Assignments for February 3, 2026

 We made it through one chilly day of classes. Looks like we are in for more cold for a while. 

February 10 the co-op will celebrate Valentine's Day. Bring a decorated box with your name on it. Bring signed Valentines to share. 

Spirit Day (Feb. 3): Dress as a favorite book character.

Journal: Babysitting Part I: List things a babysitter should know--allergies, bedtime, telephone numbers, house rules, etc.

Fix-it: week 19

Bible Heroes: We worked on Elijah Part III--the climax and the resolution. We emphasized five-sense words. What does the fire smell like? sound like? We played a vocabulary/banned word game. 

For homework: Elijah part III--finish the KWO. Write your rough draft. Try to add your dress ups. Try to make the adjectives and verbs emphasize the senses. The activities page may help you (see p. 104). Try to use both vocabulary words somewhere. You will also need a new title. 

Wonders of Science: We're practicing Writing from Pictures. I checked practice drafts of Lesson 14, "Message in a Bottle." We also reviewed sentence openers. You will need sentence openers when we write the final draft of Lesson 13, 14 or 15. We also started Lesson 15 "Science Lab." We discussed the central facts for each and reaching back in time after we write the central fact for the first two paragraphs. I also passed a sample KWO and the accompanying three paragraphs for a sample picture. 

For homework: Lesson 15--finish the KWO. Write at least a partial rough draft. Study the sample papers I've handed out. Any final draft of the three lessons will use the checklist with lesson 15 on page 145. 

High School I: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe--read chapter 7.

Narnia: I took up Lesson 14 "Evacuations." If you have a triple, that is extra credit for this lesson. Review the Triple instructions on page 89. You are not just repeating any word. You are repeating verbs or phrases usually, plus the repetition needs to be within one sentence or very close together.  I also checked drafts and outlines of Lesson 15 "Diary of an Evacuee." Changes to the checklist--one triple somewhere, a because clause or a www.asia clause. Note all the banned words. You have a sample on page 220 to give you inspiration if needed. 

Next week I'll check any rough drafts, and we will start our next assignment, which is a multi-lesson and multi-paragraph essay. It would be a good idea to pre-read the Cinderella story. 

For homework: Lesson 15 "Diary"--second rough draft or final draft. Use the checklist on page 101. Include one triple somewhere. Practice this. Pre-read Lesson 16.

High School II: Blue Book--we checked apostrophe quizzes and discussed half the hyphen rules. No homework this week.

Till We Have Faces: we did not get around to discussing chapter 14. Try to read and answer questions for chapter 18.

Jensen's Format: I took up Definition essays. I checked Process essays. We discussed Analogy essays. The latter is best thought in terms of manmade and natural or big and small. A camera lens is an analogy to a person's eye. 

For homework: Final draft of Process Essay. Lesson 12 Analogy--brainstorm, outline, partial rough draft. Feel free to send me rough drafts, especially before Monday. 

Assignments for January 27, 2026

 It looks like it is the season of bad weather. We had a brush with snow this past weekend. This coming one is predicted to be bad--as in lose power--at this point. Should classes have to be canceled due to widespread power outages, I'll keep you posted, likely on Monday. Be safe!

Journal: Pen pals. Create an imaginary pen pal, either in this country or a foreign one. Write a letter of introduction to him or her. 5 + sentences

Fix-it: Week 18

Bible Heroes: I checked Lesson 15, Elijah part 1. We discussed the new dress up--because clause. We played vocabulary slap. We also started lesson 16, which begins with the conflict of the story.

For homework: Lesson 16, Elijah part 2--finish the KWO, write a rough draft, add dress ups. Do the practice sentences on page 100. Remember the new dress up the "because" clause. 

Wonders of the World: Lessons 13, 14, and 15 are Writing from Pictures. It is very tempting to get involved in writing the story you've created and forget the pictures. Each picture needs a central fact that tells what is happening in the picture. I took up Lesson 13 drafts and will return them next week. We started Lesson 14, "Message in a Bottle." We discussed the central facts of each picture. Remember you will likely need to tell what happened before the picture after you write your central fact. This lesson adds the sentence opener, #3 -ly adverb opener. (See page 133.) 

For homework: Lesson 14 "Message in a Bottle"--finish the KWOs. Try to write at least a partial rough draft. No need to add in dress ups at this point. You will choose one lesson to craft into a final draft. (Use the checklist on page 145.)

High School I: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe--read chapter 6.

Narnia: I checked Lesson 14 "Evacuations" rough drafts. The checklist lists "triple" as a decoration. We covered that in the previous lesson. This decoration will be extra credit for this lesson. We also started Lesson 15 "Diary of an Evacuee." This lesson is very different from any previous ones. Your paragraphs will not have topic/clinchers. You do need to answer the questions for each day before you create your KWO. Once you have your outline, then write your rough draft. You will need to use what you know about the children being evacuated from London and may even need to do more research. If you need help, two sample papers begin on page 220. 

For homework: Lesson 14 "Evacuations"--final draft. Lesson 15 "Diary of an Evacuee"--complete your questions and outlines. Try to write at least a partial rough draft. 

High School II: Blue Book--We finished up the section on Apostrophes. For homework do the quizzes on pages 183-184.

Till We Have Faces: Read chapter 17.

Jensen's Format: I took up Classification Essays. I checked Definition Essays. I noted that quite a few of you seemed lost. We reviewed the format. Please study the sample in your book. That's why it is there. It is especially helpful for this lesson. We also started Lesson 11 Process Essay. I do not want "how to make a cake" essays. Instead, I want "how to be a successful baker." No using imperative voice or "you." Think of more general topics that you can group into three categories: how to be a good pet owner (feeding the pet, housing the pet, health of the pet, etc.). 

For homework: Final draft of Definition Essay. Rough draft of Process Essay. 

Assignments for January 20, 2026

 Brrr! It was certainly cold this morning, especially after our summer-like day Saturday.

Next week's Spirit Day is uniforms.

Journal: Fingerprints. I handed out an article with some interesting facts about fingerprints. For homework, make one or more prints of your fingers. Study and describe them. Worls? Swirls? Loops? Younger kids: using one or more prints, draw an animal, flower or other object. Older kids: tell five uses for fingerprints. 

Fix-it:  Week 17

Bible Heroes: I took up Solomon. We started Elijah, Lesson 15. This is another 3-part lesson. We're only doing part I today--the setting, background, and characters. We quickly created a KWO for this paragraph.

For homework: Write a mostly final rough draft of paragraph I, Elijah, Lesson 15. Try to add in dress ups. Do the activities on page 96.

Wonders of Science: I took up "Flight" lesson 11. 

We've started a new unit, Writing from Pictures. Imagine this unit as event description. Each drawing is one part of an overall event. Lessons 13, 14, and 15 are all part of this unit. We'll do KWOs and rough drafts of these lessons and then pick one to turn into a final draft. 

Lesson 13 is titled "Meteorite." We discussed the central facts for each paragraph. I gave students a handout with a sample student paper so that they can get an idea of they are working towards. 

The important point to remember is to ask yourself questions. For instance, with the first paragraph, the central facts are couple, see, shooting star. Reach back in time. Who are these people? Why are they here? What did they do before? What led them to come here? What did they do when they got here? End with a clincher that repeats key words from the topic sentence. You get to use your imagination. You get to choose character names and their backgrounds. 

The second picture starts up at another time. The central facts are shooting star, zoomed, house. You can reach somewhat back in time or move forward. Did the couple move into the house or build it because it was so special? What can you tell about the house or the shooting star.

The third picture can be at another time or the result of the shooting star from the previous paragraph. Its central facts are ground, crater, huge. You can tell what happened just before the picture or simply move into the future. Tell what the couple/homeowners feel/think. Does anything good come from the disaster? 

For homework: Lesson 13--finish the KWO. Try to write a rough draft only. Remember we will be picking one of three lessons for a final draft. 

High School I: "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"--read chapter 5. 

Narnia: Lesson 14 "Evacuations." We did the KWO together. Note the source text has many banned words--your banned word list has really grown longer. 

For homework: Write a mostly final draft with dress up for Lesson 14. Research "Operation Pied Piper" for next week's lesson. 

High School II: 

Blue Book: We started "apostrophes" pages 50-52. No homework quizzes yet.

Till We Have Faces: We worked on Chapter 15 today. Read Chapter 16 for homework.

Jensen's Format: I took up the Example Essay. I checked Classification rough drafts. We discussed Lesson 10 Definition Essay.

For homework: Finish up your Classification essays. Start working on your Process essay, choosing your topic, brainstorming, forming your thesis statement, and doing a partial rough draft. 

Assignments for January 13, 2026

 Welcome back to Writing Classes! 

Today's Spirit Day was wacky outfits. Our next one will be January 20--Uniform Day.

Journal: Write a percentage poem. Step one: make a list of your likes, interests, physical traits. Step two: Assign a percentage to each one. (You should have at least five.) Write it in a poem format (column). Rhyming is optional. Your percentage must add up to 100. (I'm 10 % crafting, 15% cooking, 5 % dog-loving, etc.) 

Fix-it: Week 16

Bible Heroes: I checked drafts today. We did a vocabulary activity--looking through our vocabulary words to see if any would work in our Solomon story. If you need help with the final clincher, see page 77.  

For homework: Work on your final draft of the Solomon lessons. Be sure you have a new title taken from the very last sentence. Each paragraph should have all four dress ups (except -ly in the first one). 

Next week we'll start on the Elijah lessons. It would be a good idea to pre-read the story and maybe even read the Bible version as well to pick up added details. 

Wonders of Science: I checked drafts of Lesson 11 "Flight." I noticed that some of you forgot that we are taking facts from several areas of the source text for each topic. Facts on birds (not just hummingbirds) are in all three paragraphs. Facts on inventors should include Leonardo da Vinci as well as the Wright Brothers. 

For homework: Lesson 11 "Flight" final draft. Use the checklist on page 105. Pre-read lesson 13 which is a new unit. 

High School I: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe--read chapter 4

Narnia: I checked rough drafts on Lesson 12 "Crown Jewels." You need to include the three sources, a new title, and topic/clinchers. The checklist has gotten longer! Next time we will work on lesson 14. It would be a good idea to research the beginning of World War II, especially in England, the air raids, and the evacuation of children out of London. 

For homework: Lesson 12 "Crown Jewels" final draft. Read through Lesson 13, especially the source material. Read the source for Lesson 14 as well. 

High School II: Blue Book--we learned about parentheses and brackets beginning with p. 48 We also worked through the first quiz. For homework: Do the second quiz, pages 182-183. 

Till We Have Faces: We discussed chapters 13 & 14. For homework read chapter 15.

Jensen's Format: I checked rough drafts of Lesson 8 Example essay. Be sure you follow the instructions we have talked about for all the paragraphs--introductory, concluding, and body paragraphs. I gave the checklist to you to study--this is how you will be graded. You will have two grades--structure and grammar/usage/editing. So, follow the directions! We also started lesson 9 Classification essay. This has a different structure from the Example essay. Study the sample in the book. You will have two weeks per essay from here on out--so keep up and don't get behind. 

For homework: Lesson 8 Example Essay--final draft. Lesson 9 Classification Essay: study the sample, choose a subject, brainstorm, write a 7-sentence skeleton, write a partial rough draft.