Thursday 3/26, a day of madness and modification!

Today was a bit of a whirlwind of grammar. We started off with that quiz over chapter 36 and then did a quick proofread over our final how-to essays. The bulk of our class we focused on modification though, so that is what we will concentrate on here.

When we modify, we are adding extra detail or description to our writing. We can modify almost anything, our verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives and adverbs too! We use adjectives to modify (or describe) nouns and pronouns: the happy squirrel, for example. Happy is telling us about the squirrel. Click here for more stuff about adjectives.

But we also can modify our verbs by using an adverb (notice how verb is in adverb?): Carl knitted the sweater very nicely. Here, nicely is the adverb modifying how Carl knitted. We are getting more detail about the verb (knitted). Notice that the adverb ends in -ly and that is it really similar to nice. That -ly is a helpful difference, but click here to find out more about adverbs.

We can also use adverbs to modify more adverbs and adjectives: The cake is disgustingly gross. Here we see two modifications, disgustingly modifies gross, and gross modifies the cake (yum, sounds like a winner of a cake to me).

Furthermore, we use adverbs and adjectives when we compare. We use either the comparative (-er, more; used for two items) or the supperlative (-est, most; used for more than two items).
Comparative: Pete was the happier of the two clams.
Superlative: Pete was the happiest of all the clams.
Check out this useful ESL website for more stuff.

Still want more pracitce? (PS: do this practice, and you could earn up to 5 bonus points! Act quickly. This is a limited time offer that will expire on 3/31!).

3/24

Today we spent a lot of time working on topic sentences.  Topic sentences are a lot like thesis statements in that they both set up the direction and point of what you are writing.  The thesis does this for an entire essay, and the topic sentence does this for individual paragraphs.  

When building a topic sentence, it is useful to consider the general formula:

Topic + Main Idea/Point = Topic Sentence

So, for example, if I am writing an essay about how to use the class blog that has a working thesis of, "Knowing how to use the class blog can really help you succeed in class," I will want to actually refer back to this thesis in creating my topic sentences.  As we said in class, it is really beneficial to look back at the thesis to figure out what direction each paragraph must take in order to give full support of that thesis.  

Thesis: Knowing how to use the class blog can really help you succeed in class

Topic Sentence 1: First you will need to log on to the blog 

In this paragraph, the only stuff I will be writing about is actually logging on to the blog.  I could talk about accessing through BB or by typing the address into my address bar.  What else do you think will fit into this paragraph?

Topic Sentence 2: After you log on, you will want to read and process the information

In this paragraph, I would discuss the information and how it is packaged on the blog.   I would also explain how to go about finding the information for a particular day and how to read the notes in comparison with class notes.  

Topic Sentence 3: Finally, you will want to access any links to extra homework and practice.

Again, in this section, I would focus on explaining to readers how to use the links, how to click on them and how to print up or write out the work.  I might also include a brief how-to about where you can go for extra help on the work (Sarah, me).  

Conclusion: 1)Rephrase the thesis, "Understanding how to use a class blog can make a big difference in your education."  2)Restate/phrase topic sentences/main points.  3)End on a good closing thought.

So, you see how you can use topic sentences to help you control the flow of thoughts as well as to help you organize your ideas.  For more on topic sentences, click here.  

We also went over "minor" punctuation marks.  We did part D of EG chapter 36.  

1).  The colon :  is used for three reasons, to set up a long list, to separate the hour from the minute, and to separate the book from the verse in holy works.  

2).  Parentheses ( ) is used to de-emphasize added bits of information in a sentence

3).  The dash -- is used to emphasize added bits of information in a sentence.  

For extra practice, I suggest checking out the OWL site from Purdue University.  

class on 3/19

Today we explored apostrophes. We outlined how to use apostrophes to consolidate our writing and to save time. For example, instead of writing out the ball that belongs to the dog, we can use a apostrophe to show that the dog owns the ball in a much more efficient way: the dog's ball.

Remember to keep in mind whether you have a singular word or a plural when showing ownership.

Singular: dog's
Plural: dogs'.

We also used apostrophes with contractions. When combining two words into one, we use the apostrophe to show readers where we deleted letters: it is= it's. The ' replaced the i in is.

For Tuesday's class, follow the link by clicking this phrase and do the work. Either print this bad boy up or handwrite out the whole activity.

Email with any questions or problems.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

Welcome to the Newness

Alright my dear little guinea pigs, we are going to try something new!

Feel free to give me a lot of honest feedback about this new initiative, but since you are my most active and focused and small class, I thought you guys would be better suited to testing this new system out.  So, without further ado...here's the plan.

Each day we have class, I will go beyond just posting the homework and handouts on Blackboard.  I will also archive our class meeting via this blog.  This blog will stay up for the remainder of the course, so unlike BB, you will be able to go back and reflect and review on past lessons as needed.  This also means that if you miss class, you have a chance to get a better idea of what you really missed (beyond that simple blurb about homework that I will always post on BB).  

I will also add a few extra tidbits along the way, links to useful websites and extra practice sheets and stuff.  Sometimes these extras be assigned and collected for homework; however, if you ever need/want extra practice or you would like something to work on with Sarah, you may hit these up as well.  

Now, this blog is an extra, bonus resource for you this term.  You are not required to access this site each and everyday.   There will, of course, be certain days that I need you to access the blog and do some work, but I will always post the link to the blog on the BB site in the announcements section when I post your homework.