October 17 and October 18, 2023 Lessons

October 17 AM and October 18 PM Lessons for RW3 Classes

Hello to our RW3 classes! At this point, I hope you are well into your October Writing Prompts! Please remember that five full-length paragraphs are due on October 31 for our AM class AND on November 1 for PM class (and by full-length, I mean five sentences or more, as I'm sure you know by now)! Please feel free to add more sentences OR complete more prompts!! Your teacher would certainly love this!!:)

The following lessons are meant to provide you with more review work as well as with new, introductory material I know you will enjoy!! 

Note: When our evening class reads this on Wednesday night, October 18, please thank Pam for stepping in to teach you all tonight! Thank you so much, Pam!! You're the best!

Part One.
Idiom of the Day 
Idiom: a piece of cake

Directions #1: Sorry if the latest idiom makes you hungry, but because it's an idiom, it is a type of figurative language. To review, this means we have to figure it out! If we did not have to figure it out, and we were really speaking about cake, we would be using literal language! Literal language means exactly what it is written. Let's look at some examples of each.

Literal Language: Everyone in the class received a piece of cake in honor of Jack's birthday.
(There is no hidden meaning in this sentence; everyone is about to eat a delicious dessert!)
                                                                               BUT
Figurative Language: After passing the HiSET with a high grade, Jack said that the test was a piece of cake.
(Now let's make an inference about this sentence's meaning by looking at the rest of the sentence first.)
Think Out Loud: Jack not only passed the HiSET, but he did so with a high grade. Do you think Jack had much difficulty with this test? Is the fact that Jack passed the test with a high grade positive or negative? Based on your answers to these, what word could replace "a piece of cake" to show that the test was NOT difficult?

If you answered with the word "easy" or any word that is similar (or a synonym), you understood this idiom. Yay!
Now let's go back and see if the word easy (or another word you may have chosen) makes sense in the sentence:
After passing the HiSET with a high grade, Jack said that the test was easy.
It worked!

Directions #2: Now let's see if we can tell the difference between figurative and literal language! Take your time to read each of the following sentences carefully. Decide if there is a hidden meaning in each one. If the sentence makes sense just the way it is, please circle the word literal. If the sentence has hidden meaning that has to be figured out, please circle the word figurative! Have fun!

1. literal     figurative         The basketball game lasted for more than two hours.
2. literal     figurative         One player scored 32 points; he said that winning that game was a piece of cake.
3. literal     figurative         The players then congratulated each other and left the court.
4. literal     figurative         Their coach said that winning this game was actually a blessing in disguise.
5. literal     figurative         He explained that if the team had not won, they would not have made it to the finals.
6. literal     figurative         He said that he had not told the players about this; he had kept it under his hat.
7.  literal     figurative         He knew if he had told them the truth, they may have been too nervous to play!
8. literal     figurative         In the end, this team hit the jackpot and won the state championship!

Part Two.
Our Greek and Latin Root Review
Directions: We have discussed the differences between the roots anti- and pro- during these last few classes.
Please select true or false, depending on whether the word containing a root is being used correctly!

1. Sue shared her anti-violence belief; she wanted everyone to live together peacefully.         true     false
2. He was a prolific writer; he only wrote one book in ten years.                                                true     false
3. She was proficient at her job; she was able to do all tasks required of her.                            true     false
4. Jim used an antiseptic on his cut; this medicine was used to keep bacteria away.                 true     false
5. Sam was the antagonist in the story; he was on the protagonist's side.                                  true     false
(Note: This last one is a bonus! Who is the protagonist in a story? If you answered main character, you may be able to figure out the rest of the sentence!)

Part Three.
Grammar Fun
Directions: Let's review that a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea!! An example of each could be the following: girl, school, desk, happiness (common nouns)    OR       Jana, Somerville High School, Ford Mustang (proper nouns)

Now, let's decide which noun in the following sentences is the subject (the main person, place, or thing that is doing the main action)!

1. Deshawn applied for a job at the local bank. _________________________________________________________
2. Sam really enjoyed the movie. ____________________________________________________________________
3. Even though it was nearly midnight, Marsha typed the rest of her story. ________________________________
4. The bottle of water fell on the ground.___________________________________________________________
5. Without even reading the entire story, Tomas knew what would happen. ________________________________
6. Many boys at the Boys Club enjoyed the sports offered there. ________________________________________
7. Have you heard the latest news? _________________________________________________________________
8. Massachusetts, a state located in New England, is a nice place to live. __________________________________
9. Where in the world did Lisa go? __________________________________________________________________
10. Happiness is something we all want. _____________________________________________________________​

Part Four
Punctuation Marks
Directions: Let's review the semicolon before we begin this exercise. For one thing, it looks like this  ;
For another, it is a lot like a period, except that it is used to join two sentences that have similar ideas, creating one long sentence.

Example: October is such a fun month; you can visit craft fairs, pick apples, or even select a pumpkin for your home.
(As you can see, the second part of the sentence, which follows the semicolon, could be a sentence on its own. The reason why we decided to join it to the first part is that they both contain information about October and how fun this month is!)

Now let's see an INCORRECT Example: October is such a fun month; Tim bought new shoes yesterday.
(In this case, the second part of the sentence that follows the semicolon has nothing at all to do with how much fun October is.)

For each of the following sentences, decide whether the semicolon is used correctly! Choose yes or no!

1. I got home late last night; Sue's car is such a nice bright color.                       yes     no
2. This class is wonderful; it is a pleasure to teach here every night!                  yes     no
3. Autumn is a lovely time of year; Trini needs to take the train to work.          yes     no
4. Thanksgiving is on its way; turkeys are already on sale.                                 yes     no
5. Sign your name on the dotted line; be sure you use black ink.                        yes     no
6. Working out is good for you; I may bake cupcakes for dessert tomorrow.      yes     no
7. She walked four miles every day; Cape Cod is a fun place to visit.                   yes     no
8. Sean has a vacation home; it is located in Lake Winnipesaukee.                      yes     no
9. I hope you are all enjoying the semicolon; it is a fun punctuation mark.         yes     no

Part Five.
Question and Answer
Directions: I will provide the answer for you. Take a moment to think up a question that could go with this answer. There may be many possible questions! 
Answer: It will only take five minutes to do!
Question: ????? _________________________________________________________________________________?
Note: To check to see if your question works, simply read the question your created first, and then read the  answer already listed second. Does it make sense? If not, reword your question so that it does!

Part Six.
Writing
Directions: I have provided three sentences as your story starter to jumpstart your story. Please be sure to use complete sentences and parallel structure to continue this tale. Maintain the point of view used in the beginning of the story, as well! Remember that you can decide whether the story is humorous, sad, serious, or happy. You can also add characters or other situations if you'd like! Be sure to add at least seven sentences of your own!! As always, enjoy the process!!

                      Ruth thought she'd be staying in an expensive hotel during her vacation, but instead she found herself at a quiet inn in the middle of a wooded area. At first, she liked the peaceful nature of her surroundings; it was so different from her life in the city. But then she found a strange note under the door of her room.







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