August 17

WEEK ONE: Day One

Essential Question:

How will we work effectively and productively together in the classroom?

Essential Skill or Concept:

Classroom behavior and learning procedures

Mini-Lesson Outline:

A. The teacher will explain class behavior.

1. All school rules apply for everyone.

2. Everyone must be prompt and in assigned seats ready to learn when the teacher closes the door.

3. Everyone must be prepared - i.e., have all class materials and know due dates.

4. Students will NOT be permitted to go to their lockers or the restrooms during the class period. Take care of issues between classes.

5. Students will NOT be permitted to borrow materials from the teacher or classmates.

6. Students and teacher will be polite, respectful, and positive.

7. Students will raise hands to be called upon and then speak in normal tones of voice.

8. Students and teacher will listen attentively.

9. Students and teacher will be productive. We will use class time wisely, submit work on time, and always do our best.

B. The teacher will review materials needed for each class.

1. 3-ring binder with multiple dividers (more than one inch side)
2. Loose leaf paper
3. Black pen
4. Small index cards
5. Small index box for the index cards

C. The teacher will model typical class components.

1. The teacher will demonstrate use of the class blog.

2. The teacher will introduce the procedure for daily vocabulary study that culminates each week with a quiz on Wednesday. Students will practice the daily procedure with materials provided by the teacher.

3. The teacher will introduce the procedure for addressing the daily "Essential Question." Students will observe how materials are organized and utilized during class to prepare to work. They will demonstrate their understanding by organizing their materials accordingly.

4. Students will discuss how these classroom procedures will help them be effective learners.

5. Students will arrive in class tomorrow prepared to be effective students.

August 18

WEEK ONE: Day Two

Unit Theme:

Grammar and syntax comprehension enhances one's reading and writing ability.

Unit Essential Question:

How do grammar and syntax affect our understanding of language?

Essential Skill or Concept: Grammar and syntax unit overview

Mini-Lesson Outline:

A. The teacher will explain the terms:

ADVANCED Rhetoric builds an effective and interesting style

The writer’s word and phrase choice (diction) is impressive, and the sentence structure is sophisticated and varied (syntax).

BASIC Rhetoric builds on the foundation of
Grammar
Correct spelling
Mechanics
Usage
Complete thoughts

B. The teacher will ask students "How do we build the basic sentence or complete thought?".

The teacher will gauge students’ understanding of sentence strategy basics by having them demonstrate in writing in their notebooks. Students may volunteer to share on the board.

C. The teacher will have students practice exercises in their "Grammar Training Camp" handout, "Simple Sentences, Part 1."

The teacher will work with students individually according to skill levels.

D. For homework, students will study the corrected forms in today's handout and know terms discussed in the class review:

diagramming as a tool to understanding function and relationship

parts of a sentence: subject and verb

complete subject and simple subject

complete predicate and simple predicate

compound subject and compound verb

simple sentence (classification)

declarative sentence, interrogative sentence, imperative sentence, exclamatory sentence (sentence type according to purpose of the writer)

S V (sentence pattern: Subject + verb)

parts of speech:

1. noun, common noun, proper noun

2. pronoun, personal pronouns used as subjects, indefinite pronouns used as subjects, interrogative pronouns used as subjects