Week 24 Admission Ticket

For your final admission ticket, list the three verb moods below, then identify the mood of each of the following sentences:

1.
2.
3.

If I were a butterfly, I'd float on the breeze.

Be a butterfly!

Butterflies float on the breeze.

Week 23: We, the people of EEL, have only one remaining week!

Good morning. I don't know about the students, but I had a blast Tuesday listening to their tongue twisters and diagramming the "Preamble" to our Constitution. Who would have ever thought a simple sentence could go on and on and on...and on! Although the kids groaned, I think they secretly enjoyed it, too. :)

There's not much to report this week. I introduced subjunctive mood, and the three-sentence example I gave of what I call the "wishful thinking" mood was this:

I should clean my room. If I could, I would. But as it were, I think I'll do it tomorrow.

Review EEL material as you see fit, but I expect you'll devote most of your time to completing your final IEW assignment. Remember we will present during class next week. Costume is optional.

Students should also count and bring their tickets for cash redemption. Hopefully they will have earned enough for a kid's meal or a couple of iTunes songs.

See you Tuesday one last time. Meanwhile, enjoy the budding leaves on these beautiful days.

Erin

Week 22: With two weeks to go, finish strong!

Only two weeks! Unbelievable, isn't it? It seems as though we just began our journey into the heart of the English language. This time of year always proves conflictual -- I anticipate the end, but I know I'll miss our time together each week.

For EEL yesterday, we reviewed our purposes, patterns and structures and then modified and diagrammed a compound-complex sentence with adjectives, adverbs and a prepositional phrase. The students remained engaged throughout the process; I'm really proud of them! Next week -- I can't wait -- we'll diagram the Preamble to the Constitution. :) It's lo-o-o-ong!

During IEW, I discussed anecdotal openers and the intro-clincher relationship. I distributed Lessons 19, 20 and 21. Everyone should continue working on their biographies according to the information I wrote last week, using the lessons I handed out as they relate to your student's level.

Two weeks from yesterday, we present in costume. It's a fantastic way to cap our year.

See you next week.

Erin

Weeks 22 and 23 Admission Tickets

When class began yesterday, I put an admission ticket onto the board for Week 22. Those who were absent can bring it to me next week:

The four sentence ____________ are ___________, compound, ___________ and ___________-_____________.

Find the compound-complex sentence below:

The boy hit the ball.

When the boy hit the ball, he ran around the bases fast.

When the boy hit the ball, he ran around the bases fast, but the outfielder caught the fly ball.

The boy hit the ball , but the fielder caughter it in the air.

The admission ticket for Week 23 is to write a tongue twister. I'll give an extra ticket to students who include four or more vocabulary words and/or words of four or more syllables AND memorize it to recite for the class.

Week 21: When we meet for class, I tutor and students learn.

Good afternoon! I hope everyone is well. I can't believe we only have three weeks left til year's end. Oh my. How time flies!

During EEL yesterday, I introduced our final sentence structure: compound-complex. I believe the kids grasped this concept easily. Put into math terms,

compound + complex = compound-complex

Using the 112 Compound-Complex Sentences chart from your guide, we examined several of these and diagrammed one for good measure. :)

We also learned about verbals: infinitives, gerunds and participles. Again, we looked at examples and diagrammed. Spend time on this material at home this week as you see fit for your student's level.

Regarding IEW, I'll attempt to be thorough in my explanation of our final assignment of the year, a five-paragraph biography research report, which we began yesterday.

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  First, the assignment spans several lessons in your IEW books: 17-21. Second, it instructs students to choose a person from the Revolutionary War period; I gave them license to choose any American historical figure.




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  We have three "working" weeks to complete the assignment. When we meet for our final class of the year, Week 24, the students will present their papers in costume.




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  The stapled assignment I distributed yesterday contains three important elements. The first page is two examples (front and back) of five-paragraph biographies following the basic essay structure (I handed out a model of this a few weeks back from the IEW Resource Notebook.) These biographies also feature what IEW calls "anecdotal openers." I'll teach this opener next week in class. The two middle pages are Lesson 17, which introduces the assignment. The fourth page is the final checklist from Lesson 21, which I included so that parents and students can see where we are headed over this three-week period.




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  After your and your student choose the character about whom you wish to write, you need to select source texts. My suggestion is search for a combination of book and internet sources that fall at or below your student's reading level. Children's literature and short articles are appropriate. We want them to grow in their ability to capture information in an outline, and they will feel more successful with simpler source texts.




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  Once you've selected and perused your source texts, you'll need to discuss possible topics. The number of topics you choose will determine the length of your paper. Take the opportunity to show your student how books and articles are themselves often divided into topics. For example, an article about Ben Franklin could be divided into his early years and education, his service to his country, and his inventions. Even those topics could be divided into sub-topics. Anyway, the students should find topic ideas in the way their source texts are structured.




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  While choosing topics, consider how many paragraphs you want to tackle. I see several options, which are dependent on level and time: five paragraphs (intro, three body, conclusion) with an anecdotal opener; five paragraphs with a hook opener; three paragraphs (body only) with an anecdotal or hook opener plus an introductory statement and final clincher; three paragraphs (body only) with an introductory statement and final clincher; one general paragraph with some combination of an anecdotal opener, intro and clincher.




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  When topics are settled, re-read your source texts with your first topic in mind and complete your key word outlines. Repeat the process for your second and third topics. Use the third page from your stapled assignment (pages 103 and 104 at bottom from your books) as a model for EACH topic. The assignment is to outline from three source texts for each topic and then fuse those three outlines into one outline from which you will write the rough draft.

Now just how far should you progress this week? Ultimately, it's up to you. In my house, if we can select our historical figure, source texts and topics, and complete our outline process, I'll probably be happy. That would give us next week to write rough draft paragraphs and outline our first and fifth graphs. Then we could spend our final week writing those two paragraphs, completing an anecdotal opener and revising the entire paper.

Adjust your schedule accordingly! Although this final project is a lofty endeavor, it's worth it! Try to dig in. :) I'll see everyone next week.

Erin

Week 21 Admission Ticket

Identify as many prepositional phrases and adjectival modifiers in the following as you can find:

She was wearing a long black raincoat with a red silk scarf tied loosely around her neck. She kept her coat on but took off the scarf and tucked it into her left pocket. She shook hands stiffly with both of Nick's parents before sitting down on the chair to the left of the couch. Nick's mom and dad sat on the couch, and Nick sat on the rocking chair that faced Mrs. Chathan across the low coffee table.

Week 20: For IEW, develop a thoughtful opinion.

Good morning. Sorry I didn't complete the post yesterday. Fortunately, there's not an abundance of new information to communicate.

In EEL Tuesday, we reviewed adjectives (as words, phrases and clauses), prepositional phrases and finally looked at the components of the perfect progressive verb form. Invest your time where needed and desired this week.

During IEW, we listened to some wholly fabulous faith essays. The families who make up our group impress me and inspire me wholeheartedly. What precious, precious treasure your children are!

Our IEW assignment for the week is to complete the critique of the historical fiction narrative on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Work with your student to develop a thoughtful and fleshed-out opinion paragraph. Then revise and polish your critiques to turn them in next week.

One note: I returned papers this past Tuesday. I wrote a little more on my older students' papers in the way of comments and suggestions. If there are any questions there, please let me know.

Thanks. Have a blessed week,
Erin