Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Week 20

In Class....

EEL

  • Wrote all of the prepositions found in the verses Ephesians 4:7 (ESV) & Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
    • Made special mention of 2-word prepositions (according to, ahead of, away from, etc.).  These are on chart J, but they are often forgotten.
  • Reviewed sentence patterns by finding the patterns for 8 different sentences.
  • Practiced adding in modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, subordinate clauses, appositives)
    • Students took the sentence with their name in it and added in at least one modifier. 
    • This is the third part of Task 5 on the ATS (the back of the page).
  • We didn't discuss this in class, but this is a great time to discuss misplaced modifiers with your child.
    • I would only do this to the point of their understanding.  Don't push them into this, if they are not ready.  It might confuse them and cause them to start putting in misplaced or dangling modifiers in their writing, when they haven't been doing so before hand.  


IEW

  • Revealed our Faces of History characters
    • Shared the resources we were using as source texts
    • Shared our 2 or 3 topics and/or our thesis statement.
  • Went over bibliographies
    • Remember the format is not as important as the fact that we do them.
    • It is important to teach our children to site their sources and give credit to those they draw their ideas from.  It is teaching honesty and integrity.
    • www.easybib.com
    • MHBW page 212
    • SRN page 18
    • TWSS pages 126-127
    • Citing Timeline Cards---Website that explains how to cite
  • Reviewed Introduction
    • 3 parts
      1. Grab Reader's Attention
        • Questions, Quotations, and Anecdotal (story) openers have already been discussed
        • Learned today about Dramatic Opener
          • This is a Short Staccato Sentence (like the 3sss decoration).  It must only have 3-5 words.  
          • A short staccato sentence is also Sentence Opener #6
          • This sentence opener can also be counted as a 3sss decoration, if 3 sentences are used together.
          • My example: "She was England's first queen.  She was Mary Tudor.  She almost never became queen."
      2. Introduce Subject and Give Background Information
        • Tell who you are writing about and any background information that is important about them or their time period that will not be included in later paragraphs.
      3. Mention the Topics/Thesis Statement
        • This can be more than one sentence, if necessary.
        • You do not want to simply list the topics.
        • Make it interesting
    • DO NOT use the words "I" or  "This report is about" or "I will tell you" or words like these.
      • "Don't tell me what you are going to tell me; just tell me!"
  • Reviewed Conclusion
    • 3 parts
      1. Restate the topics
        • 1 sentence per topic is best
        • Can repeat/reflect thesis statement
      2. Most significant topic and why
        • Why is this person still remembered?
        • What can we learn from their legacy?
      3. Final Clincher
        • Repeats/Reflects the introduction
        • If a Dramatic Opener is used in the introduction, a Dramatic Closer works well for the final clincher. (1 to 3 short staccato sentences as your final sentences)
        • My example: "England's first queen was Queen Mary I."


Math

  • Enjoyed some Pi day fun!
    • Found the radius, diameter, circumference, and area for our mini pies
    • Found the best buy for pizzas for 10" and 14'' pizzas at a given price.
    • Enjoyed our mini pies!


At Home...

EEL

  • Continue memorizing the charts, especially the ones from the Grammar Trivium Tables.
  • Take some time this week to work on Charts H (conjunctions) and J (prepositions).
  •  Complete tasks 1-4 on the ATS for at least 1 sentence per day 
    • Tasks 1-6 should be done for second year students and those students moving on to challenge next year.
    • Try out Task 5, at least the adding in modifiers part.
  • Editing and Spelling exercises in EEL guide (optional)

IEW

  • Continue working on Faces of History
    • Finish with Phase 1
      • Find your sources, Read your sources, Choose your topics
      • KWO/Fused Outline for each topic
      • Thesis Statement
    • Move on and begin working on Phase 2
      • Rough Drafts of your body paragraphs--1 paragraph for each topic
    • After finish Phase 2, move on to Phase 3
      • Introduction and Conclusion paragraphs
      • Don't forget to do a KWO for each one before writing the rough drafts!
  • Start gathering items for your costume (parents are welcome to dress-up as well).
  • Start working on your visual.
  • When we return from Spring Break, be prepared to share at least one paragraph from your paper.  Don't worry that it is still in rough draft form or that it may not even have all of the dress-ups and sentence openers!  You won't be turning this in to me; you will just be reading it to each other.
Don't forget to include plenty of Quality Adjectives!


Reminders for Teachers...

  • ENJOY Spring Break!
  • Read your lessons for next class.  Week 21 in EEL Guide.  Unit 8 in TWSS.
  • Remember, you are the teacher!  Please adjust/scale assignments to meet your individual child's needs (be it to make it easier, more challenging, or just a little different approach.
  • Always feel free to ask me anything.  If I don't know, we will find out together.  I'm not the expert, just the lead-learner.
  • Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you and support you!



My Prayer for you



This week's scripture is lengthy passage but a beautiful one. With spring beginning this next week and things coming into bloom. I love this reminder that God has everything under control, and it is all under His timing. I especially love verses 9-13 as I think specifically on me homeschooling my kiddos. Many days don't seem beautiful, but God does "make everything beautiful in its time" (when He knows it is right). May you all enjoy a wonderful Spring Break and beginning of Spring!


Ecclesiastes 3

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
       2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
          a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
       3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
          a time to break down, and a time to build up;
       4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
          a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
       5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
          a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
       6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
          a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
       7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
          a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
       8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
          a time for war, and a time for peace.

9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.

14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Week 19

In Class....


EEL

  • Completed an ATS as came into class for the sentence: "The visitor, who came from Medieval Times, called an airplane a metal bird."
    • Did all tasks together, including Quid et Quo for the words: visitor, who, came, and called.
  • Practiced Chart D through charades
    • Had to not just say verb, but all 5 parts of the verb
    • Chart D is easy for us as native English speakers; however, we still need to know the 5 principal parts of verbs and how those parts/forms are made (i.e. present participle is the "ing" form of the verb).  This is sometimes not as easy, as we don't think about the forms of the verbs we are speaking, but these forms are important in written language and, especially in learning other languages.
  • Practices Chart O through a scavenger hunt
    • I gave out person, number, time, and form
    • Students had to give the complete phrase  (pronoun, any helping verbs, and verb in correct form)
    • Chart O is the verb anatomy for "to play," which is a regular verb.  Therefore, this could be changed and used for any regular verb (anything where the past tense or past participle do not change forms, but are merely -ed).
    • The scavenger hunt activity is an easy way to practice charts O, N, and K at home
      • Charts N and K are the verb anatomies for "to have" and "to be," both irregular verbs and both used often in English
Fayetteville 2's Faces of History 2016

IEW

  • Shared or favorite section from our "letters from the 21st Century" papers.
    • These papers were so creative.  I really enjoyed reading them!
  • Played the Sentence Stretching Game to review Dress-ups, Decorations, and Sentence Openers
    • It was so interesting to see how different dress-ups and such could affect a sentence and make it completely different!
  • Began Faces of History
    • Handout--this is your key for Faces of History.  It will guide you through the process.  If you follow the handout by weeks (i.e. Phase 1 equals Week 1), you should finish by April 4.  This will allow you to stay with the class schedule and give you time to practice the presentation for a few days.
    • Faces of History presentation will be April 7 at 6:30pm in the building where we had the Christmas party.  It will be a dinner theater.  I will send around a sign-up sheet for potluck for dinner.
    • Papers will need to be 5 paragraph essays (teachers adjust this as you need to), based on TWSS Unit 8.  
    • Presentations will need to be 5 to 7 minutes long.  I suggest you finish your paper, then do a new KWO, using your paper as your source text, for your presentation.  It would be great to present from the KWO, but if you'd like to write something out, that would be fine too.  Just remember to keep it from 5 to 7 minutes.  You may also read from your original paper, as long as you cut it down to 5-7 minutes.  
    • Papers will be written in 3rd person (he/she).  Presentations are suggested to be done in 1st person (I/me).


Math

  • Played Quick Minute BoardSlam
    • So fun to bring this back this week. 
    • Many students were getting 15+ numbers crossed off in 5 minutes!


At Home...

EEL

  • Continue memorizing the charts, especially the ones from the Grammar Trivium Tables.
  • Take some time this week to work on Charts D and O
  •  Complete tasks 1-4 on the ATS for at least 1 sentence per day 
    • Tasks 1-6 should be done for second year students and those students moving on to challenge next year.
  • Editing and Spelling exercises in EEL guide (optional)

IEW

  • Begin working on Faces of History
    • Start with Phase 1
      • Find your sources, Read your sources, Choose your topics
      • KWO/Fused Outline for each topic
      • Thesis Statement
    • Move on and begin working on Phase 2 if have time
  • Start gathering items for your costume (parents are welcome to dress-up as well).
  • Start working on your visual.
  • Bring your resources (source texts) with you to class next week.
    • Be prepared to share the resources you are using, the character you are researching, and the topics you have chosen to write about.

Reminders for Teachers...

  • Read your lessons for next class.  Week 20 in EEL Guide.  Unit 8 in TWSS.
  • Remember, you are the teacher!  Please adjust/scale assignments to meet your individual child's needs (be it to make it easier, more challenging, or just a little different approach.
  • Always feel free to ask me anything.  If I don't know, we will find out together.  I'm not the expert, just the lead-learner.
  • Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you and support you!


My Prayer for you

 This week's "Words of Encouragement" at the end of the lesson in the EEL Guide really spoke to me.  Take a moment to read it.  It is a reminder to slow down, be watchful, and devote ourselves to prayer for our children.  If you are like me, you get caught up in trying to do everything to the best that you can, rather than leaning on the one who can do it far better than we could ever imagine!  I needed the reminder this week that I must spend time in prayer for my children each day, and I must put them in the care of the one who loves them and knows them better than I ever could.  

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."  Colossians 4:2