Writing

October 10, 2025

Today we went over the final requirements for the historical (hysterical) meal reviews. Students received a checklist in class. The final draft is due on Wednesday after our break week.

They also learned about the VSS: very short sentence--5 words or less.

We reviewed comma formulas and added another: Sub I, I--When you begin a sentence with a subordinate conjunction in order to join two independent clauses, you need to put a comma after the first independent clause.

Students practiced writing similes and metaphors.

Enjoy your break!

October 8, 2025

We reviewed prepositional phrases, who/which dress ups, and prepositional openers in class today. 

Students also learned how to write an introduction and conclusion. The introduction should start with a sentence that gives the "big picture". Then each sentence after that draws closer to the topic of the essay, with the last sentence of the introduction mentioning the three body paragraph topics. The conclusion should begin with a sentence that mentions the body paragraph topics, followed by several sentences giving their recommendation for the eating establishment they wrote about. The last sentence of the essay should reveal the most important thing the writer wants the reader to remember about this eating place. Both paragraphs should have a minimum of five sentences in them.

Students should write a title using words from the last sentence of the essay. 

The introduction and conclusion are due on Friday. Students should staple the intro and conclusion to their body paragraphs, with the intro and conclusion on top.

October 3, 2025

Students took the first vocabulary quiz today. If they did not get 100% on the quiz, they can retake it at home and turn it back in to me. I can give them a copy of the quiz in class, or they can email me, and I will send them the document to print off.

We reviewed the #6 dress-up in class and went over some common mistakes students are making in their writing.

We also went over the details of the next assignment: an historical meal review. Students should pick a setting appropriate to the history they are studying this year, like a roadside inn, aboard an exploring ship, or as a settler in one of the colonies. They should write a review of a meal they "ate" in this setting in three paragraphs. 

The first paragraph should focus on the setting: What is the place like where you are eating? Is it clean? Quiet? Does it smell good? Did you eat with plates and utensils? 

The second paragraph is about the food. I want lots of high-quality adjectives in this paragraph describing the food and drinks that were given to you. (Remember the quality words we used to describe a cookie in class.)

The third paragraph should focus on the service. Was the food served right away? Were the servers friendly or surly? Was the food priced appropriately? Did you get what you expected?

The rough draft of all three paragraphs is due on Wednesday.

September 26, 2025

Students learned their first comma formula today: I, c/c I, and what a coordinating conjunction is. They practiced using the "ly" dress-up, and we reviewed adverbs.

Their assignment is to write two paragraphs as if they are western frontier settlers. This is a collaborative assignment with Mr. Russell's literature class. The rough draft is due on Wednesday. Questions about content should be directed to Mr. Russell.

September 24, 2025

Students learned about two dress-ups today: the adverb and the strong verb. We discussed the jobs adverbs do in sentences, and that they answer the questions when, where, how, and to what extent.

Homework is to write the final draft of the Portia spider paragraphs. Students received a checklist in class.

September 19, 2025

Today students learned about key word outlines in class. I dictated 13 sentences to them, and they took notes on those sentences. Their assignment for Wednesday is to write two paragraphs based on the notes they took in class.

The students did very well on the poetry assignment, and samples were read from their work in class.

September 17, 2025

Students learned about quality adjectives today, and we practiced fixing rhythm problems in poetry. We also reviewed the parts of speech, focusing on prepositions.

Homework is to write the final draft of their iambic rhythm poem. They received a checklist for this in class.

Students received the first grammar worksheet in class. They should turn it in sometime next week.

Today students learned about iambic rhythm, stresses, breves, and feet in poetry. Their assignment is to write a rough draft of a poem (we discussed topics) that is 10 - 12 lines long with 4 iambic feet per line.

We also looked at the 8 parts of speech and focused on prepositions.

September 10, 2025

Students received the syllabus for writing class today, which lists all the assignments and when things are due.

The assignment today is to write  three paragraphs. The first paragraph should be about their family, the second should be about their own interests, and the third paragraph should tell what they think about writing in particular. Each paragraph should have a minimum of five solid sentences. This assignment will not be graded. It is simply for me to have a sample of their skill level.

The syllabus also has the recommended pages to cover in Easy Grammar Plus this week. I do not need to see their EGP work. I use EGP as a guide for me on what grammar I can be covering in class. The work should be corrected by parents at home.

Note to parents: Please DO NOT go over your student's writing and have them make corrections before turning in assignments to me. I must have a good idea of where their skills are at and how I can help them. If you correct first, I will only know where your skills are at!

September 3, 2025

Dear parents and students,

St. Augustine's first day is one week away! I look forward to meeting my class and getting off to a good start. Hopefully, this email will help that to happen. 

1. Please come prepared with a small whiteboard and working dry erase marker in a dark color. 

2. You will receive a syllabus in the first class which has all the assignments on it and when they are due. The assignments will also be posted here on the bulletin board after every class.

3. You are encouraged to do grammar work at home. I recommend Easy Grammar Plus. The syllabus indicates what pages you should do at home to be corrected by your parents. I will support this material in class. 

4. If you need to contact me about something, my email address is lisalynch53@gmail.com. I check it very regularly. You will reach me faster by email than you will by phone.

Have a great last week of summer vacation!

Mrs. Lynch