SPONGE 1
What are the strongest and weakest aspects of your
reading and writing skills? (3-5 sentences)
SPONGE 2
What are the 8 parts of speech? Which one(s)
confuse you most? What about them confuses
you? (3-5 sentences)
SPONGE 3
What are sentence fragments and run-ons?
SPONGE 4
Which punctuation marks confuse you? Why? (3-5
sentences)
SPONGE 5
What are 3 academic goals you have for this year?
What do you plan to do to achieve them? (5
sentences minimum)
SPONGE 6
What was life like in Puritan New England? (3-5
sentences)
SPONGE 7
Identify basic Puritan beliefs in this passage.
The God that hold you over the pit of hell, much as
one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over
the fire, abhors you and is dreadfully provoked.
His wrath toward you burns like fire; he looks
upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast
into the fire.
(John Edwards, 1734)
SPONGE 8
In what ways did the Puritans attempt to make
religion a controlling force in everyday life? Use
the passage below for help.
The God that hold you over the pit of hell, much as
one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over
the fire, abhors you and is dreadfully provoked.
His wrath toward you burns like fire; he looks
upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast
into the fire.
(John Edwards, 1734)
SPONGE 9
Considering what you’ve read, what is your opinion
of Puritan life and beliefs?
SPONGE 10
What aspect(s) of Puritan life might you disagree
with most?
SPONGE 11
Give an example of a modern day witch
hunt.
SPONGE 12
SA = Strongly Agree
A= Agree
N = Neither
D = Disagree
SD = Strongly Disagree
It is okay to accuse someone of an act they did not commit.
2. I would confess to something I truly did not do.
3. One should be cautious and suspicious of those around
them.
4. I would accuse my friends of something wrong if it would
save me from trouble.
5. Trusting others is difficult
6. I am a trustworthy person
7. The most popular opinion is usually the correct one.
8. I sometimes follow the crowd whether they are right or
wrong
9. I believe most people are good hearted.
10. People should be innocent until proven guilty.
1.
SPONGE 13
Identify the subject and verb in each sentence.
1.
2.
3.
4.


The lightening fills the sky.
Cheetahs run faster than most other animals.
The motors are running.
The girl has been sick.
Copy the following:
An –s ending is often a sign of a singular verb.
When a sentence contains a verb phrase, it is
the helping verb that agrees with the subject
SPONGE 14
Copy the following:
 Compound subjects – consists of two or more
connected subjects having the same verb. When
two subjects are connected by and, even if they
are both singular, they are followed by a plural
verb.

HINT: If the subject is plural, substitute the pronoun
they for the plural subject.


Example: Mr. Duffy and his daughter have gone fishing.
 They have gone fishing.
EXCEPTION: A compound subject that refers to a
single person or to two or more things is considered a
unit (one thing) takes a singular verb

Example: A mother and homemaker has a challenging job.
(one person is meant)
SPONGE 15
Copy the following subject/verb agreement hints:

Cross out all prepositional phrases.


Cross out word groups with commas.


Every one of the students tries hard.
The doctor, as well as the nurses, works hard.
Cross out word groups beginning with either…or
and neither…nor


Either the vase or the dish was a gift.
Neither the teacher nor his students were here.
SPONGE 16
Complete the following:
1.
2.
3.
Cherry trees (lines/line) the Potomac.
Many colleges (has/have) computers.
Forest rangers (says/say) that we can prevent
forest fire.
SPONGE 17
Copy the following rule:
 The following common words are singular: each,
either, neither, one, everyone, everybody, no one,
nobody, anyone, someone, somebody
1.
2.
3.
Complete the following examples:
Anyone without tickets (is/are) asked to see
Mrs. Harris.
Each of the newcomers (was/were) welcomed to
the city.
No one (understand/understands) a person who
mumbles.
SPONGE 18
When someone is accused of a crime
today, do people still have a
tendency to side with the accusers?
Explain.
SPONGE 19
At this point in the play, which
character seems to be the
protagonist, and which seems to be
the antagonist?
SPONGE 20
Predict what you think will happen in
Act 3
SPONGE 21
In sports, in politics, and in war,
people often demonize their
opponents – that is, they portray
their enemies as incarnations of evil.
Can you think of an example? Why
do you think people do this? What
effect do you think such behavior has
on society as a whole?
SPONGE 22
Write a brief summary of the play’s
main events to this point.
SPONGE 23
When John reveals his true
relationship with Abigail, what do
you think he also reveals about his
character and his motivation?
SPONGE 24
How does the relationship between
John and Elizabeth change
throughout the play?
SPONGE 25
A = Agree
N = Neutral
D = Disagree
1.
The girls were right to accuse people of being witches.
2.
Tituba did the right thing by falsely confessing.
3.
None of the characters in the play were trustworthy.
4.
Fear and suspicion can destroy society.
5.
Most of the characters in the play were goodhearted.
6.
People should be innocent until proven guilty.
7.
People who claim to be good may be hypocrites.
8.
It may be better to die with integrity than to compromise your
honor, decency, and faith.
9.
People can use the ideas of virtue and godliness to advance a
selfish or wicked agenda.
10.
In the play, the most popular opinion was the right one.
SPONGE 26
What did you think of the play?
SPONGE 27

the pilot had no alternative, stowaways must face
judgment


The pilot had no alternative; stowaways must face
judgment.
did the nasa pilot exaust everyone of his options

Did the NASA pilot exhaust every one of his options?
SPONGE 28

barton’s ship lurched , slowed and suddenly
accelerated agin


Barton’s ship lurched, slowed, and suddenly
accelerated again.
in 1954, when the short story The Cold Equations
were written, no people had yet went into outer
space

In 1954, when the short story “The Cold Equations”
was written, no people had yet gone into outer space.
SPONGE 29

him and me enjoy sience fiction because its
exiting and imaginitive


He and I enjoy science fiction because it’s exciting
and imaginative.
andy and me taked a trip to the Mojave Dessert

Andy and I took a trip to the Mojave Desert.
SPONGE 30

next Monday us students will read our drafts to
one and other


Next Monday we students will read our drafts to one
another.
not anybody wanted to read a essay a loud

Nobody wanted to read an essay aloud.
SPONGE 31

a strongly, detailed, precise, setting effects the
reader’s emotions


A strongly detailed, precise setting affects the
reader’s emotions.
Boys and Girls is a short story that is setted in
tough butally hard ranch country in canada

“Boys and Girls” is a short story that is set in tough,
brutally hard ranch country in Canada.
SPONGE 32

floras the horse name Keisha sayed but whats
the protagonists name


“Flora’s the horse’s name,” Keisha said, “but what’s
the protagonist’s name?”
Flora runned out the gate but the men catched
her anyways

Flora ran out the gate, but the men caught her
anyway.
SPONGE 33

alice has never wrote no novels and don’t think
she never will


Alice has never written any novels and doesn’t think
she ever will.
That is the most coldest milk of the world

That is the coldest milk in the world!
SPONGE 34

alice walker who was the most young of 8
children is born in Eatoton Georgia


Alice Walker, who was the youngest of eight children,
was born in Eatonton, Georgia.
walker’s novel The Color Purple was winning the
pulitzer prize in fiction in 1983

Walker’s novel The Color Purple won the Pulitzer
Prize in fiction in 1983.
SPONGE 35

where’s you’re sister at Larry


Where’s your sister, Larry?
unfortunately i have me a sister whose a lot like
Dee

Unfortunately I have a sister who’s a lot like Dee.
SPONGE 36

john steinbeck almost didn’t except the nobel
prize, he was afraid he wouldn’t wright any more


John Steinbeck almost didn’t accept the Nobel Prize;
he was afraid he wouldn’t write anymore.
during the great depression of the 1930s many
families in the midwest losed their farms

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many
families in the Midwest lost their farms.
SPONGE 37

wheres you’re sister at Larry


Where’s your sister, Larry?
unfortunately i have me a sister whose a lot like
Dee

Unfortunately I have a sister who’s a lot like Dee.
[me deleted]
SPONGE 38

john steinbeck almost didn’t except the nobel
prize, he was afraid that he wouldn’t wright any
more


John Steinbeck almost didn’t accept the Nobel Prize;
he was afraid that he wouldn’t write anymore.
during the great depression of the 1930s many
families in the midwest losed there farms

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many
families in the Midwest lost their farms.
SPONGE 39

because the daughter didnt think of herself as a
prodigy her mother gets angry with her


Because the daughter didn’t think of herself as a
prodigy, her mother got angry with her.
the daughter thought her mother was trying to
make her something she wasnt her mother just
thinks her child is being disobedient

The daughter thought her mother was trying to make
her something she wasn’t; her mother just thought
the child was being disobedient.