Download DLP Week 5 Grade 8 - Belle Vernon Area School District

D.L.P. – Week Five
G R A DE E IG HT
Day One – Skills
• Participles – Correction of Dangling
A participle looks like a verb but works like an adjective. To locate a participle, look for the all of the words
that look like verbs. Because they are actions, they may even end in suffixes like “ing” or “ed.” If the
verb-like word is an adjective, it should describe a noun and be close to that noun in the sentence. For
example: Burning quickly, the building was destroyed. (Burning is the participle since it describes the
building. Note that it is close to it in the sentence.) A participle is called dangling when it is not in close
proximity to the noun it describes, or no noun is present for it to describe. Note this poor example:
Burning quickly, fireman put out the flames. (In this example, the participle burning appears to describe
the fireman. Obviously, that is not the case, so this participle would be considered dangling.)
• Punctuation of possessives
• An apostrophe is used to show possession or ownership. If the word showing ownership is singular,
then the apostrophe is placed before the s. (boy’s) If the word is plural and ends in an s, then the
apostrophe is placed after the s. (groups’) However, if the plural word does not end in an s, then the
apostrophe is placed before the s. (children’s)
• Joint possession means more than one person owns something. If one thing is owned by more than
one person, the apostrophe and s appear only on the final person in the group. (Bob and Mark’s car)
• Verb usage – to catch
The verb catch is an irregular action verb. In the past catch changes to caught. The past participle is have
caught.
D AY O NE – SE NT E NCE O NE
Isaac Bashevis Singer received a
traditional Jewish education,
born in Poland in 1904.
Born in Poland in 1904, Isaac
Bashevis Singer received a
traditional Jewish education.
D AY O NE – SE NT E NCE T WO
Throughout Singers’ youth, all
of Europe was catched up in
political turmoil.
Throughout Singer’s youth, all
of Europe was caught up in
political turmoil.
Day Two – Skills
• Verb Tense Consistency
For logic purposes, the verbs used in a sentence or longer piece must be in the same
tense.
• Punctuation – Period in an Abbreviation
When a word is abbreviated, a period must be used to show that the word has been
shortened. (Mister – Mr. street – st.)
• Punctuation – Comma – Introductory Subordinate Clause
When a sentence begins with a subordinate (dependent) clause, the clause must be
followed by a comma. If the subordinate clause ends the sentence, no commas
separates it from the independent one.
D AY T WO – SE NT E NCE O NE
With war approaching, the young
writer emigrated to the United
States and settles in New York City.
With war approaching, the young
writer emigrated to the United
States and settled in New York
City.
D AY T WO – SE NT E NCE T WO
Although he later became a US
citizen he retained many of his
European ways.
Although he later became a U.S.
citizen, he retained many of his
European ways.
Day Three– Skills
• Punctuation –Comma – Prepositional Phrases
When a sentence starts with one prepositional phrase, it is the writer’s choice to place a
comma after it or not. Be consistent. Some single prepositional phrases involving time
seem logical. (At first, I was unsure.) However, if more than prepositional phrase begins a
sentence, a comma must be placed at the end of them. (On Thursday in the morning, I…)
• Plurals – Formation of
Most nouns are made plural by simply adding an s or es. (boys, churches) However, some
words change completely in their spelling. (tooth-teeth, child-children) Some nouns
remain the same whether they are singular or plural. (fish, moose) When unsure of how a
plural is spelled, check a dictionary.
• Confused Words – their, there, they’re
• The word there is a possessive pronoun and shows ownership. The word there can be
used to show a place. It can also be called an expletive when it is followed by a linking
verb. They’re is a contraction made up of the words they and are.
D AY T HR E E – SE NT E NCE O NE
For the subjects of his writing
Singer drew on his Jewish heritage
and on Jewish life in New York City.
For the subjects of his writing,
Singer drew on his Jewish heritage
and on Jewish life in New York City.
D AY T HR E E – SE NT E NCE T WO
His storys are marked by there
wit and gentle humor.
His stories are marked by their
wit and gentle humor.
Day Four– Skills
• Negatives – Elimination of Doubles
Only one negative word should be used per sentence. Negative words include no, not, never, and none.
• Redundancy – Elimination of
Redundancy means that a writer says something more than once. Being repetitive in writing is unnecessary. (Ex.
In my opinion I believe)
• Capitalization – Proper Nouns – Things
Names of specific things must be capitalized. They may be the names of products (Kleenex), holidays (Fourth of
July), languages (French), historical events (Battle of Gettysburg), or companies (Nike). When the noun is more
than one word, follow the same rules for capitalizing words in a title.
• Punctuation – Comma – Appositives
If an appositive is a single word, it is the writer’s choice to place comas around it or not, but a multiple word
appositive must be set off from the sentence with commas.
• Punctuation – Comma – Nonrestrictive Clause vs. Restrictive Clause
• A nonrestrictive clause is a subordinate (dependent) clause that is not needed for the independent clause to
make sense. This nonrestrictive clause adds detail and description, but since the independent clause can function
without it, it must be set off by commas. If the subordinate clause is integral to the meaning of the independent
clause, it is called a restrictive clause, and no commas are used.
D AY FO UR – SE NT E NCE O NE
For a long time Singer’s writings
weren’t hardly known here in
this country.
For a long time Singer’s writings
were hardly known in this
country.
D AY FO UR – SE NT E NCE T WO
He wrote in yiddish a language of
European Jews which blends
German dialects with Hebrew and
Slavic vocabulary.
He wrote in Yiddish, a language of
European Jews, which blends
German dialects with Hebrew and
Slavic vocabulary.
Day Five– Skills
• Punctuation – Comma – Interrupters
An interrupter breaks up the flow of a sentence. If the interrupter starts the sentence, place a
comma after it. If the interrupter is mid-sentence, place commas before and after it.
• Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs
The three degrees of comparison are positive, comparative, and superlative. The positive
degree is simply the adjective or adverb. The comparative degree means that two things are
being compared. The suffix “er” is used or the words more or less. (bigger, more interesting,
less exciting) The superlative degree compares more than two things. The suffix “est” or the
words most or least are used. (biggest, most interesting, least exciting)
A double comparison occurs when both the suffix and the words are used. Use one or the
other.
• Punctuation – Period in an Abbreviation
When a word is abbreviated, a period must be used to show that the word has been shortened.
(Mister – Mr. street – st.)
D AY FIVE – SE NT E NCE O NE
Gradually however translations
of his works won him a more
wider audience.
Gradually, however, translations
of his works won him a wider
audience.
D AY FIVE – SE NT E NCE T WO
In 1978 IB Singer received the Nobel
Prize for Literature in recognition
of his lifetime achievement as a
writer.
In 1978 I.B. Singer received the
Nobel Prize for Literature in
recognition of his lifetime
achievement as a writer.