Lesson 4
Name:
Anchor Text: “The Aces Phone”
Number:
Vocabulary
Write a summary paragraph about “The Aces Phone” using each of the following
vocabulary words. You may change the endings. Use the essential question as a
guide.
Torrent
accustomed
clustered
transmissions
doleful
Void
swiveled
clamor
urgent
coaxed
Literature
Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1.
What is the genre of the “The Aces Phone” selection? Knowing the genre,
what did you predict might be plot of this story?
2. How does Martin react to the feelings he experiences when he first uses
the phone? Support your answers with evidence from the text.
3. Look at pages 109 and 110. Describe the setting using text evidence.
4. On page 110, the author uses alliteration. Where does he do so, and how
does it affect the mood of the scene?
5. Using the chart below, describe how Martin originally felt about Mrs.
DeSalvio and then how he changes his opinion.
Evidence of Martin’s feelings about
Mrs. DeSalvio before he gets to
know her.
Evidence of Martin’s feelings about
Mrs. DeSalvio after he gets to know
her.
6. What do you think Mrs. D means when she asks Martin if he can “handle the
strange”?
7. Explain what ACES means and how discovering that information keeps the
plot moving.
8. Why is it important that Martin keep moving towards feelings that are
worse? Use text evidence to support your answer.
9. What do Martin’s actions with the ACES phone tell you about his
personality? Again, use text evidence.
10. Martin says, “I can’t,” but he keeps going. What does this suggest about
him?
11. Does Mrs. D just give Martin the responsibility of the ACES phone? If not,
why not?
12. How does the story end?
Proofreading Plaza
Edit the following sentences.
1. Eating and sleep are two thing my dogs must do every day.
2. My favorite City to visit is New York city.
3. Scientists have discovered strange animals in the pacific ocean.
4. Austin a city is texas is very friendly to dogs.
5. Sally works for The magic Bowl a local pet-food company.
Grammar Grove
T h e
P r o p e r
N o u n
Recognize a proper noun when you see one.
Nouns name people, places, and things. Every noun can further be classified as common or
proper. A proper noun has two distinctive features: 1) it will name a specific [usually a oneof-a-kind] item, and 2) it will begin with a capital letter no matter where it occurs in a
sentence.
Check out the chart below:
Common Noun
Proper Noun
writer
teacher
beagle
cookie
city
restaurant
document
school
Herman Melville
Mrs. Hacket
Snoopy
Oreo
Orlando
Tito's Taco Palace
Declaration of Independence
University of Southern California
Read the following sentences. Notice the difference between the common and proper
nouns.
Tina offered Antonio one of her mother's homemade oatmeal cookies but only
an Oreo would satisfy his sweet tooth.
Cookies = common noun; Oreo = proper noun.
Charlie had wanted an easy teacher for his composition class, but he got Mrs.
Hacket, whose short temper and unreasonable demands made the semester a
torture.
Teacher = common noun; Mrs. Hacket = proper noun.
Gloria wanted to try a new restaurant, so Richard took her to Tito's Taco
Palace, where no one dips into the hot sauce until the drinks have arrived at
the table.
Restaurant = common noun; Tito's Taco Palace = proper noun.
More Practice:
Definition: A common noun is an idea, person, place, or thing. It can be acted upon and is capitalized
only at the start of a sentence. A common noun can be a single word, a group of words, or a hyphenated
word.
Examples: It takes self-control
idea
for a teenager
person
to drive to school
place
in a sports car.
thing
Writing Hints
Whenever possible, use specific common nouns rather than general common nouns.
Practice
Sort the following common nouns as an idea, person, place, or thing in the correct columns:
mountain, friendship, teacher, neighborhood, food, self-image, freedom, toy, fire-fighter, cousin, rock,
country, lamp stand, football stadium, police officer, self-confidence, grandfather clock, family room,
brother-in-law, world peace
IDEA
_________________
PERSON
PLACE
THING
_________________ _________________ _________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
Application
Compose four sentences, using a common noun from each category. Use none of the common nouns
listed on this worksheet. Be as specific as possible.
idea __________________________________________________________________________
person ________________________________________________________________________
place _________________________________________________________________________
thing _________________________________________________________________________
Definition: A proper noun is the name of a person, place, or thing. It can be acted upon and is
capitalized. A proper noun may be a single word, a group of words (with or without abbreviations), or a
hyphenated word.
Examples: Josh was honored
person
at U.S. Memorial Auditorium place
with the Smith-Lee Award.
thing
Writing Hints
Capitalize all words that make up proper nouns, except articles (a, an, and the),
prepositions, such as of, to, and from, and conjunctions, such as and, or, and but.
Practice
Circle the proper nouns in the following story. Make sure to circle all words belonging to each proper
noun.
John Francis left his home in Beatrice, Nebraska in 1941, shortly before the start of World War II.
Traveling first by bus to Chicago, he then boarded the Southwestern Chief to ride to Los Angeles. At
Grand Central Station, John met his sister, Jane, and immediately began looking for part-time work and
an apartment. He found employment at Blix Hardware on Western Avenue and a room to rent in nearby
South Hollywood.
When war was declared, John enlisted in the army and was stationed at Fort Ord. He played
trumpet in the Army Band and was promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant. The United States was
fortunate to have so many young men, like John, serving their country.
After the war in 1945, John enrolled in the University of Southern California, paying his tuition
with money from the G.I. Bill. Graduating Cum Laude with degrees in Business and Social Science, he
continued to play trumpet in clubs all over Southern California. Upon marrying Janice Jones, he took a
job at California Federal Savings and Loan and was promoted to Senior Vice-President. He and his wife
raised two children, who both graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles. John retired in
1980 to travel and play his trumpet.
Application
Compose your own sentence with person, place, and thing proper nouns.
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