May 6-9, 2025 Skills

Hi! Here are more skills to sharpen your communication skills and to prepare you for anything to do with words! Haha! This means more idioms, literary terms, grammar knowledge, writing prompts, Greek/Latin roots, sequencing, logic, among so much more! 

Let's go!!

Part One
Idiom of the Day
Directions: In the sentence that follows, you will find an idiom in bold print. Use the context clues in the sentence to help you decide the meaning of this phrase (or at the very least, whether it is a positive or negative idea!). 

Danny had worked hard in studying every aspect of math skills; it was not time to let the chips fall where they may.

Sentence clues I used:

My definition for this idiom:

Can you provide a new sentence of your own that uses this idiom?

Part Two
Greek/Latin Roots
Root of the Day: photo
Origin: The Greek word is phos.
Meaning: light
Examples: photograph, photocopy, photogenic, photon

What is the connection between the above words and their meaning (light)?

Sample Sentence: A photon is basically what light is made of.

Directions: Please place one of the four words above in each of the sentences below. Look for context clues in the sentences to help you make your decision!

1. A lovely ______________________________ of Giana and Tori was displayed on the wall.
2. A tiny particle known as a ___________________________ can be compared to a packet of energy that contains light.
3. Patti is very _________________________________; she looks wonderful in every photo she takes!
4. Excuse me for a moment; I have to _____________________________ these materials so that everyone in the class can receive one!

Part Three
Poetic Literary Terms
Literary Term of the Day: enjambment

Description: In poetry, we measure words that go across the page in lines. But does each line have to end when there is no more room (and your pen would slide right off the paper)?

Enjambment occurs when your poetic line continues on the next line!

Example:        Each step harnesses
                    hope, unleashing dreams come true
                        SCALE students succeed
                    
The above is a poetry form known as haiku. This traditional Japanese form uses three lines of poetry, with line one containing five syllables, line two containing seven syllables, and line three containing five syllables      (known as a 5-7-5 pattern). Take a moment to count the syllables in each line above.

Note: If you need help remembering how to count syllables, remember that any time you HEAR a vowel sound, a syllable can be counted. It does not matter how many vowels you SEE, only what you HEAR. For example, the word neighbor may have three vowels we can see (e, i, and o), but we only hear the ei together (which makes an "a" sound) and the o at the end. This means that neighbor has two syllables.

Enjambment occurs in the haiku above when the first line continues into the second one to complete one thought!

Notice that there is only one punctuation mark in my short poem above. In poetry, many grammar rules that we follow strictly in prose do not need to be followed in grammar if the poet decides they are not necessary!

A great resource for understanding the differences between poetry and prose is the following website from Oxford Scholastica, a summer program founded by two Oxford University students :
​ https://www.oxfordscholastica.com/blog/creative-writing-articles/whats-the-difference-between-poetry-and-prose/

Here is another sample for you:

                                   before the light goes out
                         grab more wood and stoke it well
                                   keep the flame alive

Remember that poems are often figurative, which we know means we have to figure them out! Is the above poem actually talking about fire? What connection can we make between what is happening in the poem and what the poet is truly speaking about? 

My inference:


Your Turn: Try your hand at writing haiku! Remember to follow the structure of using five lines with a 5-7-5 syllable pattern, but beyond that, create what you'd like!

Part Four
Grammar Challenge
Grammar Skill of the Day: Subject and Verb Agreement

Directions: In the sentences below, be sure to locate the subject of the sentence (the main person, place, thing, or idea that is doing the main action in the sentence). After you have done this, decide which form the verb provided fits best with this subject.

Example: The book of poems (was, were) filled with beautiful pictures and golden paper edges!
The subject in this sentence is book. The words of poems is simply a prepositional phrase that provides more information about what is in the book! The verb that works with book is the word was!

If we were to remove the prepositional phrase from the sentence, it would read:
            The book was filled with beautiful pictures and golden paper edges.

Your turn:

1. The "champion" of cereals (is, are) Wheaties (which is what they said in commercials many years ago!).
2. The clouds in the azure blue sky (is, are) particularly fluffy today.
3. Poems, like many other types of writing we study, (is, are) meant to be read for both literal and figurative meaning.
4. (Have, Has) you seen the boys who are playing in the game tonight?
5. (Are, Is) that the class of students who studied so hard they began to pass test after test?
6. The computers in the lab across the hall (is, are) fun to use.
7.  That shelf of books (is, are) so full I don't believe you could add another one to it.
8. (Do, Does) the paintings at the museum seem familiar to you?
9. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables (is, are) a great way to stay healthy.
10. Essential Education, a software program designed to help students review important skills, (is, are) especially helpful to us this year!

Part Five
Writing
Quick Write!

Directions: The following is a story to which you will add only two sentences! Then, you will pass your paper to the student to your right, and they will continue your story, adding two more sentences, as well. They will in turn pass the paper to another student, and so on. When time is up, papers will be returned to their original owners, who will then read the new story to the class. Have fun!!

     Jayson was on his way to the shop when he saw something unusual happening on the street corner. He was so surprised, in fact, that he had to look twice to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. 









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