February 21, 2011

Grammar: Subjects and VerbsWriting: Effective Writing/Topic

Sentences

Housekeeping

Michele will be back on Wednesday.

Subjects and Verbs, p. 406• As we discussed last week, a simple sentence must

have a subject and verb part (predicate).

• Ex: The children laughed.

(subject) (verb)

• A subject is

who or what the sentence is about

• The verb

what the sentence says about the subject

(usually an action word. . .)

Finding Subjects, p. 406

• To find the subject of a sentence, ask yourself “Who or what is the sentence about?”

Ex: The children laughed.Several branches fell.Most students passed the test.The man is a hero.

Finding Verbs, p. 406

• To find the verb part (predicate) of a sentence, ask yourself “what does the sentence say about the subject?”

Ex: The children laughed.Several branches fell.Most students passed the test.The man is a hero.

Another way to find the verb

• replace the word that comes before the word you think is a verb with a pronoun (I, you, he, she, it, they)

• If it makes sense then the word is a verb.

Ex: Several branches fell. They fell.

Activity 1, p. 407Do as many as you can in 5 minutes. We will go over them all.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

More about Subjects and Verbs, p. 407

More about Subjects and Verbs, p. 407

• many verbs are made up of more than one word

Ex: smile, will smile, was smiling, had smiled, etc.

• words like not, just, never, only, and always are not part of the verb even if they appear inside the verb

Ex: She did not like the movie at all.

More about Subjects and Verbs, p. 407

• no verb preceded by to is ever the verb part (predicate) of the sentence

Ex: Kerry planned to arrive on time.NOT: Kerry planned to arrive on time.

• no –ing word is ever the verb of the sentence without a helping verb

NOT: She wearing her favourite dress.BUT: She is wearing her favourite dress.

Activity 2, p. 409Do as many as you can in 5 minutes. We will go over them all.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.

10 Minute Break

Effective Writing

Good writing has

• unity (a single focus)

• support (details and examples)

• coherance (clear and logical)

• sentence skills (grammatically correct)

Review of Paragraph Structure

• Start with a topic sentence that clearly defines the main point of your paragraph (unity)

• Give three reasons to support your point; (support)

• Provide specific details or examples for each reason (support)

• Use transition signals to show the relationship between ideas (coherance)

Begin with a Point, Page 47

To understand this idea of “unity” or “focus,” let’s look at some examples in our text.

Begin with a Point, Page 47

Complete the following statement:

Paragraph _____ is effective because it makes a clear, single point, in the first sentence and goes on in the remaining sentence to support that point.

Discuss your choice with a classmate.

Topic Sentences

• should be the first sentence in the paragraph• contain the main point of a paragraph• give focus to the paragraph (unity)• are a promise to the reader about what the

paragraph will be about

Effective Topic Sentences should

• state one main idea or opinion that could be supported with specific evidence

Ex: I hate my Ford Escort.

Effective Topic Sentences have

• two main parts– the limited topic– the writer’s attitude about the topic

Ex: I hate my Ford Escort.

Ex: My girlfriend is very aggressive.Ex: Voting should be required by law in Canada.

Topic Sentences should not

• “announce” the topic

Ex: I want to talk about my Ford Escort.

Topic Sentences should not

• be too broad

Ex: Many people have problems with their cars.

Topic Sentences should not

• be too narrow

Ex: My car is a Ford Escort.

Activity 10, p. 65

• Read sentences 1-5.

• Identify (on your own paper) the topic and the idea about the topic (expressed in key words)

Activity 10, p. 65

1. Billboards should be abolished.2. My boss is an ambitious man.3. Politicians are often self-serving.4. The apartment needed repairs.5. Television commercials are often insulting.

Activity 12, p. 68

• Read each group of supporting details and then try to write a topic sentence for them.

(Ask yourself what general topic they have in common and what idea or view about that topic they seem to support.)

• Do as many as you can in the next ten minutes. Do not worry if you do not have time to do them all.

Activity 12, p. 68

1.

2.

3.

Activity 12, p. 68

4.

5.

Homework

1. Online Grammar Practice – Subjects and Verbs

2. “All Grown Up and Still in Tow” for Wednesday

• Re-read the article as many times as you need to understand it (we will be doing in-class work on it next Wednesday)

• Word Families, p. 267 /5 marks– Write a short paragraph using the following words:

adolescent (adj.), advice (n.), advise (v.), intervene (v.), negotiation (n.) Copying sentences from the dictionary, website, or other sources is considered plagiarism (cheating) and will receive a mark of zero (0).