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English Foundations

Skip ahead: Quarter 2, Quarter 3, Quarter 4

Hello! English Foundations is a course intended to help you practice skills you need for reading, writing, and communicating in the future.
We will focus on improving handwriting, spelling, grammar, and writing skills. We will also be reading the following books this year:

“The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë
“The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Arthur Conan Doyle

Materials for English Foundations: pencils and paper

A day with an asterisk (*) means there is something for you to print.

Day 1*

*Handwriting
1. Make a worksheet with your full name on the top line. Print it and trace the words, then practice by writing your name on each line.

Reading
1. This year we will be reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Today, read Chapter 1. (The Roman numeral for 1 is I.)

Writing
1. Create a document on your computer and title it “Secret Garden Notes.” In it, write one sentence about this chapter. What is the most important thing to know or remember about this chapter? (Save this document! We will be using it for a while.)

Vocabulary
1. Log in to Quizlet. We will be using this site all year long and if you don’t log in it won’t let you do some of the activities.
2. Read the vocabulary and definitions for Chapter 1. (Look at them at least twice, there will be a quiz later.)

Day 2*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Spelling
1. Click on the bottom button (All Phonemes) to practice spelling, then click and drag the phonemes to finish the words. Phonemes are groups of letters that make specific sounds in words.

Grammar
1. Read this review of the parts of speech.
2. Play this game to practice parts of speech. Un-check prepositions, we’re not doing that today. Play the game at least twice, try to beat your score.

Vocabulary
1. Go practice with the vocabulary. Here is a list of all the words you need.

bewilderment
disgracefully
fretful
stammer
tyrannical

Day 3*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 2. (The Roman numeral for 2 is II.)

Writing
1. Open ‘Secret Garden Notes’ and add at least one sentence. What happened in this chapter? What do you think is important to remember?

Vocabulary
1. Go read the vocabulary for Chapter 2. Make sure you look at each word at least twice!
2. Mary is described as contrary, meaning she disagrees with others and does the opposite of what she is asked to do. How does she react when she is called contrary? Do you think her response shows that she is or is not contrary?

Day 4*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete the copywork for today.

Grammar
1. Take this quiz on adjectives and adverbs.
2. Play Word Invasion. Uncheck prepositions and set falling speed to slow!

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary for Chapter 2. Here is a list of the words:

contrary
discomfit
impudent
rockery
sallow
scorn
unresponsive

Day 5*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork!

Reading
1. Read chapter 3. (The Roman numeral for 3 is III.) We don’t have any new vocabulary words for this chapter, but there are some words that might be hard for you to understand. That’s because the author wrote some of the dialogue using a dialect. She tried to write what it sounded like when people with a Yorkshire accent spoke. If you get stuck, try reading the dialogue out loud. You might be able to figure out what it means.

Writing
1. Open ‘Secret Garden Notes’ and add at least one sentence about this chapter. What has happened?

*Grammar
1. Print page 1 of this quiz and complete it. (It should be easy!) Turn in your work.

Day 6*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete your copywork for today.

*Grammar
1. Print page 1 of this grammar quiz and complete it.

Spelling
1. Play spell check to find the misspelled words. Today, choose easy!

*Vocabulary
1. Print page 1 and complete the crossword. All of the answers are the vocabulary words you have studied.

Day 7*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read the first half of chapter 4. (The Roman numeral for 4 is IV.) Stop after page 42, as soon as Martha leaves.

Writing
1. Open ‘Secret Garden Notes’ and add at least one more sentence. What did we learn about Mary in this part of the chapter? What is Mary going to do?

Vocabulary
1. Study the vocabulary for chapter 4. Look at the words at least twice.

Day 8*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Grammar
1. Take the quiz about object and subject pronouns.
2. Play Fun Factory. You can choose easy if you like.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the words from chapter 4. Here is a list of all of them:

disdainfully
haughty
humiliation
imperious
indignant
obsequious
sentiment
unrestrained

Day 9*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read the second half of chapter 4. (Remember, just after Martha left.)

Writing
1. Open ‘Secret Garden Notes’ and add a sentence about today’s reading. Who did Mary make friends with? What mystery did she learn about?

Vocabulary
1. Look at the vocabulary for the rest of Chapter 4. Remember, read each word at least twice!

Day 10*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Grammar
1. Take the quiz and use the correct pronouns!
2. Unscramble the sentences.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary from part 2 of Chapter 4. Here is a list of the words – it’s a short list!

desolate
meddlesome
surly
warrant

Day 11*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 5 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 5 is V.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add a sentence about today’s reading. What is happening to Mary? What has she noticed?

*Vocabulary
1. Print and complete this matching quiz for Chapter 4’s vocabulary words. Do you remember what they mean?
2. We are combining the vocabulary for chapters 5 and 6, since there are not many words. Study the vocabulary words. Be sure to read them all at least twice!

Day 12*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

*Grammar
1. Print page 1 and take this quiz about irregular verbs.
2. Take the sentence quiz. Are these full sentences, or fragments?
3. When we write down what a person says it is called dialogue. Dialogue has special punctuation rules! Take the quiz and see if you can find the dialogue with the correct punctuation.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary words from chapters 5 and 6. Here is a list of them:

distinguish
languid
persist
rambling
resent

Day 13*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 6. (The Roman numeral for 6 is VI.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add a sentence about chapter 6. What interesting thing has happened? What do you think about it?

*Vocabulary
1. Print page 1 and complete the crossword puzzle. DON’T FORGET, the list of words is on Day 12.

Day 14*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

*Spelling
1. Read the spelling strategies tips #1-5.
2. Print the spelling worksheet. Figure out which words are spelled incorrectly, and write the correct spelling after the sentence.

*Grammar
1. We’re going to learn about two types of sentence mistakes today.

The first type is a sentence fragment. A fragment is not a complete sentence because it does not have a subject and a predicate.
(Examples: “A big green palm tree.” and “Running from the cat.” These can be corrected by giving them the part they are missing, for example “A big green palm tree stood in the yard.” and “The squirrel was running from the cat.” )
The second type is a run-on sentence. A run-on sentence is a sentence that should be divided into two separate sentences.
(Example: “I like chickens they are so cool.” This should be, “I like chickens. They are so cool.”)

2. Print page 1 and follow the directions.

Day 15*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 7 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 7 is VII.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add information about this chapter. What did Mary realize about herself? What did she find that was important?

Vocabulary
1. We are combining vocabulary from the chapters again. Read through the words for chapters 7 and 8 at least twice!

Day 16*

Handwriting*
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Grammar*
1. Let’s talk about possessives. A possessive shows ownership, or who something belongs to.
2. There are special possessive pronouns (like my and your), but otherwise we just add an apostrophe.
3. Examples: the toy belongs to the dog, so it is the dog’s toy. The lights are on the car, so they are the car’s lights.
4. If a word is plural AND ends with an ‘s’ we don’t add another s, we just put an apostrophe at the end.
5. Examples: the boys have bikes, so they are the boys’ bikes. The chickens have a coop, so it is the chickens’ coop. (The boy’s bikes and the chicken’s coop would mean it belonged to only one boy or one chicken.)
6. Print page 1 and make the possessive words.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary words from chapters 7 and 8. Here is a list of them:

baffling
gust
perennial
pert
trill
wistfully

Day 17*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read Chapter 8 of the Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 8 is VIII.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add some information about this chapter. What surprise did Martha give Mary? What important thing happened at the end of the chapter?

Vocabulary
1. Take the test on the vocabulary from chapters 7 and 8. Remember that a list of all the words is on Day 16!

Day 18*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

*Grammar
1. Do you remember what an adverb is? It’s different than an adjective, which is used to describe nouns. An adverb tells us more about a verb (See? It has verb in its name!) and sometimes is used to add more information to an adjective. Here’s an example of an adverb being used: “The dog ran wildly through the door.” The word ‘wildly’ tells us how the dog ran.
2. Watch this video about adverbs.
3. Print page 1 and complete the worksheet.

Spelling
1. Study this list of spelling words.

again
another
around
because
between
could
does
eight
friend
sound

2. Practice spelling the words. Be sure you have your sound on! If you click on the speaker icon beside the blank, it will say the word again. Click continue until it says you are done.

Day 19*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 9. (The Roman numeral for 9 is IX.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add more information. What did Mary begin doing in the garden? What plan did she and Martha make? What do you think about Mary now – has she changed?

Vocabulary
1. Look at the vocabulary words for chapter 9. Read the words and definitions at least twice!

Day 20*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Spelling
1. Try spelling the words from last time again.

*Grammar
1. Read the lesson about comparative and superlative adjectives. Pay attention to the rules about when to use -er/-est and when to use more/most!
2. Print page 1 of the worksheet and complete it.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary words from chapter 9. Here is a list of them:

immensely
mantle
smothering
tendril
urn

Day 21*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 10. (The Roman numeral for 10 is X.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add information about this chapter. We get to meet Dickon! What do you think about him? What does Mary think about him? What does she decide to do?

Vocabulary
1. Read the vocabulary words for chapter 10. Make sure you go through them at least twice!

Day 22*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Grammar
1. Do you remember the difference between a main verb and a helping verb? The main verb is the most important verb in a sentence. For example, “He is going to school.” The main verb is going. The word is is a helping verb.
2. Common helping verbs include is, am, will, was, has, and be. There are more, though!
3. Take a quiz about helping verbs and main verbs.

Spelling
1. Study this list of spelling words.

about
across
afraid
afternoon
almost
anyone
anything
balloon
basket
behind

2. Practice the spelling words. Be sure you have your sound on! Don’t forget that clicking the speaker icon will make them repeat the word. Click continue until it says you are done.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary words from chapter 10. Here is a list of them in case you forgot!

alight
astonished
fascinating
fledge
flightiness
flout
intently
scamper
scowl
tremulous

Day 23*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 11 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 11 is XI.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add information about this chapter. When they talk about Mary getting fat, they mean that she is getting healthier. At the beginning of the story she was weak and very skinny. Eating more and getting exercise are helping her get ‘fat’ and strong.
2. What are Mary and Dickon doing? What promise does Dickon make Mary at the end?

Vocabulary
1. Look over the vocabulary from Chapter 11. Be sure to look at each word and its definition at least twice!

Day 24*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Grammar
1. Match the homophones to their meanings. Homophones have the same sound but are spelled differently!
2. Review how possessives work.
3. Take the quiz.

Spelling
1. Practice the spelling words again.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary words from chapter 11. Here is a list of them:

exultant
industrious
lichen
naught
stoutly
thrive
reverent

Day 25*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 12 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 12 is XII.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add information about this chapter. Why doesn’t Mary want to see her uncle? What does she think of him after she’s seen him?
2. Dickon left Mary a message. What was it? What do you think it means?

Vocabulary
1. We are combining the vocabulary for chapters 12 and 13. Read the words and look at their definitions at least twice.

Day 26*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Grammar
1. Choose the correct conjunctions (connecting words) for the sentences.

Spelling
1. Study your new spelling words.

birthday
bread
breakfast
brush
build
butter
caught
change
cherry
clear

2. Try spelling the words from the list.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary from chapters 12 and 13. Here is a list of your words:

accustomed
falter
mournful
obliged
plead
quaver
rebellious
torrent
wretched

Day 27*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 13 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 13 is XIII.)

Writing
1. Open your document. This chapter was long, so please add two sentences about it.

Vocabulary
1. Match the vocabulary words to their definitions. Please play this twice.

Day 28*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Grammar
1. Play battleship and choose the correct past tense word to destroy your targets
2. Play past tense jeopardy. You have to do this with a second person to keep score for you.

Spelling
1. Practice spelling the words again. Write down any words you got wrong on a piece of paper.

Vocabulary
1. Practice with the vocabulary until you complete the multiple choice section.

Day 29*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 14 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 14 is XIV. That’s 10 -> X put together with 4 -> IV. See?)

Writing
1. Open your document and write a sentence about this chapter. What happened with Mary and Colin? Who knows what is going on?

Vocabulary
1. Study the vocabulary for this chapter. Go through the words at least twice.

Day 30*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Grammar
1. Read rule number 1 about apostrophes.
2. Rewrite the sentences to add the missing apostrophes.

Spelling
1. On a piece of paper, write down the following words:

climb
coming
cries
doesn’t
done
early
easy
everyone
everything
eyes

2. Without looking at your paper, try spelling the words.

Vocabulary
1. Match the vocabulary words to their definitions.

Day 31*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Reach chapter 15 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 15 is XV.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add a sentence about this chapter. What animals did Dickon bring to the garden? What did he tell Mary about Colin?

Vocabulary*
1. Print page 1 and complete the crossword puzzle.

Day 32*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Spelling
1. Try spelling the words again. Do you remember them?

*Grammar
1. Play Capitalization Cruise.
2. Print and complete this worksheet about suffixes.

Poetry
1. This is the full poem that your copywork for today came from. Read the poem and discuss with a parent or other adult what you think it means.

Day 33*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 16 of the Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 16 is XVI.)

Writing
1. Open your document and write a sentence about this chapter. Who do you like more, Mary or Colin? Do you think they like each other?

Vocabulary
1. Study the words for this chapter. Look at each word’s meaning at least twice!

Day 34*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Spelling
1. On a piece of paper, write down your new spelling words.

finish
flies
grinned
guess
heard
heart
heavy
I’ll
I’m
I’ve

2. Try spelling the words.

Grammar
1. Here are more sentences that need help. The underlined word is wrong, see if you can figure out what to do. Keep clicking Go On until it says you are finished.

Vocabulary
1. Match the vocabulary words to their meaning. Here is a list of them:

doleful
obstinate
retort
fierce
glare
sneer
pathetic
contradict
vixen
unrelenting

Day 35*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 17 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 18 is XVII.)

Writing
1. Open your document and write a sentence about the chapter. How did Mary make Colin stop crying?

Vocabulary
1. Read over the vocabulary words for this chapter. Study the definitions at least twice.

Day 36*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Spelling
1. Try spelling the words again.

Grammar
1. Play Part of Speech Quest – Nouns.

Vocabulary
1. Match the vocabulary words with their meanings. Here is a list of your words:

ail
hysterics
mount
solemn
weariness
writhe

Day 37*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 18 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 18 is XVIII.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add a sentence about this chapter. What did Mary tell Colin?

Vocabulary
1. Go over the vocabulary for this chapter. Read all the definitions for the words at least twice!

Day 38*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Spelling
1. On a piece of paper, write down your words.

lamb
laugh
leave
match
maybe
meat
meet
Monday
morning
noise

2. Try spelling the words.

Grammar
1. Watch this video about prepositions. Pay attention, because we’re going to do more with them tomorrow.

Vocabulary
1. Match the words to their definitions. Here is a list of them:

affectation
anxious
clitch
gradual
hearken
inspiration
implore
modify

Day 39*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 19 of the Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 19 is XIX – ten, plus one less than ten.)

Writing
1. Open your document and write a sentence about this chapter. Why do you think Colin is starting to feel better? What animals did Dickon bring to show him?

Vocabulary
1. Read the vocabulary for this chapter. Look over the words and meanings at least twice.

Day 40*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Spelling
1. Spell the words again. If you miss any, do it again.

Grammar
1. Read the story. There is at least one preposition on each page. On a piece of paper, make a list of the prepositions in the story.

Vocabulary
1. Match the words to their definitions.

Day 41*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 20 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 20 is XX – just two tens put together.)
2. Perhaps you have never seen a lamb being fed with a bottle. Here is a video of several lambs being bottle fed. What are they doing with their tails?

Writing
1. Open your document and write a sentence about this chapter. What does everyone say when they find out Colin wants Dickon to go with him? Why do you think everyone trusts Dickon?

Vocabulary
1. Go over the vocabulary words from this chapter. Read their definitions at least twice. Here is a list of them:

elaborate
intimate
lenient
menagerie
procession
rational
sufficient

Day 42*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Spelling
1. Write your new words on a piece of paper. Here they are:

once
piece
point
quickly
raised
really
running
sail
sale
Saturday

2. Try spelling the words.

*Grammar
1. Print page 1 of this grammar worksheet and complete the top section.

Vocabulary
1. Match the words to their definitions.

Day 43*

*Handwriting
1. Print and complete today’s copywork.

Reading
1. Read chapter 21 of The Secret Garden. (The Roman numeral for 21 is XXI, or 10+10+1.)

Writing
1. Open your document and add a sentence about this chapter. Do you remember why they don’t want Colin to ask about the tree with the broken branch? What do you think Ben Weatherstaff was doing when he saw them? What did Colin do for the first time?

Vocabulary
1. We are combining words from this chapter and the next one. Go over the words and their definitions at least twice.