Tueday, February 1

S.A.T.uesday!!

Up until you take the SATs, we will review SAT grammar and writing, reading comprehension and test-taking skills twice a week instead of a Writing Prompt. Please include these assignments in your Writing Prompt book. You will get credit for them when the Writing Prompt books are collected.

Grammar Do Now: 

Identify the subject and verb in each of the following sentences.  Write whether the noun is singular or plural and whether the verb is singular or plural.

1. Ms. McCartney, we read The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass at the end of last year.

2. Steam engines, which once were the hopes of car manufacturers, have never proved practical.

3. After the game, the team threw a party for themselves and their friends at 5^th & Girard.

4. For many centuries, the Chinese carefully guarded the secret of making silk cloth. 

Grammar Notes:

1. Match subjects and verbs like a puzzle: 

singular & singular; plural & plural

Ex: He teaches me how to Dougie.

Ex: They teach me how to Dougie. 

2. Prepositional Phrases

Prepositions are words indicating relationships : above, under, at, before, by, for, from, of, on, under, with, after, before

These often separate the subject and the verb!!

Ex: Even possession of eagle feathers is illegal if you are an American Indian. 

3. Collective Nouns are singular nouns.

A collective noun is a noun that represents a group: class, family, group, pack, herd, army, team, audience, country (also think of names of countries).

Ex: Constitution's basketball team is the best in the city. 

4. Pronouns as subjects

Pronouns are words that fill in for proper nouns (he, she, I, they, that, us, we).

If it ends in "one" or "body," it is always singular. 

Ex: Everyone is here but Fajion.

Ex: Every weekend, somebody calls me to do something, but I just want to sleep.

"Some" is plural if you can count it; "some" is singular if you can't count it. 

Ex: Some of the class members are attentive. (plural)

Ex: Some of the excitement for school is gone after the first day. (singular)

5. Multiple Subjects

If the subjects are joined with an "and," it is a plural subject.

Ex: Gold, silver and platinum are expensive, but they do not rust or corrode easily. 

If the subjects are joined by "or" or "nor," you look at the last subject in the list to determine singular or plural. 

Ex: Neither Kyle nor Eva has a flashlight.

Ex: For Thanksgiving, either my uncle or my grandparents have dinner at their house.  

Today: 

1. Review vocabulary

2. PSSA Practice - pgs 2-4

Important Dates:

1. For Wednesday: Read the rest of chapter 1 for Wednesday. Instead of taking notes, review the chapter and find the references to colors. For each color, take note of what/who the color represents and what that color traditionally signifies. 

2. number2.com - Thursday

3. Don't get behind in your work! It's a new marking report and a fresh start! Get your make-up work in now!