Bubbilicious Grammar!

I just read some lovely, poetic writing on Bubbles' blog. In it there was some delightfully descriptive, emotive language. However, I was a little distracted by some incorrect grammar. This has given us a great opportunity to learn something we may not all understand fully. It's great for me too, because I think made a slightly incorrect statement in Bubbles' blog... or maybe I was correct. You better check to see if you can prove me right or wrong.

Who knows what comparatives and superlatives are? You may not know the words but you do use them all the time when comparing things.

e.g. Someone may be taller than someone else. 'Taller' is a comparative word. Alternatively, someone could be the tallest person. 'Tallest' is a superlative. Easy, huh? What you need to remember is that you can't use superlatives and 'most' together, as in 'the most tallest'. It isn't correct.

Back in Shakespeare's day people got away with this, but not now:

"Standard English no longer permits expressions such as most unkindest, where the superlative is marked by the preceding most as well as the -est inflection. In C16 there was no constraint on their use, and Shakespeare uses them in several of his plays to underscore a dramatic judgment."

- http://grammar.about.com/od/d/g/doublesuperlativeterm.htm

:-)

work work work

1. Remarkable Report [due end of week 9]
Choose a biography or autobiography on two different notable entrepreneurs/innovators/inventors.
Compare and contrast the key personality traits as well as the processes they went through to become successful.
Success criteria as written in your books. Make it as amazing as you can!

2. Trade Fair Exhibition [see earlier entry - due end of week 9]

3. Library Competition "Snapshots in Time" [due Friday week 8]
- See pages stapled to wall, including example.
Criteria:

• select and justify 8 significant events in the life of the person studied
• visually represent four of these events using photos, diagrams, sketches, etc., as well as describing all eight events in written form.
• compose a clear, concise, descriptive sentence for each event.

Present this all on A4, with small images in the heading. Present it in the form of a "graph" with a labelled axes:
x = time in years
y = life's highs and lows.
Include 8 selected events, 4 visually displayed with captions and 4 written only, all as points on a line graph.
Be creative.

It will be judged on:

1. importance/relevance of the events included.
2. layout and design
3. error free copy attractively presented
4. appropriate use of images to share information

[See examples on the wall to remind you of expectations.]

Complex sentence homework

Not too hard for you though :-)
Try it...

Tom Sawyer versus Harry Potter

It's a time for a show down... who was the better author? Mark Twain or J.K. Rowling?
Would you rather read about Tom Sawyer or Harry Potter?
I imagine the answer will be swayed heavily one way, but I suspect if you read more some of the classic literature available, you might be surprised as to how engaging the older novels are. There may not be wizards and magic, but the authors weave their own kind of magic with the brilliance of their story and character development. In some ways, the worlds of Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, or Dicken's David Copperfield [which I really enjoyed] are as alien to you as the castles of Harry and Hermione's world.
Has anyone read any Dickens or Twain?
You will be soon.... Hooray!

Here is a link to an article on the subject... read the article and be prepared to discuss on this blog and at school. I am interested in your opinions. Also discuss it with your parents, older siblings, other friends or family. Your question for them could be:
"What did you read when you were at school? Does anything stick in your mind? Were you glad you were forced to read classic novels? Do you feel there is any worth in reading the works of famous authors, and if so, what?"