Compound Subjects and Predicates/Compound Sentences
Lesson Outline
Compound subjects and predicates
compound sentences
We continued working on compound subjects, predicates, and sentences. Clay had a little trouble with the concepts, but wrote 10 sentences of each. Of note is this is the first time I saw him smile and get into the challenge of writing. Granted, it was to prove me wrong, but it led to conversation of how he should approach his writing from now. He's a very competitive kid and I'd like to seem him get into the challenge.
Go over expository paragraph and make any corrections necessary. Select a picture of a model Lego car to include, then start typing the final paper. Will did a good job today...I enjoy working with him.
Will has almost finished writing his expository paragraph - "Making a Car With Legos". Hopefully he will be able to start typing his final copy tomorrow. Will was rather talkative today and I always like for him to share his thoughts, however, some were not on topic so it's taking a while to finish this assignment. I think he chose a difficult topic...he doesn't seem able to tell what to do first, next, etc.
Oliver had done a good bit of work on his paper, and really just needed help cleaning it up. We went through the paper pararagraph by paragraph and he should be in good shape.
We started working on the difference between compound subjects and predicates, and compound sentences. We did a couple of worksheets on subjects and predicates, and then I introduced Clay to FANBOYS (conjunctions used to join two complete sentencese). He did very well.
Clay was very focused today and did a pretty solid job with his writing. We really focused on topic sentences and how to set up a paragraph. It seems like he's starting to get the hang of it.
Fast Forward
Vocabulary - Review terms - shun, despite, conceal, obsolete, magnate, resident, ruthless, climate, swelter, and wean.
Reading - Introduce folktales - a story based on traditions of people/region handed down from one generation to another. Read/discuss orally "Kiera's Magical Moment" - use context clues to determine meaning of unfamiliar words. Devon had a good session - she did very well with vocabulary for story using context clues. Her attitude this year is much better. She has a great personality.
Review writing an expository paragraph - read three different example paragraphs and discuss. Will selected his topic - "How to Make a Car With Legos" - begin to write the rough draft. Will had some difficulty staying focused today...last class of the day, perhaps. I asked him to work on it at home.
We continued working on writing paragraphs today, and Clay continues to improve. The actual process of writing seems to be getting easier for him, but he needs to work on being more descriptive and developing his ideas more fully. I had him write about his two favorite basketball players, and while he got the information down, it was far too general. When he writes paragraphs, he thinks he just has to write 5 sentences and will literally count them down till he's down. We talked about fully developing his ideas and trying to give as much information as possible. We'll keep working on it.
Clay did a great job writing about his weekend today. Usually he'll drag his feet and not know what to say, but today he sat down and cranked out 10 descriptive sentences with compound subjects and predicates. I wanted him to focus on being as descriptive as possible. After he finished, we worked on putting the sentences together to form paragraphs. He's really improving.
