Year 9 Homework project set 16/10/15

Homework Project

This is a personal development homework. You must show evidence that you have worked on an area of writing that will support your targets. This should be:

• Spelling
• Vocabulary
• Punctuation development
• Sentence Variety

·   You should spend at least 90 minutes on this homework. I will want to see your evidence on Friday 6^th November.

Spelling: Quizlet is a good website. Put in the spellings you want to learn and practice! There are probably other apps out there too – Squeebles is one. Good old ‘Look, Cover, Write, Check’ is still worth trying, and writing them out over and over again. Look for patterns in words; say them in a silly way that emphasises the spelling.

Vocabulary: Read a newspaper (preferably a broadsheet). Try guardian.co.uk or telegraph.co.uk. The comments section will have some interesting articles. Read an article that interests you and note down all the unfamiliar vocabulary. Keep a list of words and try to use them in conversation. Write sentences containing them. Can you write the opening line of a story using the word?

Play freerice (google it). It helps you develop your vocabulary at the same time as donating food to people without any J

Punctuation. There are lots of things online to help you. Try search terms like ‘how to use commas’, ‘what is a comma splice’, ‘how to use semi-colons’ etc. If you can’t find anything helpful, see me.

Sentence variety. Try copying the sentence structures that you see in books. Take the first paragraph of a book, then write something similar. Keep the sentence structure, but change the content. Remember the REPTILE work that we did? Revise that, and apply it to a paragraph of writing. Keep improving a piece of writing until you have improved the structure.

What I need to see in your books:

Area I have chosen to work on:

What I have done to improve my skills:

Evidence: Choose one of the following tasks. All should be completed with a view to demonstrating how much you have learnt in your chosen area.

·         Write the opening two paragraphs of a story.

·         Write part of a leaflet that explains something you know / care about.

·         Write the opening of a speech to be read in assembly about something you care about.

·         Write the first two paragraphs of a letter to John Steinbeck telling him what you think of the novel so far.

·         Write a description of your bedroom.

·         Write two paragraphs describing somebody important to you.

·         Re-write a section of your Weed newspaper report.