A one-month CRASH COURSE
in the basics of grammar
that students should have learned
long before they came to high school!
Paul C. Pinza
Westmont High School
Fall 2002
mailto:gakmama@hotmail.com
(408) 378-1500 ext. 6252
*** NOTE: The lessons herein are structured according to
a block schedule --- 90 minute class periods, the first 20 of which are devoted
to silent reading. Teachers on a standard schedule should know that one
ìdayî of this packet will actually cover two calendar days within
a 50 minute class structure.
This ribbon indicates the specific Language Arts standard
addressed by each part of the ìBoot Campî.
The first number indicates grade level. 9th/10th grade standards are listed as
ì10î.
The letter indicates the area of the standard.
ìRî = Reading,
ìWî = Writing, ìCî =
Conventions, and ìSî = Listen/Speaking.
The final number references the specific standard
addressed.
DAY ONE: Distinguishing between complete sentences and
fragments.
LESSON A: Identifying Nouns.
MATERIALS: A small stack of Post-It notes for each
student.
(Cut a regular stack into strips to create multiple
packs.)
ACTIVITY: Each student gets one minute to find and label
as many nouns in the room as possible. To label a noun, write the name of the
noun on a Post-It and sticks it onto the noun. No repeat labeling is allowed!
If someone labels the chair ìchairî, you canít do the same.
You can, however, label it ìfurnitureî.
AFTERWARDS: Clean up Post-Itís. Introduce the
nature of abstract nouns --- nouns like justice, peace, thought, and idea that
cannot be labeled.
LESSON
B: Identifying Verbs.
MATERIALS: A 2-minute video clip of an active sports
highlight OR the requisite sports equipment for a quick game amongst the class.
(Basketball and soccer are pretty easy to set up, provided you have the field
space.)
ACTIVITY: Each student watches the video clip and lists
as many actions as they see. Anything that anyone does is listed. Each entry on
the list should be one word long; the word should describe the action
occurring.
VARIATIONS: I.
Show the video twice ñ once on ìMuteî, then a second time
with the play-by-play. Students can add the announcersí verbs to their
list.
II.
Choose students to record their own audio play-by-play while the rest of the
class plays the sport. Play back the announcersí later, and create the
verb list from that.
AFTERWARDS: List everyoneís verbs on the board.
You could also sort them into two categories to introduce the concept of
transitive vs. intransitive action verbs.
LESSON C: Identifying Adjectives.
MATERIALS: A series of vivid pictures or pieces of art.
These can be mounted on posterboards, copied into packets, or put into a
PowerPoint presentation.
ACTIVITY: Each student views each picture and describes
what they see (these can be written or oral descriptions). As the descriptions
are shared, list only the adjectives on the board.
AFTERWARDS: See if students can remember the items that
connect to each adjective. What do the items have in common? Theyíre all
nouns.
LESSON D: Identifying Adverbs.
MATERIALS: Exercise C on p. 53 of the grammar exercises
in the back of this packet.
ACTIVITY - LECTURE: Show students how adverbs can
describe verbs and other adjectives. Show them how adding ì-lyî to
most adjectives changes them into adverbs. Then show them exceptions:
ìlonelyî and ìonlyî, for instance.
EVALUATION (Lessons A- D): Students complete Exercise C
on p. 53.
[ Remember, kids, if you can tell a noun from a verb, you
should be able to distinguish the adjectives from the adverbs! ]
AFTERWARDS: Debrief answers and see if students need to
review nouns vs. verbs or adjectives vs. adverbs.
LESSON E: Identifying Subjects and Verbs
(Predicates).
MATERIALS: Sentence Exercise A on p. 74 of the grammar
exercises in the back of this packet.
ACTIVITY - LECTURE: Explain that every sentence has at
least one noun that acts as the ìmain characterî of the sentence.
This noun (or combination of nouns) is called the Subject, and it is one of the
two essential elements in a sentence.
Every sentence also has a primary action (or combination
of actions) that the Subject performs. This Verb(s) is the other essential part
of a sentence.
Therefore, every single word in a sentence has to be a
part of the Subject or the Verb (also known as the Predicate). If a word
ñ say, and adjective ñ describes what the ìmain
characterî looks like, than itís part of the Subject. If another
word ñ say, an adverb ñ describes the action being performed,
then itís part of the Predicate.
Generally speaking, you can find the Subject and
Predicate right next to each other in most sentences. The Subject comes first,
and when it ends, the Predicate usually begins. In essence, you can divide
every sentence into two halves ñ the Subject half and the Predicate
half.
EVALUATION (Lesson E): Students complete Exercise A on p.
74. [ Students can follow the given directions or simply draw a line to
indicate the ìborderî between Subject and Predicate. ]
AFTERWARDS: Debrief answers. Students may be confused by
prepositional phrases and helping verbs. Donít use those terms yet;
rather, get them to see that those words modify the subject or verb. Emphasize
the relationships of these words to the Subject or Verb.
<< TIP >> If a student consistently
misidentifies nouns and verbs, show them how the word doesnít work in
its incorrect context. If ìsocietyî is selected as a verb, ask the
student if s/he spends most Saturday nights ìsocietingî. If
ìsatî is a noun, ask how much a pack of ìsatsî costs
at the store.
LESSON F: Distinguishing between complete
sentences and fragments.
MATERIALS: Exercise B on p. 76 of the grammar exercises
in the back of this packet.
ACTIVITY - LECTURE: Now we know that each complete
sentence must have two parts: the Subject and the Predicate. If a group of words doesnít have
one of these elements, it is NOT a sentence! It is called a fragment. One
should always write in complete sentences, never in fragments.
EVALUATION (Lesson F): Students complete Exercise B on p.
76.
[ Alternate directions: Classify each item as a
ìsentenceî or a ìfragmentî. If itís a
fragment, tell me which part is missing: ìSubjectî,
ìPredicateî, or ìbothî. ]
AFTERWARDS: Debrief answers. Anyone who scored less than
seven out of ten correct needs extra attention.
DAY TWO: Identifying multi-word modifiers; Placing all
modifiers.
SET FOR THE DAY:
Each student must write one unique POSITIVE quality about him/herself on
a sheet of paper. It can be a specific skill they have, an experience
theyíve had, or an outstanding achievement. Theyíre going to keep
this slip until later in the day.
LESSON A: Placing adjectives and adverbs.
MATERIALS: Writing Exercise from p. 54 (possibly
transferred to an overhead or a TV via Scan Converter).
ACTIVITY: Each student takes a turn inserting adjectives
and adverbs into the sentences of the exercise.
AFTERWARDS: Point out that, while adverbs can go before
or after the verb they describe, adjectives MUST go before their
ìpartnerî noun. Now, here are some other modifiers that precede
nounsÖ.
LESSON B: Identifying and using determiners.
MATERIALS: ìDeterminersî handout in the back
of this packet (which can also be used as an overhead transperancy).
ACTIVITY - LECTURE: Determiners are used to clarify
references to nouns. Most of the time, they wonít tell you how the noun
looks, sounds, smells, etc. Rather, determiners kind of ìpoint
outî which noun is being discussed.
There are three basic types of determiners:
Articles ñ ìaî, ìanî,
ìtheî
Demonstratives ñ ìthisî,
ìthatî, ìtheseî, ìthoseî [hereís
a good spot to remind students about singular vs. plural!]
Possessive Pronouns ñ ìmyî,
ìyourî, ìhisî, ìherî,
ìitsî, ìourî, ìtheirî [remember the
spellings of ìitsî and ìtheirî!] You can also create
a possessive by adding apostrophes. ( ís after all singulars and plurals
that donít end in ìsî;
í after all plurals ending in ìsî.)
Why do you need to know this? Because every singular noun
in a sentence must have a determiner before it!
AFTERWARDS: Give students sample sentences and have them
identify the determiners. Have them say the sentences without the determiners.
Notice that they now sound like Neanderthal cave(wo)men!
LESSON C: Identifying and placing prepositions.
MATERIALS: Various objects ñ one for each student.
ACTIVITY: Students put their heads down while objects are
hidden about the room (or the hiding could be done before class). Each student
is assigned an object to find. Once they find that object, they must return to
his/her desk and write down exactly where the object was found. In addition, each student should write
down a descriptive sentence about his/her object. You must use more than one
word to describe the object. ìThe frisbee is brokenî is not
acceptable, but ìthe frisbee has many cracksî is.
Once everyone completes their scavenger hunt, students
share where their objects were found. Write each response on the board as a
prepositional phrase. Explain that prepositions indicate the position of a noun
in relationship to another noun. That second noun is the object of the
preposition. Prepositions always follow the noun they describe.
AFTERWARDS: Have students re-read their objectsí
hiding places, and ask them to identify the preposition and the object in their
responses. Give students a list of prepositions to memorize within a week!!!
LESSON D: Identifying and placing relative pronouns (and
their clauses).
MATERIALS: The ìunique qualityî sheet that
was filled out at the beginning of the day.
ACTIVITY: Each student will now trade objects with
another student. When the trading occurs, the receiver must copy down two
pieces of information from the giver: 1) the giverís multi-word
description of the object, and 2) the unique quality that the giver wrote at
the start of class. Thus, each student will receive a new object, a description
of that object, and a unique quality about the objectís original owner.
Now, students must combine all of the information they
just received into one sentence. Relative pronouns must be used to do this.
Show students how the pronouns can be used to add descriptive details about
various nouns. Like prepositions, these clauses always begin after the noun
they modify. Each relative pronoun has a specific purpose:
Use ìthatî to describe singular things and
unique plural things (see below).
Use ìwhichî to describe plural things with
common qualities (see below).
Use ìwhoî to describe people as the subject
of a clause. (More on that later.)
Use ìwhomî to describe people as the object
in a clause. (More on that later.)
Use ìwhoseî to describe things belonging to
a specified person.
Use ìwhereî to describe places.
Further notice the difference between ìthatî
and ìwhichî when
applied to plural nouns.
The planets, which revolve around the sun, Ö.
All planets revolve around the sun.
The planets that revolve around the sunÖ Other planets do not revolve around the sun.
Once complete, the studentsí sentences regarding
their objects and trading partners should look something like this:
ìThe student who ____(unique quality)___ gave me a
____(object)____ that ___(object description)__________.î
EVALUATIONS:
Lesson
C ñ Exercise B, p. 59 (identify prep. phrases);
Exercise C, p. 60
(prepositions vs. adverbs)
Lesson D ñ Write a series of ten sentences that
describe specific people, places, and things that are special to you. Use as
many different relative pronouns as you can in the series. Some samples:
ìMy
room is the only place where I feel safe.î
ìMy
father is the only person whom I completely trust.î
ìMy
Uncle Tony is the only person who can make perfect raviolis.î
ìMy
teddy bear is the only toy that I have kept from my childhood.î
DAY THREE: Recognizing sentence patterns and identifying
their components.
SET FOR THE DAY: Wear an outfit that is RADICALLY
DIFFERENT from what you wore during Day Two. Also, the sentences that students
wrote yesterday after the scavenger hunt should be available.
LESSON A: Using linking verbs and complements.
MATERIALS: none [Tinker Toys are optional; theyíre
a good visual aid.]
ACTIVITY: Students complete the following sentences on a
sheet of paper:
ìMr.
Pinza is __________________.î (fill in the blank however you wish)
ìYesterday,
Mr. Pinza seemed _________________.î (personality description)
ìYesterday,
Mr. Pinza looked _________________.î (appearance description)
ìToday,
Mr. Pinza appears __________________.î (appearance description)
ìToday,
Mr. Pinza has become _________________.î (personality description)
Students share their sentences. Write some good examples
on the board. Point out that each sentence is structured the same: Subject,
then Verb, then either a noun or adjective that describes the Subject.
Are these verbs actions, like the ones we saw in the
sports clip two days ago? No. They help describe the subject. This is a new
kind of verb called a Linking Verb because it links the Subject to a word or
phrase that describes it. That word or phrase is a Complement.
AFTERWARDS: Begin a list of basic sentence structures on
the board. Today, weíll learn five of them. The first one: SUBJECT +
LINKING VERB + COMPLEMENT. Assign a small list of Linking Verbs that every
student must memorize!!!
LESSON B: Identifying intransitive verbs.
MATERIALS: none [Tinker Toys are optional; theyíre
a good visual aid.]
ACTIVITY: Imagine that you are standing in the desert,
all alone, with nothing around you. Youíre also in the nude. In thirty
seconds, list all of the actions that you can perform while standing alone, in
the nude, in the desert.
Students share answers. List as many verbs as possible on
the board. Point out that forming a sentence is pretty easy with any of these
verbs ñ just add a subject.
You see, some actions can be performed without any extra
objects. The verbs that are used to describe these actions are called
Intransitive Verbs. You
donít have to add anything after these verbs in order to form a
sentence. You might add adverbs, prepositions and such, but itís not
required.
AFTERWARDS: Add a second sentence pattern to the list:
SUBJECT + INTRANSITIVE VERB.
LESSON C: Distinguishing between transitive and
intransitive verbs.
MATERIALS: Exercise B on p. 34.
ACTIVITY - LECTURE: Other actions that require a separate
object or ìpropî are called Transitive Verbs. We see a lot of
these kinds of verbs in sports: ìShe passes the ballî, ìHe
swings the batî, ìShe shoots the puckî, ìHe tackles
the runnerî, ìShe breaks her serveî. (By the way, can you
identify the sport in each sentence?)
Many times, the verb in question NEEDS another object in
order to retain its meaning. Look at the last example. If we take away that
last noun (her serve), the sentence is ìShe breaks.î Does it sound
like sheís playing tennis? No, it sounds like sheís collapsing.
You need that extra noun for the sentence to have meaning ñ she breaks
the serve, breaks a vase, breaks a window, breaks her leg, etc. That extra noun
is called a Direct Object.
So, how do you tell whether a verb is Transitive or
Intransitive? If you can perform the action in the nude, in the desert, the
verb is Intransitive. If the action requires an extra ìpropî
(Direct Object), then it is Transitive.
EVALUATION: Exercise B, p. 34. [ Items #1 and #5 are
difficult; 1 is Intransitive despite the prepositional phrase, and 5 is
Transitive despite the abstract Direct Object ìwayî. ]
AFTERWARDS: Add a third sentence pattern: SUBJECT +
TRANSITIVE VERB + DIRECT OBJECT.
LESSON D: Distinguishing between direct and indirect
objects.
MATERIALS: a variety of interesting objects, one per
student.
ACTIVITY: Hand out the interesting objects to a few
students. Ask them to summarize what just happened. (ìWhatís
that?î A hat. ìWho gave it to you?î You did. ìWho am
I?î The teacher. ìSo say that all in one sentence.î The
teacher gave me a hat.) Write these last sentences on the board. Ask students
to identify the Direct Object. Notice that thereís another noun left
over. Why? Because some transitive verbs (like ìto giveî) require
TWO different nouns to make a complete sentence!
The item which is given is the Direct Object, but the
person to whom it is given is the Indirect Object. Hereís a pneumonic
device: ìI owe you
$100.î The Indirect Object is right after the ìI Oî in the
sentence: ìyouî! The Direct Object is the 100 DOllars.
Now, start tossing other objects to students who
donít have any. Have them summarize the action in a sentence, then
figure out what the Direct and Indirect Objects are.
AFTERWARDS: Add a fourth sentence pattern: SUBJECT +
TRANSITIVE VERB + INDIRECT OBJECT + DIRECT OBJECT.
Notice that this pattern can be switched around with the
preposition ìtoî:
SUBJECT + TRANSITIVE VERB + DIRECT OBJECT +
ìTOî + INDIRECT OBJECT.
LESSON E: Identifying objective complements.
MATERIALS: Exercise C on p. 90.
ACTIVITY - LECTURE: Look at the sentences you wrote
earlier today: ìMr. Pinza is handsomeî, ìMr. Pinza seemed
wiseî, etc. Letís re-write these sentences so that the authors are
the subject. ìGeorgianna called Mr. Pinza handsomeî, ìLarry
considered Mr. Pinza wiseî, etc.
Students should be able to identify the parts of this
sentence. ìLarryî is the subject, ìconsideredî is the
verb, ìMr. Pinzaî is now a direct object (since he is being
considered). What is ìwiseî? What was ìwiseî in the
original sentence? A complement! Itís still a complement in the new
sentence, and it still describes Mr. Pinza. The only difference is that Mr.
Pinza is now a Direct Object and not the Subject. Technically, this makes
ìwiseî an Objective Complement whereas it was a Subjective
Complement originally.
Add a fifth basic sentence pattern: SUBJECT + TRANSITIVE
VERB + DIRECT OBJECT + OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT.
EVALUATION: Exercise C, p. 90. Have students identify
every part of the sentence pattern: SUBJECT, VERB, DIRECT OBJECT, OBJ.
COMPLEMENT. They donít have to include all the adjectives, determiners,
etc., but they need to identify those four components of every sentence.
AFTERWARDS: Debrief answers. Note who has trouble wading
through the modifiers and pulling out the key elements of the pattern.
EVALUATION OF LESSONS A ñ E: Exercise A, p. 95.
For each sentence, have students identify the basic pattern, then list the
words that comprise each essential element.
Example: Molly handed me her report on antiques.
Response 1: S-TV-IO-DO
Response 2: S = Molly, TV = handed, IO = me, DO = report
*** For further practice in sentence patterns, show
students how to diagram sentences. A brief tutorial in sentence diagramming
appears on the next two pages.
SENTENCE DIAGRAMMING
Isolate the Subject and Verb.
2A. For Linking Verbs, add the Subjective Complement.
2B. For Intransitive Verbs, skip to Step 4.
2C. For Transitive Verbs, add the Direct Object.
3A. Add Indirect Object, if necessary.
3B. Add Objective Complement, if necessary.
4A. Add prepositional phrases below the noun they
describe.
4B. Adjectives, determiners, and adverbs go below the
respective words that they modify.
DAY FOUR: Identifying and using different verb tenses.
LESSON A: Defining the present, past, and future tenses.
MATERIALS: Flash cards, magnets, or other visual cues
that can be re-used to show spelling changes (ìedî,
ìwillî). A PowerPoint on verb tenses can also be useful.
ACTIVITY: POP QUIZ!!! Complete
the following sentences on a separate sheet of paper! (Yes, you must write out
the entire sentence with the blanks filled in!)
We study _________________ during the first month of Mr.
Pinzaís class.
Every student ______________ during the first twenty
minutes of class.
Most students bring two ______ and a binder to class
every day.
You cannot wear ______ in Mr. Pinzaís classroom.
[invent other questions to reinforce your class rules,
but keep the structure of the sentences the same. List five in the present
tense, five in the past tense, and five in the future tense if you can.]
Debrief the answers, then examine the verbs. Notice that
in items 1-5, every verb describes a rule in the class. Thus, the actions
ñ the verbs ñ refer to things that occur on a regular basis.
Actions or conditions that occur on a regular basis are described using the
Present Tense. In most cases, you donít change the verbís
spelling for the Present Tense.
Now letís look at items 6-10. They all describe
events that occurred a while ago ñ yesterday, last week, two days ago,
etc. Actions that occurred a while ago are described using the Past Tense.
Notice that the verbsí spellings have changed; in most cases, you must
add ìedî (Show the flash card!) to the end of the verb to change
it to the Past Tense.
Finally, what do items 11-15 have in common? They all
describe events that are about to occur. Notice that, in nearly every instance,
the verbs have the word ìwillî (flash card) before them. By adding
ìwillî, you change the verb into the Future Tense, which is used
to describe actions that have not happened yet.
AFTERWARDS: RECAP:
Use Present Tense to describe actions that occur on a regular basis;
spelling wonít change in most cases.
Use Past Tense to describe actions that have already
happened; add ìedî after the verb. Use Future Tense to describe
actions that have not happened yet; add ìwillî before the verb.
LESSON B: Defining and recognizing gerunds, infinitives,
and past participles.
MATERIALS: Flash cards, magnets, or other visual cues
that can be re-used to show spelling changes (ìedî,
ìingî, ìtoî). A PowerPoint on verb tenses can also be
useful. It would also be really cool if you could set up a small, quick cooking
demonstration.
ACTIVITY: If you can, do a quick cooking demonstration in
your classroom. Write on the board: ìCooking 101 - How to Cook
Jelloî.
After the demo, letís pause and reflect. We
started with sugar, water, and some colored powder. In the end, it all turned
into Jello. In a similar way, you can turn verbs into other parts of speech by
adding certain ingredients.
Write this sentence: ìMr. Pinza cooked Jello this
afternoon.î Whatís the verb in this sentence?
ìCookedî. Whatís the tense ñ Present, Past, or
Future? Past.
Write this sentence: ìToday we learned how to cook
Jello.î Is ìcookedî still the verb? No! Itís actually
part of a Direct Object: ìhow to cook Jelloî. How does a verb
become a direct object? When you add ìtoî before a verb, you make
it an Infinitive. This allows you to place the verb in other areas of the
sentence.
Now write this sentence: ìI thought I was in a
cooking class.î Weíve changed ìcookî to
ìcookingî now. Is ìcookingî a verb here? No!
Itís an adjective, describing ìclassî. How can that be?
When you add ì-ingî to the end of a verb, you create a Gerund.
Gerunds can be used as adjectives or nouns, like in the sentence
ìCooking is fun.î
One more sentence to write: ìAfter twenty minutes,
the cooked Jello started steaming.î What part of speech is
ìcookedî? Itís an adjective again! This time we added
ìedî to the end, just like in the Past Tense. This is also called
a Past Participle, which can be used as an adjective.
AFTERWARDS: RECAP:
So far, weíve learned six ways to ìcookî our verbs
and change their meanings:
Present Tense = the raw verb. No change in spelling.
Describes actions that occur on a regular basis.
Past Tense = add ìedî after the verb to
describe actions that have already happened Future Tense = add
ìwillî before the verb to describe actions that havenít
happened yet.
Infinitive = add ìtoî before the verb to
place it in other sentence areas.
Past Participle = for regular verbs, use the Past Tense
as an adjective.
Gerund = add ìingî after the verb to use it
as an adjective or noun.
LESSON C: Defining and using progressive and perfect verb
tenses.
MATERIALS: Flash cards, magnets, or other visual cues
that can be re-used to show spelling changes (ìedî,
ìingî, ìhaveî, ìhasî, ìamî,
ìareî, ìisî). A PowerPoint on verb tenses can also be
useful.
ACTIVITY - LECTURE: Now that you have some recipes under
your belt, weíre going to combine them a bit to give you six more verb
tenses. All of these are verbs, used to describe specific actions at specific
moments.
**Progressive verbs are used to describe actions that
take a long time to complete.**
Present Progressive is used to describe actions that are
happening right this very second. What are you doing right now? You are taking
notes. Thatís an example of Present Progressive. The way you form the
Present Progressive tense depends on what the subject of your sentence is:
If your subject is ìIî, the formula is
{ìamî + the Gerund of the verb}
If your subject is ìyouî, the formula is
{ìareî + Gerund}
For all other singular subjects, use {ìisî +
Gerund}
For all plural subjects, use {ìareî +
Gerund}
Past Progressive is used to describe actions that have
already finished, but they took a while to complete. Often, this tense is used
to describe what you were doing when something else happens: I was taking notes
when the bell rang. The way you form the Past Progressive tense depends on what
the subject of your sentence is:
If your subject is ìIî, the formula is
{ìwasî + the Gerund of the verb}
If your subject is ìyouî, the formula is
{ìwereî + Gerund}
For all other singular subjects, use {ìwasî
+ Gerund}
For all plural subjects, use {ìwereî +
Gerund}
Future Progressive is used to describe actions that have
not happened yet, but they will be going on for a while. When will you start to
drive? I will be driving in about
two years. Thatís an example of Future Progressive ñ you
havenít begun to drive yet, but when you do, youíll keep driving
for a while. The Future Progressive tense is formed using this formula:
{ìwill beî + the Gerund of the verb}
**Perfect verbs are used to describe actions that may or
may not be completed.**
Present Perfect is used to describe two things: 1)
actions that were completed at an unspecified time. She has washed her hair.
When? We donít know. 2) actions that started in the past but continue to
the present. I have worked her for four years. The way you form the Present
Perfect tense depends on the subject of your sentence:
If the subject is ìIî or ìyouî,
use the formula {ìhaveî + Past Participle}.
For all other singular subjects, use {ìhasî
+ Past Participle}
For all plural subjects, use {ìhaveî + Past
Participle}
Past Perfect is often used to describe actions that were
finished before a different action took place. I had gotten straight Aís
before I took Mr. Pinzaís class. Sometimes the actions happen very close
together: Mario had played the game for four hours when he finally conquered
the last level. The Past Perfect tense is formed using this formula:
{ìhadî + Past Participle}.
Future Perfect is used to describe actions that will be
finished at a specific point in the future. We will have learned six verb
tenses by the end of this lesson. In some cases, the action hasnít even
started yet. I will have completed three book reports by the end of the
semester. The Future Perfect tense
is formed using this formula: {ìwill haveî + Past Participle}
AFTERWARDS: Use the enclosed ìPeriodic
Tableî to review the verb tenses.
EVALUATION (Lessons A-C): Verb Tenses worksheet.
DAY FIVE: Identifying subject pronouns and conjugating
verbs (including irregulars).
SET FOR THE DAY: QUIZ on prepositions (you asked them to
memorize them on Day 2).
LESSON A: Defining the subject pronouns.
MATERIALS: 2-3 Burger King crowns, a knightís
outfit (sword, shield, helmet), 2-3 spare chairs.
ACTIVITY: Choose a student volunteer to be king/queen for
a day. In order to ascend the throne, they must stand on the chair and
pronounce to all in the land that s/he is the king/queen. ìI am the
king!î Write the sentence on the board, then give the ruler the crown.
S/he must sit on the throne throughout the exercise.
Choose a second volunteer (opposite gender, if possible)
to be the royal knight of the court. In order to earn his/her shield, sword,
etc., the student must kneel before the royalty. Then the would-be knight must
announce that s/he will only serve the king/queen: ìYou are the only
king I will serve.î Write
the sentence on the board, and award the knight his/her accessories.
Choose a third volunteer to be the town crier. S/he must
run around the room announcing the identities of the king/queen and the knight.
The crier need not use full names; they can simply point and say: ìHe is
the king. She is the knight.î Write these sentences (grouped closely
together) on the board as the crier cries.
Review the sentences on the board. How many kings/queens
are there? One, so the subject of every sentence is singular. Who was the first
person to get a high place in the kingdom? The king. So his sentenceís
subject ñ the pronoun ìIî ñ will be declared the
first person singular pronoun. The knight was the second person to earn a job
in the kingdom, so the subject of his sentence ñ ìyouî
ñ will be the second person singular pronoun. The town crier has several
sentences: ìMike is the king. He is the knight. She is the queen.î
There are actually three third person singular pronouns: ìheî,
ìsheî, and ìitî. Every other singular subject would
also be considered third person.
These are all the singular subject pronouns, but what if
we had more than one ruler? Choose 1-2 more volunteers whoíd like to be
king/queen for a day. Let all the royalty stand on their thrones and announce
that they are the kings/queens. Their pronouncements must include ALL rulers as
the subject: ìWe are the kings and queens!î Write the sentence on
the board.
Now the knight must re-proclaim his/her loyalty. S/he
must tell ALL the kings/queens that they are his/her only masters. ìYou
are the only kings and queens I will serve.î Write this on the board.
Finally, the town crier must re-announce the new
hierarchy. Again, s/he can use names if desired, but it isnít required.
ìThey are the rulers!î Write this on the board.
Now we have our plural subject pronouns: first person
plural pronoun ñ ìweî, second person plural pronoun
ñ ìyouî, third person plural pronoun ñ
ìtheyî. All other plural subjects would also be considered third
person.
AFTERWARDS: Clean up. Review the six subject pronouns w/
their corresponding ìpersonageî. You can mention how books are narrated
in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person. (Choose Your Own Adventures are written in second
person.) You can also mention that some Southern dialects use a different
pronoun in the second person plural: ìyíallî.
LESSON B: Conjugating ìto beî across all
tenses.
MATERIALS: Empty Verb Conjugation worksheets ñ
probably 3-5, depending on whether you use them for homework.
ACTIVITY: Fill out the Subject Pronoun column of the
worksheet. Using the sentences on the board, lead the class through the
ìPresentî column of the worksheet.
Subject
PronounPresentIamyouarehe,she,itisweareyou (yíall)aretheyare
To fill out the ìPastî column, think of what
youíll tell your parents about this class when you get home. ìI
was kingî, ìYou were kingî, etc. For the
ìFutureî column, pretend that youíre predicting the next
king/queen: ìI will be king.î
Skip down to the bottom section. What is the Infinitive
of this verb? Whatís that song from The Lion King? I Just Canít
Wait To Be King! The Infinitive is ìto beî! Whatís the
Gerund? ìbeingî. Whatís the Past Participle? Complete this
sentence: I would have ____ king if Mr. Pinza had called on me. The Past
Participle is ìbeenî, which is different from the past tense.
In fact, you may have noticed that many of this
verbís forms donít follow the usual pattern. Thatís
because ìto beî is an Irregular Verb. Now that we know the
irregular gerund and past participle, students can complete the Progressive and
Perfect tenses.
AFTERWARDS: Explain that the Progressive tenses arenít
typically used with ìto beî. Instead of saying ìI am being
on timeî, ìShe was being a leaderî, or ìThey will be
being victoriousî, we would typically use the regular tenses: ìI
am on timeî, ìShe was a leaderî, ìThey will be
victoriousî.
LESSON C: Conjugating irregular verbs across all tenses.
MATERIALS: Irregular Verb handout, empty Verb Conjugation
worksheets (if needed)
ACTIVITY: Hand out the Irregular Verb sheet. Point out
how many verbs are irregular in one way or another. Assign each student a
different verb from the sheet, and walk them through the steps of conjugating
on a blank Conjugation worksheet:
Find the verb youíre assigned on the Irregular
Verb sheet.
Fill in the Present, the Past, the Gerund (Present
Participle), and the Past Participle on the Conjugation worksheet by copying
them directly from the Irregular Verb listing.
Using the rules and formulas you already know, fill in
the rest of the Conjugation worksheet.
Repeat this process until everyone can conjugate an
irregular verb on their own.
AFTERWARDS: Exercise F, p. 193 is a good homework
assignment. It helps students figure out which irregular forms are correct at
what times.
DAY SIX: Using periods, commas, exclamation points, and
question marks.
LESSON A: Distinguishing between declarative,
exclamatory, and interrogative sentences.
MATERIALS: none
ACTIVITY: Have your students take dictation; they must
write down the sentence you say.
ìThis is a declarative sentence.î Say it a
few times so students can copy it down. Once they have, ask students one by one
what a declarative sentence is. Ask them to define it. They will probably have
no idea, so ask them what an exclamatory sentence is. Again, theyíll
probably have no idea. Thatís when you scream at them:
ìI canít believe you donít know what
an exclamatory sentence is!î Make them write down this sentence. Repeat
it, yelling each time. Again, ask students to define what an exclamatory
sentence is. When that fails, ask them what the difference is between the first,
declarative sentence and the second, exclamatory sentence. Hopefully, someone
will note the difference in the amount of emotion and the punctuation.
Finally, they write down this sentence: ìDoes
anyone know what an interrogative sentence is?î Repeat it so the students
can copy, then direct the question at students individually. Ask them if the
last sentence they wrote is interrogative. How can they tell that it is?
Once the students have deduced the answers, write the
definitions on the board for them to copy:
Declarative: an ordinary statement. Always ends with a
period. (.)
Exclamatory: an excited, emotional statement Always ends
with an exclamation point. (!)
Interrogative: a question. Always ends with a question
mark. (?)
AFTERWARDS: You might want to assure them that they need
not know the terms ìdeclarativeî, ìexclamatoryî, and
ìinterrogativeî so long as they always punctuate these sentences
correctly.
LESSON B: Using commas correctly.
MATERIALS: If desired, you could project the sentences
listed below on an overhead transparency or on a TV via Scan Converter. You
could also just write them on the board.
ACTIVITY: Students will be asked to correct three
sentences; in all three cases, the corrections needed will involve commas.
After each sentence, the teacher will present a rule that applies to proper
comma usage. Students will copy each rule down as it is introduced.
Before you begin to correct a sentence, you should always
locate the main clause of the sentence. The main clause is basically the
sentence pattern ñ the subject-verb chain that contains all of the
essential elements. Review the sentence patterns with your students.
Now, youíre ready for the first rule of comma
usage:
RULE #1 ñ Never use commas to separate parts of
the main clause.
Another way to put it: Donít break the
subject-verb chain with a comma.
Show the students the following sentence, exactly as it
is written below:
The Taenaris macrops butterfly which feeds on ripe
bananas has eyespots on itís wings that flash like the eyes of a
predater.
Give students a chance to correct the sentence on their
own. Share their corrections; there should be three of them. (Latin species
names are underlined.) Commas should appear before ìwhichî and
after ìbananasî. Notice that this phrase disrupts the subject-verb
chain with extra information. When this happens, we put commas around the
disrupting phrase to show that itís not part of the main clause.
RULE #2 ñ When a phrase interrupts the main clause
with extra information, it must be surrounded by commas.
Next sentence: More then 2,000 years ago the Romans had
toilets connected to sewers that carried away waist.
Again, three corrections. This time, the phrase with
extra info appears at the beginning of the sentence. We call that an
introductory phrase, and it needs a comma at the end (after ìagoî)
to indicate that it is not part of the main clause.
RULE #3 ñ An introductory phrase must end with a
comma.
Last sentence:
George and Moon Doggy who had only just met now laughed together about
life love and parking lots.
Four commas are needed in this sentence. Two go after
ìDoggyî and ìmetî, as per Rule #2. Two more go after
ìlifeî and ìloveî because they are items in a list.
Whenever you see a list in a sentence, thatís called parallel structure.
We use commas in parallel structure only if the list has more than two items.
RULE #4 ñ PARALLEL STRUCTURE:
If the list contains two items, put a conjunction (and,
or) between the items.
If the list contains more than two items, put a comma
after every item except the last one. A conjunction should also go before the
last item, but after the last comma.
AFTERWARDS: I strongly recommend use of the Daily
Language Workouts by Writers Inc. After going over each dayís sentence,
you should present a new grammatical rule, just as you did in this lesson.
(Youíll have to write the rules; theyíre not included in the
workbook.) This approach works very well; it improves the studentsí
written grammar considerably. The sentences build on each other very nicely, so
later in the year, you wonít be presenting new rules. The exercise will
become a daily review.
DAY SEVEN: Review and/or catch up.
* Give a quiz on the linking verbs the students were
given to memorize on Day 3.
* You may want to mention that the clauses formed by
relative pronouns are known as subordinate clauses. These clauses modify parts
of the main clause, but arenít considered part of the main.
DAY EIGHT: The exam!!! (included in this packet)
Final Thoughts:
If you use these materials in your class, please feel
free to adapt them. Iíd love to hear about any
ìbreakthroughsî you have as you tinker with these lessons. Please
tell me about them by e-mail or phone (my info is on the front).
You may have noticed that spelling is conspicuously
absent in this unit. Thatís because I really have no idea how to teach
it. My feeling is this: if youíre unsure of a wordís spelling,
check the dictionary. Thatís what adults do, so high-schoolers should do
the same. Most of our students have a basic knowledge of spelling rules, but as
their vocabulary grows, the rules become less reliable. Thus, I recommend
exercises wherein a student must find the correct spelling of a misspelled word
and copy it twenty times or the like. Thatís how adults learn a new
word. We misspell it a couple of times, then we burn the correct answer into
our minds through brute force. I firmly believe that memorization is the best
way to learn correct spellings.
Finally, the site below has a very simple, very printable
copy of ALL the Language Arts Standards. I highly recommend that you check
ëem out. All those mistakes that we see youngsters make in their essays
typically fall under elementary school standards. Thatís the whole
reason I developed this Boot Camp. Hopefully, this packet will help you lay a
foundation of grammatical bedrock for your students, so they may erect
inspired, articulate essays upon it.
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/stand/std.html
SUBJECT
VERB
SUBJECT
VERB
SUBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT
DIRECT OBJECT
VERB
SUBJECT
SUBJECT
VERB
DIRECT OBJECT
INDIRECT OBJECT
DIRECT OBJECT
VERB
SUBJECT
OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT
DIRECT OBJECT
VERB
SUBJECT
OBJECT of the PREPOSITION
PREPOSITION
DIRECT OBJECT
VERB
SUBJECT
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB