Name: ____________________

Date: ____________________

Week Two Quiz - Sentence Fragments

Correct the following sentence fragments:

1) Hannah loves skiing. Skating and snowboarding. She was very talented at winter sports.

2) Nadia and Jan are great friends. Since they have known each other for so many years. They enjoy
spending time together.

3) Bart and Simon both wanted new bicycles. So they worked all summer to earn money. When
September arrived. They had enough money.

4) Wendy was usually at school on time. On Tuesday, however. She was over an hour late because
her mother's car broke down.

5) Although they had only known each other for a few months. Gina and Todd got engaged. Both
of their families were very shocked.
 Name: ____________________

Date: ____________________

Week Two - The Qualities of Good Writing

There are many qualities of great writing. While grammar and spelling are certainly a part of
good writing, a well-written text has many characteristics. Use the chart below to take notes
on the major qualities of great writing while we discuss them in class.

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____________________ ____________________
 Writing a Basic Paragraph

Most paragraphs follow a basic structure: introduction, body, then conclusion.

Introductory sentence: one sentence that tells the reader the main topic of the paragraph.

Body sentences: a series of sentences (usually at least three) that give supporting details.
These details might be major facts in a summary or perhaps main arguments in a persuasive
paragraph.

Concluding sentence: one sentence that sums up the main idea for the reader.

This structure is a guideline. Some types of texts (e.g. stories) don't need to follow this style
of paragraph writing. However, it is a good idea to try to follow this format as much as
possible. Eventually, it will come naturally and you will be able to recognize the rare times
when you don't need to use it.

Write a paragraph (minimum 5 sentences) about one of the following persuasive topics (or
pick another topic and have it approved by the teacher):
 why students should or should not be required to participate in extracurricular activities
 a change you would make to your school
 whether or not violent video games should be banned

Remember the traits of good writing that we've discussed and try to carefully follow basic
paragraph format.

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 Writing A Summary Paragraph

There are many important things to consider when writing a summary paragraph. Based on
the paragraph we wrote in class, develop five main rules for writing a summary:

1) _______________________________________________________

2) _______________________________________________________

3) _______________________________________________________

4) _______________________________________________________

5) _______________________________________________________

Use the space below to write a summary of the newspaper article that you were given in
class. Remember everything we have discussed about creating a successful summary.

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On this page you will write a revised version of one of your paragraphs. You may choose
whichever paragraph you believe needs the most work. First you should use the space below
to consider what you need to improve on.

The Strengths of My Paragraph: The Areas for Improvement (and how to

improve them):

Revised Version

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 Run-On Sentences

Run-on sentences occur when a sentence has too many different thoughts. Most sentences
contain a subject and an action. When a sentence has more than one subject and action,
there should be a conjunction between the actions or the sentence should be separated into
different sentences. For example:

Traffic was heavy Yasir was late for work.

This sentence has two main actions. They should either be separated into two sentences or
joined with a conjunction. The original sentence is a fused sentence; it fuses two separate
thoughts.

Traffic was heavy, so Yasir was late for work.

Yasir was late for work because traffic was heavy.

Let's say the original sentence had been written like this:

Traffic was heavy, Yasir was late for work.

This sentence is still incorrect, even though the thoughts are separated by a comma. A
comma cannot fix a fused sentence. This sentence is just a different type of error, called a
comma splice.

Correct the following sentences:

1) School was closed, it was a snow day, so nobody could get there.

2) Joshua sold antiques he made a lot of money.

3) Ruby is compassionate, in fact, she is the kindest person in town.

4) Phoebe was in a band she was very musical.

5) Amir's favourite class was gym he enjoyed math too.

 Current Event Response
1. Choose an article to read that interests or inspires you. The article must be current (within the last 2
weeks).
-www.scholasticnews.com
- www.indykids.net
-www.timeforkids.com
-www.kids.nationalgeographic.com
or any other online news site/ local newspaper.

2. Read it thoroughly two times and highlight or underline parts that are important, that make your
head think or make your heart skip a beat.

3. Write a reflection on the article:

 Write your name, today’s date, and the headline of the article
 Use a summary web to help you write a summary of the article in your own
words.
1. Make a web and write down key words or phrases that are important
from the article.
2. Put the article away.
3. Using only the summary web, retell the information out loud.
4. If you have trouble retelling, look at the text again and see what extra
words you need to include on your web to help you remember.
5. Use the summary web (don’t look at the text) to write a summary of the
article. Tell us important information like who, what, where, when,
why.
 Write your reactions, thoughts, and feelings about the article. Tell why you
chose the article. Explain what you learned from the article, and what it made
you think about or realize.
 Whisper read your reflection to yourself to make sure it makes sense.
 Glue or staple the article to your reflection or write the website where you
found the article.
 Self Assessment: Use the rubric below to give your article reflection a score

Self- Teacher
Levels of Response:
Assessment Assessment
I did all the steps to complete my current events reflection. The summary is
4=100% 4=100%
written in my own words with all the important information from the article. I
You got it! You got it!
proofread to make sure I made no convention errors. I practiced my presentation.
I did most of the steps to complete my current events reflection, but I forgot 3=87% 3=87%
something. I made some convention mistakes. Almost there! Almost there!
I did some of the steps to complete my current events reflection, but I forgot
2=73% 2=73%
many of them. I made many convention errors. I need to practice my
On your way On your way
presentation.
I did almost none of the steps to complete a current events article. I didn’t 1=60% 1=60%
proofread, so my whole reflection has convention errors. I didn’t practice my Needs Needs
presentation. improvement improvement
Name _______________________

Fix These Run-On Sentences!

The following sentences are run-on sentences. Correct each sentence by adding a
conjunction (and, or, but, because, so) or punctuation to make two sentences.

1. The boy gobbled down the pancakes and drank his milk and went to his room to
get ready for school.

2. Bob dashed downstairs and got his backpack and ran outside to catch the bus.

3. The science teacher handed out the test she passed out pencils.

4. Every Sunday is our family day and we go to my grandparent’s house to have

dinner and then we go to see a movie it is a relaxing day.

5. On Monday nights I have soccer practice and then I have to come home to do my
homework and my mom helps me read my chapter book and then I go to bed.

6. The book is interesting it has a lot of suspense.

7. Mom parked the car near the school and we walked to class and the teacher was
waiting at the door so I entered the room and sat at my desk.

8. The meeting started at 7:00 so I knew I was going to be late so I ran as fast as I
could but I didn’t make it in time.

9. The student wrote down the assignment he opened his binder to take out a
sheet of paper.

10. Then the Principal announced that school was over then the class lined up at the
door and I grabbed my binder and ran for the bus.
 Writing a Paragraph

When you write a paragraph, think of a sandwich or

delicious cheeseburger.

The top bun stands for the

topic sentence. The topic
sentence should be general
with no details. It should tell
your reader the main idea of
your paragraph.

The meat, cheese and toppings

stand for your supporting details.
These details should support your
main idea and should be in a clear,
logical order.

The bottom bun stands for your

concluding sentence. This is the
sentence that wraps your paragraph
together but does not introduce any new
ideas. Sometimes this sentence is a
restatement of your main idea.