Student Instructions |
Name __________________________________ |
strain your brain #2
Complete the following:
1.Write a paragraph about a food you feel strongly about, whether you love it or hate it. Start with a three-word sentence. Follow it with a four-word sentence, then a five-word sentence, then a six-word sentence, then a seven-word sentence, and an eight-word sentence. Each sentence must begin differently. (You can’t write, “I hate peas,” followed by, “I hate peas intensely.” You could write, “I hate peas,” followed by, “They are so disgusting.”
2.Write a sentence in which the only vowel used is “e.” The sentence must be at least 7 words long.
3.Write a paragraph about milk, using only one-syllable words. The paragraph must be at least five sentences long.
4.Name 8 things you might find in a refrigerator.
5.For each item in #4, write a sentence beginning with that item. The verb in each sentence cannot be “is” or “are.”
“I don’t drown my sorrows;
I suffocate them with chocolate chip cookies.”
—Author Unknown
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Student Instructions |
Name __________________________________ |
Bare Bones
Writing is much more effective when it includes interesting details and specific words. For example, compare these two sentences that give the same basic information, but in different ways:
The teacher yelled at the boy.
When Calvin interrupted the lesson by coming in late, again,
Mr. Featherstone erupted, thundering so loudly at Calvin about his irresponsible attitude that he disrupted the band rehearsing next door.
Obviously, the second sentence is much more interesting and helps us picture what happened.
Below are some bare-bones sentences—sentences that contain only very basic information. Rewrite each sentence, keeping the same essential facts but adding details to make it much more interesting.
1.They watched the person throw the food.
2.He cooked his first meal.
3.She served the food.
4.He tasted the food.
5.They grew food.
Who won the skeleton beauty contest?
No body.
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Student Instructions |
Name __________________________________ |
Compounds
Compound is an interesting word. It can mean so many different things. As a noun, it can refer to a fenced-in group of buildings, like the presidential compound. If you break an arm or a leg and the bone is sticking through the skin, you have a compound fracture. A compound word is a word made of two words, like rowboat. If whatever you do to help a situation ends up compounding the problem, you made it worse.
Sentences can involve compounds, too. A sentence with a compound subject has two subjects. (An example: Thomas and Terry fought Queen Kong.) A sentence with a compound predicate has two predicates. (Example: Thomas fought Queen Kong and captured her.) Sometimes a sentence has both a compound subject and a compound predicate. (Thomas and Terry fought Queen Kong and captured her.)
A compound sentence is really two sentences that are connected by one of these words: and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet. (Examples: Thomas fought Queen Kong, but Terry captured her.)
And, finally, a compound sentence might also have a compound subject and/or a compound predicate. (Thomas and Terry fought Queen Kong and captured her, but Queen Kong and her husband escaped and terrified the entire city.)
Add the compounds indicated for each sentence below.
1.Henry ate the chocolate covered grasshoppers. (Add a compound subject.)
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2.Henry ate the chocolate covered grasshoppers. (Add a compound predicate.)
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3.Henry ate the chocolate covered grasshoppers. (Make the sentence a compound sentence.)
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Identify the compounds in the sentences on the next page.
•no compounds
•compound subject
•compound predicate
•both a compound subject and a compound predicate
•compound sentence
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Student Instructions |
Name __________________________________ |
Compounds, continued
•compound sentence with a compound subject or a compound predicate.
•compound sentence with both a compound subject and a compound predicate
1.Pete absolutely loves his rabbit, Nuzzles, and he also loves his tarantula, Elmer.
2.Melissa absolutely loves Nuzzles, but she despises Elmer.
3.Pete and Melissa both love Mr. Ellington, their cat.
4.Mr. Ellington hates Nuzzles, and he hates Elmer, too.
5.Mr. Ellington hates pretty much everybody.
6.Pete and Melissa worried and fussed about Mr. Ellington, but Nuzzles and Elmer ignored him and slept a lot.
7.Mr. Ellington ignored them back.
8.He ignored Pete, and he ignored Melissa, too.
9.He was the leader of the pack, and he liked it that way.
10.Pete and Melissa bought a kitten for Mr. Ellington.
11.They named the kitten Cutikens and introduced her to Mr. Ellington.
12.Mr. Ellington hissed and scratched, and Cutikens yowled at Mr. Ellington and jumped on his back.
13.Mr. Ellington was not happy.
14.Cutikens did not care, and she chased him into the closet and
15.Now Cutikens is the leader of the pack.
What do you call artificial spaghetti?
Mockaroni.
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