Please Post WWS assignments here!

[Colleen in NS]

Finally, if you have worked through the "Description of a Person" lesson and did not do the amount of pre-writing/coaching described in the curriculum eval thread, could you post samples of your student's pre-edited work?

 

I gotten some messy first-drafts, but we've learned as worked the process of revision.

 

Seeing examples of that assignment from students who only used instructions from the WWS student text would help mothers who don't plan to use the type of pre-writing process the op described.

 

1Togo, the following is not the assignment on describing a person you know (as my previous one was, in response to your request), but it is one of the description of person lessons in WWS. This time the student had to write a slanted description, changing good qualities to bad ones. This assignment comes after in-depth study of how to do this (he had to read a passage about Isaac Newton and list the good qualities described - this coming after the lesson where aspects of a person had been introduced and studied)

 

WWS Week 17 Day 3, done by Ds (when he was 13).

 

Rough draft:

 

He overspent on everyone, wasting incredible amounts of money on all sorts of frippery and entertainment. He was reclusive and never stood up for himself, being an indescribable weakling. He was a crybaby, weeping over sad stories at the slightest provocation. He was overactive, hyper, and completely obese. He was too interested in his looks and had hair like a dust mop. He was ostentatious, theatrical, and showy. He was red-faced as a beer drinker. He slaved for hours over his work and completely strained himself. It is surprising that such a man lived as long as he did.

 

Final draft: after editing using the WWS rubric and ds's current grammar knowledge

 

Isaac Newton overspent on everyone, wasting incredible amounts of money on all sorts of frippery and entertainment. He never stood up for himself, being an indescribable weakling. He was a crybaby, weeping over sad stories at the slightest provocation. He was overactive and hyper. He was too interested in his looks, even though he was obese and had hair like a dust mop. He was ostentatious, theatrical, and showy. He was as red-faced as a beer drinker. He was crafty before he became senile. He slaved for hours over his work and completely strained himself. It is surprising that such a man lived as long as he did.

Edited February 23, 2012 by Colleen in NS

[Halcyon]

WWS Week 2 Day 1

2/24/2012 by 9yoboy

 

Helen’s teacher gave her a new doll and taught her how to spell the word doll by writing it in her hand. She also learned other words, and later found out that everything has a name. While learning other words, she got frustrated and broke her new doll. Helen’s teacher also taught her how to spell water by dipping her hand in water and writing w-a-t-e-r on her other hand. Helen then walked to her broken doll and regretted breaking it.

[Colleen in NS]

Would those of you that have finished the first Literary Criticism report be alright with posting your dc's analysis in the WWS examples at the writing thread? I am TRYING to understand all of this, but perhaps seeing an example done correctly would be helpful. I am still in a place where we wrote our summary out and then went back and interjected in bits of analysis along the way. I am assuming that isn't right, but I can't seem to understand everyone's replies above. Sorry! I just need to see samples of it done correctly to understand.

 

Week 23, Day 3, 14yo boy

 

colour-coded so you can see how the parts go together in Step three

 

Step one: narrative summary

 

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was a mongoose. He moved in with a family in India. Then he met two cobras in the garden, Nag and Nagaina. Mongooses kill cobras, so the cobras tried to drive him out. Nag entered a bath house to kill the man in the family, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi killed him. Nagaina tried to kill a little boy in revenge for Nag's death, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi lured her away by threatening to smash her last egg. Nagaina seized the egg and fled, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi followed her into her hole and killed her.

 

Step two: two analysis paragraphs

 

First paragraph student is instructed to write: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was the hero of the story. To protect his adopters, he wanted to kill all the snakes in his adopters' garden. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi fought the evil Nag and Nagaina, who intended to kill the humans so that they could raise their young cobras in peace.

 

Second paragraph student is instructed to write: Nag and Nagaina were afraid of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, so they plotted to dispose of him. Nag tried to enter the bathroom to kill the man of the family, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi killed him. In revenge, Nagaina tried to kill the man's son, Teddy, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi stole her egg and lured her away. Finally, she snatched the egg and tried to escape, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi killed her in her own lair.

 

(Hmm...in re-reading his analysis paragraphs, I'm thinking I should have done an even closer coaching job with Step two. He met the requirements laid out in WWS, but very scarcely and a bit obscurely. Anyway...carrying on...)

 

Step three (with revised instructions from the WWS thread http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303489 - post #250 solves the problem, while posts 239-249 lead up to that): putting it all together

 

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was a mongoose who moved in with a family in India. Two cobras, Nag and Nagaina, lived in the family's garden. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi was the hero of the story. To protect his adopters, he wanted to kill all the snakes in his adopters' garden. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi fought the evil Nag and Nagaina, who intended to kill the humans so that they could raise their young cobras in peace.

 

Nag and Nagaina were afraid of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, so they plotted to dispose of him. Nag tried to enter the bathroom to kill the man of the family, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi killed him. In revenge, Nagaina tried to kill the man's son, Teddy, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi stole her egg and lured her away. Finally, she snatched the egg and tried to escape, but Rikki-Tikki-Tavi killed her in her own lair.

 

(SaDonna, because of the colour-coding, you might notice that his exact beginning "who" narrative sentences from Step one are changed in Step three. Following the revised WWS Step three instructions, my son used the first three sentences from his narrative summary from Step one. However, he added a self-editing step by combining them and improving the grammar. But the point is, he used the "who" info. from them that Step three intends for them to see. In this final essay, he put these improved sentences at the beginning of the first analysis paragraph that was produced in Step two. See the colour-coding in Step three.

 

I just realized that what this does is smoothly produce a first paragraph that introduces the protagonist and antagonist, AND analyzes their motives. Now that I understand how to do Step three, I get the purpose.

 

And again, I'm realizing that the analytic parts here are scarce and obscure. But they are there.

 

Please forgive any spelling/grammar/mechanic errors - we were so caught up in trying to understand how to assemble this, and in trying to do the analysis paragraphs properly, that I may have missed some more basic issues. Oh well, next time, I think we'll have a much better handle on it.)

 

hth

Edited February 25, 2012 by Colleen in NS

[onaclairadeluna]

Week 23, Day 3, 14yo boy

 

 

Wow, thanks so much for posting this (and posting all of the steps!!!!) I realize I should have posted here. Today has left me feeling spacey, TGIF.

[Colleen in NS]

Wow, thanks so much for posting this (and posting all of the steps!!!!) I realize I should have posted here. Today has left me feeling spacey, TGIF.

 

You're welcome! I edited my post and colour-coded it so it's easier to see how the parts fit together to assemble the essay in Step three. Hopefully that makes it easier to understand the process.

Edited February 25, 2012 by Colleen in NS

[lewelma]

Week 16. DS is in 6th grade

 

Because my son has never written a description, we spent about 2 hours discussing description in general and this assignment specifically as described on this (very long) post [#114 in http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=348864&page=12 ]. Here is the unedited copy

 

 

My brother, B****, loves to play in the woods. His light brown hair is often dishevelled and black with dirt contrasting greatly with his sanguine cheeks. When he is in the forest, his bright blue eyes sparkle with joy and exhilaration. Sometimes B****'s entire body is covered with dark brown splotches of dirt and he is often dressed in a dusty brown shirt, shorts, and sturdy sandles. Normally, his pockets are bulging with pine cones, twigs, pebbles, and dirt. He likes to carry a home-made dagger and a huge stick for whacking bushes. Altogether, B**** often makes a striking figure.

 

My brother loves to climb trees because climbing them is challenging, and my brother loves a challenge. The trees he climbs are often far too hard for him, and he often falls. However, when he falls, he never complains but continues to climb the same tree. Often, while at the top of a tree, B**** will enjoy the view or chat with a friend.

 

For exercise, my brother likes to destroy bushes with a very large stick. He savours the obliteration of the plants and the explosion of the leaves. B**** attacks the bushes energetically with wild swinging motions. He does not care whether he destroys native or non-native plants, but rather goes for the most succulent because they explode the best.

 

After he obliterates a few bushes, my brother likes to build huts. He builds them for fun and because they are very challenging and difficult to build. All of the forts that he makes are always carefully planned out and constructed to make them stronger. ## One thing my brother is very proud of is that his forts use all natural materials. For example, instead of string, B**** uses flax strips to tie together sticks.

 

My brother also enjoys spying. The secretiveness, the stealth, and the hiding excite him. He has learnt to imitate nature in many ways. He makes rustling noises while walking like a black bird, never uses the same trails, and mimics bird calls to communicate with his friends.

 

 

For editing, we improved the vocabulary, added a conclusion, and really focused on the one very awkward sentence (noted with a ##). We did what SWB suggests and diagrammed it. That technique made the problem very clear to my son, and he changed it by himself. Also, in paragraph 2 I had him add more description about the tree climbing.

 

Edited:

 

 

My brother, B****, adores playing in the woods. His light brown hair is often dishevelled and black with dirt contrasting greatly with his sanguine cheeks. When he is in the forest, his bright blue eyes glow with joy and exhilaration. Sometimes B****'s entire body is covered with splotches of dirt and he is often dressed in a dusty t-shirt, grass-stained shorts, and sturdy sandles. Normally, his pockets are bulging with pine cones, twigs, pebbles, and dirt. He likes to carry a home-made dagger and a heavy branch for whacking bushes. Altogether, B**** often makes a striking figure.

 

My brother loves to climb trees because climbing them is challenging. The trees B**** chooses often have no lower branches and are slick with moss. B****'s shoes occasionally loose traction and he slides down the tree landing forcefully on the hard-packed ground. However, when he falls, he never complains about his injuries but attempts to climb again. Eventually, B**** clambers to the highest branches which can support his weight and enjoys the view or chats with a friend.

 

For exercise, my brother likes to destroy bushes with his favorite stick. He savours the obliteration of the plants and the explosion of the leaves. B**** attacks the bushes energetically with wild swinging motions. He does not care whether he destroys native or non-native plants but rather chooses the most succulent because they explode dramatically.

 

After he obliterates a number of bushes, my brother enjoys building huts. He erects them because they are very challenging and difficult to build. All of the forts he makes are always carefully planned out and constructed to make them stronger. ## My brothers is very proud of his huts because they use all natural materials. For example instead of string, B**** uses flax strips to tie sticks together.

 

My brother also enjoys spying. The secretiveness, stealth, and hiding excite him. He has learnt to imitate nature in many ways. He makes rustling noises to sound like a black bird, never uses the same trails, and mimics bird calls to communicate with his friends.

 

For B****, playing in the woods is one of his most important activities, and it has made him a confident and persistent boy.

Edited February 29, 2012 by lewelma

[lewelma]

Week 17. DS(11) is in 6th grade.

 

In contrast to the previous week, I did not discuss this assignment at all. He was completely independent (Go SWB!)

 

Unedited:

 

He lived in a very frivolous manner, always wasting money and often lavishing huge amounts of money on splendid entertainments. He was a spend thrift without bounds giving money to any poor beggar or gambler who asked for it. He was so weak in controlling his emotions that even a slightly sad story would draw useless tears from his eyes. He was cursed with a very rambunctious and gleeful constitution and was short and fat in his later years. He was far too interested in his looks and had a head of white hair that he was constantly combing and caressing. To the time of his death he was red-faced and flushed. He stayed over-watchful to the end, testosterone-filled, rambunctious, and gleeful. He continued to be an intensely-driven workaholic to his death.

[ErinE]

Week 17. DS(11) is in 6th grade.

 

In contrast to the previous week, I did not discuss this assignment at all. He was completely independent (Go SWB!)

 

Unedited:

 

He lived in a very frivolous manner, always wasting money and often lavishing huge amounts of money on splendid entertainments. He was a spend thrift without bounds giving money to any poor beggar or gambler who asked for it. He was so weak in controlling his emotions that even a slightly sad story would draw useless tears from his eyes. He was cursed with a very rambunctious and gleeful constitution and was short and fat in his later years. He was far too interested in his looks and had a head of white hair that he was constantly combing and caressing. To the time of his death he was red-faced and flushed. He stayed over-watchful to the end, testosterone-filled, rambunctious, and gleeful. He continued to be an intensely-driven workaholic to his death.

 

Thus is such an evocative description. He has a great voice.

 

I just highlighted the overuse of "he" to start the sentence.

[lewelma]

Thus is such an evocative description. He has a great voice.

 

I just highlighted the overuse of "he" to start the sentence.

 

Thanks for that, but I will have to say it is not his voice, exactly. :001_smile: The assignment was to rewrite a description using his copia skills, so all he did was highlight the positively slanted words and replace them with negatively slanted words. So he just cut and pasted his words into the sentences of paper he was rewriting, all of which started with "he.":001_huh: I'm going to ask him if he even noticed the sentence structures of the paragraph, because he is usually pretty good about it.

 

I would be interested to see if other kids actually *rewrote* the paragraph rather than just replacing words.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Beth in SW WA]

Abi, age 8, Week 4, Day 1

Effie acquired a dragon in her eye, but her brother received a dragon, the size of an earwig, in his tea. They curiously peered at their new visitors as the dragons grew bigger each day. Large and small dragons destroyed houses all over the country, while most of the small ones ate the butter. The dragons as big as dogs jumped in the baths, making the water smoke. Some dragons bit and snapped, but large ones hid in the beds and ate lettuce. Many people killed and burned them, but still they failed to purge them from the country.

 

Note: I allowed 5 sentences rather than 4. I see why SWB taught thesaurus use last week. It is dd's new best friend.

[Create Your Ritual]

Literary Analysis Paper

DS8

 

The Bowmen

by Arthur Machen

 

In the story “The Bowmen†by Arthur Machen, English soldiers were fighting against a whole German army. The English army was outnumbered, but still they remained calm until they were almost defeated. They were heroic, while the Germans were called ‘five times heated hell’. WHen the English army was about to be defeated, a soldier whispered a Latin motto to himself, and then St. George appeared with two Bowmen who killed every one of the German soldiers, not even leaving a mark on them.

 

The English soldiers were heroic because they were outnumbered when they fought. They were cheerful, and stuck together like brothers would. This was unlike the Germans, who were called a heathen hoard. The English deserved some help from St. George because they were hard working, and on the side of good.

 

When Machen’s story was reprinted, the English people read his story and thought it was real. They started to say that they had seen the angels. Arthur Machen tried to stop them from believing that his story was true by saying, “It is just a story, and surely my story could not be true.†Regardless of how much he tried, they believed it anyway.

 

 

Literary Analysis Paper

DD10

 

The Bowmen

by Arthur Machen

 

“The Bowman†by Arthur Machen is a story that takes place during World War I. The English army are fighting against the German army. A soldier says a Latin motto to himself and brings upon the help of the patron St. George and his bowmen, who help the English army win the battle.

 

St. George appeared when he was summoned because the soldier had muttered a Latin motto, and because he was the English’s patron saint. The English were the heroes and St. George helped them because they were courageous and like a brotherhood. This was unlike the Germans, a vicious army, who killed their own soldiers and acted like heathen hordes.

 

People believed that “The Bowman†was real. Preachers preached it, and soldiers claimed that they had seen St. George at the battle. Newspapers printed it, and people kept asking for more and more copies of the story. Every time it was printed it changed a little bit. Soon it was angels instead of bowmen who were winning the battle. Arthur Machen said, “A priest wrote to me saying that the main facts of the story must be true, and he said that I must have been mistaken.†Machen tried to stop people and tell them that it was not real, but they did not listen to him.

Edited March 15, 2012 by SaDonna

[1Togo]

Could you provide a bit more information about the lit analysis portion of this assignment? Does WWS include specific questions/guidelines to help the student add analysis to the narrative summary? The two pieces are similar, so more information about the analysis requirements would be helpful.

Edited March 15, 2012 by 1Togo

[Create Your Ritual]

I'm not sure how much I am supposed to 'give away' of it with SWB selling it and all, but I can say that it is very specific about what goes into each paragraph. This was 1 of 4 styles of literary analysis papers that we wrote over the last 4 weeks. Each Lit Paper did start with a short summary of what was read... then would move on into writing about protagonist, antagonist, conflict, etc. in a certain way. This one was different as we also talked about the 'reaction' to the release of the story.

 

It's their first time doing it, and they are relatively young, but I plan to practice all of the paper styles this spring & summer with them choosing their topics. We are moving into 2 level outlining, note taking, citing references, and how to find information in reference materials next.

[Create Your Ritual]

With regards to this level of WWS, SWB supplies all of the information to you initially so that you can practice it with the given materials. This has worked well for our lit analysis papers, and not so well on subjects that we know little about. However, I recognize that we are trying to get the structure of it down first, and so the first rounds will be relatively dry. With practice and developing their own thoughts about a subject that they care about, I think I will see their writing grow.

 

My goal really for this year was just to give us a direction to move in and some understanding about how to organize narratives. We will end this year with a huge Resource Section full of how to write certain things, none of them being the typical 5 paragraph style essay. I like that .. a lot.

[1Togo]

Perhaps you can highlight the analysis portion without giving away anything. Glad to hear that WWS is a good fit for your children, and you are pleased with it.

Edited March 15, 2012 by 1Togo

[Create Your Ritual]

LEWELMA??? SOMEBODY??? I am going to let someone else answer this for you as I am not sure what I am supposed to say. I am not really able to analyze writing curriculum as well as everyone else. This has been more about finding something that I felt like headed us in the direction I understood. LOL. We still are working our way through CC Narrative, but a bit more slowly now.

[1Togo]

If underlining the analysis portions of the pieces would be giving away too much of the instructions, please don't worry about it. I was just curious and really wanted your input about the pieces. I've read enough of lewelma's posts to understand her take on WWS and how she uses it. In fact, her posts about WWS and her curriculum eval posts have helped me make a decision about using WWS. Thanks anyway.

Edited March 15, 2012 by 1Togo

[Cosmos]

If underlining the analysis portions of the pieces would be giving away too much of the instructions, please don't worry about it. I was just curious and really wanted your input about the pieces. I've read enough of lewelma's posts to understand her take on WWS and how she uses it. In fact, her posts about WWS and her curriculum eval posts have helped me make a decision about using WWS. Thanks anyway.

 

Have you seen the scope and sequence that has been previously posted? It shows what aspects are planned in each level for all of the different types of writing.

 

Section IV covers literary analysis. The scope and sequence was posted here.

[1Togo]

Yes, I've seen the scope and sequence, but getting input on actual pieces helps me understand the curriculum better than just looking at a scope and sequence. I am trying to decide if we will use WWS and to what extent. We already use some WTM ideas for our history work, but it sounds like WWS fleshes out that work.

Edited March 15, 2012 by 1Togo

[Cosmos]

Yes, I've seen the scope and sequence, but getting input on actual pieces helps me understand the curriculum better than just looking at a scope and sequence. I am trying to decide if we will use WWS and to what extent. We already use some WTM ideas for our history work, but it sounds like WWS fleshes out that work.

 

Okay, then you've seen that for level one, the literary analysis introduces the student to the idea of asking and answering the following questions about a story:

 

Who is this book about? (central character)

What do the central characters want?

What keeps them/him/her from getting it?

How do they/him/her get what they want?

Do they have an enemy or enemies? Is there a villain?

What does the villain want?

 

I'm not sure what else it is you're looking for.

[1Togo]

Yes, I know about the basic lit questions from the lectures, but I was wondering how that information is woven into the piece. Are there specific instructions for that? I do have a mother sending me more information. Thank you.

[Chrysalis Academy]

DD9, 4th grade, Week 1 Day 4

Three sons went into the forest to cut wood, and met an old man. The youngest, Dullhead, gave the man food and the man gave him a golden goose. Dullhead stayed the night at an inn, and the daughters of the innkeeper tried to take feathers from his goose, and their hands stuck! Dullhead and the girls came to a town where a king with a solemn daughter reigned. The king said whoever could make his daughter laugh could marry her. The goose and girls made her laugh immensely, but the king made Dullhead perform three tasks, for he felt Dullhead was not worthy of his daughter and his throne. The tasks should have been impossible, but Dullhead’s friend, the old man, easily fulfilled the tasks. In the end, Dullhead was given the princess, and he succeeded the throne when the king died.

 

 

I didn't like "laugh immensely" but other than that thought it was pretty good . . .

[lewelma]

Week 18. ds11 6th grade. Using a metaphor to organize a description

King Henry VIII was a confident leader but had a massive ego and a menacing personality. He had huge haunches which crushed many chairs, paws which shattered countless wine glasses, and a gigantic golden mane which out shown all others. He had a terrible limp caused by a odoriferous wound which never closed. He growled menacingly at anyone nearby and roared at people that had offended him. He was forced to lurk in his den, served by fearful servants who brought him meals which he devoured, gnawing on any last bone. Although King Henry VIII was a majestic monarch, to his servants he was rude and threatening.

Edited March 30, 2012 by lewelma

[lewelma]

Week 19. ds11 6th grade. Chronological Narrative with a descriptive paragraph

Daniel Boone was an amazing American explorer and pioneer. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1734 but his love of the frontier drove him to the unpopulated stated of North Carolina when he was 22. However, even North Carolina soon became over crowded forcing Daniel Boone to explore new territory in what is now Kentucky. To start a new settlement, Boone had to mark a trail to Kentucky. It took him an entire year, but eventually he finished it in 1775. His trail, known as the wilderness road, went through the Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian mountains ending in Kentucky.

 

Daniel Boone adored exploring, hunting, and trapping. From his childhood Boone had spent most of his time in the forest going on this first hunting expedition when he was only twelve. During most autumns throughout his life, Daniel Boone would leave his home on “long hunts” which could last for months. Boone hunted like this until his death in 1820 at the age of 85. Although most of the stories about Daniel Boone are just tall tales, Boone is known to history as a wilderness explorer.

[lewelma]

Week 20. ds11 6th grade

 

 

Without my guidance, ds mutated this assignment into a persuasive essay. A bit tricky given that he has yet to learn how to write persuasively. :001_huh: I know his thesis and examples are weak, but I was so proud of him for trying something new on his own, that I let it stand.

 

 

To many, Shakespeare is the English poet of all time. He was born in April, 1564, and when he was twenty one he was hired by a theatre company and began his play-writing career. This company was the first to perform Shakespeare's plays in the Globe Theatre, the model for all theatres after it. Unfortunately, the Globe Theatre burned down, and with no where to perform his plays, Shakespeare retired. A few years later he died.

 

Shakespeare is definitely best known for his plays, which advanced from his early works to his later masterpieces. They evolved from simple imitative story lines to plays with more interwoven plots. His early plays normally used copied plots or were histories which can easily be written from past events. For example, The Comedy of Errors uses the simple plot of mistaken identity, and Richard III is a simple history. Although his early works are still popular, their plots were nowhere near as awe inspiring as his later masterpieces.

 

Shakespeare's comedies had many more interwoven plots than his earlier plays. For example Midsummer's Night Dream and The Merchant of Venice both have three plots. Later, these plays became even more advanced with the high and low aspects of English life carefully blended. A good example of this is Twelfth Night. Altogether, Shakespeare's comedies use interwoven plot to make commentaries on life in that period.

 

Shakespeare's tragedies are different from his earlier work in two aspects: the fatal flaw, the flaw that causes the characters downfall, and the external pressure, something that helps that downfall. For example in Macbeth, his fatal flaw is his want of power and the external pressure is his wife. The fatal flaw and the external pressure can be found in almost all of his tragedies. From Shakespeare's earlier plays to his later masterpieces, he developed more complicated plots and characters, making his plays the best in the world.

Edited March 30, 2012 by lewelma

[Create Your Ritual]

I love those samples Lewelma! Your ds definitely seems to be in the 'thinking about what he wants to say' mode. I hope my children reach that one day! ;-) It makes a difference when they engage in the story and really want to 'persuade' someone.

 

I don't have a sample to report right now, but am super excited by all that we have learned in WWS over the past week. We have begun week 29, and are knee deep in Works Cited pages and Footnotes and taking our own notes for our Julius Caesar Narrative. Today we took the note cards for the chronological narrative portion and laid them all out on the floor. We had two different references that we had used, and some of the material was overlapping, so this was an opportunity to whittle it down a bit and re-order them. I discussed how this was a bit like putting a puzzle together... you had to lay out all the pieces so that you could SEE what the whole picture looked like.

 

By the end of the process we had a new order, with a finished outline of each paragraph and what note cards go into what paragraph. The past two weeks have been like laying bricks, but I can see that eventually this will lead to a well ordered MIND and hopefully a well ordered paper. As I mentioned above, actually having them CARE about the material they are writing about is a different story, but perhaps as I learn how best to ask the right questions and have good discussions with them then they too will grow.

 

What kind of discussions do you have with your son when talking about each paper. Have you noticed whether you are asking the same kinds of questions, or are you able to really tailor it to each subject. I can't even imagine dd10 being able to see how Shakespeare's tragedies differ. ;-)

[lewelma]

Week 21. ds(11) 6th grade

 

Rough draft: We obviously need to work on run-on sentences:001_smile:. He knows a lot about this subject, so he added to SWB's info when writing.

 

When a main sequence star finishes converting all of its hydrogen into helium, it starts to collapse pulled by gravity towards the core of the star because the outward moving currents of superheated plasma, keeping the star from imploding, had cooled to a stop. Unfortunately, the helium cannot be fused together until it reaches the incredible temperature of 20 million degrees, but the temperature of the helium packed core of the collapsing star soon exceeds it, causing the helium to start to fuse.

 

When the helium starts to fuse, the internal processes of the star start up again, but this time the currents of superheated plasma are much larger and actively expand the star turning it into a red giant, a star which is at least 100 times the size of the sun.

 

Eventually, the red giant burns all of its supply of helium and the currents of superheated plasma will again come to a halt but this time the star is so large that the outer layer of the star dissipates into the space around it creating a planetary nebula. However, if the red giant is big enough it will collapse, and when it hits the core it will bounce off turning into a supernova, the largest explosion in the universe.

 

In the middle of a planetary nebula there is a white dwarf. A white dwarf is what remains of the old star once it had ejected its outer layers. They are normally the size of Earth, but they are immensely condensed - a single teaspoon of the star would weigh ten tons.

 

After nearly a billion years a white dwarf will finally cool down and become a black dwarf.

 

 

 

Final Draft: I had him write an intro paragraph before I realized that SWB was going to teach that in the next lesson! The first sentence of paragraph 2 is still too long, but slightly less awkward.

 

The Death of a Star

 

For thousands of years, people believed that stars were stationary pin pricks of light in the sky. But in the 19th and 20th centuries, scientists were able to prove that stars change over billions of years. An average sized-star goes through a predictable sequence of stages, starting as a nebula and eventually ending as a small black sphere of carbon.

 

When a main sequence star finishes converting all of its hydrogen into helium, the super-heated outward-moving currents of plasma, keeping the star from imploding, cool to a stop, and the star collapses, pulled by gravity towards the core of the star. Unfortunately, the helium cannot be fused together until it reaches the incredible temperature of 20 million degrees, but the temperature of the helium packed core of the collapsing star soon exceeds it causing the helium to start to fuse.

When the fusion begins the internal processes of the star start up again, but this time the currents of super-heated plasma are much larger and actively expand the star turning it into a red giant, a star which is at least 100 times the size of the original star.

Eventually, the red giant burns all of its supply of helium and the currents of super-heated plasma will again come to a halt. However, this time the star is so large that the outer layer of the star dissipates into the space around it creating a planetary nebula. However, if the red giant is big enough, it will collapse, and when it hits the core, it will bounce off turning into a supernova, the largest explosion in the universe.

In the middle of a planetary nebula there is a white dwarf. A white dwarf is what remains of the old star once it ejected its outer layers. They are normally the size of Earth, but immensely condensed – a single teaspoon of the star would way 10 tons.

 

After nearly a billion years a white dwarf will finally cool down and become a black dwarf.

Edited April 5, 2012 by lewelma

[lewelma]

Week 22. ds(11) 6th grade

 

First and final draft. No editing this week (except spelling and punctuation) because it is spring break and we ran out of time! Plus, there are not really a lot of suggestions I would make in arrangement. For style, 7 of the first 8 sentences start with the subject, but the flow is still pretty good.

 

Our neighbor is a linguist by training and told ds once that Octopus is a greek word and that Octopodes is the plural. Well, this is technically true but the dictionary says that "octopodes" is rare and pedantic. He still wanted to use it. So sorry for all of you in favor of "Octopuses."

 

 

Octopodes are incredibly smart and curious creatures. The famous French Naturalist, Jacques Cousteau, once filmed one on his yacht climb out of its tank, slide down a table leg, crawl across the deck, and fall into the water.

Octopodes have been known about for thousands of years. Aristotle collected a huge amount of knowledge about them; most of which was correct. Unfortunately, not as much is known about octopodes as other sea animals because commercially valuable fish receive most of the research money.

The eight arms of an octopus are connected at the base to a beaked mouth. Its huge head contains all of its internal organs including three hearts that pump blue blood. An octopus can change colour almost instantaneously to camouflage itself against any background or, in the case of males, to put on a dazzling display when mating.

After mating the female octopus finds a suitable crevice and attaches her egg capsules to the rocks with a sticky string-like substance. She then carefully blocks up her den with rocks and starts pumping water around the eggs to keep off fungus.

After about seven weeks, tiny flea-sized octopodes emerge. Even then, they can swim and change colour, and soon they leave the crevice that they were born in and joint the vast legions of plankton that drift in the sea.

When they are old enough, the baby octopodes find themselves a crevice that they will live in for most of their lives. Because they have a soft body without any shell, octopodes leave their crevice to eat or, in the case of males, to mate.

 

Soon baby octopodes float again in the open ocean, and the cycle re-occurs.

Edited April 5, 2012 by lewelma

[LibraryLover]

How fun to read these! We're also using WWS.

Edited April 10, 2012 by LibraryLover

[Cosmos]

I haven't posted work here before, but I have found others' examples very helpful. These are three topoi papers from my ds 11 as he has worked through WWS. None of them has gone through a revision process (yet).

 

Week 8 Description of a Place for two purposes

 

The room was vast and the ceiling towered high above. The grime covered windows were high and narrow. The dusty floor was gouged with holes in it's rotten boards. In the gloomy twilight the last rays of light struggled through the windows, while shadows lurked in the corners. Dingy, tattered curtains sagged at the windows. The furniture flung eerie shadows that cascaded through the gloom.

 

The room was spacious, and the ceiling soared to a vaulted roof. The windows were tall and curved at the top. The floor was oaken and well polished and swept. The sun was gloriously setting outside, and the light flooded through the windows, but there were nice cozy nooks of shadows in the corners. Light, airy curtains cascaded down the windows, and there was a lot of furniture in the room.

 

Week 11 Ivan the Terrible

 

Right after Ivan the Terrible was crowned tsar of Russia he went on a spree of conquering and added greatly to Russia's territory. Ivan's kingdom expanded into the Mongols, its western neighbors, and some of Siberia. In 1552 the Turkish city of Kazan was taken as well.

 

In 1552 to celebrate his victories the tsar ordered the construction of a new cathedral. Construction began three years later and it took 124 years to build. Originally the church was called Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin. Later the cathedral was renamed after Saint Basil the Blessed to give it the name we know today.

 

In the past and probably in the future people will think of Saint Basil's Cathedral as the oddity of oddities. Some people may have trouble believing that it is a real cathedral made out of stone and not a fake cathedral made out of candy by an overenthusiastic toddler who likes bright colors too much. Sprawling majestically, the base has stout columns of rusty brown brick and is teeming with arches adorned with white-washed brick. A central tower soars above the city landscape, surmounted by the largest golden dome with a tapering cross above it. Multiple shorter towers with tops like colored swirls of beautiful whipped cream crowd around the grand, central tower.

 

The tsar began to lose his mind causing him to begin a rein of terror. He became known as Ivan the Terrible meaning Ivan the Dreaded. Once Ivan wrote, "If a tsar's subjects do not obey him they will forever be at war with one another." Ivan the Terrible formed a secret police called "oprichina". They had brooms and black clothes to symbolize sweeping clean. After massacring his city of Novgorod Ivan IV said, "We are free to show favor to our servants and are free to put them to death."

 

 

Week 13 Description of a Volcano from a Present Point of View

Note: Ds chose to describe the birth of a volcano in Mexico that he had read about. It actually did grow out of the ground in a farmer's field.

 

For fifteen days the earthquakes rocked the landscape. They made the ground move up and down as if at sea. The ground undulated softly on the fifteenth day, February 20, 1943, as we went out to the fields. At around 4:30 p.m. the earth split down my cornfield with a dreadful roar. Moments later a hole opened within the deep rent. The hole spewed ashes and fiery cinders that proceeded to set some pine trees about a hundred feet away afire. A sulfurous odor permeated the air while we dashed to safety. That night a thirty foot mound arose from the newborn volcano. On the next day lava started to pour from the volcano's throat. The lava flowed slowly about fifteen miles a hour. It bubbled from the three vents, fountaining into the air, giving the crater a pearly pink light. For nine years the volcano, Paricutin, erupted. In its time as an active volcano Paricutin killed only three people.

[Create Your Ritual]

Those are great samples Cosmos! I love being able to share this with dd10 & ds9 to see how others have put together the same material.

 

** I wanted to add that while my kids are younger, they are still getting a lot out of this year. We are almost finished with Week 29 - Julius Caesar. My dd10 actually had already figured out where she wanted to interject her desc. of Caesar and the desc. of Ravenna into the chronological narrative. She is also working independently on her footnotes and works cited page. She did all of that without me even asking. So.. even if the 'content' isn't wonderful to start (I don't actually know as I haven't corrected it yet), I just love that she is beginning to see how a paper goes together and is trying to complete the steps on her own. This is the first time we have done something to this length, but the previous weeks and steps have stayed with her and she is building knowledge.

 

dd10 also figured out rather early that it is MUCH better to put things in your own words than to write out 10 footnotes!

 

ds9 (just turned 9) is also able to write notes, and put together an intelligent paper without having to use only footnote after footnote. He is a slower typer, so I am not requiring him to do works cited and all that just yet, but he is along for the ride and understanding the material and by the summer should be able to do the full amount.

Edited April 13, 2012 by SaDonna

[Create Your Ritual]

WWS Week 29 - Julius Caesar

dd10 − 5th grade

 

After completing the Gallic Campaign in 48 BC, Caesar was very powerful. The Roman Senate asked him to "disband his soldiers."1 Caesar found out about the Senate's decree when he was at Ravenna on the 10th of January.

 

After fighting in Gaul, Caesar, ready for a long rest, went to Ravenna, which stands like an oasis in the desert. It is a city of fruitfulness and peace. Figs and pomegranates grow in plentiful bunches along the shores. The houses "stand on piles of sand looking out over the horizon."2 There are no streets, only canals, and people go about in gondolas. The houses have a sea breeze blowing through them constantly.

 

The Senate asked Caesar to let go of his army, but he, excluding their rule, traversed the Rubicon, the river no army had ever dared to cross. As he marched through Italy, all the cities threw open their gateways, fearing the mighty Caesar. Sixty days "after the announcement from the Senate, Caesar reached the Capitol."3

 

When Caesar came home, the Senate was too afraid of him to do anything but congratulate him. Caesar wanted Rome to be "the center of a great empire"4• He made the Senate larger by bringing men from other nations into it. Over the next four years, Caesar fought in Egypt, Spain, Pontius, and Numidia. People piled Caesar with awards and honored him because he was so great.

 

Many people think of Caesar as a man who was always fighting, but there was another side to this man. Caesar had "charm and gracious courtesy that won all hearts, and could make friends of enemies."5 Of the eighty senators he was brighter and more capable than most. He was also very proud of his appearance.

 

Although Caesar was the greatest man in Rome, many men were plotting against him behind his back. They felt as if he had become too powerful. On the 15th of March, Caesar was killed in the Senate house by Brutus as well as others who wanted him dead.

 

Delphian Society. The Delphian Course ( The Society. 1913 ), pg. 480.

Albert Harkness. Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic War with Notes, dictionary and a map of Gaul (American Book Company 1913), pg. 13 -15.

Mason Willis West. Ancient History to the Death of Charlemagne ( Allyn and Bacon 1902 ), pg. 381.

Adrin Keith Goldsworthy. Caesar: Life of a Colusuluss. (Yale University Press 2006 ), pg. 268.

John Addington Symonds. Sketches and studies in Southern Europe (Harper and Brothers 1880), pg. 183.

W.A. Cadwell. A Journey in Corniala, Italy and France in the Years (Archibald Constible and Co. 1817), pg. 76.

 

Works Cited Page

The Delphian Society. The Delphian Caurse. Chicago: The Society, 1913.

Harkness, Albert.Caesars Commentarys on the Gallic War with Notes a Dictionary and a Map of Gaul. New York: American Book Company, 1901.

Goldsworthy, Adrin, Keith Caesar ;Life of a Calusulus. New York: Yale University Press .2006.

Symonds John Addington. Sketches and Studies in Southern Europe. Chicago: Harper and Brothers. 1913.

Willis Mason West. Ancient History to the Death af Charlamage. New York: Allyn and Bacon. 1902.

[kanagnostos]

The Sinking of Titanic

 

A massive iceberg was noticed, and the first officer commanded the vessel turned to port. However, the ship collided with the iceberg at 11:41 p.m., 37 seconds after notification. The jagged edge of the berg cut the right side of the ship.

 

Not long after, the captain realized the ship was sinking. Ship builder Thomas Andrews informed the captain the ship would go down in one and a half hours. Captain Smith said, "Give the command for all passengers to be on deck with life-belts on." Unfortunately the lifeboats could only carry half the passengers on the boat. The second officer asked, "Hadn't we better get the women and children into the boats, sir?" The lifeboats were filled with women and children at 12:25 a.m., and the first ones were launched at 1:10 a.m. Many people didn't want to get into the lifeboats. They said, "It is only a matter of waiting until another ship comes to pick us up." As a result, at first the lifeboats were only one-fourth full; later they were overloaded. The last lifeboat was launched at 2:05 a.m. The captain went down with the ship but told the officers to save themselves.

 

Rescue arrived at 4:10 a.m. Only 711 of the 2222 people were saved in lifeboats. The Carpathia picked passengers up until 8:55 a.m. and then set out for New York. Five people died on board, and the survivors reached New York on April 18.

[Halcyon]

Week 6 Day 4 (Titanic narration) by DS9

 

At 11:40 p.m., on the night of April 26, 1912, a mammoth iceberg was spotted directly up ahead by one of the crewman on the Titanic.To avoid hitting the iceberg, the first officer screamed, “Turn the ship port!†The clock ticked 37 seconds. BOOM!!!! the iceberg struck fiercely and immediately a gush of water began to flood the bottom of the ship.

 

Shipbuilder Thomas Andrews cried out to the captain, “The ship will sink in 1 ½ hours!†The lifeboats were readied but the captain didn’t realize that the lifeboats would only be able to carry half the passengers. Wireless operators sent out old distress calls (CQD) and new distress calls (SOS). The closest ship, the Carpathia, was 4 hours away and could not help immediately.

 

Electricity failed at 2:18 a.m and shortly afterwards, the ship split in half and sank. Only one lifeboat returned for the sinking passengers. 1517 died.

[Create Your Ritual]

I love those Halcyon!!

This is dd10s recent WWS Wk 30 (she is nothing if not dramatic with her similes.. lol)

Digestive Science Report -

 

 

The Digestive System

 

By dd10

 

The food that you eat makes several changes before it is finally used as energy for your body. If you were a piece of food making your way through the digestive system you would make numerous alterations. First you would be gnashed and crushed by the teeth like a car in a junkyard, flying around the mouth. Then you would be swallowed and move down the gullet like you were on a perilously slow slide. There you would enter the stomach.

 

The stomach is a hollow bag that can hold about three pints of fluid. Once food enters it is dissolved by gastric juices which turns it into a grayish color. The food is then made into a soft mass “like very thick soup.â€1 This “cream- like substanceâ€2 is called chyme.

 

The chyme passes into the small intestine. This chyme is mixed with bile from the liver, and is now a substance called chyle. The chyle passes into the small intestine and is used as food for the cells. The good chyle is released into the blood stream, while the bad chyle is carried along further into the intestines, and is eventually ejected out of the body.

 

The small intestine is like a big bowl of noodles in its appearance. At the entrance to the intestine is hair- like things called villi, which absorb the tiny particles of food and release them into the blood stream. It is called the small intestine because it is a little smaller around, but it is really almost twenty feet long in length which makes it longer than the large intestine.

 

This entire process is usually completed in three or four hours, then it is time for your next meal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Edward, S. Holden, Real Things in Nature (The Macmillan Company, 1910), pg.318.

 

2 John Frost, The Class Book of Nature (Belknap and Hammersley ,1839), pg.220.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Holden, Edward S. Real Things in Nature. New York: The Macmillan Company,1910.

 

Frost, J. Class Book of Nature. Hartford: Belknap and Hamersley, 1839.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Abi, age 8

 

Day 3... This was a challenging lesson for her. We obviously need to ramp up our non-fiction narrations. :)

 

Peter The Great of Russia, fascinated by the West, wanted a ship to sail to Europe for trading goods. He needed a new port, and he found Azov, a perfect place, but full of Turkish people. He built twenty-five war ships in order to capture the city. To his delight, Peter the Great defeated the Turks, and from that point forward Azov was their port so they could sail into Europe.

 

I know this was from awhile ago, but every time I come back to this thread it makes me giggle. Darn Turkish people!! :D

 

Seriously, Beth, it's fun to read your dd's writing. I'm grateful to everyone who is sharing samples. We're in week 6, and it's getting a little harder, but the writing is getting a little better. The ability to persevere until she gets to a final product she can be proud of is getting better, too . . . and this makes me happier than anything else.

[Create Your Ritual]

We are beginning Wk 31 and will be doing a biographical sketch of Marie Antoinette. I knew very little about her and neither did the kids. I wanted to find a few sources online to watch docs & read up about what was going on during that time in history. Here is what I have found in case it could be useful to others when the time comes -

 

http://www.pbs.org/marieantoinette/

 

Make sure and click on all of the options .. Timeline, Royal Life, Famous Faces, Global Revolution, and info for Educators. Also... the kids and I have watched 1/2 of the full PBS doc so far and I wanted to extend a word of caution if you want to watch the film. It does contain references to the 'issues in the bedroom' between Marie Antoinette and her husband, King Louis. They were young, inexperienced, and knew nothing of what or how to make babies .. it is explicit in the instructions that were offered to 'help' them along. lol. aye .. we had to stop the film a few times to 'discuss'... all that said, I just wanted to warn you. Honestly it is a REALLY GOOD DOCUMENTARY besides that issue.. and in the context of everything else we have learned in history it was hardly surprising that sex & politics would be so intertwined.

 

Here is the link to the PBS Documentary in case you are still interested. ;-)

 

http://royalcorrespondent.com/2011/02/09/a-pbs-documentary-about-marie-antoinette/

 

Also, I have not watched this yet, but here is a link to a full documentary about the French Revolution.

 

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/french-revolution/

Edited May 3, 2012 by SaDonna

[Create Your Ritual]

Sorry .. it posted twice .. so I erased the second!

[Create Your Ritual]

By the way, this site has an extensive list of documentaries and in some cases you can download them for free.

 

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/watch-online/

[Crimson Wife]

Week 4, Day 4, Chronological Narrative (unedited)

 

 

The Military Victories of Alexander the Great

 

 

Alexander the Great had many military victories. At age 18, he fought at his father’s side in the successful battle of Chaeronea. Alexander’s father was assassinated by his bodyguard in 336 B.C., and Alexander ascended the throne at age 20. He ordered that certain people who might be jealous be destroyed. When the Greek cities in Alexander’s kingdom rebelled, he swiftly recaptured them.

Alexander visited the city of Gordium, and learned about the Gordium knot. Rumor was that whoever untied it would rule the world. Alexander cut the knot in two with his sword. Later, he defeated the ruler of Persia, Darius, at the Battle of Issus. Darius retreated, and left his wife, mother, and children to the mercy of the enemy. Thankfully, Alexander treated them with respect.

In 332 B.C., Alexander invaded Egypt. First, he was proclaimed pharaoh, and he founded Alexandria, where a great library would be. He invaded Persia again, and defeated Darius again. Darius again ran away, and Alexander claimed Babylon and Susa. Finally, Darius was killed by a man named Bessus.

[felicity]

This is my incredibly reluctant 11yo son:

 

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. Mars’ diameter is 4,200 miles which is almost half of Earth’s diameter. The Martian year is longer than Earth’s year, which means it takes it longer to orbit the sun. The Martian year is 686 days long. The Martian day is twenty-four hours, thirty-seven minutes long, not much longer than Earth’s day. The color is orange-red with blue-gray markings. There are clouds of reddish dust on the surface because of iron oxide. The polar caps are white. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Diemos. Phobos rises in the west and sets in the east while Diemos rises in the east and sets in the west. They do not collide because Diemos sets 2.7 days later than Phobos.

There’s no liquid water on Mars because the atmospheric pressure is too low. The north polar cap is made of water and ice and is about two kilometers thick whereas the south polar cap is covered by carbon dioxide ice and is about eight meters thick. There are two large craters called Hellas and Argyre which were made by meteors hitting Mars. They are both in the Southern Hemisphere. Hellas is three miles deep and 1,400 miles across. There are shield volcanos in the Northern Hemisphere. Shield volcanoes are made by layers of lava building up over time. There are four huge volcanoes reaching a height of eighteen miles. The biggest volcano is called Olympus Mons and is visible from Earth as a dark spot on Mars.

The core is most likely made of iron sulfide which is a heavy combination of iron and sulpher and could be partially liquid. The mantle is made of silicate and is lighter than the core. The crust ranges from thirty-one miles to seventy-seven in thickness and the soil is made up of magnesium, sodium, potassium, and chloride.

 

 

I told him that it was good but I'd love some feedback from someone other than his mom.

[Create Your Ritual]

WWS Week 15, Day 4 (Hydrothermal Vents) .. for those who haven't gotten there yet, this would be a great video to add to the Alvin youtube footage that I suggested.

 

 

 

It's a TED Talk and extremely interesting!

[Chrysalis Academy]

WWS Week 6, Day 4: The Titanic

 

DD9

(caveat: we took some liberties with this assignment; dd is kinda morbidly fascinated with the Titanic, so she asked to read her own source material and take notes. So this essay is a little long, ~350 words, and it is based on her own reading, note-taking, outlining, and writing.)

 

J. Bruce Ismay worked for the White Star Line. He was the manager of the Titanic project, and his goal was to design the most luxurious ship in the world. He wanted the Titanic to be designed for comfort instead of speed. He also claimed it would be unsinkable. Though his goal was good, the ship took two years to build and cost $7,500,000.

 

The Titanic had three different classes of passengers. First class got the most luxurious things and got the most attention from the stewards and stewardesses. Second class still got attention, but their things were not as fancy as first class. Third class, or steerage, didn't have near as fancy things as first class, and the 710 steerage passengers all had to share two bathrooms!

 

On April 14, 1912 the captain had been getting ice warnings all day. Now they received a sixth warning. The Titanic was ignoring most of the warnings. The signal, "Shut up! Shut up! We are busy!" was transmitted to a ship which had sent an ice warning. But at 11:40 pm an iceberg was spotted. The man on duty tried to stop the ship, but it was too late. A long grinding noise was heard. The Titanic had crashed!

 

Everyone sprang into action. It was 11:41 pm. The engines were turned off. The ship was damaged on the side and bottom. Water poured into the compartments, and Boiler Room 6 started to flood.

 

Some of the passengers heard the noise and came on deck. The women and children were put into the lifeboats. Many women were separated from their husbands and grown sons. Soon distress rockets were fired and the ship Carpathia, about three hours away, saw them. The water was so old that everyone who fell overboard froze to death, even if they were wearing life belts. When the Carpathia arrived only 705 out of about 2,200 people were saved.

 

 

 

Hah. I just realized that she never actually says that the ship sank! Maybe a few edits are in order . . . ;)

[kanagnostos]

Hydrothermal Vents and Creatures That Live in Them

 

A deep ocean hydrothermal vent is a fissure between tectonic plates on the ocean floor where water shoots out at high temperatures. Scientists hypothesized that these rifts existed, although no such rift had been discovered before 1977.

 

In 1976 scientists sent unmanned craft down into the Galapagos Rift. These craft fetched water which had strange mineral content. As a result an expedition was launched in 1977. A manned submarine dove down into the rift to a depth of 2500 meters. They discovered hot springs in the ocean floor which were actually hydrothermal vents. Scientists called the vents "lush oases in a sunless desert...a phenomenon totally new to science."

 

As I dive down into the ocean deep, I splash and feel the cold water washing over me. Now I will endeavor to search for some hydrothermal vent creatures. First, I see some giant mussels! I observe their shells are yellow, and they feel rough like stone. I understand their food is bacteria they get from the seawater. The next species I encounter is the giant clam. Freaky! Now these have white shells and red flesh, the cause of which is their oxygen rich flesh. I measure one of these monstrosities, and it is a whopping foot long! I move on to the white crab. These are the predators of the giant mussels, but they also eat tube worm stalks. Tube worms have white stalks protruding from the ground and red plumes filled with a substance called hemoglobin. Sometimes they can grow very long. They only get energy from the bacteria inside of them. They have no mouths or digestive systems. Now that I have seen some of these vents and creatures and their habitats, I will return to the surface, for I am quite out of oxygen!

[momaof3]

This may be silly for some but what is WWS? I can't find what the acronym means.:confused: Thanks

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Writing With Skill by Susan Wise Bauer :001_smile:

[finlee@home]

I know my DS 14 can write better than this. But, this is want was acceptable in his ps class. This sample was done in late Feb. It is a free writing assignment of 4 minutes with the given topic "I think the legal driving age should be....."

 

DS14 response just as he wrote it:

 

" I think the leigal driving age should be lower, to the age 13 because some people Can drive at that age and some cant and I wanna drive Places and I allready have a vehical and I wanna drive and not have to listen to my mom wying about how loud the music is or how Fast Im going."

 

WHERE am I supposed to start?? Spelling? Grammar? Mechanics? Wow....just wow :confused: This will be our first year of hs'ing and I will also have an upcoming 7th grader who cannot do any better. :bigear:

[momaof3]

Thank you

[Colleen in NS]

I know my DS 14 can write better than this. But, this is want was acceptable in his ps class. This sample was done in late Feb. It is a free writing assignment of 4 minutes with the given topic "I think the legal driving age should be....."

 

DS14 response just as he wrote it:

 

" I think the leigal driving age should be lower, to the age 13 because some people Can drive at that age and some cant and I wanna drive Places and I allready have a vehical and I wanna drive and not have to listen to my mom wying about how loud the music is or how Fast Im going."

 

WHERE am I supposed to start?? Spelling? Grammar? Mechanics? Wow....just wow :confused: This will be our first year of hs'ing and I will also have an upcoming 7th grader who cannot do any better. :bigear:

 

Yes; spelling, grammar/mechanics, basic writing skills.

 

You could post on the K-8 curric. forum, asking about different programs. My favourites for these areas are:

 

- Writing Road to Reading to teach spelling/printing/cursive/how-to-read (not all the other stuff it teaches)

- Rod and Staff for grammar (try starting at Level 5 with both of your kids)(leave out the composition lessons, in favour of the writing program named below...)

- Writing With Ease Level 3 or 4, or possibly Writing With Skill (WWS follows WWE, if WWE skills are in place - see diagnostic tests in WWE)

 

The grammar and the writing programs I named are excellent for leading you, the teacher, through teaching your student. They are thorough and clear, and will build an excellent foundation for future writing.

 

The spelling/reading program I named is doable if you're willing to study how the system works, but it can be intimidating for some people. I personally use just the book and not all the accompanying items. However, if it looks like too much for your brain, just post on the K-8 board asking about other good spelling programs - there are several out there.

 

Good luck - you can do this!

[Halcyon]

Week 14 Day 4. Scientific Description. DS10.

 

Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has a diameter of about half the Earth, and has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Phobos and Deimos are asteroids that got too close to Mars' gravity. Mars' atmosphere contains mostly carbon dioxide, a little nitrogen and a tiny amount of argon. At the equator, the highest temperature in the summer is 78.8 degrees Fahrenheit and in the winter, the lowest temperature is -230.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature at the equator and the poles are completely different.

 

 

Mars has absolutely no water and has an occasional dust storm in the summer which often begins on Hellas Basin. Hellas Basin is a giant crater three miles deep and 1,400 miles across. Wind storms turn into dust storms which spread all around the planet. Imagine you are on a rocket ship going to Mars. When you land on Mars and step out of the rocket ship, you feel sand whipping against your face like tiny daggers. A dust storm is forming! You have landed in the crater Hellas Basin! You can only see five feet ahead of you because the dust is so thick.

 

 

Shield volcanoes are located in the Northern hemisphere of Mars, and can reach up to 18 miles in height. Olympus Mons, the biggest one, is visible from Earth as a dark spot. A shorter volcano, named Syrtis Major, is made of dark volcanic rock. Shield volcanoes must be really old because they are extremely big and it must have taken them a long time to form.

 

Edited August 27, 2012 by Halcyon