Woe Is I, Jr. Lessons: Chapter 7

I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

1. Read chapter 7. Do what she suggests, with one exception. Instead of writing a poem to fool a spell checker, you may write a short e-mail to a real or imaginary friend. Here is a silly message I sent to a friend which totally fooled my spell checker: Ewe just knead too no eye halve you're back.

2.   Choose three words that stump you when you need to spell them. Make a secret code, so they stump you no more.

3.   Choose ten of the word pairs on pages 76-84. Write a tongue twister for each pair, using both words correctly.

4. Share your favorite tongue twister in the comments.

Go to Lesson 8.

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Student Author

I really have nothing to do with Finding Faith, other than to have taught its author, Rachel Rittenhouse, in an English class last year. I'm proud of the way Rachel wholeheartedly pursues her dreams at age 16, and I wish her the best as she launches this, her first book in a series of three. Visit her website to discover more.

Woe Is I, Jr. Lessons: Chapter 6

I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

This one is short and easy!

1.   Read chapter 6.

2.   Using “The Respectables” list on pages 70-71, write a short dialogue between two people, one who always uses contractions and one who never uses them. What adjectives would you use to describe each of these people?

3. Leave a sample of your dialogue in the comments!

Go to Lesson 7.

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Important Things

Who: Young or reluctant elementary-aged writers

What: Follow Margaret Wise Brown's pattern from The Important Book in which she illustrates a helpful structure for paragraph writing.

1. Read The Important Book or click the above book cover to see sample pages.

            “The important thing about a spoon is that you eat with it.  It’s like a little shovel, you hold it in your hand, you can put it in your mouth, it isn’t flat, it’s hollow, and it spoons things up.  But the important thing about a spoon is that you eat with it.

            The important thing about a daisy is that it is white.  It is yellow in the middle, it has long white petals, and bees sit on it, it has a ticklish smell, it grows in green fields, and there are always lots of daisies.  But the important thing about a daisy is that it is white.”

2. Observe the pattern Brown uses. (See #4.)

3. Choose a topic. Brainstorm reasons you think your topic is important. Use this webbing tool to organize your initial thoughts.

4. Imitate Brown's pattern, but make one adjustment. In Brown's paragraphs, her middle sentence--the one that tells why the object is important--is one long string, separated by commas. I recommend writing separate sentences with periods.

A template would look like this:

The important thing about _____________________ is ________________________.

Detail #1

Detail #2

Detail #3

But the most important thing about _____________________ is ___________________.

Write a minimum of three of your very best details.

5. Revise and edit! Are the sentences in logical order? Does one flow well into the next? Are the words spelled correctly? Spruce up the paragraphs to make them your very best.

6. Share one of your important paragraphs in the comments.

Student samples:

The important thing about God is that He has power over Satan. He is unchangeable and holy. He loves and protects us from Satan. He is majestic and perfect. He wants us to love him and he gave us the Bible so we can read it. He sent his only Son to die for us on a cross and save us from our sins. But the important thing about God is that He has power over Satan.

The important thing about Grandmom and Pop pop is that they are fun to be with. They like to cuddle with us when they're watching TV and Eagles' games. Pop pop sometimes sneaks us candy when Grandmom is not looking and he always has long prayers! Grandmom always has a good meal ready when we get there on Thursdays and after we have a fill of TV Grandmom takes us on in a game of Nines. Every time we go there they spoil us and give us more graham cracker pudding than we should have. But the important thing about Grandmom and Pop pop is that they are fun to be with.

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Woe Is I, Jr. Lessons: Chapter 5

I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here, the lesson for chapter 1 here, the lesson for chapter 2 here, the lesson for chapter 3 here, and the lesson for chapter 4 here.

1.   Read chapter 5 and do what O’Conner suggests.

2.   English teachers don’t usually prefer students to begin sentences with “there is” or “there are.” See if you can figure out why. Write a couple of there is/there are sentences. Then revise them to remove there is/there are. Which ones do you think are stronger? Why?

3.   Write a list of “I wish” or “If I” statements. (Bonus: Write an “I wish” or “If I” poem. Adapt the “I wish” model just a bit. Begin each line with I wish I were. How can you revise the final line to make it fit this new format?)

4.   Write sentences to show the difference between the pesky look-alikes (60-61).

5. Would you mind sharing your statements or poems in the comments?

Go to Lesson 6.

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Beyond Portfolders

To keep from getting in a rut, we moved from portfolders to other projects. Like the portfolders, these projects are filled with original writing, drawings, captions, photographs, and assignments of all kinds, centered around a specific topic.

Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome

The girls each made a scrapbook, documenting their studies of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Although my oldest and and youngest daughters are four years apart, they could study the same topic while working at their own ability levels. I loved our one-room schoolhouse days!

Middle Ages

We used posterboard for the cover of our Middle Ages projects, cutting turrets in the tops.  We pasted pictures and assignments to cardstock pages, which we then taped to the inside of the cover, one page overlapping the next.

Oregon Trail

We joined Westward Ho! virtual wagon train and made notebooks to document the experience. At the time, a wagonmaster led weekly online chats, allowing the travelers to meet and make decisions. Now I see that  all the material is there for teachers/homeschoolers to gather their own groups, large or small. Our notebooks were simple: a plastic cover with mini-books, assignments, and photographs pasted to cardstock pages. (Beside the notebook is a collection of letters from the trail, the cover made by distressing a paper bag.)

The Olympics

I needed some way to justify all the hours we would spend watching the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.  Think, think, think. I found a trifold presentation board and asked the girls to do an A-Z presentation of the Olympics, which they worked on together. Perfect.  All that time in front of the TV was educational and productive!

Study of Pennsylvania

I must have a thing for the alphabet! I gave the girls binders in which they included at least one page for each letter. Included in the pocket of each letter is a card with a brief overview of that page's word. We were able to extend the classroom for this one, going on a slew of field trips.

Writing Metaphors

"Happiness is a warm puppy."      
~ Charles M. Schulz

1. Watch Charlie Brown and his friends sweetly sing metaphors in their song "Happiness Is...." (The song begins at 1:30.)  

A metaphor, if you need a refresher, is a comparison between two nouns without using "like" or "as." In this assignment, students compare an abstract term with concrete images.

2. Brainstorm words to transform into metaphors. Here is a start: spring, summer, fall, winter, fear, happiness, disgusted, sad, scared, exciting, soft, rough, sweet, salty, fast, noisy, quiet, any color....
                     
3. Allow students the pleasure of writing sensory-rich images for their word(s). Help them, if necessary, by encouraging them "to use color, sounds, actions, and sensations of touch and smell in their metaphors" (Any Child Can Write 76).

Some student examples:

• Noisy is screaming kids in the street playing with their friends.
• Noisy is lions roaring in the zoo because they are mad about being in a cage.
• Red is a yummy Red Delicious apple being cut up and sliced into a pan, cooked for applesauce, and dumped on a cake.
• Red is an enormous firetruck racing down the street to get to a fire.
• Green is a tree that waves as the wind whistles through its leaves.
• Orange is a juicy fruit that when you take a bite it splashes onto your face.

• Autumn is colorful leaves falling to the ground.

If you like pre-writing sheets, here's one.

This idea was prompted by Harvey S. Wiener in Any Child Can Write, 75-77.

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Woe Is I, Jr. Lessons: Chapter 4

I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here, the lesson for chapter 1 here, the lesson for chapter 2 here, and the lesson for chapter 3 here.

1.   Read chapter 4 and do what O’Conner suggests.

2.   Watch Schoolhouse Rock’s Verb: That’s What’s Happening.

3.   I found the following paragraph explaining how to make a sandwich.

My favorite sandwich is a spicy roast beef delight, and making it is such a tasty adventure. Simply retrieve two slices of fresh one-hundred percent whole wheat bread, and spread spicy brown deli mustard and mayonnaise to the inside of each slice. You will then add three thick slices of roast beef to the bottom slice of bread, as well as red onions, two slices of tomato, and a slice of green leaf lettuce to the top piece of bread. Now, place the two slices of bread together completing this scrumptious sandwich. Finally, cut the sandwich in half and serve with a handful of your favorite chips as you enjoy this masterpiece.

Remove or cross out all verbs in the paragraph. Do you agree with O’Conner that “without a verb, there’s nothing going on”?

4.   Write a paragraph about your favorite birthday moment.  Copy and paste it twice. Change the first one to present tense. Change the second one to future tense.

5. Share your present tense birthday moment in the comments.

Go to Lesson 5.

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Words That Get the Axe

If you're literally looking for a list of really amazing words to cut from your students' very wordy papers, check out this thing. It's got quite good suggestions. Maybe it's just the stuff you need to help them follow the classic advice from Strunk and White: "omit needless words" (The Elements of Style 23).

No, really. See the ten words you can chop from a student's writing that no one will miss.

Literally.

Thanks, Cynthia, for sending me the link.

Woe Is I, Jr. Lessons: Chapter 3

I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here, the lesson for chapter 1 here, and the lesson for chapter 2 here.

1.   Read chapter 3. 

2.   Complete You’re Mighty Possessive.

• In the first column, list careers from A to Z (architect, businessman, carpenter…). Don’t worry if you can’t use every letter.
• In the second column, list tools essential for each career (blueprints, briefcase, handsaw…). They don’t have to be alphabetical, unless you really want to challenge yourself.
• In the third column, show that the tool belongs to an individual in that career (the architect’s blueprints, the businessman’s briefcase, the carpenter’s handsaw…).
• Finally, in the fourth column, show that the tools belong to several individuals in that career (the architects’ blueprints, the businessmen’s briefcases, the carpenters’ handsaws…).

3.   Practice your possessives at www.chompchomp.com. Complete the handouts or interactive exercises for Apostrophes. Practice distinguishing it’s/its, they’re/ their/there, and whose/who’s in Word Choice.

Go to Lesson 4.

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