STEP-BY-STEP Writing, Book 1: A Standards-Based Approach, Second Edition - Linda Lonon Blanton 2008

Unit 1. Give Information about Yourself

Reading

Discuss. Find these people, places, and things on page 3. Write the words under the correct topic.

desk

board

teacher

student

building

English class

classroom

Read. Read the information.

Francisco’s School

Francisco Garcia is a student. He is fifteen years old. He is from Los Angeles, California. Mrs. Moore is his English teacher. Mrs. Moore is a good teacher. She is kind and friendly. Francisco and Mrs. Moore are in the classroom now. They are in an English class. They are busy. Francisco is at a desk. Mrs. Moore is not at a desk. She is at the board. The classroom is not a big room. It is a small room. It is clean and colorful. The classroom is in a large building.

Write captions. Write a sentence for each picture on page 3. Use sentences from the reading.

Vocabulary

Circle the articles in the sentences. Then complete the sentences with words from the box. Use information from the reading on page 2.

desk

English class

teacher

student

building

board

classroom

1. Francisco

2. Mrs. Moore is a ...

3. Francisco and Mrs. Moore are in an ...

4. Francisco and Mrs. Moore are in the ... now.

5. Mrs. Moore is at the ...

6. Francisco is at a ...

7. The classroom is in a large ...

Remember!

✵ A noun names a person, place, or thing. Use the article a or an before general, singular nouns. Use the article the before specific nouns.

✵ Use a before consonants. Francisco is a student.

✵ Use an before vowels (a, e, /, o, or u). They are in an English class.

✵ Use the before specific nouns. The classroom is in a large building.

Complete the sentences with the correct adjectives. Use information from the reading on page 2.

Remember!

Adjectives describe or give information about nouns.

Mrs. Moore is a good teacher. The classroom is not a big room.

good

kind

busy

colorful

large

small

friendly

clean

1. Mrs. Moore is a good teacher.

2. Mrs. Moore is ... and ...

3. Francisco and Mrs. Moore are ...

4. The classroom is a ... room.

5. The classroom is ... and ...

6. The classroom is in a ... building.

Write the correct word for each number.

eight

eighteen

eleven

fifteen

five

four

fourteen

nine

nineteen

one

seven

seventeen

six

sixteen

ten

thirteen

three

twelve

twenty

two

Grammar

> Learn more in the Grammar Reference, pages 131-141.

Statements with be

Affirmative

Francisco is a student.

Francisco and Mrs. Moore are in English class.

Negative

Mrs. Moore is not a student.

Francisco and Mrs. Moore are not in Spanish class.

Contractions

isn’t = is not

aren’t = are not

Write is or are to complete the paragraph.

Francisco Garcia (1) i^s a student. He (2) ... fifteen years old. He (3) ... from Los Angeles, California. Mrs. Moore (4) ... his English teacher. Mrs. Moore (5) ... a good teacher. She (6) ... kind and friendly. Francisco and Mrs. Moore (7) ... in the classroom now. They (8) ... in an English class. They (9) ... busy. Francisco (10) ... at a desk. Mrs. Moore (11) ... not at a desk. She (12) ... at the board. The classroom (13) ... not a big room. It (14) ... a small room. It (15) -------------------- ... clean and colorful. The classroom (16) ... in a large building.

Subject Pronouns

Name / Noun

Francisco is a student.

Mrs. Moore is a teacher.

Francisco and Mrs. Moore are busy.

The building is large.

Subject Pronoun

He is a student.

She is a teacher.

They are busy.

It is large.

Contractions

he’s = he is

she’s = she is

they’re = they are

it’s = it is

The sentences below are incorrect. Write correct negative and affirmative sentences. Use a contraction and a subject pronoun in the second sentence.

1. Francisco is a teacher.

Francisco is not a teacher. He's a student.

2. Francisco is nineteen years old.

3. Mrs. Moore is a bad teacher.

4. Francisco and Mrs. Moore are in a Spanish class.

5. Francisco is at the board.

6. Mrs. Moore is at a desk.

7. The classroom is a big room.

8. Francisco and Mrs. Moore are in a small building.

Organization

Categorize by Topic

Look at the reading on page 2. Write two more sentences about each topic in the chart.

Remember!

You can categorize information into topics. Look at page 2. Some information is about Francisco. Some information is about Mrs. Moore. Some information is about the classroom.

Writing conventions

Capitalization

Rewrite the information. Capitalize the correct words.

francisco’s school

francisco garcia is a student, he is fifteen years old. he is from los angeles, California, mrs. moore is his english teacher, mrs. moore is a good teacher, she is kind and friendly, francisco and mrs. moore are in the classroom now. they are in an english class, they are busy, francisco is at a desk. mrs. moore is not at a desk, she is at the board, the classroom is not a big room, it is a small room, it is clean and colorful, the classroom is in a large building.

Remember!

Always capitalize:

✵ the first word of every sentence He is fifteen years old.

✵ names of people and places Mrs. Moore is from California.

✵ languages They are in English class.

✵ important words in titles The title of this book is Step- by-Step Writing.

Writing

Informational Writing

Informational writing gives information about a topic. Information forms, surveys, and reports are examples of informational writing.

Read. Read the journal entry.

Write words. Copy the form on page 9 or make one on a computer. Complete the information for Shi-Mei's informational survey. Use words from her journal entry.

An Informational Survey

Step-by-step writing

Purpose: Give information about Yourself

Writing prompt

Fill out your own informational survey. Give information about yourself, your English teacher, and your school.

Describe your English teacher and your school.

STEP 1 Pre-write

Look at Shi-Mei's information notes. Think about the information you need for your informational survey. Write notes for your survey.

STEP 2 Organize

Look at Shi-Mei's information organizer. Categorize your notes into topics. Copy the chart or make one on a computer. Complete the organizer with information about you, your teacher, and your school.

STEP 3 Draft and Revise

Practice. Look at Shi-Mei's first draft. How can she improve it? Answer the questions.

1. What information in answer 1 should Shi-Mei move to answer 2?

A Shi-Mei

В Mei

ⓒ Wei

D May

2. What information is missing in answer 5?

A Wei,

В Everton,

C School,

D Brooklyn,

3. What two answers should Shi-Mei exchange?

A 7 and 10

В 8 and 9

C 8 and 10

D 9 and 10

4. What information in answer 9 is incorrect?

A 166

В North Avenue

C Brooklyn

D New York

Draft. Write a first draft for your informational survey. Use your notes from Steps 1 and 2.

Revise. Read your first draft. How can you improve it? Look at the revision checklist. Revise your writing.

STEP 4 Edit

Practice. Look at the sentences. Choose the best substitute for the underlined words. If the sentence is correct, choose "Make no change."

1. Mr. Jones is a English teacher.

A English teacher

В an English teacher

C a teacher English

D Make no change.

2. Jennifer is colorful.

A student

В kind

C teacher

D Make no change.

3. Mrs. Thomas is a good teacher. He is very nice.

A It

В She

C His

D Make no change.

4. Pedro and Martin is nice and kind.

A Pedro and Martin are

В Pedro and Martin is not

C They is

D Make no change.

5. Mr. lee is from Dallas, texas.

A Mr. lee is from Dallas, Texas.

В Mr. Lee is from Dallas, texas.

C Mr. Lee is from Dallas, Texas.

D Make no change.

Edit. Reread your draft from Step 3. Look at the editing checklist. Edit your writing.

Peer Edit. Exchange drafts with a partner. Tell your partner what you like about the draft. Look at the editing checklist. Tell your partner how to improve the draft.

STEP 5 Publish

Rewrite your informational survey in your best handwriting or on a computer. Look at Shi-Mei’s information survey on page 9 for ideas. Add a photograph or drawing if you want. Present your informational survey to the class.

Technology

Searching with Keywords