Create Your Ritual Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I would love to really dig in and work with the kids using Image Grammar, CW Homer/CC, and or WWS for an entire week. We also use MCT Town and Killgallon. I would love to set it up in a way that wasn't too tedious, but engaged them and created a fun atmosphere of writing, copia skills, possibly reading literature (say... A Christmas Carol) mixed in with writing work. I know that Image Grammar would do a brilliant job of this if I could bring in the movie selections mixed with the books to show how the zoom in technique works. I just can't seem to dig into all of this when there are so many other subjects to get to and would love to see what would happen if we did a whole week of writing (and maybe math in the afternoon). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 In my house? Well :001_unsure: it would include a whole lot of pouting, possibly some tears, and definitely a whole lot of complaining. :tongue_smilie: I'm not too sure how the kids would react though. :smilielol5::rofl::smilielol5: Probably not what you're looking for, huh? ;) But, hey, it's the honest truth. (I would like to say that I really like your idea and that I can see it working out beautifully, just not with my kids at this time. :() Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 We did this last year. I think we did just writing and math for two full weeks. It really helped. The concentrated lessons helped me pinpoint some deficits in ds's learning. I blogged each day of the 10 days. Scroll down to the post entitled Conquering the Dragon of Words where I explain my plan and the daily posts are in reverse order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 I remember this!!! I needed to go back through it though and see if there was anything I could apply to my dc.. thank you for the link! I think my main goal with this is to get dd10 to start creating sentences that don't ALWAYS start with the subject of the sentence first. I would love to have her begin creating more intricate sentences. We have been learning about participial phrases, gerand phrases, appositives, etc. Now we just need to implement them. I know image grammar has good exercises... things that might help us break up the 'just writing' time. I remember something about watching an excerpt from Indiana Jones and putting it with the written version from the book and seeing how the camera zoomed in and took the information from the book and brought it to life. I am not concerned right now about essays or getting paragraphs straight.. just creating better sentences. Anyway... hopefully I will come up with something. I would love to hear more suggestions though. I am off to finish reading your writing clinic posts Paula. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) Oh and we have been reading 'My Family and Other Animals' by Gerald Durrell and just started The Christmas Carol .. so we are getting plenty of descriptive literature reading .. except all dd10 can say is, "Boy they sure are good writers!" Edited December 7, 2011 by SaDonna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowperch Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I love this idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Me too.. I think we will just stop Latin, Spelling, Vocab work, traditional grammar, science & history for the week .. perhaps even 10 days like Paula and work on all sorts of writing and then do math after lunch. I just have to dig around and see how I want this to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Sadonna - where in Image Grammar is the Indiana Jones reference? Have you looked at the rubrics in the back of Image Grammar? Print it out for DD and have her check off which element she has used in a piece of writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 This is a fun idea!!! We've been doing more intensive writing stuff here the last few days, but we've been including grammar (the boys are both enjoying diagramming!) I like the idea of digging in and focusing on writing. If we were to do it, we would probably find topics that they love (for older it would be sharks, for younger, it might be favorite books) and do a real research report, just for kicks. I think they would love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 I know it was in the old Image Grammar. I will have to look now in the new one to see. I haven't dug in enough to look at the rubrics though.. good idea. This is what I am saying.. we are so busy with CC and WWS that I feel like I am missing the few key things that I wanted to concentrate on with their sentences. I am hoping by stopping for a bit and focusing in more closely on it that when we pick back up with our normal curriculums we will have a few more creative tools in our tool boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 "Intensives" are not my style, so I can't help you there. But if you want to work on writing better sentences, why not pull some beautifully written sentences out of lit and work together on just how many different ways the sentence could have been constructed? Then pull out a paragraph with a nice variety of sentence structures and together re-write the paragraph altering the sentences? (for example, turn complex sentences into simple sentences and simple sentences into complex.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I would do a combo and mix it up a lot. Copywork each day, at each child's level. Reading aloud of an excellent book with intricate sentences. Freewrites about science or history or literature or current events. Diagramming sentences on the white board, a few each day. Digging up tricky words to learn to spell, again at each level. Reading the same passage in KJV, NIV, and maybe even NASB. Then rewriting it as a summary 'in your own words'. Reading aloud some poetry. Reading a good book of poetic forms, and assigning one each day to try. Reading some gorgeous picture books that the kids already love, and discussing the intricacies of the interactions between the pictures and the stories. Doing the Bravewriter exercise about thorough description. Doing another freewrite, this one on an assigned topic. Setting criteria for sentence length. Taking longest sentences, writing the words on index cards, and moving them around into as many different reasonable orders as possible. Discussing the implications of these changes. Having each child read aloud at his own level, twice. Doing a recipe or craft each day, that involves reading and following directions exactly. Then having each write or dictate instructions to do something he is particularly good at. Reading some more literature. Choosing one freewrite from the first two days to polish into an actual paper by the end of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 You could put the words on index cards and work on rearranging the sentences. Maybe use different color markers for each part of speech. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Another thing--I would do progressive stories with the whole group. Everyone says a short paragraph, building on the previous work. That's great for building creativity and complicated plot lines. And at least one of those I would probably write down for everyone to illustrate, illuminate, caligraph, or something such as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Thank you all for the great ideas, I am enjoying this idea more and more. It will be just different enough to make it very interesting for them. Oh.. and Capt Uhura I found the reference to Indiana Jones on Page 20 in the new edition of Image Grammar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 SaDonna, I love this idea, and might try it in January. For copia, I would add long walks spent playing with words. Add a which clause to every noun you see. Try to start sentences with "although", or "while," or "as." Use your figures of description and describe the tree or the puddle etc. or describe the character traits of a character in a book they are reading (ethnopoeia). Or try to find metaphors for items you see on your walk. We do this at least once a week and have for years. It is fun, and accomplishes what book work does without it taking up valuable "school" time. (plus, they don't notice how hard it is ;)). Ruth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Very sneaky Ruth .. I like it. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) Do you know that this time of year we are only 3 hours off from Pacific time? I am 21 hours ahead because we do day light savings opposite to the Northern Hemisphere. Nice to know someone reads my posts when I write them, rather than the next day. Edited December 7, 2011 by lewelma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cleopatra Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 When you receive your CW Homer (I hope that is not a secret or I've let it out of the bag :D ) in addition to the six-sentence shuffle, you will find an exercise for older students where they give you a model sentence, you have to focus on one word in the sentence and then rewrite the sentence using that word in the nominative (subject), genitive (possessive), dative (indirect object), accusative (direct object) and ablative (preposition). I'm not sure if you're there yet as far as grammar goes ---- your dc are still fairly young ---- but it is a great exercise for developing fluidity when constructing sentences. (Sorry, I forgot to tell you about this during out great "CC/CW" conversation :tongue_smilie: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Can I please get a link to Image Grammar? If it is this one http://www.perfectionlearning.com/image-grammar-program I have a few questions to anyone who uses it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Thowell, Those are workbooks someone created, but if I remember right they are quite expensive. This is the edition I am talking about. http://www.amazon.com/Image-Grammar-Second-Teaching-Writing/dp/0325041741/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323271621&sr=8-2 You can search inside the original edition on Amazon as well. Thanks Cleopatra, I just received it and am going to dive in and start reading. I think it may be exactly what I am looking for. I thought if I combined it with some of the Image Grammar lessons and other suggestions here that I could create a week that was quite fun and didn't wear their fingers out. ;-) Lewelma ... I have wondered what time it was for you before ... ha. I figured it was 'close' to Hawaii time as I will see you live on here during my afternoons. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Not that I am stalking you or anything.. .ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) nm Edited December 10, 2011 by 1Togo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 Good point 1Togo.. I remember those. I will dig them out. We are doing well with CC but they do need new ways of writing sentences. I am reading through CW Homer now. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Togo Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) nm Edited December 8, 2011 by 1Togo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Can I please get a link to Image Grammar? If it is this one http://www.perfectionlearning.com/image-grammar-program I have a few questions to anyone who uses it. Thowell, Those are workbooks someone created, but if I remember right they are quite expensive. This is the edition I am talking about. http://www.amazon.com/Image-Grammar-Second-Teaching-Writing/dp/0325041741/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1323271621&sr=8-2 You can search inside the original edition on Amazon as well. Thanks Cleopatra, I just received it and am going to dive in and start reading. I think it may be exactly what I am looking for. I thought if I combined it with some of the Image Grammar lessons and other suggestions here that I could create a week that was quite fun and didn't wear their fingers out. ;-) Lewelma ... I have wondered what time it was for you before ... ha. I figured it was 'close' to Hawaii time as I will see you live on here during my afternoons. ;-) Of course I have the original version and not the second edition. :rolleyes: Anybody know what sort of changes were made? Do I need ;) the second edition? :001_unsure: :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Create Your Ritual Posted December 7, 2011 Author Share Posted December 7, 2011 I bought both and ended up reselling the original edition. I think the layout is much better in the 2nd and there are new things introduced as well. Capt should be able to tell you more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 2nd edition of Image Grammar was definitely worth it for me. The sections I was most interested in (absolutes, particples, etc) were greatly expanded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I bought both and ended up reselling the original edition. I think the layout is much better in the 2nd and there are new things introduced as well. Capt should be able to tell you more. 2nd edition of Image Grammar was definitely worth it for me. The sections I was most interested in (absolutes, particples, etc) were greatly expanded. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Thanks! This looks like exactly what I was looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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