English: Commas March 17, 2014

Bell Ringer What are at least two reasons for using commas?

Shout Outs Dajuan received an autograph book from Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran for his hard work in Business class! Jasmine came in 1 st place in the 100M on Thursday! Many students in 7A have shown great maturity and good citizenship. Congrats to all of our medical students for your hard work at the competition! Great job to everyone for your reflection on the practice ACT tests!

ACT Tip of the Day Did you now that chocolate and peppermints can help stimulate the brain? Pop a peppermint or Hershey Kiss in your mouth on a break during the ACT to help you stay alert. DISCLAIMER: This does not substitute a healthy breakfast.

Objective Today we will be able to identify a variety of situations in which commas are needed. Homework: Complete comma task. FYI Tomorrow you will be assigned to read chapters I suggest you get a head start. Midterm and Performance task are coming up

Commas Commas are used for: Separating parts in a series. Separating coordinate adjectives Separate parts in a compound sentence Separation of participles, infinitives, and phrases Separation of adjective clauses Separation of appositives Separation when using interjections, parenthetical expressions, and conjunctive adverbs.

Separating parts in a series Use a comma to separate three or more words, phrases or clauses in a series. Ex: Alaska, Texas, and California are out three largest states. When the items are separated by conjunctions such as and, commas are not necessary. The trip was long and boring and lame

Separating Coordinate Adjectives A coordinate adjective modifies the noun. Ex: It was a warm, starry, fragrant evening. Don’t use commas between adjectives that don’t sound right when putting “and” between them, or when the sentence sounds incorrect if you reverse the order. Ex: The big old oak desk stood in one corner of the room.

Compound Sentences Compound sentences include words such as and, not, but, yet, or for in order to connect two or more clauses in a sentence. Ex: I picked up the clay jar carefully, yet it crashed to the floor.

Participles, Infinitives, and phrases Use commas for Participles, Infinitives, and their phrases if they are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Ex: He read, engrossed, until the doorbell broke his concentration. If participles, infinitives, and their phrases are essential to the meaning of a sentence, do not set them off with commas. Ex: The girl watching us is my sister.

Adjective Clauses Use commas to set off nonessential adjective clauses A nonessential clause provides additional information about a noun. Considered an extra clause, it does not change the meaning of a sentence but adds to it. It is therefore set off with commas. Ex: Jackson Pollack, who was an American painter, was born in Do not use commas with an essential adjective clause. An essential clause gives necessary information about a noun and it thus needed to convey the exact meaning of the sentence. Ex: One of the few American writers whom she read was Langston Hughes. (Whom she read is the essential clause).

Appositives Use commas to set off an appositive if it is not essential to the meaning of a sentence. Nonessential appositive: provides additional information and is set off by commas Ex: Lucha Corpi, teacher and author, has published many poems. An essential appositive is not set off with commas because it gives necessary information about a noun. Ex: Both the Iliad and the Odyssey are traditionally attributed to the poet Homer.

Interjections, parenthetical expressions, and conjunctive adverbs Use commas to set off interjections Such as oh, yes, and well Ex: Yes, I hope to build my own house one day. Use commas for parenthetical expressions Such as on the contrary, on the other hand, in fact, by the way, to be exact, and after all Ex: The beautiful and historic city of Philadelphia, in fact, is three centuries old. Use commas for conjunctive adverbs Such as however, moreover, and consequently Ex: We drank two bottles of orange juice last night, consequently, we did not have enough left to make the punch today.

English: Commas and TFA March 18, 2014

Bell Ringer Compare and contrast yesterday’s comma practice with a neighbor. I will be around to check in homework.

Shout Outs Congrats to all the Mock Trial participants!

ACT Tip of the Day “I’m bored.” “I don’t like this passage.” “I don’t know anything about this topic!” If you have ever thought any of these phrases during an ACT test, you know that boredom or lack of knowledge of a topic can make test taking very difficult. What to do: Assess your own schema (background knowledge) and interest in a topic. If you are interested in and know the topic, excellent, the passage will be easier for you to read. If not, you must begin to make inferences and attack the topic using the knowledge you do have. Use context clues, think of where you heard words or phrases before. Make connections. You must also understand your struggle and know you must work that much HARDER to SUCCEED. DON’T GIVE UP.

Objective Today we will be able to… Show mastery of identifying a variety of situations in which commas are needed. Predict what is next for Okonkwo and the Umuofia tribe using evidence from chapters Begin to read and analyze chapters of TFA. Homework: Finish reading chapters and complete the comprehension questions.