Part 1: Writing Paragraph Writing - Review:

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1 Fundamentals of Writing 2 Lesson 3 Here is what you will learn in this lesson: I. Writing Paragraph Writing: Writing to Entertain II. Grammar Verbs and verb phrases Verb Tenses Adverbs Adverb clause Part 1: Writing Paragraph Writing - Review: A paragraph is a group of sentences that describe the same idea or topic. A paragraph can be any length and written on any topic as long as all of the sentences are organized around a single idea, which is stated in the topic sentence. All paragraphs must have a topic sentence, detail sentences, and a closing sentence. Double-space all paragraphs and indent the first line by using the tab key on your keyboard. Purpose - Writing to entertain: If you recall, in the last lesson you learned about purpose and audience. For your assignment last week, the paragraph that you wrote had a purpose of informing or teaching your audience about a castle. In this lesson, you will learn to write a paragraph that entertains your audience. The example below will give you stepby-step instructions on how to write a paragraph that describes the funniest thing you ever saw. Start by following these steps: 1. Close your eyes and envision an entertaining fictional character. This character can be human, animal, or thing. 2. Use vivid verbs, lively adverbs, and descriptive adjectives to describe your amusing character and the silly things this character does. You must describe at least 8 amusing actions that this character does. 1 of 7

2 Now, write your paragraph: 3. Write a topic sentence that introduces your fictional character. One idea is: The funniest thing I ever saw was (finish the sentence). 4. Write at least eight sentences that describe your entertaining character and show what it does that is amusing. Start each sentence in a different way, and try using a couple adjective and adverb clauses in your sentences. 5. Your closing sentence will make a statement about what you thought of all the funny or odd things your fictional character did. 6. Go back through the sentences and find two verbs that you used. Look them up in the thesaurus or use your word processing program s thesaurus to find a different way to say these verbs. Change these verbs in your paragraph. Example: Writing my paragraph Funston 1 Caleb Funston Teacher s name Fundamentals2 1 August 2008 The Alien Warship The funniest thing I ever saw was an alien named Bunkum scrambling around trying to build an alien warship. The alien started to gather supplies that would come in handy later in building. First, he found a big crater that would supply lots of rocks. Next, he swiftly gathered sand from a place that had a lot of sand. Last, he collected water from the nearby volcanic hot spring. To start, he sculpted the body of the warship using a mixture of sand and water to stick them together. I suspect the sand and water mixture is what aliens use for heavy-duty glue or sticky-tack. Then he made guns with smooth rocks and stuck them together so that they shot one grain of sand a second! After attaching the guns to his strange craft, he made a mold and put some volcanic ash in and pulled out some controls! I think that he was very pleased when he finished putting the controls because he had finally finished his ship. Then suddenly, out of nowhere came several other crafts like his and he hopped in his craft and took off after them. I think that they where going to fight off the ink-blob monsters that where invading. That was the funniest thing I ever saw! 2 of 7

3 Part 2: Grammar - Parts of Speech Review: Verbs A verb is as a word that expresses what someone or something does or is. Verbs that show action: Some verbs show action. The action shown may be physical, such as walk, slump, or dance, or it may be mental, such as love, think, or wonder. Example: The ballerina danced all night. Example: Debbie wondered what would happen after the game. Verbs that help: Some verbs help other verbs to expresses an action or make a statement. A helping verb helps the main verb to express an action or make a statement. Common helping verbs are: am, are, is, was, were, do, did, have, has, had, can, may, will, shall, must, etc. Example: We are learning about helping verbs. [Learning is the main verb and are is the helping verb.] Verb Phrase: The main verb plus any helping verbs is called a verb phrase. The verb phrase works as one verb to help show the time of the action. Verbs that link: Some verbs show a state or condition. This kind of verb is used to link the subject of a sentence to other words that further describe or identify the subject. Some common linking verbs are: be, being, am, is, are, was, were, shall be, will be, appear, become, feel, grow, look, seem, smell, taste, sound, etc. Example: The man looks angry. [Angry describes the man, and these two words are linked by the verb looks.] Now you try it: 1. Find the verb or verb phrase. Decide which word or group of words in each of the following sentences expresses what someone or something does or is. a. A rabbit hopped cautiously through the field. b. The children must have been playing with the flour. c. Our new puppy is quite cute. 3 of 7

4 Verb Tenses: Verb tense refers to the time of the action or state of being. There are three main verb tenses - present, past, and future. To change the tense in a sentence, you may have to add an ending to the main verb, add a helping verb to the main verb, or changing the verb itself. Changing the verb tense is necessary to keep your writing in the same time frame. If you are writing about something that happened in the past, all of your verbs should be in past tense. Example 1 (Present tense): The little girl is racing to the park. (Past tense): The little girl raced to the park. (Future tense): The little girl will race to the park. Example 2 (Present tense): He is a talented pianist. (Past tense): He was a talented pianist. (Future tense): He will be a talented pianist. Example 3 (Present tense): Susan is bringing pizza for dinner. (Past tense): Susan brought pizza for dinner. (Future tense): Susan will bring pizza for dinner. Now you try it: 1. Change the underlined verbs or verb phrases to show a different tense. b. The tree will be losing its leaves. c. We went to the floral shop to buy flowers for Mom. d. My car is in the shop. Review: Adverbs Adverbs are used to describe or modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. Adverbs often show when, how often, where, the degree, or the manner in which something happens. Look at the example to see how the adverb adds to the sentence to make it more precise and interesting. Example 1: The little girl raced competitively to the park. The adverb competitively modifies the past tense verb raced. It helps the reader to understand the manner in which she raced to the park. 4 of 7

5 Adverb Clause: Instead of using a single adverb, a writer may choose to use a group of words to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. This group of words, which contains a subject and a predicate, is called an adverb clause. The adverb clause functions in the same way a single adverb functions in a sentence by telling how, when, where, or under what condition. Identifying Adverb Clauses: An adverb clause is introduced by a subordinate conjunction. The subordinate conjunction is what makes the adverb clause dependent, needing another part of the sentence, an independent clause, for it to make sense. This makes it easy to spot in a sentence. Some common subordinating conjunctions are: after, although, as, as if, as long as, as soon as, because, before, if, since, than, though, unless, until, when, where, and while. Example: Before I left, I washed the dishes. Can you spot the adverb clause in this sentence? It begins with a subordinating conjunction and it works in the sentence as an adverb by telling us when the dishes were done. The adverb clause is: Before I left. Note: Adverb clauses can come first or last in a sentence. If they come first, typically a comma is placed after the dependent clause. Now you try using adverb clauses: 1. Add an adverb clause to each of the following sentences to show when, how, where, or under what condition something happens. Make sure your adverb clause has a subject and a predicate. a. I am going to the movies b. I am going to take you to the movies with me. 5 of 7

6 Fundamentals of Writing 2 - Lesson 3 Assignments: When typing your assignments in Word, please make sure to use the MLA format. When you me your assignments, please make sure that the Subject line on your includes the class name (Fundamentals2), your name and the assignment number or numbers. Example: Subject: Fundamentals2- George-3A Or (if sending more than one): Subject: Fundamentals2-George-3B and 3C (and so on...) 3A. Here are your vocabulary words to learn this week: rumor, aroma, droll, and vivid. Please type your assignment in a Word document. Follow the example that you were show in Lesson 1 (Part 1-Vocabulary) to complete this week s vocabulary assignment.. Name your assignment the same as your subject line shown above. For example: Fundamentals2-George-3A.doc. this assignment to me as an attachment. Don t forget MLA format! 3B. Entertaining Paragraph: Please follow the directions below to complete this assignment. The purpose of this paragraph is to entertain and your audience will be your teacher and other students.. Please type your work in a Word document and name it the same as your subject line shown above. For example: Fundamentals2-George-3B.doc. this assignment to me as an attachment. Assignment Directions: You will be writing a paragraph that entertains your audience with a funny story about a fictional (make-believe) character. Start by following these steps: Step 1: Close your eyes and think up an entertaining fictional character in your mind. Your fictional character can be human, animal, or thing. Write down all the details about what this character looks like as it will help you later when writing your entertaining story. Step 2: Use vivid verbs, lively adverbs, and descriptive adjectives to describe your amusing character and the silly things this character does. You must describe at least 8 amusing actions or details about your character. Now, write your paragraph: Step 3: Write your topic sentence. You can begin with, The funniest thing I ever saw was (finish the sentence), or you can come up with your own way to introduce your entertaining character. Topic Sentence: 6 of 7

7 Step 4: Write your descriptive detail or supporting sentences. Write at least eight sentences that describe your entertaining character and show what it does that is amusing. Start each sentence in a different way, and try using a couple adjective and adverb clauses in your sentences. Make sure to put them in a logical order. Step 5: Write a closing sentence that makes a statement about what you thought of all the funny or odd things your fictional character did. Closing Sentence: Step 6: Now you are ready to put all of your sentences into paragraph form. Make sure your sentences are in logical order. Step 7: Think of a creative title for your paragraph, and if you want, you can add a picture to your assignment. 3C. Continue to practice your typing this week. You can use your own typing tutor, or you may try out another one of the typing programs linked below. For your assignment, please send me an letting me know how you practiced your typing this week.. The subject line will read as explained above. Example: Fundamentals2-George-3C. - Computer Circus offers typing and other computer related instruction. You do not have to have a login or password. - On the opening page, you will choose your level (easy, medium, or hard), and then on the next screen you can choose other preferences, such as difficulty level and number of letters. When I went to this website I noticed that kid ads pop-up occasionally, just skip past them if they do. - This has twelve stages of typing games through which you can progress as you gain skills in typing 7 of 7