Week 11: I may be a teacher, but my students are blessings!

Good morning! How difficult to believe we've only one week left in our semester! I'm really pleased with the kids' progress these 11 weeks. I believe they're right where they need to be, both my newbies and my returning students. I hope you're pleased at home as well. :)

EEL at home this week and through our holiday break should consist mostly of review. Spend your time together writing, dressing up and then classifying our first four sentence patterns. To give them practice identifying those coordinating conjunctions, compose compound sentences using a combination of patterns. Encourage dressing up the sentences with adjectives, adverbs and prepositional phrases. Discuss how you could change the sentence purpose from declarative to interrogative to imperative to exclamatory. Then choose one of those purposes to classify and diagram. Here's an example:

Start with, "The puppy was tired, but he chased the squirrel." (compound, declarative, S-VL-PA/S-VT-DO)

Then dress it up: "The puppy with black spots was obviously tired, but he chased the gray squirrel around the sunny backyard for an hour."

How could you change the sentence purpose?

1. "Even though the puppy was tired, did he chase the squirrel for an hour?" (This interrogative changes the structure to complex, but it's certainly acceptable; just don't try to diagram it yet!)
2. "Tired puppy, chase the squirrel for an hour!" (Both imperative and exclamatory; "Tired puppy" becomes a noun of direct address, which we did diagram a few weeks back.)

Then simply choose a purpose to classify and diagram. Along the way, ask questions like, "Is your subject noun singular or plural? Is it first, second or third person? What kind of pronoun is "he"? Anything to pull information out of their brains!

Another twist would be for the kids to compose the sentences. Challenge them to choose an action verb or a being verb and compose a simple sentence from there. Then change it to compound. Then dress it up. Then try to classify and diagram!

The one new thing this week is our memory work. I'd like the kids to practice the principal parts of the verbs "be" and "have." We looked at the verb anatomy charts, located in Appendix D of your guides and in their Student Resource Notebooks, for these yesterday. These two charts are what I want them to master over break. Don't make it a hassle at home. Just ask them to complete each chart a couple of times a week. They'll get it. There is a blank chart in the student charts section of the guide, and I photocopied this for their notebooks also. I'll try to attach the page in an email if I can figure out how to separate it from the rest of the guide electronically; that way they can either complete it on a sheet protector with a dry erase or on paper with a pencil.

I'm guessing you'll spend more time at home this week writing, polishing and practicing the presentation of the IEW "Faces of Medieval History" paper. That's okay. Please email or call if you have any questions. The kids should turn in their papers, rough drafts, checklists and bibliography when they present next week.

Finally, I talked with the kids at the beginning of class yesterday about our Gilded Coupon Campaign. Next week, I'll bring Samaritan's Purse Gift Catalogs to class and let the kids redeem their coupons for catalog items. For those who don't remember or weren't with me last year, here's why we do it and how it works:

The kids have worked hard this semester. Their labor has earned them coupons (which I usually call tickets). Based on Acts 20:35, which says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," I structure our first semester ticket recemption as a time of giving and our second semester tickets as a time of receiving.

Next Tuesday, each student will turn in the tickets he or she earned over the semester in return for a cash credit. I haven't figured it yet, but each ticket will be worth somewhere around 20 to 25 cents each. So a kid who's earned 20 tickets will be credited somewhere between $4 and $5. On top of that, I offer the kids a chance to double, triple or quadruple their giving by contributing some of their own money. I have two sponsors who will match their giving up to $5 each. For example, a child who earns $5 in tickets and contributes $5 of his own will receive $5 from each sponsor (so $10), for a total of $20 to spend in the Samaritan's Purse catalog.

When we did this last year, the kids' response was an unbelievable blessing to me. They were SO excited to participate! Not a single one of them seemed to mind that they weren't GETTING anything to take home with them. I can't wait to see them "shop" next week!

But if any of this is confusing, let me know, and I'll try to explain more.

Have a wonderful time at home with your kids this week. They're precious!

Erin

Week 10: My post is late!

It's Thursday already. Sorry for the late post. I'll keep it brief!

For EEL at home, continue memorizing Weeks 1-10 and practice diagramming S-Vl-PA sentences. We will stick with the linking verb sentence patterns for our final two weeks of the semester, so we've got time to master the first four patterns before January.

Consult your guide for a ton of super information about adjectives, this week's part of speech focus. The kids and I discussed them at length in class.

Our IEW assignment for the rest of the semester is our "Faces of Medieval History" paper. Please read the front page of the lesson and note the suggestion to select source texts at or below your child's reading level for the person or event chosen as a topic.

On Week 12, they will present their papers in class. They may wear costumes if desired. My expectation is that each student will complete a three-paragraph paper (three topics: A, B and C) with an introductory statement and final clincher. I gave them the final checklist during class, but you will need to either photocopy or help them set up the key word outline pages like the ones given for our last assignment in Lesson 10-14. Basically, they'll complete the following steps between now and Nov. 23:

1. Select at least two source texts. Each topic must be outlined from at least two sources.
2. Key word outline each topic from each text.
3. Fuse the source text outlines for each topic, resulting in three final outlines.
4. Write three rough draft paragraphs -- one per topic. Using the rough draft checklists provided in the previous assignment will insure all dress-ups are present.
5. Combine the rough drafts and begin revising and polishing.
6. Add an introductory statement and final clincher.
7. Complete a final checklist and bibliography.
8. Practice, practice, practice for a smooth presentation.

I'll discuss our Gilded Coupon Campaign Christmas gift next Tuesday.

Enjoy a beautiful weekend!

Erin

Week 9: I am the teacher, and the students are my class.

Sticking with compound declarative sentences in EEL, we looked at our third sentence pattern today: S-Vl-PN. I believe the kids grasped the concept easily. Step 7 on your Simple Steps chart gives you a fairly concise way to determine whether a noun following your verb is a direct object (follows a transitive verb and receives the action of that verb) or a predicate noun (follows a linking verb and can rename or replace the subject noun). So use that at home this week.

During your time together, try dictating compound sentences that combine 2 of our 3 sentence patterns and include a prepositional phrase and/or adverb here and there. Walk your student through the Tasks 1-4 on your ATS sheets. Use your Simple Steps chart if you find it helpful. And remember: there are examples in the guide if you want to use them. :)

I'd also like the kids to work on Week 9 memory work and on their linking verbs list. Although you'll see principal parts discussed in Lesson 9 in your guides, I chose not to focus on those today in class; I'll hit that in a couple of weeks.

IEW has numerous small tasks to complete this week. Lesson 13 introduces prepositional phrase openers; we discussed how to add them and how to label them (#2 in the left margin) during class.

With regard to the final week of our paper on knights, I asked the kids to circle "Level A" or "Level B" on their assignment sheets in class, but basically, Level A needs to add both an introductory statement and a final clincher before the polishing process begins. Level B needs to combine all five paragraphs and begin polishing.

I suggested that the students look for the following elements to "polish":

1. Tighten up sentences by eliminating unncessary words.
2. Try to replace state of being verbs with strong verbs where possible.
3. Make sure each paragraph includes various sentences openers and that sentence after sentence does not begin with the same subject, "Knights were...." or "A knight was...." Checklists should make this easy.
4. Study the chart on transitional words and phrases that I distributed last week. Incorporate smooth transitions between paragraphs.
5. Although I didn't suggest this in class, ask your student to read his or her paper aloud to someone. Where they stumble in reading will often indicate an awkward word, phrase, sentence or transition.

After they revise and polish their papers, which will hopefully happen by Friday, take the time Monday to label papers and complete the appropriate checklist (Level A or Level B). They'll also need to complete a bibliography, which we discussed in class today.

On Tuesday, I'd like for the students to turn in their key word outlines and rough drafts for all paragraphs along with their final papers, bibliographies and checklists. If you do not have your rough drafts because you've "edited" them electronically, it's okay. Just make a note.

Also on Tuesday, for an admission ticket, they may complete and turn in the semicolon worksheet I handed out in today's class. (Hint: I gave them a cream-colored chart that contains most of the answers.)

Finally, we will begin our "Faces of Medieval History" paper on Week 10. The kids should come to class knowing whom or what they will write about. See page 93, I think, in your student books for suggestions, but any medieval personality or theme will suffice. This is our final writing assignment for the semester, and students will present in costume on Week 12 (Nov. 23).

I think that's about it. Lots of details -- if i realize I left something out, I'll post an addendum.

Good class today. We accomplished much. Thanks for your work at home this week.

Erin

Week 8: You can diagram S-Vt-DOs, but can you identify prepositions?

Diving right in to yesterday's EEL lesson, we discussed compound interrogative S-Vt-DO sentences, and I introduced prepositional phrases.

At home this week, stick to the lesson in your EEL Guide. Review the three ways to form interrogative sentences. Practice changing declarative statements (preferably compound S-Vt-DOs) into interrogative questions in these three ways. Then practice classifying and diagramming them.

Also work with identifying prepositional phrases. You'll want to help your student recognize two things:

1. the difference between a word functioning as an adverb or a preposition (The key is prepositions must have an object.).
2. whether a prepositional phrase is adjectival or adverbial.

Be sure to diagram a few sentences with prepositional phrases as well. Use your Simple Steps chart; it really begins to come in handy for the Q&A of classification.

Moving to IEW, I taught the Level B assignment in class yesterday, and I'll detail it below. But to cover Level A first, this week's assignment is simply to write a third rough draft paragraph, this time on Topic C. The outlines for Topic C were included in LAST week's Lesson 11. All students received Lesson 12 in class yesterday, but Level A WILL NOT use Lesson 12 at home this week. By classtime next week, my Level A students should have completed key word outlines, fused outlines and rough draft paragraphs for Topics A, B and C, for a total of three paragraphs.

Level B's assignment is as follows:

Using Lesson 12 distributed in class yesterday, brainstorm the key word outline for both introductory and concluding paragraphs. Be sure to include all the elements of an introduction and conclusion. The lesson is extremely clear, but the kids may need a bit of hand-holding and Q&A to brainstorm dramatic openers (introduction) and to determine what fact about knighthood they believe is "most significant and why" (conclusion). Don't be afraid to help them or make suggestions. I think it will benefit the kids for this to be a "hands-on" week. By classtime next week, Level B students should have five rough draft paragraphs: an introduction, Topics A, B and C, and a conclusion.

Please, if you have questions, call me at home. Have a great week! Hope to see some of you at our barbecue this weekend.

Erin

Week 6: I can diagram sentences, and I can outline paragraphs.

It was great to be back with the students yesterday after our vacation. Thanks to Mrs. Varnell for subbing on Week 5. Once again, for Week 6, we packed in a ton of new information that we will allow to seep and to soak into our minds over the next three to four weeks. I love this class!

During our EEL time, I introduced three main things:

1. A new sentence structure: compound
2. A new sentence pattern: subject-verb transitive-direct object (S-Vt-DO)
3. A new part of speech: conjunctions

While studying compound sentences this week, be sure to help students recognize the difference between compound subjects, compound verbs and compound sentences. I explained to Rachel that "compound" means two of something joined together, be it words, phrases, subject, verbs or sentences! But in order for us to actually have a compound sentence, you must have TWO COMPLETE SENTENCES joined by the coordinating conjunction -- not just two subjects sharing a verb or vice versa.

While learning the S-Vt-DO sentence pattern, use your simple steps chart to identify your subject and verb. Then ask the question "(subject) (verb) what?" to look for a direct object. I would dictate S-Vt-DO sentences for them that will make identifying the DO simple. A sample sentence would be, "John ate cake," or "Sam threw the ball." Take it a step further by dictating a compound S-Vt-DO: "John ate cake, but Sally slurped a milkshake." Work through Tasks 1-4 on the EEL Task Sheet, which will give them practicing classifying and diagramming. Use the Simple Steps chart if it helps, or simply use the task sheet.

The coordinating and subordinating conjunctions are part of their charts and memory work for the week. I especially want them to go ahead and master FANBOYS. Thanks!

In IEW, we began a four-week research report on knights that combines IEW Units VI and VIII. We are completing Lesson 10 at home this week, which requires the students to complete four steps:

1. Choose a topic identified in both source texts (We identified three in class: armor, job/duties, and Code of Chivalry). See page 69.
2. Key word outline that topic's paragraphs, one from each source, on page 74.
3. Condense the two KWOs into one fused outline on page 75.
4. Write a Topic A rough draft and complete the checklist on page 75.

NOTE: Level B students have the option of choosing an alternative topic and adding a third source text of their choosing. For instance, one of the given source texts includes a paragraph on training for knighthood. If a Level B student wanted to write a graph on this topic, he or she could choose a third source text discussing a knight's training to use with the given text. The catch is that all topic paragraphs must be written from at least two sources.

After this week, we will continue writing body paragraphs for one (Level B) or two (Level A) more weeks before turning our attention to introductions, conclusions, revision and bibliographies.

Before I close, I want to let you know I'll be absent once more next week while I work furniture market. I don't plan to miss anymore this fall! It seems weird to be gone as I didn't miss a single week out of 24 last year! But thanks for your patience. Tina Gaines will be an awesome sub I'm sure!

Our class time next week will continue the discussion of compound S-Vt-DOs and fused outlines to write rough draft paragraphs. As there will be much review, the kids should have plenty of time to read their Vikings reports and drill their math facts. :)

As always, please let me know if you have questions during the week. Tremendous thanks for sharing your children with me!

Erin

Week 4: Students, diagram.

What a busy day yesterday full of fantastic learning! We began diagramming, one of my absolute favorite parts of teaching this class. :)

At home with EEL this week, stick with simple S-Vi sentences in both the declarative and the imperative purpose. We really drilled in class yesterday changing a simple declarative S-Vi to a simple imperative S-Vi.

For example, we changed the statement, "Jesus wept," into a command: "Weep." Ask them every time to identify the subject of an imperative sentence: implied "you." Even better, ask them whether it's second person singular or second person plural.

I'd suggest starting with a declarative, classifying and diagramming it on the EEL Task Sheet using steps 1-4. Then change it to an imperative and do the same. See Lesson 4 in the book for diagramming tips -- both page 56 and the teacher sheets at the end of the lesson. Also, if you and your student are not used to the Q&A for sentence classification yet, use Steps 5-7 on your Simple Steps chart to identify the subject noun and intransitive verb.

Finally, we discussed interjections and nouns of direct address in class -- what they are and how to diagram them on a straight line above the subject noun. If you have the opportunity, please work with the nouns of direct address at home.

To illustrate, here are three sentences:

• Jesus wept. (Jesus is the 1st person singular subject noun of this simple declarative S-Vi.)
• Weep. (Second person singular implied "you" is the subject noun of the simple imperative S-Vi.)
• Jesus, weep. (Jesus is a noun of direct address, implied "you" is the 2nd person singular subject noun. The comma is the key because it signals Jesus as an NDA.)

Enough EEL. IEW mimics last week's assignment, with the sole difference being Topic B: Viking Explorers. The students are responsible for reviewing vocabulary and for a rough draft.

Please note, however, that the stapled assignment pages I gave them yesterday contain next week's lesson assignment as well, which for Level A is revision, then adding an introductory statement and final clincher. Level B gives students the option of writing a third paragraph on a clear topic of choice from a source text of choice before they add the intro and clincher. Refer to the initial Lesson 8 assignment page for more information on Level B.

Erin Varnell is subbing for me next week, October 5, while we're at Disney; she will explain further. But the students will turn in a final paper with an attached final checklist when I return Oct. 12.

If you need me, please email. I'll be checking! Have a great rest of the week.

Week 3: This class rocks!

Whew! We packed, crammed, shoved and otherwise jammed a TON of information into yesterday's class. For those with me last year (whom I love and am so glad to have back) none of it was new -- and I could tell on many of their faces! Encourage them at home this week to look for the holes in their mastery of EEL Lessons 1-3. I realize they know a great deal of the information, but I also know they haven't mastered every piece. Challenge them! And let them know I need their participation in class even if they believe they've "been there and done that!" Please tell those sixth graders not to check out on me yet; we've got 21 weeks to go. :)

For my newbies, yesterday may have seemed overwhelming. But it blends beautifully at home, and if you'll spend a mere 30 minutes a day working together this week, much of it will begin to make sense and flow. Mastery will not likely come. But work diligently, memorize what you can, and you'll meet success.

Now, moving on to this week's EEL focus at home, please continue reviewing Weeks 1 and 2 Memory Work and charts, which should take less than five minutes daily, and add in Week 3.

Yesterday in class, I overviewed four things:

• simple sentences (our first sentence structure)
• nouns and pronouns
• S-Vi sentences (our first sentence pattern)
• EEL Task #3 (which guides us through sentence classification of structure, purpose and pattern).

The kids did really well in class, so spend time at home this week building and reinforcing. Use the memory work and charts to overview. Use the lesson in your guide to teach; it's detailed and helpful. And use the EEL Task Sheet to dictate, check mechanics for, and classify at least one simple, S-Vi sentence each day. Two to three sentences would be even better to reinforce the process through repetition.

For IEW, we began a report on "Summarizing References" (Unit IV) using Lesson 8, "Vikings." We will take three weeks to complete this assignment. I decided to take this much time for several reasons. First, by moving from Lesson 2 to Lesson 8, we skipped the introduction of titles and clinchers in Lesson 6. I covered this extensively in class yesterday, but I want to give them time to think these through. Second, our source texts for this lesson are significantly longer than Lessons 1 and 2, and they need time to learn how to successfully KWO this much information. (More on that in a minute...) Third, we learned two sentence openers: the -ly opener (#3) and the VSS, or "very short sentence," (#6). These are easily grasped; if you need help, see Lesson 8, but I don't believe the kids will have trouble.

The assignment for this week is to KWO Topic A: Fierce Warriors. Here's how:

1. Read the source text (p. 56). Identify the main idea of each paragraph (We did this in class, and I suggested they write it down in the margin, so they should have a clue. This main idea ID is not actually part of the assignment, but I think it helps the kids grasp the "bigger picture" of where their paragraph will go and thus helps as they choose facts.).
2. Re-read the source text, tentatively marking a couple of interesting or important facts from each paragraph. Note: The facts should be interesting or important to the student, not necessarily the parent!
3. Once 5 to 7 facts are selected, you may need to help select key words that will memorably condense the fact onto a single line. I say this because some of the "facts" (berserk, for instance) are 3 to 4 sentences long, and we're trying to capture it in 3 key words. Remember, symbols, numbers and abbreviations are free.
4. When the KWO is complete, ask your student to "tell" the paragraph to you from his or her outline. This will insure it flows and makes sense.
5. Then let them write a rough draft. Depending on the skill level, they may add in the dress-ups as they go or add them in after the basic sentences are written.
6. Please go through the "completed" rough draft with them to make sure they have a clear topic and clincher and the new sentence openers.
7. They DO NOT need to turn in their rough drafts on Tuesday, but I will award a ticket to each student who shows me a rough draft paragraph.

In class next week, we will spend more time reading papers aloud and playing games than we did yesterday. We will have ample time to do this because next week's IEW assignment will repeat of this week with Topic B.

This should be a great week of learning! Let me know if you need help. Thanks for sharing the kids with me. They rock!

Erin

Week 3 Admission Ticket

Rule: "Proper nouns are always capitalized. This includes the following:

• Names of persons
• Geographical names
• Names of organizations, clubs, business firms, institutions, buildings, government bodies
• Historical events and periods, special events, calendar items (days, months, holidays)
• Nationalities, races, religions
• Brand names"

Apply the rules in the following paragraph:

The united states of america elected george washington its first president. Born february 22, 1732, in wakefield, virginia, washington was an american hero. He grew up in a farming family, became a surveyor and military man during the american revolution, and remains the only president ever to be elected twice unanimously. An episcopalian by faith, washington married martha dandridge custis on january 6, 1759, and helped raise her two children, john and martha. Thirty years later, after the revolutionary war, the newly independent u.s. installed him as its first president. His first inauguration occurred in new york; the second occurred in philadelphia. he was the only president inaugurated in two different cities. Washington was the only president who did not live in the white house. He did, however, help plan the capitol for congress. There were 13 stars on the united states flag when washington became president. Five states were added to the union during his presidency: north carolina, rhode island, vermont, kentucky and tennessee. Washington died december 14, 1799, and was buried at his home in mount vernon, virginia. He is remembered by all as an american hero.

Week 2: Learn your verbs! Use strong verbs!

I THINK our class time today went well -- it certainly flew on my end! I could tell the kids worked diligently on their memory work and IEW paragraphs at home last week. Thank you for standing by them to help, encourage and prod as needed!

We devoted our EEL time to exploring that central part of speech called a VERB, and because the EEL assignment for Week 2 remains essentially the same as last year, I've cut and pasted the following from last year's blog:

At home this week, use your Week 2 memory work and the corresponding charts to begin the road to mastery of this KEY word that gives life to our sentences!

When reviewing Lesson 2 in your EEL Guides, you'll notice what's probably an overload of verb information for one week. Much of this information will be revisited during the year once we've grasped the basics. For now, focus on the following lesson notes at home this week:

1. Verb Types (intransitive, transitive, linking and helping) -- Use the sample sentences on the "Verb Types" chart to teach the different verb types. The students will quickly begin recognizing the differences if they look at them in sentences. If you want to practice Task 2 (Dictation & Mechanics) on your Student EEL Task Sheets, these sentences might work well!

2. Basic Verb Tense (past, present and future).

3. Person (1st, 2nd, 3rd).

4. Number (singular or plural).

5. Begin memorizing the helping verb and linking verb lists.

Although the students' EEL assignment differs little from last year's Week 2, our IEW assignment (Lesson 2) introduces a significant change: the MLA writing guidelines. MLA requires the kids to structure their papers according to an assigned format. You'll find all pertinent instructions on page 18 of this week's lesson. IEW incorporates adherence to this format into each assignment's final checklist for the rest of the year. The kids who type their papers on a PC or Mac may need help learning how to accomplish the format requirements, but I don't think it will create too much trouble. I'm sure they (and you) will adjust quickly.

The IEW assignment itself, writing about the Byzantine Empire, offers options for both Levels A and B -- either one or two paragraphs. Choose what works best for your family this week. You'll find details on the lesson pages. Please note the addition of both strong verbs and -ly adverbs to the quality adjectives dress-up we learned last week. So by now, all students should have in their IEW notebooks at least the following items: Stylistic Techniques and Banned Words (creamy yellow), Proofreading Marks and Symbols & Abbreviations for Note Taking (also creamy yellow), Quality Adjectives (pink), Strong Verbs (green), and -ly Adverbs (yellow). Remind them to consult these sheets and/or a thesaurus when they write!

Once again, I'd work through KWOs and brainstorming dress-ups Wednesday, rough drafts Thursday, final drafts Friday. Then all that's left for Monday is labeling dress-ups and completing the checklist.

I trust everyone will succeed at home this week, but PLEASE let me know if you stumble or find yourself stumped! I'm happily here to help. :)

Erin

Week 2 Admission Ticket

Remember that we are focusing on punctuation and capitalization rules this year. My intention is to proceed roughly in order with the P&C appendix at the back of Our Mother Tongue. Each week, what I'll do is state the rule, then give students an opportunity to apply it correctly. They should complete and bring this assignment to class in return for their weekly Admission Ticket for our Gilded Coupon Campaign.

Week 1 addresses capital letters.

Rule: "The first word of every sentence or quotation always begins with a capital letter." (OMT, p.177)

Follow this capitalization rule to correct the poem excerpt below (You may highlight or underline 3 times each letter that needs capitalizing.):

bob the Tomato is taking a trip.
a day on the sea will be fun!
how many veggies are on his small ship?
the answer, of course, is 1!

larry the Cucumber joins Captain Bob.
could he find a place on the crew?
maybe first mate -- he'd be great for the job!
now on the boat, there are 2!

two little veggies are taking a trip.
junior says, "what about me?
i've got some crackers and soda to sip!"
count them again, 1-2-3!

larry says, "hey! who will push us along?
i'm not very good with an oar.
let's call Mr. Nezzar, because he's so strong!"
now on the boat, there are 4!

junior says, "captain! our numbers are growing!
soon we'll be rowing, the wind will be blowing,
but tell me please, how will we know where we're going
if no one is sitting up there?
we need someone up in the air!"

the gourd they call Jerry is next to arrive.
his compass and spyglass would help them survive!
so, quickly they vote him shipmate number 5!
and send him up high in the air --
to stare at the sea from his chair.

--Excerpt taken from How Many Veggies? by Phil Vischer

Week 1: Welcome back!

What a wonderful afternoon today! Tutoring this class is such a privilege, and I thank you for allowing me to teach your children. :) They are gifts.

At home this week for EEL, focus on Week 1 Memory Work and the corresponding charts. You can lean heavily toward the memory work Q&A, or you can lean toward reviewing and completing the charts until they're "memorized." Either way works. Find the balance that fits your child's learning style.

Remember that the first two weeks of EEL are a broad overview of what we will be studying for the next 24 weeks. In other words, don't panic! We will slow down on Week 3. However, I would recommend mastery of the charts for advanced students, particularly those who will move to Challenge A next year. I know they can do it! Most of them are almost there already.

Transitioning to IEW, we completed the key word outline for the first paragraph of our overview on the Middle Ages. Each student seemed to grasp the assignment of choosing key words well, then using the outline to "retell" the paragraph in his or her own words. Before they begin writing at home, ask them to "retell" the graph to you once again and, using pages 8 and 9, brainstorm quality adjectives. Then write the rough draft, which a parent should proofread. Then write the final and complete the checklist. I'd recommend brainstorming and rough draft Wednesday, revision Thursday, final Friday, and checklist Monday. If your student plans to write two graphs (Level B), you could key word outline and brainstorm adjectives Wednesday, write rough drafts Thursday, revise Friday, and complete finals and the checklist Monday.

One thing I neglected to mention in class is that the vocabulary word(s) and quality adjectives should be underlined on the final paper. We will discuss the details regarding labeling our dress-ups in the coming weeks.

For the new families, please ask any questions you have. I'm afraid that I'm going to sometimes assume knowledge on your behalves and will leave you wondering what in the world I'm talking about! Forgive me in advance -- and please know you have liberty to interrupt me in class or call me at home.

Stay tuned for an Admission Ticket post. I've got to get myself in order there!

Again, thanks for a superb first class day. I'm looking forward to our year together with great excitement!

Erin

Week 23: To know verbals is to love verbals!

For our final EEL lesson of the year, we explored the world of verbs and verbals! My favorite part of the day happened when we finished parsing verb forms, and they said, "That's fun! Can we do more?" Don't you love it?

We discussed verbals first: infinitives, gerunds and participles. Together in class, we completed a worksheet defining and diagramming each type. I handed out worksheets to the moms, too, but if you didn't get one, let me know.

Then we turned our attention to verbs, briefly reviewing type, principal parts, person, number, tense, and voice. The bulk of our time we spent studying the four forms: simple, perfect, progressive and perfect-progressive. Using a basic "recipe" for each form, we put them together using the verb "jump"; then we pulled them apart in what was basically a QeQ format. They excelled at this part! I was really proud! Again, everyone -- moms included -- had a worksheet.

We touched on verb moods also: indicative, imperative and subjunctive. Basically, indicative mood is what we speak in most of the time: statements and questions. Imperative mood gives orders or requests. Subjunctive mood, I always say, is the wishful thinking mood! It "wishes" for something contrary to fact. An example would be, "If only I were taller, I could smash more tennis balls."

Moving on to our final class, we will probably begin a few minutes late next week. The Foundations group is celebrating the end of the year with a pizza party lunch, and I want the kids to enjoy every minute of that. SO, we'll round them up at 1 p.m. to put on their character costumes for IEW. We'll get started whenever they're done. After they read their papers, we'll have a little party with goodies (I think Debbie is heading that -- correct me if I'm wrong.) and they'll have time to redeem their tickets for cash.

For those who weren't in class Tuesday, we're using the Final Checklist on page 125 in the IEW Student Book. Students will need to revise, dress up, polish, and add introductory and clincher statements to their rough draft paragraphs.

Can't wait to see everyone Tuesday for our final class of the year!

Week 24 Admission Ticket

To earn Week 24's admission ticket, write three sentences containing verbals: one with an infinitive, one with a gerund, and one with a participle. Be sure to label the verbals!

For an EXTRA ticket, diagram them!

Week 22: Write and review some more!

Apologies for posting late!

In class Tuesday, we reviewed all seven sentence patterns and then modified and diagrammed one of the seven with adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases and dependent clauses (both relative pronoun and subordinating conjunction). It amazes me how much we've covered this year and how well they've absorbed the information! Our review exercise allowed me to see that it does overwhelm them to be asked to recall all of it at once, but a little Q&A helped break the process into bite-size pieces. Then they rose to the task!

Continue reviewing EEL at home this week as you deem appropriate. Next week, I plan to cover verbals and verb forms. For many of them, this will be info that, for the moment, is nice to know rather than necessary to know. So we'll have fun with it in class, but I don't expect mastery this year.

We began our final IEW assignment of the year! Hard to believe, but hooray! I know everyone will be glad for a break from writing. We are doing Lesson 18 in the book, which is a research report. In class, I handed out photocopies of key word outlines and rough draft checklists to use at home for Topics A, B and C on an ancient personality of their choice. The rough drafts are due next week; final drafts will be presented in costume on Week 24.

During class, I demonstrated several steps for this "research" process:

• Select 2-3 source texts that are brief, interesting and informative! (The KWO sheets I distributed have room for two sources, but a third could easily be incorporated if needed.)
• READ the source texts.
• Brainstorm one to three topics (one per body paragraph). For instance, if I were writing about Alexander the Great, I'd write about his childhood as the son of a king, his military conquests, and his early death.
• RE-READ the source text one time per topic, completing the key word outline for one topic at a time. What is interesting or informative about this person? Include that information on the KWO.
• Once the KWOs are completed for each source text, complete the fused outline and write the rough draft paragraph.
• Remind them to keep it simple. Revision, dress-up and polishing come NEXT week!

Please remember to adjust the length of this paper to your child's level and your family's spring schedule! Options range from no final paper at all, to one to three body paragraphs, to a five-paragraph paper that includes three body graphs, plus intro and concluding graphs.

See you Tuesday!

Week 22 Admission Ticket

For Week 22, decide which ancient personality you'd like to write about, dress as, and present on for your final paper of the year. Tell me your topic to receive one gilded coupon!

Week 21: Choose your focus.

Your kids did so well yesterday! I was pleased with all we accomplished in class. I hope our time spent identifying punctuation, capitalization and grammatical mistakes in their own sentences sticks with them through their writing this week. I hope my words of encouragement will remain in their minds, too. It's extremely easy to make mistakes when learning to write more difficult sentence structures. With so many words and ideas to manage, that's the reason these sentences are called "complex"! The kids seem willing to learn in class, and I pray they have teachable hearts at home, too!

You may choose your EEL focus at home once again this week. I may send an email before Tuesday regarding my focus for our last three classes.

When they write their IEW final drafts this week, make sure they follow the lesson's directions with regard to structure:

• In their first paragraph, they need an introductory sentence that reflects the prompt, then a Topic A intro sentence, body sentences, and clincher sentence.
• The second paragraph should contain a Topic B intro, body sentences, and clincher.
• The third paragraph should begin with a Topic C intro, follow with the body sentences and Topic C clincher, and finally end with one or two sentences that repeat or reflect the key words of the paper's introductory sentence.

See everyone Tuesday. I'll allow plenty of time for reading! These should be interesting papers to hear!

Erin

Week 20: Write and Review

Sorry this post is later than usual! It's been a busy 24 hours of tennis, gymnastics, new braces -- even loose brackets and two return trips to the orthodontist already -- for my family!

I'll be brief:

For EEL next week, continue reviewing at your child's skill level.

For IEW, complete three rough draft paragraphs for the prompt, "If I lived in ancient times, I would miss...." During class, we worked as a group and in pairs to complete our first key word outline on an object or activity each student would miss. I asked them to use the bolded question words to the right of the outline to help stimulate ideas.

If you spend time outlining with them, they DO NOT need to use or answer every bolded question. To get a feel for how the assignment is designed to flow, read the unicycle example on the back of the first stapled page I gave them. You'll see how some of the questions are fleshed out and how some are skipped. Use the questions as a tool, a beginning. I suggested they pretend they are reporters interviewing a subject about whom they are going to write an article. Often a question's answer will lead to another question -- this is great! It allows them to bunny trail, so to speak, and exhaust that idea before returning to the next question on the list.

PLEASE BRING ROUGH DRAFTS TO CLASS NEXT WEEK. WE WILL BEGIN POLISHING IN CLASS. THANK YOU!!!

Four weeks to go. Hard to believe!

Week 20 Admission Ticket

Compose a sentence that you would feel comfortable writing on the overhead during class and for which you could use your Simple Steps chart to confidently lead your classmates through the labeling, diagramming and QeQ process. The sentence should contain at least a subject, verb, adjective, adverb and prepositional phrase.

Week 19: It's time to review!

Dear Essentials families,

What a beautiful day! Outside, the snow was swirling, blanketing the trees in gentle, silent white. Inside, the class was whirling with far-from-silent delight while we laughed together over their wonderful creativity inspired by a set of rather ordinary black-and-white cartoon pictures. I just love it. Thank you again for the gift of your children this year! Precious, precious treasure they are!

EEL at home this week is simple: Review. Hit your hard spots. Email me if you have review requests for class. Next week I'll focus on either verbs or punctuation and capitalization. Again, with regard to either of these topics, email me if there are specific problem areas you want me to cover.

IEW should also be fairly straightforward. Before they begin writing, review their outlines we completed in class. Make sure that for each numbered key word line listing an aspect of Greek and Roman gods, there is a contrasting fact on a numbered key word line below for the God of the Bible. (I likened it to drawing a rainbow between the numbers in class: 1 goes with 6; 2 goes with 7; and so on.) If they did not complete their outlines in class and are out of ideas, here are some suggested questions:

• How is forgiveness attained?
• Are humans liked, loved, or hated?
• Does anyone believe in these gods today?
• Where do these gods live?

You get the picture.

This assignment is loose with regard to length. An intro, five Greek/Roman facts, five contrasting God of the Bible facts, and a clincher could net a paper as short as 12 sentences. I suspect most will run a bit longer as examples are listed, but it does not have to be 500 words.

By the time we meet next week, the weather will be nearing 65 and sunny! Hallelujah!

Erin

Week 19 Admission Ticket

Compose a sentence using all eight parts of speech. Present it in class. We might use some of them for diagramming practice!

Forgot to mention...

I told the kids that I'll award an extra ticket to those who incorporate every vocabulary word into their "Writing from Pictures" paper. Let the thinking begin!

Week 18: Make your papers silly if you wish!

Yesterday's class passed so quickly, and I was glad to see the kids in such happy spirits after four LONG weeks writing about ancient Rome. I am extremely proud of their hard work and perseverence with these papers. It's difficult at their age to stay focused on one topic for so long and to revisit the same sentences over and over and over. Because they stuck with the assignment through the duration and frustrations, I trust they'll benefit long-term in more ways than just writing skills.

We devoted far less time to EEL than IEW yesterday, but our EEL time was definitely well spent! For those who were absent (whom we missed!), I wrote a lengthy sentence on the overhead and we practiced finding each of the eight parts of speech in that sentence. Then we diagrammed it, loosely QeQing as we went. We also labeled and diagrammed our sentence pattern of Lesson 18: compound-complex, imperative, S-Vt-DO-OCN & S-Vt-DO-OCA. Here's the sentence we used:

When you diagram this sentence, consider yourselves a smart class and make you parents and tutor glad.

Have fun at home practicing these sentences this week!

Regarding the remainder of the semester, I would appreciate thoughts and feedback from parents and even students. You'll notice a red stop sign in this week's lesson in the EEL Guide. It recommends we pause and evaluate whether to move forward with the final six lessons or to devote the rest of the year toward reviewing what we've learned thusfar.

Here are my thoughts: I'd like to do a little of each. I'd like to spend a week on punctuation, a week on verbals, and a week on verb anatomy. Then our final three weeks we'll spend on review in fun ways. Please take a minute to shoot me a quick e-mail with your ideas or preferences. Thanks!

Turning to IEW, we skipped ahead to Lesson 19 this week: "Writing from Pictures." The kids took home their photocopied lessons with a plethora of different ideas about how to write! This is a creative writing lesson, and I told them that, with parental permission, they could write as silly as they like as long as they stick to the "facts" in the pictures. It's up to you as parents (and I think silly is sometimes harder to write than serious is), but after the long, serious research paper, I wanted to offer them some freedom to use their imaginations and laugh. They seemed really eager in class and were brainstorming all kinds of ideas in their small groups! I don't think we're going to have many papers about Christians being persecuted in the colosseum, but I can't wait to see the ultra-creative final products!

Basically, they're writing one paragraph per picture, for a total of three paragraphs. Length is up to them, but I'd say a minumum of 5 sentences per graph. The topic sentence of each paragraph should capture the central fact, and the clincher sentence should repeat or reflect the key words from that fact. As well, the final clincher (last sentence of the third paragraph) should reflect the paper's title. Refer to the front page of the lesson for questions they should ask and answer to generate ideas for the body of each paragraph.

A final word suitable to this time to year: Take a week off writing if you need to. Memory Master is approaching, Foundations presentations take time, and sometimes we as parents need a break! The kids have accomplished so much with their writing this year. If needed, give your family a week of grace and space! It's one of the wonderful perks of homeschooling.

Thank you for sharing your precious children with me week after week! Every personality is unique, and I love each and every one of them!

Erin

Week 18 Admission Ticket

I'll award admission tickets this week to every student who turns in both a polished paper on ancient Rome and a completed checklist. Can't wait to see the final products of all this hard work!

Week 17: We can certainly call our students smart!

Well, we did it. It took 17 weeks of class, but we've learned all seven sentence patterns of the English language. Isn't that exciting!

Practice the seventh sentence pattern, S-Vt-DO-OCA, at home this week. Read Lesson 17 in your EEL Guide for suggestions on recognizing the sentences, and, with your student, try to write a couple of simple S-Vt-DO-OCA sentences on your own. Write them, label them, diagram them, QeQ them. If your student is ambitious, modify them with adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions. Then celebrate what you've learned this year!

I imagine you'll spend most of your time this week polishing IEW papers. I can't wait to read these! The kids have worked so hard! In class yesterday, they helped me revise a rough draft I wrote. They suggested some great ideas for improvement, and I hope this exercise will bear fruit when it comes to their own revisions this week.

Spend time today and tomorrow revising. Then complete your checklist (Level A or B) Friday and Monday. If an item or two is missing from the checklist for each paragraph, it's no big deal. Eventually we want them to write "free" of the checklist because their minds will be trained to write automatically using strong verbs; interesting words; and varied sentence structures, openers, and lengths. I DO think they'll need your help with the checklist and labeling, though. It's not easy to identify, label and check off all those elements at once. They will complete the assignment much more easily and significantly faster with your help.

I will plan extra reading time next week. I want everyone to have the opportunity to show off their work!

A final note: I am altering our syllabus a bit. Rather than following this four-week assignment with another lengthy report as scheduled, we're going to skip ahead to "Writing from Pictures." We'll come back to the research report in four weeks and let that be our final assignment for the year. At that point, the students will each choose a character from ancient history to write about. On Week 24, the kids can dress as their characters, and we'll spend most of our class time presenting those reports and having a little party.

Let me know if you have questions this week. I'll look forward to seeing you all Tuesday!

Weel 17 Admission Ticket

For Week 17, read Genesis 1 in the Bible and find a sentence with the S-Vt-DO-OCN sentence pattern. Using your Simple Steps chart, complete Tasks 2-4 on the EEL Task Sheet. (You may complete these steps on a photocopy of the sheet or on a piece of notebook paper.)

Hint: If you have trouble, look at this week's lesson in the EEL Guide. :)

Week 16: Dare we call our students experts...

Well, admittedly, not quite yet. But I must say, after peppering them today with memory work questions, a new sentence pattern, and the diagrams and Quid et Quos of several sentences, I'm impressed with the amount of material they've mastered through Week 15. As a collective class, they answered nearly everything I threw at them. I hope you're pleased, too!

Be sure to read Lessson 16 in your EEL Guide this week. Not only will it explain our new sentence pattern, S-Vt-DO-OCN, for your study at home, but there is also a glimpse into Leigh Bortins' wisdom and character on page 189 that might make you smile.

Now that we're QeQ'ing sentences, hopefully the kids are beginning to see the value of the first semester's chart barrage! Perhaps these final eight weeks will help make this chart information "useful" to them. We're going to continue drilling out our parts of speech on the QeQ sheet in class for the remainder of the year. And although you can formally complete the QeQ sheet at home as time allows, realize that you can complete it informally (and perhaps without your student even realizing it) if you just begin incorporating those questions and answers into your regular EEL conversation as you go. For example: "Is that subject noun 'dog' proper or common? And is it singular or plural? And, hmm... I see you've labeled 'brown' as an adjective modifying 'dog,' but do you know whether 'brown' is limiting, descriptive or possessive?"

You'll really begin to discover what they know well and which material needs more time. And before long, their brains will retain and recall the "drill," and they'll be answering the questions before you even ask!

For those of you who are prone to pushing the limits (as I am, particulaly with my oldest child), I love what Leigh says on page 190 of the guide under Task 6: "If a student looks at you blankly, just say the answer with them and have them repeat it back. Don't waste time trying to pull things that don't exist out of a child's brain." Duh! Eventually, in time, given enough repetition, they'll retain it. THEN they'll be able to rattle off those answers!

After next week (when we'll introduce our seventh and final sentence pattern), we're coming to a tough point in the curriculum where I want to offer encouragement. For the most part, from here on out, I want you to decide how much time to spend and what to focus on during your EEL study at home. This will be different for each family. We've covered a tremendous amount of material, and rather than frustrate a student who's yet to master it all, I'd much rather you tailor your time to your child's retention level. If your family is on track with Week 16, focus there. If your child is still working to understand Week 8, devote your efforts in that direction. You may want to spend a week identifying the seven sentence patterns, or a week on diagramming simple sentences, or a week on recognizing the subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun clauses that make a sentence complex. You may even want to just scale back and spend more time on IEW.

But know this: For the rest of the year, our class time is going to progress beyond some of the students' grasp of the material. That's okay. Let it wash over them as a grammar-stage introduction to language; most of them will see it again. The beautiful thing for a class with varying skill levels is that the same foundational information pops up in every single sentence, even the most complex. There's always something in every single sentence that every single student can know.

Whew! That's long. Sorry. Onward to IEW...

Most students have completed their three rough draft body paragraphs on ancient Rome, and we moved forward to Lesson 16 in class today. I expect most students will write two rough draft paragraphs at home this week: an introduction and a conclusion. Class highlights follow:

• We discussed what information should be included in each paragraph. The assignment makes this extremely clear. I'd suggest reviewing the information on page 119 and the example on page 120 with your student at home.
• We counted the number of sentences in the example paragraphs. I did this because I wanted them to see that these are not detail-filled paragraphs. That's the job of the body paragraphs. Each sentence in these paragraphs fills a specific requirement; aside from the two to three sentences of background info, there's no extraneous information.
• We brainstormed most of the outline information on page 121. I kept it loose because this page should look different for each student according to 1.) what he or she finds interesting for background information and most significant overall, and 2.) the chosen key words for each rough draft body paragraph.

Any family who wants to limit the assignment to three paragraphs may certainly do so. If this is the case, skip Lesson 16 and rejoin us next week for Lesson 17, "Putting It All Together," which will give you instructions on an introductory statement and final clincher.

• Remind the kids these are rough draft paragraphs. Keep it fairly simple. Next week assigns them an entire lesson for revision. In other words, don't stress.
• Try to write a paragraph tomorrow and a paragraph Thursday. Then sit down Friday and complete the rough draft checklist with your student. It's a handy tool for dialoging through the requirements without making them feel like you're a critic. Monday gives you breathing room for them to add what's missing or to catch up if you don't finish before the weekend.

One last thing. Please, always, if you or your student are having trouble with either EEL or IEW, let me know. Ask for assistance. I probably won't give you a perfect fix, but I'll try my best to help you work it out. Each of the kids is terribly precious, and I want them to succeed and feel good about what they've learned and accomplished in our time together.

Have a tremendous week!

If Week 16 is postponed due to snow...

Hello, all!

Well, it's Monday afternoon at 2 p.m., and my neighborhood in the middle of Greensboro has not been scraped yet. The road in front of our house has been perfect for sledding, but I'm afraid that, even with today's melting, we're still looking at more ice than pavement tomorrow morning. Forsyth's schools have already cancelled for tomorrow, and my guess is that the Guilford schools will not attempt to navigate neighborhood roads tomorrow a.m. either. Bummer.

Should that happen, class will be cancelled, so here's my suggestion: Go ahead and complete at home this week the remaining two topical rough drafts for our IEW writing assignment. This means moving ahead with the KWOs, fused outlines and rough drafts for Topics B & C, which are "Roman Government" and "Roman Society." Then, when we meet next week for Week 16, we'll be back on schedule, so to speak, with the EEL/IEW syllabus and won't need to make further adjustment for the rest of the year.

BUT...Pray for the sunshine to work its miracle today! I'd love to see everyone tomorrow!

Week 16 Admission Ticket

For Week 16, please complete the basic "Quid et Quo" for the following sentence and bring it to class:

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

Week 15: "Quid et Quo" means "What and Why?"

I'm terribly proud of your kids! They are so smart and make our class time so much fun!

During our EEL time today, we worked through the EEL Task Sheet, both front and back, and also introduced the "Quid et Quo" chart. I thought the kids did really well with modifying our sentence about the barking dog, and I think they'll pick up on the basic "Quit et Quo" quickly as they work through a couple of simple sentences at home. Using the EEL Task Sheet and "Quid et Quo" during your time with them this week will reveal to both you as parents and them as students what they understand and what they don't. When it comes to the "Quid et Quo" details, make them use those charts when they can't remember the answers! Celebrate what they know, and help them with what confuses them! (Or put it off til a bit later...)

The EEL Guide suggests focusing on complex interrogative S-Vt-IO-DO sentences this week. I'd start with simple sentence structures, purposes and patterns. Parse them, diagram them, Quid et Quo them. Then add modifiers and do it again. Then move to more difficult structures, purposes and patterns and repeat the process. Give them some easy stuff, but also tackle something more challenging and work through it together. See if you can get all the way up to the guide's suggested sentence!

Also notice that Week 15 demonstrates how to diagram interjections. We didn't cover this in class today. I'll incorporate it sometime, but it would be easy for you to do at home with a sentence modification from declarative to exclamatory.

IEW should be fairly simple. We opted for stretching this assignment to four weeks in order to give the kids time to write five excellent and polished paragraphs. The kids can bring their rough draft paragraphs and checklists to show me next week, but turning them in for comments and return the following week will be optional.

• All they need to complete this week are the key word outlines, fused outline and the rough draft for Topic A, which is "How Rome Began."
• NEXT week, they will complete the KWOs, fused outline and rough draft for Topics B & C, which are "Roman Government" and "Roman Society."
• During Week 3, they'll use their three topics and information from the "Rome's Greatness" source paragraphs to brainstorm and write both introductory and conclusion rough draft paragraphs.
• Finally, Week 4 is the week to revise, add dress-ups and openers, and polish! I'll try to allow extra reading time in class for these highly important research reports!

As always, please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you again for sharing your kids with me and for teaching them so well at home! Y'all are the best!

Week 15 Admission Ticket

Sorry -- almost forgot to post!

Diagram the following complex sentences:

The dog, which is black, barked loudly.

While you wait, sing a song.

Week 14: Can you diagram complex sentences while you are at home?

Good morning!

Class was super yesterday, I thought. I just love the kids' different personalities! For me, Essentials IS among the highlights of my week, so thank you for being there!

Once again, we covered loads of material in EEL. The kids seemed to absorb and understand it, and I was pleased that they stayed engaged in our diagramming! They did SO well!

At home this week,

• Review memory work for Weeks 12-14.
• Review active and passive voice verbs. Work through changing a couple of active voice sentences to passive voice sentences and vice versa.
• Practice diagramming sentences. Spend a bit of extra time on dependent clauses and the S-Vt-IO-DO sentence pattern.

PLEASE USE THE REVISED SIMPLE STEPS CHART I HANDED OUT IN CLASS YESTERDAY. I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW WHETHER IT HELPS YOU AND YOUR STUDENT TO PROPERLY CLASSIFY SENTENCES. I'M OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING IT, TOO!

• IF you have time (and a more advanced student), take a look at the Verb Anatomy Building Blocks and Verb Anatomy Explanation charts, along with the Verb Anatomy: TO HAVE chart. Look to learn how we use time (past, present and future) and form (simple, perfect, progressive and perfect progressive) to express tense. Although it's overwhelming to look at initially, the explanation chart really explains well how to take one of a verb's five principal parts and pair it with a helping verb to form the appropriate verb tense.

IEW is pretty straightforward. The kids need to finish outlining Source 2 from Lesson 14, then complete their fused outlines. When you're tempted to tell them to choose one piece of information over another for their fused outline, stop! (I know it's hard!) Let them choose to include what they find most important or interesting and leave the rest. As they write their paragraphs on the Olympics, encourage them to include their dress-ups and incorporate their sentences openers. Their writing as a class has been great -- I'm impressed with their skills and success!

Please let me know if you have questions. Thank you for doing such a great job at home!

Week 14 Admission Ticket

Write two complex sentences, one that features a dependent clause beginning with a relative pronoun and another whose dependent clause begins with a subordinating conjunction. Underline the dependent clause(s) in each sentence.

Week 13: Sentences that contain a dependent clause are complex!

Most moms were able to sit through class without distraction yesterday during our EEL time. I believe that will pay off in the coming weeks.

Although we introduced both complex sentences and the S-Vt-IO-DO sentence pattern yesterday, my goal for the kids this week is to learn to identify complex sentences by recognizing dependent clauses that begin with either a relative pronoun or a subordinating conjunction. With a list in hand of the relative pronouns and subordinating conjunctions, practice identifying dependent clauses on the 112 complex sentences chart, in a book, in the newspaper or whatever they happen to be reading.

Next week, we'll diagram complex sentences in class. Then our efforts to distinguish the relative pronoun clauses as adjectival and the subordinating conjunction clauses as adverbial will make more sense, because what they modify determines their placement on the diagram. Interestingly, I've discovered since class yesterday that these dependent clauses may also act as nouns in a sentence. (I'm still learning, too! If you have it, check out pp. 58-60 in the Grammar & Diagramming Sentences book.) Look at this sentence I went over with the kids yesterday; the dependent clause wasn't sitting right with me as adverbial, and now I know why.

I told my mom that I was going to empty the diswasher so that she wouldn't have to.

• Who or what is this sentence about? I (subject noun)
• "I" what? told (verb)
• Can I answer, "I told what?" Yes! "I told that I was going to empty the dishwasher."
• SO, the dependent clause "that I was going to empty the diswasher" is the DO of this sentence! It's acting as a noun!

I believe I'll use this sentence again in class next week to demonstrate for the kids, not only because this clause is functioning as a direct object, but also because "mom" is an indirect object that answers "to/for whom?"

Speaking of indirect objects, you can touch on them at home if you'd like; the EEL guide covers them on page 159. But I'm planning to spend more time on them, including diagramming, in class the next two weeks. I'd much rather you focus on differentiating between simple, compound and complex sentences.

Regarding IEW, my hope is that this week's assignment is easily doable with the revisions we discussed in class. One paragraph instead of five, a revised outline, and a revised checklist. I did mean to mention that if your student would like to write about a different Greek myth, or even a fable, please do so. The lesson is adaptable.

Last, thank you, moms, for loading this semester's charts and memory work into the students' notebooks during class. I'm glad to know it's done, and I hope it worked well for you to get it done then and there rather than worrying over it at home. See you all next week.

Week 13 Admission Ticket

Time to get back into the swing of EEL! We will kick off our second semester with a new sentence pattern AND a new sentence structure, so I want the kids to prepare by refreshing some particular bits of memory work.

For Week 13, students should know the answers to these four memory work questions:

1. What are the seven sentence patterns?
2. What is a complex sentence?
3. What is a dependent, or subordinate, clause?
4. What are some subordinating conjunctions?

They may either submit the questions and answers on a piece of paper or be prepared to answer when asked.