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CAHSEE ELA Problem of the Day --Week 7
Teacher Notes
Week & Day:
Week 7—Day 1
Concept/Skill: Sentence Fragments, Present Participles, Literary Present Tense
Standards:
Materials:
Writing Conventions 1.2: Understand sentence construction (e.g., parallel structure,
subordination, proper placement of modifiers) and proper English usage (e.g., consistency
of verb tenses).
Student Handout (CAHSEE Released Items, Question 160)
1. Remind students that a sentence fragment does not express a complete idea. Writers
need to be careful not to confuse a present participle (an “–ing verb”) for a main
verb. You might share the following fragments and ask students to make complete
sentences by changing the verbs.
•
•
Suzanne running through the park (Suzanne ran through the park.)
Gary, hoping to get a good grade of the test (Gary hopes to get a good grade on the
test.)
2. Have students answer question 160 on the student handout.
3. The correct answer is B: “The poetry of Langston Hughes combines the idioms of
African-American speech and the rhythms of blues.”
4. Review the other answers to see why they are incorrect.
• A: This is not a fragment, but the future tense is incorrect in this sentence
• C: This answer is a fragment using the present participle “combining.”
• D: Left alone, the answer would be a fragment.
5. This may be a good time to review the literary present tense with your students.
Literary works, paintings, films, and other artistic creations are assumed to exist in
the present; thus, one needs to use the present tense when discussing these works in
writing. Although Hughes wrote his poetry in the past, the works are considered
eternal and live on in the present. Therefore, one should use the literary present when
writing about these works.
K. Berger
SAUSD, Educational Services
Fall 2007
Week 7 – Teacher - Page 1 of 5
CAHSEE ELA Problem of the Day --Week 7
Teacher Notes
Week & Day:
Week 7—Day 2
Concept/Skill: Dependent Clause
Standards:
Materials:
Writing Conventions 1.1: Identify and correctly use clauses (e.g., main and subordinate),
phrases (e.g., gerund, infinitive, and participial), and mechanics of punctuation (e.g.,
semicolons, colons, ellipses, hyphens).
Student Handout (CAHSEE Released Items, Question 161)
1. Tell students that this question will be a review of a rule presented in an earlier
lesson.
2. Have students complete questions 161 on their handout. Ask them to write the
rule which applies to the question on the handout.
3. The answer to 161 is B: “If you want to add your name to the list of volunteers,
please go to Room 112.” The rule which applies is “use a comma after an
introductory, dependent clause.” The lesson, which was introduced on Day,
Week 2, is reviewed in the box below. After reviewing the information, you
might ask students to identify the dependent marker word in the question. The
marker word is“if.”
•
POD Lesson Review (Day 1, Week 2)
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb but does not express
a complete thought. A dependent clause can not stand on its own as a sentence. The following
clauses are dependent:
o When John ate dinner at my house
o Because we came home from school late yesterday
•
A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of an independent clause that
makes it into a dependent clause. The marker words in the sentences above are when and
because. Other common marker words are after, although, as, as if, before, even if, even
though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, whenever, whether, and while.
•
A dependent clause can be added to a sentence either before or after an independent clause.
However, when beginning a sentence with a dependent clause, a comma must be inserted after
that clause.
o When John ate dinner at my house, he met my brother for the first time.
o Because we came home from school late yesterday, we missed our favorite TV
show.
4. If students are still having difficulty, tell students that a comma indicates where a
breath should be taken. Have them read the answer choices taking a breath where
each of the commas is located. This may help them determine the correct answer.
K. Berger
SAUSD, Educational Services
Fall 2007
Week 7 – Teacher - Page 2 of 5
CAHSEE ELA Problem of the Day --Week 7
Teacher Notes
Week & Day:
Week 7—Day 3
Concept/Skill: Word Order
Standards:
Writing Conventions 1.2: Understand sentence construction (e.g., parallel structure,
subordination, proper placement of modifiers) and proper English usage (e.g., consistency
of verb tenses).
Materials:
Student Handout (CAHSEE Released Items, Question 162)
1. Put the following words on the board and have students put them into a sentence:
• ate
• the
• Joe
• ice cream.
2. Most likely, your students will create the following sentence: “Joe ate the ice
cream.”
3. Ask students why they put the words in this order. They will tell you that it is the
only option that makes sense. (The other syntactically correct word order
assumes that the ice cream is consuming Joe.) Tell them that the proper word
order for English sentences which use action verbs is SVO (subject, verb, object).
4. Have students answer question 162, which asks them to determine the proper
word order in the sentence
5. The answer is B: “John wants that collection of essays on the bottom shelf.”
6. Ask students why B is the correct answer. They will probably say that this
answer just “sounds” correct. It is also the only option which uses the correct
word order of SVO.
• John (subject)
• wants (verb)
• that collection of essays (object)
K. Berger
SAUSD, Educational Services
Fall 2007
Week 7 – Teacher - Page 3 of 5
CAHSEE ELA Problem of the Day --Week 7
Teacher Notes
Week & Day:
Week 7—Day 4
Concept/Skill: Appositives (Nonessential and Essential)
Standards:
Writing Conventions 1.1: Identify and correctly use clauses (e.g., main and subordinate),
phrases (e.g., gerund, infinitive, and participial), and mechanics of punctuation (e.g.,
semicolons, colons, ellipses, hyphens).
Materials:
Student Handout (CAHSEE Released Items, Question 163)
1. Explain to students that an appositive is a noun, pronoun, or phrase which is set
beside another noun or pronoun to explain or identify it. An appositive phrase
usually follows the word it explains or identifies, but it may also come before it.
Share the following examples with students. The appositives are underlined.
•
My dog, a border terrier, barks all night long.
•
An excellent student, Suzy always received the highest grades in her
classes.
2. In some cases, the information in the appositive is essential to the meaning of the
sentence. When this is the case, commas should not be placed around the
appositive. If the sentence is clear and complete without the appositive, it is is
nonessential. Commas need to be placed before and after a nonessential
appositive. Ask the students whether the following appositives are essential or
nonessential.
•
My French Teacher, Mrs. Forstier, gave me an A. (This appositive is
nonessential, assuming that the writer only has one French teacher.)
•
One of the greatest English poets Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote about
Camelot. (Here the appositive is essential. Without it, we wouldn’t
know which poet wrote about Camelot.)
3. Have students answer question 163, finding the appositive and determining if it is
essential or nonessential.
4. The answer is A: The appositive, “a high school freshman,” is nonessential. In
other words, the reader does not need to know that the sister is a freshman to
understand the sentence. Because the appositive is nonessential, it is set off in
commas.
5. Another way to explain the nonessential appositive is to tell students that any
appositive set off in commas should be able to be completely removed from the
sentence without affecting clarity. Even after removing the appositive in the
example, we still have an understandable sentence as seen below:
•
My sister is trying out for the school play.
K. Berger
SAUSD, Educational Services
Fall 2007
Week 7 – Teacher - Page 4 of 5
CAHSEE ELA Problem of the Day --Week 7
Teacher Notes
Week & Day:
Week 7—Day 5
Concept/Skill: Introducing Items in a List, Colon, Commas
Standards:
Materials:
Writing Conventions 1.1: Identify and correctly use clauses (e.g., main and subordinate),
phrases (e.g., gerund, infinitive, and participial), and mechanics of punctuation (e.g.,
semicolons, colons, ellipses, hyphens).
Student Handout (CAHSEE Released Items, Question 164)
1. Tell students that when introducing a list, a colon may be used. However, the
colon can only be used when a complete sentence precedes it. In other words, a
colon cannot separate a verb and its object(s). The following examples use a
colon correctly:
•
•
Linda bought the following items for her party: paper plates, napkins,
and party favors.
It is important that you bring the following supplies to class: paper,
pencils, and a ruler.
2. The following sentences do not use a colon correctly:
•
•
I like: cookies, ice cream, and cake.
Matilde asked Juan to bring: his textbook, notebook and flashcards to
class.
3. Remind students that the items in the list which follow the colon should be
separated by commas.
4. Have students answer question 164 on their handout.
5. The answer is A: “Mr. Forbes needs the following items for his cooking class:
flour, salt, and a variety of spices.”
K. Berger
SAUSD, Educational Services
Fall 2007
Week 7 – Teacher - Page 5 of 5