Lastest Posts
- Field Trip Monday, November 30
- Using Nominative Absolutes in Vocab Sentences
- Reading Beowulf
- Introduction to History Day
- 2009-2010 supply list for 6/7 AGATE
About Mrs. Kragen
I've been a teacher since 1977, in public and private schools, in... read more
Decade Days
Janet L. Kragen's Decade Days, published by Good Apple, Inc., is a fully integrated guide for teaching the 20th century in America: history, economics and culture. Click on the cover.
Elementary English
For those wanting to teach, learn, or understand basic English while improving their writing skills, Janet Kragen's grammar book is both accessible and entertaining. Please click the cover for more information.
Creating America
Focusing on U.S. history from the earliest explorers to 1900, Creating America is a resource book for teachers that includes over 50 lessons, each with suggested resources and activities. The entire book is accessible in Adobe PDF format through the Washington State Colonial Dames Society, which funded Jan Kragen's work. You can right click here and choose "Save As" or "Save Link As" to download.
Classroom
School Info
- Public Schools Emergency Communications System
- North Kitsap School District
- Poulsbo Middle School
- Suquamish Elementary
- 2008-09 District Calendar
Science Video Fun
See what happens with 101 two-liter bottles of Diet Coke, 523 Mentos, and a lot of spare time on these guys' hands.
Kragen Wear
It was a parent who first dubbed my class "Kragen U." Now kids can sport KragenWear from Cafepress.com! Click the shirt above to browse.
Field Trip Monday, November 30
IMPORTANT! Parents and students need to be on the bus out in front in the drop-off loop before school starts. We plan to drive away at 7:50.
Bring food and drinks for the ferry.
Bring money to buy things to eat at UW and/or to make copies.
If you have a UW library card, bring it.
We should get to the library by about 10 AM, and we need to be back on the bus ready to leave at 2:45. I expect to be back to PMS around 4:45. Parents, if you are not on the trip with us, please make arrangements for your child to be picked up at that time.
Using Appositives in December Sentences
The appositive is like a predicate nominative because it renames something already named in the sentence.
Mrs. Kragen is the teacher of the 6/7 AGATE class.
The subject of the sentence is "Mrs. Kragen." The predicate nominative is "the teacher of the 6/7 AGATE class." The linking verb "is" joins the two together.
You can take a predicate nominative sentence and use it to create an appositive. Just drop the linking verb. You need to surround the appositive with commas, and you need to complete the sentence.
Mrs. Kragen, the teacher of the 6/7 AGATE class, has a collection of dragons.
The shortest appositives don't use commas.
My best friend is Ginger. My best friend Ginger is an Appaloosa mare. You are NOT allowed to use those appositives in your sentences. You MUST use longer ones that require the commas. Ginger, my Appaloosa mare, is my best friend.11.23.2009. 21:34
Using Nominative Absolutes in Vocab Sentences
There aren’t a lot of adults who know what nominative absolutes are, and it’s always fun to know stuff adults don’t know!
A nominative absolute is a different way to join two sentences. The sentences do have to be pretty closely related.
Start with the two sentences.
The horse stood quietly in the corner of the field.Keep the subject of the second sentence (which, by the way, is where the word “nominative” comes from since the subject will be in the nominative case). Change the verb in the second sentence to an —ing participle. Join the altered second sentence (which is now a nominative absolute) to the first sentence with a comma. You can put the nominative absolute at the end or the beginning of the sentence. Just make sure it reads well.
Its tail twitched flies off its back.
The horse stood quietly in the corner of the field,More examples:
its tail twitching flies off its back.
The teacher read aloud from the goriest section of Beowulf.
The students listened with rapt attention.
The teacher read aloud from the goriest section of Beowulf,
the students listening with rapt attention.
The band blared out the notes to the march.
The audience clapped and stomped in time to the music.
The audience clapping and stomping in time to the music,If you have a pronoun as a subject to the second sentence, it stays in the nominative case in the nominative absolute. (Nominative case pronouns are the ones that can be used as the subject to a sentence: I, you, he, she, it, we, and they). Notice how the verb gets changed!
the band blared out the notes to the march.
Naomi stammered and stumbled as she gave a speech.
She was nervous about talking in front of a crowd.
Naomi stammered and stumbled as she gave a speech,
she being nervous about talking in front of a crowd.
Comments (0) 10.30.2009. 01:46
Reading Beowulf
I have asked the students to read Beowulf aloud to their parents. We talked about slowing down and reading with expression (especially the gory parts).
There is more to it, though. If parents are willing to buy an extra copy of the book, then everyone can get involved. People can take different roles to read: Beowulf, other characters, narrator. Or everyone can take turns reading sections. Vie with each other for dramatic interpretations. Act out scenes. Have fun!
When our family read Macbeth, we pulled out the capes and swords. One of us read for the bad male characters, one read for the good male characters, and one read for all the female characters. We had a ball. Our daughter came from school one day and said, “Mom, Dad, the kids in my class hate Macbeth! How can anyone hate Macbeth?” That’s the kind of experience I would love for you to have with Beowulf.
(I mean, how can anyone hate Beowulf?)
10.30.2009. 01:41