D.L.P. – Week ThreeGRADE SEVEN

Day One – Skills• Capitalization – Proper Nouns - Places

Names of specific places must be capitalized since they are proper nouns. These could include the names of buildings and monuments. They could also include towns, cities, states, and countries.

• Articles

The three articles are a, an, and the. A and an are called indefinite articles. A is used before singular words that begin with consonants. An is used before singular words that begin with vowel sounds. The can be used before any noun.

• 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.)

In the story “All Summer in a Day,” the children on venus had never seen the sun.

DAY ONE – SENTENCE ONE

In the story “All Summer in a Day,” the children on Venus had never seen the sun.

“I think the sun is a amazing flower” Margot said to them.

DAY ONE – SENTENCE TWO

“I think the sun is an amazing flower,” Margot said to them.

Day Two – Skills• Comparison of Adjectives and Adverbs

The three degrees of comparison are positive, comparative, and superlative. The positive degree is simply the adjective or adverb. The comparative degree means that two things are being compared. The suffix “er” is used or the words more or less. (bigger, more interesting, less exciting) The superlative degree compares more than two things. The suffix “est” or the words most or least are used. (biggest, most interesting, least exciting)

A double comparison occurs when both the suffix and the words are used. Use one or the other.

• Punctuation – Apostrophes in Contractions

When two words are joined together, they form a contraction. An apostrophe is placed to show where letters were omitted in the joining of the words. (can’t, don’t, haven’t)

• Confused Words – accept/except

The word accept is an action verb means to take something that is offered. The word except is a preposition that means to leave something out.

It was the most happiest day in Margot’s life.

DAY TWO – SENTENCE ONE

It was the happiest day in Margot’s life.

The children dont except Margot because she remembers what the sun was like.

DAY TWO – SENTENCE TWO

The children don’t accept Margot because she remembers what the sun was like.

Day Three– Skills• Negatives – Elimination of Doubles

Only one negative word should be used per sentence. Negative words include no, not, never, and none.

• Sentence Fragment

A fragment occurs because a sentence is missing a vital part, a subject or a verb. Correct it by adding the missing part. A second way that a fragment occurs is that it is not a complete thought. Perhaps, it is only a dependent clause. Correct this type of fragment by adding an independent clause.

• Punctuation – Comma – Interrupters

An interrupter breaks up the flow of a sentence. If the interrupter starts the sentence, place a comma after it. If the interrupter is mid-sentence, place commas before and after it.

The other children didn’t say nothing nice to Margot. Because they were mean.

DAY THREE – SENTENCE ONE

The other children didn’t say anything nice to Margot because they were mean.

The children believe it or not locked Margot in a closet.

DAY THREE – SENTENCE TWO

The children, believe it or not, locked Margot in a closet.

Day Four– Skills• Punctuation – Comma – Compound Sentence

When two independent clauses are combined with a conjunction to form a compound sentence, a comma must be placed before the conjunction.

• Verb Tense Consistency

For logic purposes, the verbs used in a sentence or longer piece must be in the same tense.

• Punctuation – Exclamation Points

An exclamation point is used to show strong emotion. It can be used to end a sentence or after an interjection.

Margot learned about Venus but she was wanting to go back to Earth.

DAY FOUR – SENTENCE ONE

Margot learned about Venus, but she wanted to go back to Earth.

“The sun is much better than sun lamps” the children shouted.

DAY FOUR – SENTENCE TWO

“The sun is much better than sun lamps!” the children shouted.

Day Five– Skills• Verbs – Vivid Choices

Verbs show the action in writing, so they help a reader visualize what is happening. Using strong, vivid verbs makes writing better.

• Capitalization – Titles

The first word of any title is capitalized. After that, all important words are capitalized. Words that are not capitalized are articles, conjunctions, and prepositions.

• Sentence Combining – Using Appositives

An appositive is a word or group of words that renames a noun. They come after the noun they rename, and they are set off by commas unless they are a single word. Appositives do not contain verbs; therefore, they are not complete sentences.

The children moved through the bright sunlight.

DAY FIVE – SENTENCE ONE

The children skipped through the bright sunlight.

“All summer in a day” shows how the setting affects people. This is like other stories.

DAY FIVE – SENTENCE TWO

“All Summer in a Day,” a story like others, shows how the setting affects people.