1. Monday, November 28, 2011
Grammar: Prepositions
Writing: Description

2. Housekeeping
• Exams not marked yet
• Be sure to read up to the pages indicated for
next class; check your novel outline!

3. Prepositions, p. 592
Use of On, In, and At to refer to Time and Place.
Time
• On a specific day: on Saturday, on June 12, on your
birthday
• In a part of a day: in the morning, in the daytime
(but at night)
• In a month, season or year: in November, in 1492
• In a period of time: in a minute, in a couple of days,
in a while
• At a specific time: at 10:00 a.m., at dawn, at
dinnertime.

4. Prepositions, p. 592
Place
• On a surface: on the dresser, on the porch,
on the roof
• In a place that is enclosed: in my bedroom,
in the hallway, in the drawer
• At a specific location: at the pool, at the bar,
at the racetrack.

5. Activity 4, p. 592
Underline the correct preposition.
1.
on
2.
at
3.
on
4.
in
5.
at

6. Another way of looking at
Prepositions of Place
AT = an exact or specific
location
ON = a street
(without a house number)
IN = a city, state, country
or region

7. Activity 7, p. 10 of handout.
1.
in California
2.
in this town
3.
at 60 Green Street
4.
on Hanks Avenue
5.
on Princeton Street

8. Activity 7, p. 10 of handout.
6.
on Lee Road
7.
at 27 Temple Street
8.
on Whispering Street
9.
at 445 Orange Avenue
10.
in a small town like Nelson

9. Freewriting #1
• No topic. Write for 5 minutes.
• Write whatever comes to your mind.
• Do not judge what you write.
• Do not erase or scratch out.
• If you get stuck
• write “I don’t know what to write,” or
• repeat the last word you wrote down
until something else comes to mind.
• Do not stop until the time is up.

10. Freewriting #2 – Object
• I will give you a familiar object.
• Freewrite about this object (Pretend it is the only one
of its kind in the word; Pretend it is the first time you
have ever seen this object.).
• Do not name this object or tell us what it is used for.
• Give as much specific information as you can about
your experience of the object in front of you (Hint:
describe what you see, smell, taste, touch, etc.).
• You have 10 minutes.

11. Descriptive Paragraphs, p. 268
• a description = picture in words
• To create a picture in words, you need to
observe and record specific details that relate
to the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell,
and touch.

12. Descriptive Paragraphs, p. 268
• Read and compare the two descriptions of a
rug on p. 269.
• What senses are involved in the second
description?
• sight, hearing, and touch

13. Student Questions
• Aisle (pronounced “I’ll) – the walking space
between rows of chairs, shelves, etc.
• Stagnant – non-living, dead – we use it to
describe things like a lake, pond that has not life
in it; sometimes it means non-growing – Ex: My
career is stagnant.
• Catlike creature – she looks like a cat – the writer
is emphasizing her animalistic appearance.

14. Descriptive Paragraphs, p. 268
• Let’s take a look at the sample paragraphs,
starting with “My Teenage Son’s Room.”

15. Descriptive Paragraphs, p. 271
• You should have completed the questions that
follow the three sample paragraphs for
homework. We will go over the answers
together.

16. Descriptive Paragraphs, p. 271
Unity
1. My Teenage Son
2. 10 - “One reason Karla may be happy. . .”
Support
3. b.
animals are crammed – sight
milky smell – smell
sour and strong – smell

17. Descriptive Paragraphs, p. 271
c.
slender hands are tipped – sight
d.
white wicker clothes hamper – sight
clothing- sight
sweat-stained – smell
smelly socks – smell

18. Descriptive Paragraphs, p. 271
4.
(11) The shelves against the left-hand wall are packed with all kinds of
pet-related items. (What kinds?)
Coherence
5.
To my right
across
to my left
next to
under
around, . . .

19. Descriptive Paragraphs, p. 271
6.
Her face
her feet
top to bottom

20. NOTE:
The following slides contain an in-class
assignment. If you missed this class you must
arrange to do a make-up assignment outside of
class time.

21. In-class Descriptive Paragraph– Part 1
• Re-read your freewrite about your object
(apple/onion)
• Write a rough draft based on your freewrite.
• Make sure
– your first sentence gives an overall impression of
your object (topic sentence)
– you give lots of specific, sensory details
– you organize the details in a logical way
– you use transitions to help the reader understand
what parts of the object you are talking about (On
the top, next to, around, etc. . . )

22. In-class Descriptive Paragraph – Part 2
• Read all of p. 274 (student example and teacher feedback).
• Exchange papers with a classmate who is finished (I will help to
match you up).
• Read your classmate’s paragraph.
• On the bottom of his/her page, write 2 or 3 useful, specific
comments about how the paragraph could be improved.
– NOT “Your paragraph is boring,” or “Your paragraph is too short.”
– BUT “When I read this part, I want to know a bit more detail about
it,” or “I don’t really understand how big your object is, or what
shape it is. . . ,” etc.
• Write your name below your comments.

23. In-class Descriptive Paragraph – Part 3
• On a new piece of paper, revise your draft to incorporate any
of your partner’s suggestions that make sense to you. Make
any additional revisions you think will improve your
paragraph.
• Finally, using a different-coloured pen, edit your revised draft
for sentence skills (especially grammar, spelling, and
punctuation).
• If you have time, rewrite the edited draft on a new piece of
paper. Hand in all your work, with your final draft stapled to
the top.
Marks: /20
Unity (3), Support (4), Coherence (3), Sentence Skills (10).

24. Homework
• Read the second section of your novel – see
your course outline
Prepositions Practice
• English Skills – Review Test, p. 593
• Website – Grammar Practice links