We found that fragments are everywhere in today’s advertisements. However, this piece-y information can cause some confusion and relay inaccurate information to readers. So, in English we decided to look at some of these advertisements and create sentences from the fragments we found within the ads. We were hoping to assist readers in understanding the full meaning of the ads we observed.

In groups of two, the students were handed an advertisement that had anywhere from 1-4 sentence fragments.  The students were asked to identify the fragments, then turn the fragment into a sentence that supported whatever the advertisement was marketing.  For example, in an advertisement for Oatmeal, it simply stated Banana Bread. I got some really crafty sentences from students on this one. Parents, how would you perceive this simple message? How would you put it into a complete sentence to make the ad more clear to readers?

The students had about three minutes per ad, then were given a new ad to look at. Fellas, I must apologize again for the excessive amount of makeup/beauty product advertisements I had! Apparently, it is very common for makeup companies to use fragments in their marketing techniques. You guys look at the bright side! You learned a lot mascara and lip gloss! HA.

We had a good time making fragments into sentences, but also learned that incomplete thoughts or sentences may make it difficult for a reader to understand. Writers, please make sure all of your sentences have a complete subject and predicate. Remember to ask questions if you are unsure if a sentence is complete.

• Who or what did something? (missing the subject)
• What happened? (missing the verb)
• If you have to ask both sets of questions, you are missing the subject and the verb!

 Also, remember not to be fooled by imperative sentences. Even if they are just one word, they still have the understood subject of you.  Ex: Giggle. Is this complete?

Good work today guys and gals! I think that some of you may have a future in advertising. I have posted some pictures for you to enjoy!

Hey students and parents!

In English today we began discussing personal pronouns. When I told the students what the focus of today’s lesson was, they all had a kind of  “ugh” look on their faces. However, we discovered that recognizing personal pronouns in daily activities proved to be fun and entertaining.

With one of The Beatles album as my aide, we played the song Love Me Do in class. As we listened to the lyrics, the students made a tally mark each time they heard a personal pronoun. Many students expressed to me that they had the same album at home. Now this could get fun! Students, explain to your parents what a personal pronoun is. Then challenge them to find the number of personal pronouns used in Love Me Do, just as we did in class.

Tonight I want you to play your favorite “pop” song and count how many personal pronouns are in the lyrics. Let me know the numbers you get and with what song.

**Study for your Spelling/Vocabulary test as you listen**

 Question: How many personal pronouns were used in this post? The first person with the correct answer will receive a homework pass.

Currently, we are studying word derivatives and looking over vocabulary. So guys, find your vocabulary words in context in my passage about hand-gel: (Remember we talked about italics too)

My 5th period class starts off with a few minutes in the classroom, then lining up for lunch. As we leave, everyone grabs a dab of hand gel. We all want clean hands, not the antonym of clean, which is dirty. Thus far, we have found our hand-gel to be very effective in killing 99.9% of germs.

We have decided whoever came up with the concept of hand gel is an absolute genius! Yes, we understand that hand gel was derived from soap, but using the gel saves us a lot of time because we don’t have to wait in line to wash our hands.

Our brand of choice in the classroom happens to be Germ-X. Those people at Germ-X definitely know what they are doing and have specialized in making the perfect and ultimate hand-gel. Not only does it kill harmful germs and bacteria, but the gel also helps us retain the moisture in our hands. It’s a two-in-one package. The words hand-gel and clean are synonymous in this class!

Now, we aren’t so sure that the term Germ-X can be found in our book’s glossary, but we do know that the term Germ-X is well understood in Ms. Hyche’s 5th period English class!

This passage wasn’t written because I want you to learn more about hand-gel,but I want you all to realize how important it is to be able to read your vocabulary words in context, and understand their meaning. Hope this passage helped. Students, good luck on your spelling and definitions test! Make sure you study hard.