English worksheet - writing an opinion paragraph

We're just finishing up the reading comprehension unit in Shane's English class (thank goodness: no more Iqbal!), and we're moving onto the creative writing units. On the grade 10 English literacy test that high school students are required to pass to graduate, there will be several questions that require the student to write paragraphs or essays. Many of these require the student to form an opinion and support it. There are few types of opinion paragraphs. These include: comparing and contrasting 2 things; "my favourite ..."; ethical opinions or an opinion on whether certain events or rules should be upheld.

There are some basic rules to follow for every opinion paragraph. A minimum of 5 sentences are required: the opinion statement, 3 supporting reasons, and a conclusion that either re-states the opinion or (even better) tells us what the next step is (ie what you will do about it or a recommendation). If you can finish up with a recommendation, the marks will really go up! Coincidentally, the opinion paragraph later graduates into an essay, with a similar structure, except that each sentences turns into a paragraph. More on developing this later.

The easiest opinions to start with are the "my favourite ..." ones. These will hold some relevance to your child and will make it easier to think of the supporting reasons. Note that "because I like it" is not a proper support. Challenge your child to give specific details.

Here are some paragraph starters. Try to write at least one paragraph every week.

Report Cards - celebrating!

Normally I don't put a lot of stock in the mid-term report cards. I've seen some where Shane is in the mid-to-high seventies at mid-term and ends up failing the course because he couldn't do a poster, worth 30%, at the very end of the semester.

But this time around, Shane called me at work, to tell me all the marks he's getting so far. Well, he's above the class average in every course, except English, for which he is at 70% right on the average. This is the very best report card he has ever brought home. He's really really proud of these marks, thus prompting the phone call right away after school. So, we're going to Starbucks today to celebrate with a decaf almond latte - Shane's favourite. Holly is coming too. Of course, she is doing very well in school also, but she would have come with us no matter what. The deal with us is: we all get to celebrate successes, but failures are not punished - they are simply learning opportunities.

Look for things to celebrate yourselves - choosing appropriate clothes to wear, buttering his own toast, being on time for the bus, anything that you want to continue ... Everyone wants to be successful. Find something, point it out, celebrate it, and the chances are pretty good it will be repeated.

Cheers!
Lisa

Free worksheets - Area and Perimeter

I read recently about making math fun. I have tried different ways to make things tangible for Shane and/or bring baseball into the discussion in some way. So, with my worksheets, I'm going to start with a warm-up at the beginning of each. It will either be an exercise, a craft, a riddle, or a word problem that's a little fun and gets Shane moving or starts him off interested in the subject.

This one, for calculating area and perimeter of 2D shapes, has a joke and a simple exercise that hopefully is challenging but gets him thinking about area in a tangible way. There will be a second area/perimeter worksheet, where he will be calculating how much paint is needed to paint a wall, or how many tiles are needed for a roof - this brings it into real life.

So here are the first Area/Perimeter worksheets.