Grammar Rule of the Week
Capitalize names of people,
titles used in front of a
person’s name, places, days,
months, holidays, and special
events.
Vocabulary Word:
Altercation (n)—a noisy dispute
Sentence Correction:
The altercation on tuesday between
joe and sam was recorded on cell
phones and posted on the internet.
Vocabulary Word:
Ambrosial (adj)—delicious; fragrant; divine
Sentence Correction:
The food in athens, greece was
ambrosial.
Journal 1:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
Many names have special meaning or history.
For example, the name Hannah means “favor”
or “grace.” The name Vito means “life.” Write
your own name. Who named you? What does
your name mean? Does it have a special ethnic
or religious significance? Are you named after
someone in your family? If you could change
your name, would you?
Grammar Rule of the Week
Capitalize names of nationalities,
peoples, languages, direction
words referring to parts of the
country, and the name of a school
subject if it comes from the name
of a country or is followed by a
Roman numeral.
Vocabulary Word:
Amalgam (n) – a mixture of different
elements
Sentence Correction:
The amalgam of students at mt. tabor
was the subject of an assignment for
the newspaper II class.
Vocabulary Word:
Ambulatory (adj)—walking or moving;
alterable
Sentence Correction:
The french patient was ambulatory
after the surgery.
Vocabulary Word:
Androgynous (adj) – having both male and
female characteristics; unisex
Sentence Correction:
The polish public restrooms are often
androgynous in the northern part of
the country.
Vocabulary Word:
Aperture (n) – an opening, a hole
Sentence Correction:
In yearbook I, students learned about the
aperture of the cameras they were using.
Journal 2:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
Songs can invoke vivid memories;
hearing a particular song can
rocket you back to seventh grade
or last summer. Write about a song
that is really evocative of a certain
time in your life.
Grammar Rule of the Week
Capitalize names, the first word
and all important words in the
titles of books, plays, newspapers,
articles, paintings, periodicals,
movies, musical compositions,
poems, and other works of art.
Vocabulary Word:
Apex (n)—highest point, summit
Sentence Correction:
The apex of the book around the world in
eighty days was when the protagonist
almost lost his bet.
Vocabulary Word:
Apparition (n)—unusual or unexpected sight
Sentence Correction:
The article in the winston-salem
journal reported that an apparition
stopped the political rally.
Vocabulary Word:
Appendage (n)—something attached to a larger
item
Sentence Correction:
In the terminator movies, victims
often lose appendages.
Journal 3:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
To the naked eye, it looks like junk, but you
know it’s precious: the beat-up stuffed animal
you slept with every night as a kid, the raggedy
baseball mitt you used in Little League, the
tooth you couldn’t bear to throw away after it
fell out. Choose a beloved object from your
own childhood and explain why you feel
sentimental about it or treasure it so much.
Grammar Rule of the Week
Capitalize references to religions,
denominations, sacred works, books of
the Bible, deities or prophets. Do not
capitalize god or goddesses when it
refers to the gods of mythology.
Vocabulary Word:
Arcane (adj)—secret, mysterious
Sentence Correction:
Many people believe that religious books
like the koran are full of arcane sayings.
Vocabulary Word:
Archetype (n)—the original pattern or model
Sentence Correction:
In genesis 1-3 in the bible, the fall of Adam
and Eve from innocence is an example of
an archetype.
Vocabulary Word:
Ballyhoo (n)—a noisy attention-getting
demonstration or talk
Sentence Correction:
Many religious groups, such as some
methodists and baptists, staged a ballyhoo
outside the theater at the release of Harry
Potter and the order of the phoenix.
Vocabulary Word:
Bedlam (n)—uproar; confusion
Sentence Correction:
In roman mythology, zeus often had to
control the bedlam created by the many
gods and goddesses who lived on
Olympus.
Journal 4:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
Obstacles constantly present themselves. Some
are fleeting, such as facing an important test in
school. Some may take years to overcome,
such as a major injury or the loss of a loved
one. Write about an obstacle, you’ve faced in
your life. Did the experience change you for
the better, or did it leave you bitter and
cynical?
Grammar Rule of the Week
Use apostrophes to show
ownership, form contractions,
and in place of omitted
numbers in a year.
Vocabulary Word:
Bellicose (adj)—warlike; quarrelsome
Sentence Correction:
The students bellicose behavior made the
teacher send him out of class.
Vocabulary Word:
Billet-doux (n) – a love letter
Sentence Correction:
The billet-doux taped to Sallys locker wasnt
the first one she had received from Tom.
Vocabulary Word:
Bombast (n) – pretentious, inflated speech
or writing
Sentence Correction:
The political campaigns of 08 were full of
bombast.
Vocabulary Word:
Bona fide (adj) – made in good faith; genuine
Sentence Correction:
The teenagers offer to wash the dishes was
a bona fide one, even though he didnt
follow through on it.
Journal 5:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
An almost infinite variety of types of love
exists. The love of parents for their children is
very different from the love of brothers for
their sisters, of wives for their husbands, of
kids for their pets, and on and on. Choose two
people in your life whom you love, and explain
how your love for each of them is different.
Grammar Rule of the Week
Fragments may lack a subject, verb,
or both, or may be punctuated
incorrectly to form an incomplete
thought.
Vocabulary Word:
Boudoir (n) – a woman’s dressing room, bedroom,
or private sitting room
Sentence Correction:
The boudoir in the mansion.
Vocabulary Word:
Brouhaha (n)—hubbub; uproar; furor
Sentence Correction:
Creating a brouhaha in class.
Vocabulary Word:
Buffoon (n)—a clown, comedian, or
laughable person
Sentence Correction:
The buffoon in first period.
Vocabulary Word:
Buttress (n) – to support or prop
Sentence Correction:
Sticking out from the roof, the buttress.
Journal 6:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
Technology has led to the discovery of vaccines and medical
treatments. It has brought computers and televisions into
people’s homes, and it has provided us with electricity, the
internet, phones, cars, planes, and much more. But an
argument can be made that technology has largely worsened
the quality of our lives, polluting the air, making our lives
needlessly stressful, and dampening our enthusiasm for books.
If you had to give up one technological advantage that you use
all the time, what would it be? Do you think you’d be better
off without it?
Grammar Rule of the Week
A run-on sentence is two or more
complete sentences written as
though they were one sentence.
Two or more sentences may not be
written without punctuation marks
or conjunctions between them.
Vocabulary Word:
Cacophonous (ad)—harsh-sounding or
confused-sounding
Sentence Correction:
The cacophonous music was coming from
the car it was bad enough to make
people cringe.
Vocabulary Word:
Cadence (n)—rhythm
Sentence Correction:
The military marches in cadence with each
other sometimes they even sing when
they march.
Vocabulary Word:
Cameo (n) – a raised image on precious stone; a
small role
Sentence Correction:
Joe Flanigan had a cameo role in an
episode of Warehouse 13 he did a great
job as the devil figure.
Vocabulary Word:
Carcinogen (n) – a substance that causes
cancer
Sentence Correction:
Cigarettes are a well-known carcinogen the
surgeon general has a warning on each
packet.
Journal 7:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
Most people have vivid memories of
certain events from childhood.
What sticks in your mind? Pick one
particularly strong memory and
describe it in detail.
Grammar Rule of the Week
Two or more sentences may not be
connected with a comma. This is
known as a “comma splice.”
Vocabulary Word:
Carnivore (n) – a flesh-eating animal
Sentence Correction:
Grizzly bears are carnivores, it is not a
good idea to run from them.
Vocabulary Word:
Caucus (n) – a closed meeting of members of a
political party of faction
Sentence Correction:
The Republican caucus was just as large
as the Democratic one, they both
discussed different topics, however.
Vocabulary Word:
Celestial (adj) – heavenly
Sentence Correction:
The celestial reflection of the moon on the
water was romantic, there were many
couples enjoying the beautiful view.
Vocabulary Word:
Circumvent (v)—to avoid by going around;
to encircle; to outwit
Sentence Correction:
Many people believe that you cannot
circumvent your fate, others believe that
you have no fate and can make your life
what you want it to be.
Journal 8:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
You probably share a basic outlook on
life with your friends. However, most
people have a few beliefs that would
shock their friends. Write about a belief
of yours that annoys or surprises the
people who are close to you.
Grammar Rule of the Week
A comma is used before a
coordinating conjunction joining
two main clauses.
Vocabulary Word:
Citadel (n) – a fortress
Sentence Correction:
The college felt like a citadel, but it was
easy to get on and off campus.
Vocabulary Word:
Cogitate (v)—to ponder or think intently
Sentence Correction:
The teacher encouraged the students to
cogitate about the answer to the question
but many students answered quickly.
Vocabulary Word:
Comatose (n)—unconscious; inactive
Sentence Correction:
After the surgery, Tom was comatose and
he was moved to intensive care.
Vocabulary Word:
Conflagration (n)—large, destructive fire
Sentence Correction:
The conflagration in the mountains was the
worst in history, but the firefighters
managed to extinguish it.
Journal 9:
(paraphrase the prompt in the space provided on your warm-up)
Suppose you win $10 million in the
lottery, but there’s a catch: You have to
donate half of the money to charity.
What charity would you choose? What
would you do with the money you got to
keep?