Writing Workshop. Basic Level Winter Block 4. Theme: Valentine s Day (Feb 14 th )

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Baldwin Webb
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1 Writing Workshop Basic Level Winter Block 4 Theme: Valentine s Day (Feb 14 th ) Page 1 of 10

2 Goals for the Block: New Skill: You will be able to write a letter to your Valentine Grammar: You will be able to add details to your writing Letters letters are written correspondences between people. Of course, before the internet, people used to write letters to each other by hand. Now, we use the internet to send s which are just electronic letters, but it s still nice to send a hand-written note every once in a while. And either way, knowing how to write a basic letter is an important writing skill. Below is an example of the basic format of a letter: Dear name, The body of the note is where you explain why you are writing the letter. Since it s Valentine s Day we are going to practice writing a Valentine s Day letter. Don t worry if you don t have a boyfriend/girlfriend. You can write a letter to your mom or friend as well. In this part of the letter you will want to wish the person a Happy Valentine s Day, and tell that person why they are important to you. You can add other details as well. With love*, Your name P.S. This is where something extra might go, or something that you forgot. You don t have to have this in your letter or note. * Here are some examples of possible closings that you can use for your letter: Sincerely, Friends forever, Love, Your friend, With (all my) love, Your neighbor/roommate, Much love, Your daughter/son, Gratefully, Your (relationship to person), Thank you/thanks, Page 2 of 10

3 Below is an example of a Valentine s Day letter. Read the example, and answer the questions at the end. Dearest Stan, Happy Valentine s Day! I love you so much. You mean the world to me, and I am so grateful that you are in my life. I love you because you are so kind, and treat me with so much respect. When I have a bad day, I know that I can come to you and you will help me feel better. I love you because we can have fun together and we both like to enjoy the outdoors. I love you because you have a wonderful sense of humor and can always make me laugh with a silly joke. I love you because you think about other people first, and you make me want to be a better person. I love you because you are you. I remember the first time we saw each other at a friend s party last year, and I thought you were handsome. We talked the whole night. I felt like I had known you for my whole life, and you instantly became my best friend. I am so glad that happened. Stan, I just want to say thank you for being my best friend and my wonderful boyfriend. Thank you for loving me, and thank you for always being there. Happy Valentine s Day, sweetheart! Much love, Sara P.S. Here s a poem I wrote just for you: Roses are red, Violets are blue, Chocolate is amazing And you are too! Did you know?!? Valentine s Day began in 500AD. Follow-up questions: Who is Stan? Who is Sara? List three reasons that Sara loves Stan: What memory does Sara share with Stan? Page 3 of 10

4 GRAMMAR GRIND! Grammar Skill: adding detail One of the aspects of writing in a foreign language that can be really hard for students is adding detail. But adding detail will improve your writing a lot. If you add good details to your writing, you will be able to show, not just tell, your reader your story. There are a few ways that you can add details to your writing, and we ll talk about three of them: 1. Adjectives An adjective is a word that adds description to a noun. For example: My funny brother The blue-eyed girl I read a long, but very interesting mystery book about Sherlock Holmes. 2. Descriptive writing Descriptive writing just means describing the situation more, beyond just adjectives. In the last example above, about Sherlock Holmes is not an adjective but it does give us more details about the book. Here are a few more examples: My dog chased the rabbit outside in the backyard. She is the sweetest girl in the whole world. He loved her so much he thought his heart would pop. 3. Giving examples another good way to add details to your writing is to give an example to illustrate your point. If you describe someone as funny, or sweet, or kind, then you can add detail by giving an example of something that they do that is funny or sweet or kind. You know that the person is kind, but your reader doesn t know how. Try to answer a question when you add details. For example if you write the sentence I love him, you may want to add details to tell someone why you love him. I love him. (WHY do you love him?) I love him because he makes me laugh when he tells funny jokes. My girlfriend is so beautiful. (HOW is she beautiful?) She has big blue eyes, and long, pretty hair. Here are a couple more examples: I love you because you are so kind. Remember when you brought me soup when I got sick? My girlfriend is so sweet she made me brownies when I had to take a test. Our best friend tells the best jokes. He is very funny! Page 4 of 10

5 Practice add some details to the following sentences. The first example is done for you. 1. My smart sister does really well in school. She always gets 100% on her tests! 2. The couple met last year at a dance. 3. My teacher gave us too much homework over the weekend. 4. I love him. 5. In the springtime, I enjoy the flowers. More practice Read the example letter again and highlight 5 examples of details. Share your answers with a partner. Talk about how these details help you understand the paragraph. Writing Exercise! Step One: Brainstorm Answer the following questions to help get some ideas for your writing: 1. Who will you write your letter to? (If you don t have a Valentine you can write a letter to a friend, a family member like your mother, or anyone else you would like to, even to a made up person.) 2. Why do you love/like this person? (List at least 3 reasons, and give an example for each one): 1) Example: 2) Example: Page 5 of 10

6 3) Example: 3. Write down one good memory you have about this person (how you met, a funny story, a meaningful memory): Some common Valentine s Day or love expressions you might want to use: Happy Valentine s Day! I hope you have a wonderful Valentine s Day! You re a sweet heart! You are my whole world. To fall in love with someone. All you need is love! Be mine. I ll always be yours. I am so in love with you You mean everything to me. Did you know?!? The first written Valentine s are from 1400AD! Page 6 of 10

7 Rough Draft! Now you re ready to write out the first draft of your letter, following the format above, and making sure to include details in your letter. Dear, Page 7 of 10

8 Revising Time: Focus: Using correct word order in your sentences. In English the word order you use in your sentence is important in order to be understood. We ll talk about a few basic rules for word order and then practice with some examples. 1. The most basic rule of word order in English is that the words go in the order 1) Subject (who or what does the action); 2) verb (the action); and 3) object (what thing is being acted upon. Look at the following examples, and pick out the subject (s), verb (v), and object (o): The dog(s) ate(v) the food(o). A girl read that book. You gave me some flowers. *NOTICE that the object is flowers and not me. You could also say t he sentence like this: You gave a book to me. Now put the following words into a sentence: a. Food/my friend/ate: b. Run/marathon/the guys: c. She/find/key: 2. Another important rule is that adjectives almost always come before the noun that they are describing. Look at the following examples, and underline the adjectives: a. My funny, kind, older brother is single. b. In that tiny, old store there is a broken television. c. Those purple flowers are so pretty in that crystal vase. 3. Words that tell when something happened (adverbs) can go before or after the main sentence: We talked the whole night. Yesterday, we talked. But NEVER *We yesterday talked or *We the whole night talked When I saw you for the first time, I knew I liked you. She knew that they would fall in the love when she saw him for the first time. Page 8 of 10

9 Some common when words (adverbs): frequently, often, sometimes, today, rarely, never, after, before, during, every day, on the weekends, on Mondays, in February, etc. Add the when-word (adverb) in an acceptable place in the following sentences: a. Every day: walk/dog/they They walk the dog everyday or Everyday, they walk the dog. b. After the party: go home/my friends c. Often, at the ocean: read/book/she Share your answers with another student, or your teacher, and decide if they are correct. REVISION: If there is time ask another student to read your letter and look for word-order problems. Pay special attention to where the subjects, verbs, and objects are in your sentences, as well as adjectives and adverbs. Page 9 of 10

10 Now you are ready for your final draft. Just remember your details and word order! Final Draft! Dear, GREAT WORK And HAPPY VALENTINE S DAY! Page 10 of 10

FIRST GRADE FIRST GRADE HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS FIRST 100 HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS FIRST 100

FIRST GRADE FIRST GRADE HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS FIRST 100 HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS FIRST 100 HIGH FREQUENCY WORDS FIRST 100 about Preprimer, Primer or 1 st Grade lists 1 st 100 of again 100 HF words for Grade 1 all am an are as away be been before big black blue boy brown but by came cat come