Writing (Leadership Week-January 7)

1. Hopefully you have finished the book and are working ahead, but if not...

Read through page 235 or to Jack 6.

2. Research papers.  You should have an opening statement, a thesis statement, and 2-3 main ideas that support your thesis.  Each main idea should be 2-3 paragraphs each.  You should also have a page that lists all of your sources.  If you have questions, please look at the previous posts about doing research.

3. Sister Monsivais has a super special, super awesome gratitude program that she would like to share with us.  She will be taking a few minutes to explain it in class.  Until then, please read this gratitude statement out loud every day.  Not in your head, but out loud.  We will be putting together some gratitude journals and taking this awesome journey together.  We are so excited about it, and I hope you can get excited as well.  There will be vanguard bucks for each day that you read the statement out loud.

Gratitude Statement

4. Write in your nicest handwriting this paragraph from the book on page 190.

"Just like earth," she says, slowly turning around in the center of the circle, "other planets go around the sun in fixed orbits.  That means we can see them easily, in a band in the sky called the zodiac. Jupiter and Saturn will be out tonight, and anyone who wants to go to the Star Garden afterward can check them out.

They might look tiny through a telescope, but Jupiter would fill the distance between the earth and the moon.  And Saturn is actually fluffy, like cotton candy.  If there was a bathtub big enough, it would float!"

Notice all the quotation marks, the capital letters on proper nouns, and all the other punctuation.  Make sure you copy it all out as it is written.

5. Spelling Words!

expressionless - (of a person's face or voice) not conveying any emotion; unemotional.

imperceptibly - in a way that is so slight, gradual, or subtle as not to be perceived.

opportunities - a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something.

sketchbook - a book of drawings or literary sketches

tournament - a series of contests between a number of competitors, who compete for an overall prize.

familiar - well known from long or close association.

supplementing - add an extra element or amount to.

imaginary - existing only in the imagination.

meteorite - a meteor that survives its passage through the earth's atmosphere and part of it strikes the ground.

potentially - with the capacity to develop or happen in the future.

then/than -  then: at that time; at the time in question./ than: used to introduce the second element in a comparison.

buy/bye/by - buy: obtain in exchange for payment. / bye: exclamation short for goodbye. / by: a preposition 

glamorous - having glamour or elegance

instantly - at once; immediately.

obvious - easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent.

rumpled - give a creased, ruffled, or disheveled appearance to

volunteered - freely offer to do something.

identifying - establish or indicate who or what (someone or something) is.

curtsying - a woman's or girl's formal greeting made by bending the knees with one foot in front of the other.

necessarily - as a necessary result; inevitably.

expressionless imperceptibly 

opportunities  sketchbook 

tournament  familiar 

supplementing  imaginary 

meteorite  potentially 

then/than buy/bye/by

glamorous  instantly 

obvious  rumpled 

volunteered  identifying 

curtsying  necessarily 

Happy Spelling!

Writing (Eureka Week)

 Writing!

1. Read in your book pages 74-154.  That's to Ally chapter 5.

2. No copy work this week! You will want to read carefully all that is required this week.  There might be some generous vanguard bucks for those that are prepared.

3. Continue working on your research papers.  

This week I want you to add to your papers.  

• Add 1-3 more paragraphs to each main point.  These paragraphs should support your main ideas.
• Try and have the last sentence of your last paragraph in your first point tie into the next point. Do that with each section.  
• Write a concluding paragraph.  
• Your paper should be a full outline or rough draft at this point.  
• You now have all of December to finish it up and have different family members read it for you and help you make corrections.  
• It will be due on January 7th.  You will present your papers as a speech.  So as you finish up your papers, practice reading it as a speech.  We only have 45 minutes in class, so we will break into small groups and you will give your speech to a few others.

4.  Do 2 more pages in your writing books.  You should be through at least 20 pages. Bring your books to class.

5. Some fun grammar! We have previously talked about nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, subject, object and articles.  We didn't have copy work, but I want you to make notecards for these terms from last time and for the new words below.  They will be added to the notecard game.

Now we are going to cover; adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions, clauses and phrases.  


adverb - An adverb is like an adjective, but instead of describing a noun or a pronoun, it tells you more about a verb, an adjective, or even another adverb. An adverb describes how, when or where something happens. 

For example: He smiled politely. Liz drives slowly.  We arrived late.  Jo lives there. I'm only joking.

conjunction - A conjunction is a linking word.  It joins other words and groups of words together.  Without conjunctions, sentences would be short and jerky.

For example: He closed his eyes.  He didn't fall asleep.  The conjunction but can turn these into a single sentence:  He closed his eyes, but he didn't fall asleep. Some common conjunctions are: and, but, or, yet, therefore, so, because, although, while.

preposition - A preposition is a word that tells you how one thing is related to another.  It is normally attached to a noun or a pronoun.  A lot of prepositions show where one thing is in relation to another thing. 

For example: The dog is lying on the bed. 

Other prepositions show when something happens in relation to something else.

For example: Mike's parents are coming to stay before Christmas.

Here are some common prepositions: in, on, under, to, before, after, around, near, down, over, up, past, between, into.

Lots of verbs look as if they are followed by prepositions (for example, to break down, to cheer up, to break in), but in fact, in these cases, these little words are thought of as part of the verb.

clauses and phrases - Sentences can be made up of clauses (groups of words that contain verbs) and phrases (groups of words without verbs).

A sentence is a group of words that makes sense on its own.  Most sentences have a subject and a verb.

We will be doing some fun stuff in class with all this new information!  Be prepared by knowing what each thing is!

And now for the spelling words!

assistant - a person who helps in particular work.

extraordinary - very unusual or remarkable.

galaxies - a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction.

globular - globe-shaped; spherical.

telescope - an optical instrument designed to make distant objects appear nearer.

magnitude - the great size or extent of something, of great importance.

priorities - the fact or condition of being regarded or treated as more important.

analyzed - discover or reveal (something) through detailed examination.

information - facts provided or learned about something or someone.

originated - have a specified beginning.

frequencies - the rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time or in a given sample.

usually - under normal conditions; generally.

unusual - not habitually or commonly occurring or done.

hypnotic - exerting a compelling, fascinating, or soporific effect.

apologetically - regretfully acknowledging or excusing an offense or failure.

automatically - without conscious thought or attention; spontaneously.

uncontrollably - not controllable. unable to contain.

lawyer - a person who practices or studies law; an attorney or a counselor.

mosquitoes - a slender long-legged fly with aquatic larvae.

electricity - a form of energy resulting from the existence of charged particles (such as electrons or protons),                                either statically as an accumulation of charge or dynamically as a current.

assistant extraordinary

galaxies globular 

telescope magnitude

priorities analyzed

information originated 

frequencies usually 

unusual hypnotic 

apologetically  automatically

uncontrollably lawyer

mosquitoes electricity 

 

November Writing (History Week)

1. Read through page 73 in "every soul a star," by Wendy Mass

2. Write this quote in your book.  This is at the very beginning of the book. 

And when he [the author of the universe] had compounded the whole, he divided it up into as many souls as there are stars, and allotted each soul to a star.  And mounting them on their stars, as if on chariots, he showed them the nature of the universe and told them the laws of their destiny.

-from "Timaeus" by Plato (427-357 BCE)

3. Please go to this website to learn how to cite your sources for your research paper. Citing Sources

What to bring to class:

    1. The beginnings of your paper; Introduction, Thesis Statement, and at least 1-2 paragraphs under each major point. 

    2. Works Cited list. This does not have to be perfect yet, I just want a list of the resources you have used so far.  You should use at least 3 different sources in your research.

4.  Do 2 more pages in your writing books.  Write in your best handwriting.  Is it improving? 

5. Spelling words from "every soul a star."

civilization - the stage of human social and cultural development and organization that is considered most advanced.

eclipse - an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination.

important - of great significance or value; likely to have a profound effect on success, survival, or well-being.

confiscated - take or seize (someone's property) with authority.

humiliating - causing someone to feel ashamed and foolish by injuring their dignity and self-respect.

achievement - a thing done successfully, typically by effort, courage, or skill.

maintenance - the process of maintaining or preserving someone or something, or the state of being maintained.

labyrinth - a complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze.

approaches - come near or nearer to (someone or something) in distance or time.

asteroid - a small rocky body orbiting the sun.

clique - a small group of people, with shared interests or other features in common, who spend time together and do not readily allow others to join them.

click - an act of selecting an option on an electronic interface by pressing a button or touching a screen.

embarrassing - cause (someone) to feel awkward, self-conscious, or ashamed.

participants - a person who takes part in something.

disappointment - sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one's hopes or expectations.

awesome - extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear.

experience - practical contact with and observation of facts or events.

conditioning - the process of training or accustoming a person or animal to behave in a certain way or to accept certain circumstances.

materialistic - excessively concerned with material possessions; money-oriented.

appreciate - recognize the full worth of - understand (a situation) fully; recognize the full implications of.

Pictures!!!!

civilization  eclipse 

important  confiscated 

humiliating  achievement 

maintenance  labyrinth 

approaches  asteroid 

clique  click 

embarrassing  participants 

disappointment  awesome

experience  conditioning 

materialistic  appreciate