Prepositions and Prepositional phrases
My unique State -- Off-the-beaten-path sites
According to Good Housekeeping in 2020, Alabama celebrates the boll weevil. In the city of Enterprise, a statue of a Greek woman hoists a weevil on top of her head. The purpose? To show the town's "profound appreciation of the boll weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity."
Students will be trying to convince their classmates that their chosen state has the best off-the-beaten path places to visit, the strangest statues, or the oddest oddities. Who knew America was filled with so many puzzling sites? |
Works Cited
Students will practice making a Works Cited page. MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.
The following sites can help: http://www.easybib.com http://www.bibme.org/mla MLA Citation https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style |
Catholic Daughters 2024 Education Contest
Theme:
“God’s love and kindness will shine upon us like the sun that rises in the sky.” Luke 1:78 or How does my love shine for others? Options: Essay: Typed — Not to exceed 450 words — on one page — not front and back Poetry: Typed — Any style — Not to exceed 8 lines Art: Size 8½ x 11 — NO LETTERING Medium: crayon, markers, ink, paints, charcoal, black or colored pencil, pastels, duct tape Computer: Size 8½ x 11 or 8 x 12 -- NO LETTERING Art must be the artist’s own creation and should fill the majority of the page. No clip art or images imported from web sites allowed. Photography: Size 8 x 10 — Do not add matting — Color or black and white. Picture must be taken by the contestant — not a computer downloaded image or a collage. Music: Lyrics and notes on professional music score paper and must be contestant’s own creation. (See teacher for more detailed instructions.) General Rules:
Due Date: Thursday, February 1, 2024 Prizes: Local winners are forwarded to State. State winners are forwarded to National. National Prizes: 1st - $100; 2nd - $50; 3rd - $25 |
What I Know For Sure
Brainstorm about a topic you claim to know and understand well. Include as many facts about your topic as you remember. Please do not search for additional information online, but if you think of another fact later, you may use it.
Task 1: Visual Presentation • Create a slide presentation. • The title page may note your topic, but other than links at the end, there will be no other words — only images. • In addition to the title and link pages, add at least four body slides. • Place the slides in an order that will organize the topic. Task 2: Oral Presentation • Prepare to talk about your topic (between 2 and 3 minutes). • No notes may be used. • Talk to your classmates. Look at them and share your interest. • Make sure that the tone of the talk reflects the topic. If you love this topic, show enthusiasm. If the topic is serious, express that. • Most of all, show confidence in the fact that you know the material |
Santa, I Can Explain...
Oscar the Grouch or Darth Vader might fit the bill, for example.
Introduce yourself to Santa in a friendly letter and then explain why you've been misunderstood over the years -- why Santa should strike you from the naughty list. Don't forget to ask Santa for an appropriate gift (just in case your plea is successful). |
Phrases and clauses
Simple, compound, and complex sentences
Linking Verbs
Support and Elaboration
The seventh grade is looking at ways to support their topic sentences, making their writing more interesting. They're experimenting with varying sentence structure, adding specific details, focusing on action verbs, and building paragraphs in which elaboration is used to strengthen the points being made.
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Describing monsters
Experimenting with Haikus
Haiku poems began in Japan and are credited to a poet/warrior named Basho in the 1600s. The English language version of haiku poems are 17 syllables long in a pattern of 5-7-5, written over three lines. The Japanese syllables are actually slightly shorter.
Example by James Kirkup: In the amber dusk Each island dreams its own night-- The sea swarms with gold. Students will be making a haiku poster and attempting to get their poems published in The News-Gazette. |
Compound Sentences
Comma Usage
Writing Strong Sentences
When we communicate, it's easy to write whatever flits into our minds first, but that's rarely the most interesting way to express our thoughts. We tend to rely on boring linking verbs, such as is, am, are, was, and were rather than stronger action verbs. Also, we forget to add details that show just how lonely, sad, or happy a person might be.
In this exercise, the challenge becomes getting rid of linking verbs, adding details, and making the sentences draw mental pictures because the sentences are precise and interesting. (Always watch capitalization and punctuation also.) Below are a few examples. __________________ The boy is lonely. The lonely toddler plopped on the floor in the middle of a crowded playroom and cried until his older brother invited him to play Legos. The little girl was sad. After breaking her favorite talking stuffed giraffe named Biff, the four-year-old sobbed in her mother's comforting arms. My room is a mess. Dirty clothes littered my unswept bedroom floor as math papers spilled out of the overflowing, battered trash can. When I go to my grandparents' house, I am happy. I love visiting my grandparents' house because they bake the most delicious angel food cake and chocolate chip cookies; plus they shower me with hugs after my friends go home. |
Summer "ing" Poem
• Brainstorm the interesting activities you did (or wish had had done) over summer vacation.
• Choose a minimum of five moments to highlight. • Begin each phrase with a verb ending in ing. • Take out unimportant words in the phrase (but make sure the phrase still makes sense). • Experiment with your words so they paint a picture. • Write the phrases in an order that makes sense to you. • These are not sentences; therefore, end punctuation is not needed. • (Images and links will be added to make a mini poster.) Example: Summer… Constructing castles, rising out of the cool Atlantic Rescuing seashells from the pounding surf Sailing to faraway lands — allowing the breeze to follow its own map Gobbling ice cream faster than it can melt over my fingertips Gazing at the sundrops melting into the shimmering waters at sunset |
Writing Sample
Getting to Know You
Resource Links
• Easy Bib - MLA http://easybib.com/cite/view/style/mla
• BibMe http://www.bibme.org/
• MLA Citation https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the
liberal arts and humanities.
• Champaign Public Library http://champaign.org
• Urbana Public Library urbanafreelibrary.org/
• Digital Public Library of America http://www.dp.la
• Internet Public Library Kidspace http://ipl.org/div/kidspace
IPL is an exhaustive roundup of educational links, complete with a homework help section.
• InfoPlease http://www.infoplease.com/
Online encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and almanac
• Fact Monster http://factmonster.com
Flash cards, multiplication tables, history timelines, biographies of U.S. presidents
• Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/
• Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
• BibMe http://www.bibme.org/
• MLA Citation https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the
liberal arts and humanities.
• Champaign Public Library http://champaign.org
• Urbana Public Library urbanafreelibrary.org/
• Digital Public Library of America http://www.dp.la
• Internet Public Library Kidspace http://ipl.org/div/kidspace
IPL is an exhaustive roundup of educational links, complete with a homework help section.
• InfoPlease http://www.infoplease.com/
Online encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and almanac
• Fact Monster http://factmonster.com
Flash cards, multiplication tables, history timelines, biographies of U.S. presidents
• Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/
• Free Dictionary http://www.thefreedictionary.com/