Assignments for December 2, 2025

Just a reminder that next week is Thanksgiving week, so we will be taking a break next Tuesday. 

Journal: Thankful. Place your hand on a piece of paper and trace it to draw a turkey. Decorate it if you like. Fill the turkey with things you are thankful for. 

Fix-it: Week 13

Bible Heroes: I checked drafts of the third part of David. Be sure you combine the three paragraphs into one page. You will need a new title, using words from the last sentence of the last paragraph.

We played a gave reviewing the parts of a story. We may play this game again. We started Lesson 12 on Solomon. We reviewed the parts of the story. We did a KWO for part 1 today. 

For homework: David Parts 1-3 final drafts. Use the checklist on page 78. Lesson 12 Solomon part 1--Write a rough draft. Do page 82 which contains dress up helps. 

Wonders of Science: I checked drafts of Lesson 9 "Steam Engine." The most common mistake was leaving off the topic sentence and the matching clincher sentence. We also started Lesson 10 "Model T Ford." We stressed its affordability, so we picked facts that supported affordability. We took some notes, and we discussed the new dress up--quality adjective. 

For homework: Lesson 9 Steam Engine--final draft. Checklist on page 87. Lesson 10 Model T--finish the KWO, write a rough draft, and do pages 3-94 for dress up practice.

High School I: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe--read chapter 1. 

Narnia: I took up final drafts of the three paragraphs of lesson 8 or 9. Some of you didn't seem to get that message. Try to get that to me as soon as you can. We are skipping lesson 10--read through it at home. Lesson 11 is a demonstration lesson for taking notes from multiple sources. I handed out a paper with the KWOs for the three sources. We worked through taking notes from those three sources to create a fused outline. The fused outline is what is turned into a draft. 

For homework: Lesson 11--write a rough draft of the fused outline only. Lesson 12--pre-read the source texts. 

High School II:

Blue Book: we reviewed the answers for comma quizzes. We started the semicolons and colons rules. For homework: do the quizzes for semicolons and commas on pages 179-180. 

Till We Have Faces: We took a quiz in class. Read chapter 13 for homework.

Jensen's Format: I took up the single paragraphs with transition words. We discussed lesson 6, the Seven-sentence skeleton. We're preparing the "bones" for writing an essay. We worked through a sample skeleton using three breeds of chickens. 

For homework: Create a 7-sentence skeleton for any farm animal that you can discuss three breeds for. Please pre-read lesson 8. 

 

Assignments for November 18, 2025

 Just a few reminders: no classes the week of Thanksgiving--Nov 25. No Spirit Day dress ups until December. 

Journal: Falling Leaves. Look around as you ride around town. Name as many trees as you can, especially trees that lose their leaves. Five plus trees please. Older students should name at least 10.

Fix-it: Week 12

Bible Heroes: We're finishing up the David lessons. Today we worked on part 3 when David is finally introduced. This lesson has a page on title instruction. We sang a song about David, and we played a game--wolves in sheep's clothing. The vocabulary words introduced in part 1 apply to all three parts. You are welcome to re-use an earlier lesson's words. 

For homework: David part 2--revise if needed. Finish the KWO and rough draft for part 3. Try your hand at a new title. For help with dress ups, work on page 76. Note the final checklist on page 78 is a new format. 

Wonders of Science: I took up the final drafts of Lessons 7 or 8. We started a new unit--summarizing a reference--with Lesson 9 "Steam Engine." No new vocabulary words accompany this lesson. We are not using all the facts--you have to choose the ones you most want. We started the KWO. 

For homework: Lesson 9 "Steam Engine." Review pages 82-83. Finish the KWO and write a rough draft. Do the dress up practice on page 86. Note your checklist on page 87.

High School I:  The Magician's Nephew--read chapter 15, finishing the book. Find your copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

Narnia: I checked drafts of Lesson 9 "Forked End Down." Make sure you have clinchers and at least four sentences in each paragraph in addition to the central fact and clincher sentence. Check for banned words. The list is quite long now. 

For homework: Lesson 8 or 9 second or final draft. (Try to finish before Thanksgiving.) Next time we will read through Lesson 10 and do Lesson 11 as a demonstration. 

High School II: 

Blue Book: We finished up the punctuation rules section pertaining to commas (rules 6 to the end). Next time we will tackle semicolons. For homework: do the quizzes on pages 177-178.

Till We Have Faces: We discussed chapter 11. Read and answer the questions for chapter 12 for homework. We will have an open "questions" quiz next week for chapters 1 to 10. Bring your quizzes and your book. 

Jensen's Format: I checked concluding paragraphs and thesis re-statements. Remember, you are summing up your findings, so the restatement will differ from the thesis. You will still have the overall subject and the three topics. After that sentence, you will spend one sentence on each topic, drawing a conclusion. We also discussed transition words. I gave out two handouts of word lists to help you. Transitions work like threads that hold paragraphs together. They can be subtle or overt. Subtle ones repeat key words. Overt ones are like "for instance, in addition, however, etc." We also discussed Lesson 5 body paragraphs. This is basically what we did as single paragraphs, but you will soon need three of them. Next time we will learn about the Seven Sentence Skeleton. I gave a handout that you need to save for next week's homework. 

For homework: As practice for both transitions and body paragraphs, write one body paragraph based on page 91. You need to keep the three topics (plot, characters, and special effects), but you may change the program from "Lone Ranger" and radio program to a television program or movie series of your choice. You will pick one aspect of that---plot, or characters, or special effects--to write one body paragraph on. Include transitions. Underline or highlight them. Include your thesis statement as well. 

Assignments for November 11, 2025

 Spirit Day: Veteran's Day--wear a military outfit or patriotic clothing

Journal: Veteran's Day--1) Tell about a veteran you know or 2) Research a branch of service. Write at least five sentences.

Fix-it: Week 11

Bible Heroes: We reviewed the new unit--the Story Sequence Chart. Each paragraph has a specific purpose and questions. We talked about the entire story, reviewing the first paragraph (setting, characters, and background). We discussed the problem/conflict. This is followed by the plot, which we build to the climax of the story. The climax begins the last paragraph. It is followed by what happens after. Part 1 of David Lesson 9 I checked today. I breezed through the KWO for part 2 of the David lessons. We played vocabulary slap with the vocabulary words we've learned so far. 

For homework: Lesson 9 David part 1--revise if needed. Save for the other two parts. Leson 10 David part 2--write a rough draft.

Wonders of Science: I checked drafts of Lesson 8 "Rumpelstiltskin." I noticed some students made substantial changes and had problems with the climax. Be careful that the climax--what solves the problem identified at the beginning of the second paragraph--begins the third paragraph. We did not get to the next lesson, a new unit. Please read through Lesson 9, especially the source material.

For homework: Final draft of lesson 8. All the dress ups in each paragraph. Use the checklist on page 8. Pre-read lesson 9, especially the source material.

High School I: Magician's Nephew--read chapter 14. Look for your copy of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Narnia: Lesson 8 "Lamp Post."  Work on a second draft. Re-read the "helps" in the lesson. Next time we will start on lesson 9. You will choose lesson 8 or 9 for a final draft and use the checklist with lesson 9. Remember with this unit we are doing a scene description. Think of a reporter at the scene of a fire or crime. He starts with the scene behind him--where he is and what the audience sees. Then he reaches back in time to tell what led up to that scene. He ends with being at the scene. Each of the first two scenes reach back into time. The third reaches forward. We had some time, so we started Lesson 9, discussing the central facts for each paragraph. 

For homework: Lesson 8 all three scene descriptions as paragraphs. For lesson 9, try to do a KWO for each paragraph. Write one as a rough draft. 

High School II: 

Blue Book--we reviewed and covered more of the comma rules, covering rules 1-5. No quizzes yet. 

Till We Have Faces. We discussed chapter 10. Try to read and answer questions for chapter 11--and 12 if you have the time.

Jensen's Format: We reviewed the format for the introductory paragraph. We tackled Lesson 3, the Concluding paragraph. This one starts with the thesis from the intro paragraph but reworded and with findings. The three sentences that follow each sum up the topics covered in the body paragraphs. The last sentence helps the paragraph to feel finished. 

For homework: Concluding paragraphs: from pages 79-84, write 5 thesis re-statements. These can be re-writes of the thesis statements you previously wrote. Also, write one as a concluding paragraph.