English Grammar

Here is a site that has daily grammar lessons:

http://www.dailygrammar.com/archive.html

Here is a comprehensive list that they cover:

Lessons 1-5 Lessons 6-10 Lessons 11-15 Lessons 16-20 Lessons 21-25 Lessons 26-30 Lessons 31-35 Lessons 36-40 Lessons 41-45 Lessons 46-50 Lessons 51-55 Lessons 56-60 Lessons 61-65 Lessons 66-70 Lessons 71-75 Lessons 76-80 Lessons 81-85 Lessons 86-90	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Verbs Verbs Verbs Nouns Pronouns Pronouns Adjectives Adjectives Adjectives Adverbs Adverbs Adverbs Adverbs Adverbs Prepositions Conjunctions Conjunctions Review	Lessons 221-225 Lessons 226-230 Lessons 231-235 Lessons 236-240 Lessons 241-245 Lessons 246-250 Lessons 251-255 Lessons 256-260 Lessons 261-265 Lessons 266-270 Lessons 271-275 Lessons 276-280 Lessons 281-285 Lessons 286-290 Lessons 291-295 Lessons 296-300	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Verbals - Participles Verbals - Participles Verbals - Adverb Infinitives Verbals Verbals Compound Sentences Adjective Clauses Adjective Clauses Adverb Clauses Adverb Clauses Noun Clauses Clauses - Review Clauses - Review Sentence Variety Compound and Complex Compound and Complex
			Mechanics
			Lessons 301-305 Lessons 306-310	- -	Capitalization Capitalization
Parts of the Sentence
Lessons 91-95 Lessons 96-100 Lessons 101-105 Lessons 106-110 Lessons 111-115 Lessons 116-120 Lessons 121-125 Lessons 126-130 Lessons 131-135 Lessons 136-140 Lessons 141-145 Lessons 146-150 Lessons 151-155 Lessons 156-160 Lessons 161-165 Lessons 166-170 Lessons 171-175 Lessons 176-180 Lessons 181-185 Lessons 186-190 Lessons 191-195 Lessons 196-200 Lessons 201-205 Lessons 206-210 Lessons 211-215 Lessons 216-220	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Subject/Verb Subject/Verb Predicate Nominative Direct Object S/V, PN, and DO Transitive/Intransitive Transitive/Intransitive Appositives Nouns of Address Pronouns Pronouns Noun/Pronoun Review Adjectives Review Adverbs Adverbs Review Prepositional Phrases Prepositional Phrases Review Indirect Objects Review Conjunctions Verbals Verbals - Gerunds Verbals - Noun Infinitives	Lessons 311-315 Lessons 316-320 Lessons 321-325 Lessons 326-330 Lessons 331-335 Lessons 336-340 Lessons 341-345 Lessons 346-350 Lessons 351-355 Lessons 356-360 Lessons 361-365 Lessons 366-370 Lessons 371-375 Lessons 376-380 Lessons 381-385 Lessons 386-390 Lessons 391-395 Lessons 396-400 Lessons 401-405 Lessons 406-410 Lessons 411-415 Lessons 416-420 Lessons 421-425 Lessons 426-430 Lessons 431-435 Lessons 436-440	- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -	Capitalization Capitalization Capitalization Capitalization End Punctuation Periods Commas Commas Commas Commas Commas Commas Quotation Marks Quotation Marks Semicolons Colons Colons Italics/Underlining Apostrophes Apostrophes Apostrophes Hyphens Hyphens Dashes Parentheses Brackets

English - More opinion about school

Read this article:  http://www.metro.co.uk/news/869037-boy-with-beard-banned-by-blackburn-school

What do you think about it?

Here is my essay:

Recently a 15 year old boy was put into isolation in an English school for not shaving his beard off.

Personally, I think that he as he is going through puberty, he should be allowed to have a beard.  Its part of growing up and the age he is going through.  Its part of how his body works and he naturally grows a beard at this age.  He is not being rebellious - its a natural body function.  Therefore he should be allowed to wear his beard to school.  He looks decent in the photograph that appears with the article, so I see no valid reason why should he not be allowed to wear a beard at school.

As far as I am concerned a short, trimmed beard does not distract his fellow pupils from learning.  Does  an adult man negatively affect a  business meeting, just because he has a beard?  Does his beard cause a distraction in the meeting?  No, personally I don't think so.  A beard is a natural part of a man's body.  Its a personal choice and not one that can be enforced by a school.

Schools should concentrate on the quality of their teaching/learning and not spend time on punishing pupils about their beards.

In this instance, his mother argues that he had acne and shaving irritates it.  I agree that this is a very valid reason.

Furthermore the school rules state that "hairstyles have to be neat and tidy".  In my opinion a short, trimmed beard is neat and tidy.

Consequently, the stress of this situation is likely to distract him from his education.  For me, this is a far more important point than what the school feels about his beard.

Banning him from growing a beard is like banning girls from wearing bras, its is part of growing up.

I feel that this whole situation is ludicrous and goes against his rights.

History: Timelines, Ages, Reigns, Invaders

I am using a history book called LETTS World of History Revision.

Today's chapter was about Timelines, Ages, Reigns, Invaders etc.

Here is my summary based on the text in the book:

Historians divide history into timelines to make it easier to study.  Timelines show things like ages, periods and reigns according to countries/continents.

European History
1AD - 600AD  Classical Period (600 years)
600AD - 1000AD  Dark Ages (400 years)
1000 - 1450  Middle/Medieval Ages (450 years)
1450-1789  Early Modern Period  (339 years)
1790- 2011 Modern Period (221 years)

Invaders
Throughout time countries/lands have been invaded by leaders of other countries for different reasons.

Some of the reasons were:  Money, power, raw materials.

In the past invaders were also looking for slaves.

Invaders of Britain

Romans - AD 43 - Emperor Clauius
Saxons - from 5th century - King Alfred (AD 849) - North Germany
Vikings - AD835 Scandinavia (Nordic)
Normans - AD1066 - William the Conqueror - France

Some wanted land for farming, some wanted to raid and steal but like the country so they stayed.  Others just wanted a bigger empire to rule.

At the time of William the Conqueror 1066, Britain was different from what it is today.  There were dangerous animals like bears, lynx, wolves and boars.  Most people lived in the countryside.  Each village produced what it need and most people didn't go anywhere.  Two main roads in England were Offas Dyke (Wales) and The Ridgeway.

A century is 100 years!

Less than 100 AD = 1st century.
153AD = 2nd century
349 AD = 4th century
566 AD= 6th century
853AD = 9th century

English Reigns (Royal Families) - we worked out this from the first letter of each reign:

NAP LYTS GVE

This stands for Normans, Angevins, Plantagenets, Lancaster, York, Tudors, Stuarts, Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian

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I did notice there were a few errors in the book and this came out in the text provided vs. the "Test Your  Knowledge" at the end of the chapter the answers were slightly different from the text in the chapter.

This is quite frustrating but I will be doing a presentation on this and will be researching the topics from different sources and compiling info so I will be able to get alternative info.

Examples of this are:

In the text it has a diagram showing European History and it clearly states that the middle Ages were from 1000 to 1450.

In the Test your knowledge, they ask - The ....................... in British history were from 1066 to 1485.

I re-read all the info and these dates dont tie up with anything in the text or diagrams specifically.  We then checked the answers section and the answer they give is ............MIDDLE AGES..........  So either their text or their answer is incorrect.  But if you spend time summarising your notes and learning them and they ask questions based on the text and their answer is different then thats really bad of them.

Another example is they say in the text that the Saxons began to arrive in England from the 5th Century.    In the Test your Knowledge section  They ask this question and the answer in the answers section is the 7th century.  Again that's just not consistent with the text.

That is not TESTING your KNOWLEDGE!  That's either incorrect information provided or incorrect answers provided!
................................................................................................................................

I will publish my presentation when I have finished it.

English Spelling

Hmmm, ........

I always get high marks in spelling tests but spelling in everyday life gets me ha ha

Like shopping list, diary entries, planning, packing lists.....my memory lets me down :(

Well we found this cool book in the library and it seems good so we shall see but in the meantime

THANKS FOR SPELL CHECK :)


Each day/week we draw up a list of spelling words that I got wrong during the day/week.  I write them out in a book with the right one first and then the wrong one so I can see clearly and understand which one is wrong and why.  I also write a row of the right word spelling and include all the words for the day/week in  a sentence with is a challenge to get is all in one or two sentences.

I suppose it will come right with time if I keep learning and trying.  For now its a pain ha ha

English: Creative Writing

http://www.backfromthefuture.co.uk/

English: once twice thrice

Did you know that there is no further words in this sequence.

http://www.english-for-students.com/Thrice.html

English Word Games

FREE word games
Word games provide a fun way to learn English. Try these games to learn the alphabet and to test yourself on some commonly misused words and phrases. Even native English speakers can enjoy these games because they test not only your English skills but also your reflexes!

The Vocabulary Game 2.0
Alphabetrax
Free daily crossword puzzle 

http://www.write-better-english.com/free-word-games.aspx

English: Factual Writing

2 pieces of writing today:

1. The pro's and cons of puppies and kittens
2. Rules in everyday life

Will post later ;)

I am also reading The Redemption of Althalus by David and Leigh Eddings but thats in my spare time and for my other blog LOL.  I never sneak homeschool time for reading my personal books that are totally unrelated to school work ...oops ;)  A girl has to be naughty sometimes

ENGLISH - creative writing

I wrote a short story about talking a puppy for walk.  I will post it later.....






here it is


Selia’s Eventful Walk by Ginny


Selia had recently been given a puppy for her birthday by her parents. He was a copper spaniel and she had called him Jasper after the gemstone of the same colour.


She had been begging for a puppy for 2 years already and had only just got him. Jasper was adorable but the only problem was that he needed lots of walks or else he would chew the house and everything in it, to pieces.


Last time Selia had taken Jasper for a walk he had even eaten a slug! He chewed absolutely everything!


This morning, Selia had been sneaky reading “How to Levitate by Phoebe Halliwell” when she heard was supposed to be getting ready.


“Let’s go for the walk already, Selia” yelled her mum up the stairs.


Selia got such a fright, she jumped up in a hurry, half jammed her new hiking boots on, thumped down the stairs, grabbed the leash and ran out the door to catch up with her mum.


Her mum was already opening the low, rusty gate when Selia realised that she had forgotten Jasper inside.


She sped back inside to get him. Selia was in such a muddle that when she put Jasper down, she accidentally stood on his front paw because she had not tied her laces up yet.


Jasper yelped and held up his front paw. He could not walk. Selia felt so bad.


“He will be ok in a minute, just carry him for a while,” said her mum after checking his paw.


Selia carried Japer down the shady lane, which was very shady. At the end of the lane Selia put Japer down and clipped on his green leash. His paw was fine again.


As they strolled along, with Jasper sniffing at everything and doing his business they heard a loud MEOWING behind them. Following them were their two cats, Amber and Onyx. The cats jumped on and off the fence as they ran towards their owners.


Selia and her mom ignored them, knowing that if they paid them attention the cats would soon learn to follow them everywhere and would get into trouble, far from home. They might even get lost.


It was such a nice, lovely day for a walk. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and it was beautiful.


As they passed a friends house, Selia heard frantic meowing coming from behind them. Knowing that her cat was in trouble, she threw Jaspers leash to her mum and galloped back towards the sound to see what was wrong. When she got there, she saw that Amber was stuck in some sort of children’s toy. Selia helped Amber to escape from the tangles.


As they were walking home past the Mad Dog’s home, the mad dog rushed toward its gate and started to growl and bark at Jasper. Jasper was terrified and cowered behind Selia’s leg, yelping and trying to get away. He almost got his head out of his collar. Selia’s just managed to pick Jasper up in time for them to race home pursued by a huge dog without either a leash or an owner.


They slammed the garden gate shut and raced inside to grab a cup of tea and calm their nerves.


547 words!

ENGLISH GRAMMER: Past Tense

Here is a link to a past tense quizz

Check your knowledge.

When do you use the following?

do, did, were
gone, went, goed
saw, sees, seen

Irregular and Regular verbs list

Here are some examples of irregular verbs:

eat ate eaten eating eats
knelt kneel
froze frozen freeze
shrank shrunk shrink
begin began begun
swim swam sum
sing sang sung

English - Creative Writing

Today we decided to do some creative writing. 

I am busy reading a really cool book and my assignment today was to create a sideplot to the story.  A sideplot is something that did not really happen in the book but uses the same characters and creates a new short story. 


Its quite nice to do as you already ahve the whole story in your imagination and jsut have to add on to it.


The first thing was to plan the sideplot.


I needed an introduction, then a begenning, middle and ending.  It needed to be about 200 words long and thats about a page or two depending on how big you write.


I did my bit and then we changed the names and a couple of things and worked together to make it more interesting.  We decided that we quite liked my little side plot and its getting quite long already.  Who knows what will happen next.

This is what I came up with:

Introduction: …, … friend that was his next door neighbour was sleeping over and since it was hailing outside they decided to explore … attic. They had met quite by accident 2 weeks ago when … moved into town. … could levitate and … could hear peoples thoughts if they were in photos. It was great having someone to talk to that was also magically talented. Before … had moved into town … had felt so alone.


When … got home that night he and … found an old photo of his dad and a man that looked familiar. Suddenly he found himself drawn into the photo.


Stop it! Said the familiar man in the photo.

Never said his father.

Anyway have you hid the … said the familiar man.

Yes I hid it in the wall behind my sons bed.


Just then … heard … call him. As soon as he managed to pull him self out he told .. we have to go somewhere.

… ran to tell his uncle.

And I think that is what those intruders were looking for finished ...

Well no time to waste. Lets go look said …

When they arrived at ... old house they rushed up to … old room. … found a huge hammer and started to make a hole in the wall.

Soon they found an ancient looking box.

Oh and where is the key groaned …

I might have it said … as he produced a key form his picket.

… fitted it into the lock and it….worked. Well!



Next I will post the story as it is at the moment.  We put in names and filled in the gaps and made a couple of changes.



Jake Crow

Todays French Words

cheese - fromage
bread - pain
toast - toast
crab - crabe
salad - salade
eat - manger
kitchen - cuisine
rain - pluie

Spelling

Today we were looking at helping me out with my spelling. My spelling is fine if I learn all the words for a test, but in everyday writing I struggle.

There are some good resources for spelling on the internet. I had a look on scribd.com....here are some links. Hope they help you too ;)


http://www.scribd.com/doc/7357888/Spelling
- THIS IS AN EASY TO READ PRESENTATION


http://www.scribd.com/doc/9720230/Spelling-Rules

http://www.scribd.com/doc/17686615/SPELLING-RULE-Compound-Words

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7671143/Spelling-Rules-of-the-Past-Tense


http://www.scribd.com/doc/19010234/Support-for-Spelling
This has some good revision excercise ideas for teachers and some good rule tables. Its a long document but useful for extracting info for excerises.

One that was useful was an excerice of a poem and one had to change all the verbs into past tense and then double check by putting them in the rule tables i.e. double consonant, - add ed, etc.

http://www.spellzone.com/freeunitHomo13/quest1_p1-2/index.cfm - a little free quiz

I also played http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/phonics/ - there are a few simple games here that test your knowledge. It also reinforces what you know already. Any revision is good for cementing knowledge, it does not matter how simple it is.

Why was the Great Wall of China Built

This is a presentation I did after reading one of the topics in a book we have, called "Tell me Why" by Hamlyn.

I looked up several sites on the internet to add in extra information and lots of images.

Why Was the Great Wall of China Built

I also used an english grammar topic of using question words to build my powerpoint presentation.

I found a good website called http://english-zone.com/index.php that has loads of info on english topics and also has quiz's. It is open to membership for a reasonable fee but some of the info is available to everyone. (look for sunglasses next to the topic for open topics and keys for locked topics.