IEW- Week 19

Time is ticking! We've got three papers left, can you believe it?

Marble Madness is upon us:
1 marble for turning in your paper (or any past papers that you haven't turned in)
5 marbles for a copy and paste picture from the internet
10 marbles for a hand illustrated paper
AND
25 marbles for the "Best Title" (as voted on by the class)

We will be sticking with Unit 7 for the remainder of the year. This week, Lesson 23, is a Level A one paragraph paper due next week.

Next week (week 20) we start a two week paper, Lesson 24, and you can do Level A or B.

Week 22 we will start our last paper, Lesson 25, your choice of Level A or B and it will be due Week 24.

And that's all folks! Our marble jar should be full by then and then we can par-tay!

Don't forget that the point of doing this unit over and over again is to really hammer in the process and organizing strategy for future writing needs. This will create confidence as well as efficiency when they go to pull of those essays that'll be coming their way soon.

Remind them to use those critique words from last week and to make sure that the points they make in their paragraph are backed up with facts from the story. Many of them seemed to be leaning towards the tailor being a bad guy and that's totally fine (from a moral and  Christian perspective I think we can all agree on that) but there is much value in learning to "argue the flip side" or as our beloved Challenge B director always says to play "angel's advocate" to the popular viewpoint. This is especially so for those students who are becoming more dialectic or need more challenge but don't want to do the Level B assignment.

Let me know if I can be of assistance in any way or answer any questions that pop up as you dig in to this paper.

Blessings,
Melissa

IEW- Week 18

Thank you moms for making this a wonderful day! And thank you Rose for heading up the math part of it despite feeling so crummy.

All of the menus and worksheets were saved and page protected so that we can play this game again and again (sans food) until they get quite comfortable with the concepts of tax and tip and subtotals and unit pricing and all that practical math stuff. Thank you to all the moms who jumped in to help whoever needed help. Totally a team effort all around.

Now, on to the assignment of that week: Lesson 22. This lesson is very well laid out in the book and really holds your hand through the process. I highly recommend that everyone do Level A since this is a one week paper. However, if you feel you need an extra challenge, Level B instructions are spelled out on the last page of the lesson. It is a 3 paragraph paper with an opening topic and final clincher. If you really want to take it to the next level, the unit 7 chart in the student notebook lays out how to stretch this to a 5 paragraph essay.

Here's the scoop:
-one week
-one paragraph
-one thing
-can be first person
-illustrations get an extra 5 marbles

Nitty-gritty:
Pretending that you are a Medieval peasant who has visited 2014 for a brief 24 hr period, what are you going to tell your friends when you get back home? Pick ONE THING to describe and then use your 5 sense words (and other decorations and dress-ups and sentence openers) to put it in terms that they can understand (remember, you can tell them that you saw a cool telephone-eth ;) but they don't have a clue what a telephone-eth is. It would be better to describe it as a "magical box that voices come out of".... or "a box that lights up and rings"... or.... you get the picture).

Remember:
The goal is one well written, solid paragraph that practices the format that you will need in future essay writing from prompts such as on standardized achievement tests and college admissions essays. Don't forget the topic sentence, clincher sentence and a title that repeats and reflects. Just a reminder, a paragraph is 4 to 7 sentences.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me!
Blessings,
Melissa

PS- I know many of you are feeling quite under the weather and have sicklin's at home. Several of you have expressed concern. Grace and mercy to you! This is one of the reasons why this and the next few assignments are listed as Level A only. It's that time of year and we want to be practical as well as accountable. No crying in Essentials! Only you know the needs of your family.

Restaurant Party Math Game

Well! It's put a monkey wrench in things, but hasn't this weather been fun? My munchkins have certainly enjoyed the party atmosphere it brought even while doing their schoolwork.

Here's the run down of who signed up for what... please note that there are a few holes! In an effort to not have double of something and nothing of something else, please PLEASE :D leave a comment on the blog so that everyone can stay on the same page.  You don't have to have an account. Promise. It's not scary. I'm totally button-phobic and even I can make it work. Trust me. :D

Also, table hostesses, Rhonda and Rose will be your women in charge for instructions and explanations on Tuesday. Please  make sure you touch bases with them. I'm assuming they will have a little impromptu meeting of some sort so that they only have to say things once and answer all questions together but that's up to them.... :) so keep your ears open for details!

Table Hostesses:
Julie Hilts
Rebecca Stewart
Cynthia Zielny
Susan Matthews
Sherry Dula
Debby Webb
*** We really need at least two more.

Please bring enough for 20 people:
apple slices: Toni Montgomery
orange slices: Susan Matthews
celery: Carole Shupe
pretzels: Erin Varnell
tortilla chips: Julie Hilts
pita chips: Melissa Harrell
raisins: Shelly Brazinski
caramel dip: Karen Hinson
chocolate syrup: Debby Webb
yogurt for dipping: Rhonda Linn
salsa: Sherry Dula
hummus: Cynthia Zielny
peanut butter: Amy Conrad
mini marshmallows: Rebecca Stewart
hot chocolate: Lisa Maier
lemonade: Rose Bate
 napkins: Melissa Harrell


STILL IN NEED OF:
water: ???
cups for hot liquid: ???
cups for cold liquid (could be same kind... but hot chocolate needs to go be in a heat safe cup): ???
plates: ???
 

Have a great weekend! See you Tuesday!

IEW- Week 17

Today we really dug into some specific vocabulary to use and weave throughout our critique.

I remembered to say it in one class but not the other: notice that "critique words" are used throughout the entire paper. Particularly in the intro and conclusion paragraphs but also in the body of the paper. Do not simply re-tell the story but comment on the story as you are re-telling it. Re-read the sample critiques and notice how it flows and works together just as we did in class.

This paper is due next week. Also next week is our super secret, super fun Math Game Party!

We'll be getting in touch with you in a separate email about those details. Rhonda and Rose are the moms-in-the-know about the details of this so if you are a hostess, look for them on Tuesday. They'll be calling the shots since Karen and I will be focusing on the lessons at hand. They have really put together some fun ideas and it's going to be a party to remember for sure!

For those of you who missed class, we covered lesson #20 and I had a handout with some extra words to use for critiquing. If you would like a copy, please let me know. I will do my best to get it to you (it's not digital).

Just a reminder:

Level A- Introductory paragraph, one body paragraph that follows the story sequence chart from Unit 3, and a conclusion paragraph. 3 total paragraphs.

Level B- Intro. paragraph, 3 body paragraphs that follows the story sequence chart from Unit 3, and a conclusion paragraph. 5 total paragraphs.

If you have any questions, please let me know.
Blessings,
Melissa

IEW- Week 16

It's always fun to start a new paper and a new unit.

This unit builds on what we did the past two weeks: the story sequence chart. This form works beautifully for book reports and reviews/ critiques of all kinds. Papers are due not next week but Week 18. Next week we will work on polishing our critiques and talking through some of the vocabulary used in more formal writing.

Don't forget that Lesson #19 walks you through writing a critique step by step and the additional worksheets in the back of the student notebook will give you tips on NOT using "I" and "You."

Thank you to everyone who signed up to help with our special math game on Week 18. There are still a few slots open. Rose Bate and Rhonda Lin are available to answer any questions you might have as well as to explain what is needed by our table hostesses.

If you have any questions or need any assistance, please email me. The DVD for this lesson is floating around. Please let me know if you want to check it out.

Have fun with this!
Melissa

IEW- Week 15

Well! How was that for a marathon-cram-it-all-in kind of day? It was nice to get out a bit early and play in the snow but....

We did hit the highlights, though again, we didn't have time to go into as many examples as I would have preferred. I hope I didn't lose them.

For those the weather kept away, we did Lesson 17 in the book covering simile. We also tossed in metaphor. The gray "Decorations" pages (pg 44) in the student book walk you through the process of creating one on your own. Metaphors are not required but the more options they know about, the more they have to play with. Level B and graduating students may need the extra challenge of tossing a few in. These are marked in the right margin (sim. or met.).

We also covered the dress-up in Lesson 18, because clause. The white pages in the very back of your student notebook ( pg. 77, the un-page protected ones) cover this topic as well. You will notice that www.Asia.Buuba is a hair different from the EEL version. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. It is the same thing with different options.

If these clauses get used in the beginning of a sentence they are considered a #5 Sentence Opener and notated in the left margin (#5). These are, again, not required but a fabulous extra challenge for the students who have the rest of the sentence openers under control.

If these clauses are used in the middle of a sentence, they are notated in the right margin (cl).

Just remember to use the formula we had on the board. Make sure that the sentence makes sense and actually IS a sentence on it's own before the extra tidbit of information (the clause) is added in.

Our contest for next week is to illustrate. I should've mentioned in class that I have absolutely no intention of judging this competition! My heart could never do that. I'm going to find  way to tape up all the pictures for display somehow so that everyone can enjoy them and every picture gets an extra marble or two. So, even if you download something off of the internet, you get credit for it.

Last week I got a few questions about creative license. Yes! Have at it! The heart of this assignment is to learn the structure for narrative story telling (that's the NotePoster from last week and the IEW chart in your book for Unit 3). As long as they maintain that structure, they can ad lib characters and conversations and alter details to fit the furthest limits of their imaginations!

We have some really awesome moms who're working on a special math game for week 18 (Rhonda Lin and Rose Bate) so keep your ears open for the  munchie sign-up sheet that'll be passing around soon.

Don't forget: paper with illustration due next next. Let me know if anyone has any questions. It's hard to get papers done when we get interrupted by sickness and weather at every turn and I know the last few weeks have been rough on more than a few of us. Take heart and cut yourself slack if you need to.

Enjoy building your snowman!
Melissa

I am making plans to show next week's IEW DVD  at some point this week. Email me if you are interested in attending.

IEW- Week 14

Today we began a two week assignment that focuses on the story sequence chart, the building blocks of every great story.

We also covered proper punctuation when using quotations and conversations. (Page 67 in the Grammar Rules section of the student notebook and page 22-lesson #3- in the Medieval History book.)

The assignment is to complete lesson #16 this week. That should give you 3 rough draft paragraphs. The lesson in the book is laid out in a step by step fashion so as to make this easy for new students and it should provide a springboard for the creative minds of these students to go off in wonderful places.

Next week we will cover two new concepts, because clauses and simile, and add those into the final drafts so make sure that you leave some room!

Since we have had several families miss class due to illness and other reasons, I will be happy to make my teaching script (don't laugh, yes I actually type out every word that I need to say in class! We have such precious little time and there is so much to cover.) available to anyone who wants it. It will walk you through what was done in class if you have to miss it. The IEW DVDs are also available for check out as well. Don't underestimate the amazing resource that your Medieval History book is though, it covers everything beautifully and I am always here to answer questions.

Delve into "The Sword and the Stone" and let your characters talk to each other!

Let me know if I can help in any way,
Melissa