Quarter 4 - Creative Writing
WRITING LESSONS - Quarter 4
* Elements of Narration (cont. from Q.1-3)
+ setting (see Q.1)
+ character (see Q.1)
+ point of view (see Q.2)
+ plot (See Q.3)
+ theme (p.241)
* Literal versus figurative language (cont. from Q.1-3)
+ simile (see Q.1)
+ metaphor (see Q.1)
+ personification (see Q.1)
+ idiom (see Q.2)
* 3-paragraph essay format (see Q.2)
* Agreement (See Q.2)
(in number, gender, tense, and point of view)
* various literary techniques (See Q.3)
+epiphany (See Q.3)
+suspense/mystery (See Q.3)
+ foreshadowing (See Q.3)
* poetry (versus prose) (See Q.3)
+ stanzas - the "blocks" of poetry, where certain lines are "chunked" together
+ free verse - poetry with no set rhyme scheme or meter
+ meter - the syllabication and rhythm pattern of a poem (see below)
+ rhyme scheme - the rhyming pattern of a poem, indicated by capital letters
+ lyric poetry - poetry expressing emotion
+ Haiku - Japanese poetry form of three lines with a strict 5-7-5 syllabication (See Writer's Inc., p.242.)
NOTE: Haiku poems are traditionally about nature.
+ cinquain - a 5-line poem with 2-4-6-8-2 syllabication
+ limerick - a 5-line poem with AABBA rhyme scheme and anapestic meter/rhythm (See below.)
+ rhyming couplets - poetry consisting of two-line stanzas with AA rhyme scheme
(subsequent stanzas are BB, CC, etc.)
* general poetry conventions (not always!):
+first letter of each line capitalized
+ no end punctuation at end of each line
*types of rhyme
+ end rhyme (also known as perfect rhyme or pure rhyme) - same exact ending vowel and consonant sounds in the final syllable
Ex. meet and heat; preach and teach; sleigh and today; fat and cat
Note that the sounds may be spelled the same, but that they don't necessarily have to be.
+ imperfect rhyme (also known as false rhyme or slant rhyme) - words that are close in end sound, but not exact
Ex. thumb and gun; clomp and stump
Note that the variance may be in the vowel sound or in the sound of the end consonant(s).
+ forced rhyme - a perfect end rhyme where the word was obviously chosen for the rhyme but makes little sense in context.
This is what we referred to as "first grade poetry":
Ex. I love to sing a joyful song
Of God's amazing grace
I hope that all who hear my voice
Will never have to chase. (or Will wear some pretty lace. or Will always run in place.)
+ eye rhyme - words at the end of lines of poetry that are spelled like they should rhyme, but which are actually pronounced differently and so do not actually rhyme.
Ex. temperate and date; rain and again
NOTE: the words should be pronounced correctly when the poetry is read, not changed to make pure rhyming sounds.
+ internal rhyme ( also known as middle rhyme) - rhyme within the middle of a single line of poetry, separate from the end rhyme
Ex. From "Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven":
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door —
* poetry memorization & recitation (some of all of these depending on the year):
+ various Bible verses (Ephesians 4:29-32, Titus 2:11-14, 1 Chronicles 29:11-13, Philippians 4:4-8)
+ your own poem selection
+ the poem "Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?" by William Blake
+ the first two stanzas of the Barry Cornwall poem "The Sea."
* rhythmic feet of poetry - specific, repeating, rhythmic metrical patterns in a poem. See below:
+ iambic - short, long (SL)
Ex: "I never saw a purple cow; I never hope to see one..."
+ trochaic - long, short (LS)
Ex: "Tiger, tiger, burning bright; In the forests of the night..."
+ anapestic - short, short, long (SSL)
Ex: "And the stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."
+ dactylic - long, short, short (LSS)
Ex: "Dance with me, dance with me..." ("Half a league, half a league, half a league onward..."
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Grammar lessons, listed below, are derived from common and consistent errors made by the students in their writing for class. This is not a grammar course, per se, and systematic grammar instruction should continue at home as part of your language arts curriculum.
GRAMMAR LESSONS - Quarter 4
* We are continuing to learn how to avoid sentence fragments and avoid run-on sentences. (see Q.1)
* Ways to correct a run-on sentence (See Q.2)
* Parts of Speech Review (See Q.3)
+ verb
+ noun
+ adjective
+ adverb
* third person singular indefinite pronoun (See Q.3)
(Click on the link for more information regarding this.)
* either/or versus neither/nor (See Q.2)
* rules for correctly punctuating dialogue (See Q.2)
* review of rules for forming possessives (See Q.3)
(Click on the link for a concise summary of the rules.)
* rules for using commas (See Q.3)
* various verbals (See Q.3)
+ gerund
+ infinitive