Assignments for November 4, 2025

 We had a few creative costumes today. Thanks for brightening up the day.

Journal: Write a persuasive paragraph. Try to persuade your parents to purchase a certain item either for you or for someone else. It can be a toy, needed item, or something else. I had trays with pictures in them of mostly toys for inspiration. 5+ sentences

Fix-it: Week 10

Bible Heroes: I took up Lesson 6/7 "Moses." I checked "Joshua" lesson 8. I saw a few banned verbs--be sure to replace them with strong verbs. We played the game with Lesson 8 which reviewed strong verbs. If we picked a strong verb, we had to use it in a sentence. We said "boo, banned" if we found a banned word. Page 61 in your book is a good resource for adding in dress ups. 

We started Lesson 9. Lessons 9, 10, and 11 are part of a new unit on writing about stories. We are no longer taking notes sentence-by-sentence; instead, we are asking questions to fill in the KWOs. I discussed the overall plan for these three lessons and the purpose of each paragraph. We worked on a KWO for the first paragraph of story--the setting and characters. This paragraph tells when and where (setting), who (characters--what are they like), and some background if needed. 

For homework: Lesson 8 "Joshua"--work on the final draft, being sure to include a strong verb. For lesson 9, "David" part 1, write a rough draft. Pre-read the other two parts of the story in lessons 10 and 11. It would be a good idea to re-read page 64.

Wonders of Science: We went back and discussed/reviewed the "because" clause information on page 67. I checked drafts of Lesson 8 "Rumpelstiltskin."  You were to try to write a variation. Be sure you have a clear problem/conflict and a clear climax if you make a lot of changes. Also be sure to avoid the banned words on the checklist. We will be starting Lesson 9 next week which is a new unit. It would be helpful for you to pre-read the lesson.

For homework: Lesson 8 "Rumpelstiltskin"--second or final draft. Use the checklist on page 79. You will need a new title as well. Pre-read the source text in Lesson 9 and pages 82-83.

High School I: The Magician's Nephew--read chapter 13 (chapter 15 is the last one).

Narnia: I took up Lesson 7 "Buckingham Palace." We discussed the new unit, writing from pictures. The object is not to tell a story but to tell what came before or what came after a picture. This is an event description assignment. Each picture is a separate event that loosely ties together. 

In Lesson 8, the first sentence needs to tell what you see happening in each picture. The first two paragraphs/pictures reach back in time to tell why this event occurred or what happened before. Why did Jadis throw the metal bar? What thoughts and feelings based on what you know about her led to this? The third picture goes forward in time, starting at the picture. Why is Jadis running away? Where is she going? 

For homework: Lesson 8 "Lamp Post." Fill in the KWOs for all three outlines. Write at least one as a paragraph. (We will choose between lessons 8 and 9 for a final draft, so no need to fill them with dress ups at this time.) 

High School II: 

Blue Book: we checked Effective Writing quizzes. We started on the Punctuation rules, doing rules 1 through 3. No quizzes as yet. 

Till We Have Faces. We discussed chapter 9. Read chapters 10 and 11. It looks like many of you are falling behind.

Jensen's Format: We reviewed the parts of the thesis statements, matching up some of the samples from the handout I gave you and the textbook homework exercises. I checked introductory paragraph "boxes" that I gave you to do. For homework, I want you do to more.

Homework: Review the introductory paragraph instructions, especially pages 69-70. From pages 73-76 choose 4 more subjects. Write either in the format in the textbook--lines across the page--or in boxes that you create. Of these, write one as a practice introductory paragraph. 

Assignments for October 28, 2025

 Here's a link to a kids' file for "South Carolina's Guide to the American Revolutionary War." It is part activity book and part history: SC250_Activity_Booklet_web.pdf

Spirit Day: "Who Are You?" Wear a costume and let your friends guess who you represent. (No full-face coverings, please.) 

Journal: Write 5 or more sentences about a South Carolina Revolutionary War battle site. 

Fix-it: Week 9

Bible Heroes: I checked the Moses drafts. Remember, we are combining the two paragraphs and lessons into one document. You will create one new title from the last sentence of the second paragraph for both paragraphs. You will need a who/which clause only in the second paragraph. I passed out a crossword puzzle for the first seven lesson vocabulary words for Bible Heroes. This is an optional activity. 

We started Lesson 8 Joshua Obeyed. This lesson introduces a new dress up--the strong verb. We marched around the room. We skipped around the room. We tiptoed around the room. We found it difficult to go around the room. "Go" is now one of our banned words. We have several banned verbs now. We'll try to do the game for this lesson and banned verbs next week. You may want to review the verb instructions on pages 58-59. You may also want to try page 61 which is a brainstorming page. We started the KWO in class. 

For homework: Combine lessons 6 & 7 into one paper, still two paragraphs. Create a new title. Final draft due next week. Lesson 8 "Joshua"--finish the KWO, write a rough draft, work on page 61. 

Wonders of Science: I checked second drafts of Lesson 5 or 6, "Daedalus" or "Archimedes." Be sure you use the checklist with the Archimedes lesson. We are skipping Lesson 7 (except for the "because" clause which we will come back to). Lesson 8 "Rumpelstiltskin" is a still using the story sequence chart, but this time it is a variation. That means you can change the characters and setting or the ending. Keep the basic plot/conflict and climax. We will end up doing a final draft of this one to be graded. I gave students a copy of the KWO--but it should be changed.

For homework:  Lesson 5 or 6 final draft. Checklist with page 59. Lesson 8 "Rumpelstiltskin"--at least a two-paragraph rough draft. You will need to read the original story first. Fill in page1 74 to help you make changes. Change the characters and setting and other parts you need to on the KWO before you write the rough draft. 

High School I:
The Magician's Nephew--Read chapter 12

Narnia: I took up Lesson 6 "First Voice." I checked Leson 7 "Buckingham Palace." I saw a few missing clincher sentences. Remember, these need to repeat key words from the topic sentence. Your checklist is on page 52. 

I forgot to do the editing exercise on page 52. We'll do that next week. We'll also start a new unit, writing from pictures with lesson 8. 

For homework: Final draft of Lesson 7 "Buckingham Palace." Checklist on page 52. Pre-read lesson 8 so that you are somewhat familiar with the material. 

High School II:

Blue Book: We went over the answers to the prepositional phrase quizzes. We discussed effective writing, pages 25-29. It would be a good idea to review these before doing your homework quizzes. The quizzes are out of order, so you will need to skip over to pages 172-173 for the Effective Writing quizzes.

Till We Have Faces. We discussed chapter 8. Read chapter 10. 

Jensen's Format: I took up the practice thesis statements. I'll critique those and return them. I won't grade them. Our next lesson is the Introductory paragraph. From pages 71-76--pick one topic. Use the chart I discussed in class and the handout to build the skeleton of the introductory paragraph. You may write a rough draft if you like. Start with the center--your thesis. Build out from there. 

Assignments for October 21, 2025

 Journal: In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War, this and next week we'll write about it. For this week, pick a Revolutionary War hero from South Carolina. Conduct a little research. Try to write at least 5 sentences. 

Here are two links to websites that may help: Little-Known Stories - South Carolina's 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution and South Carolina Revolutionary War Heroes. 

Idella Bodie, a local writer, wrote a series of book about South Carolinians who helped to win the war. Her books are available at the Aiken Library. They are geared to about 5th to 7th graders. 

Fix-it: Week 8

Bible Heroes: I took up Joseph part 2, lesson 5. I checked Moses part 1, Lesson 6. Moses part 2 Lesson 7 introduces two new concepts--the who/which clause and creating a new title from the last sentence. We're going to put both Moses lessons on one page and create a new title. Title words come from the last sentence of the last paragraph. If you think of a wonderful title but the words are not in the last sentence, add them in. We've discussed the who/which clause in the Fix-it book. This lesson asks you to create one. You will need to find a noun in your paragraph (just the second one on Moses). Tell more about it with a who/which clause. Remember, these are added to an existing sentence. Don't try to begin a sentence with one. An activity that helps in learning about the who/which clause is in the back of your textbook, pages 179-181. Cut these out. Match the right and left waves. Add in your dry ground/who-which clause. 

For homework: Lesson 6 Moses pt 1 final draft--save to add to part 2. For lesson 7, finish the KWO and write a rough draft. Try adding in a who/which clause and changing the title. 

Wonders of Science: We did some backtracking, picking up parts we skipped over before. On page 46 we have some discussion on how to improve our description of setting. Page 47 contains some dress ups brainstorming helps. Page 53 discusses how to capitalize and punctuate quotations. Page 56 continues with the discussion on how to improve describing characters and setting. Some of that involves adding in strong verbs, our next dress up. That discussion is on page 57. Note we now have some banned verbs. We start with four. Some will be added as we go along. Be sure to note them on your checklist. I checked drafts of Lesson 6 "Archimedes." Next time we will skip lesson 7 (adding in the "because" clause) and start Lesson 8.

For homework: Do the practice for dress ups on page 58. Work on a second or final draft of Lesson 5 or 6. Use the checklist with lesson 6 regardless of which lesson you polish. Note the banned words and the additional dress ups on the checklist. 

High School I:

The Magician's Nephew: read chapter 11.

Narnia: Lesson 6 "First Voice"--we reviewed the new dress up on page 44, quality adjective. You may want to mark page 45. Also find the adjectives in your Writer's Toolbox. You may also want to keep a notecard of the banned words. These are on your checklist but note more will be added. We started Lesson 7 "Buckingham Palace." The textbook is a little dated--the Queen of England died a few years ago. King Charles is the current monarch, but he does not live at Buckingham Palace, partly because it is being renovated. You may write your version as if the queen is currently the resident, however. We started the KWO in class. This lesson also has an editing activity. Follow the directions carefully on page 48.

For homework: Lesson 6 "First Voice"--final draft, checklist page 46. Lesson 7 "Buckingham Palace"--finish the KWO, write a rough draft, and do the editing exercise on page 48.

High School II:
Blue Book: We discussed the answers to adjective and adverb quizzes. We worked on prepositions in class. For homework: do the preposition quizzes on page 166. 

Till We Have Faces: We discussed chapter 7. Read chapter 9 for homework. Hopefully, we can do both chapter 8 & 9 next week.

Jensen's Format: I handed out a page that discusses the pronoun "you" and suggestions for ways to reword the sentence. "You" and "your" are banned formal writing, so make an effort to remove them. I took up Cause & Effect paragraphs. I checked Comparison paragraphs.  We started Section 2 Essays. Lesson 1 is on creating the thesis statement. It is critical that you follow the directions for the parts of a good thesis statement. Read and re-read the lesson directions. 

For homework: Comparison paragraph final draft. For the thesis statement lesson, you will find six pages/three assignments of topics for thesis statements. The first two pages are the easiest. I want you to practice writing thesis statements. You may practice by writing them in your textbook, but I want 10 either typed or handwritten to turn in. These may come in useful in a future lesson if they are worded well. 

Assignments for October 14, 2025

 Spirit Day for Oct 14 is Farm Day. Wear your favorite farm animal shirt or costume.

Journal: Question poem. You should have a handout with instructions. 

Fix-it: Week 7

Bible Heroes: The Joseph lesson is a little complicated because it has a part 1 & 2. If you chose to combine them on one page, that's fine. Separate is also okay. Joseph part 2 has the added requirement of three adjectives. Try to come up with your own instead of just relying on the vocabulary words. We played the game with lesson 5 on page 44. You're deciding if words are adjectives, banned words, or not adjectives. 

Lesson 7 "Meek Moses" is also a part 1 & 2. We started the KWO in class. This lesson has a page that you can use to practice your adjectives. Use your Toolbox for ideas. 

For homework: lesson 5 "Joseph," part 2--polish your rough drafts, making sure you have three adjectives and one or more vocabulary words. Lesson 6 "Meek Moses" part 1--finish the KWO and write a rough draft.

Wonders of Science: I took up Lesson 4 "Monarch Migration." I checked drafts of Lesson 5 "Daedalus and Icarus." We started Lesson 6 "Archimedes." I started the KWO for each paragraph in class. You will need to finish it. Next time we'll go back to lessons 5 & 6 and add in the elements that we skipped over, like quotations, improving the setting and characters, and adding in quotes. 

For homework: Lesson 6 "Archimedes." Finish the KWO. Write a very rough draft. You will pick either lesson 5 or 6 to polish for a final draft. We will be working on these at least one and possibly two weeks. 

High School I: The Magician's Nephew: read chapter 10. 

Following Narnia: Lesson 5 was a practice lesson. It added in the "because clause" requirement. Lesson 6 we will develop into a final draft. This lesson adds in the quality adjective. We started the KWO for lesson 6 "First Voice." 

For homework: Lesson 6 "First Voice." Finish the KWO. Write a rough draft. You will be using the checklist with the lesson on p. 46.

High School II: 

Blue Book: We went through the answers for the who/which/whom/etc. quizzes. We discussed adjectives and adverbs--mostly the tricky aspects dealing with them. For homework do the quizzes on pages 164-166. 

Till We Have Faces: We discussed chapter 6 questions. We're still a week behind but go ahead and read chapter 8.

Jensen's Format: I took up Analogy paragraphs. I checked Cause and Effect paragraphs. We discussed the last paragraph format, Comparison. You may write this using Pattern I (topic sentence, five fact sentences, clincher sentence) or Pattern II (topic sentence, three fact sentences with further explanation for each one, clincher sentence).

For homework: Polish the Cause-and-Effect paragraphs. Write a rough draft of the Comparison paragraph.