Objective: Review the structure of the Our Father and pray it slowly together.
Recall: the Our Father puts God first (his name, kingdom, will) and then entrusts our needs to him (bread, forgiveness, protection). Pray it together slowly, pausing after each petition to let its meaning sink in - a fitting Passiontide practice as we draw near to Holy Week.
1Which petition of the Our Father do you most need to pray this week?
Activity
Pray the Our Father slowly aloud together, pausing after each line.
The Our Father: God's name, kingdom, and will first; then our bread, forgiveness, and protection.
Memory Work
Keep to 5 minutes; a prayerful anchor before the skills work.
Grammar20 min
Style and Concision: Strong Verbs, Active Voice, and Cutting Wordiness
Objective: Revise sentences for strong verbs, active voice, and concision - the core of clear style.
Good grammar makes writing correct; good STYLE makes it powerful. Three habits sharpen any prose.
1. STRONG VERBS. Weak writing leans on 'to be' verbs (is, are, was) and turns actions into nouns ('made a decision' instead of 'decided'). Replace them with vivid, exact verbs. Weak: 'The Sun King was the maker of many wars.' Strong: 'The Sun King waged many wars.'
2. ACTIVE VOICE. In active voice the subject DOES the action ('Newton discovered gravity'). In passive voice the subject RECEIVES it ('Gravity was discovered by Newton'). Active voice is usually shorter, clearer, and livelier. Use passive only when the doer is unknown or unimportant ('The manuscript was lost').
3. CUT WORDINESS. Delete deadwood phrases. 'Due to the fact that' -> 'because.' 'In order to' -> 'to.' 'At this point in time' -> 'now.' 'Each and every' -> 'every.' Cross out empty intensifiers like 'very,' 'really,' and 'quite' when a stronger word will do.
Worked example. Wordy/passive: 'It was decided by the king that, due to the fact that the nobles were a threat, they would be made to live at Versailles.' Revised: 'Because the nobles threatened him, the king forced them to live at Versailles.' (24 words -> 13, and far clearer.)
1Why is active voice usually clearer than passive?
2When is passive voice actually the better choice?
Activity
Practice - revise these 5 sentences for strong verbs, active voice, and concision: (1) A decision was made by the council to reform the abuses. (2) Due to the fact that he was very smart, Newton made the discovery of gravity. (3) The painting was created by Caravaggio in order to move the viewer. (4) There were many missionaries who went on voyages to distant lands. (5) The Our Father is a prayer that was given to us by Jesus.
Vocabulary
active voice
the subject performs the action of the verb
passive voice
the subject receives the action of the verb
concision
expressing an idea in as few words as needed, without losing meaning
Strong verbs, active voice, and fewer words - the three keys to clear style.
Memory Work
ANSWER KEY (sample strong revisions; accept any that fix verb/voice/wordiness): (1) 'The council reformed the abuses.' (2) 'Because he was brilliant, Newton discovered gravity.' (3) 'Caravaggio painted the work to move the viewer.' (4) 'Many missionaries voyaged to distant lands.' (5) 'Jesus gave us the Our Father.' Praise any concise, active version even if wording differs. This lesson directly supports today's research-paper revision.
Geography30 min
Europe of the Absolute Monarchs (c. 1700)
Objective: Draw and label the major states of Europe around 1700, including France, the patchwork Holy Roman Empire, and the rising powers.
By 1700, Europe had reorganized into the great powers whose rivalries would shape the next two centuries. At the center of the continent's power and glamour stood France, the largest, richest, and most populous state, ruled by the absolute Sun King, Louis XIV, from his palace at Versailles. To France's east lay the Holy Roman Empire - not a single country but a patchwork of hundreds of German states (kingdoms, duchies, free cities, and Church lands) loosely under a Habsburg emperor based in Austria. Rising on the edges were the powers of the future: Prussia (a militarized German kingdom in the northeast), the Austrian Habsburg lands (Austria, Hungary, Bohemia), and far to the east, Russia, which Tsar Peter the Great was forcibly modernizing and turning toward Europe. To the west, across the Channel, Britain was emerging as a great commercial and naval power with a limited (not absolute) monarchy. Spain, once dominant, was declining. Today you map this Europe of kings.
Drawing task: On a blank outline map of Europe, (1) draw and label France, Spain, Britain, the Dutch Republic, Prussia, the Austrian Habsburg lands, Russia, and the patchwork Holy Roman Empire (shade it to show it is many small states); (2) mark and label the capitals Versailles/Paris, London, Vienna, Berlin, and Moscow; (3) add a key. Note which states were 'absolute' monarchies and which (Britain, the Dutch) were not.
1Why is the Holy Roman Empire described as a 'patchwork' rather than a country?
2Which states were absolute monarchies, and which had limited monarchies - and why might that matter later?
3Which 'rising powers' on this map would dominate the next centuries?
Activity
Complete the labeled, color-keyed map of Europe c. 1700 as described, marking absolute vs. limited monarchies.
Vocabulary
Holy Roman Empire
the loose patchwork of German states under a Habsburg emperor
Prussia
the rising militarized German kingdom in the northeast
limited monarchy
a monarchy whose power is restrained by law or a parliament (as in Britain)
c. 1700: France dominant under Louis XIV; the Holy Roman Empire a patchwork; Prussia, Austria, and Russia rising.
Memory Work
Prep: print the blank Europe map (reusable from Week 21). ANSWER/KEY: France (center-west, Paris/Versailles); Britain (island, London); Spain (Iberia); Dutch Republic (NW coast); Prussia (NE Germany, Berlin); Austrian Habsburg lands (Vienna); Russia (far east, Moscow); HRE = shaded patchwork of central Germany. Allow the full 30 minutes.
Wrap-Up5 min
Notebook Wrap
Objective: Lock in the map of Europe's powers and the style rules.
Beneath your map, write one sentence naming the dominant power of c. 1700 and two rising powers. On your grammar page, write the memory line: 'Strong verbs, active voice, fewer words.'
Activity
Write the map summary and the grammar memory line.