Directions: To start the new year off with a bang, here are some writing prompts for you to work on in your reflection journals.

You can copy any or all of the quotations below exactly as shown (with quotation marks surrounding the words) on the left page of your notebook, and use the right page of your notebook to write how you feel, what connection you may have to this quotation, or if you agree or disagree with the sentiment.

Each reflection should be no less than one paragraph in length and filled with with solid sentences. You may use first person in this case, since it is like a journal entry! Remember to vary the length of your sentences and to read your writing out loud when you have finished.

You do not need to send any paragraphs directly to me, since we will be having two or three students read their essays out loud each Thursday evening in January and February! This will accompany our Personal Dictionary work, which we also share on Thursday evenings!

Enjoy!

1) "Impossible is just an opinion."         ~Paulo Coelho

2) "When you love what you have, you have everything you need."     ~A. A. Milne                    

3) "When you hit a wall -- of your own imagined limitations -- just kick it in."    ~Sam Shepard

4) "integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word."
~Brian Tracy

5) "I will not take 'but' for an answer."       ~ Langston Hughes

6) "like a welcome summer rain, humor may suddenly cleanse and cool the earth, the air and you."
~Langston Hughes

7) "Every moment is a fresh beginning."                 ~T. S. Eliot

8) "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."         ~Leonardo da Vinci

9) "Whatever you do, do it well."                        ~Walt Disney

10) "What we think, we become."                   ~Buddha

11) "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."      ~Mark Twain

12) "Tough times never last, but tough people do."                       ~Robert H. Schiuller

13) "Be so good they can't ignore you."              ~Steve Martin

14) "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud."    ~Maya Angelou

15) "The time is always right to do what is right."                  ~Martin Luther King Jr.

I  know we typically spend a week on one root, but I think you will find the following roots so interesting, you will be glad that we decided to work on two of them at the same time! Let's try them out!!

1. derma-                                              Latin origin                                                           Meaning: skin 
   
Examples:

dermatologist: skin doctor
​
dermabrasion: removal of superficial layers of skin with a tool 
       
hypodermic: pertaining to parts (tissues) under the skin 

(By the way, a tissue is a group of similar cells that together carry out a specific function. Organs are then form by the functional grouping of multiple tissues. Examples of tissue could be muscle tissue and even skin tissue!)

2. hydra-                                               Greek origin                                                           Meaning: water

Examples:

1. hydrate: a substance that contains water OR cause" to take up or combine with water"

2. hydrant: a discharge pipe with a valve and spout at which water may be drawn from a water main (as for fighting fire)

3. carbohydrate: any part of a group of organic compounds that contain only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and that originate chiefly as products of photosynthesis (a process by which plants prepare their own food using carbon dioxide and water in the presence of sunlight).

Your assignment: Please use a word from each root in a complete sentence. Be prepared to share them with the class! Can you come up with any more words containing these roots? You may define these words and use them in original sentences instead! Good luck!

                                                  

         

Let's see how much you remember from our classes last week! Please fill in the blanks in each sentence below with the correct word from our word bank. 

​                                                                                  Word Bank

DNA                             genome                        chromosome                       element                              helix
RNA                             gene                              nucleus                               compound                          double
heredity                       allele                            cell                                       trait                                   single
 

1. Material found in all living things that carries genetic instructions is known as ____________________.
2. This material is shaped like a ____________________________ with ___________________ strands.
3. A ___________________is a unit of heredity that is transferred from parent to offspring to determine characteristics of the offspring.
4. We inherit one ______________________________ for each gene from each parent>
5. The smallest unit of a living organism, and the basic unit of life, is called a _____________________.
6. Another word for characteristic is ___________________________.
7. A spiral shape is also known as a _________________________________.
8. The information and administration center of a cell is defined as its ____________________________.
9. An ____________________________ is a substance found naturally on earth, cannot be broken down into other substances, and is made from only one type of cell.
10. A _________________________ is made of two or more types of elements.

Bonus: Any time two atoms join together, they create a _________________________? If the atoms in this substance come from different elements, it would also be called a compound. Can you give an example of one?
​

Part Two: Now let's see how many words you can unscramble from the boxes below. Use your science notebook as you copy them down! Use each word in a sentence to show you understand its meaning!

Directions: Decide if the word in bold print in each sentence below is an adjective or an adverb!

1. Marie went to the showroom and decided to buy the blue car. _____________________________________________
2. There were ten students in the classroom that night. _____________________________________________________
3. I will see you all tomorrow. __________________________________________________________________________
4. I really love the season of Christmas! __________________________________________________________________
5. I am quite sure that you know the answer to that question! ___________________________________________________
6. Don't drive fast down that street! _____________________________________________________________________
7. Would you be able to accompany me to the music store? __________________________________________________
8. Are there enough dinner plates for our party? ___________________________________________________________
9. Thanksgiving is primarily an American holiday. _________________________________________________________
10. I did not see you standing there!  _________________________________ and _______________________________

Part Two: Using the sentences above (#1 - 10), please find each of the following parts of speech:

1. proper noun ______________________________________________________
2. verb of being _____________________________________________________
3. prepositional phrase _______________________________________________
4. direct object ______________________________________________________
5. pronoun _________________________________________________________
6. clause ___________________________________________________________

Part Three: Now select one of the sentences above as a writing prompt! It could begin your story, or it could be a sentence you include in the middle or end of your story. Your story needs to be two paragraphs in length, with every sentence constructed carefully! Check for correct capital letters and punctuation marks (especially the comma!)! I look forward to reading your latest creations!