Editing - Sunday

Following is a paragraph with approximately 5-7 errors. Please copy and paste the paragraph into the comment box and make all necessary corrections. By the time you post your response, all corrections should have been made.

Please note: this assignment will change daily. You must complete the editing process for two of the assignments this week. That means that you must do the homework on two separate days. There will be no comment back to another student this week, just the two responses. If you complete more than 2 responses, your top two scores will count.

Here is the excerpt (From Cloning and Genetic Engineering by Holly Cefrey):

All living things are made of cells. The cell is a living watery unit. Its the basic building block of all life. Certain organisms need only won block. Some bacteria and germs are made of only one cell. On the other hand the complex human body is made of trillions of cells.

Cells perform many important jobs. They take in food, and get rid of waste products. During the time they are alive, cells also reproduce, or make more cells. Though cells come in different sizes, all is extremely small. Hundreds of average-sized cells would fit inside the period at the end of this sentence.

Editing - Saturday

Following is a paragraph with approximately 5-7 errors. Please copy and paste the paragraph into the comment box and make all necessary corrections. By the time you post your response, all corrections should have been made.

Please note: this paragraph will change daily. You must complete the editing process for two of the paragraphs this week. That means that you must do the homework on two separate days. There will be no comment back to another student this week, just the two responses. If you complete more than 2 responses, your top two scores will count.

Here is the paragraph (From The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros):

Everybody in our family, has different hair. My Papa hair is like a broom, all up in the air. And me my hair is lazy. It never obeys barrettes or bands. Carlos hair is think and straight. He doesnt need to comb it. Nenny's hair is slippery – slides out of your hand. And KiKi who is the youngest has hair like fur.

Editing - Friday

Following is a paragraph with approximately 5-7 errors. Please copy and paste the paragraph into the comment box and make all necessary corrections. By the time you post your response, all corrections should have been made.

Please note: this paragraph will change daily. You must complete the editing process for two of the paragraphs this week. That means that you must do the homework on two separate days. There will be no comment back to another student this week, just the two responses. If you complete more than 2 responses, your top two scores will count.

Here is the paragraph:

Early mornings on her father's Montana ranch are the time that Ellen enjoys the most. Just after sunrise, she walks eagerly, down the dirt road behind her house to feed the horses. after she feeds them, she saddles up her most favorite mare for a brisk ride. She feels wonderfully alive as she and the horse raced across the green fields. The sound of singing birds is music to her ears. Ellen leans down and gently pats her horse on the neck. "Sasha that was a wonderful ride. Let's head back, she whispers." Sasha tosses her head as if in agreement, and the two of them begin a gentle stroll back to the barn.

Editing - Thursday

Following is a paragraph with approximately 5-7 errors. Please copy and paste the paragraph into the comment box and make all necessary corrections. By the time you post your response, all corrections should have been made.

Please note: this paragraph will change daily. You must complete the editing process for two of the paragraphs this week. That means that you must do the homework on two separate days. There will be no comment back to another student this week, just the two responses. If you complete more than 2 responses, your top two scores will count.

Here is the paragraph:

One day last fall, I decided to investigate the chess club at school. As I enter the classroom where the club met, I was amazed that the place was packed with players and boards, yet it was surprising silent. The club advisor greeted me when I entered. When he learned that I hadn't played chess before he asked one of the club members, Amanda, to explain the rules of the game. Amanda showed me the board and the pieces. She then explained how each player took turns and moved the pieces. Amanda said, "Remember, when the piece called the king has no moves left, it's called checkmate and the game is then over. Because Amanda was such a good teacher, she made the game sound pretty simple. I was ready to try out my new skills so Amanda suggested we play a game. I agreed and told her not to be to easy on me. She took my advice and beat me in just four moves! Amanda then showed me how she had accomplished this amazing feat I challenged her to another game, and this time I lasted fourteen moves before she yelled, "Checkmate!" As I left the chess club that day, my mind was on fire with moves and strategies to try at next week's meeting.

Editing - Wednesday

Following is a paragraph with approximately 5-7 errors. Please copy and paste the paragraph into the comment box and make all necessary corrections. By the time you post your response, all corrections should have been made.

Please note: this paragraph will change daily. You must complete the editing process for two of the paragraphs this week. That means that you must do the homework on two separate days. There will be no comment back to another student this week, just the two responses. If you complete more than 2 responses, your top two scores will count.

Here is the paragraph:

All of us have a special skill or talent. That skill or talent may be drawing, playing a musical instrument, or excelling in a sport. For Mia Hamm it is playing soccer. Both Mia's athletic ability and her interest in the game was evident at a very early age she joined her first soccer team at the age of five and has focused on the sport ever since. At the age of fifteen, Mia became the most youngest player ever to join the U.S. Women's National Team. As the years passed, Mia's dedication to her sport continued to pay off. She won several awards, including three olympic medals, and was recognized as the U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year for five years in a row. It is hard to believe that when Mia was a baby, she has had to spend several months with her feet in casts to correct a structural foot problem. Could you be the next Mia Hamm of art, music, or sports? Anything is possible if you work hard enough.

Editing - Tuesday

Following is a paragraph with approximately 5-7 errors. Please copy and paste the paragraph into the comment box and make all necessary corrections. By the time you post your response, all corrections should have been made.

Please note: this paragraph will change daily. You must complete the editing process for two of the paragraphs this week. That means that you must do the homework on two separate days. There will be no comment back to another student this week, just the two responses. If you complete more than 2 responses, your top two scores will count.

Here is the paragraph:

Most of us have had the experience of playing some kind of video game. We may have played it at an arcade, on a computer, or through a video game system that was plugging into a television set. There is many different types of video games today, but this was not always the case. William Higinbotham an employee of Brookhaven National Laboratory, is thought to be the creator of the first video game. He designs the game in 1958 as an activity for people visiting the laboratory. The game, called "Tennis for two," was much less complicated than the games we have today. Nevertheless, this simply game was the beginning of a giant industry.

Editing - Monday

Following is a paragraph with approximately 5-7 errors. Please copy and paste the paragraph into the comment box and make all necessary corrections. By the time you post your response, all corrections should have been made.

Please note: this paragraph will change daily. You must complete the editing process for two of the paragraphs this week. That means that you must do the homework on two separate days. There will be no comment back to another student this week, just the two responses.

Here is the paragraph:

Carl Sagan: 1934—1997

Carl Sagan, was a distinguished scientist, author, and educator who was trained in both astronomy and biology. He served as a leading adviser to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa) from the time American space exploration began, and he receives many awards for his contributions to planetary science and environmental preservation. Sagan also captured the imaginations of millions of people with an interested book called Life in the Universe and Other Essays. His gift for explaining difficult scientific concepts in ways that people could easier understand helped make him one of the finest science educators in the world. Carl sagan will always be remembered as a brightly and gifted scientist.

Editing

A good thing for every writer is to understand that mistakes happen. A good habit for every writer to develop is to take time to correct those mistakes.

For this week's homework, you will repeat the same process 4 times for your 4 grades (there will be no comments on each other's work).

This is the process you will use:

1. Find one of your earlier posts that has at least five mistakes.
2. Copy and paste it in the comment box here.
3. Paste it again.
4. Make corrections to the second time it was pasted into the comment box.
5. You should end up with 2 versions of the same writing in each post: one uncorrected and one corrected.
6. Do this 4 times total (in 4 separate posts) for your homework grades this week.

If you don't have a post with five or more mistakes, copy and paste someone else's post that meets the requirements. But please don't post the person's name.

Homonyms

Take a look at this link, which is a list of homonyms (words that sound alike, but have different spellings and meanings).

www.cooper.com/alan/homonym_list.html

Which set of words do you already get, and how? Which set gives you trouble and why do you think you get stuck on it? And what new information did you realize about a set of homonyms by reading through this list?

No New Post for the Week of 9/29

To those of you who posted here on Tuesday, September 29th: I'm afraid that you won't get credit. The two blogs for this week are Writers and Read Aloud. Please go to those blogs and do the work to get credit for this week's homework!

Ugh!

What is the one rule around grammar, mechanics or word usage that just always trips you up? What strategies do you use to try to get it right every time? Remember to not only respond to this post, but also respond to one of your classmate's posts. If you can, provide that classmate with a suggestion that will help solve her/his problem.

Welcome

Hello to all of my students!! Do me a favor: if you're checking this out, take the next step and figure out how to leave a comment on this post. Then, take the next step and figure out how to leave a comment on someone else's reply...