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Hoop Dreams

(1) Since he was little Gregory loved basketball. (2) His 7th grade basketball coach Mr. Freeman noticed that he was very talented. (3) Everyone noticed. (4) Gregory could move up and down the court faster than any of his teammates, he averaged 20 points a game, and he had a "mean" jump shot. (5) One day Gregory arrived home and his mother was sitting at the kitchen table. (6) She was holding his report card, Gregory knew that he was in trouble. (7) He had been so focused on basketball that his grades were slipping. (8) Before Gregory could speak, his mother told him that she called the coach and had him removed from the team. (9) Gregorys heart stopped. (10) Basketball was his life. (11) Now, it was all over.

1. What change, if any, should be made to sentence 1? A. Change Gregory to gregory B. Insert a comma after little C. Change since to although D. No change should be made

2. What change should be made in sentence 2? A. Change noticed to notices B. Insert a comma after coach and after Freeman C. Change he to they D. Change was to will be

3. What change should be made to sentence 6? A. Change his to their B. Change knew to new C. Insert and after the comma D. Change trouble to truble

4. What change should be made to sentence 5? A. Change and to but B. Insert a semi-colon before and C. Change was to is D. Insert a comma after home

5. What change, if any, should be made to sentence 9? A. Change stopped to stops B. Change Gregorys to Gregory's C. Delete the 's D. No change should be made

Balancing Act

(1) Sophia Hernandez is known for her grace and poise on the balance beam. (2) Her passion for gymnastics comes with a price. (3) She enjoys hanging out with her little brother. (4) It takes dedication, hard, work, and perseverance. (5) When all her friends are going to the movies on a Saturday night Sophia is in the studio rehearsing her next routine. (6) Sophia's life as a gymnast means that her family also has to make some sacrifices. (7) Her dad, John has to work two jobs to pay for Sophia's gymnast classes. (8) Her mom has to drive cross country to get Sophia to her competitions. (9) Even though her life isn't easy, she hopes that it will soon pay off.

1. What change, if any, should be made to sentence 1? A. Change on to in B. Insert a comma after grace C. Delete the word is D. No change should be made

2. What change should be made to sentence 4? A. Change perseverance to persirverance B. Delete the comma after hard C. Change and to but D. Change takes to take

3. What change should be made to sentence 5? A. Change rehearsing to rehearsed B. Insert a comma after night C. Change when to because D. No change should be made

4. What change should be made to sentence 7? A. Change Sophia's to Sophias' B. Change two to too C. Insert a comma after John D. Insert an apostrophe after classes

5. Which sentence should be deleted? A. Sentence 2 B. Sentence 3 C. Sentence 7 D. Sentence 8

New Kid on the Block

(1) "Mom I'm going to the pool," shouted Michael, "I will be back by dinner."

(2) "Okay, see you later," shouted his mother Janet, as she folded the laundry on the living room sofa.

(3) Michael had spent the entire summer at the swimming pool. (4) He would wake up, grab his swim trunks, and dashed out the door. (5) This didn't bother Michael's mother because she was happy that he finally made some friends. (6) They had just moved here from Little Rock, AR, so it was nice to see her son making friends and getting out of the house more. (7) She was worried when they first moved to Texas even though her son stayed in his room and played video games all day. (8) That he had something to do, Janet no longer had to worry about Michael being unhappy.

1. What change should be made to sentence 1? A. Insert a comma after Mom B. Change by to bye C. Change the period to a question mark D. Delete the comma after Michael

2. What change should be made to sentence 2? A. Change Janet to janet B. Change the comma after Janet to a period C. Change laundry to lawndry D. Insert a comma after mother

3. What change, if any, would you make to sentence 4? A. Delete the comma after up B. Change dashed to dash C. Change wake to woke D. No change should be made

4. What change should be made to sentence 7? A. Change games to games' B. Change the period to a question mark C. Insert a comma after Texas D. Change even though to because

5. Which transition word or phrase could best be added to the beginning of sentence 8? A. Now B. Although C. Even though D. If

Brotherly Love

(1) Josh, Dan's younger brother, was like a moskito. (2) He was always following Dan around the house and tagging along behind Dan and his friends whenever they would go to the arcade. (3) This irritated Dan but he had to deal with it. (4) Dan's parents paid him allowance for watching his younger brother during the summer, which meant Josh has the "right" to tag-along. (5) One Tuesday afternoon, they were walking to the store when a ferocious looking dog approached them. (6) Dan and his friends begun running, but Josh couldn't keep up with them. (7)When Dan turned around, he noticed that Josh had managed to climb a tree and escape from the dog. (8) Josh had never been so releived in his life. (9) It was at that moment when he realized how much he loved his little brother.

1. What change, if any, should be made to sentence 1? A. Change moskito to mosquito B. Delete the comma after Josh C. Change Dan's to Dans D. No change should be made

2. What change should be made to sentence 3? A. Change the comma to a semicolon B. Change he to him C. Insert a comma after Dan D. Change irritated to irritated

3. What change should be made to sentence 4? A. Change has to had B. Change parents to parent's C. Delete him D. Change him to them

4. What changes, if any, should be made to sentence 6? A. Delete the comma after but B. Change couldn't to could'nt C. Change begun to began D. No changes should be made

5. What changes should be made to sentence 8? A. Change had to was B. Insert a comma after been C. Delete the period D. Change releived to relieved

Broken Heart

(1) It was the start of 8th grade year since Anthony met Michelle.(2) When he saw her, his heart skipped a beat. (3) Should he write her a note? (4) Would she think he was to much of a nerd? (5) All Anthony knew was that he liked Michelle. (6) When he arrived to 6th period, he was happy to see a open seat next to his crush. (7) He went to his chair.(8) The entire class erupted in laughter. (9) Anthony got up and sat in his chair. (10) He new Michelle would never want to be his girlfriend after he'd embarrassed himself in front of the entire class.

1. Where is the best place to insert this sentence?

He was so busy looking at Michelle that he missed his seat and tumbled to the ground.

A. After sentence 2 B. After sentence 5 C. After sentence 7 D. After sentence 8

2. The word since does not appropriately connect the two clauses in sentence 1. Which word should replace the word since?

A. Because B. If C. Even though D. When

3. What change, if any, should be added to sentence 4? A. Change to to too B. Insert a comma after think C. Delete the word would D. No change should be made

4. What change should be made to sentence 6? A. Delete the comma after period B. Change the comma to a period C. Change a to an D. Change he to they

5. What change, if any, should be made to sentence 10? A. Change knew to new B. Insert a comma after girlfriend C. Change embarrassed to embarassed D. No change should be made

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Answer Key

Hoop Dreams 1. B 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. B

Balancing Act 1. D 2. B 3. B 4. C 5. B

New Kid on the Block 1. A 2. D 3. B 4. D 5. A

Brotherly Love 1. A 2.0 3. A 4. C 5. D

Broken Heart 1. C 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. A

IN= MIME 1■lIl MIMI MI= MIN

Semicolon or Comma? NAME Directions: determine whether the clauses need to be joined with commas or semicolons. Put the proper punctuation on the blank. I. The artist preferred to paint in oils he did not like water colors. 2. Even when the house looks clean there is usually a bunch of dirt swept under the rug. 3. I'm going to leave early today unless the boss comes back from the meeting. 4. The computer can perform many calculations at once however, it cannot reason

at all.

5. In the first place, it was snowing too hard to see the road in the second place, we had no chains. 6. Italy is my favorite foreign country in fact, I plan on staying there for three weeks this summer. 7. The challenges are not impossible but they are very hard to clear. 8. I'm going to do all of my English homework every night because that's how you get an "A". 9. If he misses his appointment he'll have to wait another six months to see the dentist. 10. There are many negative side effects to smoking there are no positive side effects from smoking.

Give it a shot: Write five ORIGINAL sentences that correctly use a semicolon. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Semicolon or Comma Answers

Directions: determine whether the clauses need to be joined with commas or semicolons. Put the proper punctuation on the blank.

1. The artist preferred to paint in oils ; he did not like water colors.

2. Even when the house looks clean , there is usually a bunch of dirt swept under the rug.

3. I'm going to leave early today , unless the boss comes back from the meeting.

4. The computer can perform many calculations at once ; however, it cannot reason at all.

5. In the first place, it was snowing too hard to see the road ; in the second place, we had no chains.

6. Italy is my favorite foreign country ; in fact, I plan on staying there for three weeks this summer.

7. The challenges are not impossible , but they are very hard to clear.

8. I'm going to do all of my English homework every night , because that's how you get an "A".

9. If he misses his appointment , he'll have to wait another six months to see the dentist.

10. There are many negative side effects to smoking ; there are no positive side effects from smoking.

Answers may vary on original sentences.

Name: English

Semicolon - ;

A semicolon allows writers to combine closely related sentences. You can think of this as a semi collision — you crash two sentences with related information together.

Example: The warm breeze floats through the window. It is a beautiful summer day.

Becomes: The warm breeze floats through the window; it is a beautiful summer day.

Semicolon /

Complete Sentences

Examples: A struggle was evident in his face; a struggle with that occasional look which had a tendency in it to dark doubt and dread. — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

1. Label the parts of this sentence:

One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the

revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. — George Orwell, 1984

2. Make this sentence into a semicolon sentence: He saw a girl coming toward him over the grass. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. From F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz"

period

3. Now you try. Create a semi-colon sentence about the weather.

Name: bate:

Fix the following sentences and rewrite.

the minnesota vikings are going to win the game today said josh, a fifth

grade fan

i am excited for spring break and our spring party at school exclaimed lisa.

madison screamed i love being here at school and having new friends

the new books that came from the library look very interesting observed

agatha

i can hardly believe the school day is almost over declared drew

hunter wondered what is going to happen with this crazy weather

i am enjoying these mysteries said keegan I think they are fun to read

indoor recess is my favorite exclaimed devin i love playing carpet ball

fifth grade is the best and i love coming to school every day yelled regan

Comma Practice — Week 1

The following sentences are written with the commas removed. Rewrite the sentences replacing the missing commas. 1. The little boy Nathan chased the ball until it went into the street.

2. Because he knew better he did not try to get it by himself.

3. He asked his older sister Valerie to go across the street to get the ball.

4. Because she loves him she went across the street to get the ball.

5. She told him "You are a good boy for asking me to go and get the ball for you."

Write 3 sentences that include a city and state, and place the commas correctly into the sentences. Examples: My twin daughters were born in Clearwater, Florida. Their baby sister was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, at a different hospital. 6.

7.

8.

Parts of Speech Practice - Week 1

An adjective describes a noun. Identify the adjectives in the following sentences.

1. The little boy, Nathan, chased the ball until it went into the busy street. 2. Because he knew better, he did not try to get the stray ball by himself. 3. He asked his older sister, Valerie, to go across the street to get the small ball. 4. Because she loves her younger brother, she went across the street to find the lost ball. 5. She told him, "You are a good boy for asking me to go and get the ball for you."

In the following sentences, insert adjectives into the blanks.

1. Mom agrees that Kristin and Nicole's hamsters are very but she told the twins that they must take care of them if they want to keep them.

2. In fact, Mom liked the hamsters so much that she went out to Pets Mart to purchase a exercise ball for the animals.

3. The hamsters belong to the twins, Kristin and Nicole, and to their sister, Valerie.

Run-ons and Fragments Practice — Week 1

Identify whether each phrase is a F (fragment), R (run-on), or C (complete sentence).

1. To play basketball, football, and tennis.

2. He plays on many of the school sports team and loves to

run track.

3. With his friends, Alex, Joshua, and Jordan.

4. Katie sometimes goes to watch when he plays.

5. Plays various sports.

Rewrite each run-on sentence by separating it into more than one sentence:

Week 1

The following sentences have been written with all end marks and capital letters removed. Rewrite the sentences, putting the end marks and capital letters back where they belong.

1. the apples are in the refrigerator next to the orange juice

2. there are apples, oranges, and bananas on the dining room table

3. i love to eat kellog's rice krispies cereal for breakfast because it is healthy

4. kristin does not eat strawberries

5. however, her sister, nicole, loves to eat all kinds of fruit

Identify the words that should be capitalized:

washington music store

largo middle school pizza restaurant high school

grocery

Week 2

The following sentences have been written with all end marks and capital letters removed. Rewrite the sentences, putting the end marks and capital letters back where they belong.

1. the kitten was born on June 13, 2006

2. the small kitten chased after the green ball of yarn

3. rachel played fetch with the puppy in the front yard

4. the puppy was so thirsty his tongue was hanging out

5. the students did not want to take their geography test on friday

The following sentences have some errors in capitalization and/or end marks. Rewrite the sentences, making corrections when needed.

6. Marcy and rebecca will be leaving brazil at 8:00 a.m.

7. They will be spending about 12 hours in an Airplane in only one day.

8. They are coming back to the United States to join their Family.

Name

Class

Date

Directions: Circle any word that has a capitalization error in it.

The movie anna and the king starred jodie foster and was set in the country of siam, which now is

named thailand. Reporters for the washington post commented that the president would be traveling to

see governor forbes in maine later this month. The olympics were held at lake placid, new york, many

years ago. Pictures of the gothic cathedral in salisbury, england, cannot do justice to the magnificent

structure built during the middle ages. Construction along route 30 has caused traffic delays and

resulted in money loss for apple chevrolet. a convention held in philadelphia for the republican party

occurred without serious problems from protestors. Students in the central york school district will

soon have a new high school. military leaders met at the state department to discuss the security of

the nation. Every year large numbers of people come out to see the rose bowl parade. The dalai lama

of tibet is a follower of buddhism, yet many christians and muslims look to him for guidance. In

Lancaster, a popular place to visit is long's park, and in maryland, a popular tourist attraction is ladew

topiary gardens. We live in the northeast, yet we often travel west to pittsburgh for our summer vaca-

tions. Sometimes stargazers think the planet venus is a star. Many prominent figures in the british

government spend time at windsor castle. In 1957, the russians launched sputnik into orbit around the

earth. Some seniors decided to boycott the senior prom this year. Over the past five years, pert has

become a popular shampoo among students at franklin and marshall university. One italian sports car,

the bugatti, is priced at over $200,000. R.E.M. wrote a song entitled "the man in the moon" for a

movie that came out during the 1990s. Have you heard of dr. christine marsdow or her friend elaine

blanchett who is also a doctor? Jethro Tull, a classic rock band, performed their album thick as a brick

in front of the eiffel tower. Next year, some students will be taking algebra ii while some students will

be taking class in geometry. May i ask you a question, coach? Recently, anthropologists in russia

uncovered several objects which dated back to the ice age. Police forces from york and windsor town-

ship merged last year.

C*alimtion. Te sk

Name ClassClass

Date _

Directions: Circle any word that has a capitalization error in it.

* * The movie anna and the king starred jodie foster and was set in the country of siam, which now is

named thailand. Reporters for the washington post commented that the president would be traveling to * * *

see governor forbes in maine later this month. The olympics were held at lake placid, new york, many

years ago. Pictures of the gothic cathedral in salisbury, england, cannot do justice to the magnificent * *

structure built during the middle ages. Construction along route 30 has caused traffic delays and

resulted in money loss for apple chevrolet. a convention held in philadelphia for the republican party * *

occurred without serious problems from protestors. Students in the central york school district will

soon have a new high school. military leaders met at the state department to discuss the security of * * * * *

the nation. Every year large numbers of people come out to see the rose bowl parade. The dalai lama

of tibet is a follower of buddhism, yet many christians and muslims look to him for guidance. In * *

Lancaster, a popular place to visit is long's park, and in maryland, a popular tourist attraction is ladew

topiary gardens. We live in the northeast, yet we often travel west to pittsburgh for our summer vaca-

tions. Sometimes stargazers think the planet venus is a star. Many prominent figures in the british

government spend time at windsor castle. In 1957, the russians launched sputnik into orbit around the

earth. Some seniors decided to boycott the senior prom this year. Over the past five years, pert has

become a popular shampoo among students at franklin and marshall university. One italian sports car, * *

the bugatti, is priced at over $200,000. R.E.M. wrote a song entitled "the man in the moon" for a

movie that came out during the 1990s. Have you heard of dr. christine marsdow or her friend elaine

blanchett who is also a doctor? Jethro Tull, a classic rock band, performed their album thick as a brick * *

in front of the eiffel tower. Next year, some students will be taking algebra ii while some students will

be taking class in geometry. May i ask you a question, coach? Recently, anthropologists in russia * *

uncovered several objects which dated back to the ice age. Police forces from york and windsor town-

ship merged last year.

2. Capitalization

Activity 1

The following things should always be capitalized: names of proper nouns, the word "I", the first word in every sentence, days, months, and titles.

Find the two words in each group that should be capitalized.

1. me wendy book country Spain

2. flow airplane tuesday language officer hux

3. doctor toyota blanket finding nemo flag pole

4. south street mcdonalds street welcome teacher

5. high school table english friend june

uly

August

September

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DAILY DOABLES

2. Capitalization

Activity 2

The following things should always be capitalized: names of proper nouns, the word "I", the first word in every sentence, days, months, and titles.

Correct the following sentences for proper capitalization. Please rewrite the whole sentence in your notebook. If the sentence is correct, write "correct as is."

1. my sister, michelle, is one of the kindest people I know.

2. our neighbor, mr. Johnson, enjoys traveling; his favorite country is italy.

3. When i go shopping with my mom, we like to get pretzels from auntie anne's.

4. Did you like playing with the dog at the pet store?

5. over at tom davis elementary school the students enjoy three hours of recess!

6. how do you like living in your city?

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Activity 3

The following paragraph has words in bold with a number in parenthesis next to each. You need to determine whether or not the word is capitalized appropriately. On your paper, number 1-10. Write the correct capitalization of the word next to the corresponding number, if it's already capitalized correctly write "correct."

My best friend, jon (1), is a great guy! He likes all of the same things I like;

fishing (2), baseball, and video games. He lives right around the block from me on

main street (3). We always hang out together on saturdays (4), since we can just

walk to each others' houses. Jon has two sisters, margaret (5) and Deliliah (6).

Margaret always wants to hang around us, which can get pretty annoying. Jon does

a good job of distracting her by telling her to go walk the dog (7). Delilah likes to

pretend that we don't exist. she's (8) older and claims to be too mature to deal with

us. Sometimes she can be really nice, though, because she'll drive us to

dairy queen (9) for ice cream (but we have to chip in and pay for her dessert).

Being friends (10) with Jon sure has its perks!

© 2013, E. Farrugia, Teacher's Craft

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2. Capitalization

Activity 4

Words like father, dad, mother, mom, son, daughter, grandmother, and grandfather become proper nouns when they are used in place of a name. For example: I will go ask Mother if she'd like a cup of tea.

Those words are NOT capitalized when they are preceded by a pronoun. For example: I will go ask my mother if she'd like a cup of tea.

Determine if the bold word needs to be capitalized. If the sentence is correct, write "correct," if the word needs to be capitalized, rewrite the sentence correctly on your paper.

1. My father said, "One day, son, you will learn your lesson."

2. If my grandmother agrees, I will get to stay with her for the summer.

3. If you think that mom is going to fall for that trick, you're wrong.

4. Michael, go ask grandfather for his trusty hammer.

5. When my mother told me about the show, I knew I had to get tickets!

6. Faith's grandmother gave her a beautiful ring for her birthday.

7. Mark and dad went to the grocery store to buy the dessert for mom's

birthday.

8. When will you call your mom to pick you up?

© 2013, E. Farrugia, Teacher's Craft 5

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DAILY DOABLES

2. Capitalization

Activity 5

Correct the following sentences for capitalization.

1. My favorite store on market street is the upster.

2. On my way to work, I like to listen to bruce springsteen.

3. when do you think jessica will have time to look over the proposal?

4. The doctor looked at my chart and said i am extremely healthy.

5. When dr. wilson saw my injury he said i was lucky to be alive.

6. Do you go to sabal elementary school or martin elementary school?

7. I go to a private school on james island.

8. During my trip to africa I saw elephants, giraffes, and a lion!

9. When i asked dad about my birthday gift, he smiled slyly and told me not

to worry about it.

© 2013, E. Farrugia, Teacher's Craft 6

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ANSWER KEY

Activity 1: 1. me Wendy book country Spain 2. flow airplane Tuesday language Officer Hux 3. doctor Toyota blanket Finding Nemo flag pole

4. South Street McDonalds street welcome teacher 5. high school table English friend June

Activity 2:

1. My sister, Michelle, is one of the kindest people I know.

2. Our neighbor, Mr. Johnson, enjoys traveling; his favorite country is Italy.

3. When I go shopping with my mom, we like to get pretzels from Auntie

Anne's.

4. Did you like playing with the dog at the pet store?

5. Over at Tom Davis elementary school the students enjoy three hours of

recess!

6. How do you like living in your city?

Activity 3:

My best friend, Jon (1), is a great guy! He likes all of the same things I like; fishing

(2), baseball, and video games. He lives right around the block from me on Main

Street (3). We always hang out together on Saturdays (4), since we can just walk to

each others' houses. Jon has two sisters, Margaret (5) and Deliliah (6). Margaret

always wants to hang around us, which can get pretty annoying. Jon does a good job

of distracting her by telling her to go walk the dog (7). Delilah likes to pretend that

we don't exist. She's (8) older and claims to be too mature to deal with us.

Sometimes she can be really nice, though, because she'll drive us to Dairy Queen (9)

for ice cream (but we have to chip in and pay for her dessert). Being friends (10)

with Jon sure has its perks!

© 2013, E. Farrugia, Teacher's Craft 7 www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/teachers-craft

ANSWER KEY

Activity 4:

1. My father said, "One day, Son, you will learn your lesson."

2. If my grandmother agrees, I will get to stay with her for the summer.

3. If you think that Mom is going to fall for that trick, you're wrong.

4. Michael, go ask Grandfather for his trusty hammer.

5. When my mother told me about the show, I knew I had to get tickets!

6. Faith's grandmother gave her a beautiful ring for her birthday.

7. Mark and Dad went to the grocery store to buy the dessert for Mom's

birthday.

8. When will you call your mom to pick you up?

Activity 5:

1. My favorite store on Market Street is The Upster.

2. On my way to work, I like to listen to Bruce Springsteen.

3. When do you think Jessica will have time to look over the proposal?

4. The doctor looked at my chart and said I am extremely healthy.

5. When Dr. Wilson saw my injury he said I was lucky to be alive.

6. Do you go to Sabal Elementary School or Martin Elementary School?

7. I go to a private school on James Island.

8. During my trip to Africa I saw elephants, giraffes, and a lion!

9. When I asked dad about my birthday gift, he smiled slyly and told me not

to worry about it.

© 2013, E. Farrugia, Teacher's Craft 8

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DAILY DOABLES

This product is just a smallyortion of the "Bea" Ringers Tor

Middle School Part q" package.

If you flied this, please try more products in the "Bell Ringers

for Middle School" series!

• Pronouns

• Synonyms and Antonyms • Connotation aniDenotation

• Eigurative Language

• Tricky Words

• Capitalization ...And many more!

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