by Karen Kellaher

New York * Toronto * London * Auckland * Sydney

Mexico City * New Delhi * Hong Kong

S C H O L A S T I C

BPROFESSIONAL OOKS

GrammarPuzzles & GamesKids Cant Resist!40 Super-Cool Crosswords, Codes, Mazes & More

That Teach the Essential Rules of Grammar

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Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the activity sheets from this book for classroom use. No other part

of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by

any means, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission of the publisher. For permission,

write to Scholastic Inc., 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Edited by Sylvia Charlesworth

Cover design by Jaime Lucero

Cover illustration by Mike Moran

Interior design by Grafica, Inc.

Interior illustration by Mike Moran

ISBN: 0-439-07756-7

Copyright 2000 by Karen Kellaher.

All rights reserved.

Printed in the U.S.A.

DedicationTo Colin

for all your love and support

And special thanks to Mr. Ed Miller,who made grammar fun for me

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Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Word Search PuzzlesNoun Hunt (common nouns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Find the Verb (predicate of sentence). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Verbs Help Out (helping verbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Good, Better, Best (comparing adjectives) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Noun Substitutes (pronouns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Contraction Action (contractions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

For Short (abbreviations). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Snail (Wraparound) PuzzlesSingle Minded (singular and plural nouns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

In the Past (past tense verbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Pick a Preposition (prepositions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Create a Word (compound words) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Which One (Won) Is It? (homonyms) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Do They Agree? (subject/verb agreement) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Crossword PuzzlesMake It Two! (plural nouns). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Invisible Nouns (abstract nouns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Wheres the Action? (action verbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Pronoun Magic (pronouns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Awesome Adverbs (adverbs). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Its Only Proper (proper adjectives) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Subject Search (subject of sentence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Contents

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Partner Stories Food Fight! (common nouns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

The Strangest Field Trip Ever (proper nouns) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Alien Adventure (present and past tense verbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

I See the Future! (future tense verbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Say It With Adjectives (adjectives) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

A Parts-of-Speech Circus (parts of speech review) . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Crack-the-Code StoriesA Pet Adventure (adverbs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Prepositions Show Position (prepositions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

A Conjunctions Function (conjunctions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Hew, Wow! (interjections). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

To Be or Not To Be (the verb to be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Riddle Bubble TestsA Capital Idea (using capital letters) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Whose Is It? (possessive nouns). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

The Genuine Articles (a, an, and the) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Using Contractions (contractions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Be Agreeable (subject/verb agreement) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Is It a Sentence? (sentences and fragments) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Be a Comma Cop! (comma placement). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Sentence Enders (punctuation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Quotation Location (quotation marks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Contents

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5TTTThere is something about games and puzzles thatmotivates even the most reluctant learner. We seethis clearly when we look at our own habits: As

adults, few of us would jump at the chance to take a teston world history, literature, science, or geography.However, we rush to answer questions in these subjectareas when theyre part of a trivia board game, TV quizshow, or Sunday newspaper crossword puzzle. Why? Ibelieve its because the idea of a game or puzzle lends anexciting context to learning, and we achieve a real sense ofaccomplishment when we get the answers right.

Children are no exception. When subject matter ispart of a game or puzzle, students are more motivated to learn, to remember, and to apply thematerial. Thats the thinking behind Grammar Puzzles & Games Kids Cant Resist!

Why Use Grammar Games?At Scholastic we recognize that grammar is not the easiest topic to teach. Too often, grammarseems like a collection of rules that must be memorized. Students have a hard time seeing itsrelevance to real life. And teachers sometimes have a difficult time changing students from thecomfortablebut incorrectgrammar habits which the kids are used to using. It is our hopethat Grammar Puzzles & Games Kids Cant Resist! will make the teaching of grammar a little biteasier and a lot more fun. Youll find crossword puzzles, word searches, code games, partnerstories, and more. These are entertaining activities that children already love to do, so consideryour battle half won!

Some of the special features of this book include:

GGrraammmmaarr ffaasstt ffaaccttss wwiitthh eevveerryy aaccttiivviittyy.. These reminders review the specific grammarconcept the children need for each activityright there on the reproducible. For example,when students are working with helping verbs, theyll find a list of helping verbs right thereon the page. When they are working with proper nouns, theyll find a helpful reminder toalways use a capital letter. That means your students will not have to look elsewhere forpertinent information.

OOppppoorrttuunniittiieess ffoorr bbootthh iinnddeeppeennddeenntt aanndd ccoollllaabboorraattiivvee lleeaarrnniinngg.. Some of the activitiessuch as crosswords and word searchesare designed for students to complete individually.Otherssuch as the partner storiesare meant to be tackled in pairs or teams.

Introduction

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6 SSppeecciiaall aatttteennttiioonn ttoo ttyyppiiccaall pprroobblleemm aarreeaass.. As veteran teachers know, some grammarrules are more troublesome than others. For example, many children have a hard timeforming contractions, forming the past tense of irregular verbs, and choosing thehomonym that makes sense in a sentence. This book addresses these tough topics clearlyand decisively.

How to Use the BookYou may use the reproducible activities in any order.Here are some suggestions for making the most ofthem:

11.. Use each reproducible as an immediate follow-upto a grammar lesson to assess what studentshave learned. Because the activities include verysimple instructions and grammar rulereminders, you can easily assign the activities ashomework. I can assure you that your studentswont mind digging into these assignments!

22.. Use the reproducibles as part of a Grammar Learning Center where the focus changeseach week. For example, while you are teaching about nouns, you may want to copy allof the activities that focus on nouns and store the activities in a designated spot in theclassroom. Send students to the Grammar Learning Center when they finish work early,when you are working with small groups, or any other time individual students are look-ing for something to do. Invite students to make colorful posters of important grammarrules and use them to decorate your Learning Center.

33.. Consider having students check their own work. (Use the answer key on page 58 to postthe answers on the board.) Then work with each student to highlight and focus on anyproblem areas.

44.. After students have completed the puzzles for a given grammar topic, invite them to cre-ate their own puzzles for classmates to work on. Younger students will enjoy makingword search puzzles and simple crosswords on graph paper. Older students may want totry crafting their own riddle bubble tests and partner stories. (In either case, take a peekat the student-made activities before students exchange them. This will help avoid frus-tration in the event that a student-created puzzle is incorrect or incomplete.)

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7About the Puzzle Formats: A Special Note to TeachersEach of the puzzles in this book includes easy-to-follow directions.The puzzles are broken down as follows:

WWoorrdd SSeeaarrcchheessStudents hunt for their answers in a letter grid. Answers may goacross, down, or on the diagonal.

SSnnaaiillssIn these puzzles, the answers wrap around in the shape of a snail.The last letter of one answer is the first letter of the next.

CCrroosssswwoorrddssThese crosswords are designed simply with elementary students inmind. All of the clues and answers relate to grammar. There are nofiller words.

PPaarrttnneerr SSttoorriieessPairs of students work together to complete a story using specificparts of speech. When theyre done, they have a hilariously funnystory to share with the class. These activities can be used over andover with new, exciting results each time.

CCrraacckk--tthhee--CCooddee CClloozzee GGaammeessStudents complete a short story by filling in the missing part ofspeech. Then they use their answers to decode a secret message!

RRiiddddllee BBuubbbbllee TTeessttssStudents fill in the bubble next to the sentence that uses correctgrammar. Then students use their lettered answers to unravel thepunch line to an amusing riddle. These riddle tests are not onlyfun; theyre also great practice for state and national standardizedtests (students get into the habit of filling in the circle next to thecorrect answer).

Enjoy!

15

For ShortMatch each abbreviation to the full word it stands for. Then

hunt for each full word in the word search puzzle.

SKILL: Common Abbreviations

FAST FACTAn abbreviation is ashortened version of aword or phrase. Someabbreviations use peri-ods, but others do not. 1.

Dr.

_____a.

October

2.Mr.

_____b.

Avenue

3.St.

_____c.

Doctor

4.TV

_____d.

Saturday

5.Jan.

_____e.

miles per hour

6.PA

_____f.

television

7.Ave.

_____g.

California

8.Sat.

_____h.

Mister

9.Oct.

_____i.

Street

10.mph

_____j.

United States

11.U.S.

_____k.

Pennsylvania

12.CA

_____l.

January

ABBREVIATION

FULL WORD

W E M Q N I A D J R T R E V

P U A T E L E V I S I O N E

E X N D O C T O R A F O P O

N B E I M P H J A T D C G S

N G K O T A T R L U N T S T

S Q M I L E S P E R H O U R

Y H I F E S D Y B D P B R E

L C S R A I R S E A O E H E

V K T L B A D G T Y F R I T

A S E A U N I P Q A Z U K L

N E R N H O F J E S T M C E

I C A L I F O R N I A E R B

A X D A V E N U E M A B S C

D J A N U A R Y R W Q B I B

16

Single Mind

ed

Look at the p

lural noun un

derlined in ea

ch sentence,

and

write the sin

gular form of

the noun on

the line. The

n

write the sin

gular noun in

the puzzle gr

id. The last le

tter

of one answe

r will be the f

irst letter of

the next ans

wer.

Some answe

rs will go aro

und corners.

SKILL: Sin

gular and Plu

ral Nouns

1. There a

re nine pla

netsin ou

r solar sys

tem.

__________

__________

2. Cars a

nd trucks

lined the s

treet.

__________

__________

3. I cant

find my h

ouse keys

anywhere!

__________

__________

4. Many h

omes have

back yard

s.

__________

__________

5. There a

re ditches

on both sid

es of the r

oad.

__________

__________

6. Its fun

to ride a

bike over

the hills in

this neigh

borhood.

__________

__________

7. Plants

have chem

icals in th

eir leaves

to help th

em make f

ood.

__________

__________

8. Gracie

la is just u

nder five f

eet tall.

__________

__________

9. Our cla

ss has gon

e on three

field trips

this school

year.

__________

__________

10.I sav

e pennies

in a jar in

my bedroo

m.

__________

__________

11.Does

your fami

ly eat yam

s at Thank

sgiving?

__________

__________

12.Fifty

men, wom

en, and ch

ildren were

left homel

ess by the

storm.

__________

__________

13.I hav

e a pocket

full of nick

els.

__________

__________

14.Brigh

t lights fill

ed the sky

.

__________

__________

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

11

12

13

1014

FAST FACT

Some nouns

add -s to bec

ome

plural. Other

s add -es. Ot

her

nouns chang

e completely

when

they become

plural, and s

till others

do not chang

e at all!

22

Make It Two!Write the plural

of each singularnoun on the line

provided. Thenwrite the pluralsin the crossword

puzzle grid.

SKILL: Plural Nouns

FAST FACTSome nouns add -s tobecome plural. Othersadd -es. Other nounschange completelywhen they become plur-al, and still others do

not change at all!ACROSS3. one banana; many __________________

5. one president; many __________________

8. one subject; many __________________

9. one itch; many __________________

11. one disk; many __________________

14. one tomato; many __________________

17. one television; many __________________

DOWN1. one plant; many

__________________

2. one waitress; many __________________

4. one foot; many__________________

6. one deer; many __________________

7. one note; many __________________

10. one child; many __________________

12. one cookie; many __________________

13. one person; many __________________

15. one key; many __________________

16. one mouse; many __________________

12

8

9

10

11

17 15

16

12

14

13

3

5

6

7

4

33

Say It With

Adjectives!

Work with a p

artner on thi

s

activity. One

partner will

be the

Clue Giver. Th

e other partn

er

will be the W

ord Giver.

1. The Clue G

iver asks the

Word

Giver for a w

ord to fill in

each

blank. Fill in

all the blank

s

before readin

g the story.

2. The Clue G

iver reads th

e

story out loud

.

FAST FACT

Adjectives ar

e words

that describe

nouns or

pronouns. For

example:

beautiful, slop

py, blue,

broken.

One _____

__________

__________

spring afte

rnoon, a __

__________

__________

___ studen

t

named ___

__________

__________

__ was pla

ying bask

etball. The

student w

as wearing

the latest

fashion: _

__________

__________

____ pants

, a very __

__________

__________

___ shirt.

The studen

t threw the

ball towar

d the bask

et, but it b

ounced in

to the woo

ds. I gues

s Ill

have to ch

ase it. Th

e student

ran to ge

t the bask

etball but

it was now

here in sig

ht. Instead

,

there was

a ________

__________

_______ ,

__________

__________

_____ bott

le with a

__________

__________

_____ lid p

ropped ben

eath a tree

.

The studen

t opened t

he bottle c

autiously.

Out popp

ed a _____

__________

__________

genie

wearing a

strange __

__________

__________

___ outfit!

Finally! s

aid the gen

ie as he gl

anced at th

e ________

__________

_______ wa

tch on his

wrist. Its

about tim

e someone

let me out

of this bo

ttle. I only

have time

for one. S

o make it

snappy.

The studen

t thought.

What wou

ld be the b

est wish?

To be a ___

__________

__________

____

superstar

? To have

some reall

y ________

__________

__________

toys? Fin

ally, the s

tudent tho

ught

of the perfe

ct wish an

d told the g

enie.

Whatever

, said the

genie as

he snappe

d his finge

rs. And ju

st like tha

t, the wish

came

true. The

student be

came a ___

__________

__________

____, ____

__________

__________

____

__________

__________

_, and nev

er forgot th

at _______

__________

______ day

in the fore

st.

adjective

noun/first na

me

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

noun

SKILL: Ad

jectives

39

To Be or Not to Be?This story is missingsome of its verbs! Fill inthe blanks in the storywith verbs from the boxbelow. All of the verbsare forms of the verbto be. When you arefinished, put the num-bered letters in the cor-rect order and get thesecret message.

Ladies and Gentlemen,It __ __ quite an honor to stand before you this evening and accept this award. I am

thrilled to __ __ named the Inventor of the Year. Believe it or not, just a few years ago I __

__ __ a poor, unknown inventor with plenty of ideas but no money to make them happen.

Today, I __ __ a big success, all thanks to my famous Two-In-One Dental Floss and Fishing

Line. If it __ __ __ __ not for this amazing device, I might still be dreaming away in my

basement workshop. As I accept my award, Id like to thank some special people in my life. They __ __ __

my parents and my fifth-grade science teacher, Mrs. C. A. Labrat. To all three of them, I say,

Thanks for __ __ __ __ __ there for me! And to all of you in the audience, I say

that I have never __ __ __ __ happier or more proud than I am tonight.

Now use the numbered letters to decode the message:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __!

2 6 3 4 1 7 7 8 5

isam

arewas

werebe

beingbeen

FAST FACTThe verb to be is themost frequently usedverb in the English lan-guage. Eight differentwords are part of theverb to be.

SKILL: The Verb To Be

1

2

3

4

56

7

8

44

The Genuine

Articles:

A, An, and T

he

Look at each

set of sente

nces. Fill in th

e circle next

to the senten

ce that uses

the words a

, an, and the

properly. Wh

en you are fi

nished, use t

he letters of

your answers

to solve the

riddle at the

end.

1.nn A.

I always c

arry umbr

ella in my

backpack

.

nn B.I alw

ays carry

a umbrella

in my bac

kpack.

nn C. I al

ways carr

y an umbr

ella in my

backpack

.

nn D. I al

ways carr

y an a um

brella in m

y backpac

k.

2.nn E.

My birthd

ay is an la

st day of M

ay.

nn F.My b

irthday is

a last day

of May.

nn G. My

birthday i

s last day

of May.

nn H.My b

irthday is

the last da

y of May.

3.nn I.

France is

a country

in Europe.

nn J.Fran

ce is an co

untry in E

urope.

nn K.Fran

ce is coun

try in Euro

pe.

nn L.Fran

ce is the c

ountry in E

urope.

4.nn M

. Marcus p

acked sand

wich and a

n apple for

lunch.

nn N. Ma

rcus pack

ed a sand

wich and a

apple for

lunch.

nn O. Ma

rcus pack

ed a sand

wich and a

n apple for

lunch.

nn P.Marc

us packed

an sandwi

ch and a a

pple for lu

nch.

5.nn Q

. My ballo

on rose in

to an sky.

nn R.My b

alloon rose

into a the

sky.

nn S.My b

alloon rose

into sky.

nn T.My b

alloon rose

into the s

ky.

6.nn U.

Our car go

t the flat t

ire on high

way.

nn V.Our c

ar got a fla

t tire on th

e highway

.

nn W. Our

car got an

flat tire on

the highwa

y.

nn X.Our c

ar got flat

tire on a

highway.

FAST FACT

The words a

, an, and

the often com

e before

nouns. Use t

he in front

of a specific n

oun. For

example: Thi

s is the

bike I want.

Use a and

an in front o

f non-spe-

cific nouns.

Use a in

front of noun

s that

start with con

sonants

and an in fro

nt of

nouns that s

tart with

vowels. For e

xample:

Id rather hav

e a bike

than an auto

mobile.

SKILL: Art

icles

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9Noun HuntRead the clues to name the nouns in each list. Then find the nouns inthe word search puzzle.

SKILL: Common Nouns

FAST FACTA noun is a person,place, or thing. Forexample: sister, park,insect.B S H E A C K G T R B A

A C L O U D A F E E M SP H D G N B I D A S O GP O F O T N T A C T T ML 0 H A C H A F H A H EE L O B T E B M E U E GS L M G Q H L W R R R BT E E N A G E R T A P UO I A K L K Y R V N C ZR B I C Y C L E A T I RE M R B C S I N G E R SB A I R P O R T M J Z N

PEOPLE1. An adult who teaches in a classroom ________________________

2. Your parents (two words) ________________________

and ________________________

3. A person between the ages of 13 and 19 ________________________

4. A person who sings ________________________

5. Your mothers sister is your ________________________

PLACES 6. A place where you buy things ________________________

7. A place where you go to learn ________________________

8. A place where you go to eat ________________________

9. The place where you live ________________________

10. A place where planes take off and land ________________________

THINGS 11. A vehicle with two wheels ________________________

12. Something you use to carry groceries ________________________

13. A fruit thats often red and is used to make pies and juice ________________________

14. Something you use at dinner time that comes with chairs ________________________

15. Something fluffy that floats in the sky ________________________

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Find the VerbRead each sentence and underline the verb. Then findeach verb in the word search puzzle.

SKILL: Simple Predicate of a Sentence

FAST FACTSome verbs, like runsand thinks, describeaction. Other verbs, likeis and was, describe astate of being.

B P H D M A K H A S C IL A E C A U G H T A O LM I S B D G I C E L I NE N S N E S A O F O H VP T U T Z G V S L V S RI E B R E O I A H E I EY D J W O N U N M S R PB R O K E M S G S T B CR F S H A R E D B I H TL E R V I S I T S D E RC W A O Q J A O G E Y HX H R D E A B L E W O E

1. The play begins at six oclock.

2. Lucas visits his grandmother at least once a week.

3. The snake caught its prey under a boulder.

4. I read an exciting novel last week.

5. Rebecca painted a picture of a beautiful sunset.

6. My cat is three years old.

7. Our school basketball team just won the state championship.

8. Megan loves pizza with pepperoni.

9. The two brothers shared a seat on the school bus.

10. We sang the national anthem at school today.

11. A rabbit made its nest in our front yard.

12. During the storm, winds blew at speeds of 50 miles per hour.

13. Jared listens to many kinds of music.

14. Anne broke her arm last winter.

15. That film has terrific special effects.

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Verbs Help OutRead each sentence and locate the helping verb. When you arefinished, find your answers in the word search puzzle.

SKILL: Helping Verbs

FAST FACTHelping verbs help the main verbdescribe the action. There are 23helping verbs. They are:

1. Our neighbors were playing loud music last night. __________________

2. You should say thank you to Uncle Roy for the gift. __________________

3. I can see the park from my bedroom window. __________________

4. My train is leaving in ten minutes. __________________

5. I am planning to join the swim team. __________________

6. I knew that you owned a dog, but I did not know that you owned a fish. __________________

7. Yes, I do like to work with clay. __________________

8. I have started my homework. __________________

9. My cousins are visiting for the weekend. __________________

10. Julia has written a poem for class. __________________

11. I was walking to school when I saw an injured bird. __________________

12. I might win the contest. __________________

13. Tina had just fallen asleep when the telephone rang. __________________

amarebebeenbeingcan

coulddiddodoeshadhas

haveismaymightmustshall

shouldwaswerewillwould

HELPING VERB

A F M I G H T E B P A R ED O I H B M C L D I O E GC L Q W E R E R S J S U AS E O N E T A K H C D I DH A D T N P V B O S F W TD U T G Q O M N U U R H EA B N J W Y W A L I M A SV A I D C H A R D L Q S EC M K T F K S N L G C O SL R S X A M U H D I D N TP U A O S B V U N P Z B IM S I H A V E J E R A H IB W T O E D S V P T Y O F

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Good, Better, BestRead each sentence. On the line, write the positive, compar-ative, or superlative form of the missing adjective. Then findeach of your answers in the word search puzzle.

SKILL: Comparing Adjectives

FAST FACTA positive adjective letsyou describe one ormore things: A puppy isnice; puppies are nice.A comparative adjectivelets you compare two ormore things: Barbara isnicer than Gerard;Gerard is nicer than allthe other boys in ourclass.A superlative adjectivelets you describe onlyone thing: MountEverest is the tallestmountain in the world;Remo is the friendliestperson in school.

1. Nora was fast, but Caitlyn was ____________________.

2. Snowball is ____________________ than the other kittens

in the litter.

3. Kevin is _____________________.

4. January is the _____________________ month of the year.

5. I filled the _____________________ glass I could find with water.

6. Someone must have turned up the volume, because the

music suddenly got _____________________.

7. The _____________________ clouds were a sign that the storm

was on its way.

8. Todays math assignment is _____________________ than

yesterdays.

9. David has an _____________________ bedtime than I do.

10. Tina is my _____________________ friend.

(comparative of fast )

(comparative of cute)

(positive of smart)

(comparative of loud)

(comparative of hard)

(comparative of early)

(superlative of cold)

(superlative of close)

(superlative of tall )

(positive of dark)

A H S D Y B R O C U P EL M C M N E L O U D E RH B E O A K C G T N D IA D A L N R J M E A B SR T R F A S T E R C P AD A L O V H E K F O N ZE A I A E T Y I D L E HR I E O C L O S E S T BP S R T A L L E S T E DU B A Y R C O L D E S T

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Noun SubstitutesRead each sentence and fill in each blank with a pronoun from the lists.When you are finished, find your answers in the word search puzzle.

SKILL: Personal and Possessive Pronouns

FAST FACTPronouns take the place of nouns Here are some:

Pronouns can be possessive, just like nouns:

1. _________________ am happy to meet you, I said.

2. Ryan has a doctors appointment after school, so _________________ will miss practice.

3. She baked the cake for so long, _________________ was as hard as a rock!

4. Frank and Erin said _________________ would be back in one hour.

5. I just saw a man run down the street. Did you see _______________?

6. The fourth graders invited _________________ to their holiday party, so we will invite them to

_________________.

7. Mary, do _________________ walk to school or ride the bus?

8. Elizabeth hopes _________________ will get the lead in the school play.

9. Our family is very busy, but _________________ always try to eat dinner together.

10. I reminded Derek that _________________ owes me a dollar.

11. When I saw Aunt Sue get off the train, I hugged _________________ and offered to carry her bags.

12. The children were misbehaving, so Mrs. Nelson asked _________________ to quiet down.

13. I know thats _________________ lunch because it has my name on it.

14. A kitten must stay with _________________ mother for several weeks.

15. The twins invited all of _________________ friends to the birthday party.

Iyouheshe

itwemethey

himherusthem

whowhat

her/hershisits

minemyour/ours

their/theirswhoseyour/yours

A O U R S M C L B H E D AI B H C N P S A H X I T DO M R E D T G F M E N H GE L Y A I K C O W B L E IJ Q H O S I R E Q J G M LH E D S H E V C A S R K OK U T E G W T N I T S E RR X S P R C H B E H L M UD F M I A F E M K E T S ZB H E R E Y I D F Y H I MP H M A L U R A Q S Z R MT R U J O T B R E C P E TN U F Y I G C M Y D A H Q

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Contraction ActionSKILL: Contractions

FAST FACTA contraction is formedby putting two wordstogether and leaving outsome letters. An apos-trophe takes the placeof the missing letters.

Read each sentence, paying special attention to the contraction.On the line, write the word that completes each contraction.Then find each of your answers in the word search puzzle.

A N E A R E H B M I SH F X I J O E A G D RK A U N L A C N V U AD Q D T E S F I T E QA H B N O T G E I T UC I N W Z E R A S L IO S E F V G U J G I PL I Y A T V E H A G WG N H M F S W I L L EP A E U C O N B D P DU M C H S K E A I R O

1. I couldnt make it to the dance recital on Wednesday.

couldnt = could + _____________________

2. Peter shouldve called if he were going to be late.

shouldve = should + _____________________

3. Im the oldest child in my family.

Im = I + _____________________

4. Maura was tired because shed been working in the garden all day.

shed = she + _____________________

5. Edward says hell be over in ten minutes.

hell = he + _____________________

6. Youre my best friend.

Youre = You + _____________________

7. Hes afraid of spiders.

Hes = He + _____________________

8. Twas the night before Christmas.

Twas = _____________________ + was

9. Lets go out to dinner tonight.

Lets = Let + _____________________

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For ShortMatch each abbreviation to the full word it stands for. Thenhunt for each full word in the word search puzzle.

SKILL: Common Abbreviations

FAST FACTAn abbreviation is ashortened version of aword or phrase. Someabbreviations use peri-ods, but others do not.

ABBREVIATION FULL WORD

W E M Q N I A D J R T R E VP U A T E L E V I S I O N EE X N D O C T O R A F O P ON B E I M P H J A T D C G SN G K O T A T R L U N T S TS Q M I L E S P E R H O U RY H I F E S D Y B D P B R EL C S R A I R S E A O E H EV K T L B A D G T Y F R I TA S E A U N I P Q A Z U K LN E R N H O F J E S T M C EI C A L I F O R N I A E R BA X D A V E N U E M A B S CD J A N U A R Y R W Q B I B

1. Dr. _____ a. October

2. Mr. _____ b. Avenue

3. St. _____ c. Doctor

4. TV _____ d. Saturday

5. Jan. _____ e. miles per hour

6. PA _____ f. television

7. Ave. _____ g. California

8. Sat. _____ h. Mister

9. Oct. _____ i. Street

10. mph _____ j. United States

11. U.S. _____ k. Pennsylvania

12. CA _____ l. January

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Single MindedLook at the plural noun underlined in each sentence, andwrite the singular form of the noun on the line. Thenwrite the singular noun in the puzzle grid. The last letterof one answer will be the first letter of the next answer.Some answers will go around corners.

SKILL: Singular and Plural Nouns

1. There are nine planets in our solar system. ____________________

2. Cars and trucks lined the street. ____________________

3. I cant find my house keys anywhere! ____________________

4. Many homes have back yards. ____________________

5. There are ditches on both sides of the road. ____________________

6. Its fun to ride a bike over the hills in this neighborhood. ____________________

7. Plants have chemicals in their leaves to help them make food. ____________________

8. Graciela is just under five feet tall. ____________________

9. Our class has gone on three field trips this school year. ____________________

10. I save pennies in a jar in my bedroom. ____________________

11. Does your family eat yams at Thanksgiving? ____________________

12. Fifty men, women, and children were left homeless by the storm. ____________________

13. I have a pocket full of nickels. ____________________

14. Bright lights filled the sky. ____________________

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FAST FACTSome nouns add -s to becomeplural. Others add -es. Othernouns change completely whenthey become plural, and still othersdo not change at all!

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In the PastRewrite each sentence in the past tense. Then write each past-tenseverb in the snail puzzle. The last letter of one answer will be the firstletter of the next answer. Some answers will go around corners.

SKILL: Verbs/Past Tense

FAST FACTThe past tense is used to describe something that hap-pened before now. Many verbs form the past tense byadding -ed or -d. But other verbs form the past tensein unusual ways and should be memorized.

1. I sleep in a bed.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

2. She turns the key.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

3. We decide what to eat for lunch.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Stephan draws a picture.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

5. I win the spelling bee!

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Rachel nods her head in agreement.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

7. They drive to school every day.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

8. The nurse examines the patient.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Everyone dances to that song.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

10. I dare you to watch the scary movie.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

11. We do the dishes.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

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Pick a PrepositionRead each sentence below, and choose a prepositionfrom the box to fill in the blank. Then write the prepo-sitions in the snail puzzle. In the puzzle, the last letterof one answer is the first letter of the next answer.Some answers will go around corners.

SKILL: Prepositions

FAST FACTPrepositions usually tell where something is, wheresomething is going, or when something is happening. Some common prepositions are:

about after withnear throughout tobelow because despitewithout beside insteadin over onexcept toward onto

1. South America is located _________________________ the Equator.

2. You cannot bake a cake _________________________ flour.

3. The sprinter ran _________________________ the finish line.

4. We played outside for a while _________________________ the cold weather.

5. I like all vegetables _________________________ for lima beans.

6. Basketball is popular _________________________ the entire United States.

7. Hannah sent a thank-you note _________________________ her grandmother.

8. Will you help me load the heavy box _________________________ the truck?

9. Anthony lives _________________________ North Birchfield Avenue.

10. The twins live _________________________ the school, so they do not ride the schoolbus.

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19

Create-a-WordRead each clue below and figure out the compound word that isbeing described. Then write the compound words in the snail puzzle.The last letter of one answer will be the first letter of the nextanswer. Some answers go around corners.

SKILL: Compound Words

FAST FACTA compound word is aword that is made up oftwo or more smallerwords. For example:notebook, newspaper,thunderstorm.

CLUES1. A mark your foot leaves in snow or mud. ________________________

2. These fall from your eyes when you are sad. ________________________

3. At night we have moonlight; in the day we have ________________________

4. A natural disaster that makes the ground shake. ________________________

5. The skin that closes over your eye. ________________________

6. You turn this to open a door. ________________________

7. A sport played with a bat and ball. ________________________

8. All the years that a person lives. ________________________

9. The hard covering around an egg. ________________________

10. A house that warns ships of danger. ________________________

11. A piece of jewelry you wear on your ear. ________________________

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Which One(Won) Is It?

Read each of the sentences below, and underline thehomonym that makes sense in each one. Then write thecorrect homonyms in the snail puzzle. The last letter ofone answer will be the first letter of the next answer.Some answers will go around corners.

SKILL: Homonyms

FAST FACTHomonyms are wordsthat sound alike buthave different spellingsand meanings. Forexample: peace/pieceand bare/bear.

1. My (aunt, ant) is coming to visit for a few weeks.

2. Jack likes to play soccer (to, too, two).

3. We will eat lunch in about (one, won) hour.

4. Rosas brother is (ate, eight) years old.

5. Nigel (threw, through) the ball to first base.

6. Room 16 is having a spelling test next (weak, week).

7. I dont (know, no) where I left my backpack.

8. How much does your puppy (way, weigh)?

9. The frightened campers (herd, heard) a noise in the forest.

10. The (dear, deer) drank from the cool stream.

11. The principals office is the third door on the (right, write).

12. (There, Theyre, Their) favorite movie is showing tonight at 8 p.m.

13. The audience filled 100 (rose, rows) of seats.

14. Loris arm was (sore, soar) after her softball game.

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Do They Agree?Read each of the sentences below, and underline theverb that agrees with the subject. Then write the correctverbs in the snail puzzle. The last letter of one answerwill be the first letter of the next answer. Some answerswill go around corners.

SKILL: Subject/Verb Agreement

FAST FACTIf the subject of a sen-tence is singular, theverb must also be sin-gular. If the subject isplural, the verb must beplural. Heres a secret,though: While a nounthat ends in -s is usual-ly plural, a verb thatends in -s is usuallysingular!

1. Bears (has, have) a powerful sense of smell.

2. We (eat, eats) out about twice a month.

3. He always (try, tries) to do his homework before dinner.

4. On the island, the sun (shine, shines) almost every day.

5. The recipe (says, say) to cook the muffins for 25 minutes.

6. They (swim, swims) in the lake every afternoon.

7. I (make, makes) the best lemonade in town!

8. Ralph (earn, earns) money by mowing his neighbors lawn.

9. The kids often (swing, swings) at the playground.

10. My house plants (grows, grow) an inch every month.

11. Henry (were, was) in charge of the class party.

12. At lunch time, Rita always (sit, sits) near the windows.

13. They (switch, switches) seats every week.

14. Christopher (has, have) on a striped sweater today.

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Make It Two!Write the pluralof each singularnoun on the lineprovided. Thenwrite the pluralsin the crosswordpuzzle grid.

SKILL: Plural Nouns

FAST FACTSome nouns add -s tobecome plural. Othersadd -es. Other nounschange completelywhen they become plur-al, and still others donot change at all!

ACROSS3. one banana; many __________________

5. one president; many __________________

8. one subject; many __________________

9. one itch; many __________________

11. one disk; many __________________

14. one tomato; many __________________

17. one television; many __________________

DOWN1. one plant; many __________________

2. one waitress; many __________________

4. one foot; many __________________

6. one deer; many __________________

7. one note; many __________________

10. one child; many __________________

12. one cookie; many __________________

13. one person; many __________________

15. one key; many __________________

16. one mouse; many __________________

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Invisible NounsUse a noun from the box to fill in the blank in each sentence.Then write your answers in the crossword puzzle.

SKILL: Abstract Nouns

FAST FACTSome nouns name ideas or feelingsthat you cannot see, hear, smell, ortouch. Some examples are happi-ness, wonder, and justice. Thesenouns are called abstract nouns.

ACROSS4. Madison has ____________________ that

the future will be bright.

6. Jack has ____________________ in his

ability to play soccer.

8. The students had great

____________________ for their teacher.

9. For the sake of ____________________,

Marianne gave each child the same number of

cookies.

11. Carolines main ____________________

after the hurricane was the safety of her

neighbors.

12. Josh treats everyone with

____________________, so he has many friends.

13. When Grandpa saw what the burglars

had done to the house, he was filled with

_______________ .

DOWN1. Felicia was filled with

____________________ when her dog died.

2. My parents fell in ____________________

when they were in college.

3. The United States government is a

____________________ .

5. In the spring, flowers fill the world with

____________________ .

6. It takes ____________________ to give a

speech in front of the whole class.

7. Albert Einstein had ____________________,

but he did not do well in school.

10. The kids know that ____________________

is important. They always take turns with

their toys.

lovesadnessbeautydemocracysharinghopeconfidence

respectangerfairnessconcerncourageintelligencekindness

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Wheres the Action?

Read each sentence andfill in the blank with anaction verb from thebox. Write the verb inthe crossword puzzle.

SKILL: Action Verbs

FAST FACTAn action verbdescribes activity thathappened in the past, ishappening now, or willhappen in the future.

ACROSS2. Jeanette __________________________ as she

thought of the exciting day ahead of her.

6. Jack __________________________ the home-

work assignment in his notebook.

7. During the earthquake, the whole house

__________________________ .

9. Alexis __________________________ at

Courtneys joke.

10. Our basketball team ________________________

the state championship!

11. I am so hungry, I could

__________________________ ten pizzas!

13. Chris __________________________ all the way

to the top of the tree.

17. The lion __________________________ loudly,

surprising the zoo visitors.

18. Victor __________________________ Fire! as

soon as he saw the flames.

DOWN1. Samantha __________________________ her

team to victory.

3. I am pleased to ______________________ you,

Jacob said.

4. The teacher __________________________ the

writing on the chalk board.

5. Dont __________________________ the boat; it

may tip over!

6. Gregory __________________________ the dog

around the block.

8. I __________________________ the envelope as

soon as I saw it.

12. Lets __________________________ a kite today.

14. In honor of your birthday, Aunt Rose

__________________________ a cake.

15. My book bag weighs at least 15 pounds. It is

too heavy to __________________________!

16. Lucas __________________________ his favorite

tie on school picture day.

flywalkedwonopenedsmiledclimbederasedledcarryrock

woreshookmeetlaughedwroteyelledbakedroaredeat

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Pronoun MagicUse a pronoun from the box to fill in the blank in each sentence. Youmay use some pronouns more than once. Then write the pronouns inthe crossword puzzle.

ACROSS2. Look at that flower! ___________________ is

beautiful.4. This letter is addressed to my neighbors. It

must be ___________________ .6. Joanna cant wait for the class trip. It will

be ___________________ first visit to a muse-um.

7. George helped me with the science home-work. I helped ___________________ with themath problems.

9. Will you join ___________________ for awalk? I would enjoy your company.

10. If you dont hurry, ___________________ aregoing to be late for school.

12. Can you find ___________________ way homefrom here?

16. Our school has two playgrounds. Everyoneworks to keep ___________________ clean.

19. Brian forgot ___________________ lunchtoday.

22. Is this backpack ___________________? It hasyour initials on it.

24. The Smiths took ___________________ newpuppy for a walk.

25. ___________________ jacket is this?

DOWN1. Mike and Rob went to the park because

___________________ wanted to play ball.3. The students have recess after

___________________ eat lunch.5. Amanda loves space, so ___________________

wants to become an astronaut.8. That pen belongs to me. It is _____________ .11. A cat followed Bob and me home. It stayed

behind ______________ the whole way!13. The blue car belongs to our family. The van

is ___________________, too.17. Mrs. Miller remembers every solo

___________________ daughter sang.18. I was in a rush, so I asked the waiter to

bring ___________________ food quickly.20. Many nutrients of an apple are in

___________________ peel.21. My mom knows me well.

___________________ can tell when Ive had abad day.

23. My friends and I love to ride bikes. It is___________________ favorite activity.

25. My brother and I hope ___________________both make the soccer team.

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SKILL: Personal and Possessive Pronouns

FAST FACTPronouns take the place of nouns:

Pronouns can be possessive, just like nouns:

Iyouheshe

itwemethey

himherusthem

myhisour/oursmineher/hers

their/theirsyour/yoursitswhose

My ball! Mine!

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Awesome AdverbsRead eachsentence andfill in theblank with anadverb fromthe box. Thenwrite youranswers inthe crosswordpuzzle.

SKILL: Adverbs

FAST FACTAn adverb can describea verb, adjective, oranother adverb. Adverbsoften answer the ques-tions how, when, where,and to what extent.Manybut not alladverbs end in -ly.

ACROSS1. Hillary ate her soup

__________________________.

4. Natasha hit the ball

_________________________ and ran to first base.

6. David brushed the canvas

______________________ with yellow paint.

8. All of the students did very

__________________________ on the reading test.

9. The twins couldnt believe their birthday

had ___________________ arrived.

11. I will sit here; you can sit

_______________________.

DOWN1. Bryan __________________________ agreed

to join the game.

2. The crickets chirped

________________________ outside the window.

3. The tired children walked home from

school ____________________ .

5. The cat hissed __________________________

when the dog walked by.

7. When I heard the announcer begin to

name the winners, I looked up

_______________________________ .

9. Tricia runs __________________________

enough to make the track and field team.

10. Kyle has _____________________________

experienced a snowfall before.

loudlyhardangrily

happilywellhopefully

slowlylightlynever

hungrilytherefinally

fast

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Its Only ProperUse a proper adjective from the box to fill in the blank in each sen-tence. Then write the answers in the puzzle.

SKILL: Proper Adjectives

ACROSS1. We took an _________________________ train

across the country.

3. Polar bears and snowshoe rabbits are both

_____________________ animals.

7. The ______________________ Lakes are locat-

ed between the United States and Canada.

8. Anthony bought a pair of blue

________________________ sneakers.

10. No one lives at the

__________________________ Pole all year long.

11. Japan is an ____________________________

country.

12. Sara enjoys watching

__________________________ movies.

DOWN2. They went swimming in the

__________________________ Ocean.

3. The ________________________ flag has stars

and stripes.

4. The ________________________ New Year is

celebrated with parades and fireworks.

5. Mike received many

__________________________ presents from his

friends.

6. The _________________________ Islands are

part of the United States.

9. An ___________________________ person is

someone from Ireland.

HawaiianChristmas

AsianArctic

AmtrakDisney

AtlanticSouth

NikeGreat

IrishAmerican

Chinese

FAST FACTA proper adjective is anadjective that formsfrom a proper noun. Forexample, a king fromEngland is an Englishking. A proper adjectiveuses a capital letter.

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Subject SearchRead each sentence and underline the word that is the simple subject.Write the word in the crossword puzzle.

SKILL: Subject of Sentence

FAST FACTThe simple subject isthe noun or pronounthat tells what or whomthe sentence is about.

ACROSS1. They knew that they were going to be

late for the meeting.

2. Teachers have exciting jobs.

4. She owns several rare books.

5. The local newspaper ran an article

about helping the environment.

7. My new shoes gave me painful blisters.

8. The tall brown mare guarded her new-

born foal.

9. The hot sun scorched the farmers

crops.

11. Mrs. Edwards store closes at 7:30

p.m. on weeknights.

12. It is almost summer time.

13. Cheese is a popular pizza topping.

14. The letter arrived in yesterdays mail.

DOWN1. Travis rode the roller coaster four

times.

2. The telephone rang loudly.

3. A single star shone in the night sky.

6. Everyone shouted Surprise! when

Nathan walked in the front door.

8. Beautiful music played while we

worked on our projects.

9. Shelly is one of my closest friends.

10. Litter makes the park ugly.

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Food Fight!

Work with a partner on thisactivity. One partner will bethe Clue Giver. The otherpartner will be the WordGiver.

1. The Clue Giver asks theWord Giver for a word to fillin each blank. Fill in all theblanks before reading thestory.

2. The Clue Giver reads thestory out loud.

FAST FACTCommon nouns aregeneral names for peo-ple, places, and things.They do not use capitalletters. For example:student, home, andapple.

One day the students in our class were having a quiet lunch in the ____________________.

At first everything was going smoothly. The kids were enjoying fried ___________________________,

baked ____________________________, and a variety of other tasty treats.

Trouble started when one of the students was carrying her tray to her seat. Her stomach

grumbled as she gazed at the ____________________________, ____________________________, and

__________________________ on her tray. A _________________________ and _________________________

sitting nearby both looked hungrily at the piping hot lunch. Suddenly, the student tripped on a

_________________________ on the floor, and her tray went flying. A large ________________________

landed on a _________________________ who was walking by. You know what that means! anoth-

er student shouted. Food fight!

Before long, the kids lunches were sailing through the air. A burned ___________________

plopped down on a ___________________________. A greasy ____________________________ flew out

the window and headed for the _________________________. The food fight continued until a

mushy _________________________ sailed right into the teacher.

Stop this nonsense, the teacher cried. Each one of you is behaving like a

_________________________. Clean up this mess right now or I will send you to the

_________________________! Needless to say, that was the end of the food fight!

common noun/thing

common noun/thing

common noun/thing common noun/thing

common noun/thing common noun/person

common noun/person

common noun/person

common noun/person

common noun/person

common noun/thing

common noun/thing

common noun/thing

common noun/thing

common noun/place

common noun/place

common noun/place

common noun/thing

SKILL: Common Nouns

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The Strangest Field Trip Ever

Work with a partner onthis activity. One partnerwill be the Clue Giver.The other partner will bethe Word Giver.

1. The Clue Giver asksthe Word Giver for aword to fill in eachblank. Fill in all theblanks before readingthe story.

2. The Clue Giver readsthe story out loud.

Last night I had a very unusual dream. In my dream, ___________________________ was the

principal of our school! One day, the principal announced that we were going on a field trip to

______________________. Now, I had been to ______________________ and to ______________________,

but never there!

Believe it or not, my dream got even crazier after that. We rode a ______________________

all the way to our destination. Once we arrived, we met all kinds of people. I personally saw

______________________ and ______________________ and even got ______________________ to give

me an autograph. I will always treasure it!

On the way home, we talked the principal into stopping in ______________________ and

______________________. We tried to stop in ______________________, too, but we ran out of time.

Even so, it was the most awesome field trip I had ever been on. Was I ever disappointed when it

was time to wake up!

FAST FACTProper nouns are thenames of specific peo-ple, places, and things.They always begin witha capital letter. Forexample: George, Texas,and the Statue ofLiberty.

proper noun/person

proper noun/person proper noun/person proper noun/person

proper noun/place proper noun/place proper noun/place

proper noun/place proper noun/place

proper noun/place

proper noun/form of transportation

SKILL: Proper Nouns Gr

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Alien AdventureWork with a partner on this activity.One partner will be the Clue Giver. Theother partner will be the Word Giver.

1. The Clue Giver asks the Word Giverfor a word to fill in each blank. Fill inall the blanks before reading the story.

2. The Clue Giver reads the story outloud.

When I saw the flashing lights, I knew right away it was a

UFO. It________________ right next to me. The doors opened, and out came ____________________

____________________. The creatures marched toward me and began to speak. We are from the

planet _________________, they said. We travel around the Milky Way, stopping only to

________________. Tell us about yourself, Earthling.

I ____________________ and I ____________________. I did not know what to say, My name

is _______________________, I began. I like to ___________________________ and

__________________________. My favorite thing to do is __________________________ and hang out

with my good friend, __________________________.

The creatures looked at each other and __________________________. Aha, they said.

Earth is very different from our planet. Come, and we will show you.

I hopped aboard the UFO and we took off. The creatures and I ____________________ and

_______________________. They also gave me a delicious ________________________ to eat.

Finally, we arrived. I could tell we were there when the UFO _______________________. I

stepped outside. I watched as alien creatures ____________________ and ____________________.

I was homesick already, without my family and my favorite _________________. Take me

home! I told the aliens. They shrugged and put me back on the UFOby myself! Wait I cried.

I dont know how to fly this thing!

The doors closed, and I spied a control panel. I did not know which button to press, so I

just ____________________. Amazingly, the UFO ____________________ and started its journey back

to Earth. It took me ____________________ days, but I finally made it home.

FAST FACTThe present tensedescribes an action thatis happening now. Thepast tense describes anaction that already hap-pened. Many verbs formthe past tense byadding -ed or -d.

verb/past tense number over 2

plural noun

noun

noun/thing

noun

number

verb/past tense verb/past tense

verb/present tense

verb/present tense

verb/present tense verb/present tense

word givers name

noun/persons name

verb/past tense

verb/past tense

verb/past tense

verb/past tense

verb/past tense verb/past tense

verb/past tense verb/past tense

SKILL: Verbs/Present and Past Tense Gr

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I See the Future

Work with a partner on this activity. One partner will be the Clue Giver.The other partner will be the Word Giver.

1. The Clue Giver asks the Word Giver for a word to fill in each blank. Fillin all the blanks before reading the story.

2. The Clue Giver reads the story out loud.

What will life on Earth be like 100 years from now? Heres what I think:

People __________________________ much less often than they do today, but they

__________________________ at least ten times a day. Children __________________________ in

schools and they __________________________ in their neighborhoods.

In the United States, most people __________________________ , but in other parts of the

world, people __________________________ . People everywhere __________________________ .

In the future, all cars __________________________ and bikes __________________________ . It

will be so much fun! Computers _______________________ , and machines _____________________ .

What will I be doing 100 years from now? Thanks to medical advances, I will still be

around. I probably _______________________ , and I definitely ________________________ . But most

of all I _______________________ ! I can hardly wait!

verb/future tense

verb/future tense

verb/future tense

verb/future tense

verb/future tense

verb/future tense verb/future tense

verb/future tense verb/future tense

verb/future tenseverb/future tense

verb/future tense verb/future tense

verb/future tense

FAST FACTTo form the futuretense, verbs add theword will. For example:He will run tomorrow.

SKILL: Verbs/Future Tense Gr

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Say It WithAdjectives!

Work with a partner on thisactivity. One partner will be theClue Giver. The other partnerwill be the Word Giver.

1. The Clue Giver asks the WordGiver for a word to fill in eachblank. Fill in all the blanksbefore reading the story.

2. The Clue Giver reads thestory out loud.

FAST FACTAdjectives are wordsthat describe nouns orpronouns. For example:beautiful, sloppy, blue,broken.

One _________________________ spring afternoon, a _________________________ student

named _________________________ was playing basketball. The student was wearing the latest

fashion: _________________________ pants and a very _________________________ shirt.

The student threw the ball toward the basket, but it bounced into the woods. I guess Ill

have to chase it. The student ran to get the basketball but it was nowhere in sight. Instead,

there was a _________________________ , _________________________ bottle with a

_________________________ lid propped beneath a tree.

The student opened the bottle cautiously. Out popped a _________________________ genie

wearing a strange _________________________ outfit!

Finally! said the genie as he glanced at the _________________________ watch on his

wrist. Its about time someone let me out of this bottle. I only have time for one wish. So make

it snappy.

The student thought. What would be the best wish? To be a ___________________________

superstar? To have some really ____________________________ toys? Finally, the student thought

of the perfect wish and told the genie.

Whatever, said the genie as he snapped his fingers. And just like that, the wish came

true. The student became a ___________________________, ____________________________

_____________________, and never forgot that _______________________ day in the forest.

adjective

noun/first name

adjective

adjectiveadjective

adjective adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective

adjective adjective

adjectivenoun

SKILL: Adjectives Gr

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A Parts-of-SpeechCircus

Work with a partner on thisactivity. One partner will bethe Clue Giver. The other part-ner will be the Word Giver.

1. The Clue Giver asks theWord Giver for a word to fill in each blank. Fill in all theblanks before reading thestory.

2. The Clue Giver reads thestory out loud.

Last week, the circus came to our town. It was set up near the

old ______________________. I wasnt planning to go, but

_______________________ and _____________________ talked me into it. They were dying to see the

_______________________ ______________________ and the __________________________

________________________ .

When we arrived, we were starving, so we got in line to buy some snacks.

I ate the ________________________ __________________________, and my friends ate the

_____________________ ________________________.

Then the show began. The ringmaster _____________________ announced the first act.

Then __________________ __________________ came out and started to _______________________

_______________________! When the act was over, everyone began to __________________________

_______________________ and ___________________________ ____________________________ .

Later in the show, we saw a _______________________ _________________________ and a

________________________ ________________________ who could _______________________ and

_____________________. The best part of the show was the last act, when a _____________________

___________________ ___________________ ___________________ on top of a ______________________!

We ran into _______________________ and ______________________. They were carrying a

______________________ that they had bought as a souvenir. They said they loved the show, too!

FAST FACTA noun is a person,place or thing (Mr. Simpson, Ohio,banana ). A verb tellsthe action in the sentence (lifts, dances,sees). An adjectivedescribes a noun (blue,nice, smart). An adverbusually describes averb (quickly, happily,wildly).

common noun/place

common noun/person

common noun/person

common noun/person common noun/person

common noun/thing

common noun/thing

any common nouncommon noun/person verb/past tense adverb

adjective

adjective

adjective/number plural noun

common noun/thing

common noun/thing

common noun/thing

adjective adjective

adjective

adverb

adverbverb/present tense

verb/present tense

verb/present tense

verb/present tense

verb/present tense

adverb

adverb

adjective

adjective

proper noun/person proper noun/person

SKILL: Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs (Review)Gr

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A Pet AdventureThis adventure story is miss-ing its adverbs! Fill in theblanks in the story withadverbs from the box below.When you are finished, putthe numbered letters in thecorrect order and get thesecret message.

My neighbors asked me to watch their dog, Sophie. I __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

needed the money, so I took the job. Sophie barked __ __ __ __ __ __ and gave me a

big kiss. I took her by the leash and waved good-bye.

Trouble began when she chewed off her leash and ran __ __ __ __ __ __

down the street. When I caught her, she was licking someones ice cream cone! Then she

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ran across the street. I followed

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ behind her.

Sophie stopped at the park. There, she __ __ __ __ __ __ __ made some new

friends, leaped __ __ __ __ into the air to grab their Frisbee, and greeted a man who was

feeding the squirrels.

We were invited to a picnic and ate __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. Then I

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ realized it was time to go. We __ __ __ __ __ said

good-bye, and got home minutes before Sophies owners. They saw her sitting

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ by the door and exclaimed. Sophies so good for

you. Are you available next week?

Now use the circled letters to decode the message:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 5 1 6 7 9 12 13 2 3 8 4 4 11

__ __ __ __ __ __ __!3 4 7 1 9 12 10

FAST FACTAdverbs can describeverbs, adjectives, oreven other adverbs.They usually answer thequestions how, when,or where. They oftenend in the letters -ly.

suddenlyquickly

loudlybreathlessly

highdesperately

sadlyhungrily

fearlesslyinnocently

wildly

SKILL: Adverbs

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PrepositionsShow Position

This story is missing its prepositions!Fill in the blanks in the story withprepositions from the box below.When you are finished, put the num-bered letters in the correct order andget the secret message.

FAST FACTPrepositions usually tellwhere something is,where something isgoing, or when some-thing is happening.

aboutabove

beforeby

exceptfrom

ininside

nearon

withwithout

to

Last summer, I went ____ ____ Space Camp! I went for three days, ____ ____ ____ ____ a

Monday to a Wednesday. On the first day, I got to try on a space suit just like the ones worn by

real astronauts. It had an American flag ____ ____ the front and all kinds of special equipment

built into it. It even had a device to control the temperature inside the suit.

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ this equipment, astronauts could not survive ____ ____ space.

The next day, I got to taste astronaut food. I especially liked the freeze-dried ice cream. In

fact, all of the kids at Space Camp (____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ for one or two) thought the

ice cream was the best.

Finally, I got to go ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ a special anti-gravity chamber. It was

invented ____ ____ scientists to give astronauts an idea of what its like to be weightless in

outer space. While I was floating inside the chamber, I imagined that I was traveling far

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ the Earth. Wow!

Before I knew it, it was time to head home. But before I left, I got to meet a real-life astro-

naut. She sat down ____ ____ ____ ____ all the campers and told us ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

her job. She sat ____ ____ ____ ____ me, so I even got an autograph! Now I dont just think I

want to be an astronaut. I know for sure!

Now use the numbered letters to decode the message:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 3 6 11 7 12 2 1 3 10 1 5 3

__ __ __ __ __ __!9 3 6 13 4 8

1

5

6 7

8 9

2 3 4

10

11

12

14

13

SKILL: Prepositions Gr

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This story is missing its conjunc-tions! Fill in the blanks in the storywith conjunctions from the boxbelow. When you are finished, putthe numbered letters in the correctorder and get the secret message.

FAST FACTConjunctions are linkingwords. They join words,phrases, clauses, andsentences together.

The day we moved into our new house, the weather was rainy __ __ __ cold.

__ __ __ __ __ I could not play outside, I decided to explore the attic. It was mostly

empty, __ __ __ a few dusty boxes sat in the corner, belonging to the previous owners

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ my family had not come up here yet.

I began to look through one of the boxes filled with papers that looked old and fragile, __ __

I was careful. I uncovered an old map and recognized our neighborhood. It showed a large X

near the lake, at the end of our road. Hmmmm, I thought to myself. X marks the spot. For a

chest full of gold __ __ a priceless piece of jewelry? I could hardly wait to find out!

Luckily the next day was sunny. __ __ __ __ I finished breakfast, I set out to search

for the spot marked on my map. __ __ __ __ __ __ I had gotten very far, I heard a

voice say, Im Kate. You must be the new kid. I said hello. I didnt want Kate to think I was

silly, __ __ __ I knew she might be a big help so I showed her my map. Soon both of us

were having a great time.

We found plenty of garbage, and may never know __ __ there is treasure by the lake, but

I have a new pal!

Now use the circled letters to decode the message:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 8 6 10 7 1 2 3 5 6 7

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __!9 6 7 5 3 4 6 7 3

andbut

ornor

yetso

ifuntil

sincebecause

before once

1 2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

SKILL: Conjunctions

A ConjunctionsFunction

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Hey, Wow!This letter is missing its inter-jections! Fill in the blanks inthe story with interjectionsfrom the box below. When youare finished, put the numberedletters in the correct order andget the secret message.

FAST FACTAn interjection is a wordor phrase that express-es strong feelings. It isusually punctuated withan exclamation point.

Dear Aunt Linda,

__ __ __ __ __ there! I just got the train set you sent for my birthday.

__ __ __ __ __ __! I really love it. It has eight cars and a long, curving track.

__ __ __! It has to be the nicest train set Ive ever seen.

It took me about three hours to put the set together (with moms help). __ __ __ __!

It sure was hard work! But when I was finally finished, I was very excited. I invited my best

friend, Tim, over to take a look. Tim loves trains as much as I do. When he saw it, he shouted,

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __! Tim and I played with the trains for a while. Then

Tims brother, Lou, came over, and we had to put the set away. Thats because Lou tried to play

with the track and almost broke it. I said, __ __ __! Please be careful with that!

I hear my mom calling me for dinner, so I will wrap up this letter. We are having liver and

lima beans. __ __ __ __! I hope you are having something tastier!

I will talk to you soon!

Love,

Daniel

P.S.: __ __ __ __! I almost forgot to tell you that my first soccer game of the season will

be this Saturday morning!

Now use the numbered letters to decode the message:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __!3 5 1 6 9 2 5 4 1 7 8

All right Hello Thanks Wow Hey Yuck Oops Phew

SKILL: Interjections

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To Be or Not to Be?

This story is missingsome of its verbs! Fill inthe blanks in the storywith verbs from the boxbelow. All of the verbsare forms of the verbto be. When you arefinished, put the num-bered letters in the cor-rect order and get thesecret message.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It __ __ quite an honor to stand before you this evening and accept this award. I am

thrilled to __ __ named the Inventor of the Year. Believe it or not, just a few years ago I

__ __ __ a poor, unknown inventor with plenty of ideas but no money to make them happen.

Today, I __ __ a big success, all thanks to my famous Two-In-One Dental Floss and Fishing

Line. If it __ __ __ __ not for this amazing device, I might still be dreaming away in my

basement workshop.

As I accept my award, Id like to thank some special people in my life. They __ __ __

my parents and my fifth-grade science teacher, Mrs. C. A. Labrat. To all three of them, I say,

Thanks for __ __ __ __ __ there for me! And to all of you in the audience, I say

that I have never __ __ __ __ happier or more proud than I am tonight.

Now use the numbered letters to decode the message:

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __!2 6 3 4 1 7 7 8 5

is am are was were be being been

FAST FACTThe verb to be is themost frequently usedverb in the English lan-guage. Eight differentwords are part of theverb to be.

SKILL: The Verb To Be

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A Capital Idea

Look at each set of sentences. Fill in the circle next tothe sentence that uses capital letters properly. Whenyou are finished, use the letters of your answers to solvethe riddle at the end.

1. nn A. The Statue of Liberty is in new york, New York.

nn B. The Statue of Liberty is in New York, New York.

nn C. The statue of liberty is in new york, new york.nn D. the Statue of Liberty is in New York, New York.

2. nn E. George Washington was americas first president.nn F. George Washington was Americas first president.

nn G. George Washington Was Americas First President.

nn H. George washington was americas first president.

3. nn I. Many creatures live in the Pacific Ocean.

nn J. Many creatures live in the pacific ocean.nn K. Many creatures live in the Pacific ocean.

nn L. Many Creatures live in