Textbook assignments

Students: Check this page for information about your required textbook writing assignments. 

Unit 1: My Weekends

Task: In this assignment, write a paragraph about how you spend your weekends. Please remember these points: 

• A clear topic sentence, one that introduces the main idea of the paragraph.
• Your paragraph should have three parts:
  • What you usually do on weekends (use present tense)
  • What you did last weekend (use the past tense)
  • What you are planning to do next weekend (use future tense)
• A concluding sentence

Here is an example:

     My weekends are not so busy, so I can really relax. I usually cook my breakfast by myself. In the morning, I often clean my room. I watch TV, read, and listen to music in the afternoons. I always eat dinner with my family. After dinner, I do my homework while I listen to music. Last Saturday was busy. I worked for 6 hours. I was really tired. Last Sunday, I went shopping with my friends. After that, we went to karaoke. It was very exciting. Next weekend is going to be busy. On Saturday, I’m going to work. On Sunday, I’m going to go to Kanazawa with my mother for shopping. In the evening, I’m going to eat out with my family. It’s going to be a happy weekend.

After I have checked your work, please copy and paste it to the Assignments page of your blog.

Unit 2: My Friend, …

Task: Write two paragraphs about a good friend of yours, or make up a person from your imagination. Please remember these points: 

• Clear topic and concluding sentences for each paragraph
• In the first paragraph, write about your friend’s appearance, personality, and hobbies. 
• In the 2nd paragraph, write about your friend’s future plans. 
• Try to create clear mental images by using many adjectives, examples, and specific details. 

     Mai is a friend from junior high school, and she is also my best friend. Mai is very cute. She is 160 cm tall. Her eyes are dark brown and her hair is brown, too. She likes casual clothes such as T-shirts and jeans. Mai has a great personality. She is friendly and can be a friend with anyone. She is talkative and always chats with her friends, so sometimes she is scolded by her teachers. She is sensitive, too. She thinks about other people’s feelings. Mai has many hobbies. She likes watching movies, especially action and comedy films. She likes going shopping and often goes to Marie. She spends much money to buy clothes. She also likes driving her car and often takes me somewhere. All of these things make Mai is a very interesting person.

     Mai has a good future plan. She is going to graduate from Toyama University and get a nursing license. She will be a kind nurse. I know that she will be successful because she makes great efforts to realize her dream of becoming a nurse. She will have bright future, too.

Finally as always, after I have checked your work, please copy and paste it to the Assignments page of your blog.

Unit 3: Friendly Message

Here is your assignment for Unit 3. Please type up a Google Doc containing a friendly message to one of your friends (real or imaginary). Follow the three-paragraph structure we’ve studied in Unit three of our text:

Paragraph 1: Capture the moment

• Use sensory adjectives
• Use the present continuous tense
• Bring your friend into your life at this moment

Paragraph 2: Tell a recent story

• Describe the setting using sensory and quantity adjectives
• Use the simple past and past continuous tenses
• Use spatial order to describe the scene as you see it in your mind

Paragraph 3: Ask questions

• Ask two or three questions (to help your friend respond)
• Use some set closing expressions

If you need help, just follow the models on page 30 or page 36. You can highlight and replace some key words, keeping the basic sentence structures and patterns. Use your imaginations and paint some clear pictures in the readers’ minds!

When you finish, share the G-doc link with me. I’ll make corrections and then send it back to you. Finally, copy and paste the corrected text onto the Assignments page of your blog.

Any questions? Please ask.

<Skip Unit 4>

Unit 5: Personal narrative story in the 3rd person

For the Unit 5 assignment, please write a three-part personal narrative story in the 3rd person. Make sure you include the following points:

• Three parts (beginning, middle, end)
  • 1st paragraph: Introduce the main character and situation
  • 2nd paragraph: Tell the story of an event or experience
  • 3rd paragraph: Conclude the story with some final thoughts
• 3rd person point of view (I’m hungry => Janet was hungry)
• Direct dialog (”I’m so hungry,” Janet said.)
• Mix three types of sentences:
  • Simple (SV, SVV, SSV, etc)
  • Compound (SV, and/but/or/so SV)
  • Complex (ICDC or DC, IC)

Also, don’t forget to use many adjectives and adverbs as usual. These words will help you create clearer mental images in your reader’s mind.

Example: John worked at a gas station. => John worked happily at the brand new Eneos gas station.

Follow these steps to complete your assignment:

Step 1: Type your story as a Google Document. Write the title of the document like this:

Class Name <Story>

For example: 2C Shimizu Takuya <Story>

Step 2: Share the G-doc with Jerry, who will correct your writing and contact you when he is finished.

Step 3: Read the corrected version, then fix up your original. This will help you learn from your mistakes and pick up some new grammar and vocabulary.

Step 4: After you finish correcting your original, copy and paste it to the Assignments page of your blog.

That’s it! If you have any problems or questions, please let me know.

Unit 7: Compare and Contrast Essay

For your Unit 7 assignment, write a three paragraph essay about some important happening in your life. It could be a big thing, such as moving to a new city, or a small thing, such as getting your first cell phone. In the 1st paragraph, introduce background information on your topic. Don’t forget to add a thesis statement! See our textbook for an example. In the 2nd paragraph, focus on the “before” situation. What was your life before this event happened? In the third paragraph, focus on comparing and contrasting the before and after stages. Please look at the models in Unit 7 for guidance and ideas. Don’t forget to add a “used to” sentence, and a sentence that uses the past tense + past continuous with while, as, or when (p. 93). Be sure to add some compare and contrast signal words as well (p. 95). 

Here is your workflow: 

1. Fill out your Venn diagram print and have Jerry check it.
2. Write your first draft (by hand or as a G-doc).
3. Print out your 1st draft.
4. Go over it with Jerry.
5. Correct 1st draft G-doc.
6. Send Jerry the link.
7. Jerry checks your corrections. You’ll know he is done when you see a note from him on the document.
8. Copy and paste the 2nd draft to the Assignments page of your blog.