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Hi, everyone! Here are tonight's skills, filled with both new items and a review of oldies! As always, enjoy the process!
Part One. Idiom of the Day Directions: The following sentence contains an idiom in italics. Let's read the sentence carefully to make an inference about its figurative meaning. When Paul did not get the promotion at work yet again, it was the last straw. He decided it was time to look for a new job. Note: Before deciphering this idiom's meaning, reread the first part of the sentence and form an inference about how Paul feels about his situation. Is this a positive or negative experience for him? Has this happened to him before? Write your own definition for this idiom here: Has anything ever happened to you in which you could say "This is the last straw!" Take a few minutes to discuss this with another student sitting nearby; perhaps you will both have similar situations to talk about. If you have not had a problem such as Paul had, think about something that could cause someone else to feel this way. Write about what it means to feel as though something is "the last straw" in the space below. As always, use complete sentence structure! Part Two. Adage of the Day Directions: In the past two weeks, we have discovered that adages are bits of wisdom or advice that are told to help us in our daily lives. They do not have the same type of figurative meaning as idioms do, but they are still often categorized with them. Today's adage: The squeaky wheel gets the oil. Questions to ask yourself: What is the literal meaning of the adage above? What would happen if your wheel (or tire) started to squeak or your engine started making a strange noise? What would your first reaction be to something like this and why? How can we apply this adage to our own lives? (Remember that something that is literal means exactly as the words state! Something that is figurative, such as an idiom, must be figured out! In an adage, we take the literal meaning and apply it to a situation we may be dealing with! We use the adage as a bit of advice on how to handle problems that may arise in life!) Write the meaning of the above adage here, as well as any situations you can think of in which it may be beneficial for us to squeak: Part Three Literary Terms Today's Literary Device: Exposition Definition: The exposition of a story usually occurs in the first few paragraphs or pages of a novel. This is where the characters are introduced, the setting is described, and all the most important pieces of information are explained to us so that we can then read the story more effectively! Your Question: After reading the definition above, what do you feel is the importance of exposition in a story? What would happen to us, as readers, if an author failed to provide enough exposition at the start of a novel? Write your answers here: Bonus: How do you think exposition is shown in a movie? Part Four Grammar Challenge Directions: Your challenge today is to show understanding of the direct and indirect objects we have spoken about in the last week or two. Please follow each set of directions in the exercises below. Example: Name the direct object in the following sentence. Tom, a neighbor of mine, bought presents for everyone on our block. Always find the verb first, when trying to decide if the sentence contains a direct object. Then ask the questions what or whom in regard to this verb. In the sentence above, the verb is bought. You would ask: Tom bought what? Your answer, presents, is your direct object. Your Turn: Please find the direct object(s) in each of the sentences below. 1. The students at SCALE wrote wonderful argument essays in class yesterday. 2. All of the children at the Hancock School rode bikes to class in the spring. 3. Dave and Jayson passed the basketball and scored points during the game. (Note: There are two verbs and two direct objects in this sentence!) 4. The custodian washed all the floors in the building after the winter storm. 5. Tia and Sal ran a garage in which they fixed cars and pumped gas. (Note: There are three verbs and direct objects in this sentence!) Directions #2: Please find the indirect objects in the sentences below. Remember that if a sentence contains an indirect object, it MUST contain a direct object as well because this is what the indirect object is receiving!! Example: Give the notebook to Jorge. Let's first find the verb, which is the word give. Next, let's see if there is a direct object. Ask yourself give what? The direct object would be notebook. But we are not finished! The indirect object is the receiver of the direct object! This means that the notebook would be given to someone or something in the sentence above. Who is receiving the notebook? Jorge! Jorge is the indirect object!! Your Turn: Please find the indirect objects in the sentences below. 1. Pass the papers to Bill. 2. The children gave their teacher a birthday card. (Careful on this one!) 3. Send Brian the tickets for the concert. 4. Write a letter to Maya when you have time. 5. Tell Cyndi a story before she goes to sleep. Your Turn Again: In the space below, create two sentences that contain direct objects and two sentences that contain indirect objects. Be prepared to switch your papers with a classmate! 1. 2. 3. 4. Part Five Writing Please finish the story that I have begun for you below. Remember to maintain verb tenses and point of view, and to sequence your story ideas carefully! You may decide to maintain the tone I have created or change it into something you prefer. The choice is yours! For today's story, you should continue the paragraph I have written and write a second paragraph of five more sentences after that!! Enjoy!! Tamika always enjoyed the month of November. The days were a bit cooler, but it just made her house feel that much cozier--especially when she had logs in her fireplace and a cup of hot chocolate in her hand. On this particular day, however, ________________________________________________________________________ (Note: Please continue your story beyond the line above. It is only there to show you exactly where you should continue your story! Have fun!)
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I am so excited to tell you that the copier is fixed! This means you will receive a hard copy of this posting to use today in class! Yay!
Part One. Idiom of the Day Cyndi wanted to tell her boss that she had found another job, but instead she kept beating around the bush during their meeting. Note: Always remember to reread the first part of the sentence to see what is happening and to make an inference about how it connects to the idiom. My Meaning for Beat Around the Bush: Have you ever experienced something like Cyndi did in the sentence above? Did you ever beat around the bush or can you think of situations in which someone else may have done so? Write about them in the space below! Part Two. Literary Term Climax The climax of a story is its highest point of action; it is the moment when the protagonist has to make a choice or face something they may not want to! It is the point of no return! As a reader, the climax of the story is the most exciting and one that is filled with the most suspense; you simply cannot wait to find out what is going to happen next! As we read stories in class next week, we will be paying careful attention to the story climax and its place in literature. It is important to know that right after the climax takes place, all the pieces of the puzzle that make up a story's plot now begin to fit together and make sense. Can you take a moment a think of a climax to a book or movie you have read or watched? Remember that it is right before the protagonist has to take one final action!! Part Three. Grammar Prepositions As we spoke about in class, prepositions are positional words. They are part of phrases, which are groups of words that add something of interest to a sentence. Phrases do not have verbs (or action words) within them; only clauses do!! Directions: Please select the prepositions from the sentences below. The number in parentheses tells us how many are in each sentence. Example: November is a month filled with colder weather and still popping with vivid colors! (2) 1. I found my sister in Market Basket; she was shopping for her family! (2) 2. Do you know the way to San Jose? (Note: Yes, that sentence is part of a song!) (1) 3. The students in our class always do their best work on Fridays! (2) 4. Have you seen that new video game at Game Stop? (1) 5. Jayson played a great game of basketball at the Garden. (2) Now, can you go back and underline the entire phrase that contains the prepositions above? Part Four. Writing Directions: Please finish the story I began for you! Patti had so many ideas for what she wanted to do over the weekend. But before she could select even one, her cellphone pinged and startled her. A number she did not recognize appeared on her screen, and the text that followed caused her to nearly jump out of her chair. Hi Class!
I have embedded a few hyperlinks within this page to make it easier for me to access them during class time! You can also click on most of them from your laptops at home and practice some of the same skills! We will be reading a new fable today using this link Library of Congress Aesop Fables. We will read perhaps the most famous fable of all today and discuss its meaning (and whether we have experienced something similar in our own lives). Do you remember what the elements of a fable are? In grammarbook.com, we will continue to look at the various types of pronouns that exist! This particular page provides important rules, examples, and exceptions. (Note: An exception to a rule means that it is an example that does NOT follow what the rule tells us to do!! This is the trickiest part of the English language, for sure!) We will then try a quiz or two on that same grammarbook.com website in order to check our understanding. This second hyperlink will bring you directly to the pronoun quiz we will complete in class today! After that, we will edit a paragraph that will be shown on our Smartboard. Since we do not have the hard copy, we will be working on this verbally as a class. You may still use your notebooks to take down any notes about the edits we make today!. The website is Every-Day Edit: Veterans Day | Education World and today's paragraph just happens to focus on Veterans Day! Our vocabulary lesson will also be on the Smartboard, since I was able to access materials through Townsend Press for our current lessons! This website is https://www.educationworld.com, but a hyperlink isn't available because only a teacher who has been approved is able to use this website! I am happy to have received approval so that I can at least share it with you in class. We will work on chapter 10 today, but when our school photocopier is back, we will review both 9 and 10 more thoroughly! In addition, here is our adage for today: The grass is always greener on the other side. Some topics we will be looking at as we begin our argument essays are:
I cannot wait to work with all of you in the days ahead!! Let's have the best class!! Review Time!
Tonight, let's see how much we remember from the new material we covered on Monday evening (and prior to that, as well!). Simply follow the directions for each section below! Part One Find the Direct Objects ONLY Directions: Write the direct objects in the spaces after each sentence below. 1. Jean enjoyed writing essays for his October assignments. 2. Eni gave Josette some coffee from the SCALE lobby. 3. Nelson drove a limousine to his vacation spot. 4. Merlin wrote a wonderful essay about a surprise party that was once thrown for her! 5. Noselie found money on the sidewalk this morning. 6. Rodolphe provided great answers in class Monday night. 7. Ana likes the discussions we have in our classroom. 8. Heidy often brings healthy treats to Maria for breaktime! 9. Maria enjoys teaching this class very much! (Note: This direct object is made up of more than one word!) 10. Ying is probably reading books and writing essays while she is away from SCALE! Part Two. Find the Indirect Objects ONLY Directions: Write the indirect objects in the space below each sentence. 1. Tami brought her mother a lovely vase of flowers. 2. The quarterback passed the football to the receiver. 3. The students gave Maria their homework. 4. Rodolphe cooked dinner for the class. 5. Jean sent a cover letter to a new employer. 6. My parents gave my sister and me a very happy childhood! Part Three. Adage Review Directions: Read the adages below, and select one to write about in the space below. Remember that an adage differs from an idiom in that it offers wisdom and advice, while an idiom is a twist of language that makes our writing pop! An apple a day keeps the doctor away. A stitch in time saves nine. All's well that ends well. The squeaky wheel gets the oil. Birds of a feather flock together. Don't judge a book by its cover. Part Four Root Review Con- Directions: Please fill in the blanks with a word that contains the root con- from the list below. Some of them are new to you tonight, but perhaps you can infer their meaning by knowing what the root con- represents! Word List congregation contract confidant concert confident conference contact construct 1. The builders will ________________________________ a new apartment building in Somerville. 2. We all sat together as a ___________________________________ during the religious services. 3. Eni signed a ________________________________ that explained the terms of the work she would do for a new client. 4. I will _______________________________ you when I am sure of my schedule. 5. Merlin can be a wonderful _______________________________; you can trust her with your deepest secrets, and she will never give them away! 6. Josette went to the ____________________________and enjoyed the music that was played all night. 7. I am _______________________________________ that everyone will learn something new each and every day at SCALE! 8. Our class attended a great educational __________________________________, where we met new people and received so much information about enrolling in college in the future. Happy Monday!
I hope you all enjoyed this past weekend and are raring to go tonight! As always, let's make the most of every moment in class, and also, as always, please be sure to practice your skills at home and READ every single day!! Part One Idiom of the Day Al tried his best to find the perfect job. He went on two interviews without any luck, but when he was called to interview once more, his friend John said, "Third time's the charm!" What should you do to figure out this idiom's meaning? Tell what the meaning is in your own words. Have you had an experience in which you could also say the third time's the charm? Part Two Root of the Week: Con- Origin: Latin Meaning: together, with Examples: conference, confident, confidant, connect, congregate (congregation), condense (in writing), Let's first discuss the meaning of each of the examples above, and then we will try to fit them into the blanks in the sentences below. 1. We will all ____________________________________ at the meeting in order to discuss what our next steps will be to get the new law passed. 2. He is ___________________________________ that he will do well on the GED test because he has prepared for months!! 3. Sometimes, it is better to ____________________________ your writing, using fewer adjectives and more effective verbs! 4. Traci is Janella's ___________________________________; Traci can tell her all her secrets, and she knows Janella will never tell others a thing! 5. Job Fairs are great places in which you can _______________________________ with others, including those in hiring positions at companies that interest you. 6. Let's all attend the 2024 Writing _____________________________________ in which we learn new methods and meet publishers who want to put our words into print! Part Three Literary Term of the Day: Adage Meaning: An adage is a brief piece of wisdom, such as "two heads are better than one." It is often an older "saying" that is used to give us advice! It differs from an idiom in that it is more serious in nature and often more formal, while an idiom is often more informal and will not make sense if you interpret it literally! Adage example: A penny saved is a penny earned. Adage example: Rome wasn't built in a day. Adage example: Where there's a will, there's a way. Adage example: Slow and steady wins the race (as in the Aesop fable we spoke about!). Adage example: Better late than never. In contrast: Idiom example: I decided to "break the ice" and finally speak to someone at the party I did not know very well. Even though we have to think about meaning in each sentence above, the purpose of each adage is to teach us something or to help us to better understand a situation. The purpose of the idiom is to twist the language (figuratively) so that we have to decipher its meaning, which is often a way to bring excitement to our writing! An idiom taken out of context usually does not make sense! Your Writing Assignment: Look at the adage examples above, and select one that definitely has a place in your life. Write a paragraph about a time when you could have said that exact adage to someone you knew (or even to yourself in your own situation), being sure to convey its meaning. We will share these as a class when you finish! Remember to use five complete sentences in your paragraph! Part Four Grammar Challenge Direct Object and Indirect Object Review Directions: Answer each of the following questions related to direct and indirect objects as carefully as you can! 1. I gave the book to Joe. Name the direct object: 2. Teresa walked her dog. Name the direct object: 3. I gave Laura a present. Name the direct object: 4. Did you see the new movie? Name the direct object: 5. I asked Terence a question. Name the indirect object: 6. Give Sara your essay to edit. Name the indirect object: 7. I threw the football to Devon. Name the indirect object: Bonus: Can you find the direct object in the sentence below? There is only one!! Next, can you find all the prepositional phrases? There are four!! Students from SCALE went on a field trip and bought lunch from a restaurant along the way. Your Turn: Use the index card on your table to create four sentences that include either a direct object or an indirect object (or both!). Do not indicate what they are in any way, but instead show me your work as soon as you finish your creations. You may then switch and solve for direct and indirect objects with another student in our class! Enjoy!! |
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November 2024
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