D.L.P. – Week TwoGRADE SEVEN

Day One – Skills• Spelling – ie/ei

Most English words follow the rule, “I before e except after c.” Hence, these words are spelled as such: piece and ceiling.

• Capitalization – Proper Nouns – Geographical Locations

Words that designation direction are not capitalized. (I went east on Route 70.) However, when these same words are used to designate a region of the country, they are capitalized. (I traveled to Eastern Michigan.)

• Capitalization – First Word in a Sentence

Sentences must begin with a capital letter to signal that a new thought has begun.

• Punctuation – End Marks

Sentences must end with proper punctuation to signal that a thought has ended. Declarative sentences or statements end in a period. Interrogative sentences, which are also known as questions, must end in a question mark. Imperative sentences are punctuated based on how they are said. Commands that are forceful would end in an exclamation point, but a calmly stated command would merit a period. Finally, exclamatory sentences end in exclamation points since they are spoken with such enthusiasm.

In “The Ransom of Red Cheif,” Bill Driscoll and the narrator took Red Cheif down to the south.

DAY ONE – SENTENCE ONE

In “The Ransom of Red Chief,” Bill Driscoll and the narrator took Red Chief down to the South.

they wanted his father to pay a large ransom

DAY ONE – SENTENCE TWO

They wanted his father to pay a large ransom.

Day Two – Skills• Verb Usage – To be

The verb “be” is a linking verb. Oddly, it is never used without another helping verb before it. (will be) The verb “be” is conjugated as am, are, is, are in the present tense, was, were in the past tense, and be in the future tense with either will or shall preceding it. The other two linking verbs been and being come from other tenses of this verb.

• Pronoun Usage – Case

Pronouns are used differently depending on what case they are. Subject pronouns, also known as nominative pronouns can work as subjects or predicate nouns. They are I, we, you, he, she, it, and they. Objective pronouns can work as direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of the preposition. They are me, us, you, him, her, it, and them. Possessive pronouns show ownership. They are my, mine, our, ours, your, yours, his, her, hers, its, their, and theirs. Note that possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes.

• Numbers – As Words or Numerals

If the number is less than one hundred, it must be written as a word unless it is a score, weight, height, time, or date. If the number is over one hundred, be consistent in how it is written. Do not mix and match some words with some numerical aspects. (2 thousand is incorrect. It should be two thousand. 5 dollars is incorrect. It should be five dollars.)

They be planning to ask for two thousand dollars in ransom.

DAY TWO – SENTENCE ONE

They were planning to ask for two thousand dollars in ransom.

Bill and him had about 600 dollars between the two of them.

DAY TWO – SENTENCE TWO

Bill and he had about six hundred dollars between the two of them.

Day Three– Skills• Punctuation – Comma – Direct Quotations

The spoken and non-spoken parts of a sentence must be separated. Typically, that is done with a comma. (“Hello,” Mom said. I said, “How are You?”) The exception would be when an exclamation or question mark is used to separate the two parts. (“How are you?” she asked. “How wonderful!” Bob yelled.)

• Punctuation – Quotation Marks – Direct Quotation

Quotation marks are used around the exact words that someone speaks. Punctuation to separate the spoken and non-spoken words is included inside of the quotation marks.

• Capitalization – Proper Nouns – People

Names of people are always capitalized. If the person has a title such as Mr. or Dr., the title is also capitalized. Animal’s names are also capitalized.

Bill said Hey, little boy! Would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride?

DAY THREE – SENTENCE ONE

Bill said, “Hey, little boy! Would you like to have a bag of candy and a nice ride?”

The boy hit bill in the eye with a piece of brick.

DAY THREE – SENTENCE TWO

The boy hit Bill in the eye with a piece of brick.

Day Four– Skills• Run-on Sentences

Run-on sentences occur when two complete thoughts run together without proper connection or punctuation. Run-ons can be corrected in one of three ways. First, simply separate the two sentences with proper end punctuation. However, if the two sentences can be connected by meaning, connect them with a comma and the proper conjunction. Finally, the two sentences can have a semicolon placed between them in the clauses relate closely in meaning. Note that the sentence following the semicolon would not begin with a capital unless that word is a proper noun or the pronoun I.

• Punctuation – Apostrophes in Possession

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)

• Sentence Combining –Using Immersion

Two sentences can be combined simply by including the information from one sentence into the other. This helps to prevent short, choppy sentence. (Mary is tall. Mary is my friend. These can be combined by immersing one into the other and saying, “My friend Mary is tall.”)

The boy is a brat he sits on Bills chest and tries to cut off his scalp.

DAY FOUR – SENTENCE ONE

The boy is a brat. He sits on Bill’s chest and tries to cut off his scalp.

The kidnappers have to pay to get rid of Red Chief. They pay $250.

DAY FOUR – SENTENCE TWO

The kidnappers have to pay $250 to get rid of Red Chief.

Day Five– Skills• Punctuation – Comma – Participial Phrases

When a participial phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence, set it off with a comma. Remember, a participle looks like a verb so it often ends in “ing” or “ed.” Participles work like adjectives, so they are not needed in the sentence and can be removed, but they do add good description. (Excited by the news, Elizabeth jumped up and down.)

• Punctuation – Titles

When referring to a title when writing, it must be punctuated properly. Shorter works are placed in quotations. Shorter works include poems, short stories, songs, a chapter in a longer book, or a newspaper or magazine article. Longer works include books, names of magazines or newspapers, and movies.

• Agreement – Subject and Verb

The subject and verb of a clause must agree in person and number. This involves something called conjugation. Every verb can be conjugated as to first person, second person, or third person and as singular or plural. Take the verb go. Use the nominative pronouns I, you, and he as singular and we, you, and they as plural. Make the verb go match the pronoun. “I go” means the verb is first person singular. “They go” makes it third person and plural. Note the third person singular – “he goes.” When an action verb is third person singular, it typically ends in an “s.” Be careful to not let words between the subject and verb such as prepositional phrases sway the verb choice.

Running as fast as they can the kidnappers head out of town.

DAY FIVE – SENTENCE ONE

Running as fast as they can, the kidnappers head out of town.

The Ransom of Red Chief is a funny story even though kidnapping are not a funny subject.

DAY FIVE – SENTENCE TWO

“The Ransom of Red Chief” is a funny story even though kidnapping is not a funny subject.