The Board Today

Hello All,

     In case you need the help to finish today's assignment, here is a series of pictures of the board.

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

The Week in Preview

Hello All,

     This week we will review classroom rules and policies, and then jump into a new weekly schedule as identified below.

     This week's standard is L.8.2:  "Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing."

     This week's story selection is "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry.

Monday——Make a list!

Take the content prequiz, quickly review last week’s skills as needed, and introduce the Words of the Week. These are the words you must be able to spell, identify parts of speech for, and define by Thursday. Then, introduce the skills and story selection.

Tuesday——Time for work!

Cover skills and story selection for the week. Students who demonstrated proficiency in the skills on the content prequiz may sit in the back of the room today and begin reading the story selection as a group. The majority of students will take notes on the skills and practice their use individually and as a class.

Wednesday——Write!

This is writing day in Language Arts. Spend all class writing about the current material and story. The assignment may be an essay, a series of questions, a poem, a story, or any combination of the above, depending on the week. The Wednesday Write will always relate to both the skills and the story selection.

Thursday——Think it over!

In the first ten minutes of class, take the Thursday Think, a quiz on the Words of the Week; use it to spell, identify part of speech for, and define each word. After that, review the Wednesday Write in groups or, sometimes, as a class.

Friday——Finish!

First, complete the Friday Finish, a review or quiz on the week’s skills and the story selection. Then, write a letter to Mr. DeMaris about your week; this Week in Review letter is only graded on completion, not on grammar or spelling.* Once complete, you may Review and Improve any missing or inadequate work. If you have none, you may read or write quietly or help a classmate with his or her work.

Each week is graded as follows:

Ten         (10) points apply to the     …    …    Wednesday Write.

Fifteen     (15) points apply to the     …    …    Thursday Think.

Twenty     (20) points apply to the     …    …    Friday Finish.

Five         (5) points apply to the     …    …    Week in Review letter.

This is a total of fifty (50) points per week. Extra assignments may be added or adjusted as negotiated by individual students and the teacher.


Sincerely,



Mr. DeMaris
*——Mr. DeMaris always encourages proper spelling and grammar, though—— so try!

 

Commas, Ellipses, and Dashes

Hello Everyone!

     I tried a new idea today! Modern technology is great for absent students, interested people, and everyone out there on the internet.

     I uploaded a video containing the basic information of today's lesson; hopefully, you can use this to review if you are absent or need to check the information later. Here is the video explaining the basics of commas, ellipses, and dashes.

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris

Commas before Conjunctions!

Hello All,

     I have a new slogan for the coming week:  "Commas before Conjunctions!" When you are writing a compound, complex, or compound-complex sentence, you should always place the comma before the standard conjunction that separates your clauses. For example, consider the following sentence:

Students struggle every day with the pressures of adolescence, and homework only adds to the stress.

Teaches feel stress, too, and they must balance personal lives with professional responsibilities.

     Note how the conjunction "and" separates the two independent clauses. Note, too, how the comma goes before the conjunction. If you placed it after the conjunction, you would be adding the "and" to the first clause; it makes no sense to end a sentence (or clause of any kind) with "and."

The ability to read is useful because our society is based on long-distance communication.

The ability to read is useful, because our society is based on long-distance communication.

     Just remember that you do not need a comma before a subordinate conjunction like "because," "since," or "while."

     As you start a new week, remember:  "Commas before Conjunctions!"

Sincerely,

Mr. DeMaris