The most common way to form a series is with commas and a conjunction. Notice that we DO include the "Oxford comma" at the end of the series:

We read The Arabian Nights, Comedy of Errors, Cyrano de Bergerac, and Cry, the Beloved Country in English class this year.

We will read Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Monkey, selections from Greek and Roman mythology and from Aesop's Fables, George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, and Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days next year.

Another way to form a series is to use the commas but to leave out the conjunction at the end. It is used to indicate that the list is incomplete. It is not used often! 

I love so many of the Pixar movies: Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo,  Up! 


Another way to form a series is by eliminating the commas and separating each item with a conjunction. It is used to slow the reader down and draw attention to each item. It is not used often!

I love so many of the Pixar movies: Toy Story and Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 and Monsters, Inc and Finding Nemo and Cars and Cars 2 and Rataouille and Up!

For the last two weeks of the year (for units 29 and 30), you will use series in your sentences. Use at least one of each kind each week, just for practice.

Go to the Teacher Resources section and look under Reading for my two new Power Point presentations on poetry terms: one on terms that have to do with forms of poetry and one on terms that have to do with sounds and meanings in poetry. Students said they learned lots of new things--including an increased respect for poets and the writing of poetry!

For your sentences, use conjunctions--any of the ones listed below EXCEPT the word and. Try different conjunctions, and try using them in different ways!

There are coordinating conjunctions that work alone:

• and
  
• but
  
• or
  
• nor
  
• for
  
• yet
  
• so
  

And there are correlative conjunctions that work in pairs:

• either ... or
  
• neither ... nor
  
• both ... and
  
• not only ... but also
  

Either kind of conjunctions can join together all kinds of sentence parts.

Compound subject:
Madison and Mariah raise rabbits.

Compound adjective:
The girls are busy but responsible.

Compound predicate:
They clean the cages and groom the rabbits for a 4-H show.

Compound adverb:
They work quickly and carefully.

Compound direct object:
They need a ride to the exhibit hall. Madison will ask her mother or her father.

Compound object of a preposition:
After the demonstration and the judging the girls decide it is time to go home.

Compound indirect object:
Mariah will give either her mother or her father a call to ask for a ride.

Either kind of conjunctions can join together independent sentences. You will be using them to create compound sentences. Notice that the comma in front of the conjunction is required when you join two complete independent clauses!

• Either the girls will continue to work with rabbits, or they will decide to do a different project next year.
  
• Mariah loves taking care of her rabbits, so she will probably choose to do them again.
  
• Madison wants to raise horses, but she doesn't have enough money to do that.
  
• Madison would like to continue to work with Mariah, for they are best friends.
  
• Not only do the girls want to continue to work together, but they also want to continue in their same 4-H club.
  
• The other girls in the club want to continue next year, too, yet they will need to find a new leader. 
  

We took 11 projects to State and SIX projects placed! That's amazing! That’s HALF!

None of our groups won 1st or 2nd place, but three groups came in 3rd place. That makes them alternates, which means they have the opportunity to go to Nationals at Washington, DC, in June, even if they don't get to compete. (All the fun and none of the pressure!)

Our third place winners are:
·         Ali Meyer and Corben Roszak for their documentary on the New York City Subways
·         Devin Horn, Catherine Massie, and Cody Warren for their website on Strategic Deterrence
·         Robyn Harvey, Erin Molello, Kristyn Schroder, and Rainey Woodward for their exhibit on Starbucks

Jocelyn Grant, Lilia Scrafford, Anneli Seaberg, and Annika Taylor took 6th place for their website on the Berlin Wall.

Annika Maule and Carmen Adams took 5th place for their documentary on the Berlin Wall.

Abby Ryan and Briana Ryan took 4th place for their exhibit on Women’s Suffrage. In addition, Abby and Briana won the Washington State Historical Society Award. They will get a special WSHS museum tour this summer and their exhibit will go on display at the museum. Oh, and they get $100 prize, too. :)

Way to go, Team Poulsbo!

APPLYING FOR JOBS

For any agency to work effectively and turn out a complete, well-designed advertising campaign, each person in the agency must be responsible for certain jobs. Study the following descriptions so that you will understand what jobs must be done. Then write a job application.  Use only one side of one sheet of paper.  Do not put a heading on the paper.  Do not put your name anywhere on the front of the paper. Put your name on the back of the page.  Write three full paragraphs:

• Tell which job you most want and why you would be good at it.
• Tell which other job or jobs you would be willing to do and why you would be good at those.
• Tell about how well you do working in groups with other people.

Although one person will officially be in charge of each job, he or she will undoubtedly require help from other people in the agency to complete the work. Remember, for an agency to be successful, cooperation is essen­tial.

 AGENCY DIRECTOR

You are in charge of the agency, all its workers, and all its work. You lead staff meetings, make final decisions (after discus­sion with your assistants), insure that all employees understand their jobs, supervise all work, make sure everyone is doing their job, and help anyone who is having trouble or is behind. Being the agency director is a huge responsibility, and if done right, it requires twice as much work as any other job, but you have the satisfaction of being the boss and taking final credit for the success or failure of your group’s final ad package.

You will appoint the ART SUPERVISOR, PRODUCTION COORDINATOR, or CHIEF COPY WRITER to be your assistant and take your place if you are absent.  Be sure to keep your assistant informed about all your plans and schedules!

ART SUPERVISOR

You are in charge of all artwork for the advertising campaign. Since most ad campaigns are largely art, this means you have a great deal of work to do. Other artists will work for you, doing much of the actual art work, but you must supervise this work, checking to make sure it is done correctly and on time.  You need to help your artists as much as possible. Thus, you must not only be an artist; you must also be a leader and supervisor.

ARTISTS

You will assist the ART SUPERVISOR in preparing all art work for each of the ads. You may make scenery for a commercial or design art work for  billboards or magazine advertisements.

CHIEF COPY WRITER

While most advertising relies on considerable art and layout work, the written or spoken language in all ads is very im­portant. You will have to write the copy for billboards, magazine ads, TV commercials, and/or radio commercials. This total may be only a few hundred words, but the words must be the right words. You must be very creative and be willing to rewrite your sentences or commercials many times to get everything just right.

WRITERS

You work with the CHIEF COPY WRITERS preparing the written material for all ads. You may write just one or two sentences or a slogan on a billboard or a 30 or 60 second radio or TV commercial.

RADIO/TV PRODUCTION COORDINATOR

You are in charge of producing both radio and TV commercials. You have to work with the ART SUPERVISOR and the CHIEF COPY WRITER to make sure that all materials are ready on time. You have to arrange for recording equipment for the radio commercials and TV commercials. You are in charge of setting up and recording these commercials and then playing them back at the presentation of the ad campaign.

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

You will assist the RADIO/TV PRODUCTION COORDINATOR in preparing for the recording and playback of the radio and TV commercials.

ACTORS

Readers will be needed for the radio commercials, and actors will be needed for the TV commercials. These readers and actors should be people doing other jobs in the agency. The RADIO/TV PRODUCTION COORDINATOR can call on anyone and everyone in the agency to work on the agency’s productions.