Second Quarter Exam Study Guide– ENGLISHName: ______

Part 1: Subject-Verb Agreement – Circle the correct word.

  1. My favorite food (is, are) pizza.
  2. My parents (is, are) very excited about my report card.
  3. I (is, am) very upset about my grade in PE.
  4. We (was, were) going to go to the movies tonight.
  5. He (was, were) eating spaghetti for dinner.
  6. I thought you (was/were) not coming to school today.

Part 2: Figurative Language – Read the figurative language examples, and then use the word bank to complete the answers.

  1. The early bird gets the worm. ______
  2. My house is bigger than the moon. ______
  3. This vacuum cleaner sucks. ______
  4. Her face is as red as an apple. ______
  5. The kids in the hallway are little tornados. ______
  6. "It is just a little cool today" - when the temperature outside is 5° below zero. ______
  7. The moonbeams danced across the mountain top. ______
  8. The exam will be a piece of cake. ______

Part 3: Context Clues – Determine the meaning for the underlined word.

  1. The substitute was exasperated by the end of the day because of the students’ behavior.
  2. Excitedb. Terrifiedc. Frustratedd. Saddened
  3. The students hurdled from desktop to desktop.
  4. Jumpedb. Sat onc. Criedd. Danced
  5. The principal had to come in and holler at the students.
  6. Whisperb. Talk c. Yelld. Point

Part 4: Editing – Choose the letter with the error in the line. If the sentence is correct, choose “No Mistake.”

  1. A) Yesterday my parents

B) boughta house. I got

C) to pick out my new room.

D) No Mistake

  1. A) My new room is

B) bright yellow and it

C) has purple polka dots.

D) No Mistake

  1. A) The first thing I did

B) was hang up my poster

C) of beyonce and jay z.

D) No mistake

  1. A) My mom said “you

B) better keep this room

C) clean!”

D) No mistake

Part 5: Write whether the sentence is complete, run-on, or fragment.

  1. Basketball is my favorite sport. ______
  2. The ball is orange and round and it has little bumps all over the surface, the basketball is filled with air so that it bounces and it bounces really high. ______
  3. The basketball team. ______

Part 6: Editing and Revising

The Space Dog

(1) Have you ever heard of Planet Zorg? (2) I hadn’t…until last week when my mom had returned from a business trip. (3) She was off visiting other planetary systems in hopes of landing a new business contract. (4) My mom made a deal with a Zorgulen (those are the people who live on Planet Zorg). (5) The deal had to do with animals. (6) The Zorgulen wanted an earthling dog, and he had always heard about the soft and fluffy nature of them. (7) My mom told him over SpaceMail that she would bring him a dog, but only if she could get a Zorgulen dog in return.

(8) When my mom arrived back home, she told me to go look in the backseat of her SpaceCar. (9) When I got there, I smelled something awful! (10) It smelled as if something had died. (11) My mom ran out behind me yelling, “Casey, hold on! I forgot to give you the gas mask! Here, son, put this on.” (12) I didn’t even have to question my mom; I knew exactly what the mask was for. (13) When I opened the door, a giant green cloud poured out from the opening. (14) The cloud was impossible to see though, and when it finally dissipated, I saw it for the first time.

(15) The Zorgulen dog – if you can even call it a dog – was sitting in the back seat with his tongue drooping out of the side of his mouth. (16) I was taken aback by his greenish-yellow scaly skin. (17) His head was as thorny as a rosebush, and bigger than his body. (18) The Zorgulen dog leapt from the car with such force that the car almost tipped over sideways. (19) He didn’t walk like an earthling dog – oh no – he hopped, everywhere. (20) With each hop, the ground trembled. (21) It wasn’t until he let out a “bark” that I knew he couldn’t stay. (22) Imagine a rooster and a T-Rex, and the sound that might be produced if you had a T-Rooster dinosaur. (23) The loud crow-growl mixture shattered every window on my house. (24) My dad liked the neighbor’s house better anyway.

(25) My mom hurried all of us into the SpaceCar, and we made a quick trip back to Zorg to return our new pet. (26) When we arrived in Zorg, the Zorgulen asked why we wanted to give back the dog. (27) We just laughed and laughed – wasn’t it obvious? (28) We told him he could keep Ralph, the earthling dog.

  1. Which sentence includes an unimportant detail?
  2. Sentence 1
  3. Sentence 12
  4. Sentence 24
  5. Sentence 27
  6. The author wants to add the following sentence:

“The Zorgulens were as tall as trees, very skinny, and did not have noses.”

Where can this sentence be added to help the reader understand more about the Zorgulens?

  1. After sentence 8
  2. After sentence 7
  3. After sentence 4
  4. After sentence 27
  1. Choose a sentence to replace sentence (10), giving it more detail.
  2. It smelled really bad.
  3. The smell that emitted from the SpaceCar smelled like death.
  4. The smell around the SpaceCar was not pretty
  5. It was the worst smell ever.
  6. Which transition could be added to the beginning of sentence (8)?
  7. Unfortunately,
  8. Finally,
  9. Because,
  10. Also,

Part 7: Write a BETTER Synonym for the underlined word/phrase.

  1. After bowling, my big family went out for pizza.
  2. New Synonym: ______
  1. My sister whispered me her secret.
  2. New Synonym: ______
  1. The Christmas tree is decorated with many ornaments.
  2. New Synonym: ______
  1. Slidell Jr. High had the best football team this season.
  2. New Synonym: ______
  1. I am unhappy about my science grade this quarter.
  2. New Synonym: ______
  1. The LSU football team was not very good this year.
  2. New Synonym: ______
  3. For Hanukah this year, we are using my grandmother’s special menorah.
  4. New Synonym: ______