Vocabulary Activities

1. Vocabulary Project
Everything you need to know!!

2. Do Now: Identify the parts of speech for each
underlined word in the following excerpt:
Do this in the packet!

3. Answers
1. Pronoun
2. Adverb
3. Preposition
4. Noun
5. Adverb
6. Verb
7. Conjunction
8. Preposition
9. Verb
10.Pronoun
11. Adjective
12. Noun
13. Adverb
14. Conjunction
15. Adjective
16. Noun
17. Verb
18. Preposition
19. Pronoun
20. Verb

5. Prepositional Phrase Letter: P
Prepositions are words that locate you in place or time.
See? Don’t get IN the
car, get ON the car. The
difference in preposition
makes all the difference!!

6. Prepositional Phrase Letter: P
Prepositions are words that locate you in place or time.

7. You try…

8. Try a few more….
Fill in the blank with a prepositional phrase.

9. What prepositions
can you find here?
How many
prepositional
PHRASES are
there?

10. Verbs and Adverbs Letters: C, K
This one’s easy. Remember
that adverbs end with…???
Yes, you know it!
What do they do? Yes!!
Keep in mind that many common adverbs
(just, still, almost) do not end in -ly, and not all
words that end in -ly (friendly, neighborly) are
adverbs

11. THIS IS A RACE!!!

12. 1. Students in art history class (present perfect progressive
of study) the great painters.
2. With her enigmatic smile, Leonardo daVinci’s Mona Lisa
(present perfect of charm) art lovers for centuries.
3. Although admired now, the Impressionits (past emphatic
form of find) themselves scorned by their peers.
4. As we look at Rembrandt’s portraits, we (present
progressive of see) the faces of people who lived three
hundred years ago.
5. To make the most of light and color, the Impressionists
(past tense of take) their easels outdoors.

13. Word Search-- Find the Adverbs
"Mr. and Mrs. Little often discussed Stuart quietly between themselves when he wasn’t around, for they
had never quite recovered from the shock and surprise of having a mouse in the family. He was so very
tiny and he presented so many problems to his parents.
After exercising, Stuart would slip on his handsome wool wrapper, tie the cord tightly around his waist, and
start for the bathroom, creeping silently through the long dark hall past his mother’s and father’s room, past
the hall closet where the carpet sweeper was kept, past George’s room, and along by the head of the
stairs till he got to the bathroom.
[Stuart] placed the arrow against the cord of the bow and waited. Snowbell crept softly toward the
bookshelf and climbed noiselessly up in the chair within easy reach of the Boston fern where Margalo was
asleep.

14. Answers
often
quietly
quite
so very
so
tightly
silently
softly
noiselessly

15. BONUS-- GERUND
A gerund is a verb that has an -ing
ending and functions as a noun.
So, what is an -ing word that you enjoy
doing? If you know one thing, then you have
one example of a gerund.

16. BONUS-- GERUND
I like tacos
noun verb
noun
I like holding
lambs.
noun verb noun (this is
a gerund phrase)

17. Learning is easy if you pay attention.
“Learning is easy” is a
gerund phrase. It uses
“learning” as a noun.
I guarantee that there will
be at least 1 gerund question
on the ECA, since it is a 10th
grade requirement.

18. Gerund sentences
For each question, change the sentence so that it uses a gerund, like this: It is
important to study hard. --> Studying hard is important.
Write the new sentence on your own paper.
1. It is difficult to read Japanese.
2. It is essential for a business person to have a laptop
computer.
3. It is depressing to be old.
4. It was exciting to climb Ararat Mountain in 1998.
5. It will be hard to pass the final test.

19. BONUS-- GERUND
You can use a gerund as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence.
DO NOW:
1. Choose one of the following verbs
a. cook
b. read
c. swim
2. add an -ing
3. Now write a sentence that uses it as the subject of your sentence (it should come
toward the beginning)
4. Now use that word as the object (it should come toward the end)
When you are done,
give your paper to your
neighbor to check.

20. Sentence Structure Letter: F
What are the subject and predicate of a sentence?
I walked the dog.
I walked the dog.
subject predicate
So if you have the “F” word “feather”, you’d need to write
something like, “The feather fell from the bird and onto the
grass where I found it and picked it up.” Then write another
sentence using feather as a predicate.

21. Use 2 phrases as the SUBJECT and 2 phrases
as the PREDICATE
a bowl made of pale blue glass
a cat with one blue eye and one brown eye
someone I haven’t seen in many years
every available volunteer in the group

22. Sentence Variety Letters: H, I
Simple: I walked the dog. (It’s an independent clause.)
Compound: I walked the dog, but my mother cleaned the
cat box. (2 independent clauses linked with a comma and a
conjunction)
Complex: Even though it was raining, I walked the dog. (a
dependent clause linked to a independent clause by a
comma)

23. BONUS-- COMPOUND COMPLEX
This type of sentence has, at minimum,
complex
compound
dependent + independent + independent
independent + independent + dependent
compound
complex

24. BEST 10 WIN
1. Find a group of 5 or 6.
2. On your packet, write the names of your
team members in the order you want
them to appear in the game.
3. Practice identifying sentence types on the
next page of your packet.

25. Rules
1. Close your packet. Put it under your desk
or somewhere that is not visible.
2. Each team member will go twice (unless
you only have 5 people. 2 team members
will only go once)

26. Team Member #1
Please get ready.

27. Identify this sentence.
Many teenagers work with older people in old
age homes.

28. Team Member 2
Please get ready

29. Identify this sentence
People who volunteer not only help others, but
they help themselves as well.

30. Team Member #3
Please get ready.

31. Identify this sentence
Students will organize a food drive this
November, but many people still don't have
enough to eat.

32. Team Member #4
Please get ready

33. Identify this sentence
Many people are afraid to donate their money
because there are so many scams.

34. Team Member 5
Please get ready.

35. Identify this sentence
Many people work long and hard for their
money.

36. Team Member 1 or 6
Please get ready

37. Identify this sentence
Older people usually like being around young
people.

38. Team Member 2
Please get ready

39. Identify this sentence
Since there are so many good causes, you
have to be careful with your money.

40. Team Member 3
Please get ready

41. Identify this Sentence
Some schools do volunteer service projects,
and other schools don't organize their teen
students.

42. Team Member 4
Please get ready

43. Identify this sentence
Many students make bag lunches that are
distributed at a shelter.

44. Team Member 5
Please get ready

45. Identify this sentence
Although ways of volunteering are very
different, you should try to help any way that
you can, and encourage your friends to join in
as well!

46. Conjunctions-- FANBOYS
Letters: E, S
When you have two independent clauses,
you can connect them with a conjunction
and a comma (the conjunction is a
FANBOYS--for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

47. Conjunctions and Commas
Coordinating conjunctions (AKA FANBOYS)
connect two independent clauses.
The comma goes BEFORE the conjunction.

48. Look at your FANBOYS page in
the packet.

49. Conjunctions and Commas
● Hemingway and Fitzgerald are among the American expatriates of the
between-the-wars era.
● Hemingway was renowned for his clear style and his insights into American
notions of male identity.
● It is hard to say whether Hemingway or Fitzgerald is the more interesting
cultural icon of his day.
● Although Hemingway is sometimes disparaged for his unpleasant portrayal of
women and for his glorification of machismo, we nonetheless find some
sympathetic, even heroic, female figures in his novels and short stories.
In most of their other roles as joiners (other than joining independent clauses, that is), coordinating
conjunctions can join two sentence elements without the help of a comma.

50. Commas and Lists Letter: W
Remember that you
usually do need a
comma at the end of the
list.
Yes, it’s optional, but
the last comma can
change the meaning.

51. Appositive Phrases-Letter: N
An appositive is a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside
it. ApPOSITIVE phrases are so you can be 100% POSITIVE about what the writer is
talking about. The appositive can be a short or long combination of words. Look at
these examples: The insect, a cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.
The insect, a large cockroach, is crawling across the kitchen table.
The insect, a large cockroach with hairy legs, is crawling across the kitchen
table.
The insect, a large, hairy-legged cockroach that has spied my bowl of
oatmeal, is crawling across the kitchen table.

52. Parenthetical Expression Letter: T
A parenthetical expression is an expression which is inserted into the flow of
thought. It may be in the middle of a sentence or between sentences, but it
does not deal directly with the topic at hand.
of course however
I believe moreover
after all nevertheless
by the way otherwise
in my opinion therefore
for example
to tell the truth

53. 1. Queen Elizabeth who rules England is a popular monarch.
2. Dan enjoys the paintings of Picasso an artist who was born in Spain.
3. Sharon is in my opinion the person who deserves the English prize.
4. St. Louis which is in the Midwest is known as the Gateway City.
5. Speaking to our club, Mr. Paulson the well-known photographer
showed and discussed some of his pictures.
6. Walking briskly is considered I understand a good form of exercise.
7. Marge for example does not plan to participate because of the high fee.
8. My father who was eighty-six stills skis at Bromley our local ski slope.
9. The Daytona 500 one of the most famous car races is held once a year
10. It goes without saying of course that Emily's parents were very proud.

54. Passive vs. Active Voice Letter: L

56. Colons Letters: O, X
Look in your notes! We take them for a reason!!-- you should have all of this!
There are 4 rules
Rule 1 – use one after the salutation of a business letter
Example: To whom it may concern:
Rule 2 --
Use one after an independent clause to introduce a list of items when
introductory words do NOT appear.
Example: Several things go well with peanut butter: chocolate, celery, and
bacon.

57. Colons
Rule 3-- Use one to introduce a long or formal statement or quotation when it
comes after an independent clause.
Example: The acting director often used her favorite quotation from
Shakespeare's Tempest: “We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our
little life is rounded with a sleep.”
Rule 4--Use a colon instead of a semicolon between two sentences when the
second sentence explains or illustrates the first sentence and no coordinating
conjunction is being used to connect the sentences.
I enjoy reading: novels by Kurt Vonnegut are among my favorites.

58. Semi Colon Letters: J, M
Use them between
independent clauses.
Normally, you’d use a comma
and a coordinating
conjunction, but if the
relationship between the
clauses is clear without a
conjunction, you can just use
a semicolon

59. Semi Colon Letters: J, M
Use a semicolon before a subordinating
conjunction to connect to independent
clauses.
The festival was to be held today;
however, it was canceled due to the
rainy weather.
Other subordinating conjunctions are
nevertheless, moreover, although,
inasmuch as, though, and thus

60. Semi Colon Letters: J, M
Use a semicolon between
items in a series (list) that
contains internal
punctuation.
In this capacity, the
semicolon is a
“supercomma.”
"The President spoke to the
press on Monday, the day after
he decided he wouldn't seek a
second term; on Wednesday, the
day after he changed his mind;
and on Friday, when the polls
showed a downturn in his
popularity rating."

61. BONUS-- Dash
The dash works somewhat like a parenthesis
or commas, but is used when stronger
punctuation is needed.
Independent clause -- thought -- independent clause.

62. BONUS
Dash:
What does a dash say??
The Pause Dash
“Right here, I want you
to take a breath. What
you will read next
relates to what you have
just read in an
interesting way, and I
would like to emphasize
it.”
-- Dash
Abby gave me the worst mullet
hair cut -- and expected a tip!!

63. Dash I’m like the look
your teacher
gives you when
you’re in the
middle of an
EPIC story. I’ll
cut you off mid
sentence.
-- Dash

64. Quotations Letter: V
1. Use quotes to indicate something directly said.
He asked “when I would be there.” “When will you be here?” he asked.
Choose the correct example:
2. Punctuation marks go _____________ (inside / outside) the quotes.
Choose the correct example:
Squiggly said, “I hate packing.” Squiggly said, “I hate packing”.

65. Sensory Detail Letters: A, Y, Z

66. Foreshadowing Letter: D

67. Draw a Representation
Letters: B, G, Q, R, U