Week 17: Do you consider our seventh sentence pattern difficult or easy?

Celebrating our seventeenth week together, we learned our seventh sentence pattern today. Hooray! We have now discussed every item of information on our sentence classifications chart save the compound-complex structure. I'll review all seven sentence patterns next week. What fun to know we can identify every sentence pattern in the English language!

So what is this pattern? Subject - verb transitive - direct object - object complement adjective, or S-Vt-DO-OCA. After learning about object complement nouns last week, the students took to OCAs like ducks to water. :) Your EEL guide demonstrates clearly and simply that an OCA is an adjective that follows and describes a direct object. During class, we completed Tasks 1 through 6 for the sample S-Vt-DO-OCA sentence, "The artist painted his canvas green." Most of the students seemed to understand and be able to contribute to our completion of the task sheet. It's encouraging to see the fruits of learning, so I hope you are seeing them, too.

Depending on your student's level, you can decide where best to invest your time at home this week. Opportunities abound! The lesson in your EEL guides includes an adjectives review and touches again on verb anatomy. I managed to squeeze in the simple and perfect forms today (finally...) and will (hopefully) get to progressive and perfect progressive next Tuesday. Remember, though, that the verb anatomy is advanced material. First-year students and parents need not stress there.

Upon student request for a creative writing assignment, I decided to revise our IEW schedule on your syllabus that I handed out in August. Instead of writing about the Constitution, we are going to complete Lesson 25, which is an essay written from a prompt. We will devote two weeks to this essay, prompted by the First Amendment guaranteeing religious freedom, about how our families practice faith. The lesson itself is easily comprehended, but I want to explain three different options for completing it, basically a Level A, Level B and Level C.

• Level A: Students may write one paragraph, the format of which is in your photocopied lesson. Two weeks is ample time to complete one paragraph, so take your time and enjoy the process of outlining, writing, revising and polishing.


• Level C: Students may write five paragraphs -- an introductory graph, three topic graphs, and a concluding graph. This format is also laid out in detail in your photocopied lesson. As to a schedule, I'd recommend outlining and writing your three body paragraphs this week. Then outline and write your intro and concluding graphs early next week. Finally, use Friday and Monday of next week to revise and polish all five paragraphs. (Just a note: Pages 107-110 teach these two outer graphs very well.)


• Level B: Students may write three topic paragraphs, plus an introductory statement and a final clincher. I will demonstrate an introductory statement and final clincher during class next week, but for those who have the book, they are introduced in the IEW Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons on page 49. The American history book we are using this year does not include this option, but I'll show you next week! Families who choose this option can spread the outlining and writing of the three graphs out over the two-week span.

Now, as to which level each student should tackle, you as the parent have that choice. My suggestions follow: All students enrolling in Challenge A next year should write a five-paragraph essay. Second-year or more advanced students should write three paragraphs, and first-year students or families whose time is tight these next two weeks should write a single graph. Regardless of the level you choose, please check your student's outlines before the rough draft process begins. You may even need to go through the outlines with them to insure they are using the provided questions to "prompt" the right kind of information for their outlines. They don't have to answer every question exhaustively by any means, but the questions should be used as tools to help pull information from their brains!

Finally, their Declaration of Independence and Preamble reports really impressed me these past two weeks. Fantastic efforts should be applauded!

See you next week. Please call or email with questions.

Erin

Week 17 Admission Ticket

I know it's much earlier than I usually post, but since I know what I'd like them to do...

Write from memory (or copy if necessary) our Sentence Classifications chart (Chart A). Bring it to me on Tuesday in return for your gilded coupon.

Week 16: Will you remember to call an object complement a noun?

Good evening! I hope I can remember everything we covered today in EEL and IEW. But before I do, I want to say how thankful I am for each mom and each student and each family represented in our class. Spending two hours with you each week is a tremendous privilege and opportunity. I don't know whether God is concrete or abstract, or if he's singular, plural or collective, but I DO know he is very, very good to me through all of you! What wonderful conversation homeschooling freely affords us!

First, I did not get to the second half of our verb anatomy during EEL time today. I will diligently endeavor to get there next week.

Instead, I introduced and invested time in our fifth sentence pattern: Subject-Verb transitive-Direct Object- Object Complement Noun, otherwise known as S-Vt-DO-OCN.

An object complement noun follows a direct object and names or describes it as a direct result of the action verb. Here are some examples:

• God called the light day. (DAY names the light.)


• He called the darkness night. (NIGHT names the darkness.)


• We elected her president. (PRESIDENT describes her.)


• Do you consider chicken nuggets a food group? (FOOD GROUP names nuggets.)

Next, using "God called the light day," we completed Tasks 1-6 on our Analytical Task Sheet. The students hung with all six tasks extremely well. Good for them! The wonderful thing about the ATS (sounds kind of like a fraternity name, huh?) is that you can jump in and employ it for both beginning students and advanced students by tailoring it to the individual level.

At home this week, try to take the lesson's sample sentences and drill them out through all six tasks. You might be surprised and pleased with how far you can progress. If the OCN sentence pattern is too difficult, use an S-Vi or an S-Vl-PN.

I am also excited about our IEW assignment for the week. We introduced a one-week assignment, Lesson 22, on rewriting the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution and using transitional words and phrases to improve the flow. I distributed the transitional words sheet from the IEW Resource Notebook, so encourage your student to use it to improve their writing. One strong note: They will need your help understanding the language of the Preamble in order to complete their key word outlines and the rewrite. You'll need to carve out "conversation time," whether it's during your regular Foundations day or during your Essentials time, to discuss these big words and the even larger ideas they convey.

Finally, I applaud those students who read from their Declaration of Independence papers today. I am eager to read entire reports at home this week and hear next week from those not able to read today. Keep working hard to home to produce quality work!

Mrs. Erin

Week 16 Admission Ticket

For the Week 16 Admission Ticket, I will ask each student to spell one of the IEW Lesson 16 vocabulary words. I'll only ask one, but they should know how to spell all four! See you Tuesday.

Week 15: Can you find me an indirect object yet?

Morning, everyone. Sorry for posting later than usual. I trust you all made progress yesterday without me! :)

In EEL on Tuesday, I introduced verb forms using the verb "have." When we talk about verb forms, we are referring to the combination of a verb's principal parts with the appropriate helping verbs to express when action takes place. Each form -- simple, perfect, progressive, perfect progressive -- occurs in past, present and future tense. Essentially, you end up with 12 different combinations, each of which you can drill out in 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular and plural.

Although this sounds confusing, there's actually a simple formula for each form, and our charts do an excellent job of demonstrating how to "construct" each one. Because each form repeats the same patterns over and over, the kids often catch on to it faster than you'd think. So if you have time, give it a try this week. I only covered the simple and perfect forms on Tuesday; I'll overview the last two next week. I would recommend to parents that you look over this information by yourself first. Start on page 446 with Chart BB.

The other new information for Week 15 is Tasks 5 and 6 for your Analytical Task Sheets. We have informally covered Task 5, modification, before now, and I actually didn't cover it in class Tuesday. I plan to do so next week. I did, however, introduce Task 6, Quid et Quo, which means "What and Why" in Latin. Task 6 is one of my favorite EEL activities, because it incorporates everything we learn in EEL into one final ATS exercise. For a full explanation of Tasks 5 and 6, refer to the special "Analytical Tasks in Detail" section in Lesson 3 of your EEL Guide. It begins on page 49.

Also remember that you will find a master list of the guide's practice sentences on page 433 and your ATS masters on pages 435-439. After discovering on Tuesday that the basic format of the QeQ sheet does not include descriptive adjectives, I'd recommend using the detailed format only (page 439) and drilling a word out only as far as your student's understanding allows. For example, the detailed format asks for verb form, which you and your student may not yet understand. My advice is just skip that part, knowing you'll get to it later! Finally, those of you who purchased the laminated Trivium Tables, remember that the QeQ is included.

Now, for those of you with first-year EEL students who will be with me again next year, which is most of our class, you may want to focus your efforts on previous material. We are reaching the point in the year where new material is more advanced, and at home, you may need to stay simple. It's important to me that you teach to the level of your child's understanding and not try to keep up with every little new thing. Because every sentence begins with the foundational subject and verb, during class, there will ALWAYS be something your student can identify in EVERY sentence. And it's good for the newer students to follow along as our more advanced students keep up with the harder ideas. But at home, you may need to stick with simple and compound sentences and only identify nouns as common or proper and verbs as past, present or future on the QeQ. That's perfectly okay. Both you and your students will have time and opportunity to dig deeper next year.

Finally for EEL, this is our last week with the indirect object sentence pattern. Hopefully you've become comfortable identifying them in sentences. Next week we'll move on to object complement nouns! Whew! That's a lot of information. Thanks for reading!

IEW is much simpler. We introduced dramatic hook openers, and the students need to add a hook opener and closing sentence to their Declaration of Independence research reports. They should also revise and dress up their reports and complete a bibliography and the final checklist. I will try to allow as much reading time as possible in class next week, but I know we won't get to every student. In future weeks, when we do not have papers due, I'll plan to give them the option of reading from this or another assignment.

Please let me know if you have questions. Have a safe, healthy and restful week working together!

Erin

Week 14: Give your students a thank you from me!

Good morning. The children behaved like angels yesterday, didn't they? Please tell them I said THANK YOU!

At home this week, spend your EEL time continuing to familiarize yourselves with complex sentences, subordinating conjunctions, relative pronouns, and indirect objects. Also devote a little practice to active and passive voice verbs. The lesson in the EEL guide this week is excellent, so use it as much as you can.

Next week, we will introduce Tasks 5 and 6 from our ATS. What fun! I'd also like to start discussing verb forms if time allows. If not, I'll probably assign it as an admission ticket.

For IEW, your assignment is to complete your key word outlines, fused outline and rough draft paragraph for Topic C, the contents of the declaration. I accidentally photocopied the front of the lesson page on both sides, so you are without your key word outline templates; however, a piece of notebook paper should suffice. I also handed out in class yesterday the rules and worksheets for colons and semicolons from the IEW Resource Notebook. Try to complete these worksheets at home this week; they are good practice. I will bring sheet protectors for them next week. I didn't have 40 left, so I am ordering more.

Finally, I sent home the admission ticket -- another page from the IEW Resource Notebook that lets them unscramble words. They can return it to me next week.

Have a great week studying and writing. Please let me know if I can assist you.

Erin

Week 14 Admission Ticket

Take the following simple sentence, and, by adding a who/which clause or a www.asia.wub clause, make it a complex sentence:

The girl laughed.

See you Tuesday!

Week 13: When we add a dependent clause, our sentence becomes complex.

I must say, only my friends and students at our beloved classical group made today worth venturing outside into this frigid air! Brrrr! It's this time of year when I'm especially glad the Lord planted me no further north than North Carolina.

We introduced a number of new ideas during both EEL and IEW this afternoon. Here's the rundown:

• S-Vt-IO-DO (Subject-Verb transitive-Indirect Object-Direct Object): This fifth of our seven sentence patterns adds an indirect object into the mix. The worksheet I completed in class with the kids, combined with Lesson 13 in the EEL guide OR memory work and charts OR Trivium Tables, tells you everything you need to know about identifying IOs and provides loads of sentences to label and diagram.



• Complex sentences: Take a simple sentence, add a dependent clause beginning with either a subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun, and -- voila! -- you have a complex sentence. Again, we explored this new sentence structure with a worksheet in class that should've gone home with your student. Reviewing it along with the guide, etc., should provide ample practice. I ran out of time to demonstrate how to diagram -- I'll cover it next week. :)



• Fused Outlines from Key Word Notes: In IEW, we began a three-week research report on the Declaration of Independence. This assignment picks up where we left off in the fall by showing the students how to select and outline multiple topics from multiple source texts. Our end result will be a three-paragraph report. This week's assignment is to take notes, complete fused outlines, and write rough draft paragraphs for the first two topics: conflict between America and Britain (Topic A) and Congress' decision to declare freedom (Topic B). The lesson lays out the process perfectly, but I'd suggest the following schedule: On Wednesday, look over the lesson together and read aloud the three source texts. Identify in each source text which topic each paragraph addresses. Then complete the key word notes and fused outline for Topic A. On Thursday, write the Topic A rough draft paragraph. On Friday, complete the key word notes and fused outline for Topic B. Finally, on Monday, write the Topic B rough draft paragraph.

Now, before you panic over all this new information, remember that we have three weeks to focus on indirect objects, seven weeks to master the complex sentence structure with its subordinating conjunctions and relative pronouns, and three weeks for the research report. In fact, for all 12 weeks of IEW, I believe we only have five papers due. So it's spread out. Also take into consideration once again the fact that most of our EEL students will glean from the exact same 24 weeks again next year.

Have a lovely week. Please let me know if you have questions.

Erin