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Welcome to Navigate Powered by NIDES English 9!

Please note that the First Assignment is a requirement to be registered in the course.

Instructions: This assignment is intended to take approximately 5 - 10 hours to complete. It is worth 10% of your final grade for the course, so complete it carefully:

  1. Read each question carefully before answering
  2. Answer all questions to the best of your ability, and in your own words. Plagiarized assignments will not be accepted, and you will not be registered in the course.
  3. Take your time and explore all of the resources. You will receive a higher mark on your First Assignment if you include your learning from the readings and resources provided. If you need help, contact the English 9 teacher. Teacher contact information can be found on the Navigate website
  4. When you have completed this assignment, return it as an attachment to an email to: or attach it to your registration form

Office Use Only Date:
Part 1 Starting Points /18 Part 2 Grammar /70 Total /88
Teacher feedback:

English 9 First Assignment

Learning Outcomes:

Transform ideas and information to create original texts

Use an increasing repertoire of conventions of Canadian spelling, grammar, and punctuation

Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world

Respond to text in personal, creative, and critical ways

English 9 First Assignment Part 1: Starting Points

Starting Points Assignment /18 MARKS

This is an opportunity for your teacher to view some of your writing. The following pieces are to be written in a single Word document, you will save in yourEnglish 9folder asStarting Points and will send in as your ‘First Assignment’ once you have completed.

For this activity, you will need to focus on the 3 types of writing below:persuasive, fiction/narrative and poetry.

Instructions
1.Persuasive Writing(6 MARKS):write a 300 - 500 word persuasive article onONEof the following topics:

  • Instant Messaging through Texting or Facebook is a waste of life.

OR

  • Instant Messaging through Texting or Facebook is one of the good things in life.

OR

  • Internet use by teens should be completely monitored by adults.

OR

  • Teens are not in danger when they have free access to the Internet without an adult present and should have freedom to roam.

INSERT PERSUASIVE WRITING ARTICLE HERE

2.Fiction Writing(6 MARKS) and write a 300 - 500 word scene from a story. Instructions are as follows:

  1. Quickly think of a story, it can be one you make up or one you already know.
  2. Choose one scene from the story (it could be an action scene, or the very opening of the story, or...)

INSERT FICTION WRITING HERE

3.Poetry Writing(6 MARKS), write a free style or rhyming poem. Instructions are as follows:

  1. Look outside.
  2. Write a poem about what you see, hear, and feel.

INSERT POEM HERE

English 9 First Assignment Part 2: Grammar

Spelling

At the Grade Nine level, it is expected that you have an understanding of some basic spelling rules and are spelling fairly well.

One of the most frequent errors that appear student’s writing is using the wrong form of a word - for example, using "there" when you should be using "their".

Lesson 1: Spelling

Being a good speller is a skill, and like any other skill, you can get better at it with pratice. It is important to improve your spelling because when you write something, no matter how great your ideas, if it is riddled with spelling errors, that's what your reader will focus on. Also, you get better marks for written assignments with few spelling mistakes.

To practice your spelling, go to the website below, watch the videos, play the games and do the quizzes.You should spend about 35 minutes exploring the site by following the instructions below.

The link below will take you to an exceptional site to help you some grammar basics.

BBC Videos and activities on spelling

  1. Watch all of the videos - Plurals, Prefixes and Suffixes, Root Words, Common Letter Patterns, Memory Aids, and Words to Watch out for. They are only a minute each, but they will give you great tips for being a better speller.
  2. Pick 3 small quizzes and complete them.
  3. Play 2 games

Follow this link: to go to the BBC Spelling Activities for Confusing Words and other English writing skill building activities.

There is no marked activity for Lesson 1 – go on to Lesson 2

Lesson 2: Commonly Confused Words

English is a complicated language and there are always those words that will give you headaches. Is it their, there, or they’re? It’s or its? Affect vs. effect? All of the answers to these questions and more will be revealed in this assignment. Hopefully you will be able to correct those minor errors that need to be caught now that you are in Grade 9. So read over the explanations and examples provided here and complete the subsequent assignment for marks.

Affect vs. Effect

“Affect” is usually a verb, meaning “to influence”

Ex. Jerry Seinfeld hasaffectedthe career plans of many young comedians.

“Effect” is usually a noun, meaning “result”

Ex. Theeffectof the cockroach invasion was a deserted café.

“Effect” can also be used as a verb meaning “to cause”

Ex. Michael Jordan’s injuryeffecteda change in the NBA schedule.

“a lot” not “allot”

It is two separate words, do not try to combine them into one. “Allot” is a word but it means to allocate or to divide up.

Ex. I wasallotteda piece of land after my grandfather died.

It’s vs. Its

“its” is a possessive pronoun. It indicates that “it” has something.

Ex. The dog wantsitswater dish filled.

“it’s” is short for “it is”.

Ex.It’stime to leave for school.

Loose vs. Lose

“Lose” means to misplace or not to win.

Ex. Be careful not toloseyour wallet.

Ex. Mike hates toloseat poker.

“Loose” means too large, not tightly fitting.

Ex. That shirt is tooloose, maybe try a smaller size.

Past vs. Passed

“Past” is something that has already occurred; it is history.

Ex. His work in thepasthas been very good.

“Passed” is the past tense of the verb to pass.

Ex. The carpassedme when I was at the corner of the road.

Principal vs. Principle

“Principal” is the person who is the head of a school.

Ex. My teacher sent me to the principal’s office.

“Principal” can also mean first in importance.

Ex. He is the principal investigator on this case.

“Principle” is a basic truth or law.

Ex. Murphy’s Laws contain principles that never fail.

A good trick to follow is that aprincipalshould be yourpalandprincipleandruleboth end in -le.

Than vs. Then

“Than” is a conjunction used for comparison between two clauses.

Ex. Antonio is tallerthanStefan is.

“Then” is an adverb that is used to show time.

Ex. We went for a swim andthenwent home for a nap.

Their / There / They’re (this one is a very common mix up!)

“Their” is a possessive and shows plural ownership.

Ex. They could not findtheirbooks.

“There” indicates a direction or location.

Ex. I wouldn’t gothereagain.

“There” is also a way to introduce a thought.

Ex.Thereis a fly in my soup.

Ex.Thereare two ways to approach this problem.

“They’re” is a contraction of “They are”. If you cannot substitute “they are” in the sentence then you should not use “they’re”.

Ex.They’rethe best tires money can buy.

Threw vs. Through

“Threw” is the past tense of the verb to throw.

Ex. Hethrewthe ball.

“Through” means to go in one side and out the other.

Ex. The ball wentthroughthe window.

You’re vs. Your

“Your” is a possessive that shows ownership.

Ex.Yourshoes look fabulous!

“You’re” is a contraction of “You are”. If you cannot substitute “you are” in the sentence then you should not use “you’re”.

Ex.You’rea great friend.

Some of these confusing words are also calledHomonyms. Homonyms arewords that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Below is a list of the most commonly confused homonyms with brief reminders about their meanings.

  • accept (receive)
  • except (leave out)
  • brake (stop movement)
  • break (split or smash)
  • cite (quote)
  • sight (vision)
  • site (place, position)
  • compliment (a flattering remark)
  • complement (completes something else)
  • desert (withdraw from or a geographical location)
  • dessert (sweets)
  • fairy (imaginary small person with special powers)
  • ferry (boat for carrying people or vehicles on water)
  • formally (customary)
  • formerly (time past)
  • hole (hollow place)
  • whole (entire)
  • lead (metal)
  • led (past tense oflead)
  • weather (atmosphere)
  • whether (indicating choice)
  • who's (who is)
  • whose (possessive of who)
  • to (toward)
  • too (excessively)
  • two (one plus one)

It would be a good idea to print out the above and keep it handy when you are writing to prevent those pesky commonly confused words mistakes.

There is no marked activity for Lesson 2. Go on to Lesson 3

Apostrophe’s and “Quotation Marks”

This section will take a look at a couple of punctuation tools that are frequently misused or not used at all: the apostrophe and quotation marks.

Theapostropheis used to indicate possession and is often confused with making something plural (multiple things instead of one) because both involve the addition of an “s”.

Quotation markscan be used in a variety of ways but for this assignment we will look at how to use quotation marks to indicate when someone is speaking or using dialogue.

Lesson 3: The Apostrophe

Apostrophes are used to form possessives of nouns (person/place/thing). To see if you need to make a possessive, turn the phrase around and make it an “of the…” phrase.

Ex. The boy’s hat = the hat of the boy

If the noun after “of” is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture, then no apostrophe is needed.

Ex. Room of the hotel = hotel room

Once you have determined whether you need to make a possessive, follow these easy rules to create one.

1.add’sto the singular form of the word, even if it already ends ins

Ex. The owner’s hat

Ex. James’s hat

2. Add’sto the plural forms that do not end ins

Ex. The children’s game

Ex. The geese’s honking

3.Add’to the end of plural nouns that end ins

Ex. The students’ tests

Ex. Three friends’ letters

4.add‘sto the end of compound words

Ex. My brother-in-law’s money

5.add‘sto the last noun to show joint possession of an object

Ex. Todd and Anne’s apartment

Don’t use apostrophes for possessive pronouns or for noun plurals (more than one).

Apostrophes should not be used with possessive pronouns because possessive pronouns already show possession so they don’t need an apostrophe.His, her, its, my, yours, oursare all possessive pronouns.

Ex.His’ bookwrong

His bookcorrect

Proofreading for apostrophes:

A good time to proofread is when you have finished writing the paper. Try the following strategies:

• If you tend to leave out apostrophes, check every word that ends in -s or -es to see if it needs an apostrophe.

• If you put in too many apostrophes, check every apostrophe to see if you can justify it with a rule for using apostrophes.

Apostrophes can also be used to show that letters or figures have been taken out of a word.This is most commonly used in the form of contractions.

Ex. Did not = didn’t

Is not = isn’t

He is = he’s

Who is = who’s

1961 Mustang = ’61 Mustang

Summer of 1969 = summer of ‘69

The one contraction that seems to cause the most problems is “it’s”. “It’s” is short for “it is” while the possessive form of “it” becomes “its” without the apostrophe. So if you ever use the word “it’s”, make sure that you could replace it with “it is”.

Lesson 3marked activity – Apostrophes /15 MARKS

Put the apostrophes in the correct places. If apostrophes are not needed, write ‘correct’ next to the sentence

  1. Who is the partys candidate for vice president this year?
  2. The fox had its right foreleg caught securely in the traps jaws.
  3. Our neighbors car is an old Chrysler, and it’s just about to fall apart.
  4. Whenever I think of the stories I read as a child, I remember Cinderellas glass slipper and Snow Whites wicked stepmother.
  5. We claimed the picnic table, but the Smiths children looked so disappointed that we found another spot.
  6. It’s important that the kitten learns to find its way home.
  7. She did not hear her childrens cries.
  8. My address has three 7s, and Tims phone number has four 2s.
  9. Didn’t he say when he would arrive at Arnies house?
  10. She said the watch Jack found was hers, but she couldn’t identify the manufacturers name on it.
  11. Little girls clothing is on the first floor, and the mens department is on the second.
  12. The dogs bark was far worse than its bite.
  13. The moons rays shone feebly on the path, and I heard the insects chirpings and whistlings.
  14. I cant believe that its time to go back to school.
  15. The summer of 05 didnt last as long as Cam thought it would.

Lesson 4: Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are used to show when you record someone’s exact words.

Ex. Rutger said, “My dog is my best friend.”

Notice the proper format for using the quotation marks. There is a comma that separates the rest of the sentence from what was said and the period is inside the quotation marks. Here is another example of how to use quotation marks:

Ex. “I’ll go to the store with you,” Jamie said.

This time the quote did not end the sentence so there is a comma at the end, followed by the rest of the sentence. At the end of each quote there should be either a comma if you want to write more, or punctuation to end the sentence like a period or question mark. You can also add in more dialogue by:

Ex. “I’ll go to the store with you,” Jamie said, “I feel like buying some candy.”

So whenever you add in a quote you need to put a comma before the dialogue. Another important thing to notice is that the first letter of any quote should be capitalized.

Ex. He turned to me and declared, “The world is ending!”

"The” is capitalized because it starts the quote. The exception to this is if you are continuing one quote but it has been split up.

Ex. “Why don’t you just leave,” I muttered, “and never come back.”

Now sometimes in a story you write dialogue between two characters as they speak to one another. Each time the speaker changes, you should begin a new paragraph.

“Does it end happily ever after?” asked Sue, sitting up suddenly. Her eyes were wide open now.
“You know,” said her father.
“No, I don’t,” she protested.
“She was a princess,” he asked, “wasn’t she?”
“Of course.”
“Well then,” he replied, “it has to end happily ever after, doesn’t it?”

But there are instances where you are writing something someone said but it is not a direct quote. In this case you don’t need to use quotation marks. Take a look at the difference.

Ex. Bill promised, “I won’t do it again.”
Bill promised he wouldn’t do it again.

Lesson 4 marked activity - Quotation Marks /10 MARKS

Put the quotation marks in the correct place

  1. I know you can do it said Carol.
  2. The driver told us that we were on the wrong bus.
  3. Let’s go to the park for a bike ride she offered.
  4. Do you think that he left because he was mad she asked me.
  5. Laurie looked at us and said it was your fault.
  6. No the child screamed I don’t want to go!
  7. Fall is coming he said.
  8. Sally said I practice every Saturday afternoon.
  9. Are you crazy I replied when do you play outside?
  10. I admitted that I broke the stapler.

Sentence Structure – The Building Blocks

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought and has a subject (noun) and a predicate (action/verb). Begin a sentence with a capital letter, and end it with a punctuation mark. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well writing a good sentence is a little more difficult than that. This assignment will teach you how to avoid sentence structure problems such as sentence fragments and run-on sentences and teach you how to combine sentences in order to create more interesting and cohesive paragraphs.

Lesson 5: Sentence Fragments

One of the problems with written English is that we think and converse in fragments; we don’t use complete sentences when we are thinking internally or talking with our friends. Unfortunately, when you create written work you are not always there to clarify these partial thoughts or comments, so you need to make sure that your writing is clear and easy to understand. So what is a sentence fragment you say? Let’s take a look at some examples of fragments and complete sentences.

Fragment / Complete
Few rainy days for Max Keebler. / There are few rainy days for Max Keebler.
Max, living in his own world of wonders / Max always seems to be living in his own world of wonders.
Reading or making up his own games. / He enjoys reading or making up his own games.

The fragments are incomplete thoughts that are missing a key part of the sentence such as the subject or the action. Do not assume that sentence fragments are always shorter because that is not the case.