STEP-BY-STEP Writing, Book 1: A Standards-Based Approach, Second Edition - Linda Lonon Blanton 2008
Unit 2 Describe Your Family and Home
Reading
Discuss. Complete the information. Compare answers with a partner.
Read. Read the description.
Francisco’s Family
Francisco has four people in his family. His parents’ names are Berta and Miguel. Francisco does not have a brother. He has a sister. Her name is Maria. Francisco’s father is very smart. He is a computer programmer. He works in a big office. Francisco’s mother works in a bookstore. She is very kind. She reads books in her free time. Francisco and Maria do not work. They go to Oak Street School. They are good students. They study every day. After school, Francisco plays baseball. Maria listens to music.
Francisco and his family live at 145 Oak Street in Los Angeles, California. They do not live in a house. They have a nice apartment. Their apartment has three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Mr. and Mrs. Garcia’s bedroom is next to the living room. Maria’s bedroom is next to their room. Francisco’s bedroom is across from Maria’s bedroom. The bathroom is between Francisco’s bedroom and Maria’s bedroom. They aren’t big bedrooms. They are small. They are clean and comfortable. The Garcia family is very happy in their home.
Write captions. Write a sentence for each picture on page 15. Use sentences from the reading.
Vocabulary
Complete the sentences. Use the singular and plural nouns from the box.
bedrooms
bathroom
mother
sister
living room
house
kitchen
brother
father
apartment
parents
1. Berta and Miguel are Francisco’s parents.
2. Maria is Francisco’s ...
3. Francisco is Maria’s ...
4. Francisco’s ... is a computer programmer.
5. His ... works in a bookstore.
6. The Garcia family lives in an ...
7. They do not live in a ...
8. Their apartment has three ...
9. It also has a living room, a ..., and a bathroom.
10. Francisco’s parents’ bedroom is next to the ...
11. The ... is between Francisco’s room and Maria’s room.
Remember!
Nouns can be singular (one) or plural (more than one). To make most nouns plural, add an s or es after the singular noun.
Singular Plural
one bedroom two bedrooms
one class three classes
Remember!
Adjectives are sometimes after the verb be.
Mr. Garcia is smart.
Adjectives are sometimes before a noun.
They aren't big bedrooms.
These sentences are incorrect. Rewrite the sentences. Use the correct adjectives from page 14.
1. Mr. Garcia is silly. Mr. Garcia is smart.
2. Mr. Garcia works in a small office. …
3. Mrs. Garcia is very mean. …
4. Francisco and Maria are bad students. …
5. The apartment has big bedrooms. …
6. The apartment is dirty. …
7. The Garcias are sad. …
Unscramble the verbs from the reading on page 14.
1. veli live
2. kwro …
3. dare …
4. og …
5. yalp …
6. siltne …
7. sytdu …
Remember!
A verb is an action word.
Action verbs tell what someone or something does.
He works in a big office.
Grammar
> Learn more in the Grammar Reference, pages 131-141.
Sentences with the Simple Present Tense
Affirmative |
Negative |
|
most verbs |
Francisco lives on Oak Street. Mr. and Mrs. Garcia live in an apartment. |
He does not live on Elm Street. They do not live in a house. |
have and has |
Francisco has a small bedroom. Mr. and Mrs. Garcia have a clean bedroom. |
He does not have a big bedroom. They do not have a dirty bedroom. |
Contractions
doesn’t = does not
don’t = do not
Write affirmative or negative statements. Use the correct form of the verb.
1. Francisco (has / have) four people in his family. Francisco has four people in his family.
2. Francisco (doesn’t have / don’t have) a brother. …
3. Mrs. Garcia (reads / read) books in her free time. …
4. Francisco and Maria (doesn’t work / don’t work). …
5. They (goes / go) to school. …
6. They (studies / study) every day. …
7. Francisco (plays / play) baseball after school. …
8. Maria (listens / listen) to music after school. …
9. Francisco and Maria (doesn’t live / don’t live) at 115 Oak Street in Los Angeles, California. …
10. They (has / have) six rooms in their apartment. …
Preposition
The bedrosom is next to the kitchen.
The kitchen is across from their bedroom.
The bathroom is between his bedroom and her bedroom.
Complete the sentences. You may use prepositions more than once.
1. Mr. and Mrs. Garcia’s bedroom is nex to the living room.
2. The kitchen is … their bedroom.
3. Maria’s bedroom is … her parents’ bedroom.
4. Francisco’s bedroom is … Maria’s bedroom.
5. The bathroom is … Francisco’s bedroom and Maria’s bedroom.
Rewrite the sentences. Change the possessive form.
1. Mr. Garcia’s office is very big.
His office is very big.
2. Mrs. Garcia’s job is in a bookstore.
3. The school is close to Francisco and Maria’s apartment.
4. Their bedroom is next to the living room.
5. His bedroom is next to the kitchen.
6. His bedroom is across from her bedroom.
Organization
Spatial Order
Number the sentences in spatial order. Then write the sentences in the correct order.
Group 1
Maria’s bedroom is next to her parents’ room.
1 The Garcia family’s apartment has a large living room.
Francisco’s bedroom is across from Maria’s bedroom.
Mr. and Mrs. Garcia’s bedroom is next to the living room.
Remember!
You can use spatial order to describe a place. Spatial order gives information by location, or space. Look at page 14. The writer describes Mr. and Mrs. Garcia's room first. Then the writer describes the rooms near their room. This helps the reader to "see" the apartment.
Group 2
The kitchen is across from his parents’ room.
His parents’ room is between Maria’s bedroom and the living room.
1 Francisco’s bedroom is small.
His bedroom is next to the kitchen.
Writing strategies
Complete Sentences
Remember!
A complete sentence has a subject and a verb. The subject tells who or what the sentence is about. The verb tells the action of the subject. See page 137 for more about sentences.
1. Mr. Garcia works in a big office.
2. Francisco’s mother works in a bookstore.
3. She reads books in her free time.
4. Francisco and Maria go to Oak Street School.
5. They study every day.
6. Francisco plays baseball.
7. Maria listens to music.
Writing
Descriptive Writing
Descriptive writing gives details and information about a topic. A narrative description describes a part of your life, like your home or family. Stories often use descriptive writing.
Read. Read Mark's description of his family.
Write words and phrases. Complete the information for Mark's family album on page 21. Use words and phrases from his description.
A Family Album
Step-by-step writing
Purpose
Writing PROMPT
Make a family album. Describe yourself, your family, and your home. Write two or more sentences about each. Include photos or drawings.
STEP 1 Pre-write
Look at Mark’s web organizers. Think about the information you need for your family album. Make web organizers about your home and family:
STEP 2 Organize
Look at Mark’s sentence organizer. Organize your notes into sentences. Write sentences about you, your family, and your home.
Step 3 Draft and Revise
Practice. Look at Mark's first draft. How can he improve it? Answer the questions.
1. What sentence should Mark add before sentence 4?
Ⓐ This is my father.
В This is Mark.
C He lives in Houston, Texas.
D My father’s name is Mike.
2. What is another way to write sentence 8?
A Her mother’s name is Janet.
В Janet is her mother’s name.
C My name is Janet.
D Her name is Janet.
3. What is the best way to combine sentence 10 and 11?
A My brother has a name.
В My name is Alex.
C My brother’s name is Alex.
D This is Alex.
4. Where can Mark add this sentence?
It has a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and two bedrooms.
A after Sentence 14
В after Sentence 15
C after Sentence 16
D It doesn’t fit.
Draft. Write a first draft for your family album. 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. Mary’s sister is really mean. I like her a lot!
A uncomfortable
В sad
Ⓒ nice
D Make no change.
2. The bedroom is across from the kitchen.
A across to
В between
C next from
D Make no change.
3. Paul and John goes to Central High School.
A go
В does go
C doesn’t go
D Make no change.
4. Maria’s bedroom is next to Mark’s bedroom.
A Their bedroom is next to his bedroom.
В His bedroom is next to their bedroom.
C Her bedroom is next to his bedroom.
D Make no change.
5. My father in a music store.
A My works in a music store.
В My father next to a music store.
C My father works in a music store.
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
Make your family album. Write it in your notebook or on a computer. Look at Mark's album on page 21 for ideas. Remember to include a title and your photos or drawings. Present your family album to the class.
Technology
Citing Internet Sources
Cite Internet sources.
Include the following:
Group writing
Work together to write sentences about Melinda or Greg.
1. Choose Melinda or Greg. 4. Your teacher writes sentences.
2. Read the person's information. 5. Revise and edit the sentences with the class.
3. Tell your teacher about the person. 6. Copy the sentences.
Timed writing
Choose one writing task. Complete the task in 45 minutes.
Writing PROMPT 1
What are you like? Write about yourself, your school, and your family. Write three or more sentences about each topic.
Writing PROMPT 2
A "dream home" is the perfect home for you. Draw a picture of your dream home. Give an address. Describe your dream home. Label the rooms. Tell where the rooms are located.
Self-check
Think about your writing skills. Check (✓) the answers that are true.
1. I understand.... 5. l can...
□ classroom words. □ write complete sentences.
□ home, and family words. □ find the subject and verb in a sentence.
2. I can correctly use... 6. I can organize my writing by...
□ articles. □ topic.
□ singular and plural nouns. □ location or space.
□ adjectives. 7. I can write to... □ describe.
□ action verbs.
□ inform a reader.
3. I can correctly use...
□ the simple present tense.
□ subject pronouns.
□ prepositions.
□ the possessive form.
4. I remember to capitalize...
□ the first word in a sentence.
□ the names of people and places.
□ languages.
□ important words in titles.