As has been seen, subordinating conjunctions introduce subordinate clauses just as relative pronouns (that, which, and who) do. That and which are usually used correctly. However, for many students, who often poses significant problems.

PSAT prep 11

Who poses problems for many students because it has three forms: who, whom, and whose.  Who is used as the subject; whom is used as an object; and whose is used as a possessor.  For example, 

1. Fatima is the student who loves to talk always.
2. Alaa is the student whom the students chose to be class president.
3. Hassan is the student whose work is always posted on the board.

In the first sentence, who is the subject of loves.  In the second, whom is the object of chose.  In the third, whose is the possessor of work.

Additionally, do not confuse the contraction for who is, who’s, with the possessive whose.  The confusion probably occurs because both sound alike.  For example: Mariam is the student who’s most qualified to help other students with their writing.

Now, put in your own words what you understand from this lesson and come up with your own examples for properly using this, at times confusing, relative pronoun. Compose two sentences for each of the following: who, whom, whose, who’s.

The PSAT practices have looked at subordinating conjunctions and coordinating conjunctions. The differences between them is important. Review the lists of both types of conjunctions in previous preps before you begin prep 10.

PSAT prep 10

As you have seen, conjunctions are important because they connect groups of words (as well as words and phrases).  In connecting, conjunctions also show the importance of the thoughts being expressed.  When one thought (group of words, clause) is more important than another, the less important one is subordinated.  When both thoughts are of equal importance, the thoughts are coordinated.  The conjunctions that signal the order of importance are called by what they do, subordinating conjunctions and coordinating conjunctions.  A way to remember the difference is to think of their Latin roots: ordinate means order; sub means under; co means equal.

Identify the order of importance of the thoughts in the following sentences.  Look to the conjunctions to tell you the order: less important, equally important.

1. Nasib loves to read, and she love loves to write.
2. Because Judy cannot stop talking, she has trouble participating in class activities.
3. Heyam works well in groups in school, but she has difficulties studying by herself at home.
4. If Governor Whitmer ends the school year tomorrow, students at Lowrey will be very disappointed.
5. Abrar enjoys reading adventure novels, while Noor prefers to read mystery short stories.

Now, summarize in your own words the lesson on the difference between subordinating and coordinating conjunctions and come up with at least three sentences with subordinating conjunctions and three sentences with coordinating conjunctions demonstrating your understanding of them.

The previous PSAT preps have focused on sentences with subordinate clauses. This prep focuses on sentences with independent clauses.

PSAT Practice, lesson 9

As you have seen, subordinating conjunctions are used to combine clauses of unequal importance.  For example, “Language Arts is fun because we get to do a lot of reading.”  The more important part of the sentence is “Language Arts is fun.”  Of less importance is “because we get to do a lot of reading.”  The subordinating conjunction connecting the two clauses is because.

To combine clauses of equal importance, the coordinating conjunctions are used: and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.  For example, “Getting good grades requires time, and it takes effort.”

Combine the following sentences with a coordinating conjunction:

1. Fatima loves to play basketball.  She does not care to participate in volleyball.
2. Mohammad studied all night.  He slept all day.
3. The morning was sunny.  The afternoon was cloudy.
4. Forgetting to complete the reading logs brings down your grades.  Reading is an important Language Arts skill.

To show you have understood this lesson, write five sentences combining two clauses of equal importance. 

This lesson reviews recognizing sentences with subordinate clauses. The previous lesson looked at sentences with subordinate clauses beginning with a relative pronoun; this lesson presents sentences with subordinate clauses beginning with a subordinating conjunction.

PSAT prep 8

In PSAT prep 5, you learned the following:

Subordinating conjunctions:

after, although, as, as if, because, before, even though, if, how, in order that, rather than, since, so that, than, that, though, unless, until, when, where, whether, while, why

These words subordinate, or make dependent, the group of related words with a subject and verb that comes after it.  For example, “Until she completes reading for at least forty minutes a day for her reading log, Fatima cannot go to sleep.”  The clause “Until she completes reading for at least forty minutes a day for her reading log” cannot stand alone because the thought is incomplete.  The thought is complete when the sentence is complete by adding “Fatima cannot go to sleep.”

Consider the following sentences and identify the subordinating conjunctions and subordinate clauses:

1. After the governor closed schools in Michigan, students continued studying by remote learning.
2. Although remote learning poses difficulties for students and teachers, both are working as best as possible.
3. Students will fall behind in their education, if they fail to read daily and complete assignments.
4. Most students are completing assignments online, while they enjoy the comforts of being at home.
5. Students will celebrate when schools in Michigan eventually reopen.

To show that you understand subordinate clauses with subordinating conjunctions and subordinate clauses with relative pronouns, compose three sentences of each type, identify each in parentheses, and try to weave the six sentences into a short story. The topic is your choice.

https://dearbornschools-org.zoom.us/j/84040660422?pwd=WHFxRmt1bDlUcDZ1VE9ENUNDYzRLQT09

Suspense writers often “hook” readers by creating a sense of excitement, tension, dread, or fear about what will happen next. This feeling is called suspense. Techniques used by Edgar Allan Poe to develop suspense include: • describing a character’s anxiety or fear • relating vivid descriptions of dramatic sights and sounds • repeating words, phrases, or characters’ actions

Complete a CER showing that you understand how Edgar Allan Poe creates suspense in “The Tell-tale Heart.” The CER should present an example for each of the three techniques.

Restate the Guided Reading Questions for “The Tell-tale Heart” on a document to be submitted to Schoology:

1. How is repetition used to show the narrator’s emotions in the beginning of the story?

2. Why is “The Tell-Tale Heart” an example of dramatic irony?

3. Poe uses imagery when he describes the old man’s eye. How does this use of imagery build suspense in the story?

4. Does the narrator’s opinion of himself on the first page make you trust him more or less? Why?

5. How do the repeated actions, words or phrases in the story build suspense?

6. Do you think the old man is suspicious of the narrator? Why or why not?

7. The narrator claims to know the old man is making excuses for the noises he hears. Why is the narrator saying this? Support your answer.

8. The narrator states, “Death in approaching him, had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim” (Poe 85). How does this example of personification build suspense?

9. What does the narrator claim to be hearing? Do you think he is correct? Why or why not? 

10. The narrator repeats, “For what had I to fear?” What does he have to fear at this point?

11. What does the beating heart symbolize and why?

12. Think about the emotions that the narrator is feeling. How does Poe help the reader feel the same way?

In this prep, you have a PSAT-like question that will challenge your understanding of subordinating clauses beginning with a relative pronoun. Remember that the PSAT is a timed test and that you will have less than sixty seconds to answer the language questions. Being able to identity the type of sentence you are being tested on and the correct way to write it will greatly improve your chances of coming to the correct answer. Before attempting this prep, you might review the previous lesson so you have a clear understanding of how to approach this type of question.

PSAT prep 7 

Chose the correct answer for the highlighted word:

Eighth-grade students at Lowrey Middle School are teenagers they keep weekly reading logs.

1. no change
2. :who 
3. whom
4. who

The first choice, a. no change, is incorrect because the words in question are two independent clauses: “Eighth-grade students at Lowrey Middle School are teenagers” and “they keep weekly reading logs.”  They are independent clauses because each has a subject and verb and can stand alone: “students are” and “they keep.”  For a. to be correct, appropriate punctuation would have to be placed between the clauses: a period, a colon, a semi-colon, a dash, or a comma and (,and).  The second choice, b. :who, is incorrect because the semicolon separates the dependent clause, “who keep weekly reading logs” from the independent clause “Eighth-grade students at Lowrey Middle School are teenagers.”  The third choice, c. whom, is incorrect because the clause needs a subject and “whom” is used as an object: for example, “Whom did the class choose as president?”–”Whom” being the object of choose.  The fourth choice is the correct answer because “Who” is the subject form of the relative pronoun, and it is the subject of the subordinate clause “who keep weekly reading logs.”

Now, put in your own words your understanding of the above example question.  You might have to refer to previous lessons to understand this lesson.  When you feel that some of this makes sense, come up with at least five examples to show your understanding.  Do not be discouraged by the lengthy explanations.  Once you start recognizing subjects and verbs, your understanding of sentences should improve and should substantially help you on the PSAT.  Good Luck!

Complete the Guided Reading Questions and the CER for “The Tell-tale Heart.”

Read Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-tale Heart.

https://www.hasd.org/faculty/ThomasKraus/telltaleheart.pdf