Week 11

EEL

Big review today.  The only thing that changed from week 10 was the sentence purpose.  We moved from declarative to exclamatory.  Keep practicing the difference between a predicate nominative and predicate adjective.

This is a great time in the semester to memorize the questions that correspond to adjectives and adverbs.

Adjectives: Which one? How many? Which? Whose?
Adverbs: How? When? Where? Why? To what extent? Under what condition? How often? How much?

IEW

Our vocabulary words were--solemn, tyrant, adept, enthrall

I introduced two new dress-ups and a decoration that will be on the checklist this week.  The dress-ups were both sentence openers.  This means that the first word of the sentence will be a certain type.

The #2 sentence opener is the preposition opener.  Example: In the cold house, the family could barely sleep.

The #3 opener is the -ly (adverb): Thankfully, the repairman came the next morning and fixed their heater.

The decoration that we learned was personification, giving a human characteristic to a thing or idea.  We looked at the explanation of this on page 48 of the student resource notebook (gray pages). Example:

The pine trees bowed mournfully under the weight of a heavy snow.

Finally, we covered Unit 5, Writing from Pictures.  The assignment is a three paragraph paper, but, moms, you can make it one paragraph if you choose.  The idea is to start with a picture and then to ask a series of questions in order to pull a story from the brain.  Our key word outline is pulled from the imagination, but it begins with the central fact of the picture.  So, though we take the story where we wish, it starts with the observable.

On the pictures corresponding with this lesson (p. 143), we stated the central fact of the first picture this way:

boy, riding, message, urgent

From there, we asked the questions found on the bottom of page 142 and also the questions on the left-hand side of the Unit V chart to pull out more information.  Finally, we tied it up nicely by making our paragraph clincher repeat and reflect words from our picture's central fact.

Have fun with this story.  We suggested various plots to go with the picture: we proposed that he was delivering a birthday invitation to General Washington from General Green, also that it was a game of chess and the message was General Green's next move.  Perhaps he was actually running from a lion. Maybe the soldier in the second picture is his best friend and turns away.  Maybe the horse is under him in the water, maybe….maybe… you fill in the blank.

Also, students can use any picture as a source.  If there is only one picture, have them think about what happens before and after.  Also, students can use the pictures on page 149 if they would rather.

Have fun!  Can't wait to hear your stories next week.  We will enjoy doughnuts and there will be plenty of time for reading papers.

Week 10

EEL

This week's focus was the compound, declarative, S/VL/PA sentence.  In order to learn what a predicate adjective is, we must first understand the adjective.

Adjectives

 We went over Chart L (Adjectives).  Remember, the first focus for a good foundation in Essentials is always the memory work in gray.  So above all, memorize the definition of an adjective and the questions that an adjective answers.

Definition: An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun by describing, qualifying or limiting.
Questions: What kind? How many? Which? Whose?

S/VL/PA

The predicate adjective (PA) follows a linking verb and modifies or describes the subject.
To proof whether or not you have a PA, first ask,

"Do I have a possible linking verb?"
(If the list of linking verbs is not yet memorized, look at the linking verb list located between Chart C (Verbs) and Chart D.

If you have a possible linking verb, next ask,

"Does the word following the linking verb modify or describe the Subject Noun?
If yes, PA.

So…
The rose smells sweet.

Do I have a possible linking verb?
Well, smells is my verb.  Yes, it is on the linking verb list.

Does the word following the linking verb modify or describe the Subject Noun?
Yes, sweet describes the subject rose. Rose smells sweet. Sweet smells rose.
Sweet is a predicate adjective.

Watch out for verbs on the linking verb list that are used as action verbs.
She smells the rose.

In this sentence, smells is an action verb, transferring action to the rose.  So this is an example of a S/Vt/DO.

An action verb can never be a linking verb.
You should be able to replace a linking verb with is and the sentence still make sense.

IEW
We had fun with vocabulary memory for a good portion of the class. We also were able to read some papers!

Vocabulary: compliant, obstinate, compel, deliberate

Writing assignment:
The assignment is an extension of what we have been working on the last two weeks.  The source text for the final paragraph of the three paragraph paper (due next Tuesday) is on page 116, "Colonial Life: Care of the Sick."  Your student will need to key word outline the text, pulling only 5-7 interesting or important facts.  They will have to include a topic sentence in the beginning of the paragraph and then end the paragraph with a clincher.

Please remember, students, you are not key word outlining every sentence.  You are going to have to skip some information, limiting the facts to the ones you think are the best. This exercise is good for practicing pulling out pertinent information (Like my alliteration?).

In addition to this final paragraph, they will have to add an introductory statement as part of the first paragraph.  This introductory statement will introduce the entire paper, previewing the topics to be discussed. (Tell them what you are going to tell them). Next comes the body paragraphs (Tell them).  Finally, attached to the end of the final paragraph, add a final clincher--a sentence that restates the topics covered in the paper (Tell them what you told them).

As always, if you have any questions or need help scaling this assignment (or any other) for your student, please email, text or call me.  After this, only one more short and fun paper to write this semester! Yea!

Week 9

EEL

S/VL/PN Sentences, Linking Verbs

Today we focused on a new sentence pattern, S/VL/PN.  We learned that a linking verb acts as the glue that connects or links two words together.  Also, we noted that a linking verb is never an action verb.  In the example

A blue jay is a bird.

we noted that the linking verb is acts as the glue, sticking together blue jay and bird.  

Predicate Nominatives

When learning about the S/VL/PN sentence, we noted that finding the PN is just like asking the question to find a direct object except we also have to ask another question.  We start out by asking S+V, who/what?  So, using our example above, 

blue jay + is, who/what? 

The answer is bird.

But we don't stop there.  Before we accidentally assign the DO designation to the word, we have to ask two more questions:

1. Is there a linking verb? (Memorize list, song in sidebar).

2. Does bird rename the subject?

If the answer is yes to both questions, we have a predicate nominative (PN).

Double check by replacing the linking verb with an equals sign.

blue jay = bird, bird = blue jay

We ended the EEL segment by completing a task sheet for the sentence 

Tom is the captain, but Jane is the coach.

This is a compound S/VL/PN.

IEW

Vocabulary

warily, vehemently, destined, confront

Next week we will have a vocabulary game, so practice your vocab. words!

We talked about the decoration, 3sss, three short staccato sentences.  A full explanation is in the student guide in the gray pages (p.43)

Assignment

In class, we agreed to amend the scope and sequence and give this two week paper another week.  So, this week we are working on the second paragraph in a three paragraph paper.  The source text is Colonial Life: Law and Order from page 110 in your History Based Writing Lessons book.  Go ahead and use the KWO we did in class or change it to match your preference for the information you would like to include.

Though I talked about the introductory statement and final clincher, don't worry about adding them until the third paragraph is finished on the third week of this paper.

Blessings!  See you next week!

Week 8

Thank you for being flexible with me and allowing me to run the classes together and slip out during math.  I thought I was just exhausted from being up with sick girls, but it looks like it was a bit more than that.  I spent the rest of that day and the next day in bed. I pray that no one caught anything from me.  I was careful to wash hands well and not breathe all over people just incase I was carrying germs.

EEL

Prepositions

I hope you enjoyed The Spooky Old Tree! My kids love the book.  I've not found a better one for introducing prepositions.

We started class with "Preposition and Treat" and wrote down the preposition. Mine was...

between

This became the foundation of our sentence.  We added an object of the preposition by asking preposition + who/what?  Remember, without an object, a preposition is just an adverb. (Example: Jane went out.) Here is mine.

between the pages

We added a subject and verb to the preposition to complete our simple sentence. Mine had a direct object too.

She hid money between the pages.

Finally, we added a second simple sentence, using the interrogative form.  We connected these sentences with a comma and coordinating conjunction.

She his money between the pages, but where did she hide the book?

Voila! A compound interrogative sentence with a prepositional phrase.

We also checked out Chart J (Prepositions) and talked about memorizing them.  There is a song for this in the sidebar, in Cycle 1.  It's lengthy, but worth memorizing.
We also walked through the C.S. Lewis quotation and found tons of prepositional phrases.

IEW

Vocabulary words: animosity, provoke, indignant, audacious.

We moved from Unit 3 Story Narrative (creative writing based) to Unit 4, Summarizing References (report writing based).  Your Unit 4 chart in your IEW charts section gives the outline that we use.

Topic:
     1.
     2.
     3.
     4.
     5.
Clincher:

We looked at "The First Thanksgiving" p. 102, and identified topic sentences and clinchers and saw how they repeat and reflect.

With topic/body/clincher, remember…
Tell them what you're going to tell them.
Tell them.
Tell them what you told them.

Next, we read our source text for Lesson 14, "Colonial Life: Church" p. 104.  We constructed our KWO by reading through and choosing facts that were important or interesting. Do not KWO each sentence.  With a lengthy text, you will have no choice but to limit information.  The idea is to learn how to extract facts from too much information and to prioritize and limit what goes into your paper. Feel free to use the outline we did in class or change it to incorporate facts that you wanted to include.

The one paragraph paper is due on Tuesday.  Please remember to check off your checklists and highlight words in the topic sentence and the clincher that repeat and reflect.

Week 7

EEL

Recipe for a Compound, Imperative Sentence

2 imperative independent clauses
1 comma
1 coordinating conjunction

Preheat your brain to focused and on. For the first layer, put down one of the imperative independent clauses.  Add a pinch of comma. Spread on a coordinating conjunction.  Top with the other imperative independent clause.

Climb mountains, but don't climb the furniture.
Cook supper, but do not cook grammar.

Make up some of your own! Follow the recipe.

Appositives

An appositive follows immediately after a noun and renames it.  A good test--you should be able to switch around the appositive with the noun it renames.

Mrs. Varnell, my teacher, uses a low-tech overhead projector.

or

My teacher, Mrs. Varnell, uses a low-tech overhead projector.

Also notice that the appositive is set apart in the sentence by commas.

Adverbs

Study Chart I and memorize the definition of an adverb and the questions that you have to answer to determine if a word is an adverb (gray boxes).

Thank you, Mrs. Reaves for looking up the answer to the question, "Do all adverbs have degrees?" The answer is no, not all, just most.  Adverbs that are already absolutes/extremes do not have degrees.  For example, nothing cannot be more nothing.  It's opposite, everything, cannot be less than all, therefore, does not have degree.

IEW

Lesson 12

Feel free to use the KWO we did in class and compose your own final paragraph.  Finish your own brainstorming for dialogue, but feel free to incorporate any of the other brainstorming we did in class today.  Go over that final checklist to make sure you have included all the elements.  Polish your paper and add an illustration! Illustrations are optional, but I enjoy them so much!

Challenge

I would love to hear more alliteration puzzles like we did at the beginning of class.  So, if you can come up with your own alliteration and then disguise it, I might just bring in candy to reward your extra effort.  Make up as many as you like, but save your very best for class.

Week 6

EEL

This week we tackled a new structure and sentence pattern; we learned compound sentences and subject/verb transitive/direct object (S-Vt-DO).

S-Vt-DO
We talked about the fact that a transitive verb transfers action to an object.  We started with a subject/verb, then added an object.  For example,

Matthew threw...
(verb, who or what?) threw ball.

Watch out for the prepositional phrase ending instead of a noun acting as a direct object.  For example,

Mary swam in the lake.
If we are trying to find a direct object, the question that we ask is swam, who or what?.  In the lake answers the question where? and is adverbial. So, to make a direct object, we have to answer the right question, who or what?.  A possible answer would be,
Mary swam a mile.
swam, who or what? swam mile.  Mile is a noun, acting as a direct object.

Please remember to ask the question, subject, verb, who or what? when finding the DO.  If it doesn't answer that question, it isn't a direct object.

Compound Sentences
A compound sentence has to have two independent clauses (sentences) joined by a coordinating conjunction, both elements or it isn't compound.

First, we made compound sentences by adding a coordinating conjunction to join some independent clauses.  I gave them many examples,

I take good care of my cat.     He loves me.
The British attacked.     Washington defended.
Carl became an intern.     He makes great coffee.
I spent all my money.     I am broke.

Next, we moved on to differentiating between coordinating conjunctions that are joining words only and those that are joining independent clauses.  For example,

Bob and Carl ate donuts and talked.
(first and joins Bob, Carl = words (compound subject); second and joins donuts, talked=words (compound verb)) 

Claire sneezed, and milk came out her nose.
(and joins Claire sneezed, milk came out her nose=independent clauses)

Please note that a compound sentence requires a comma before the coordinating conjunction.  A compound subject or compound verb does not require a comma.  In fact, adding a comma is probably the biggest comma misuse out there.

Here is where it gets tricky.

Thomas hiked the mountain and reached the summit.  

No comma necessary because and is joining an independent clause with the phrase reached the summit.  This is a compound verb, not a compound sentence.  The temptation is to add that comma, but it doesn't belong.

When diagramming a compound sentence, use a dotted line with a "chair" between verbs.

Grammar (Drill)

Take a look at chart H (conjunctions) to see that there are many types of conjunctions.  Just memorize the grey area at the top (definition) and the coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so); forget the rest for right now.

Dialectic (Understanding)

Work through many compound sentences.  Create them, and "task" them on the task sheets.  Challenge yourself with S/Vt/DO compound sentences if you want.

English grammar is a puzzle! Have fun taking it apart and putting it back together and seeing the wonderful picture of language that God created so that we could relate to one another!

IEW

This week we started a two week paper, lesson 11, using the Shot Heard Round the World text. We also introduced a new dress-up, quality adjectives; a new decoration, similes and metaphors; and dialogue.  We had to jump around in the IEW resources quite a bit to cover these items.

Adjectives

In your writing this week, add some quality adjectives and avoid banned adjectives (good/bad, pretty/ugly, nice/mean, big, a lot, interesting).  Refer to the pink pages for suggestions. Underline these in your paper.

Similes and Metaphors

Try to incorporate a simile or metaphor in your writing this week.  For a thorough review of this and for practice and brainstorming instruction, please refer to the gray pages in the student notebook (p. 44-45).

Dialogue

Add a bit of dialogue to your two paragraphs this week.  The practice page we used in class is on page 68 in the student notebook (white pages that are not in page protectors).  The answer key is on page 88.

Assignment

Lesson 11, The Shot Heard Round the World is our source text.
This is a two week paper.  The first week we are writing paragraphs for
I. Setting, characters, mood
II. Conflict (plot)

Follow the outline on pp. 87 and use the questions in the left column to pull out a KWO.  Follow this with the brainstorming pages that follow in order to add adjectives and dialogue.  Finally, work in a simile or metaphor.

You will not turn in your rough draft for these two paragraphs to me.

Happy writing!

Week 5

I was so pleased that everyone had a chance to read a paper yesterday!  Will Reaves, we were glad to see you again this week, but we missed Aiden Ward.  Thank you, Mrs. Bate, for providing Smarties and Tootsie Rolls.  Nothing like some sugar to enliven the troops!  You are a fantastic group of kids. I enjoy your company and your enthusiasm.

EEL

In class we introduced the interrogative sentence. We talked about the three ways to change a declarative sentence into an interrogative:

1) Inflection, "Robert talks." vs "Robert talks?"

2) Interrogative pronoun
(who, whom, whose, which, what--9th song on sidebar in Cycle 2) replaces the subject,
"Robert talks." vs "Who talks?"
 This form is labeled (SP) when we are labeling sentences in task #2 on the task sheet.

3) Helping verb introduces the sentence, "Robert talks." vs "Did Robert talk?"
The helping verb is labeled (Vh) when we are labeling sentences in task #2 on the task sheet.
We will memorize the list of helping verbs in Foundations this year, after we finish prepositions.

We spent time working through the task sheet with each of these forms and focused on diagramming the helping verb sentence, which students have to switch around in their heads to the declarative form in order to diagram.  For example, "Did Robert talk?" becomes "Robert Did talk." (Did capitalized to remain the first word of the sentence).  This is much easier to work with when diagramming.  Remember to put both the helper and main verb together to the right of the bisecting line.

Robert (line) Did talk

What do I do this week?
Review memory work through week 5, and charts (A-F)

Work with your student to make up interrogative sentences using all three forms: inflection, interrogative pronoun, and introductory helping verb.  Then "task" a few sentences as far as your student can go.  Remember, new students, if you make it through task 2, you've accomplished big things.  If you can go all the way to task 4, you've arrived.

Moms, please remember that quantity is not king.  Quality is the focus of EEL.  We take one sentence and tell everything there is to know about that sentence before setting it aside.  We don't just identify all the nouns in 20 sentences, we go much deeper because we identify nouns in every sentence throughout the entire year.  There is a cumulative effect.

Special Note for those using the checklists
You will see the Quid et Quo introduced this week in Thursday's lesson.  This tool is a separate page from the task sheet, but is task six.  There is a basic and advanced form.  If you would like to do this, please have at it, but don't worry about it if you have never used this tool before.  Remember that the checklists were written with year two and three students in mind.  If you have no idea what the Quid et Quo is, just skip that part.  Year two students, it's time to try this.  Year three students, advanced form as far as you can.

One other thing about checklists.  This week and last you may have noticed that it just says "forum sentences" and then gives the numbers you are to cover.  All this means is that your student should parse these sentences with you.  This is meant to be an oral drill instead of the formality of the task sheet.  This is task sheet without it in front of you--very dialectic.  Just look at the sentence and tell everything you can about it:  part of speech, gender, number, person, tense, talk about what kind of verb it is, what kind of noun, what purpose, structure...  Talk about the sentences and identify.  This is like a mini Task Sheet/Quid et Quo.

IEW

Vocabulary words: cunning, contemplate, gravity, persevere

This week we introduced Unit 3: Story Sequence Chart (p 69).  Unit 1 and 2 were all about understanding how to key word outline (KWO) and write paragraphs from them. With the introduction of Unit 3, we jump to creative writing. We read our source text on p. 68, "The Boston Massacre" and talked about how to take KWO notes from questions, not from each line.

On page 68, we looked at the Unit 3: Story Sequence Chart and talked about

I. Setting, Characters, Background
II. Conflict (Plot)
III. Climax and Resolution

and covered the meaning of each.

We also constructed a KWO outline for, I. Setting, Characters, Background, using the questions on p. 69 to the left of section I.  For example, we asked the first question, "What is the setting?" and our KWO answer was something like...

Boston, 1770, cold, crowded street

The second question was, "Who are the characters?" and we said,

John, Hugh, British (picture of soldier), (frowning face) colonists.

When we reconstructed the paragraphs from our KWO, we found that the writing lacked 5 sense words, so we looked at p. 70 and brainstormed words to inject back into our story to give it life.

Next, we talked about the because clause, p. 62, and saw how it demands more information. Remember that if a because clause is a the beginning of a sentence, it is followed by a comma.  If it comes at the end of the sentence, no comma is necessary.

Base sentence: Mrs. Varnell's class is clever.
Because clause: Because Mrs. Varnell's class is clever, (needs more info.)
Final because clause sentence: Because Mrs. Varnell's class is clever, she gives them candy!

This week's assignment:
KWO using question format (p.69)
Finish the brainstorming pages (p. 70-71)
Write the three paragraph paper using your brainstorming words
Check off your checklist (p. 72)

Moms, please remember that you have the option of combining Setting, Conflict, Climax and Resolution into a one paragraph paper.

Week 4

I loved your collective nouns! Thank you for looking them up and bringing them in. They were a great excuse to buy chocolate.

EEL

We introduced the imperative sentence with the understood you.  We practiced changing declarative sentences into imperative sentences.  For instance, Sarah writes, becomes, Write.  The colossal toddler stomped on an unsuspecting ant, becomes, Stomp! or rather Don't Stomp if you prefer.

A few things to remember about imperative sentences.

1. They are commands or requests.  (Make your bed.  Sweetheart, please make your bed.)

2. The subject of an imperative sentence is always, "you".

3. If the subject you is not spoken, the you is implied.  When diagramming, implied you goes in parenthesis on the subject line. (you)

From the imperative sentence, we moved on to interjections.  We talked about how the interjection is not really part of the grammar of a sentence, except to add emotion.  I explained that if we use an exclamation point after an interjection, it demands more emotion than a plain comma after an interjection. When diagramming, the interjection goes on a horizontal line above the subject.

We also talked about nouns of direct address (NDA).  In the example, Sarah, write. the name Sarah is an NDA.  The speaker is directly addressing her.  The subject of the sentence is still the implied you. When diagramming, the NDA goes on a line by itself above the subject.  If there is also an interjection, stack the lines on top of one another in the order that they appear in the sentence.

IEW

Our vocabulary this week was: hostile, perilous, subside, secluded.

We played a round of hangman with our banned verbs.  Please memorize these and avoid them in your writing!  (go/went, come/came, see/saw, get/got)

We also talked about state of being verbs. (be, am, are, is, was, were, being, been)  These are the is-ing verbs.  Mrs. Varnell is in the room.  In that sentence Mrs. Varnell is "is-ing".

After having covering banned verbs and state of being verbs, it should be no surprise that our focus for this week was the strong verb. We looked at the blue strong verb section in the student binders.  Please refer to these lists if you need help or get stuck.  Also, a synonym finder (thesaurus) can help.

In lesson 7, we introduced poem writing with a focus on the strong verb.  This week you will compose two poems, one about he Native American as they watched the explorers arrive, and one about the explorers arriving in America. Each line must include a strong verb.

We started the brainstorming page on p. 57 and then transferred our favorites from the brainstorming page to our poem template on p. 56.

Finally, we talked about alliteration. It is an IEW decoration (not dress-up).
Alliteration is really rather remarkable.  R-r-r- sound repeated.  It should be used sparingly.  Please attempt one example of alliteration in one of your poems.

In labeling your paper, dress-ups are underlined, but decorations are underlined and also labeled in the margin next to the decoration.  Write the abbreviation allit. to the right or left of the sentence where it appears.

Great week!  I look forward to hearing more papers next week.

Week 3

What a lot to cover in one class period.  Whew! We made it.

EEL

Congratulations to the students for winning the Chart A showdown against the moms.  But you only won by seconds.  Watch out! Next time moms may be out to annihilate you.

This week we continued the overview of EEL.  We took a close-up view of declarative and exclamatory sentences and talked about the differences, but mostly we looked at Nouns (Chart E) and Pronouns (Chart F).  Then we moved away from the grammar track and tackled the task sheet.

Grammar Portion (Uploading information)
Nouns (Chart E)
Definition box at the top (Memorize, please).
Usage (jobs) 3rd year? are you ready to memorize?
Attributes, 2nd/3rd year memorize.

A CRASH of Rhinos! Chocolate to whomever brings in a collective noun next week!

Pronouns (Chart F)
Definition box at the top (Memorize, please).
Rest of Chart, 2nd/3rd year students, memorize a bit more than you know.  Just go deeper.

Dialectic Portion (Understanding and applying information)

We started the Task Sheet by touring the student notebook and finding the dialectic section that has
1. Task Sheet
2. Simple Steps for Solving Sentences (Question Confirmation)
3. Weekly Sample Sentences
4. Abbreviation Key

The Task Sheet provides a step-by-step guide to classifying sentences and analyzing their construction.

Task 1, Dictation.  Dictate a sentence to the student and have them write it out on the lines provided. Begin with 2 word sentences in the S/Vi pattern.

Task 2, Mechanics.  Work through the questions and check for all the things that a sentence must have, plus punctuation and spelling.

Task 3, Question Confirmation. Use your Simple Steps for Solving Sentences or your own memory to determine sentence structure, pattern and purpose.

Task 4, Diagramming. Use the correct framework for the sentence pattern you have (See Chart A, Sentence Patterns).  In the case of the S/Vi sentence that you will be working on this week, the horizontal line has the subject on the left and the verb on the right with a bisecting line that goes all the way through the horizontal line.  If you would like to add an article adjective (a, an, the) or an -ly adverb, please remember that these modifiers go on a slanted line under the word each modifies.

Get out the Task Sheet and try it each day.  Do at least one sentence per day.

IEW
A two paragraph assignment! We are working through lesson 5, "The Mayflower Mishap. Please complete the Key Word Outline (KWO) for the second paragraph then write both paragraphs.  But before you write...

We talked about 5 senses words and adding the "show, not tell" factor to our writing.  Use the exercise on p. 44 to work through brainstorming and try to determine which 5 sense words you will add to your paper.  You will need at least one, 5 sense word per paragraph.  Refer to the yellow sheets in the style section of your IEW student notebook if you need suggestions.  After you determine which 5 sense words you want to incorporate…

Now write your paper.

Also, we introduced strong verbs.  Though the strong verb requirement is not on "The Mayflower Mishap" checklist, I would like you to add it.  Please look through your paragraphs and find

Banned Verbs 

(go/went, come/came, say/said, get/got)

Replace them with strong verbs (refer to suggestions on the blue pages).  Please know that strong verbs do not have to be fancy; they just have to show action. For example, run, jump, scribble, and devour are all strong verbs.

For 2nd and 3rd year students, optional 3rd paragraph, "Plymouth Colony and Samoset" from Lesson 6. This checklist already has the strong verb requirement.

Personal
Thank you for sticking with me today.  We had so much material to introduce.  I know that it was difficult to ingest for that long.  If you have any questions or are overwhelmed or need clarification, please contact me; I want to help.

Week 2

It is a privilege to tutor your children.  I love their energy, their diving right in to the material and wrestling with it.  Thank you for all that you do to prepare them at home.  You and they are treasures.

EEL

More overview! Remember, soon we will back up and take this one step at a time.

In class we competed by writing out Chart A (Sentence Classifications).  I won today, but it was close! Keep practicing every day.  Next week we will review this again, but this time moms will compete against kids.  Moms, get ready!

We also looked at the part of speech overview (p. 443 in the EEL Guide).  This lists the 8 parts of speech and the definitions that correlate.  It also takes it a step further and gives the question to ask in order to determine usage in a sentence.

We also did a big verb overview in class, walking through Chart C (Verbs).  We covered the entire chart, but you only need to work on memorizing…

1st year student: 

     * Definition of a verb (gray bar at top of chart)

     * Question to ask in order to identify a verb in a sentence (gray bar at top of chart).

2nd and 3rd year student: 

    Go as far as you can go then push a little further.  The suggested order for memorizing is the gray boxes, then the bold type, then the italic type.

    * I would love to see that everyone in the 2nd and 3rd year knows at least the 4 verb types and 4 verb attributes.

We also talked about the difference between the transitive and intransitive verb.  We will cover this again on week 6, so don't be too concerned with getting this quite yet.

What do I do this week? 

Practice Chart A (Sentence Classification) again

Work on Memorizing a portion of Chart C (Verbs)

IEW

It was so wonderful to hear your first compositions! I adored your lovely illustrations. I had forgotten to mention adding illustrations (it's optional). We will let more people read next week.

Who/Which Clause

Learned who/which clause dress-up (p 31 student text)

Practiced creating w/w clauses by writing…

     (My Name), who                                                   , loves Essentials class.

Remember, the w/w is extra information that describes the noun it follows.  The sentence must still be complete if you take out the w/w clause.  Also, it needs to be set off by commas.

Key Word Outline

We did the key word outline (KWO) for this week's source text (Jamestown, p. 34) 

We practiced adding a w/w clause.

Final Clincher/Title

We touched on the final clincher (last sentence) of a paragraph and how we repeat or reflect some of the words to create a title that wraps up the package and adds a bow on top. The repeated/reflected title is that extra touch.

Vocabulary

We briefly introduced this week's vocabulary words: askew, presume, flank, reverently.

What do I do this week?

Write a paragraph from your KWO and add in both dress-ups we have learned so far, -ly and who/which.  Underline these in the text.  Add a vocabulary word.  Create a title by repeating or reflecting words from your last sentence. Check off your checklist and put your final draft and the checklist in a page protector. You can also add an illustration if you would like.

*** Moms, please remember that with these dress-ups, only do what your student can handle.  As we add more, feel free to edit that checklist and make it manageable for your student. Right now we only have two, the -ly word and the w/w clause.

If you are overwhelmed or not getting this please talk to me.  Give me a call or shoot me a text or email so we can connect.  Often, the big challenge in the beginning is just learning to navigate the maze of information.

Blessings to each of you!

Week 1

Well, we are off and going!

English Grammar

In EEL this week, we learned Chart A, Sentence Classifications.  Practice, practice, practice writing out this chart over and over.  Maybe someone will beat me next week.  Moms, you might want to practice too. We may just have to pit moms against students.

Remember, we are laying the grammar foundation at this point.  Understanding will come later when we get to the dialectic portion.

Writing
In IEW this week, we learned how to key word outline (KWO).

For first and year students, just use the KWO we did in class to write your one paragraph paper.  If you didn't write it down, just do the KWO again.
1. Start off this week with oral retelling from the KWO.  If your student can't retell from the outline, work with him to adjust the KWO until he can restate without much problem.
2. Have him either dictate to you, or type or write out his retelling.
3. Edit grammar, spelling and punctuation if necessary, but don't change tremendously much moms.
4. Add your -ly adverb (refer to -ly list for some options--green sheets between blue and pink in student guide)
5. Check off your checklist (I handed this out, or on pg. 21), making sure to use the MLA format
6. Place completed paragraph and checklist in a page protector to turn in.

For second year students, please use the above instructions or follow the third year student instructions.  It's up to mom.

Third year students...
Same as first year students except, complete a KWO for the text on page 16, titled "Europe Meets America".  Another option is to break away from the text and use another source.  Remember, this KWO technique works with any paragraph.

Happy memorizing and writing!

Essentials Restart!

This is Erin Varnell, not Karen Hinson.  I'll be teaching Essentials this year. If you are receiving this email because you are still subscribed but don't have a child in my class this fall, please go to the bottom of your email to unsubscribe.  This will save you from getting inundated with updates as I post them.

If you do have a child in my class this fall, please go directly to the blog site http://essentialsofgreensboro.blogspot.com and look at the sidebar to vote for which Saturday works best for you for orientation.  Psst! Do it right now or you might forget to do it!

Thanks!  Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Week 22

So sorry that we are missing today again. I know it is frustrating.
We are all ready for spring!! Today was mostly a review with the addition
of participles. We were going to go over how to form a compound/complex sentence.
You can start with 2 simple sentences and make them compound by adding a FANBOY.
Then you add a dependent clause to that. You can do this by adding a who/which clause(adjectival dependent clause) or a www.asia.wub(adverbial clause). Adding a who/which clause is easier since they have done this in IEW.  We are reviewing the S-Vl-PA, and S-Vl-PN sentence patterns this week, so
I was going to have them give me a sentence with these patterns. This would be a good practice to see
if they remember these patterns.  Here is my example from class.
The dog is my friend. (S-Vl-PN)     The dog is cute.(S-Vl-PA)

Then combine to make it compound.
The dog is my friend , and he is cute.

Now add a dependent clause.

The dog, whose name is Jake, is my friend, and he is cute.
(I added an adjectival clause)

The dog is my friend , and he is cute because he has floppy ears.
(adverbial clause)

I was going to task sheet the sentence -    The dog, whose name is Jake, is my friend, and he is cute.

If you would like any explanation of this sentence let me know. It is hard to know how many of you
would like the answer. If you would like the answer to that sentence you may email me.There is nothing too complicated about the sentence. I was keeping it short so we could get through it.

The verbal we were going to talk about today is called the participle. Remember a verbal is a verb that is used as another part of speech.
A participle is a verb usually ending in -ed, -en, -t, or -ing used as an adjective.

The verbal chart is Chart Q. The lesson also gives a good description of a participle and how to diagram.
Some examples

The sleeping baby looked precious. (sleeping is a participle describing baby , so it is an adjective)

The burnt toast smelled bad. ( burnt is the participle describing toast and is an adjective)

The yelping puppies were loud.( yelping is a participle describing puppies and is an adjective)

Please read the lesson for Week 22. The adjective chart is the chart to review this week.
Please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 21!!! What a beautiful day!!

    The weather was so glorious yesterday. It was hard to stay inside. We only have 3 more classes of Essentials this year. I know it is hard to stay focused. Please try hard to finish strong to the end.
I will try to have some type of review game planned for the next two classes along with the lesson.
We will try to have a big review game on Week 24.  The next 3 weeks will be review along with touching on some advanced concepts such as participles and gerunds.  We talked about infinitives yesterday.
Please do let me know if there is something you feel like we did not cover well , or something you have questions about. I would be glad to go over it at some point in the next 3 weeks.
    Yesterday we covered our last sentence structure. The compound/complex structure is a combination of a compound sentence and a complex sentence.  Everyone seemed to do well forming the compound/complex structure out of a simple sentence.  This would be good practice to do at home. Let me know if you have any questions.  We also went over the basics of infinitives.  Please let me know if you have any questions.
If you are a first year student this may be a little over your child's head, so you can pick up on it next year if that is the case.  We diagrammed and labeled a sentence in class. We did not get to the quid et quo.
Please make sure you are trying this at home. Let me know if you have any questions. I may go over the quid et quo again next week quickly. I may just pick a short simple sentence to demonstrate it again.
Please let me know if I can do anything to help.
Things to work on this week:
1. Mom should read Lesson 21.
2. Task sheet sentences that follow the lesson.
3. Review memory work charts.

Karen

Week 20

Good Afternoon,
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day. I am sorry we are not meeting today for Essentials.
Week 20 was going to be a review day for us. There was nothing new to introduce.
I encourage you all to read through Lesson 20 in the EEL guide. Please let me know if you have any questions.There were a couple of things we were going to do in class today. We were going to take a basic sentence and add modifiers to it. This is similar to what you do in IEW.  We were planning to add one word adjectives, one word adverbs, adverbial prepositional phrases, adjectival prepositional phrases, adjectival clauses(who/which clauses), and adverbial clauses( those starting with www.asia.wub).
This would be something you could do at home. They have a sentence in the guide that you could follow. Of course there would be multiple right answers for one sentence. Along with adding the prepositional phrases to the sentences, we were going to review prepositions. Now is a good time to make sure your child has the list memorized.  I will list the basic sentences I was going to use in class to have the students add the modifiers.  We were then going to task sheet a sentence in class. I can post the sentence at the bottom of the page. I will try to label the sentence , so you will have the answers. I do not know how to post a diagram to the blog.  If you are unsure of how to diagram the sentence, please email me, and I will help you through it.

Of course working on these sentences is totally optional. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sentences to add modifiers .Of course you can make up your own.
1. A dog scurried. (S-Vi)

A sad and lonely dog scurried.(one word adjectives)
A dog in the park scurried.( adjectival prepositional phrase, tells which dog even though it is a location)
A dog scurried in the park.( adverbial prepositional phrase, tells where the dog scurried. when I move the location of the same phrase it answers a different question)
A dog, who was sad and lonely, scurried. ( adjectival clause)
A dog scurried while he was being chased by the cat.( adverbial clause)
A dog silently scurried .( one work adverb tells how he scurried)



2. The fur felt soft. (S-Vl-PA)

The fuzzy fur felt soft. (one word adjective)
The fur of the cat felt soft. ( adjectival prepositional phrase, tells whose fur)
The fur felt soft in the cold. ( adverbial prepositional phrase, where the fur felt soft)
The fur, which belonged to the cat, felt soft.(adjectival clause)
The fur felt soft because the cat just had a bath.( adverbial clause , tells why the fur felt soft)
The fur felt wonderfully soft. ( one word adverb)

-this is a good time to tell the difference between a phrase and a clause. A phrase does not contain a subject and a verb. A clause does contain both a subject and a verb.


Sentence to task sheet. I am going to label the words in parentheses if you need more answers please email me.

Mrs. Hinson, our teacher,  made chocolate cookies and purchased soda for our party since she did not paint her kitchen green.

Complex, declarative , S-Vt-Do,( S-Vt-DO-OCA)- there is a compound verb with direct object in the independent clause.

Mrs Hinson- Subject noun
our- possessive pronoun adjective
teacher- noun appositive
made- verb transitive
chocolate- adjective
cookies-direct object
and- conjunction
purchased- verb transitive
soda-direct object
for-preposition (adverbial prepostional phrase, it tells why she purchased)
our- possessive pronoun adjective
party-object of preposition
since-subordinating conjunction
she-subject pronoun
did- helping verb
not-adverb
paint-verb transitive
her- possessive pronoun adjective
kitchen- direct object
green- object complement adjective

Week 19

Good Afternoon!

We mostly had a day of review. We started out by talking about the whole verb chart from memory.
We then worked on making up sentence by using certain attributes for the verb and then working with the verb tense. The chart this week is the verb anatomy for to play. It is chart O. I encourage you to have your child copy it. The repetition will help even if they don't understand all of the different forms.  Let me know if you have any questions about the chart or the verb anatomy.  We then worked on a sentence. We did not quite get through the quid et quo in the first class. In the second class I changed things up a bit at the last minute since they were falling asleep.  I am going to try to have them up and working on sentences together if possible in the coming weeks since I know it gets hard to sit in their seats at the end of class.
I did mention that I was going to let the kids quiz me next week.  It will be a game of them against me.  I told them they could ask me any question that is found on the memory work charts for EEL.  This would not include the memory charts for IEW or anything from IEW. Also, my daughter asked if she could question me on the how the charts were numbered.  For example, which chart is labled Chart A. The answer would be the 112 Sentence Classification chart. I told her that was not a question I would allow. So anything else that is found on the memory work that they are asked to memorize is fair game. I am not going to study them this week, so hopefully I will do ok.  They may look at the charts during class to find a question to ask. They need to know the answer.  They may look at the charts to find the answer to the questions they ask me.
I am in turn going to ask them a question. They may not look at the charts to answer the ones I ask.
I will be asking their questions without looking at the charts, and I am not going to prepare their questions in advance. This will be to their advantage.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Karen

Week 18

Thanks to everyone who brought snacks and helped out with the math party yesterday.
A special thanks goes to Rose and Rhonda for coordinating everything. I think everyone had fun.
We mostly did a review yesterday of the 7 sentence patterns. Everyone did a great job figuring out
my sentences.  We also worked with making simple sentences complex, and we also worked with
making up sentences that fit one of the 7 sentence patterns. Both of those are dialectic tasks.
It makes us think . Try doing some of that at home. You can also do some of that with the verb attributes.
You can ask your child to give you a sentence where the verb is : 1st person, singular, active voice, indicative mood,  present progressive tense.  The answer could be " I am falling off the bed. "
Let me know if you have any questions. Both classes beat their marbles from the previous week.
I will have some small treat for them. We only have six more weeks of class!! We have one more sentence
structure to cover from Chart A. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Moms, keep reading the lesson in the EEL guide for each week. It really will help you!
Keep with memorizing the charts. Doing them orally is a good way to see how much your child
can remember.  Let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great week!!

Week 17- Sorry so late!!

Good Saturday Afternoon,

Sorry I am so tardy in writing this blog.  I guess I have been on winter break.  I hope
everyone had fun in the snow!!  I am ready for warm weather now, since we have finally
gotten a really good snow fall.  This past week I introduced our final sentence pattern.
We worked with the S-Vt-DO-OCA.  We have covered all 4 sentence purposes, all 7 sentence
patterns, and 3 out of 4 sentence structures. We have seven more weeks to go!! It is hard to believe
we have made it so far. Keep studying those memory charts!! Getting those charts into your kids
minds is one of the most important parts of EEL.  Thanks to everyone who played the Adjective Chart relay. The moms won in both classes. The kids did a great job!! My first EEL class won
the marble contest. They answered 106 questions , and my second EEL class answered 79. I will
have a small treat for them at the beginning of our next class. Also, next week we will have math at the end of both classes from 2:30-3. Melissa sent a separate note about our special party and math game.
Please let me know if you have any questions about his weeks lesson. I really don't have anything
to add at this point. This next week we will be reviewing and going over all 7 sentence patterns in class.
Karen

Week 16

We finally have a Tuesday without any snowy weather.  I gave out a lot of new information today.
I started out going over the verb tenses. We talked about how we describe a verb's tense by time and form.
We describe the time by using present, past and future. We have talked about this before. We describe a verb's form by using simple, progressive, perfect , and perfect progressive. I went over how to form these tenses in class. I am not going to go over the steps on the blog. The bottom of the verb chart and all of the verb anatomy sheets give instructions on how to do this. Please let me know if you have any questions. Chart N is a memory chart that has the answers for the verb "to have".

I also introduced the new sentence pattern of S-Vt-DO-OCN. This is not a very common sentence pattern. I found this chapter VERY helpful in the past. Please do try to take time to read it. I know it looks like it will take you a long time to read it, but the lesson is not very long. It should only take about 10-15 minutes to read.  The Object Complement noun renames the Direct Object and will only be in a sentence if there is a Direct Object.  You will not have an Indirect Object and an Object Complement Noun in the same clause.
Only certain verbs can take an Object Complement Noun. You can not just make on with any old verb.
Some common verbs are : call, elect, consider, name, paint, judge, choose, nominate.
The Object Complement Noun renames the Direct Object in the same way a Predicate Nominative renames a Subject.   Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this.
In the first class we talked about how to Quid et Quo nouns and pronouns without using the chart. We went through and talked about all the ways we can describe a noun and all the ways to describe a pronoun.
We did not have enough time in the second class to talk this through. We basically did the Quid et Quo sheet for a couple nouns and pronouns without looking at the chart.

Things to do this week.
1. Moms, read lesson 16.
2. Review charts E,F,N
3. Task sheet sentences from lesson 16 doing all 6 tasks if possible.
4. Call or email me if you have any questions.

Week 15

Snow!!
I hope everyone is enjoying the snow. I am sorry we had such a rushed class today.
This week we are still working with the complex structure and the S-Vt-IO-DO pattern.
We did quickly review interjections, and we talked about the interrogative purpose.
We were able to quickly go over task 5 and 6 in both classes. Task 5 is changing sentences
based on purpose and structure. We have worked with rewriting sentences by purpose , but not as much by structure. This is a dialectic skill. It does take time to learn this skill.
Next we went over the Quid et Quo. Everyone has this sheet page protected in section 5 of your student notebook. It should be behind your page protected task sheet.  I recommend using the detailed format. The basic format leaves out some options, and I think it is more confusing with these options  missing.  The detailed format is on the back side of the basic format.
We worked through how to do the Quid et Quo. The Quid et Quo is basically describing each word in the sentence. These attributes come directly from the memory charts for that part of speech.  Please let me know if you have any questions. I did mention in class that I like to do the Quid et Quo verbally. I think it helps the kids to really think about what attributes should be attributed to that part of speech. I do recommend waiting to do this verbally until your child has done the worksheet and understands it. The sentences that are in the back of the EEL lessons have the answers to Task 1-6 of each sentence in that lesson. Please let me know if you have any questions. I am sorry we did not get to the verb anatomy or the verb tenses.
I was planning to go over the verb tense by time and form with the verb anatomy. The time and form of verb tense is explained on the verb chart. If you have time to look over that this week, please do so. Also, you can work with it by copying Chart N, which is the verb anatomy for the verb 'to have' .  We will try to quickly look over this at the beginning of class.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
Things to do.
1. Read lesson 15 in the EEL guide.
2. Copy chart N.
3. Review verb tense on verb chart.
4. Task sheet sentences in lesson 15.

Week 14

Wow! I am glad week 14 is over. How about you?
Yesterday was a crazy day. There is a lot of sickness going around.
I hope I was somewhat coherent yesterday in class. Please ask me
questions if there is any confusion. The complex structure does take
some time to understand. The first part of class was a review of the S-Vt-IO-DO
pattern along with the complex structure. We were also able to review the imperative
purpose. Each class looked at 2 sentences. We looked at a sentence with an adverbial dependent clause and one with an adjectival clause. I hope you saw the differences in each.  If you have any questions please let me know.  Adverbial Clauses answer the same questions as adverbs, and they begin with a subordinate conjunction.(www.asia.wub) Adjectival clauses(who/which) answer the adjective questions and begin with a relative pronoun.
Verb Voice was introduced yesterday. Linking verbs do not have a voice!!  Active voice is basically when the subject of the sentence preforms the action of the verb.  Passive voice is where the subject does not preform the action .  Here was my main example:
 Mrs. Hinson threw the ball.(active voice- Mrs. Hinson is the subject , and she is doing the action of the verb)
The ball was thrown by Mrs. Hinson. ( passive voice- The ball is the subject of the sentence. The ball is being acted upon, but the ball is not doing the action.)
Here is the blue print for changing an active voice verb to a passive voice verb.
1.Add a helping verb
2. The verb becomes the past participle
3. If there was a direct object in the active voice sentence, the direct object will become the subject in the passive voice sentence.

There are some verbs that are hard to change into the passive voice. It will just depend upon what verb is being used. Some sentences you will have to modify to be able to change into the passive voice. We did talk about this in the first class. I touched on the verb anatomy in the first class, but we chose to diagram a second sentence in the second class. We will work with the verb anatomy in class some next week. We went over it several weeks ago. The chart for this week is DD, which is an advanced chart. Chart DD is working with the passive voice. You can also choose to work with chart CC , which is the active voice.
Basically, you just want your child copying this to learn the pattern. You can pick other verbs to work.
I used 'to save'  in class. It works well with changing it to passive.  For example - I save(active) , I am saved(passive) . To love is the verb used on the chart. As I said above not all verbs will work in changing to the passive voice when just using a pronoun with no other words for objects. If you have questions about this, please ask me.
Things to do this week.
1. Read lesson 14 in the EEL guide.
2. Work sentences in the back of lesson 14.
3. Work with Chart CC/DD.
4. Review other charts that your child may need extra time studying.

Please contact me if you have any questions through email or call me.

Week 13

Good Evening,

We went over a lot of new material today. I was not sure how everyone was taking all the information.
Please do let me know if you have questions. Moms, feel free to ask me questions in class or after class.
Also, do not hesitate to email or call me with any questions of concerns.  We will be covering the complex structure for several weeks, so please do not fear.

I introduced the indirect object today. Our new sentence pattern is the S-Vt-IO-DO.  Here are a few things I mentioned about indirect objects:
1. They can only be present when there is a direct object.
2. They will located between the transitive verb and the direct object.
3. They will not be part of a prepositional phrase.
4. Indirect objects are nouns or pronouns.
5. The indirect object answers the question " to whom or for whom ".
 For example in the sentence: I gave the dog a bone.  The subject is "I", the verb is "gave"
I would ask the first question- " I gave who or what?" The answer is " I gave a bone" Bone is
the direct object. Since I have a direct object, I can have an indirect object.
"dog" is the indirect object since it answers the question " I gave a bone to whom?

I introduced the complex structure today. We first went over the terms that are important to understand.
The memory work that I went over is found in week 4 and 5 of your EEL memory work in you student notebook.  We went over a clause, phrase, independent clause, dependent clause and a complex sentence.
There are two types of dependent clauses: adjectival and adverbial.  A complex sentence consists of an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Adjectival Clauses
1. These are also known as who/which clauses in IEW.
2. They begin with a relative pronoun. (see the pronoun chart for a list of relative pronouns)
3. Modify nouns or pronouns and answer the questions that an adjective answers.
4. Are diagrammed with a dotted line connecting the adjectival subject to the noun it describes in the independent clause.

Adverbial Clauses
1. They begin with a subordinating conjunction. (also known as www.asia.wub on you conjunction memory work chart.)
2. They answer the same questions that adverbs answer: how, when why, where , how often , how much, to what extent, under what condition.
3. They are diagrammed by connecting the verb of the independent clause with the verb of the dependent clause by a dotted line.

What to do this week!!
1. Moms should read lesson 13 in the EEL guide.
2. Go over the above concepts with your child.
3. Work on sentences in lesson 13 of EEL guide.
4. Work on Chart M
5. Review Charts :A,E,F,H,I,L
6. Work on memorizing the following if your child does not know:
      FANBOY-Chart H
      www.asia.wub-Chart H
      The questions that adverbs and adjectives answers.-Charts I and L
       Linking verbs
       The list of prepostitions
       Memory work for week 4 and 5 with definitions of clauses,phrases,dependent and independent clause
      The list of relative pronouns


Please feel free to ask me questions!!

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful break! Next week we are back to class. If you are like my family, we have been totally on break the past 2 weeks. It is going to be hard to get back to work on Monday.
I just thought I would let you know that we will be hitting the ground running on Tuesday in EEL.
We will be looking at a new sentence pattern and a new structure. Do not stress out on me though.
We will work through it together. I just thought I would warn you. It would be great to do some basic reviewing on Monday. It would also be helpful to review the S-Vt-DO sentence pattern if possible.
If you do not get to the review, it will still be okay. I will do very basic review first thing, but it will
take the whole class to do the lesson.
I am looking forward to seeing you all. Please email me if you have any questions at all.
Karen