Ten-Minute
Grammar
TRIMESTER ONE REVIEW – Teacher’s Guide
SUGGESTED TIMELINE:
 This review is intended to take two full weeks. So you would use the Day One
bell ringer on a Monday and then give the exam on the following Friday (of the
second week).
 If you have less than two weeks left, some of the bell ringers could be left out.
However, different topics are reviewed each day, so if you feel your students
need extra help on a particular concept (like writing perfect and progressive verb
phrases), make sure you use one of the bell ringers that covers that topic.
OBJECTIVES:
1. Students should understand that…
a. “Editing,” “Proofreading,” and “Copy Editing” are synonyms that mean
checking for and correcting grammatical errors in a piece of writing
b. The use of standard proofreading marks helps avoid confusion when you’re
editing your own work or someone else’s.
c. “Homophones” are pairs of words that sound the same but have different
spellings and different meanings.
d. Homophones are commonly misspelled in student writing and should
therefore always be double-checked during proofreading.
e. A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea.
f. Only nouns can be paired with an article like the, an, or a.
g. Only nouns can be owned or possessed by someone.
h. Verbs (and only verbs) can change to the past, present, or future tense.
i. Pronouns can be used either as a subject or an object in a sentence.
j. The antecedent is the noun to which a pronoun refers.
k. A pronoun must match its antecedent or it is incorrect.
l. There are several types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs,
verb phrases.
m. Helping verbs are used to create verb phrases in order to focus or specify
the duration or attitude of an act or state of being.
n. A verbal is a word that comes from a verb but doesn’t ACT like a verb in
the sentence.
o. A gerund is a word that ends in –ing and functions as a noun.
p. An infinitive is a verbal consisting of the word “to” and a verb that
functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb
q. Infinitives and gerunds are often part of phrases within a sentence.
r. “Perfect” verb phrases are made up of a form of the verb “have” followed
by a past participle verb.
s. “Progressive” verb phrases are made up of a form of the verb “be”
followed by a present participle verb.
2. Students should be able to…
a. Use the proper proofreading mark to indicate an error in a text.
b. Make the appropriate corrections to a text based on someone else’s
proofreading marks.
c. Match common homophones to their definitions.
d. Correctly spell common homophones.
i. There, their, they’re; Your, you’re; Where, were, wear, we’re; Its,
It’s; Here, hear; To, two, too; Which, witch; Effect, Affect; Then,
Than; Past, Passed; Who’s, Whose; Lead, Led; Weather, Whether;
Lose, Loose
e. Identify nouns and verbs in context and distinguish them from other parts
of speech.
f. Change the tense of verbs to past, present, or future.
g. Avoid the most common capitalization errors in their own writing and;
recognize and correct capitalization errors when proofreading.
i. Proper nouns should be capitalized, and common nouns should not.
ii. The first word of a quotation should be capitalized.
iii. People’s titles should be capitalized only when it is used as part of
their name or in place of their name.
iv. Words derived from proper nouns (like languages) are always
capitalized.
v. In titles of publications, the first and last word are always
capitalized, and all other words are capitalized except articles,
coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions.
h. Use the correct pronoun (subject or object) for a given situation, especially
in situations of compound pronouns (“She and I went to the store.”)
i. Identify and correct errors with pronoun-antecedent agreement.
j. Recognize when the antecedent of a pronoun is unclear or missing and
correct the error.
k. Distinguish between linking verbs, action verbs, and helping verbs.
l. Identify the verb or verb phrase in an example sentence.
m. Identify examples of gerunds and infinitives.
n. Write correct sentences that contain gerunds and infinitives.
o. Identify examples of “perfect” and “progressive” verb phrases in all three
tenses.
p. Write correct sentences that contain “perfect” and “progressive” verb
phrases.
q. Choose the most effective type of verb phrase to convey the desired
meaning.
KEYS TO THE UNIT:
There shouldn’t be any new concepts during these two weeks. So try to take advantage
of the five-minute correction session to review not only the day’s questions but the
concepts behind it and particular skills your students have worked on over the last ten
weeks or so.
LITERATURE:
This unit contains example selections from the novel I
Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be
Your Class President by Josh Lieb.
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
One
Trimester One Review
In your own words…
1. What is proofreading? Reading a text to look for grammatical
errors and marking those errors for correction.
2. What is a homophone? A word that sounds the same as another
word but has a different pronunciation and meaning.
Choose the correct homophone:
3. When you want to talk about something they own: (their /
they’re)
4. Can I come (to / too / two) the store with you?
Identify the gerunds and infinitives in the following sentences from I Am a Genius of
Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb:
5. I sit on the toilet and munch Milk Duds until the bell rings. I
have some more heavy thinking to do. I’ll tell Sheldrake to
gas up the blimp.
6. After my more spineless classmates finished nominating each
other for the more meaningless offices, we got to the meat of
the issue: nominations for class president. Naturally, five
people nearly got into a fistfight in their eagerness to
nominate Jack Chapman.
In the correction session, you might make note of the fact that some of these gerunds
and infinitives are part of gerund or infinitive phrases.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 ANAGRAM: Rearrange the letters in the nonsense phrase
below to create new words that actually make sense.
LOON LANDS INN WATCHING
(Hint: Great Commanders in Chief)
Washington and Lincoln
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Two
Trimester One Review
In your own words…
1. What is a pronoun? A word that takes the place of a noun
2. What is an antecedent? The noun a particular pronoun is meant to
replace
Choose the correct homophone:
3. A verb meaning to put on clothing: (where / were / wear)
4. How will the rain (effect / affect) the baseball game today?
Choose the correct pronoun from the pair of options:
5. My grandma and (I / me) get along pretty well.
6. I look at (her / she) and Max like they’re aliens.
Which sentence has proper pronoun-antecedent agreement?
7. A - Each employer should take responsibilities for their
employees.
B - Each employer should take responsibilities for his or her
employees.
8. A - The team won its final game.
B - The team won their final game.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 EIGHT LETTERS: Create as many words as you can using three or
more of the letters below (at least one eight-letter word is possible):
PORWDYLA
Wordplay
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Three
Trimester One Review
In your own words…
1. What is the difference between an action verb and a linking
verb? An action verb shows action, obviously, but a linking verb just
makes a statement by connecting the subject to another word or
phrase.
2. What is a helping verb? Give three examples. A word that you
connect with a main verb to create a verb phrase: should, will, had,
are, can, ought to, etc.
Choose the correct homophone:
3. If you don’t win something, you… (lose / loose)
4. I think you (past / passed) by me at some point in the (past /
passed).
Identify the spelling errors in the following excerpts from I Am a Genius of Unspeakable
Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb (there are four in each):
5. Next to Liz stands vice principal Hruska, a grizzled old Pro
one year shy of retirement, who’s stuck with the job of
announcing the student council Nominees.
6. Tatiana is the evil santa. She sits in a folding chair, leaning
back against the wall, leafing through my Mother’s giant stack
of old Knitter’s world magazines, and yelling, “move your
keister, Michaels. This tub of lard ain’t gonna elect himself.”
7. At this Precise moment, I am in mr. Moorhead’s english class
as he prattles on about fahrenheit 451.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 CATALOGUE CREATOR: The root word “-fin-” means “end or
finished.” How many words can you list that contain this root?
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Four
Trimester One Review
Read the following excerpt from I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be
Your Class President by Josh Lieb and then answer the following questions:
(a) He should be staring down at his plate, rethinking his entire
youth, realizing just how empty his school-age accomplishments
were, since I can equal them. (b) Or he should be looking at me
with admiration. (c) He should be slapping me on the back, giving
me a proud and hearty “Good work, Kid.” (d) Or he should be
weeping. (e) Weeping would be fine.
1. Sentence (a) has two verb phrases. What are they? should be
staring, can equal
2. Is the word “should” in sentence (b) an action verb, linking
verb, or helping verb? helping verb
3. Is “slapping” in sentence (c) a gerund? no, it’s part of a verb
phrase
4. Which sentence uses “weeping” as a gerund (d or e)? e
Using the proper proofreading marks, correct the six errors in this excerpt:
Hes looking down at lolli, who is glaring up him at with hate like
sp.
he has never seen before. She sounds like she swalowd a chain
saw. She needs a walk” I say.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 FIXER-ROOTER: How many words can you think of that have the
same prefix, suffix, or root as the multisyllabic word below?
EXTEMPORANEOUS
(done or made without much or any preparation)
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Five
Trimester One Review
In your own words…
1. What is an infinitive? Give three examples. The word “to”
followed by a verb; to walk, to run, to sleep, etc.
2. What is a gerund? Give three examples. A verbal ending in –ing
used as a noun; walking, running, sleeping, etc.
Choose the correct homophone:
3. If you’re weighing to options or alternatives: (whether /
weather)
4. I (lead / led) them to the place in the mountains where they
could find deposits of (lead / led).
Complete the following sentences by adding the type of verb phrase in parentheses:
Answers will vary.
5. (past progressive) Grandpa was serving in Vietnam in 1969.
6. (present perfect) I’d better go home now; I have played long
enough already.
Rewrite the word or phrase following the proofreading marks (the words are nonsensical
so you focus on the proofreading mark and not on the words):
7. crabslap crab slap
8. lark spark spark lark
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 DESCRAMBLER: Try to sort out the five scrambled words below:
RTEA ILBEB KCSLSA NRIRGEA ROTBRUIS
Tear
Bible
Slacks
Earring
Burritos
Ten-Minute
DAY
Six
Grammar
Trimester One Review
Read the following excerpt from I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be
Your Class President by Josh Lieb and then answer the following questions:
The rumbling is coming from Lollipop. She glares with cold
hatred at Daddy. Her tongue hangs out of her mouth like
an animal she has caught and killed. Maybe she didn’t like
the way he stopped holding hands with Mom. Or maybe
she sensed that I didn’t like it.
1. Find a present progressive verb phrase in the excerpt. is
coming (stopped holding also counts)
2. Find a present perfect verb phrase in the excerpt. has caught
(has caught and killed or has killed also count)
3. Find a gerund in the excerpt. rumbling
4. Take the verb “sensed” from the last sentence and change it
to present tense and future tense. senses, will sense
Using the proper proofreading marks, correct the six errors in this excerpt:
Mr. Pin ckney says, “who are you?”
sp.
The Motivator smiles (and it is a terifiing smile) and says “I suggest
you reconsider putting putting Oliver Watson on the ballot for
class president”
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 VOWEL COMBINATOR: The vowel combination “oo” can make
the the “double-o” sound in “boo” or the “u” sound in “book.” List as
many words as you can that contain this vowel combo making the
“u” sound (not the double-o.)
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Seven
Trimester One Review
In your own words…
1. What is a perfect verb phrase? Give three examples. Consists of
“have” followed by a past participle verb; have walked, had run, will
have slept
2. What is a progressive verb phrase? Give three examples.
Consists of “be” followed by a present participle verb; are walking,
were running, will be sleeping
Choose the correct homophone:
3. To introduce an event that comes after another event: (then /
than)
4. The dog chased (its / it’s) tail for hours; (its / it’s) a stupid
dog.
Read the following excerpt from I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be
Your Class President by Josh Lieb and then list all of the nouns and verbs or verb phrases
in each:
5. I shouldn’t be surprised by their lack of enthusiasm. As it turns
out, Randy Sparks’s late entry in the race wasn’t even the
biggest news at school today.
6. Even if my surveillance cameras hadn’t taken photographs
proving that the vandal is actually Jordie Moscowitz (he’s a
real winner), I would have had a very hard time believing
that someone so thoroughly pink as our Tati would choose
to express herself in blue.
In the correction session it might be good to remind students of the tricks we learned in
the Noun and Verb unit for recognizing nouns and verbs:
NOUNS – Only a noun can make sense after an article like (the, an, or a); only a
noun can be owned (or can come after a possessive noun or pronoun)
VERBS – Only a verb can change tenses; so if you change the word’s tense and it
still makes sense in context, it is a verb.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 EIGHT LETTERS: Create as many words as you can using three or
more of the letters below (at least one eight-letter word is possible):
SEOIPSRM
Promises
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Eight
Trimester One Review
Choose the correct homophone:
1. To perceive something by your ear: (here / hear)
2. (Whose / Who’s) that guy (whose / who’s) car got stolen?
Add a gerund phrase to the following sentences: Answers will vary.
3. Getting into college has become more difficult each year.
4. My worst fear is drowning in the ocean.
Add an infinitive phrase to the following sentences: Answers will vary.
5. To get a good job, you have to work very hard.
6. I spend over a thousand dollars to buy a used car.
Complete the following sentences by adding the type of verb phrase in parentheses:
Answers will vary.
7. (future perfect) I will have read the book by tomorrow night.
8. (present progressive) The apes are coming; we’d better run!
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 FOUR-LETTER WORDS: Take the four-letter word below and change
one letter to make a new four-letter word (keep it clean!) Then take
that word and change one letter to make a new word. Then take that
word and… You get the picture.
JUST
Ten-Minute
Grammar
DAY
Nine
Trimester One Review
In your own words…
1. What is a verbal? A word derived from a verb that doesn’t act as a
verb.
Choose the correct homophone:
2. The female version of a wizard: (which / witch)
3. (Your / You’re) girlfriend said (your / you’re) kind of a jerk.
Choose the most effective verb or verb phrase from the options:
4. I couldn’t study because the neighbors (blasted / were
blasting) their music at full volume.
5. My sister (has watched / watched) Tinkerbell at least a
hundred times.
6. Mom and Dad will have left by the time you (had finished /
finish) getting ready.
7. I soon (had learned / learned) that a flood had destroyed our
home.
This sentence has a pronoun with an unclear antecedent. Rewrite it to fix the problem:
8. I slammed my hand into the locker and it broke.
EXAMPLE: I broke my hand when I slammed it into the
locker.
Wordplay – Just for fun!
 ANAGRAM: Rearrange the letters in the nonsense phrase
below to create new words that actually make sense.
JOY OF HURT FLU
(Hint: independence)
Fourth of July