Work Packet E, Week of Sept. 21-25

Reading Homework: Read your September book at least 30
minutes a night, at least five nights a week. You should be
finished with your book by Friday. (Please remember to
bring your book on Wednesday for silent reading.)

Writing Homework: When you have finished reading your
September book write a letter to me about the book, following
the checklist on the back of this paper. The letter is due by
Friday.

Grammar: Nouns and Adjectives: Do practice page in class. It
is due on Friday.

Vocabulary: Write sentences for the vocabulary words
attached and learn them for a quiz next Friday (10/2).
This week in class:
Monday: Project Success. LT: I can set goals for myself.
Tuesday: Begin Reading the story “The Chase.” Getting the
Gist and Sharing Questions. LT: I can get the gist of what I
read. I can formulate questions as I read.
Wednesday: Silent Reading. Plot Graph, Goldilocks and the
Three Bears. Examples of Good Letters. LT: I can graph the
plot of a narrative.
Thursday: Nouns and Adjectives. Continuing the story “The
Chase”: Finding Significant Moments. LT: I can identify what
is significant in a narrative.
Friday: Silent Reading Time: September Book letter and
Nouns and Adjectives practice due. LT: I can write a letter
about what I’ve read. I can recognize nouns and adjectives.
GRAMMAR PRACTICE: Nouns and Adjectives
Nouns are persons, places, things, or ideas.
Adjectives are words that modify (that is, change or tell about)
nouns or pronouns. Adjectives tell what kind, how many, or which
ones about the words they modify.
The suspicious detective asked some clever questions.
TIP: Adjectives can be made from nouns
AND
Nouns can be made from adjectives
EXAMPLE NO. 1: Adding the suffix ness changes an adjective to an
idea noun
Adjective
He was lonely after the game.
Noun
Loneliness overcame him after the game.
Adjective
The empty box was sitting on the counter.
Noun
The emptiness of the box surprised us all.
EXAMPLE NO. 2: Changing the suffix ant to ance, or ent to ence,
changes an adjective to an idea noun.
Adjective
This book is different from the other book.
Noun
The difference between the two books is in their pictures.
Adjective
He had an important meeting after school.
Noun
The importance of the meeting had been exaggerated.
Name____________________________________Date__________Period________
VOCABULARY for “The Chase”
solitude (p. 2), idea noun: aloneness
Sentence from the story: In the intervals between cars we reverted to the
natural solitude of childhood.
Your sentence using the word: _________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
improvising (p. 3), verb: making it up as you go along
Sentence from the story: We kept improvising, backyard after backyard,
running a frantic course and choosing it simultaneously.
Your sentence using the word: _________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
exhilarated (p. 3), adjective: filled with an excited joy
Sentence from story: [We were] discovering always, exhilarated, dismayed, that
only bare speed could save us—for he would never give up, this man . . .
Your sentence using the word: _________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
dismayed (p. 3), adjective: shocked; alarmed
Sentence from story: [We were] discovering always, exhilarated, dismayed, that
only bare speed could save us—for he would never give up, this man . . . Your
sentence using the word: _________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
perfunctorily (p. 4), adverb: in a way that is routine, mechanical, or offhand
Sentence from the story: “You stupid kids,” he began perfunctorily.
Your sentence using the word: _________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Name_______________________________Date______________Period_________
PRACTICE IDENTIFYING NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES



Underline all the nouns in each sentence
Circle the adjectives (Do not circle the articles a, an, and the)
Draw an arrow from the adjective to the noun that it modifies.
Example: The huge crowd appeared excited and restless.
1. Two old prospectors and a weary mule trudged across the desert.
2. The loyal fans cheered their team in the final game.
3. Their lunch consisted of homemade soup and toasted muffins.
4. Our European guests were weary after the long trip.
5. Frank looked ridiculous in that baggy costume.
6. Many American tourists visit the sunny Mexican beaches.
7. The huge gray mansion was famous for antique furniture.
8. These old stamps might be valuable in future years.
9. Several fine museums in major cities exhibit his works.
10.
That floral wallpaper in the hall looks wonderful.
Writing Assignment: Letter to Ms. Athorn
Now that you have finished your book for September, your written
work for this week is to write a letter to me about the book. (I will
give you time in class this week to write the letter, so that I can
show you what makes a good one before you start.) Your letter is
required to have the following things in it. Please put a checkmark
next to each requirement below to confirm that you have followed it.
Attach this checklist to the back of your letter.
_____ It should have a heading at the top (name, date, period)
_____ It should include a salutation (Dear Ms. Athorn,)
_____ It should include an appropriate closing with your name
(Sincerely, ________________________)
_____ It should be about one-page long.
_____ It should include at least two indented paragraphs.
_____ It should use complete sentences that start with capital
letters and end with a period or other endmark.
In the course of the letter, you should do the following:
First Paragraph:
______ Give the title and the author of the book.
______ Talk about how you liked the book.
______ Talk about how things worked out for your main
character(s).
Second Paragraph:
______ Describe the main conflict(s) in the book and how it
was resolved.
______ Talk about what point you think is the “climax” of the
book—that point late in the book when things are most
exciting, just before the conflict begins to be resolved.
______ Talk about any “themes” that you find in the book—
messages about life or people from the author.
DUE DATE: Friday, September 25
Template for Letter about a Book:
Name: ____________________________
Date: ____________________
Period __________________
Dear Ms. Athorn,
I have just finished reading my book for this month called
(underline title or use italics) by (Do not underline author’s name). I enjoyed
the book because . . . . (Or, I didn’t like the book because . . . . )
Things worked out well (or did not work out well) for the main
character(s) because . . . (write a few sentences).
The main conflict in the book was . . . . . . (Write a few
sentences explaining the conflict, or problem or issue, that the characters were
dealing with.) It was resolved when . . . . . . .
(Write a few sentences
explaining how the conflict was resolved.) I felt that the climax of the
book occurred when . . . (Write a sentence or two describing the high point
of the action.)
Now that I have finished my book, I think that one of the
important themes was . . . . . (Write a sentence or two explaining a theme,
what the author was trying to say about life or people.)
Sincerely, (careful of spelling)
(Your name)