Sunday, December 21, 2008

Holiday Readings

Ok, so maybe I can't stay away from this blog. :-)

Remember that reading & writing go hand-in-hand. Good writers, generally, are also good readers (and vice versa). So, to keep you busy over the winter break, try reading some of the items below.

Holiday stories: http://north.pole.org/stories.html

Popular New Year's Resolutions: http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New_Years_Resolutions.shtml

Keeping your resolutions: http://www.ehow.com/how_12076_keep-new-years.html

Enjoy!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to take a moment and say "thank you" to everyone who's been using the eLearning writing blog and taking the time to go through the activities and topics that have been posted. I hope you have found some things that have improved your writing.

The blog will still be available to you during the winter break (12/22/08 through 1/4/09). However, during that time, no new topics will be added. I encourage you to start visiting some of the earlier blog topics, especially ones from the start of the blog! There are tons of great things to work on even without new topics being added.

Have a very happy, safe, and healthy holiday season! I will "see" you back online in 2009!!!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 9)

Take a look at this chart below. You'll see various prefixes & their corresponding meanings.

AB
bene-good
circum-around
contra-opposed
equi-equal
extra-outside
hemi-half
hyper-over, above
inter-between, among
intra-within
intro-into
mal-bad
mid-halfway
mis-wrong
non-not
pre-before
retro-backward, behind
sub-under, below

Which prefix shown above are you least familiar with? Which one are you most familiar with? Can you tell me a word or two that uses any of the prefixes shown above?

(That list above came from here.)

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 8)

You can never have too much practice with word prefixes! With that in mind, try this next activity that will test you on some prefixes we've discussed in past blog topics. You might even see a new prefix or two!

Click on this link (http://www.quia.com/cm/128795.html), and then click the "Play this game!" button. The activity will see if you can correctly match the prefixes on the left to the meanings on the right. (Please note that some prefixes will match up to the same meaning!)

Good luck & have fun!

Once you're done, come back here & report how you did! Did you see any prefix that was new to you?

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 7)

We could go on almost forever with all of the prefixes that exist in the English language. Instead, take a look at the chart below that shows some of the ones you'll come across regularly.

Prefix
ante
bi
equi
hypo
neo
poly
semi
Meaning
before
two
equal
under
new
many
half

Prefix
auto
circum
im
inter
omni
retro
trans

Meaning
self
around
not
between
all
backward
across

Now's the time to test your prefix skills by playing this Quia game that's similar to Jeopardy! You can play either by yourself or against someone. If you play by yourself, enter your name in the area for "Player 1 Name" and then click the "Begin 1-player game" box. If you want to play with someone else, enter your names in the areas for "Player 1 Name" and "Player 2 Name;" then click the "Begin 2-player" game box. Then come back here, report how you did, what you learned, and if you enjoyed the activity!

http://www.quia.com/cb/221179.html

Enjoy!!!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 6)

Let's focus on another common prefix, "co-." This is one that you'll see pretty often.

Prefix: co-
Meaning: with
Examples: copilot, cosign, coteach

If you're on a plane that has a copilot, you have one pilot who is with another pilot.

Sometimes you may need to have someone cosign a loan with you.

Many of the online workshops have two teachers there; they are coteaching the session.


Words that use the prefix "co-" may use a hyphen. Examples would be the terms "co-own" and "co-exist." Why would some words with the prefix "co-" use a hyphen and others don't? The answer lies in the first letter of the word that comes after the prefix. According to one of the rules about hyphens, if you're going to have an awkward combination of letters together (such as two vowels right next to each other), you should use a hyphen. (Visit this blog topic link to learn more about that.)

Visit this link (prefix quiz) and try the activity with 10 questions. Then, come back here & report your results in a complete, correctly-written sentence!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 5)

We've already covered the four most common prefixes. But there are still other prefixes that are important to know, so let's focus on them for a bit!

Prefix: pre-
Meaning: before
Examples: prepay, prepackage, precook

If you prepay for a movie, you have paid for your tickets before the movie begins.

Some companies may prepackage books with CD's so that it's already done and you don't have to put those pieces together.

Publix sells precooked turkeys around holiday time. The turkeys are already cooked and all you need to do is reheat them!


Try this next activity to see how well you know some words that use the "pre-" prefix & their meanings. Click on this link (http://www.studystack.com/studytable-21628) and a table will appear with some parts showing and other parts hidden. See if you can guess what's in the hidden section. To check yourself, click on that hidden area and you'll see what's there. Then, pick one of the ten terms that you saw, come back to this blog, and post the term with its definition.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 4)

Do you recall that the four most common prefixes account for 97% of the prefixed words in written school English? Here's the last prefix of those top four. I bet this is one that you've seen quite often.

Prefix: re-
Meaning: again, once more
Examples: redo, refresh, rerun, reuse, rewrite

For more words using this particular prefix, click on this link: http://mrsdell.org/rewords.htm. Then, come back here and post the word that you were least familiar with. Visit an online dictionary site to find that word's definition and share it with the group. (Here's a link to an online dictionary that you might want to use: http://www.merriam-webster.com/.)

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 3)

Here's the next important prefix to know!

Prefix: un-
Meaning: not
Examples: unfriendly, uncooked, unused, untie

Visit this website to learn more about words that use the prefix "un-" and then return here to say whether you knew all of the words already or if you learned something new!

http://quizlet.com/familiarize/525197/

Monday, December 8, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 2)

Here's the second installment of information about common prefixes! Are you ready?

Prefix: im-, in-, il-, ir-
Meaning: not
Examples: impossible, injustice, illegible, irresponsible

How well do you know when to use those prefixes? Test your skills by trying the activity shown below. Once you complete it, return to the blog & tell us how you did. What parts, if any, were new to you? Did you enjoy it?

http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/puzzles35.htm
(Be sure that your browser allows pop-ups for this site so you can see if you're right for each one!)

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Word Parts - Prefixes (Part 1)

If you read the blog post from December 5th, you saw that fun fact about the four most common prefixes accounting for 97% of prefixed words in written school English. These next few blog posts will focus on those prefixes, their meanings, and how that can help you understand the meanings better.

Prefix: dis-
Meaning: not, opposite of
Examples: disagree, dislocate, discomfort, displace, disprove

Visit this website to learn more about words that use the prefix "dis-" and then return here to say whether you knew all of the words already or if you learned something new!

http://quizlet.com/familiarize/108611/

Friday, December 5, 2008

Word Parts

If you know the meaning of some common word parts, it'll be easier for you to figure out the meaning of a word. Let's begin to examine this.

Some words have prefixes. Those are word parts that come in the beginning of the word. Think about the word "misunderstand." That word has the prefix "mis-" in it. (The dash is used to show that something would follow that word part.) Another common prefix is "un-," as in "undo," "untie," or "unwrap."

Other words may have suffixes. A suffix is a word part that comes at the end of the word. Let's look at the words "edible" and "drivable." The suffixes "-ible" and "-able" mean "can be done." So "edible" means that something can be eaten. You might say that potato chips are very edible. The word "drivable" means that something is able to be driven. Your vehicle, if it's in working order, is drivable.

Fun fact: Did you know that the four most common prefixes and suffixes account for 97% of all words that use a prefix or suffix in written school English?

Did you know much about prefixes & suffixes already? If not, that's ok. The next few blog posts will focus on this a bit more! Are you ready to learn more about word parts?

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Commonly Misused Words: Break and Brake

Words that sound the same, but have different spellings and meanings are called "homonyms" or "homophones." In your writing, it's important to make sure that you use the right word. Remember that writing is a reflection of you and you always want to make a great impression, even with your readers!

The word "break" can be used as a verb or as a noun. Let's look at some examples. (The first two sentences use "break" as a verb, and the last two sentences use "break" as a noun.)

1.) If you drop the glass, it will break.
2.) The burglar was going to break into the neighbor's home.
3.) There will be a break between the morning and afternoon classes.
4.) Let's stop the car and take a break at the gas station.


Quite the opposite, though, is the word "brake." This word can also be used as a verb, noun, or adjective, but has very different meanings.

Verb Example: I had to brake hard to avoid hitting the skunk in the road.
Noun Example: Tim had the brakes replaced on his truck.
Adjective Example: Pep Boys will have brake pads on sale this week.

Notice that in all of those examples, there is some relation to a vehicle. (You could also talk about "brakes" on a bicycle, motorcycle, scooter, dirt bike, etc.)

Can you use those words in two sentences and use them correctly? Give it a try now!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Writing - Be Persuasive!

Back in July, there was a blog topic that dealt with the purpose of being persuasive. (Please review that topic by clicking here.) I want you to practice that skill today by thinking about this blog and what it is that keeps you coming back day after day.

How would you persuade someone to use this blog if they hadn't tried it before? What reasons would you present to convince them this is something worth the time & energy to use? What's the best thing about the writing blog?

Please share your thoughts in 3-4 correctly written sentences. Remember to carefully read your post before submitting it and check for all of those things that go into good writing: correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, word choice, and sentence structure.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Writing - Synonyms (Part 2)

There was a previous blog topic about synonyms. If you haven't seen it already, please click here to review it before going further with this second part.

Good writing always has varied word choice. Here's a Quia activity to help you test your vocabulary skills on synonyms. Can you match words that mean the same thing? Try it out & then let me know how you did!

Quia link: http://www.quia.com/cm/99498.html
After you click on that link, click the part that says "Play this game."

Have fun & stretch those brains!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Tell me a story - December's edition

One of the most fun things about writing is using it when you don't have to! So let's do just that! This topic, although not an informative or instructional one, is here to let you practice all of the writing tips, tricks, and rules that we've previously discussed. Please remember to pay close attention to your spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation.

Like some of the past "Tell me a story" blog entries, this one is going to use the same beginning and then you can take the story in any direction that you want. Try to be creative and add 3-5 sentences. Be sure to check back here & read other bloggers' responses.

Please begin your story with the following and then continue it on as you'd like!

--

"I saw a small gift-wrapped package with a big gold bow left on my doorstep and decided to..."