Objective: Review the definition and forms of prayer and pray a short Scripture prayer.
Recall: prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God, in the forms of Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication (ACTS). Practice all four briefly by praying Psalm 8:1 together: 'O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!' — a prayer of pure adoration, fitting for Lenten quiet.
1Which of the four forms of prayer (ACTS) do you use least, and could grow in?
Activity
Pray Psalm 8:1 aloud together.
'O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!' — Psalm 8:1
Memory Work
Keep to 5 minutes.
Grammar20 min
Sentence Health: Run-ons, Comma Splices, and Fragments
Objective: Identify and fix run-on sentences, comma splices, and sentence fragments.
Three common errors damage sentence health. A FRAGMENT is an incomplete sentence punctuated as if complete — it lacks a subject, a verb, or a complete thought. 'Because the Pilgrims wanted freedom.' is a fragment (a dependent clause left dangling). Fix it by completing the thought: 'Because the Pilgrims wanted freedom, they sailed to America.'
A RUN-ON (fused sentence) jams two complete sentences together with no punctuation: 'Jamestown grew tobacco it needed labor.' A COMMA SPLICE joins two complete sentences with only a comma: 'Jamestown grew tobacco, it needed labor.' Both are errors because a comma is too weak to join two complete thoughts.
FOUR WAYS TO FIX a run-on or comma splice: (1) Make two sentences with a period: 'Jamestown grew tobacco. It needed labor.' (2) Use a semicolon: 'Jamestown grew tobacco; it needed labor.' (3) Use a comma + coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, for, nor, yet): 'Jamestown grew tobacco, so it needed labor.' (4) Make one clause dependent: 'Because Jamestown grew tobacco, it needed labor.' Learn to spot where one complete thought ends and the next begins — that's the danger zone.
1Why is a comma too weak to join two complete sentences?
2Which of the four fixes changes the MEANING or emphasis, not just the punctuation?
Activity
Practice — label each as Fragment (F), Run-on (R), or Comma splice (CS), then fix it: (1) The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth they signed the Mayflower Compact. (2) Although Maryland welcomed Catholics. (3) Tobacco made Virginia rich, it also spread slavery. (4) Working hard from dawn to dusk in the fields. (5) Penn founded Pennsylvania he wanted a haven for Quakers.
Vocabulary
fragment
an incomplete sentence punctuated as if complete
run-on
two complete sentences fused with no punctuation between them
comma splice
two complete sentences joined by only a comma
A comma cannot join two complete sentences — use a period, semicolon, comma+conjunction, or subordination.
Memory Work
ANSWER KEY: (1) R - fix: 'The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, and they signed the Mayflower Compact' (or period/semicolon). (2) F - fix: 'Although Maryland welcomed Catholics, persecution continued elsewhere' (complete the thought). (3) CS - fix: 'Tobacco made Virginia rich, but it also spread slavery' (or semicolon/period). (4) F - fix: add subject+verb, e.g., 'The settlers worked hard from dawn to dusk in the fields.' (5) R - fix: 'Penn founded Pennsylvania because he wanted a haven for Quakers' (or period/semicolon/comma+so). Accept any of the four valid fixes.
Geography30 min
The Thirteen Colonies and the Three Regions
Objective: Draw and label the thirteen English colonies along the eastern seaboard, grouped into their three regions.
The thirteen English colonies hugged the Atlantic seaboard between the ocean and the Appalachian Mountains, stretching from chilly Maine down to the warm coast of Georgia. They fall naturally into three regions shaped by climate and geography. The NEW ENGLAND COLONIES (rocky soil, cold winters, good harbors -> fishing, shipbuilding, trade): Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut. The MIDDLE COLONIES (fertile soil, mild climate, diverse peoples -> grain, the 'breadbasket'): New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware. The SOUTHERN COLONIES (warm climate, long growing season, rivers -> plantations and cash crops, worked tragically by enslaved labor): Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. Today you draw all thirteen.
Drawing task: On a blank outline of the eastern United States, (1) sketch the Atlantic coastline and the Appalachian Mountains as the western border; (2) draw and LABEL all thirteen colonies in their correct north-to-south order; (3) color-code the three regions (New England, Middle, Southern) with a key; (4) star four key settlements: Boston (MA), Philadelphia (PA), Jamestown (VA), and St. Mary's City (MD).
1How did climate and geography shape each region's economy?
2Why did the Appalachian Mountains form the colonies' western edge?
3Which region became most dependent on enslaved labor, and why (geography)?
Activity
Complete the labeled, color-coded map of the thirteen colonies and three regions as described, with starred key cities.
Vocabulary
Appalachian Mountains
the mountain range forming the colonies' western frontier
breadbasket
nickname for the grain-growing Middle Colonies
Three regions: New England (trade), Middle (breadbasket), Southern (plantations).
Memory Work
Prep: print the blank colonies map. ANSWER/KEY for north-to-south order: NH, MA, RI, CT (New England); NY, NJ, PA, DE (Middle); MD, VA, NC, SC, GA (Southern). Allow the full 30 minutes. This map will be reused for the American Revolution (Week 26).
Wrap-Up5 min
Notebook Wrap
Objective: Lock in the regions and the grammar fixes.
Beneath your map, write the three regions and one defining feature of each. On your grammar page, write the memory line about commas and complete sentences.
Activity
Write the regions summary and the grammar memory line.