Myths
A myth is an ancient, anonymous story that explains how something came to be as it is. A myth usually involves gods and goddesses. One of the reasons that people of long ago told myths was to explain natural occurrences. Before humans found scientific explanations for such things as the moon, the sun, rainbows, or thunder, they tried to understand them by making up stories.

Your assignment is to write a short myth (at least two good paragraphs) to explain one of the following natural occurrences. Your myth should state the problem/event and the story you make up to explain the problem/event.

Why leaves change color in the fall Why fish live in the water
Why birds fly Why snow melts when it is warm
Why the moon comes out at night Why trees are so tall
Why the sky is blue

Make a story map- Problem in the center, ideas, and people around the problem.

Write the story with at least 2 paragraphs.

Double-space.

Correct and improve the story and write or type a final draft.

You must turn in story map(25 points), rough draft showing corrections(50 points), and final copy(25 points). Your final copy should have few grammatical or spelling errors.

Your final copy, rough draft, and story map are due by December 15, 2005. 5 points will be deducted for each day late.

Week of November 28- December 2


Mrs. Epps
English/Advanced English

DOL Week 14- write and study sentences each night.
Test on Thursday, December 1.

Verbs- Unit 10
Action verb/ transitive or intransitive
Direct object/ indirect object
Text pp. 298-301
WB pp 75-80

Unit 10 Verbs

* An action verb names an action.
It may contain more than one word.

*A direct object receives the action of the verb.
It answers the question whom? or what?
after an action verb.

* A transitive verb has a direct object.

*An intransitive verb does not have a direct object.

*An indirect object answers the question
to whom? or for whom?
the action was done.



Write your news article. You must include the 5 W’s.
We will be in the library on December 6, 2005, to type
the articles.

November 18, 2005

Newspaper Articles
Mrs. Epps’s English classes

All students are required to write a news article. Your article must be of interest to others, and you must answer the 5 W’s in your article. (Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How)

You are to choose a current event of interest,
collect information and pictures(if applicable),
and write your rough draft.

We will go to the library on December 6.

You must have a completed article with notes and a rough draft.

Writing an editorial is an optional activity. If you choose to do an editorial, you must have a rough draft when we go to the library on the 6th of December. Make sure your editorial is appropriate and expresses a legitimate concern or appreciation for an action.

Week of November 14-18, 2005

DOL Week 13- write and study sentences each night.
Advanced test on Thursday, regular test on Friday.

Study notes
Unit 9 Nouns
Advanced test – Wednesday
Regular test on Thursday

Unit 9

1) A NOUN is a word that names a person, place,
thing , or idea.

2) A COMMON NOUN is a noun that names any
person, place, thing, or idea.

3) A PROPER NOUN is a noun that names a specific
person, place, thing, or idea.

4) NOUNS usually follow the articles a, an, or the
and they can either be SINGULAR or PLURAL.

5) A SINGULAR NOUN names one person, place,
thing, or idea.

6) A PLURAL NOUN names more than one.

7) To form the plural of most nouns you simply add -s.

8) Nouns ending with –s, -ss, -zz, -ch, -sh, or -x
-add -es
bus - buses box - boxes

9) Nouns ending in –o preceded by a vowel - add s
cameo – cameos studio -studios
stereo - stereos

10) Nouns ending in –o preceded by a consonant
–usually add –es
echo- echoes hero- heroes potato- potatoes
sometimes add –s
zero- zeros photo- photos piano- pianos
11) Nouns ending in –y preceded by a vowel add –s
day- days donkey- donkeys turkey- turkeys

12. Nouns ending in –y preceded by a consonant
usually change y to I and add –es
city- cities dairy- dairies penny- pennies
13) Nouns ending in f or fe- usually change –f to –v
and add es
leaf- leaves life- lives half- halves
sometimes add –s
roof- roofs chief- chiefs belief- beliefs
14) COLLECTIVE NOUNS – name a group of people or
things
club, team, group, committee, class, school,
family, crowd, staff

Collective nouns are singular when all the
members of the group act as a single unit.
Collective nouns are plural when each member
of the group acts separately.

15. A POSSESSIVE NOUN names who or
what has something.

16. Most singular nouns – add an
apostrophe and –s ( ‘s )

17. Singular nouns ending in s- add an
apostrophe and –s ( ‘s)

18. Plural nouns ending in s- add an
apostrophe ( ‘ )

19. Plural nouns not ending in s- add an
apostrophe and –s ( ‘s)

Week of November 7-11
Advanced English/English
DOL Week 12- write and study sentences each night.
Test on Thursday

Unit 9 Nouns
Text pp 284-289
WB pp 63-70
Unit 9

1) A NOUN is a word that names a person, place,
thing , or idea.

2) A COMMON NOUN is a noun that names any
person, place, thing, or idea.

3) A PROPER NOUN is a noun that names a specific
person, place, thing, or idea.

4) NOUNS usually follow the articles a, an, or the
and they can either be SINGULAR or PLURAL.

5) A SINGULAR NOUN names one person, place,
thing, or idea.

6) A PLURAL NOUN names more than one.

7) To form the plural of most nouns you simply add -s .

8) Nouns ending with –s, -ss, -zz, -ch, -sh, or -x -add -es
bus - buses box - boxes

9) Nouns ending in –o preceded by a vowel - add s
cameo – cameos studio -studios stereo - stereos

10) Nouns ending in –o preceded by a consonant –usually add –es
echo- echoes hero- heroes potato- potatoes
sometimes add –s
zero- zeros photo- photos piano- pianos
11) Nouns ending in –y preceded by a vowel add –s
day- days donkey- donkeys turkey- turkeys

12. Nouns ending in –y preceded by a consonant
usually change y to I and add –es
city- cities dairy- dairies penny- pennies
13) Nouns ending in f or fe- usually change –f to –v and add es
leaf- leaves life- lives half- halves
sometimes add –s
roof- roofs chief- chiefs belief- beliefs
14) COLLECTIVE NOUNS – name a group of people or things
club, team, group, committee, class, school, family, crowd, staff

Collective nouns are singular when all the members of the
group act as a single unit.
Collective nouns are plural when each member of the group
acts separately.

Week of October 31- November 4
Homeroom:
Bring your can food, box tops, and items for
Operation Christmas Child

Advanced English
DOL Week 11- write and study sentences each night.
Test on Friday.
Comma Rules
Test on Wednesday
Semicolon and colon rules
Test on Friday with commas and semicolons/conons
Text pp 462-463
WB pp 245-246

Comma Rules
1. Items in a series
2. Introductory word
3. 2 or more prepositional phrases
4. Interruption
5. Names in 'Direct address'
6. Compound sentence
7. Salutation and closings
8. To prevent misreading
9. Date rule
10. City/State Rule
11. Abbreviated titles
12. Too- when too means also
13. Direct quotations

English
DOL Week 11- write and study sentences each night.
Test on Friday.
We are writing a newspaper article on Red Ribbon
Week on Monday and Tuesday.

(6th hour will be in the computer lab on Monday.)

Semicolons and colons
Text pp 462-463
WB pp 245-246
Test on Friday-will cover 13 comma rules and semicolons/colons.

Week of October 24-28

Homeroom- Can Food Drive is continuing- we are
in the running for the class party. Keep bringing
your cans. Students also need to bring your box
tops.

Advanced English
DOL Week 10-
We will write, edit, and format a class newspaper
This week. We will be in the library Wednesday-
Friday. Be looking for a copy of your child’s
class newspaper.
English
DOL Week 10- Write and study sentences
Test on Friday.
Comma usage
WB pp 239-244
Test on Thursday- students must list and use the
commas in sentences.
Comma Rules
1. Items in a series
2. Introductory word
3. 2 or more prepositional phrases
4. Interruption
5. Direct address
6. Compound sentence
7. Salutation and closings
8. To prevent misreading
9. Date rule
10. City/State Rule
11. Abbreviated titles
12. Too- when too means also
13. Direct quotations

Week of October 17-21
Homeroom- remember to bring cans
for the Canned Food Drive

English
DOL Week 9- write and study sentences
each day. Test on Friday.

Comma usage
Text pp 456-459
WB pp 235-238
Comma Rules
1. To separate three or more items in a series
(We had soup, crackers, and milk.)
2. To show a pause after an introductory word
(Yes, you may go to the fair.)
3. After two or more prepositional phrases at the
beginning of a sentence
(In the first part of class, we will review.)
4. To set off interruptions (appositives)
( Sue, the girl next door, likes to draw.)
5. To set off names of direct address
(Mom, do I really have to go?)
6. Compound sentences(and, or, but)
7. Salutations in friendly letters, closing in friendly
and business letters
8. To prevent misreading

Thursday- Comma test-you must be able to write
the rules.


Advanced English
DOL Week 9- write and study sentences
each day. Test on Friday.

Monday- computer lab
Tuesday-Friday
We will create news stories to put in a class
newspaper.
Your child will be given an assignment to
research/investigate this week.

Week of October 10-14
English
DOL Week 8 Write and study sentences each night.
Test on Friday.
Monday- we will be in the computer lab.
Tuesday-Friday
Text pp 454-456 WB pp 233-236
End mark review
Comma Rules
Text pp 457-458 WB pp 237-238

Comma Rules
1. To separate three or more items in a series
(We had soup, crackers, and milk.)
2. To show a pause after an introductory word
(Yes, you may go to the fair.)
3. After two or more prepositional phrases at the
beginning of a sentence
(In the first part of class, we will review.)
4. To set off interruptions (appositives)
( Sue, the girl next door, likes to draw.)
5. To set off names of direct address
(Mom, do I really have to go?)


Advanced English
DOL Week 8 Write and study sentences each night.
Test on Friday.

Comma Rules
Text pp 457-461(Review
WB pp 237-244

You must memorize the comma rules.
Comma rules will be applied all year.
We will have at least two tests this week.
Wed. and Friday - probably

Week of October 3-7
English
DOL Week 7 –write and study sentences each night.
Test on Friday.
Prepositions
We are reviewing and writing sentences with
prepositionalphrases in class. We will have 65
sentences written by Thursday.
Workbook page 149-150 (Thursday)
We will illustrate one assigned preposition with a
sentence and an illustration- (will do in class
on Thursday and Friday.)
Practice your prepositions each day.

Advanced English
Monday- we are in computer lab typing a final copy
of our country paper.
DOL Week 7 –write and study sentences each night.
Test on Friday.

We are working on comma rules this week.

Text pp 454-460
WB pp 233-242
Comma Rules
1. To separate three or more items in a series
(We had soup, crackers, and milk.)
2. To show a pause after an introductory word
(Yes, you may go to the fair.)
3. After two or more prepositional phrases at the
beginning of a sentence
(In the first part of class, we will review.)
4. To set off interruptions (appositives)
( Sue, the girl next door, likes to draw.)
5. To set off names of direct address
(Mom, do I really have to go?)
6. Compound sentences ( and or but)
7. Salutation of friendly letters and closing of
friendly and business letters
8. To prevent misreading