Lively Language Lessons for Reluctant Learners Book 1

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Lively Language

Lessons for Reluctant Learners

Book 1

Written by R.E. Myers

Illustrated by Bron Smith

Teaching & Learning Company

TLC10462 Copyright © Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010

Cover design by Sara King

Illustration on page 56 by Ernie Hager. Used withpermission.

Copyright © 2005, Teaching & Learning Company

Teaching & Learning Company1204 Buchanan St., P.O. Box 10Carthage, IL 62321-0010

The purchase of this book entitles teachers to makecopies for use in their individual classrooms only.This book, or any part of it, may not be reproducedin any form for any other purposes without priorwritten permission from the Teaching & LearningCompany. It is strictly prohibited to reproduce anypart of this book for an entire school or school dis-trict, or for commercial resale.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States ofAmerica.

This book belongs to

____________________________________________________________

This book is dedicated to my son Hal,who has been a source of inspirationand support through his lively lifetime.

TLC10462 Copyright © Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010 iii

Table of ContentsCaps Capitalizing, Alliteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Cool Art Nouns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Awesomely Cool Word Choice, Adjectives . . . . . . 11

Contrasts Adjectives, Vocabulary Building . . . . . . . 12

Sticky Fingers Adjectives, Synonyms,

Word Choice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Amazingly Adverbs, Puns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Moonlight Joggers Subjects, Predicates . . . . . . . 18

A Balancing Act Parallelism, Conjunctions . . . . . . 19

Minding Her Change Transitive Verbs . . . . . . . . . 21

Some Advice! Declarative Sentences,

Imperative Sentences, Irony. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

You, the Interviewer Questioning. . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Catch as Catch Can Idioms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Are You Ys? Word Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Twisters Puns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

It’s Vanity Word Play, The Character Sketch . . . . . . 31

Mix-Ups Spoonerisms, Short Story. . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Headlines Word Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Reversals Axioms, Word Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Sad Spaghetti Making Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . 40

Pick Your Spot Listening Intelligently . . . . . . . . . . 42

Sensory Intelligence Listening Intelligently . . . . . 44

Friendly Conversation Listening to Friends . . . . . 45

Three Puzzling Scenes Solving Mysteries . . . . . 49

Any Explanation? Dealing with Ambiguity . . . . . . 52

What’s Missing? Finding the Missing Facts . . . . . 54

A Searching Question Problem Solving . . . . . . 57

Break, Broke, Broken Word Usage, Idioms . . . . . 58

Wise Weavers and Greedy GamblersEpigrams, Alliteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

The Ponderous Panda Alliteration. . . . . . . . . . . 61

Wise and Witty Aphorisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Metaphorically Speaking Metaphors . . . . . . . . . 64

In Other Words Maxims, Paraphrasing . . . . . . . . 66

Wise or Not? Personification, Aphorisms . . . . . . . 68

The Waiting Game Reminiscing . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Titling Titling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Orange Peels and Wart Hogs The Synopsis . . . 73

Novel Speculations The Plot Summary, Titling . . . 75

Soggy Citizens The Short Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Leisure The Essay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Unlikely Nicknames The Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Missing Nearly The Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Being Whale-Like The Couplet, Analogies . . . . . . 85

Random Notes The Character Sketch . . . . . . . . . 86

“Real” Haiku The Haiku. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Traces The Haiku . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Hands Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Green Power The Quatrain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Dear Teacher or Parent,

That young people easily learn language and to communicate effectively with theirpeers is undeniable. The trouble comes when they are told how to speak and what tosay. Since they can communicate for most of their needs, they may be resentful thatteachers and parents want them to express themselves in certain ways. Politenessand rules may seem bothersome to them.

This book attempts to do what English teachers have tried to do from time imme-morial, in a palatable manner, putting life into the language arts curriculum. It isn’teasy to make grammar, spelling and punctuation lessons lively. You’ll notice that myapproach is offbeat, such as when your students translate weird sayings andspoonerisms. You can play various kinds of games with your students to enliven thecurriculum, using activities in this book such as those on pages 16-17. Your studentswill find the activities in this book different from the usual drills.

So be prepared for a little zaniness and off-the-wall humor. The lessons will work ifyou believe in them. Choose one of the activities that you think would help your stu-dents in an area in which they are not strong and do it yourself. You’ll get an idea ofwhat is involved, and you’ll be able to discern whether or not the activity will liven upyour curriculum. May this be an enjoyable teaching experience for you and fun learn-ing for your students!

Sincerely,

R.E. Myers

iv TLC10462 Copyright © Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010

TLC10462 Copyright © Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010 5

Being Sensitive/Finding the Problem

Producing Alternatives

Being Flexible

Being Original

Highlighting the Essence

Elaborating

Keeping Open

Being Aware of Emotions

Putting Ideas into Context

Combining and Synthesizing

Visualizing Richly and Colorfully

Enjoying and Using Fantasy

Making It Swing, Making It Ring

Looking at It in Another Way

Visualizing Inside

Breaking Through/Extending Boundaries

Letting Humor Flow

Orienting to the Future

Analyzing

Judging

Hypothesizing

Educational theorists and teachers declare that the key to getting young people to probe, discoverand stretch their minds is to “motivate” them. But how is it done? The answer differs from individ-ual to individual.

What follows in this book is an approach that incorporates materials and techniques I have found tobe successful. They are neither prescriptions nor recipes, and the sequence or context of any activi-ty is not fixed. Any element can be changed or eliminated to fit your students.

The activities contain a feeling of playfulness and humor designed to encourage students to acquireand develop the skills for effective self-expression. The ideas take advantage of the natural fascina-tion young people have for language and capitalize upon their interest in a wide variety of topicsoutside the classroom as well.

The activities are designed to promote the 18 types of thinking processes in Torrance’s IncubationModel of Teaching. These have been described as creative thinking abilities; critical thinking skillsare also called for. (See the list of thinking skills below.)

Introduction

Thinking Skills

6 TLC10462 Copyright © Teaching & Learning Company, Carthage, IL 62321-0010

Activity 1

CapsCapitalizing, Alliteration

Name__________________________________

In English, we capitalize certain words to give them a particular significance. Here is a brief sum-mary of the reasons for capitalizing words:

1. Beginning of a sentence

2. First person singular (I)

3. Given names (Father and Mother when they are used as names, Sonny, Karen)

4. Titles of people (Captain Andersen, Doctor Morgan, Governor Wilson, Senator Nunn)

5. Titles of books, periodicals, films, songs, articles, etc. (Newsweek, the New York Times, Gonewith the Wind, Jaws)

6. Geographical locations (Mississippi River, New York City, Africa)

7. Names of institutions and agencies (Salvation Army, United States Senate)

8. Specific commercial products (Buick, Revlon, Jell-O)

9. Lines of verse (The first word of a line of verse is often capitalized.)

10. References to sacred figures

11. Names of businesses (Safeway, Macy’s, America Online)

12. Name of an event or holiday (Independence Day, World War I)


Activity 1


Name__________________________________

Capitalized Word

1. __________________________________

2. __________________________________

3. __________________________________

4. __________________________________

5. __________________________________

6. __________________________________

7. __________________________________

8. __________________________________

9. __________________________________

Reason for Capitalizing It

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The paragraphs that follow are properly punctuated, but have no capitals. Write the capitals for thewords that need them. Then list those words on the lines and tell why they need capitals. Twenty-eight words need to be capitalized.

In Praise of Pickles

pickles aren’t for everyone. sometimes they make people pucker—probably the same peo-ple who also prefer not to eat sauerkraut. personally, i plan to eat as many pickles as are puton my plate (or pilfered by my pudgy paws). it’s part of my peculiar personality, i suppose.i like the pungent, perfume-like fragrance of a dill pickle and its potent, penetrating sharptaste.

when i was in the u.s. army, i once missed a dress parade presided over by the popular gen-eral paul prentice at fort benning, georgia. we had pickles for lunch that day, and i lingeredin the mess hall, hoping to panhandle pickles from procrastinating persons who perhaps had-n’t finished their repast. when i finished eating those pretty pickles, no one was in the messhall and i’d missed the parade.

a passion for pickles: that’s the reason i remained a poor private all during world war II.


Besides the absence of capitals, what did you notice about this puzzling passage concerning pickles?

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Activity 1


Name__________________________________

Capitalized Word

10. __________________________________

11. __________________________________

12. __________________________________

13. __________________________________

14. __________________________________

15. __________________________________

16. __________________________________

17. __________________________________

18. __________________________________

19. __________________________________

20. __________________________________

21. __________________________________

22. __________________________________

23. __________________________________

24. __________________________________

25. __________________________________

26. __________________________________

27. __________________________________

28. __________________________________

Reason for Capitalizing It

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Activity 2

Nouns

Name__________________________________

The first thing a child does in acquiring language is to name people, herself, objects in her surround-ings, the parts of her body and food. Identifying all the phenomena in her world is crucial to herunderstanding it and her place in it. As the child grows older, her language develops rapidly, but nomatter how old she becomes naming things will be important to her.

The names we give to people and their jobs is sometimes a delicate matter. To be able to recall thename of someone you have met is a social necessity. Failing to remember a name is a commonembarrassment for almost everyone.

In English, words that name objects, groups of things and ideas are called common nouns. Wordsthat name particular people, places and special times are called proper nouns. Underline the com-mon nouns once and the proper nouns twice in the following paragraphs. Then list them in the twocolumns on the next page.

Although Hezzy isn’t considered odd by members of his social circle in Buffalo, most

people consider him odd, if not crazy. He insists on certain conditions being present

when he paints. Hezzy paints best, he claims, when the garret, or attic, in which he lives

is slightly below 25 degrees. For most of us, that temperature is all right if we want to

ski or ice skate, but it’s not at all comfortable inside a dwelling—even a dwelling such

as the one Hezzy lives in.

Maybe the reason Hezzy isn’t regarded as eccentric by his friends is because they are

unusual in their own ways. Carmen, a pizza chef, raises armadillos in her apartment.

Gracie, who earns her living as a belly dancer, has a diet that includes chocolate

grasshoppers and curdled ox milk. Phaeton, whose job is to clean up Nat’s Pizza

Paradise, the nightclub where Carmen works, collects toothpicks. He comes across

quite a few every morning when he is working, especially on Sundays. He washes the

toothpicks and then makes tiny doll houses with them. As a group, their idiosyncrasies

are unusual—even for Bohemians.

Cool Art


Activity 2

Nouns

Name__________________________________

Cool ArtCommon Nouns

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Proper Nouns

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Activity 3

Awesomely CoolWord Choice, Adjectives

Name__________________________________

Adjectives help us describe things. Words such as foamy, sinister, breathless, wet, dark, nasty,loving, bossy, plain, miserable and stifling give us a better understanding of what someone is say-ing or writing. The difficulty in using adjectives is not choosing from the tremendous number ofwords at our disposal; it’s that we use the same adjectives over and over. (Examples: beautiful,great, awesome and cool.) Because of overuse, some adjectives become trite.

Replace each overused adjective (in parentheses) with a better one.

1. The half-time ceremony was just (awesome)! ____________________

2. “Kevin is really (cool) because he knows all the words to the latest songs,” Robin said.

____________________

3. That was a (tremendous) victory for our team. ____________________

4. With his (weird) sense of humor, Norville was as likely as not to put salt in the sugar bowl

and mayonnaise in the yogurt container. ____________________

5. “You should have seen the way he ate—it was (gross),” complained Myrtle.

____________________

6. As soon as he learned of his promotion, Mr. Jenkins picked up a telephone and gave his wife

the (glad) tidings. ____________________

7. We saw a show that was simply (fantastic) last night—it has everything!

____________________

8. Mr. Murphy’s cat has all of the other cats in the neighborhood scared because he is so (macho).

____________________

9. “That was the (neatest) trick I’ve ever seen a magician do!” exclaimed Nancy.

____________________

10. “(Hopefully) we’ll have time to have lunch on the way,” Whitney said. (The missing overused

word in this sentence is an adverb and not an adjective.) ____________________

What words are you getting very tired of these days? List words that could be substituted for them.

Activity 4

ContrastsAdjectives, Vocabulary Building


Commentators may say that two individuals have contrasting styles or personalities. This is fre-quently said of athletes, Presidents, actors, painters and writers. People are always comparingthings. That’s the way our minds work. We get a better understanding of the world by comparingthe methods, manners, customs, philosophies, etc., of people and the behavior of animals.

The English language is rich in words that indicate similarities and differences. For example, a per-son who is amiable contrasts sharply with one who is irascible, cheerless, grumpy, surly or ill-tem-pered. A flamboyant man is not colorless, timid, retiring or meek. Write words that contrast with:

1. pompous __________________________________________________________________

2. gracious ____________________________________________________________________

3. wise ______________________________________________________________________

4. tender ____________________________________________________________________

5. charming __________________________________________________________________

6. conscientious ________________________________________________________________

7. tactful ____________________________________________________________________

8. arrogant ____________________________________________________________________

Explain how two people can differ by having a pair of these contrasting traits.

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Name__________________________________

Write words that contrast with:

1. impersonal ______________________ 4. aggressive __________________________

2. efficient ________________________ 5. philanthropic ________________________

3. dangerous ______________________ 6. austere______________________________

Tell how a business or institution is different from another because they possess a pair of theseopposing characteristics.

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Write words that contrast with:

1. tranquil ________________________ 4. remote ______________________________

2. squalid __________________________ 5. arid ________________________________

3. dreary __________________________ 6. luxuriant ____________________________

Explain how a pair of these adjectives could describe two very different types of surroundings.

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Activity 4

ContrastsAdjectives, Vocabulary Building


Name__________________________________

Activity 5

Sticky FingersAdjectives, Synonyms, Word Choice


Name__________________________________

Using the same words over and over causes listeners and readers to become bored. We need to findother words for the tired ones that are used all the time. A word that means the same or about thesame as another word is called a synonym. Synonyms allow us to express ourselves in less restric-tive and more interesting ways. Someone might say, “Their new car is really awesome!” Awesomeis an overused adjective often used indiscriminately. What are two other words that could be sub-stituted for awesome, assuming that the speaker meant to praise the car?

______________________________________________________________________________

Write two effective synonyms for each of the overused adjectives below.

1. serious ____________________________________________________________________

2. beautiful __________________________________________________________________

3. whole ______________________________________________________________________

4. scary ______________________________________________________________________

5. clumsy ____________________________________________________________________

6. frantic ____________________________________________________________________

7. gross ______________________________________________________________________

8. huge ______________________________________________________________________

9. insipid ____________________________________________________________________

10. nerdy ______________________________________________________________________

Activity 5

Sticky FingersAdjectives, Synonyms, Word Choice


Here is a very short story that has a number of adjectives in key places. Write an appropriate syn-onym above each underlined adjective in the following story. Try to keep the meaning and moodof the story.

Mervin not only had sticky fingers; he had gummy gloves. The sly pickpocket was nearly

invisible at the fair. He stood out in the crowd about as clearly as a blackbird amongst a flock

of starlings on a rainy night in January. Nobody noticed him.

The elderly victim barely felt the slight bump that led to another contribution to Mervin’s

growing collection of wallets, watches and purses. He would have liked to thank the man, but

the wizened geezer looked as if the last time he gave to charity convinced him it was bad for

his health. It turned out he was right. That night, when he discovered his loss, the old boy had

a heart attack.

Now read the story again as you have rewritten it. Is the meaning the same? ________________

Is the mood the same? ____________________________________________________________

Name__________________________________

Activity 6

AmazinglyAdverbs, Puns


Name__________________________________

Sometimes all you need to say to answer a question is “yes” or “no.” But in some cases you mayneed an adverb, adjective or prepositional phrase to express your response adequately. (Example:Sylvia goes to England and tries to find her way through a maze. She does it easily, without retrac-ing a step. How well did Sylvia do in getting through the maze? “Amazingly,” you might say,answering the question with a single adverb, which is also a pun.)

Answer these questions with adverbs that are also puns.

1. Jerry is a skilled boxer, exceptionally quick with his hands. A brash young newcomer chal-lenged Jerry to a fight one day in the gym. How did Jerry win?

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Rose’s mother is a kind lady and a good dressmaker. When Rose split the seam of her dress justbefore going on a date, she asked her mother to quickly repair the torn garment. Rose went onthe date and was complimented on her nice dress. Did Rose’s mother do a good job?

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3. Just before the end of the term, Tito had three big tests in one day. He was uptight before thetests, and out of sorts after taking them. When his mother asked Tito how his day went, howdid he answer?

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4. Of all the boys in his class, Frank was the most forthright and honest. Gerald had a ticklishproblem that he couldn’t take to his parents, so he sought out his friend Frank for help. Howdid he respond to Gerald?

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5. Nate was an amiable but awkward boy of 13. One afternoon in May, when it was actually toocool to go swimming, he accidentally bumped Cynthia and she fell into the pool. She had a robeover her swim suit, but when she came out of the water she was shivering. With a red face, Nateapologized profusely. How did Cynthia react to Nate’s apology?

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Activity 6

AmazinglyAdverbs, Puns


6. Tom, a burly but sensitive linebacker, was the best defensive player on his team. Time andagain he stopped plays at the line of scrimmage. One team, however, took advantage of Tom’squickness and faked him out of position on a pass play, thereby scoring a touchdown and beat-ing Tom’s team. Tom was the one responsible for the player who scored, and the newspaperscalled him the “goat” of the game. How did Tom react to the criticism?

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7. Herb, the team’s platform diver, was badly stuck up. He thought he was above the others bothliterally and figuratively, and he let everyone know it. How did Herb regard his teammates?

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Write a short story with a question at the end that can be answered by an adverb that is also a pun.

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Name__________________________________

Activity 7

Moonlight JoggersSubjects, Predicates


Name__________________________________

Below are six sentences that have been broken into three parts each and scrambled. Can you put thepieces back together to make six sentences again?

1. ________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________

4. ________________________________________________________

5. ________________________________________________________

6. ________________________________________________________

Now go back and determine which parts of your sentences are subjects and which are predicates.Underline the subjects once and the predicates twice.

Which is your favorite sentence? ____________________________________________________

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Why is it your favorite sentence? ____________________________________________________

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who jog in the moonlight

may retire early

Weavers

should get a grip on themselves

Electricians

who are wise

may get shocked

who eat buttered popcorn

can get wrapped up in their work

Trapeze artists

develop strong legs

who peek through keyholes

Ballerinas

Grandfathers

are wary of worms

who drink heavily

Private detectives

who go barefoot

Activity 8

A Balancing ActParallelism, Conjunctions


Name__________________________________

Items in a series should be balanced; that is, each item should be of the same grammatical type asthe others. For example, if you want to list three ways to get ahead in life, you might say:

Success can be achieved by hard work, simple luck or clever cheating.

Each item in that series is a noun with an adjective modifier.

There are times, however, when you might not want the items to be balanced and grammatically thesame. A similar idea could be expressed this way:

In my opinion, success is a combination of working hard, being flexible and blind luck.

The first two items of the series are participles, but the last one is a noun modified by an adjective.

Which sentence do you think is more effective? ________________________________________

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Sometimes in a series of three, the third item is strategically placed to give an element of surpriseor emphasis. The reader or listener isn’t expecting the abrupt change because the third item is of adifferent character than the other two. For example:

Harry has a lot of charm, is a good dresser and makes his own doilies.

Parallelism in the sentence is achieved with consecutive predicates, ending with one that differs rad-ically in character from the first two.

Write an example of a series of predicates ending with one that differs radically from the first two.

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Activity 8

A Balancing ActParallelism, Conjunctions


Finish each of these series with a surprise item. Make sure that the third item is parallel with theothers.

dirty faces, grimy hands and ______________________________________________________

very witty, quite gorgeous and ______________________________________________________

in a fog, out of touch or __________________________________________________________

Write sentences with three items, each with an adjective or an adjective with an adverb modifyinga noun. (Example: Mr. Jenkins is really a devoted husband, a wonderful father and a terriblescoundrel.)

1. __________________________________________________________________________

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2. __________________________________________________________________________

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3. __________________________________________________________________________

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Write a sentence containing three items, each of which is a predicate. (Example: Terry ate the sand-wich, drank the milk and refused the dessert.)

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Name__________________________________

Activity 9

Minding Her ChangeTransitive Verbs


Name__________________________________

Nouns very often can be turned into verbs in English, and vice versa. (Example: When youexchange the verb and its object in “She changed her mind,” you have “She minded her change.”When a verb takes a direct object, we call it a transitive verb.

Following are pairs of phrases where the verbs and objects have been exchanged. The first of eachpair makes sense, but the second phrase needs some explaining. Explain the second phrase in eachset of verbs and objects.

1. cracked a hit ________________________________________________________________

hit a crack __________________________________________________________________

2. recorded a loss ______________________________________________________________

lost a record ________________________________________________________________

3. mock a teacher ______________________________________________________________

teach a mocker ______________________________________________________________

4. placed a book________________________________________________________________

booked a place ______________________________________________________________

5. headed the firm ______________________________________________________________

firmed the head ______________________________________________________________

6. played a trumpet ____________________________________________________________

trumpeted a play ____________________________________________________________

7. poked an eye ________________________________________________________________

eyed a poke ________________________________________________________________

Activity 9

Minding Her ChangeTransitive Verbs


8. hit a leg ____________________________________________________________________

legged a hit ________________________________________________________________

9. shot a duck__________________________________________________________________

ducked a shot ______________________________________________________________

10. tracked the killer ____________________________________________________________

killed the tracker ____________________________________________________________

11. played his cards ______________________________________________________________

carded his plays ______________________________________________________________

12. walked his dog ______________________________________________________________

dogged his walk______________________________________________________________

What is the verb and what is its direct object in the following sentence?Our credit card offers special deals to you and your family.

verb __________________________________________________________________________

direct object ____________________________________________________________________

Name__________________________________

Activity 10

Some Advice! Declarative Sentences,Imperative Sentences, Irony


Name__________________________________

Most people like to give advice but are less eager to receive it. Robinson Foster loved to give peo-ple advice. Unfortunately, some of his advice was confusing or hard to understand. Here are eightof his favorite pieces of advice. Write an “I” to the left of each imperative sentence and a “D” to theleft of each declarative sentence. Be careful—one or two are hard to classify. (Hint: The “I’s” arebalanced by the “Ds.”)

____ 1. Price is all you have to look for if you aren’t interested in quality.

____ 2. Get your chores done right away so you have more time to loaf.

____ 3. Read as fast as you can if you don’t like what you are reading.

____ 4. It is sometimes better to be swift than to be right.

____ 5. Dark glasses and potholes are a bad combination.

____ 6. Nothing is sweeter than success, especially if you can gloat about it.

____ 7. Walk slowly and speak softly if you want to be late and pushed around.

____ 8. Don’t think hard too often, or you’ll ruin your disposition.

Read his advice once more. After reading each sentence, counter it with another piece of advice thatrefutes what Mr. Foster said.

1. __________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________

Activity 10

Some Advice! Declarative Sentences,Imperative Sentences, Irony


6. __________________________________________________________________________

7. __________________________________________________________________________

8. __________________________________________________________________________

Would you give your advice to anyone? ______________________________________________

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Who would you give it to? ________________________________________________________

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Some people think Mr. Foster is a master of irony. Which of his pieces of advice are ironical, if any?

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Are any of your sentences ironical? If so, which ones? __________________________________

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Name__________________________________

Activity 11

You, the InterviewerQuestioning


Name__________________________________

Television talk show hosts, newspaper reporters and biographers of living people ask questionsbecause it is the basic activity of their jobs. Asking the kinds of questions that will provide enter-tainment and information for their audiences is the skill that will determine whether they are suc-cessful or not in their jobs. They may ask predictable questions, but often they can only get thereplies they want by clever probing and questioning.

Imagine that you are a reporter for a newspaper. You have been assigned to interview various peo-ple during the year, some with ordinary jobs, others with unusual jobs.

Write three questions that will produce interesting, enlightening or entertaining responses from thefollowing subjects. Begin by writing your interview goals.

1. a lighthouse keeper who has been stationed at the same lighthouse for 20 years

Goals of the questioning: ______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Your three questions: ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. a guard at Fort Knox who has had the job for three months


__________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 11



Name__________________________________

3. a wealthy chicken rancher with automated facilities for producing eggs


__________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________4. a Native American princess who has played a key role in reviving her tribe’s religious and

social customs


__________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. an Internal Revenue Service investigator who has had his job for nine years


__________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 11



Name__________________________________

6. a Wall Street financier convicted of swindling his clients out of millions of dollars


__________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. a 62-year-old school bus driver who has been driving the bus for 14 years


__________________________________________________________________________


__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Will one of your sets of questions work with a different subject? (Example: What if you asked theFort Knox guard the questions you had for the Wall Street swindler?) Write the responses you thinkyou’d get.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 12

Catch as Catch CanIdioms


Name__________________________________

Did you ever think of how much catching you do? You might catch a ball, a ride, the flu, a favoriteprogram or a nap. Or maybe you’re just trying to catch up. When someone becomes engaged to aneligible person, he or she is called a “catch.” This kind of expression is called an idiom. The Englishlanguage uses many idioms, expressions that aren’t to be taken literally or whose constructiondeparts from the typical grammatical form. These are examples:

Henley caught fire in the second half and ended up with 25 points.I can’t get the hang of it.She’s rolling in dough.It didn’t dawn on us until much later that we were poor.That long hike nearly did me in.The boss bawled me out.

What happens when you are “caught short”? __________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What would you do if you caught

1. a train? ____________________________________________________________________

2. a fly? ______________________________________________________________________

3. a thief? ____________________________________________________________________

4. the mumps? ________________________________________________________________

5. a whopper? ________________________________________________________________

Yawns are “catching,” so are tunes and good humor. What would you most like to catch?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What was the best catch you ever made? Write a vivid description of it.

Activity 13

Are You Ys?Word Play


Name__________________________________

Here is a chance to show how you can make words change by using them in a “Ys” way. Add a “y”to each word below, and arrange the letters to change them into a different word. (Example: Add a“y” to the word tip, rearrange the letters and you have pity.) Proper nouns are allowed.

1. ram

2. set

3. tin

4. near

5. pins

6. word

7. name

8. rapt

9. laps

10. gnat

11. once

12. dear

13. toad

14. plum

15. raps

16. lode

17. peels

18. nomad

19. team

20. chest

Activity 14

TwistersPuns


Name__________________________________

Take an old soft drink advertising slogan, “the pause that refreshes,” and change pause to paws. Youhave a pun, which relies for its humor on the similarity of the way the two words with differentmeanings are pronounced. Draw a picture of “the paws that refreshes.”

Another kind of pun comes from the multiple meanings many English words have. (Example: If you“tipped the pitcher,” would you be knocking over a vessel or giving advice or money to a baseballplayer?)

Look through newspapers and magazines for advertising slogans that lend themselves to puns. Writefive punny slogans on the lines below.

1. __________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________

Activity 15

It’s VanityWord Play, The Character Sketch


Name__________________________________

This item was in a newspaper column recently:WELL EXCUSE ME . . .At least one driver of a monster SUV makes nobones about feeling entitled to hog the road.The license sighted downtown grouses,YRNMYWAY.

Many vehicle owners choose license plates that deliver a message. The messages are usually likethe following:

U R A Q TC E E Y A

Y E E H A W2 2 G O

4 2 T U D E

Some people like licenses plates that identify them or even advertise their businesses or hobbies.S E W M U P

B I N DT U B A

P O S I E SH O T A I R

Take another look at the plates. Can you imagine what the owners are like? Guess their ages, gen-ders, occupations, dominant personality traits and favorite pastimes.

U R A Q T

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________

dominant personality trait: ________________________________________________________

favorite pastime: ________________________________________________________________

C E E Y A

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________




Y E E H A W

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________



2 2 G O

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________



4 2 T U D E

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________



S E W M U P

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________



B I N D

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________



Activity 15


Name__________________________________


T U B A

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________



P O S I E S

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________



H O T A I R

gender: ________________________________________________________________________

occupation: ____________________________________________________________________



Choose one of the car owners who interests you. What else can you imagine about that individual?Is the person good looking or unattractive? How does he or she dress? What kind of driver is thatperson? Is the individual single or married, and if married is he or she a parent? What are his or herpolitics?

On another sheet of paper write a character sketch of the imaginary car owner. Include these elements:

A description of the subject (prominent physical characteristics and dress)A few biographical incidents revealing the person’s characterA quotation from the person or from someone who knows him or her wellA reference to the way the person spends his or her spare timeA glimpse of the subject in real life

Activity 15


Name__________________________________


In each sentence below, two words are mixed up; the beginning of one word was switched withanother. This kind of speech mishap is called a spoonerism. Spoonerisms are often hilarious, suchas when a minister told a groom that it is kisstomary to cuss the bride.

Write each sentence the way the speaker meant it to be spoken but couldn’t quite get it out right.

1. “Gerald fairly bound time to study last week,” his mother remarked to her neighbor.

__________________________________________________________________________

2. “Little Mike saw a bunny fair at the zoo,” commented Mr. Norris.

__________________________________________________________________________

3. “Come over and have lot puck tonight with us,” offered Gina.

__________________________________________________________________________

4. “They’re a berry munch,” remarked the drama teacher about her cast.

__________________________________________________________________________

5. “They’ll need a gravel tide before they go on their cruise,” advised the agent.

__________________________________________________________________________

6. “Mel is known for his wrong leech,” said the lady at the boarding house.

__________________________________________________________________________

7. “It was a measure to pleat you,” the young man said politely.

__________________________________________________________________________

8. “She has made a dumber of knives in the Pacific,” affirmed the oceanographer.

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 16

Mix-UpsSpoonerisms, Short Story

Name__________________________________


9. “Haven’t seen you in a tong lime,” remarked the waiter to Mr. Lee.

__________________________________________________________________________

10. “It’s not all gun and fames in college, you know,” warned the professor.

__________________________________________________________________________

11. “It’s a mitt or hiss proposition,” said Mr. Andrews.

__________________________________________________________________________

12. “I saw a dare of pucks on the pond,” the hunter commented.

__________________________________________________________________________

Write a story with two or three spoonerisms in it. Write the story correctly; then convert two or threeof the sentences to spoonerisms. Read your story aloud and see if anyone understands your spooner-isms.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Write a title for your story here.

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 16

Mix-UpsSpoonerisms, Short Story

Name__________________________________

Activity 17

HeadlinesWord Play


Name__________________________________

Family names often come from an ancestor’s occupation (Baker, Potter, Miller, Porter, Smith,Carter, etc.) and can produce some interesting sentences. (Examples: Saylor sails for the WestIndies, but Rather would rather not. Tinkers tinkers with another kitchen appliance.) Similarly, somegiven names can give us sentences such as: Pat pats her dog when he is good, Marvel marvels atcomputers, Wilt wilts under a broiling sun and Ford fords a stream.

Write a headline for each of the news items below using words with repetitious beginnings.(Example: Mark marks time before return to Rome. Nixon nixes break-in.) The trick is to have thesecond word in the headline repeat, or nearly repeat, the first word. Because of limitations of space,headlines can only be seven or eight words long. The first word in each headline should be a prop-er noun.

1. An eastern European country takes a national vote concerning unionism.

__________________________________________________________________________

2. A ruler named Nicholas is grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet.

__________________________________________________________________________

3. A man whose given name is William invoices the city for damage to his broadleaf trees.

__________________________________________________________________________

4. Alcatraz reverberates from a riot.

__________________________________________________________________________

5. A Mediterranean country eases out a dictator.

__________________________________________________________________________

6. Former President Truman is pestered by hecklers.

__________________________________________________________________________


7. The major American oil company of the thirties remains firm about resisting governmentalinterference.

__________________________________________________________________________

Write seven headlines with beginnings similar to the previous ones for the past year’s news.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 17

HeadlinesWord Play

Name__________________________________

Activity 18

ReversalsAxioms, Word Play


Name__________________________________

Sometimes it makes as much sense to reverse a well-known saying as it does to say it the way it’susually said. (Example: “He who hesitates is lost.” Reverse it to “He who’s lost hesitates.”) Canyou make sense of these other popular sayings and their reversals?

1. “Cleanliness is next to godliness” becomes “Godliness is next to cleanliness.” How does that

make sense? ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. “Might makes right” or “Right makes might.” Is that true?____________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. When reversed, “Practice makes perfect” becomes “perfection makes practice.” Is that

possible? __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. “Seeing is believing” becomes “Believing is seeing.” Does that make sense? ____________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. If you reverse “Where there’s life there’s hope,” it becomes “Where there’s hope there’s life.”

Does that seem reasonable? ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. “It’s an ill wind that blows no one good” when reversed becomes “It’s a good wind that blows

no one ill.” How could that be true? ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


7. “A soft answer turns away wrath” becomes “Wrath turns away a soft answer.” Can that make

any sense? __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

8. “Haste makes waste” becomes “Waste makes haste.” Explain how that might be true. ______

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

9. The saying “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” is popular, but “If you can’t join ’em, beat ’em”

also might make sense. Explain how. ____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

10. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” when reversed is “All play and no work makes

Jack a dull boy.” Can you make sense of that?______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Draw a picture of one of the reversed sayings to make your explanation clear.

Activity 18

ReversalsAxioms, Word Play

Name__________________________________

Activity 19

Sad SpaghettiMaking Comparisons


Name__________________________________

These questions may seem incongruous, but each contains a grain of truth. (Example: Bothspaghetti and twilight can be sad, depending upon the circumstances.) Answer each question andexplain your answer.

1. Which is faster—day or night? __________________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

2. Which is rowdier—whale or a butterfly? __________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

3. Which is wetter—new shoes or skiing? __________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

4. What causes more confusion—peanut butter or trees?________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

5. Which is softer—breakfast or summer? __________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

6. Which is sadder—spaghetti or twilight? __________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

7. Which hurts more—Thursday or purple? __________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

8. Which is heavier—generosity or insanity? ________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________


9. Which is more honest—perfume or sand? ________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

10. Which is more frustrating—green or football?______________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

11. What helps more—dancing or wallpaper? ________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

12. What takes more time—a crowd or water? ________________________________________

Why? ______________________________________________________________________

Write your own questions similar to the previous ones. Answer them and explain your answers.

1. __________________________________________________________________________

Explanation: ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

Explanation: ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

Explanation: ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 19

Sad SpaghettiMaking Comparisons

Name__________________________________

Activity 20

Pick Your SpotListening Intelligently


Name__________________________________

You often listen carefully: when someone gives you important directions or instructions, when youare waiting for someone to meet you, when you are awakened from sleep by a sound at night. Listencarefully for a total of 15 minutes today. Select three listening posts. At the first post, listen for fiveminutes; then move to the second post; then go to the third post and listen for the same length oftime. Do you think you will hear sounds you have never heard before?

Why? __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Do you expect to be bored by the three listening periods?

Why? __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Find a good location for your first listening post—a place where you can listen to sounds that inter-est you. Take a pencil and a notebook or pad along and write down everything you hear that isunusual, surprising, fascinating, pleasing, upsetting or in any way noteworthy. Next, move to a spotnear a group of people. Close your eyes and listen. Then write a brief description of what you heardthat was interesting. Go to a third location where you feel comfortable and inconspicuous. Perhapsa place where you cannot be seen by others (but not “hiding”). Write anything you hear that seemsnoteworthy. You may or may not close your eyes.

Answer these questions based on the “listening” notes you took:

1. Which of the three places was most satisfactory as a listening post? Why? ______________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Which method of listening was most productive—closed eyes or open? Why? __________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


3. Did you hear more when people where nearby? Why or why not? ____________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. Was your first location a good listening post? Why or why not? ______________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. Did you become a “sharper” listener by the time your three listening sessions were over? Why?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. Did you want to listen for a longer or a shorter period of time at any of the three locations?

Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. Were you bored at any of the listening posts? Why or why not? ________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Summarize one of your listening experiences in a limerick or poem. ____________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 20

Pick Your SpotListening Intelligently

Name__________________________________

Activity 21

Sensory IntelligenceListening Intelligently


Name__________________________________

How sharp are your senses? An important part of using your brain is using all of your senses.Imagine the things below and stir up your senses.

• the sound of a helicopter overhead• the sensation of suddenly tripping• the feel of cold water on your feet• the sound of a hacking cough• the sound of a baby’s coo• the sound of a large diesel truck• the taste of a fresh lemon• the sound of a chair scraping on the floor• the sight of light flickering through a tree• the taste of burned toast• the smell of sour milk• the sound of wind whistling past a window

We receive information through our ears constantly. Sounds as distinct as a yell and as subtle as thevibration of a passing truck are received and noted by our brains. We may not pay attention to sub-tle sounds: water running down a pipe or the hum of a motor in the distance. But we listen to music,to the conversation of people and to sounds indicating danger, such as explosions and shouts. Haveyou ever turned off the sound of the TV and tried to figure out what was happening by sight alone?

How do you wake up in the morning? Someone nudging you? Someone saying softly, “It’s time toget up, dear”? An alarm clock? Music from a clock radio? Birds singing? Sunlight entering your

room? Your mind telling you it’s time to get up?________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What sounds do you like to hear when you awaken? ____________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What sounds do you like to hear as you are preparing to go to sleep? ______________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 22

Friendly ConversationListening to Friends


Name__________________________________

You can be an expert listener. When a friend talks with you today, listen with interest for importantdetails. After a few minutes, write three or four important details you heard. Wait until the conver-sation has ended and you have parted company with your friend, of course.

Before talking to your friend, guess what he or she will say to you first. Write it here.__________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What was the main topic of conversation during the three minutes that your friend talked? ______

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What were the important details you heard?

1. __________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________

6. __________________________________________________________________________

7. __________________________________________________________________________

What particular things did you notice about your friend as he or she spoke to you? ____________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


Did you have any difficulty remembering the details? Why or why not? ____________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

How close was your guess about what your friend would say first? ________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

How well can you answer these questions?

Detail #1:Why was this important? __________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

How do you know you have remembered this detail correctly? ____________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What else did your friend say that would make you think this detail is correct? ______________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 22


Name__________________________________



______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What did your friend say that would make you think this detail is correct? __________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 22


Name__________________________________



______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________


______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What did your friend say that would make you think detail is correct? ______________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 22


Name__________________________________

Activity 23

Three Puzzling ScenesSolving Mysteries


Name__________________________________

Here are three puzzling scenes. Read them carefully and write your interpretation of each.

1. A man buys a shirt at a department store. He hands the clerk a 20-dollar bill. The clerk puts thebill in the cash register and is about to hand the man his change (about three dollars). Suddenlythe clerk stops, asks the customer to wait a minute and rushes toward a well-dressed man at thecenter of the floor. What is happening?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

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2. On Monday while driving to work in heavy traffic on the freeway, a middle-aged woman lis-tens to the radio. Suddenly, she turns deathly pale, speeds up, changes lanes and swervesbetween cars. She mutters some words, reaches for the dial of the car radio and starts to pray.Missing a sports car by inches, she increases her speed. She crosses two lanes in order to leaveby the first exit ramp she comes to. What caused the woman to behave this way?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

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__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 23


Name__________________________________


3. After glancing at the wall clock, a boy gets up from the breakfast table without finishing hismeal. He hesitates as he walks by his mother, clutches his stomach, begins to say something,then stops. After a few more steps, with an anguished look on his face, the boy leaves the roomand struggles down the hallway to his bedroom.

“Oh,” he moans as he enters the room. He continues to moan in a louder voice. His mothercalls, “What’s the matter, Honey? Are you all right?” The boy doesn’t answer. He falls on hisbed, knocking over his school books. What is wrong with the boy?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 23


Name__________________________________

Activity 24

Any Explanation?Dealing with Ambiguity


Name__________________________________

Sometimes politicians and celebrities claim they have been quoted “out of context,” which meansquoting a sentence or two without showing what went before or after a statement. It is a legitimatecomplaint because quoting only a sentence or two can give a wrong impression of what the speakermeant to say. The words leading up to a statement are often all-important in understanding whatsomeone is trying to say.

The statements below by themselves, without any other information, seem odd. See if you can makesense of them. Beneath each statement explain what it might mean.

1. Tears won’t locate a lost toy. __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Wash days are the best days of all. ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. Forests aren’t meant for ballerinas. ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. A smile can’t remove a failed examination. ________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. It’s torture to know the answer. ________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


6. We inherit their fingernails, too. ________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. When a sidewalk glistens, robins sing.____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

8. Tar is really worse than wax paper. ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

9. The five people sat quietly in their six seats. ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

10. Monsters dance slower in the moonlight. __________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 24

Any Explanation?Dealing with Ambiguity

Name__________________________________

Activity 25

What’s Missing?Finding the Missing Facts


Name__________________________________

According to some mystery writers, the key to solving a crime is for the detective to find one pieceof evidence that clears up the mystery, in the same way that finding a missing piece of a jigsaw puz-zle, is the clue to completing the picture. Someone relates an incident that is supposed to be funnyor remarkable, but leaves out a vital detail. Without that fact, the story doesn’t make much senseand you don’t know how to react. Here is an opportunity for you to supply facts that will make senseof three puzzling stories.

Read this story as an example and decide what important fact has been omitted.

Alyssa went to town on a bus one Saturday to do some shopping. She got off the bus at a busycorner and walked into a large department store. She decided to take an elevator to the sec-ond floor and look at some hats. After trying on several hats, she started for an elevator whosedoors were just opening. When Alyssa was about to step into the elevator, a woman rantoward her and shouted, “Stop!”

A number of different facts might be inserted into this story to explain why the woman wantedAlyssa to stop: (a) Alyssa forgot to pay for the hat on her head; (b) she had put another woman’shat on by mistake; or (c) she dropped her purse and the woman was rushing to return it before theelevator doors closed. See if you can come up with the missing fact in the following stories.

1. Mr. Michaels, a bachelor, turned the corner slowly in his new sports car. It was eleven o’clockat night and pitch black. There were street lamps lighting the sidewalks and streets of the neigh-borhood, however, so Mr. Michaels swung confidently into a driveway, parked his car andwalked up to the front door of the house. He thrust a key on his key chain into the lock andfound it didn’t fit.

“Maybe it’s the wrong key,” Mr. Michaels said aloud, and tried another key. Nope. The secondkey didn’t even go all the way in. Mr. Michaels was flabbergasted. He didn’t know what to do.

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


Activity 25


Name__________________________________

2. Nelson drove his car to the lake one day when he felt like swimming. He parked his car by theside of the lake, got out and jumped into the water. After about 10 minutes he came out of thewater. Just as he reached into his car for a towel, a policeman told him he was under arrest.

Think of as many facts as you can which might have been left out of this little story that wouldaccount for the policeman’s action.

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. Brittany and her dog went down a pathway in the country on a sunny spring day. Two birdstwittered in an apple tree. A breeze stirred the branches of the tree, and several blossoms fell tothe ground. Suddenly a rabbit darted across the path in front of Brittany and her dog. Withoutpausing, Brittany and her dog proceeded down the path.

Why didn’t Brittany’s dog chase the rabbit? What are some missing facts which would explainthe dog’s behavior?

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


Write your own mystery story with a puzzle or mystery which isn’t revealed until the very end. Tryto be original with your ideas, and remember that the essential element of a mystery story is sus-pense.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 25


Name__________________________________

Activity 26

A Searching QuestionProblem Solving


Name__________________________________

Suppose you are a rural doctor driving alone at night to call on a patient in a town 23 miles fromyour home. Most of the two-lane road you are traveling is bordered by sagebrush and cactus, and ithas been 10 minutes or more since you have seen the lights of another car. Five minutes from yourdestination you hear thunder, and then your car is lashed by rain and wind. Suddenly, your carlurches into a deep rut in the road. You swerve back into your lane, but the front passenger dooropens and your medical bag falls out. Since you aren’t traveling very fast, you are able to stop yourcar about 70 feet from where you think the bag landed. The road is almost awash, which alarms youbecause your patient will need tablets in your bag that will dissolve if water seeps into it. What stepswould you take to recover your bag as quickly as possible?

Before you take those steps, consider the situation carefully. What things must you pay attention to

as you try to retrieve your bag? ____________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What is your most troubling problem?________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Write the steps you will take in order. ________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 27

Break, Broke, BrokenWord Usage, Idioms


Name__________________________________

Have you ever been “broke”? Is it the same as being “broken”? Being “broke” has to do with one’sfinances, and being “broken” has to do with one’s spirit. We have many other uses in our languagefor the various forms of the word break. (Example: “Give me a break!” Someone just learningAmerican English might think that a strange request.)

List at least 10 more uses for the word break in its various forms.

1. __________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________

6. __________________________________________________________________________

7. __________________________________________________________________________

8. __________________________________________________________________________

9. __________________________________________________________________________

10. __________________________________________________________________________


When have you or someone else been confused by the use of one of the expressions on page 58?

______________________________________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Choose one of the uses of break and describe five situations in which it can be used in ordinary andextraordinary conversation.

1. __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 27

Break, Broke, BrokenWord Usage, Idioms

Name__________________________________

Activity 28

Wise Weavers and Greedy Gamblers

Epigrams, Alliteration


Name__________________________________

One day for no reason at all, Austin said to no one in particular, “Weavers, in their wisdom, are waryof worms.” He smiled to himself. What he had said sounded clever to him. Austin didn’t quite knowwhy it sounded clever, but it did. A few days later when he was crossing the street, Austin blurtedout, “Gamblers, never gratified, always go for the gold.” That didn’t sound quite as clever as hisfirst pronouncement, but it satisfied him anyway.

A week after he had coined the epigram about gamblers, Austin was sitting in a restaurant. Whenthe waiter came to take his order, he said rather grandiosely, “Stevedores seldom steal because thereare no more stemwinders.” The waiter dropped the menu he was about to give to Austin, and hit hishead on the table when he tried to pick it up.

It was soon clear to anyone around Austin, and maybe to Austin himself, that he was hooked onspewing forth epigrams that were highly alliterative and largely meaningless. Here are five more ofAustin’s attempts at epigrams.

1. Maverick meteorologists are generally misty-eyed.2. Careless crystal-makers cringe a lot.3. Docile donkeys are downtrodden, whereas hostile horses like to harry harriers.4. Parachutists who procrastinate are more populous than people think. 5. Never let a Nervous Nellie know you are normal.

Do any of those statements make sense to you? If so, which one(s)? ________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

An epigram is a witty, often paradoxical saying. Write your own epigrams, witty or worthless. Tryto think of at least three.

1. __________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

Activity 29

The Ponderous PandaAlliteration


The panda paused, then padded toward a patch of bamboo, passing perilously close to thepath of the poachers.

The panda is an endangered species and is protected by law in China, but poachers still take pandasin rather large numbers. The sentence above, then, isn’t as remarkable for its meaning as it is for thepreponderance of words beginning with “p.” It’s an overdone example of the literary device calledalliteration. When not overdone, alliteration can be quite effective, as in this opening sentence of areview of a musical performance:

Violinist Chee-Yun brought a magnetic blend of muscle and musicianship to the BurbankCenter for the Arts on Saturday night.

Alliterative words have the same initial sounds, but not always the same initial letters. Cup and cel-ery, for example, are not alliterative.

Write an alliterative sentence about each of the following birds:

pigeon ________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

starling ________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

robin __________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

sparrow ________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Name__________________________________


blackbird ______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

canary ________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

mockingbird ____________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

gull __________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Write three more related sentences about one of the birds. Be sure to write sentences which are true.Use reference books, magazines or the internet if you need more information.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 29

The Ponderous PandaAlliteration

Name__________________________________

Activity 30

Wise and WittyAphorisms


Name__________________________________

“The only certainty is that nothing is certain.”

What do you think of that sentence? Does it make sense? ________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Every culture has wise sayings called maxims, adages or aphorisms. A few are distinctly American,but may also be found, stated a little differently, in other cultures. These are a few of our commonaphorisms:

He who hesitates is lost.Look before you leap.There are three kinds of friends: best friends, guest friends and pest friends.Never give a sucker an even break.It never rains but it pours.

Aphorisms tend to be short and pithy. They give us bits of wisdom, but they can be disputed. Forinstance, which do you prefer: “Look before you leap” or “He who hesitates is lost”? Can we take

both pieces of advice? Aren’t they contradictory? ______________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Write your own aphorisms. Invent new sayings or change well-known ones. (Example: “It neverrains but it pours” could be changed to “Troubles follow one another like leaves falling from atree.”)

Here are some good topics: friendship, treachery, bravery, cowardice, chance, diligence, war, van-ity, truth, brutality, beauty, poverty, wealth, music, romance, nonsense, folly, understanding, divin-ity, force, education, business, poetry, genius or foolishness. Write at least five aphorisms below.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 31

Metaphorically SpeakingMetaphors


Name__________________________________

A metaphor is a figure of speech that expresses relationships between things in such a way that aword or phrase ordinarily used for one thing is applied to another. A familiar example is: “Harrybreezed through his examinations.”

Underline the metaphor in the following passage:

As he turned from the boulevard to his street, Tom had an uneasy feeling. Then he saw it—ugly,

black smoke in the evening sky coming from the end of the cul-de-sac. A crowd of people, cars,

trucks and a fire engine were right in front of his new house! Tom sped up, unmindful of two or

three dark figures in the street scurrying toward the crowd. He slammed on his brakes, leaped out

and plowed through the crowd. As he rushed toward his front door, Tom was stopped and held back

by a burly policeman.

“Hold it, Bud. You can’t go in there!”

“But it’s MY house!” Tom yelled.

“Can’t help it. If you go inside you’ll be barbecued like a hot dog on a grill!” the policeman

shouted back.

Tom let out a howl and clenched his fists.

With the colorful language of the passage, it might be difficult to find the metaphor, but it is“plowed” in the fifth sentence. Guess what is the subject (“it”) of each metaphor below. Write it onthe line after each sentence.

1. Its shadowy arches rose higher and higher. ________________________________________

2. It ground to a cacophonous stop. ________________________________________________

3. Its measured rhythm of misery haunted him. ______________________________________

4. Then it appeared, rising Neptune-like from the sea.__________________________________

5. Stitched together hastily, it was nonetheless a success. ______________________________

6. It cast the shadow of vague and fearful tomorrows.__________________________________


Activity 31

Metaphorically SpeakingMetaphors

Name__________________________________

7. It whispered soothingly of rest and contentment and freedom from care. ________________

8. It had been strung on a fragile string. ____________________________________________

9. It stopped in that perfection, savored in all its perfectness. ____________________________

10. It became as sterile and barren as its own high heaps of tailings. ______________________

In addition to making language more interesting and enjoyable, metaphorical expressions can helpus gain insight about how to solve problems.

Use the words below metaphorically in sentences. They may be used in any of their forms.(Example: Label can be labels, labeled or labeling.

1. label ______________________________________________________________________

2. mirror______________________________________________________________________

3. ram________________________________________________________________________

4. circle ______________________________________________________________________

5. blank ______________________________________________________________________

6. brush ______________________________________________________________________

7. rock ______________________________________________________________________

8. liquid ______________________________________________________________________

9. train ______________________________________________________________________

10. glass ______________________________________________________________________

On another sheet of paper, write a poem, essay or short story about one of your metaphors.

Activity 32

In Other WordsMaxims, Paraphrasing


Name__________________________________

Many English sayings offer advice and are humorous. These sayings are called aphorisms or max-ims. They stay popular because they have the ring of truth and wry humor. A favorite maxim is“Faint heart never won fair maiden.” That saying could be paraphrased as “Weak-kneed suitorsdon’t win lovely girls.” Figure out the original sayings for these paraphrases:

1. What seems to be beautiful may be only on the surface.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

2. By copying someone, you give them a sincere compliment.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

3. Consuming apples is a good way of maintaining excellent health.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

4. Imprudent people rush headlong into situations into which angels are reluctant to go.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

5. Lack of knowledge can make the individual blithely unaware and thus happy.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

6. Where your affections lie is where your true home is.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________


7. Don’t try to fix something that doesn’t need repairing.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

8. Hurrying to finish something will spoil the endeavor.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

9. If something about you is pointed out that is obviously true, own up to it.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

10. Responding to an angry outburst with a conciliatory response will preserve peace.

Saying: ____________________________________________________________________

Paraphrase these five aphorisms:

1. It never rains but it pours. ______________________________________________________

2. Handsome is as handsome does. ________________________________________________

3. There’s no fool like an old fool. ________________________________________________

4. Every cloud has a silver lining.__________________________________________________

5. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. ____________________________________________

Activity 32

In Other WordsMaxims, Paraphrasing

Name__________________________________

Activity 33

Wise or Not?Personification, Aphorisms


Name__________________________________

“Procrastination is the thief of time.” Statements such as this use a figure of speech called person-ification, talking about something as if it were a person. “Hope springs eternal in the human heart”is a fanciful example of personification.

Underline the aphorisms which have true personification.

Discretion is the better part of valor.

Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

Two heads are better than one.

Good fortune is the comrade of virtue.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

Wonder is the daughter of ignorance.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Hate and mistrust are the children of blindness.

A stitch in time saves nine.

Silence gives consent.

Many hands make light work.

Hope is a better companion than fear.

Look over those sayings again. Which one seems particularly wise to you? __________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________________________

Which one do you consider doubtful? ________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________________________

Activity 34

The Waiting GameReminiscing


Name__________________________________

It seems we are always waiting for something: for dinner to be served, for someone to meet us orpick us up, for a doctor or a dentist to see us, for fish to bite. Waiting appears to be the chief busi-ness of life! Complete this survey. During the past month, did you wait:

1. For a phone call? __________

2. For a bus or a ride? __________

3. For a clerk to serve you in a store? __________

4. For a performance to end? __________ What was it? ________________________________

5. In a doctor’s office? __________ How long did you wait? __________

6. In a dentist’s office? __________ How long did you wait? __________

7. For a chance to say something in a conversation? __________

8. For a chance to talk in class? __________

9. For a meal to be served? __________

10. To fall asleep? __________

11. For the last class on Friday to be over? __________

12. For the dawn to break? __________

13. To talk with a prospective employer? __________

14. For a pot or kettle to boil? __________

15. For the mail to come? __________

16. For someone to come home? __________ Who was it? ______________________________

17. For an apology? __________ Did you get it? __________


18. For it to stop raining? __________

19. For retaliation? __________ Did you get it? __________ What happened? ______________

__________________________________________________________________________

20. To get into a theater? __________

How many of the 20 kinds of waiting did you experience in the past month? __________

What were some other occasions when you waited? ____________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

On which occasion were you the most patient? ________________________________________

On which occasion were you the least patient? ________________________________________

When haven’t you minded waiting at all during the past month? __________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

In your lifetime, what time do you remember best when you had to wait? Explain what happened.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 34

The Waiting GameReminiscing

Name__________________________________

Activity 35

TitlingTitling


Name__________________________________

Titles of movies, books, songs and articles are important. They can reveal exactly what the authoris writing about, or tease and only hint. Some individuals have a talent for coming up with catchytitles, but even they must struggle at times to produce titles that will get the consumer’s attention.How good are you at concocting titles? Write catchy titles for the following:

1. An anthology of poems by a modern poet who is known for his blasphemy

__________________________________________________________________________

2. A technical treatise on the defenses of moths

__________________________________________________________________________

3. A television program about environmentalists who have fought against industry

__________________________________________________________________________

4. A song about a captain who perished in a storm because he was too headstrong to turn back his

ship ______________________________________________________________________

5. A wire sculpture of a giant fighting a small man

__________________________________________________________________________

6. An essay about the futility of trying to give economic aid to foreign countries

__________________________________________________________________________

7. A comic strip whose central character is a humanized goat

__________________________________________________________________________

8. A discography of jazz records

__________________________________________________________________________


9. A tone poem that portrays courage in Siberia

__________________________________________________________________________

10. A short story about a family who moves to remote northern Canada to escape city life in

California __________________________________________________________________

11. A movie about a riot and subsequent massacre in Czechoslovakia

__________________________________________________________________________

12. A report about the superstitions of Melanesians in New Guinea

__________________________________________________________________________

What is your favorite title? ________________________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________________________

What is the best title you have ever come up with for a composition, essay, poem, song or story?

______________________________________________________________________________

Why? __________________________________________________________________________

Activity 35

TitlingTitling

Name__________________________________

Activity 36

Orange Peels and Wart Hogs

The Synopsis


Name__________________________________

How do musicians come up with names for their compositions? Some titles for old ragtime, bluesand Dixieland jazz pieces are intriguing. For instance, what did Pete Rugolo have in mind when hetitled one piece “Dream After Dream After Dream”?

How about authors’ titles? Hemingway’s title, The Old Man and the Sea is clearly about an old manfishing in the sea. Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is also clear. What do the following titles conveyto you?

1. Happy to Be Here (collection of short stories) ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Mandolins in the Moonlight (novel) ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. Wart Hog Results (magazine article) ____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. Rancid Feelings and Wholesome Food (short story) ________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. Defending the Natural World (magazine article) ____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. Mishap in Malaysia (short story) ________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


Activity 36

Orange Peels and Wart Hogs

The Synopsis

Name__________________________________

7. Orange Peelings Over (poem) __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

8. The Case of the Million-Dollar Umbrella (novel) __________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

9. The Careless Kitten (novel) ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

10. The Mark of a Heel (short story) ________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Write a synopsis of one of the titles to show what you think it’s really about.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 37

Novel SpeculationsThe Plot Summary, Titling


Name__________________________________

The titles of books, films and short stories are important for they can either pique a reader’s inter-est or fail to arouse any interest at all

Here are 10 titles of novels sent to literary agents for appraisal. Each manuscript has only a singletitle and no synopsis. Imagine you are a literary agent who has received these manuscripts. Couldyou guess what their contents are? Write a brief summary of each book, and indicate who the maincharacters might be.

1. Too Good to Be True ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. Cleaned Out ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. Sisters of the Devil __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


4. Secrets of a Mourner ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. The Last Cynic ______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. St. Martin’s at Seven ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. The Robin’s Song ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 37


Name__________________________________


8. The Ridge Near Blue River ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

9. Despised Passion ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

10. The Triumphant Redemption __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 37


Name__________________________________

Activity 38

Soggy CitizensThe Short Story


Name__________________________________

People in western Oregon and Washington don’t seem to mind the rain too much. They understandtheir states’ geography and topography. The western regions are rainy and the eastern parts are dry.There are good things and not so good things about rain. This might be called a “mixed blessing.”Can you think of some other mixed blessings?

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Explain how these happenings or situations might be mixed blessings.

1. finding money ______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. being very tall for your age ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. taking a long trip ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. having a very popular friend __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


5. winning a race ______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. getting praise from your teacher ________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. living across the street from school ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

8. having the best car of anyone in your group ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

9. winning a pony in a raffle ______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

10. being elected class president ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

11. catching a foul ball in the stands at a ballpark ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

12. being able to speak another language ____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Select the mixed blessing that interests you most, and write a short story about it. A short story hasthree important characteristics. It is carefully crafted, it is compact and it is unified. Remember thatall the details in a good short story have a purpose, and that they add to its total effect.

Activity 38

Soggy CitizensThe Short Story

Name__________________________________

Activity 39

LeisureThe Essay


Name__________________________________

The dictionary definition of leisure is “unoccupied time in which a person can indulge in rest orrecreation,” but we each define leisure in our own way. Some people use their leisure time to work,such as to build houses for others. Others enjoy doing nothing, exerting little or no energy. Somelike to chat or read. In the winter, men in some places sit in little huts ice fishing. They cut a holein the ice when a lake or pond freezes over, then drop in a line and try to catch a fish. This requireslittle action unless they catch a fish. How are they expending energy?

In the winter, what do people in cold climates do instead of

hiking? ________________________________________________________________________

playing golf? ____________________________________________________________________

swimming? ____________________________________________________________________

riding a motorcycle or bicycle? ____________________________________________________

Write about a leisure activity you believe is worthwhile. Your essay will be more successful if youwrite from personal experience. Use facts, examples and anecdotes.

In order to be persuasive, your ideas should be arranged logically, backed up by facts, examples andanecdotes. Write a strong summary statement at the end. Give your rough draft to someone whoseopinion you respect for a reading that will show up any flaws in your argument.

Activity 40

Unlikely NicknamesThe Profile


Name__________________________________

Some nicknames, such as “Hot Lips” Page (for a jazz trumpeter) and “Peekaboo” Pennington (for aprivate detective), are quite fitting. Others may be deliberately inappropriate, such as “Speedy” foran impossibly slow boy. Here are some nicknames for people that point out that they are exactly thewrong ones for their vocations:

“Lefty” Johnson (right-handed pitcher)“Two-Ton” Norton (featherweight boxer)“Clueless” Jackson (private investigator)“Sweet Stuff” Maddox (nightclub bouncer)“Painless” Hersheimer (professional wrestler)“Shaky” Birnbaum (big game hunter)“Sunny” Rudolph (professional mourner)“Giggles” Monahan (circuit court judge)

What ironic occupations can you think of for these nicknames? Attach a surname to each one.

1. Mumbles __________________________________________________________________

2. Dizzy ______________________________________________________________________

3. Slim ______________________________________________________________________

4. Slugger ____________________________________________________________________

5. Marvelous __________________________________________________________________

6. Porky ______________________________________________________________________

7. Dodo ______________________________________________________________________

8. Bubbles ____________________________________________________________________


Write a profile of one of the people listed on the previous page. A profile points out an individual’sdistinguishing characteristics. It presents information to help readers feel they know the person. Besure to tell about the person’s occupation.

Begin with a glimpse of the person that reveals why he or she is distinctive. Then, give more detailsabout the person’s distinctiveness. Include facts about the subject’s background and an incident ortwo illustrating something about his or her character. End with a brief summary. Use your imagina-tion.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Activity 40

Unlikely NicknamesThe Profile

Name__________________________________

Activity 41

Missing NearlyThe Play


Name__________________________________

There are many occasions in life when we just-miss. We may just-miss hitting a ball or catching abus or getting an “A.” Sometimes there is some satisfaction in having a near-miss, but more oftenit brings us disappointment and frustration. Describe the results of a near-miss in:

1. hitting a balloon at a carnival __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. throwing a snowball __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. aiming for a spittoon __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. a field goal try ______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. a basketball game ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. a job promotion ______________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. an anti-aircraft barrage ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

8. an assassination attempt ______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


9. airplanes colliding in mid-air __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

10. becoming valedictorian ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

11. predicting the weather ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

What near-miss would be as good or desirable as a hit? __________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

What near-miss, other than one of those previously listed, would be better than a hit? __________

______________________________________________________________________________

Write a play about one of the near-miss situations. Be sure you give your play a good title.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Title: __________________________________________________________________________

Activity 41

Missing NearlyThe Play

Name__________________________________

Activity 42

Being Whale-LikeThe Couplet, Analogies


Name__________________________________

When people think of teens, some think of electronic games, rock music and unpredictable behav-ior. But we think of whales. Why?

• Young people are whales that must emerge regularly from their element to view asometimes hostile outer world.

• Young people are whales in the sea of knowledge, filtering and digesting bits ofinformation at an incredible rate.

• Young people are whales whose rapid growth poses some difficult problems attimes.

• Young people, like whales, can be trained to be very clever and to perform tricks foraudiences.

• Young people are whales whose blowing off steam is more indicative of naturalprocesses than of a bad nature.

We call these comparisons “analogies.”

When you think of teens, what analogies do you think of? See if you can associate three objects andfour living creatures with teens.

Objects1. __________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

Creatures1. __________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________

Take a good look at each of your analogies. Which is closest to the truth or most amusing? Onanother sheet of paper write two or three statements based on that analogy.

Activity 43

Random NotesThe Character Sketch


Name__________________________________

Do you doodle on envelopes, scratch paper or telephone books? Here are some notes found onenvelopes, scraps of paper, desk calendars and telephone books. Explain what you think each isabout and write it.

1. “always humming . . . don’t see why” ____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. “every time . . . breaks me up” __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. “Marvelous mellowing, by next week”____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. “Generals on the spin” ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. “from office to stupid” ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


6. “never in this zoo”____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. “one thing or another won’t cut it” ______________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

8. “if I only had the money” ______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

9. “that’s all he ever does”________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

10. “Hah! Hah! Hah! That’s funny!” ________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Choose one of the scribbles and write about it and the person you think wrote it. Write all your ideasabout her or him and organize them into an outline. Use the outline for the basis of a charactersketch about the person. Deal with the person’s character, looks, personality, talents, idiosyncrasies,fears, likes and dislikes. The more you think about what he or she is like, the better your charactersketch will be.

Activity 43

Random NotesThe Character Sketch

Name__________________________________

Activity 44

“Real” HaikuThe Haiku


Name__________________________________

The Japanese miniature poem, haiku, has often been modified to convey word pictures about allkinds of thoughts and emotions. To the Japanese it is a form that gives a glimpse of nature. Its sym-metry and brevity seem ideal for expressing impressions about the living and non-living phenomenain our everyday world.Examples:

A chilled lily floatsBelow shifting horizonsQuavering at dawn

The cold atmosphereFreezes the regular thoughtsOf an early iris

Since these poems were written by young students and not by sophisticated adults, it can be seenthat haiku is not too difficult to master for any age. It consists of three short lines of five, seven andfive syllables. That pattern restricts the writer to a few words, and tends to encourage the writer touse only words that will produce the picture in his or her mind. If necessary, one syllable too fewor too many, is allowed.

Choose one of these first lines. Add two more lines to make a haiku. The three lines together shouldvividly suggest or express a thought, experience, feeling or observation.

• Spring’s moist warming breath ____________________________________• Toad’s coppery eyes • See the yellow bee ____________________________________• Towering alone • For the white poppy ____________________________________

Think of a scene you have recently observed: ____________________________________a garden, a stream, an animal, the sky, a rock formation or anything in nature. Write three ____________________________________lines of haiku that give a genuine feeling about your subject. ____________________________________

Activity 45

TracesThe Haiku


Name__________________________________

A trace is the evidence of the former existence, influence or action of some agent or event.Frequently, traces are left to indicate that an event has taken place. They can be as obvious as asnail’s trail on the pavement in the morning or the contrail of a jet airplane that has passed overhead.Some traces, however, are not so obvious. A detective might have to search very hard to find a tracethat can help solve a crime.

Describe the traces of these things:

1. a snake’s travels in the desert __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. a flood ____________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. a fire in a fireplace____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. an anti-aircraft barrage ________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

5. music that has been played ____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

6. someone’s impulse on the wet cement of a sidewalk ________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

7. a broken promise ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________


Activity 45

TracesThe Haiku

Name__________________________________

8. a thief’s fear ________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

9. a kindness __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

10. a bitter argument ____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Select any two of the traces you have identified and link them in a brief poem such as a haiku. Thereare 17 syllables in a traditional haiku, arranged on three lines. The first line has five syllables, thesecond has seven and the third has five. Here is a very famous example of haiku by Issa, a Japanesepoet of the eighteenth century:

Hi! My little hutIs newly thatched. I see . . .Blue morning glories.

Write your “traces” haiku below.

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

HandsActivity 46

Poetry


Name__________________________________

Scientists have said that one of the traits that makes us human is our hands, with flexible thumbsand opposable fingers. Hands enable us to do many things: typing or keyboarding, playing a musi-cal instrument, shooting a gun, dealing cards, buttoning a coat, dialing a phone. Some handicappedpeople learn to perform with their feet tasks which we think of as designed exclusively for hands.Do you think it would be possible to play a clarinet without hands? Explain.

______________________________________________________________________________

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Which of these do you need two hands to do?1. scratch your forehead 6. use a screwdriver2. lace shoes with shoelaces 7. cut hair with scissors3. button a shirt 8. catch a ball4. knit a sweater 9. ride a bicycle5. prune a branch from a tree 10. replace a car’s carburetor______________________________________________________________________________

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What are some other tasks you need hands to do?

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HandsActivity 46

Poetry

Name__________________________________

Which of these tasks would be impossible to do without at least one hand?1. thread a needle 6. throw a ball2. eat with a fork 7. turn the pages of a book3. chop wood with an axe 8. take a picture with a camera4. blow your nose 9. wind a clock5. write your signature on a check 10. dial a telephone

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Write a poem about one of the kinds of hands listed below. The poem doesn’t have to rhyme.

stubby-fingered handsslender, lovely hands

sticky handsstrong hands

wrinkled handsnervous handshealing handscalm handsquick handscold hands

clumsy handstiny hands

If you have a camera, photograph hands that you think are interesting or sketch someone’s hands.

Green PowerActivity 47

The Quatrain


Name__________________________________

What kind of plant is the most important in the world? (Hint: The common name of this plant isfound in nearly all books about home gardening.)

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Here are four lines about this plant from a very famous poet.It so little has to do,—

A sphere of simple green,With only butterflies to brood,

And bees to entertain,

Have you changed your mind about what the plant is? Write its name here:

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For another clue, here is the second stanza of the poem:And stir all day to pretty tunes

The breezes fetch along.And hold the sunshine in its lap

And bow to everything;

Need more clues? Here’s more of the poem:And thread the dews all night, like pearls,

And make itself so fine,—A duchess were too common

For such a noticing.

And even when it dies, to passIn odors so divine,

As lowly spices gone to sleep,Or amulets of pine.


The poet didn’t attach a title to this poem (she didn’t give titles to any of her poems). What titlewould you give it?

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What plant was the poet describing? ________________________________________________

The poet, Emily Dickinson, wrote the stanzas of her poem in quatrains. Most quatrains rhyme, butshe did not choose to rhyme except in the second and fourth lines of the fourth stanza. Choose asubject that is universal, and write at least two quatrains about it. Some universal themes include:joy, sunshine, mortality, love, friendship, conflict, seasons, devotion, reverence, nature, faith andhome. If you choose to have your lines rhyme, use any of these rhyming schemes: abab, abba orabcb.

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Green PowerActivity 47

The Quatrain

Name__________________________________

Answer Key


Caps, pages 7-81. Pickles—Beginning of a sentence2. Sometimes—Beginning of a sentence3. Personally—Beginning of a sentence4. I—First person singular5. It’s—Beginning of a sentence6. I—First person singular7. I—Beginning of a sentence and first person singu-

lar8. When—Beginning of a sentence9. I—First person singular

10.-12. U.S. Army—Name of an institution13. I—First person singular14.-16. General Paul Prentice—Title and given name17.-18. Fort Benning, Georgia—Geographic location19. We—Beginning of a sentence20. I—First person singular21. Mess Hall—Name of a place22. When—Beginning of a sentence23. I—First person singular24. Mess Hall—Name of a place25. I’d—First person singular26. A—Beginning of a sentence27. I—First person singular28. World War II—Name of an eventCool Art, pages 9-10The modifiers in “pizza chef,” “belly dancer,” “dollhouses” and “ox milk” are nouns that function as adjec-tives.

Awesomely Cool, page 11Answers may include:

1. dazzling, spectacular, entrancing or magnificent2. impressive or talented3. crucial, monumental or momentous4. strange, bizarre or grotesque5. revolting or disgusting6. happy or welcome news7. exceptional or extraordinary8. aggressive or bullying9. slickest or most masterly

10. let’s hope or if we’re luckyContrasts, pages 12-13Answers may include:

1. pompous—unassuming, modest, bashful, reserved,timid, shy

2. gracious—grudging, reluctant, discourteous,gruff, churlish

3. wise—dull, unknowing, foolhardy, irrational, stu-pid, obtuse, foolish

4. tender—rough, hard-hearted, unfeeling, callous,harsh

5. charming—gauche, oafish, offensive, repulsive

6. conscientious—indifferent, unscrupulous, negli-gent, careless

7. tactful—tactless, indelicate, unrefined, vulgar,rude, undiplomatic

8. arrogant—meek, subservient, servile, obsequious,modest, humble

1. impersonal—personal, warm, partial, interested2. efficient—inefficient, ineffectual, clumsy,

bungling3. dangerous—safe, dependable, trustworthy4. aggressive—submissive, defensive, yielding, con-

ciliatory5. philanthropic—misanthropic, selfish, antisocial,

close-fisted, stingy6. austere—mild, tolerant, compassionate, easygoing

1. tranquil—turbulent, tumultuous, restless, fren-zied, chaotic

2. squalid—orderly, clean, sanitary, luxurious3. dreary—light, luminous, bright, gleaming, vivid,

brilliant, lively4. remote—near, close, neighboring5. arid—humid, damp, moist, muggy, rainy, soggy,

wet6. luxuriant—barren, infertile, withered, stark, bleak

Sticky Fingers, pages 14-15Answers will vary.Amazingly, pages 16-17

1. Jerry won handily.2. Rose’s mother seemingly did a great job.3. Tito answered his mother testily.4. Frank, of course, responded frankly.5. Cynthia reacted coldly (coolly).6. Because he was very sensitive, Tom reacted defen-

sively.7. Herb regarded his teammates loftily (airily).

Moonlight Joggers, page 18Answers may include:

1. Weavers who are wise are wary of worms.2. Grandfathers who jog in the moonlight develop

strong legs.3. Electricians who go barefoot may get shocked.4. Trapeze artists who eat buttered popcorn may

retire early.5. Ballerinas who drink heavily should get a grip on

themselves.6. Private detectives who peek through keyholes can

get wrapped up in their work.A Balancing Act, pages 19-20Answers will vary.Minding Her Change, pages 21-22Answers may include:

1. You can hit a crack in the road driving a bike, caror bus.

2. A record can be lost; it can be a record from a fileor a music record.

3. A teacher can teach a student who mocks.4. People commonly book a place in an auditorium,

restaurant, airplane or motel.5. A sculptor firms the head of his subject with a tool

or hands.6. A press agent’s job for a touring company is to

“trumpet” a play, letting the public know about it.7. A Gold Rush prospector might eye his poke (bag

or sack) of gold dust before going to town.8. “Legging a hit” is an expression used in baseball,

although it is usually “legging out a hit.”9. If you duck a shot, you might be avoiding a pho-

tography session or a turkey shoot.10. If a killer is tracked, he might kill his tracker.11. A coach could “card his plays,” that is put the

plays on cards for reference.

12. To “dog” someone’s walk means to follow themclosely.

verb—offers direct object—dealsSome Advice!, pages 23-24

1. Declarative D2. Imperative I3. Imperative I4. Declarative D5. Declarative D6. Declarative D7. Imperative I8. Imperative I

Possible rebuttals to Mr. Foster’s advice may include:1. If all you are looking at is price, you may or may

not get a good deal.2. Make sure your chores are done right, then you

can take it easy.3. If you simply read for speed, you probably won’t

understand what you have read, so why read?4. Sometimes if you act in haste, you may find that

you’ve done the wrong thing.5. The driver who wears the right kind of dark glass-

es doesn’t miss seeing potholes in the road.6. The person who gloats over his success leaves a

bad taste in the mouths of others.7. Take prompt action and be firm if you want to be

able to defend yourself.8. When your brain is disengaged, you are vulnera-

ble to life’s vicissitudes.All of the sentences are ironical except the fifth one.You, the Interviewer, pages 25-27Answers will vary.Catch as Catch Can, page 28Answers will vary.Are You Ys?, page 29

1. ram—Mary, army 12. dear—ready2. set—stye 13. toad—today, toady3. tin—tiny 14. plum—lumpy, plumy4. near—yearn 15. raps—spray, prays5. pins—spiny 16. lode—yodel6. word—rowdy, dowry 17. peels—sleepy7. name—meany 18. nomad—Monday,8. rapt—party dynamo9. laps—palsy, plays 19. team—meaty, matey

10. gnat—tangy 20. chest—scythe11. once—coney*,

Coney (Island)*A “coney” is a European rabbit.Twisters, page 30Answers will vary.It’s Vanity, pages 31-33Answers will vary.Mix-Ups, pages 34-35

1. fairly bound—barely found2. bunny fair—funny bear3. lot puck—pot luck4. berry munch—merry bunch5. gravel tide—travel guide6. wrong leech—long reach7. measure to pleat you—pleasure to meet you8. dumber of knives—number of dives9. tong lime—long time

10. gun and fames—fun and games11. mitt or hiss—hit or miss12. dare of pucks—pair of ducksHeadlines, pages 36-37Answers may include:

1. Poland polls citizens about unions.2. Nick nicked by bullet. (“Nick is a nickname for

Nicholas.)3. Bill bills city for damage to trees.4. “The Rock” rocks from riot. (The nickname for

Alcatraz prison is “The Rock.”)5. Greece greases the skids for dictator.6. Harry harried by rowdies.

Common Nounsmemberscirclepeopleconditionsgarretatticdegreestemperaturedwellingdwellingonereasonfriendswayssingerarmadillosapartmentlivingdancerdietgrasshoppers

milkjobnightclubtoothpicksmorningtoothpickshousesgroupidiosyncrasiesProper NounsHezzyBuffaloHezzyHezzyHezzyCarmenGraciePhaetonNat’s Pizza Paradise ClubCarmenSundaysBohemians


7. Standard stands firm against government.(Standard Oil Company)

Reversals, pages 38-39Answers my include:

1. “Godliness is next to cleanliness”—Some peoplethink it is less important to be good (godly) thanclean.

2. “Right makes might”—Abraham Lincoln said,“Let us have faith that right makes might,” andmany people want to believe it is so.

3. “Perfection makes practice”—To remain perfect,one must keep on practicing!

4. “Believing is seeing”—People tend to perceivewhat they expect to see.

5. “Where there’s hope there’s life”—We all needhope in this life.

6. “It’s a good wind that blows no one ill”—Goodwinds are helpful, to sailors especially.

7. “Wrath turns away a soft answer”—An angry per-son is not likely to listen to a soft answer.

8. “Waste makes haste”—When something, such astime is wasted, we have to hurry to remedy the sit-uation.

9. “If you can’t join ’em, beat ’em”—If you arepassed over when members of a team are chosen,try to beat them on another team.

10. “All play and no work makes Jack a dull boy”—Those who only want to spend their lives in leisurebecome just as dull as workaholics.

Sad Spaghetti, pages 40-41Answers will vary.Pick Your Spot, pages 42-43Answers will vary.Three Puzzling Scenes, pages 49-51Answers will vary.Any Explanation?, pages 52-53Answers may include:

1. Children who can’t find a toy won’t find it by cry-ing.

2. Wash days are fine if you aren’t the one doing thewashing.

3. As a place to practice their leaps and twirls, a for-est isn’t usually suited for ballerinas.

4. A sheepish smile won’t satisfy a parent if the stu-dent failed the test.

5. It’s torture to know the answer when the teacherwon’t call on you.

6. Heredity means getting a type of fingernail as wellas eye color, height and shape of nose from par-ents.

7. Wet sidewalks indicate showers, and robins arelikely to sing after the sun comes out.

8. Tar is a lot worse than wax paper when it comes togarbage disposal.

9. One of the five people was so large he had to taketwo seats.

10. When they dance in the moonlight, monsters areprobably more deliberate and graceful in theirmovements. (See Maurice Sendak’s Where theWild Things Are.)

What’s Missing?, pages 54-55Answers may include:

1. Mr. Michaels drove into the wrong driveway bymistake.

2. (a) Nelson didn’t see or had ignored a sign thatswimming was prohibited. (b) He was arrested forindecent exposure or illegal parking.

3. The dog’s vision, hearing or sense of smell isdefective.

A Searching Question, page 57Answers will vary.Break, Broke, Broken, page 58Answers may include:

1. broke (no money)2. break bread

3. break in the clouds, broken sky4. break in boxing (break the clinch)5. break in music, especially jazz6. Give me a break.7. daybreak (dawn)8. brokenhearted9. “break in the action” (television sportscast)

10. break in communication (telephone, etc.)11. breach of confidence (couple “break up”)12. break or rest (taking a break on the job)13. broken arrow14. broken record15. break of spirit, as in breaking horsesWise Weavers and Greedy Gamblers, page 60Answers will vary.The Ponderous Panda, pages 61-62Examples of alliterative sentences:pigeon—This pigeon was called a pouter, but it didn’texhibit a bit of emotion as it pecked and pranced on thesquare.starling—The huge flock of starlings stormed over theorchard, stealing all of the farmer’s fruit and startlinghis little dog.robin—If a robin becomes riled when he sees a rival inyour backyard, don’t be surprised—he’s defending histerritory.sparrow—Since they commonly dislodge bluebirds inboxes built for birds of small size, sparrows are regard-ed as villains by many people.blackbird—When the hawk approached, the black-birds rose up together to bluff the raptor and block itsway to their nests.canary—Canaries can court coyly in their coveredcages.mockingbird—White feathers flashing, the mocking-bird flew straight at the menacing marauder.Moonlight, magnolias and the mockingbird—these areenduring symbols of the Old South.gull—The gull glided gracefully above the rooftop,then landed with regal aplomb.Wise and Witty, page 63Answers will vary.Metaphorically Speaking, pages 64-65Answers will vary.In Other Words, pages 66-67

1. Beauty is only skin-deep.2. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.3. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.4. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.5. Ignorance is bliss.6. Home is where the heart is.7. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.8. Haste makes waste.9. If the shoe fits, wear it.

10. A soft answer turns away wrath.Wise or Not?, page 68Aphorisms with personification:

Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.Good fortune is the comrade of virtue.Necessity is the mother of invention.Wonder is the daughter of ignorance.Hate and mistrust are the children of blindness.Silence gives consent.Hope is a better companion than fear.

Titling, pages 71-72Answers will vary.Orange Peels and Wart Hogs, pages 73-74Answers will vary.Novel Speculations, pages 75-77Answers will vary.Soggy Citizens, pages 78-79Answers may include:

1. finding money—You might wonder what to dowith it—turn it in and worry that someone mayclaim it. This is the quandary most people havewhen they find money.

2. being very tall for your age—You get called onto get things other people can’t reach, but youalso outgrow clothes quickly. People think youare older than you really are, and this is bothgood and bad.

3. taking a long trip—It’s nice to get away and seenew things, but you may not know where to getinformation, obtain things or go in an emer-gency; and you might get homesick.

4. having a very popular friend—People may talkto your friend and ignore you, but good friendsare precious.

5. winning a race—People remember and admirewinners, but some may resent you.

6. getting praise from your teacher—Some stu-dents cringe at the thought of being praisedaloud by a teacher, though they may deserve itand secretly want it.

7. living across the street from school—It doesn’ttake long to get to school, you can leave home atthe last minute if you want to. On the otherhand, you may be called upon to help out whenyou don’t want to.

8. having the best car of anyone in your group—Your friends will want to always go in your car,but you’ll be popular!

9. winning a pony in a raffle—What if you have noplace to keep a pony? The upkeep of ponies canbe quite expensive, but winning a prize isalways nice.

10. being elected class president—There is prestigein being elected president, but the job may callfor speech-making and you may hate speakingto groups.

11. catching a foul ball in the stands at a ball park—Catching the ball may hurt if you don’t have aglove on, and you may take a jostling from otherfans who are trying to catch it. Bullies may tryto take it away from you. But catching the ballwill bring applause and admiration.

12. being able to speak another language—You mayhave to translate for someone when you wouldrather be doing something else, but it’s anadvantage in many ways to be bilingual.

Leisure, page 80Answers may include:

Instead of hiking, people can go cross-country skiing.Hockey isn’t exactly comparable to golf, but it can be

played indoors or outdoors.Instead of swimming, people can ice skate.Snowmobiling is a popular recreation to take the place

of cycling.Unlikely Nicknames, pages 81-82Answers may include:

1. “Mumbles” Murphy (elocution teacher)2. “Dizzy” Gorman (steeplejack)3. “Slim” Schmidt (circus fat man)4. “Slugger” Pembroke (last in batting in the

American League)5. “Marvelous” Nesbitt (all-time loser in horseshoe

tournaments)6. “Porky” Marinez (fitness model on television)7. “Dodo” Karsakov (chess champion)8. “Bubbles” Evenson (head mistress of a girls

school)Missing Nearly, pages 83-84Answers will vary.Being Whale-Like, page 85Answers will vary.Random Notes, pages 86-87Answers will vary.Traces, pages 89-90Answers will vary.Hands, pages 91-92Answers will vary.Green Power, pages 93-94grass

Answer Key

PreK-3TLC10589

Teaching & Learning Companya Lorenz company • P. O. Box 802 • Dayton, OH 45401-0802

www.LorenzEducationalPress.com

Teaching & Learning Company

Each Theme Includes:• Mini-bulletin board pattern• Mobile• Paper hugger• Easel sign• Box ends• and much more!

Easy-to-Create Seasonal Projects for a

One-of-a-Kind Learning Environment

by Veronica Terrill

for Early Learners

includes

24 seasonal

themes

4

ISBN 978-1-4291-1831-6

ETLC10462i

ISBN 978-1-4291-1291-8

Documents

Lively Language Lessons for Reluctant Learners Book 1