1. Table of Contents 10/13/09 9:05 AM
# Label Date
1 Notebook Rules 9/25
2 Writing Environment 9/25
3 Nouns 9/28
4 Verbs 9/28
5 Writing Process 9/28
6 Transitions 10/1
7 Verb Tense 10/1
8 Subjects and Predicates 10/6
9 Rules for Video Making 10/8
10 Instead of “Said” 10/29
11 Six Traits 12/1
12 Prepositions 12/2
13 Great Beginnings 1/12
14 Figurative Language (Simile) 1/22
15 Figurative Language (Metaphor) 1/22
16 Figurative Language (Personification) 1/29
17 Figurative Language (Onomatopoeia) 1/29
18 Articles/Adjectives/Adverbs 2/1
19 Haiku (Poetry) 2/3

2. 10/13/09 9:05 AM
1. Notebook Rules 9/25
• Stay within the margins
• Don’t tear out ANY pages… EVER!
• Neat enough to read
• DRAW only if directed
• Use pencil or blue/black ink
A Side (Front) “Eagle Side”
• Write on the FRONT
• Use minimal GLUE
• Paste paper in the correct spot
• Notes are COMPLETE
B Side (Back) “Me Side”
• Write on the FRONT and BACK
• Label entries as directed
• Skip a line between entries
•

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2. Writing Environment
• LOOKS likes:
o Cleared space; notebook ONLY
o Pencil or pen moving
o Body still or quiet
• SOUNDS like:
o Quiet & silent
o Pages turning
o Pencil or pen moving
o Minimal erasing
• FEELS like:
o Focused
o Excited
o Peaceful
o Relaxing
o Ideas are flowing

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3. Nouns
• Review
o Common and Proper nouns
 dog (common) lowercase
 Rusty (Proper) Uppercase first letter
o Singular and Plural nouns
 dog (singular)
 dogs (plural) add –s
 special plurals
• baby
o replace y with i
o add – es
o baby >>> babies
• box
o ad –es
box >>> boxes

5. 10/13/09 9:05 AM
4. Verbs
• Review
o ACTION verbs
 Physical action verbs
 Jump, run, climb, give (can act these out)
 Mental action verbs
 Remember, think, understand, learn
o STATE-OF-BEING verbs (a.k.a Linking)
 Is, am, are, was, were
 I am happy. He is sad. We are excited!
o HELPING & MAIN verbs
 Mr. Alfonso is grading papers
 “is” – is the helping verb (“is” is also a linking
verb)
Grading – is the main verb

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5. Writing Process

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6. Transitions
• can be OBVIOUS and CONCRETE
o Used to go from one subject to another
o Used to go from one step to the next
o Used to communicate a change in time
 OR what happens next
• can be ABSTRACT
o don’t jump off the page
o You make abstract transitions by
 Emphasizing words or phrases
 Use synonyms (words that mean the same thing)
When you make your transition choice, remember:
• Your audience – Who will read your paper?
• Your purpose – Why are you writing and what do you want to
prove/explain
First… > Another… > Next…
First of all… > In addition… > Finally…
To begin… > Next… > The final…
One example… > Another example…
One way… > Another way…
BURY your TRANSITIONS
• Example
o First, we collected wood. (OBVIOUS transition)
o After we picked the campsite, my friends and I decided that
collecting wood was our first and most important chore.
(BURIED transition)

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7. Verb Tense
• Definition: shows WHEN the action happens
o Three basic verb tenses
 Present
 Past
 Future
o Present
 Shows action that is happening NOW or on a regular
basis
 Example
• Kyle runs to the net.
• Mr. Alfonso often runs during the week.
o Past
 Shows action that has already happened (add –ed)
 Fish >>> I fished yesterday.
 See >>> We saw my grandfather last week.
• Regular/Irregular verbs
o Fish > fished
o See > Seed NOT CORRECT
o Ran > Ranned NOT CORRECT
o Future
 Shows an action that will happen. Use “will” or “shall”
with the main verb to show what will happen in the
future
 I will fish tomorrow.
We will see my grandfather next week.

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8. Subjects and Predicates (Dropping the Wall)
• Every sentence has a subject and a predicate.
o Mr. Alfonso sang.
 SUBJECT: Mr. Alfonso
 PREDICATE: sang
o Subject tells whom or what the sentence is about
o Predicate tells what the subject is or does
• Ex. Of dropping the wall
o Mr. Alfonso | sang.
 The wall separates SUBJECT and PREDICATE
Ex: The students, who are in Mr. Alfonso’s class, | sang in front of the
entire school.
o Andrew Chavez fell off his chair… AGAIN!
o All the girls giggled and whispered.
o He began to blush!
COMPLETE SUBJECT includes all the words that tell whom or what the
sentence is about.
SIMPLE SUBJECT is the main word of the complete subject.
• The very handsome boy played piano for the Talent Show.
• Underlined = complete subject
• Circled = simple subject
COMPLETE PREDICATE includes all the words that tell what the subject is or
does
SIMPLE PREDICATE is the main word in the complete predicate
• The very handsome boy played piano for the Talent Show.
•
• Double-underlined = complete predicate
• Boxed = simple predicate
•

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9. Roles for Video Making
• 3 Roles
o Director
o Actor
o Not-in-the-movie
•
o Director
 In charge of the camera
 Press record, press stop
 Set up the shot
• Based on the STORYBOARD
 “Did we get everything in the shot”
• Dialogue
• Expression
•
o Actors/Actresses
 Knowing their lines
 Practicing
 Studying/knowing the STORYBOARD
o
o Not-in-the-movie
 Assist the director, the actors
 Slate/mark the scene
 Knowing the STORYBOARD
Operate the BOOM Mic

12. 10/13/09 9:05 AM
10. Instead of “Said”
• Use words like”
o Admitted, announced, agreed, argued
 Mr. Alfonso admitted, “Yes, yes. It was me. I ate your
cupcake.”
 “We’re going to the dance together,” announced Lucy.
 Johnny agreed, “I like movies too!”
 “Why can’t we go there too?” argued Joy.
o
o Babbled, bragged, bargained
 “I like dolls. Don’t you like dolls? They’re adorable,
aren’t they. Just adorable. I could eat one up right now
they’re soooooo cute!” babbled Donald.
 Jonathon bragged, “I won the football game for my
school!”
 “How about $5 instead of $24.99? bargained my
mother.
o
o Commanded, complained, called, cried
 “Get to work!” commanded Sergeant Alfonso.
 The class complained, “It’s too much work!”
 “You can do it,” called their mothers.
“I’m trying my, my… b-, b-, beeesssstttt, “ cried Susie.

13. 10/13/09 9:05 AM
11 Six Traits
• Ideas & Content
• Organization
• Conventions
• ~~~~~~~~~~~
• Voice
• Word Choice
• Sentence Fluency
o Ideas & Content
 Make sure your topic is small enough to handle
 “A slice of pizza, not the whole thing!”
 I want to SHOW not TELL
 SHOWING: “The wildly spiraling tornado aimed
straight for our barn.”
 TELLING: “It was scary.”
 Accurate details (5 Senses)
 Do I know a lot about the topic? YES
 I filled my paper with interesting tidbits that make it
FUN & LIVELY

o Organization
 !!! My beginning GRABS the reader’s attention and
gives clues about what is coming. LEADING
 All the details are in the right place. SEQUENCE
 My pacing is well controlled. PACING
 I know when to slow down and give more details.
I know when to move on and pick the pace.
 Transitions show how my ideas are connected.
TRANSITIONS
 My conclusion leaves the reader with a sense of closure
or resolution.
 My title is original.
 Alliteration
Awkward Aliens Ate All my Apples!

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12. Prepositions
• Relates a noun or pronoun to the rest of a sentence
o Prepositions can relate to:
 TIME
 DIRECTION
 LOCATION
 RELATIONSHIP
o
o Ex: I read a book. NO PREPOSITION
o I read a book under the tree. PREPOSITION
 under is the preposition
 tree is the object of the preposition
 “under the tree” is the prepositional phrase
 HINT: the noun after the preposition is usually the
OBJECT of the preposition
•
o Ex: Javonte leaned against the wall.
 Preposition: against
 Object of the preposition: wall
 Prepositional phrase: against the wall
o
TIME: after lunch, before school DIRECTION: up the hill, beyond the city
LOCATION: near the house, beside the car RELATIONSHIP: with my sister

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13 Great Beginnings – Intro for Meeting a Mermaid…
• 6 Ways NOT to Make a Good Impression
o The Limp Handshake/Zero Eye Contact
 “It was a nice day to do something outside. I wondered
what I could do, but couldn’t think of anything…
 BORING
 NOT COMPELLING
o The Never-Ending Small Talk Intro
 “One bright sunny day in July I woke up. I got dressed
and went down for breakfast. Dad had made me waffles
with syrup and bacon on the side. It was delicious….
 NOT RELEVANT
o The Stick-to-the-Facts Intro
 “This story is about the day I went to the beach and
met a mermaid. I saw the mermaid….
 TELLS WHAT IT’S ABOUT
• JUST TELL THE STORY!
o The Cliché Intro
 “Once upon a time my mother bought to the beach. We
parked over near the hot dog stand and I got out…”
 FAIRY-TALE-ish
o The Tell-All-About-Me Intro
 “Hi, my name is Tiffany. I am eight years old and I live
in Stratford. I have brown hair and green eyes. I have a
dog….”
 PERSONAL INFO. IS IRRELEVENT TO STORY
 GOOD FOR AN AUTHOR’S BIO, NOT THE STORY

• 6 GREAT WAYS TO START
o With a QUESTION
 How would you tell your family and friends that your
best friend is mermaid?
o With DIALOGUE
 “You’ve never seen a mermaid before?” Ariel asked.
o With an INTERESTING FACT

o With a STRONG OPINION or FEELING
 There are no such things as mermaids!

16. o With a SINGLE WORD or SENTENCE FRAGMENT
 Mermaid? My mother is a…
o With something that leaves the reader WONDERING
I could hear singing coming from the swimming pool and I
knew it wasn’t just the radio.

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14 Figurative Language
Four Kinds

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15 Figurative Language (Metaphor)

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16 Figurative Language (Personification)

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17 Figurative Language (Onomatopoeia)

21. 10/13/09 9:05 AM
18 Articles/Adjectives/Adverbs
• The, a and an belong to a special group of adjectives called articles.
o “A” and “an” are INDEFINITE articles.
 Use “A” before nouns beginning with a consonant.
o Use “An” before nouns beginning with a vowel sounds.
 a hurricane
 an overcoat
 a closet
 a speedboat
 an umbrella
o “The” is a definite article because it identifies specific people,
places, things.
 For example:
 the storm
 the house
the car

22. 10/13/09 9:05 AM
19 Haiku
• Haiku is a tradition form of Japanese poetry.
o It’s composed of 17 syllables
o Haiku is arranged 5, 7, 5 syllables
 Review: Syllable
 a unit of pronunciation having ONE VOWEL SOUND
• For ex:
o syllable
 syl | la |ble

 More examples
 dic | tion | ar | y
• frog
• laugh | ter
• to |geth | er
o fam | I | ly