Writing STARS 10-2-08 WA#4

My Three Favorite Animals

by: JC, grade 4

My three favorite animals are dogs, cats, and bunnies. Dogs are very joyful animals. When they run wildly around the yard, it makes me laugh. I like cats because they're cuddly. Their fur is so soft it feels like a fleece blanket. I think bunnies are cute. Their little round tails look like a handful of cotton candy. I don't have a cat or a bunny, but I'm glad I have a dog. I love all of them so much.

My Three Favorite Animals

by: WP, grade 6

I have three favorite animals. These animals are chinchillas, crabs, and mocking birds. My first favorite animal is a chinchilla. I love these furry little things because they look sort of like a fat squirrel. My second favorite animal is a crab. I like crabs because they can breathe submerged in water as well as on land and they know exactly when the tide will come in. My third favorite animal is a mocking bird. I like mocking birds because they can imitate things such as dogs, cats, hoses, and even pianos as I have heard.

Three People I Would Like to Meet

by: ET, grade 5

There are three people I would like to meet. They are Toby Mac, Peyton Manning, and Nicholas Cage.

The first person I would love to meet is Toby Mac. He is the best Christian singer ever! He is a person to look up to in music.

I would also like to meet Peyton Manning because he knows how to throw a great football.

Last, but not least, I'd like to meet Nicholas Cage. He is an awesome, wonderful, spectacular actor. Everyone should watch him in the movies he stars in!

There are a ton of people in the world to meet but Toby Mac, Peyton Manning, and Nicholas Cage will always be my top three.

My Three Favorite Animals

by: FB, grade 4

I have three favorite animals. These animals are cheetahs, foxes, and black bears. My first favorite animal is the cheetah. I like the cheetah because it is extremely fast and fierce. My second favorite animal is the fox. I admire the fox because it has sharp fangs and it is slim and aggressive. My third favorite animal is the black bear. I enjoy the black bear because it is strong and very frightening. I like these animals because they are splendid, magnificent animals.

My Favorite Animals

by: WB, grade 3

I have three favorite animals. These animals are cats, squirrels, and birds. My first favorite animal is a cat. I like cats because they’re so soft to pet. My second favorite animal is a squirrel. I like squirrels because I admire them for collecting nuts for the winter. My third favorite animal is a bird. I like birds because I like listening to them. I like cats, squirrels and birds because these animals have qualities I enjoy.

Last Call for Pantry Donations - Writing Assgn.

I hope all of the children have enjoyed writing an article for the newspaper. I have heard about some interesting topics! I'm looking forward to hearing/reading them on Thursday! (See the post below for information.)

I will be sending the Test Key for Chapter 7 tonight or tomorrow night. (Sorry, my husband must help me with the scanner so I am at the mercy of his schedule.)

For writing assignment given this week (10/30), the students will be given a choice of the original topics from 10/16 OR the topics for 10/30. I wanted to let you know the kids would still have the opportunity to write about voting, and qualities of a strong president. These will be due on 11/6.

Finally, this will be the last week to bring in donations for the food pantry. We are especially looking for personal hygiene items. Our guest speaker, Mrs. M, motivated us to do this! One of our student's parents will be taking the donations and delivering them to the needy in our community. It would be great if every child could bring in at least one item. I'm having my children use their own money to buy their donations. Just a suggestion...

TC Newspaper Assignment

We are still following the syllabus, but I have changed the writing assignment due this Thursday (10/30).

TC's Mastering Media Class is consolidating a newspaper for TC. This is a FIRST for our Co-op and I was anxious for our class to be a part of it! Therefore, instead of following the assignments on the syllabus, your child should write an article for the newspaper.

Some suggestions are:
1.) Favorite things about Thursday Connection
2.) Field Trips Everyone Should Take (make a list)
3.) Favorite Classes at Thursday Connection
4.) A Review of a movie or book
5.) Ways Politics Affect Every Home Schooler
6.) Write about a contest or competition in which you have competed
7.) Funny things that have happened at TC (your child can conduct interviews)
8.) Calling for Help (write about ways TCers can help/have helped our community - persuasive topic)
9.) Write to Teach (teach about something you are interested in)
10.) Write from Emotion/Passion (write about something you are passionate about!)
11.) If you have experienced both - Compare and contrast homeschooling to public/private schooling and/or Thursday Connection Co-op to other Homeschool Co-ops
12.) Etc....

One child is writing about his father being deployed to Iraq in a few weeks. Your children can write about ANYTHING they would like. However, encourage them to choose something that others would have an interest in reading.

I will NOT be proof-reading or editing these. Take time with your child working on the final draft. I will post all of the articles on our class blog and the Mastering Media class will choose the ones to print in the newspaper.

If possible, please send these to me in a Microsoft Word/document file. I will then e-mail them to the Mastering Media class. If these are already typed it will be much easier to insert them into the newspaper format. BE SURE your child's name and grade level are included on the file. Also, if your child can bring in a hard copy to class when we return, he/she will be able to read it and share their article with the class. These are due the Thursday we return from Fall Break.

Finally, as with any newspaper, these article submissions may be edited by the "newspaper editor." Therefore, do not be surprised if there are a few minor changes to your child's work. :-) If published, your child's name will still be on the byline! Yeah!

Help your child create a nice piece for this FIRST Thursday Connection newspaper!

Thank you for your help!

Pronoun & Subject-Verb Agreement Online Games

Pronoun Clubhouse - Build a custom clubhouse by typing the correct pronouns!



Pronoun Grammar Blast - Test your skills by finding the correct answer! (Geared toward 5th and 6th graders)



Pronoun Buried Treasure - Hunt for buried treasure by finding the pronouns. Advance level of difficulty as you master them!



Pronoun Quiz - Test your knowledge!



Subject Verb Agreement - Hunt for buried treasure by choosing the correct verb form.



Noun Verb Agreement Quiz - short quiz to test is/are and was/were agreement.

Homophones Online Tools

Movie about Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms - Short and informative!



Homophone Games - Several choices to play!

Class Update 10/9

Last week, we enjoyed hearing from Becca Munoz. She talked about narrative, expository, persuasive, business, and creative writing with the kids. She was a great encourager to spurn them on to continue writing everyday! I think everyone enjoyed the class and learned from her! Please remember to have them bring their "thank you note" written to her this week.

Becca's passion is for the homeless in the city of Knoxville. She shared about a research project where she found a great need for hygiene items for the homeless. We decided as a class to contribute to this need in Knoxville. Additionally, one of our student's mother works in a food pantry assisting the homeless and needy in our community. If you would like to have your child donate soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes, shampoo, or even canned food...we will be sending donations to Redeemer Church on the UT campus.

Our family spent Sunday afternoon in downtown Knoxville, and we saw numerous homeless men wandering the streets. It broke my heart. If your family would like to help, please send items into the class for the next two weeks.

Becca also talked about working at The Daily Beacon newspaper at UT, and being published in USA Today. I think your children were intrigued by Becca's passion for writing, and being published in a newspaper. Therefore, when I received word that the Mastering Media class would be producing a newspaper for Thursday Connection, I quickly asked if our class could contribute articles! Your children will find our more tomorrow! However, hopefully some of them will see their name as a byline in the TC newspaper! Won't that be incredible!?!

Last week everything was covered on the class syllabus, and we will be moving into direct and indirect objects this week. PLEASE work on the prepositions if your child doesn't know them yet. Last week, it was obvious most of the children had studied them! Nearly every child could list over 40 prepositions! YIPPEE!!

Your children are improving weekly with their writing. I am so encouraged to see them express themselves through words!

Another Writing Star!

This paper was not with the rest last week. P's family was out of town. If I had read it then, it would have been included with the Writing Stars! PN used descriptive words and excitedly expressed his love for video games through this assignment.

My Three Favorite Video Games

by: PN, grade 6

My three favorite video games are Roblox, Lego Indiana Jones, and Lego Starwars: the Original Trilogy. My favorite game is Roblox. I adore Roblox because I can create challenges for myself and others to play, make friends, and earn Roblox currency to buy clothing and tools to build even more fun places. Lego Indiana Jones is my second favorite game. I love Indiana Jones because of the many battles and difficult puzzles. My third favorite game is Lego Starwars. I like Lego Starwars because I can switch between the numerous characters with different and funny abilities. I love these games most of all, but I like most battle games.

Preposition Online Games

Basketball Game - Choose the best preposition for each sentence to win the game!

Mouse Game - Find the hidden mouse using prepositions to locate him!

Concentration and Word Search to learn all the prepositions!

Preposition Desert - Determine if the word is a preposition of the object of the preposition to get the baby kangaroo rats home before it rains! Great game!

Preposition Quiz - Read this informative page and try the quiz to see if you have mastered prepositions!

Class Update 10/2

Here is a very brief update on yesterday.

I covered everything on the syllabus yesterday with the exception of Noun, Verb agreement. If you could review this reference with your child, that would help tremendously. It simply shows them how to connect plural nouns with plural verb forms. I did cover all of the pronoun topics, and the students will be using these frequently in labeling their sentences this week. The students were also reminded to avoid using the word "you" in their writing.

Your children were surprised by a "pop quiz" on prepositions. I asked them to list all of the ones they could remember. Many of the students had a "deer in headlights" look, so please continue working on them this week. I'll give them another quiz next week. This is to help them recall them by memory easily.

Addition to Blog entry - added 10-6-08

I was looking over the "pop quiz" from Thursday, and would like to ask you to review the preposition jingle with your children. If possible, I would have them copy the prepositions in the order of the song a few times. In lieu of a writing assignment last week, I asked them to work on memorizing the prepositions. It was evident that several students worked on this. It was also apparent that several students did not. Uh-oh! :-0!

Time permitting, I am hoping to give another pop quiz on Thursday. They will be asked to list all of the prepositions they know. By copying the prepositions in order, they will be learning the prepositions in alphabetical order and committing them to memory. An added bonus to this approach is they will also learn to spell them correctly.

October Syllabus

Shurley English Grammar Class
Fall Semester 2008

10/2
Writing in First Person or Third Person, Pronoun Jingle, Subject Pronoun Jingle, Possessive Pronoun Jingle, Subject Pronoun, Possessive Pronouns, Understood Subject Pronoun, Subject/Verb agreement (References 18-22, p. 18-19)
Assignments Due 10/9
Workbook Assignment: Ch. 6 Vocabulary, Ch. 6 Practice p. 69, Ch. 6 Sentences Labeled in Practice Booklet p. 5, Ch. 6 Test p. 102, (optional! You may wish to wait until after the next TC), and at least TWO entries in your Journal.
Writing Assignment : Be sure you bring in a FINAL draft to class.
Three Point Expository Paragraph in First Person
(Choose one of the topics below.)
1. My Favorite Animals 2. People I Would Like to Meet
OR, Three Point Expository Paragraph in Third Person
(Choose one of the topics below.)
1. (Person’s name) Favorite Animals 2. People (Person’s Name) Would Like to Meet (ex. Emily’s Favorite Animals)

10/9
SURPRISE GUEST SPEAKER! Meet a young woman who is using her writing skills to impact the city of Knoxville! My friend will be sharing the importance of strong writing skills and how they are implemented in her career with Compassion Coalition.
Additionally, she was home educated in her elementary years by her mother. Come with questions for this gifted writer!
Singular and Plural Points, Paragraphs Using Different Writing Forms, Time Order Forms [References 23, 26 (p.20-22)]
Assignments Due 10/17
Workbook Assignment: Ch. 7 Vocabulary and at least two entries in your Journal. (You will be doing the exercises and sentences next week for Ch. 7)
Writing Assignments:
1.) Write a thank you note to our guest speaker for her time with our class. Please share what you liked about her presentation and something you learned from her. Use your best handwriting. I will be mailing these from the class! (Refer to Reference 68 on p. 55 if you are unsure about writing a thank you note.)
2.) Write a three-point expository paragraph on one of the following topics. Be sure you revise and edit it before turning in a “final draft” copy to me next week. Be sure to underline at least two vocabulary words from previous weeks.
Write in First or Third Person, Use Time Order Form.
Remember the first person pronouns are I, we, me, us, my, mine, our ours
The Third Person pronouns are he,his, him, she her, hers, it its, they their, theirs, and them
(Avoid using the word “you” in your paragraphs!)
1. Things That Make Me Laugh
2. Problems Faced by Early Settlers
3. My Favorite Rides at the Fair or My Favorite Rides at Disneyworld

10/16
Possessive Nouns, Object Pronouns, Object Pronoun Jingle[References 24, 25 (p.20-22)]

You have two weeks for these assignment. Do your best!
Assignments Due 10/30
Workbook Assignment: Ch. 7 Practice p. 70, Ch. 7 Sentences Labeled in Practice Booklet, Ch. 7 Test p. 103, (optional! You may wish to wait until after the next TC), and at least TWO entries in your Journal.
Writing Assignment: Write a three-point expository paragraph on one of the following topics. Be sure you revise and edit it before turning in a “final draft” copy to me next week. Be sure to underline at least two vocabulary words from previous weeks.
Write in First or Third Person, Use Time Order Form.
Remember the first person pronouns are I, we, me, us, my, mine, our ours
The Third Person pronouns are he,his, him, she her, hers, it its, they their, theirs, and them
(Avoid using the word “you” in your paragraphs!)
1. Reasons Americans Should/Should Not Vote
2. Qualities Of A Strong President
3. Three Things I Would Do As President of the United States

10/30
Helping Verbs Jingle, Irregular Verb Chart [References 27 (p.23)], Name Acrostic
Assignments Due 11/6
Workbook Assignment: Ch. 8 Vocabulary, Ch. 8 Sentences Labeled in Practice Booklet, Ch. 8 Test p. 104, (optional! You may wish to wait until after the next TC), and at least TWO entries in your Journal.
Writing Assignments:
1.) Write an acrostic for your name. Use adjectives or short phrases that begin with the letters of your name to describe yourself.
2.) Write a three-point expository paragraph on one of the following topics. Be sure you revise and edit it before turning in a “final draft” copy to me next week. Be sure to underline at least two vocabulary words from previous weeks.
You choose the point of view and the writing form.
Remember the first person pronouns are I, we, me, us, my, mine, our ours
The Third Person pronouns are he,his, him, she her, hers, it its, they their, theirs, and them
(Avoid using the word “you” in your paragraphs!)
A.) Things I Remember Most About Grandma
B.) Ways to Stop Hiccups
C.) Ways to Conserve Energy

WRITING STARS 9-24-08 WA#3

Why I Love to Camp

by: MB, grade 5

I love to go camping. Let me tell you why. I love going camping because you're outside. You can hear the birds singing. It's just so cool. Did you ever take the time to take a break and look around? Well, when you go camping you can. It's like a vacation, but you're outside. Or, have you ever stopped to feel the breeze on your face? Camping helps you do that too. If you want to get away from everything and just relax, then camping is great for that also. I love to camp because I can be outside and hear the birds sing. I can also stop and look around me. Camping helps me to feel the breeze. Last, but not least, camping helps me relax and get away from everything. Those are some reasons why I love to camp. I like other things too, but camping will always be my favorite.

Why I Like Basketball

by: ET, grade 5

I like basketball in many different ways. I enjoy playing basketball. I like to watch basketball. I even like to read about basketball. The best part about basketball is to watch the ball go through the hoop. I also enjoy watching the Lady Vols play against Duke. It is a great sport to play with family and friends.

Baseball

by: FB, grade 4

My favorite sport is baseball. The three things I like about baseball are pitching, running and catching. The first thing I like is pitching. I like to pitch because it is fun to strike someone out. The second thing I like is running. I like running because it is an exhilarating workout. The third thing I like is catching. I like to catch because I can get someone out. I enjoy baseball because I like pitching the ball, running the bases, and catching to get someone out.

Three Reasons Why I Like To Go Camping

by: TP, grade 6

I have three reasons why I like camping. They are being with my family, being outdoors, and fishing. My first reason is family. I like camping with my family because I enjoy being with my family. My second reason is we are outdoors. I like being outdoors because you are not in the blazing sun. There are no crowds and it is just you and your family. My third reason is fishing. I like fishing because you may not have ever been there before and you don't know what's ahead of you in that adventure. That's my three favorite reasons why I like camping and I love them all!

Why I Like Figure Skating

CF, grade 3

My favorite sport is figure skating. There are three main points. They are: learning the details, performing, and competition. The first part of figure skating is learning details. Learning details may not be fun at first, but when you are performing it pays off for what you did. The second part of figure skating is performing. You do not have to perform, but I think it is a great reward for all that learning I did. The third part of figure skating is competition. You do not have to do competition, but once you try, you will love it! You may not be excellent at first, but all it takes is practice.

Three Things I Like About Camping

by: MB, grade 6

There are three things I like about camping. My favorite things about camping are getting to use a hatchet, campfires, and being outside. My first favorite thing about camping is using a hatchet. I like using a hatchet because this is pretty much the only time I am allowed to use a one. My second favorite thing about camping is campfires. I like campfires because I like putting logs and twigs on. I also like campfires because they kind of hypnotize me. My third favorite thing about camping is being outside. I like being outside because I can get away from the everyday routine and it just gives me a really good feeling. If I had to choose ten of my favorite things, camping would definitely be on the list.