Sentence Construction Week

Learning sentence construction is the foundation of writing. Students will spend four days, 50 minutes each day, learning how to construct simple, compound, and complex sentences. They will also learn how to create new learning goals and master parts of speech and punctuation.

The course aims to help students construct well-formed sentences of any type to enhance their writing skills. The students will learn to format different types of sentences, diagram them, and use punctuation and grammar effectively. By the end of the course, they will have an interactive notebook to serve as a portfolio and reference in the future. The course will run for four days with 50 minutes per day. Students can contact the teacher via Outschool..

Day 1: The students will learn about the elements of a good sentence, how to use a graphic organizer to create a complete sentence, the purpose of punctuation, the different types of sentences, and the parts of speech contained in a simple sentence (subject, verb, predicate) as well as the different types of end marks (period, question mark, exclamation mark).

Day 2: In these classes, students will learn to identify parts of a simple and compound sentence, including parts of speech and punctuation. They will also learn to use nouns and adjectives and create sentence diagrams using a graphic organizer. Correct sentences must be submitted by the end of the week.

 Day 3:  The students will (1) identify the parts of a complex sentence (2) Review the parts of speech and sentence types from this cam (3) 

Day 4: (1) review the sentences (2) identify conjunctions (3) Punctuation

Each class will begin with an example sentence demonstrating the objective of the day, along with a graphic organizer outlining the necessary elements for constructing the sentence/sentences. Occasionally, a brief grammar lesson will address any weak areas in students' skills. This is in addition to the day's scheduled grammar lesson. At the end of each class, students will either draft their sentences or identify the correct answer from a multiple-choice review. Following class, students will have one week to submit their final drafts of the sentences, accompanied by a completed graphic that diagrams the sentence in .doc, .pdf, or Google Docs format. Written feedback will be provided to all students. Furthermore, students will have an opportunity to use the feedback to improve their sentences and resubmit them. Please note that due dates will be assigned.

A typical camp day will follow this structure:

1. Warm Up for 3  minutes
2. Lesson Introduction 2 minutes
3. Direct Instruction with Active Class Participation – 10 minutes
4. Guided Practice - 15 minutes
5. Independent Writing Practice – 17 minutes
6. Review/Exit Activity - 2 minutes

For learners that need differentiation, I offer shorter writing assignments, sentence stems, and guided assistance with outlines to assist the students with writing the sentence. I will scaffold the lesson that addresses their individual needs.  I will also teach this class if only one student enrolls or if a student prefers a one-on-one environment to learn. 
I look forward to having your learner in my class! I offer a warm, engaging learning environment!

COURSE EXPECTATIONS
 I expect students to participate respectfully and interactively in my class. They will be asked to share their work via webcam for progress monitoring. Sharing or reading is not mandatory, but students will have the opportunity to share their activities at the end of class. I encourage movement and discussion and aim for each learner to have fun while learning.

LESSON PRESENTATION
The materials will be presented once a week in a 50-minute class period. Lessons will be screen-shared via PowerPoint, which will include videos from YouTube. Students will receive a private link to their own Google Docs and are not required to have their own account or subscription. The primary goal is for students to write sentences using their voice. While correct grammar and punctuation will be covered, the students will write what they want to use in their graphic organizers. Students will need to download graphic organizers prior to class and bring a college-ruled spiral notebook, which will be used as an interactive notebook to keep records of grammar and sentence rules learned throughout the class. The first page of the notebook will serve as a table of contents for easy reference.

MUTING:
I encourage participation from learners in my classes. Learners may be muted due to background noise. I may mute students if their background noise is distracting.

RECORDINGS:
At the beginning of each class, students must mark their attendance visually. Afterward, they can turn off their camera, except when showing their work. Some students may participate visually through Outschool's Safe and Secure feature. Recordings are not automatically shared in the classroom. I aim to foster a safe and open environment for students to express themselves and encourage interaction. Recordings are automatically generated and attached to my class. If you experience difficulty accessing them, please let me know, and I will assist you.