

                            Enjoy the latest sections of our daily review and introduction to new terms.

Part One.
Root of the Week
Directions: Today's root is listed below. Have you seen it before? If so, in what way was it used? When you learn a new root, you are expanding your vocabulary in such a way that you can apply this new knowledge to many other words!! 

Root:                                  Origin:                      Meaning:                    Examples:              Can you think of more?
chron-                                 Greek                       "time"                          chronological 
                                                                                                                chronic
                                                                                                                chronicle
                                                                                                                synchronize

Here are some sample sentences in which each of the examples above is used. Can you tell from the context clues provided what each one means? How does it relate to time?

1. Have you ever tried to put the main events in your life in chronological order?
2. She is chronically late for her job; I hope she has an understanding boss!
3. The article you will read will chronicle the events of the Gold Rush.
4. The dancers synchronized their movements flawlessly.

Activity: In a moment, you will pair up with someone in class to prepare a timeline of important events in your life!

• First, you will simply list these events as you think of them. For instance, you may want to list a special birthday you had, but you may also wish to list the day you were born. For this first list, the order does not matter.
• After you have all the events you wish to display, you can then list the date each one occurred. 
• Next, you will number these events in chronological order!
• Finally, you will prepare a timeline, which will showcase the important times of your life in chronological order! (We will go over exactly how to do this together in class!)
• Enjoy the process, as always!!

Part Two.
Subject and Verb Agreement
Directions: Please select the correct form of the verb in each sentence below based on the subject used. Please be careful when locating the subject; it is the doer of the main action of each sentence!

1. The Patriots, a football team from New England, (is, are) finished playing for the season.
2. Salvatore (enjoy, enjoys) playing the piano every Friday night.
3. The men on the hockey team (play, plays) hard at every game; this is why they (has/have) such a great record.
4. Simone and Gino, two friends of mine, (is, are) coming to visit me in February.
5. (Do, Does) the stories we read seem interesting to you?
6. (Was, Were) your vacation a fun one?


Part Three.
Literary Term
Directions: Anachronism is our new term for today. Do you notice our Greek root within the word? Let's look at how this word is used in a sentence, and see if you can figure out exactly what it means!

While watching a movie over the weekend, Tanika noticed an anachronism. The setting of the movie was supposed to be in the 1950s, but the main actor was using a cellphone to make a phone call!

Let's take a moment to discuss this!

My definition of anachronism is:

Activity: You will now pair up with a different partner, and create a scene from a movie or a book that contains an anachronism! If you'd like, this can be something others will find humorous!

Write your sentence(s) here:


Part Four.
Grammar
New Term: Appositive

An appositive is typically a group of words that renames a noun in a sentence. Its purpose is to expand the sentence with pieces of information we may want the reader (or listener) to know! We will look back at our Skills Page now for some examples of the appositive and how it is used.

Example: Roldane, a member of SCALE, did a great job on the first paper of the new year!
Step One: Let's find all the nouns in this sentence. Please list them in the space below:


Step Two: Which one of these nouns is followed by a group of words that names that same noun in a different way? In fact, we could actually take away the noun and use this group of words instead, and the sentence would still make sense! This group of words is our appositive!

Your answer:

Exercise: Please find the appositive in each sentence that follows!

1. Massachusetts, a New England state, is known for its cranberries!
2. Jayson Tatum, a member of the Boston Celtics, is a talented basketball player.
3. Did you happen to find my book, a tale of mystery?
4. The family bought a new car, a Hyundai Sonata.
5. Passing the GED, an assessment just like the HiSET, will allow you to reach your High School Equivalency Diploma.
6. Tommy, my cousin, owns an Espresso company.

Part Five.
Idiom of the Day
When Jim's hours were cut at work, it was the straw that broke the camel's back, and he decided to find a new job.

What does this idiom mean? Write your answer here:


Have you ever had an experience in which something happened to you that was the straw that broke the camel's back?  Write about your situation in the space below.




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