There are 4
assignments that need to be submitted:
1) KEY WORD OUTLINE (KWO)
Your key
word outline should
be handwritten on a lined piece of notebook paper and stapled to the back of
your essay. It must be properly headed with your name and due date on the upper
right lines. Remember, only 3 words per sentence. Numbers and symbols are free.
They do not count as part of the 3 word limit per sentence.
2) ESSAY
Your
one-paragraph essay is also due. Essays must be typed and your KWO must be
stapled to it. Proper formatting is extremely
important. ESSAY FORMAT REQUIREMENTS may be found on
the side bar of our website.
Essays should simply re-tell one of the following:
• The Stinking Giant (Rafflesia)
• Ultralight Airplanes (younger students) or
• Mother Tongue (high school or younger students who want a challenge)
The original source paragraphs are included at the bottom. Your essay may have a different number of sentences than the source paragraphs but the content should reflect the source paragraph.
Using
ONLY your key word outline, re-tell the paragraph in your own words.
3) FIX-IT
Another
aspect of your homework is the FIX-IT. Students should hand write the sentences on lined
paper. Read the directions carefully and remember to include proper heading -
name and due date on the upper two lines of the paper on the right side.
4) VOCABULARY
Define
the bolded words
from the weekly FIX-IT assignment on a separate sheet with proper heading and
bring to class. Students will be tested intermittently throughout the
year on these words. If the student uses the vocabulary words correctly
in his essay and indicates it with a blue highlight,he will receive one
extra point per word on his score. In order to receive extra credit, vocabulary
words must be used correctly and highlighted with light blue in the
essay.
Please be
aware that we will sometimes practice timed writing in class with writing
prompts for SAT and H.S. application preparation. It is very important for the
students to be accustomed to writing an essay in a timed setting even if these
tests are not in your student's immediate future.
If you
have questions, please feel free to call, text or send an email. Texting is
usually the fastest way to contact me. Mrs. Peggy Cortez 832 766 2172
Tom Sawyer . . . . FIX-ITs
Week 1 There are no
mistakes to fix in week 1.
Focus on when to indent. Read about when to indent below.
Underline subjects once and verbs twice. The subject is who or what the sentence is about, and the verb is what the subject is doing or being. The vocabulary words are bolded.
Focus on when to indent. Read about when to indent below.
Underline subjects once and verbs twice. The subject is who or what the sentence is about, and the verb is what the subject is doing or being. The vocabulary words are bolded.
Tom’s
perplexed Aunt
Polly punched under the bed with the broom.
She resurrected a cat—but not a boy—from under the bed.
Secretly in the closet Tom gobbled up a sticky jam sandwich.
He burst out of the closet, but not fast enough.
She resurrected a cat—but not a boy—from under the bed.
Secretly in the closet Tom gobbled up a sticky jam sandwich.
He burst out of the closet, but not fast enough.
Week 2 Remember
that helping verbs need to be underlined twice along with the main verb.
Aunt
Polly seized her mischievous nephew by his collar.
“I might ‘a’ guessed your foolery, Tom!”
In a shrill tone Tom yelled, “My! Look behind you, Aunt Polly!”
Aunt Polly reeled around, and Tom fled.
“I might ‘a’ guessed your foolery, Tom!”
In a shrill tone Tom yelled, “My! Look behind you, Aunt Polly!”
Aunt Polly reeled around, and Tom fled.
Helping Verbs (all 23 of them!)
may, might, must, be, being, been, am, are, is, was, were, do, does, did, should, could, would, have, had, has, will, can, shall
Indentation
In
nonfiction, body paragraphs are organized by topic ideas.
In
fiction, especially with dialogue, the rules are more ambiguous, with different
authorities citing different rules. Most, however, accept these basic
guidelines. If the paragraphs are very short, you might not need
a
new paragraph for Rule 2 but should start one for a new speaker (Rule 1).
Rule
1. Begin a new
paragraph each time a new person speaks.
Rule
2. Begin a new
paragraph to indicate a change of topic, a change of place, or a lapse of time.
NOTE:
If a character’s speech continues into the next Fix-It, the passage will end
with “quotation continues.” Do not close the first passage with quotation marks.
Continue writing where you left off the next week, using close quotation marks
only at the end of the character’s speech.
ESSAY
SOURCE PARAGRAPH CHOICES:
An ultralight airplane is
very different from a conventional airplane. It looks like a lawn chair with
wings and weighs no more than 254 pounds. It can fly up to 60 miles an hour and
carries about 5 gallons of fuel. Most ultralights are sold as kits and take
about 40 hours to assemble. Some models now have parachutes attached, while
others have parachute packs which pilots can wear. Flying an ultralight is so
easy that a pilot with no experience can fly one. Accidents are rarely fatal or
even serious because the ultralight lands so slowly and gently and carries so
little fuel.
The Stinking Giant (recommended for Younger Students - 7 sentences to outline)
The rafflesia is the biggest flower in the world. Its bloom can be three feet wide. It takes two years to form and stays open for a week. Unlike other flowers, it has no stem or leaves. It grows on the root of another plant. You do not want to get too close to this giant flower, though, because its big blossom gives off a big stink! Some people think that it smells like rotting meat. Because of the awful smell, the rafflesia is also called a "corpse flower" or a "stinking lilly."
The Stinking Giant (recommended for Younger Students - 7 sentences to outline)
The rafflesia is the biggest flower in the world. Its bloom can be three feet wide. It takes two years to form and stays open for a week. Unlike other flowers, it has no stem or leaves. It grows on the root of another plant. You do not want to get too close to this giant flower, though, because its big blossom gives off a big stink! Some people think that it smells like rotting meat. Because of the awful smell, the rafflesia is also called a "corpse flower" or a "stinking lilly."
Mother
Tongue (recommended for Older Students - 10 sentences to outline)
First language, also known
as mother tongue, is generally the language a person learns first.
However, it is possible to have two or more native languages thus being a
native bilingual or indeed multilingual. The order in which these languages are
learned does not necessarily predict proficiency. In fact, incomplete
first language skills often make learning other languages difficult. Children
learn the basics of their first language or languages from their family. The
term mother tongue, however, should not be interpreted to mean that it is the
language of one's mother. Many first generation Americans have a different
mother tongue than their parents. Also, in some paternal societies, the wife
moves in with the husband and thus may have a different first language or
dialect than the local language of the husband. Yet their children usually only
speak their local language. This is a trend that might be changing because
being multilingual is a valuable skill.
