DIRECTIONS: In continuing with reviewing basic parts of speech and usage, INDEPENDENTLY read the following paragraph below. INDEPENDENTLY Focusing on the underlined words, you will create a more powerful, reader engaging word choice so that when we reread the paragraph there is more excitement for the reader.

We lived in northwestern Minnesota, up near the Canadian border and not

far from the eastern border of North Dakota. The area is without trees now and

almost all farmland, but in the late forties and early fifties it was full of trees

and covered with small lakes and was perhaps the best hunting and fishing

country in the world, absolutely crawling with fish and game. My friends and I

spent most of our time in the woods, hunting, fishing or just camping, but we lived

in town and had town lives as well.

(Paulsen, Gary. How Angel Peterson Got His Name, p. 2)

**Guiding questions to facilitate your choices:

*Where is the selection of this setting located?

*What would be activities done in this setting?

*What resources help us make stronger word choice for verbs and descriptions?

*What Part of Speech are words like: we, us, I, My, it??? How can these words be made more powerful in writing?

Actual published piece…. Decide: The original word choice is better or the ‘student’ revised word choice is better…. SURVEY SAYS….

We lived in northwestern Minnesota, up near the Canadian border and not

far from the eastern border of North Dakota. The area ismostly cleared now and

almost all farmland, but in the late forties and early fifties it was thickly forested

and covered with small lakes and was perhaps the best hunting and fishing country

in the world, absolutely crawling with fish and game. My friends and I spent

most of our time in the woods, hunting, fishing or just camping, but we lived in

town and had town lives as well.

(Paulsen, Gary. How Angel Peterson Got His Name, p. 2)

Name ______

Teacher: ______

RELA - ______

29 August 2011

HOMEWORK: Complete the exercises below as they will reinforce the review of NOUNS and VERBS. Focusing on the UNDERLINED word choices, change the verb so that it creates a more powerful and interesting story for the reader.

When we arrived in New York City, our names changed almost immediately. At Immigration, the officer asked my father Mister Elbures, if he had anything to declare. My father shook his head no, and we were waved through hallway. I was too afraid we wouldn’t be let in if I corrected the man’s pronunciation, but I said our name to myself, opening my mouth wide for the organ blast of an a. trilling my tongue for the drumroll of the r, All-vah-rrr-es! How could anyone get Albures out of that orchestra of sound? (“Names/Nombres”, Julia Alvarez, lines 1-8, Holt textbook)

**STRETCH THE MIND…Reread the paragraph above, and make a list of any PRONOUNS used in the paragraph. After making the list of PRONOUNS, could you create a more ‘specific and meaningful’ description within the paragraph by replacing the pronouns with better choices? (without changing the context of the paragraph.)

**Do all work on this handout or on the back of this handout**

Due tomorrow, Tuesday, August 30, 2011.