Sentence Format
Lesson 1
A sentence is a group of words that make up a complete idea.
What does a sentence need?
 A subject (noun)
 A predicate (verb)
 A complete idea
 Must start with a capital letter and end with punctuation.
Is this a sentence?
 We went to the museum on Tuesday.
 we had to do clean the bathroom today we had to sweep the kitchen too
Today, use appropriate sentences to write in your blogs.
Topic
My favorite sport…
 Why?
 When did you start playing it?
 Is it a professional sport?
 Who do you think the best player is at this sport?
 Do you plan on playing this sport in high school and college?
 What school?
Adjectives and Adverbs
Lesson 2
What did we work on last week?
 Sentence structure
 A sentence forms one complete idea
 Must begin with a capital letter
 Must end in punctuation
 Must have a subject (noun) and a predicate (verb).
Give two examples of sentences, one correct and one incorrect.
 The L.A. Lakers are the best team min the NBA because of Coby Briant.
 The Chicago Cubs will win the Baseball championship we want them to because
we are all Cubs fans.
Lesson 2
What is an adjective?
 A noun modifier (makes the noun better, more descriptive)
How do adjectives help make sentences more descriptive?
 They describe the noun.
How does the adjective make these sentences clearer?
 The man ran up to Michael Vick.
 The angry man ran up to Michael Vick.
 The girl was crying.
 The lonely girl was crying.
What is an adverb?
 A verb modifier (makes a verb more descriptive)
 Usually ends in –ly.
How does the adverb help in these sentences?
 I punched my brother in the shoulder yesterday.
 I playfully punched my brother in the shoulder yesterday.
 My sister ate her food at the dinner table.
 My sister barbarically ate her food at the dinner table.
Write two paragraphs about this topic. Use 4 adjectives and 4 adverbs. If you were the
CEO of a movie company and you had to make next Blockbuster movie:
 What would the movie be about?
 Who would be in it?
 What would it be about?
 What would the plot be?
Transition Words
Lesson 3
What did we work on last week?
 Adjectives and adverbs
 Sentence structure-sentence has one main idea, correct punctuation, and
capitalization
What is an adverb?
 A verb modifier-usually ending in –ly.
Lesson 3-Transition Words
A word that creates a bridge between sequences of events; it helps papers read more
smoothly.
Transition words are…
 First, second, third, next, and, then, finally, also, however
 There is always a coma after you use a transition word
How do you use one in a sentence? If you were talking about making a peanut butter and
jelly sandwich:
 First, we get the bread out.
 Next, we get out the peanut butter and jelly.
 Then, we spread the peanut butter and jelly on the bread.
 Finally, we put the pieces of bread together.
Assignment:
You are a world famous chef giving instructions to chef trainees. Give them instructions
on how to make your favorite dish.
 Use four adverbs
 Use four adjectives
 Use four transition words
Make sure you proofread. If you read it out loud to yourself you will find mistakes better
than if you don’t.
Different Kinds of Sentences
Lesson 4
What did we work on last time?
 Transition words-a word that creates a bridge between sequences of events.
Transition words help papers read more smoothly.
Lesson 4-Types of Sentences
In writing, different types of sentences must be used to get a complete thought across in
an effective way.
How many types of sentences are there? 4
 Declarative: makes a statement (ends with a period)
 Interrogative: asks a question (ends with a question mark)
 Exclamatory: makes a statement loudly (ends with an exclamation mark)
 Imperative: give a command (ends with a period)
Game: separate into groups to compete in this game. Who can write the best sentences? 4
turns
Assignment:
You are about to open your own business. Your recipe that you made last week has
become the most popular dish in Chicago. You need to get a loan from the bank in order
to pay for the location of your restaurant. Write a paragraph persuading and asking the
bank for the money necessary to open the business.
 3 adverbs
 3 adjectives
 2 interrogative sentences
 2 exclamatory sentences
Possessive Nouns
Lesson 5
What did we learn last time?
Different Types of sentences
 Declarative: makes a statement (ends with a period)
 Interrogative: asks a question (ends with a question mark)
 Exclamatory: makes a statement loudly (ends with an exclamation mark)
 Imperative: give a command (ends with a period)
Lesson 5
Possessive Nouns
What is a possessive noun? It shows ownership of something
How do you make something possessive?
 Singular add an apostrophe and an –s
 Plural add an –s and then an apostrophe
Make these sentences better using a possessive form
 The bicycles that belong to the shop owner
 The teeth that the shark has
 The pop machine that is in the school
Assignment:
You are a movie critic. Write two paragraphs about two movies.
The first movie that you take about will be a negative review.
 What is the worst movie you have ever seen and why?
The second movie you talk about is a positive review.
 What is the best movie you have ever seen and why?
Paragraph Parameters
 Use 4 possessive nouns in each paragraph
 Use 2 adverbs and 2 adjectives in each paragraph.
 Use on interrogative sentence and one exclamatory sentence in each paragraph
 Use correct punctuation and capitalization
Proofreading
Lesson 6 (2 weeks)
It’s time to proofread! The first 4 people to proofread this paragraph (provided) correctly
will get a prize. Look for capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar errors.
Assignment:
Proofread and rewrite paragraph on your blog.
Also, make a new paragraph and finish this story in your own way. Make sure you are
creative and that you use:
 4 adverbs
 4 adjectives
 3 exclamatory sentences
 Appropriate punctuation
Prepositions and Conjunctions
Lesson 7
What have we learned so far?
-Sentence structure
-Adjectives and adverbs
-Transition words
-4 types of sentences
-Possessives
-Proofreading
Today:
Conjunctions and Prepositions
Conjunction: a word that joins groups of words
 Write 3 types of conjunctions on the board
 Pass out conjunctions sheet (provided)
Prepositions: a word that shows relation of a noun to some other word in the sentence.
 Write down 3 sentences with prepositions
 Pass out prepositions sheet (provided)
Prepositional Phrase:
 Kanika went to the store before church.
 Jarell fell off the bus yesterday.
 Larry ran away from the little girls.
Narrative essay
Lesson 8 (2 weeks)
2 weeksFirst week: brain storm, start essay/post.
Second week: finish essay/post, comment on 2-3 blogs.
There are 3 types of essay formats.
 Narrative
 Persuasive
 Expository
On the upcoming ISAT test, you will be tested on each one of these essay formats. Your
knowledge of what they are, ability to write correct grammar (what we’ve been talking
about the past 2 months), and how your “voice” comes out in the essay is how you will
be graded. The next 3 weeks, we will be working on the different essay types
All essays have:
 Introductory paragraph,
 2-3 body paragraphs
 Closing paragraph.
Narrative essays are essays that tell a story. They are generally written in first person (I)
and are vivid and detailed stories about personal experiences or events.
Assignment:
If you were stranded on a deserted island...tell the story of how you would survive and
how you would get off the island.
 Make it your story…creative and your voice.
 It needs to be at least four-five paragraphs.
 At least 10 adjectives and 10 adverbs
 Clear introductory and closing paragraph…2-3 body paragraphs.
After doing the narrative essay…comment on at least three blogs. Feedback is important
especially peer feedback…so, make it constructive and informative.
Persuasive Essay
Lesson 9
Objective: To teach the youth the basics of a persuasive essay for their upcoming ISAT
test.
Persuasive essays are written to persuade/influence the readers on a specific topic that is
being addressed in the essay.
Persuasive essays have:
 Introductory paragraph,
 2-3 body paragraphs
 Closing paragraph.
Assignment:
The topics you may choose from are:
1. Why should kids your age be allowed to vote?
2. Why should the driving age be lowered? (or not)
3. Why should you not have to do folder work at Breakthrough?
Your essay should include:
 at least 4 paragraphs
 5-10 adjectives
 5-10 adverbs
 Correct punctuation and spelling.
Expository Essay
Lesson 10
Narrative essays: tell a story
Persuasive essays: try to persuade a reader on a specific topic
All Essays have:
 Introductory paragraph
 2-3 body paragraphs
 Closing paragraph
Expository Essays: an essay which shares, explains, suggests, or explores information,
emotion, and ideas.
Assignment:
Spring break is coming up!
 What are you going to do?
 Where will you go?
 Who will you be with?
 How is your spring break going to be the best?
Your essay should include:
 at least 4 paragraphs
 5-10 adjectives
 5-10 adverbs
 Correct punctuation and spelling.
Poetry
Unit 1, lesson 11
Poetry is a type of literature that is written as expression of someone’s thoughts or
actions. It is usually written in meter and a lot of the times poetry has a rhyming and
rhythm aspect to it. Poetry is designed to touch readers’ senses, emotions, and minds
Look over and try to figure out what 2 poems (provided) mean…
Assignment:
Write a poem…about anything that makes you feel or expresses your emotions. Your
poem has to have at least 10 lines.
Poetry
Unit 2, lesson 12
Continue teaching the kids about writing poems and
Autobiographical Poem
Poetry deals with the emotions, just as music. An autobiographical poem is personal—it
reveals something about the person writing the poem. It does not have to rhyme. Below is
a simple plan to write your own autobiographical poem. Just follow the steps and—
before you know it—it’s done.
Assignment:
I AM Poem
FIRST STANZA
I am (two special characteristics you have)
I wonder (something you are actually curious about)
I hear (an imaginary sound)
I see (an imaginary sight)
I want (an actual desire)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)
SECOND STANZA
I pretend (something you actually pretend to do)
I feel (a feeling about something imaginary)
I touch (an imaginary touch)
I worry (something that really bothers you)
I cry (something that makes you very sad)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)
THIRD STANZA
I understand (something you know is true)
I say (something you believe in)
I dream (something you actually dream about)
I try (something you really make an effort about)
I hope (something you actually hope for)
I am (the first line of the poem repeated)
Poetry Unit 3
Lesson 13
Acrostic Poems
An acrostic poem is verse in which the first letters of each line, when read together, make
up a word, or a verbal pattern
Example…
After an extensive winter
Pretty tulips
Rise from the once
Icy ground bringing fresh signs of
Life and the beginning of sunny days.
Assignment:
What do you think of when you walk down the street?
How would you describe your neighborhood?
E
A
S
T
G
A
R
F
I
E
L
D
P
A
R
K
Community Unit
Lesson 14
We are continuing our unit on our community and how we can impact it for the better.
Today, we are going to take the van and drive around the neighborhood, specifically
paying attention to the environment…looking out for positive and negative things you
see. As we are driving:
Take a note card:
 3 positive things you seen in our neighborhood
 3 negative things you seen in our neighborhood
Stop and check out a couple of locations.
When back at the Joshua Center:
Take 5 minutes to discuss and then the last 15 minutes, write about what you saw:
 What are the negative things that you saw?
 What are the positive things that you saw?
 Does this change your perspective of the community?
Community Unit
Lesson 15
We are continuing our unit on our community and how we can impact it for the better.
Have you ever thought, how can I, as a kid, make a difference? Well, today we are going
to research and write about youth who have made a difference in their own communities.
Break into groups:


Read out loud the articles on young people (researched) who are making a
difference in their communities and world.
Discuss the young people (researched).
Answer these questions on your blog:

What made these young people different from others who were in the same
situations?

What obstacles did your person probably have to face?

If you could change something around you what would it be?

What makes you different than all of the other young people who see the
problems in your area?

What obstacles will you have to face when dealing with issues in your
community, neighborhood or family?
Community Unit
Lesson 16
Strengths Survey
As we continue our unit on Community, today we are going to take a strengths survey.
After taking the survey you will have a clearer picture of what your strengths are. This
survey has 100 questions on it, so it’ll probably take the entire time to take it.
Next week, we will look at your results, and you will apply those results to how you can
use your individual strengths to improve your neighborhood.
Community Unit
Lesson 17
Identifying and using your strengths.
Last week, each of you took a strengths survey. This survey hopefully gave you a clear
picture of what strengths you have and how you can apply them to benefit you as a
person and your neighborhood.
Answer these questions on your blog:
 What were your results from the survey last week?
 Do you understand these results?
 Do you agree with these results?
 Of the results which strength did you find the most important?
 How could each of these strengths help you improve your neighborhood?
Community Unit
Lesson 18
For the past 5 weeks we have talked about our Community. What we like about our
neighborhood and what we would change about it. We also found what strengths we have
and how we could use our strengths to better our community. So today, for the final
lesson on Community, we are going to talk about what an ideal community would look
like.
On your blog, answer these questions:






What does your version an ideal community look like?
What would a family act/look like in an ideal community?
What kind of businesses would be in an ideal community?
What things (places) for youth to use would be in an ideal community?
What sort of things and activities would go on in an ideal community?
How does our community stack up against your ideal community?
Summer Plans
Lesson 19
Today is the last day of blogging. Soon, summer will be upon us and some of you will be
coming to our summer program; others will be doing similar things.
We are going to put to use all of the things we have learned over the past 6 months and
write a final essay.
The topic is:
What are your summer plans?
What essay form should this be in? (Narrative)
The essay must include:
 Complete sentences
 2-4 paragraphs
 4 adjectives and adverbs in each paragraph
 At least 1 Exclamatory sentence in each paragraph
 Correct punctuation and capitalization
 2 possessive nouns in each paragraph