!BOOK Fix-It! Grammar and Editing Made Easy with Classics By Pamela White Student Book BOOK ONE Tom Sawyer Adapted from Mark Twain s Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Welcome to Fix-It! This document contains the student pages for the Tom Sawyer Fix-Its. Please refer to your teacher s manual for more specific directions and for the answer key. This student book is formatted for two-sided printing but may be printed single-sided. Each student will need his own copy of the student pages. If you are a classroom teacher, you are welcome to make copies of these student pages for each of your students; however, the teacher s manual may not be copied.
Student Book One: Tom Sawyer For use with FIX-IT! Grammar and Editing Made Easy with Classics Second Edition By Pamela White
Acknowledgments Fix-It! began as a collaboration with my dear friend and fellow teacher Vicki Graham, to whom I am particularly indebted for her inspiration, aid, and humorous contributions to The King and the Discommodious Pea. I am also most grateful to my IEW students and their parents, whose lively discussions and penetrating grammatical questions have fine-tuned these stories. I welcome questions and comments. You can reach me at pamela@excellenceinwriting.com. Fix-It! Grammar and Editing Made Easy with Classics Second Edition Copyright! 2009 Pamela White ISBN-10: 0-9779860-6-3 ISBN-13: 978-0-9779860-6-4 Our Duplicating/Copying Policy All rights reserved. No part of this book or e-book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author, except as provided by USA copyright law and the specific policy below: The student materials contained in the accompanying e-book may be may be freely printed and copied by a teacher or mentor for use in a classroom or with any group of students. The teacher book may not be copied. Published by Institute for Excellence in Writing, Inc. 800.856.5815 www.excellenceinwriting.com
Student Book One: Tom Sawyer Teacher s Notes Welcome to Fix-It! This document contains the student pages for the Tom Sawyer Fix-Its. They are formatted for two-sided printing but may be printed single-sided. Each student will need his own copy of the student pages. If you are a classroom teacher, you are welcome to make copies of these student pages for each of your students; however, the teacher s manual may not be copied. The Tom Sawyer Fix-It story is divided into ten chapters. Each chapter introduces a new skill for your student to practice while editing. Read through the new concepts with your student and then demonstrate the application while you help your student as needed. The teacher s manual contains more detailed instructions in the Introduction. Generally, students will do the following with their student pages: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Students should look it up in a dictionary and then write key words of the definition that best fits that context. There is room on the student page for the student to write in the definition. You can also challenge your students to use a certain number of these words in their writing each week. Search for the imbedded errors in the passage. Encourage students to read the passage aloud to help them find errors more easily. Errors requiring correction will not begin until week 3. A list of proofreading symbols is provided in the student pages and a sample of what they look like in Fix-It at the end of the Appendix. You may teach your students to use these symbols as they read through the passage to help them remember what to correct when they rewrite it. Rewrite the corrected passage in a separate notebook, indenting for paragraphs where appropriate. A bound or spiral notebook is perfect for this step. Add new passages to the old so that they tell one continuous story. Skip lines to allow room for additional teacher-directed corrections. Ideally, students should copy the sentences by hand, which forces their brains to slow down and process every word and mark of punctuation. It is also excellent handwriting or printing practice. If handwriting is a challenge, however, you may wish to copy and paste the story from the PDF into a word processing document and allow your student to edit the sentences directly on the computer. Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 1 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Checking Student Work Daily or at the end of the week check your student s notebook and correct the rewritten sentences by comparing them to the corrected sentences in the teacher s manual. By previewing the answers and the rules, you will be ready to help your students. Begin by reading the selection aloud, which can help students untangle the punctuation. Check that they understand the story line. Ask for a definition of the bolded vocabulary word in the context of that passage. Note that the definitions provided fit that context only. Discuss the reasons for starting new paragraphs when applicable. Elicit from students their suggestions for grammar corrections using the Fix-Its as a springboard to introduce or review punctuation and grammar skills you wish your students to learn. You can refer to the common grammar rules provided in the Appendix. The Appendix is not intended to be a complete guide to grammar; however, it does cover the basics. For a more complete collection of grammar rules, refer to a grammar resource such as The Blue Book of Grammar by Jane Straus. Few students will find all the errors. Encourage them to know this is expected. The sentences in later chapters are designed to be challenging, which allows you to teach new concepts on the spot and reinforce them in later Fix-Its. You do not need to cover every rule missed. Choose a few to focus on, and then work on the others as your students understanding increases. If your students are advanced, you may desire to cover the optional advanced concepts, which make the story adaptable to stronger students when teaching to a mixed group. You are now ready to begin. Read the student instructions (see next page) with your student(s). These instructions will explain what is expected of them and prepare them to Fix-It. Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 2 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It Student Pages: Tom Sawyer Student Instructions Every week you will be making corrections on four passages from an ongoing story. Make the corrections right on the passage, one passage per day, and then rewrite your passage in a separate notebook. For ease of fixing errors, learn to use the editing symbols provided on page 4. Be sure to double-space when you rewrite your passage in your notebook so that your teacher can add any corrections you missed. On the following pages you may also write down the definition of the bolded vocabulary words in the space provided. Choose the definition that best fits the context. You do not need to write out the entire definition from the dictionary, just the key words. Your teacher will show you how to find the things on the checklist below. She will determine which of the optional items you will need to do. This checklist will grow over the course of the year. Don t panic! You are not expected to find everything the first few times, but you will get better the more you practice. It helps to read the passages aloud to check for errors. When you think you have found all the errors and have rewritten the passage in your notebook, have your teacher check your work. He or she will explain anything you missed and correct your notebook. After a while, you will find that you won t need much correcting! Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 3 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Editing Checklist Chapter 1: Weeks 1 4 This checklist is for weeks 1 4. A new checklist will be provided for each chapter. Teacher s Note: There are no mistakes to fix during the first two weeks. Students need only determine when to indent and underline subjects and verbs appropriately. Read about when to indent in the Appendix on page A-8. Explain that the subject is who or what the sentence is about and the verb is what the subject is doing or being. Faulty homonyms begin in week 3. Advanced students may identify subject openers; see the Appendix, page A-3. Chapter 1 Editing Checklist! Vocabulary: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Look it up in a dictionary, and then write the definition that best fits the context.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented. Ask yourself, Is it a new topic, a new scene/time, or a new person speaking? If yes, indent.! Underline the subject and double underline the verb.! Homophones: Beginning in week 3, correct faulty homophones, which are words that have the same sound but different spelling and meaning.! (Advanced) Identify the #1 subject opener. This is for advanced students who already know their dress-ups. Starting in week 2, mark subject openers by placing a [1] in front of the sentence.! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. The next page contains a list of proofreading symbols that you might find useful as you do your Fix-Its. Use the symbols on the student page to remind you what to fix when you complete your rewrite. Some tricky homophones to watch for: to, two, too Sally went to the store. to = " Sally bought two cases of candy. two = 2 Bobby said, I want to go too! too = also, besides Sally and Bobby ate too much. too = to an excessive degree Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 4 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Proofreading Symbols indent; start a new paragraph do not indent; no new paragraph insert whatever punctuation is in the circle t T Capitalize (3 underline marks) use a lowercase letter (slanted line through the letter) insert word(s) or letter(s) here take out; delete reverse the order # add a space close the space Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 5 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 6 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 1 There are no mistakes to fix this week. Focus on when to indent, and underline subjects and verbs appropriately. Read about when to indent in the Appendix on page A-8. The subject is who or what the sentence is about, and the verb is what the subject is doing or being. Tom s perplexed Aunt Polly punched under the bed with the broom. She resurrected a cat but not a boy from under the bed. Secretly in the closet Tom gobbled up a sticky jam sandwich. He burst out of the closet, but not fast enough. perplexed: resurrected: gobbled: burst: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 7 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 2 Remember that helping verbs need to be underlined along with the main verb. Aunt Polly seized her mischievous nephew by his collar. Helping Verbs (all 23 of them!) I might a guessed your foolery, Tom! In a shrill tone Tom yelled, My! Look behind you, Aunt Polly! Aunt Polly reeled around, and Tom fled. may might must be being been am are is was were do does did mischievous: foolery: shrill: reeled: should could would have had has will can shall Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 8 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 3 This week you will find your first faulty homophone. Also, if you see both conversation and an attribution, be sure to identify the subject/verb in both of them. An attribution tells you who said the words in the quotes. I love you, said Mom. I love you is the quote; said Mom is the attribution. That Tom will play hooky from school today, she thought too herself. During supper Aunt Polly questioned Tom in a roundabout way. The heat must a been overpowering in school today, hmm, Tom? Maybe you wanted a swim? Suddenly wary, Tom replied coolly, No m, but we dunked our heads under the pump, Auntie. play hooky: roundabout: overpowering: wary: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 9 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Week 4 Tom Sawyer Some of the passages this week contain more than one sentence. If so, be sure to find the subject/verb in each sentence. Vexed, Aunt Polly tried a different line of questioning. Well, then, you busted the stitches on your collar, hmm? Phew! Tom was safe. His shirt collar was sewn securely. Then Tom s cousin Sidney chimed in. Well, now, if I didn t think you sewed his collar with white thread, but it s black. Why, I did sew it with white! Tom! In a flash Tom was out the kitchen door muttering two himself, I wish to geeminy she d stick too one or t other! vexed: securely: chimed: muttering: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 10 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Checklist Chapter 2: Weeks 5 7 Teacher s Note: Starting this week, students will no longer be underlining the subject/verb, so that task has been removed from the checklist. Instead, they will underline some dress-ups. Dress-ups are simply additional words added to the sentence to dress it up and make it more interesting. See the Appendix pages A-1 to 2 for more information. The two dress-ups you will need to underline are the quality adjective and the -ly adverb. Quality Adjective Test for an adjective: The pen It must be a quality adjective, which is one that adds a strong image or feeling. -ly Adverb An ly adverb ends in -ly and is usually near a verb or an adjective. To be an adverb, it will answer questions like when? where? why? how? in what way? how much? and to what extent? Chapter 2 Editing Checklist! Vocabulary: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Look it up in a dictionary, and then write the definition that best fits the context.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented. Ask yourself, Is it a new topic, a new scene/time, or a new person speaking? If yes, indent.! Homophones: Correct faulty homophones, which are words that have the same sound but different spelling and meaning.! Underline Dress-ups: Learn to find the -ly adverb dress-up quality adjective dress-up (must be quality!)! (Advanced) Identify the #1 and #3 sentence openers. This is for advanced students who already know their dress-ups. (See the Appendix pages A-3 to 4.)! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. More tricky homophones to watch for: for/four by/buy Sally bought four candy bars. four = 4 I will walk by the fence. by = position She bought them for Bobby. (not the number) I will buy lots of candy. buy = to purchase your/you re Those are your candy bars. You re a nice person. your = possessive you re = you are Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 11 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 5 On this bright Saturday morning Tom felt prodigiously afflicted because Aunt Polly had sternly ordered him too whitewash the fence. Presently Ben Rogers ambled buy. He taunted Tom. Poor chap, two bad you cain t come a-swimmin with me on such a hot day since you gotta work. Why, ain t a boy in a hundred gets too whitewash an illustrious fence like this one, Tom proudly announced two Ben. Enthusiastically Ben offered too barter his shiny red apple in exchange four a turn two whitewash. prodigiously afflicted: ambled: illustrious: barter: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 12 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 6 Unexpectedly Johnny Miller then came along and willingly traded his dead rat four the opportunity too whitewash. Approximately to hours later Tom was a prosperous man with three pennies, a rusty key, a tin soldier, a shriveled garter snake s head, a brass doorknocker, and a little brown bottle of wart medicine. The distinguished fence now had three coats of fresh whitewash, so Tom intrepidly reported two Aunt Polly that the fence was finished. Sadly Aunt Polly gazed at Tom and complained, You know it breaks my poor heart when you lie too me, Tom. opportunity: prosperous: intrepidly: gazed: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 13 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 7 I surely ain t a-lyin two you, Auntie, because I worked a mighty piece too make you re fence real respectable. Aunt Polly placed slight trust in his word and went out too observe four herself. She would have been content two find twenty per cent of Tom s statement true. When she found the entire fence elaborately coated, her astonishment was almost unspeakable. Well, I never! Theirs no getting around it you can work when you ve a mind too, Tom. Swiftly Tom sneaked a fresh doughnut into his pocket while Aunt Polly reached into the barrel two select a choice apple four his reward. respectable: slight: unspeakable: choice: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 14 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Checklist Chapter 3: Weeks 8 10 Teacher s Note: This chapter introduces the strong verb dress-up. Strong Verb The most powerful part of speech, the verb can make or break a sentence. Consider this sentence: It ll be the first thing I ll throw away when I make changes. The verbs throw and make are ordinary. If you change them, the sentence will be stronger: It ll be the first thing I ll pitch when I redecorate. To recognize verbs, fill in these blanks with a form of the word in question. Yesterday he ; today he ; tomorrow he will. (Yesterday he pitched; today he pitches; tomorrow he will pitch.) Chapter 3 Editing Checklist! Vocabulary: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Look it up in a dictionary, and then write the definition that best fits the context.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented. Ask yourself, Is it a new topic, a new scene/time, or a new person speaking? If yes, indent.! Homophones: Correct faulty homophones, which are words that have the same sound but different spelling and meaning.! Underline Dress-ups: The new dress-up to find for this chapter is the strong verb. -ly adverb quality adjective strong verb! (Advanced) Identify the #1, #2 and #3 sentence openers. This is for advanced students who already know their dress-ups. (See the Appendix page A-3.) [1] Subject [2] Prepositional [3] -ly! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. More tricky homophones to watch for: hear/here there/their/they re I can hear you. hear = with an ear It is over there. there = place I am over here. here = place It is their place. their = possessive They re my friends. they re = they are Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 15 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Week 8 Tom Sawyer Before school on Monday, Tom stopped too dillydally with Huckleberry Finn. In St. Petersburg, Missouri, most of the older boys envied Huck Finn because he habitually lived buy himself and came and went as he pleased. In this hear sack I got me a dead cat to cure warts with, boasted Huck proudly. At about midnight, he continued confidingly, you take you re cat to the graveyard when somebody wicked has just been buried. [quotation continues so do not close off quotation yet] dillydally: habitually: boasted: confidingly: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 16 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 9 When some devils come to take that feller away, you heave your cat after em and say, Devil follow corpse, cat follow devil, warts follow cat, I m done with you! In an instant Tom entreated, If your gonna go to the old cemetery tonight, can I come, Huck? With a handshake Huck agreed to bring Tom along, and they separated. There friendly chat made Tom late four school. In haste Tom took his seat, and immediately the schoolmaster demanded too know why Tom was tardy again. heave: entreated: chat: haste: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 17 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 10 Across the room Tom noticed the only vacant seat next two a girl with long yellow braids. Without wavering Tom blurted out, I stopped too talk with Huckleberry Finn. From the schoolmaster came an appalling punishment. Thomas Sawyer, go and sit with the girls! In a jiffy Tom obeyed, four in truth he liked Becky Thatcher. She was the loveliest girl in St. Petersburg, Missouri. vacant: wavering: appalling: jiffy: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 18 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Checklist Chapter 4: Weeks 11 13 Teacher s Note: Your students will now be challenged to find capitalization errors and also identify the subordinating conjunctions that begin adverb clauses. This is just a fancy way to say, Find and underline the adverbs that begin adverbial clauses when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because. This is another dress-up and is described in the Appendix on page A-3. Capitalization rules can be found in the Appendix on pages A-8 to 9. Advanced students who already know their dress-ups can also mark the #5 adverb clause openers. These students should not underline sentence opener adverb clause starters; they get marked with a [5] instead. See the Appendix page A-5. Chapter 4 Editing Checklist! Vocabulary: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Look it up in a dictionary, and then write the definition that best fits the context.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented. Ask yourself, Is it a new topic, a new scene/time, or a new person speaking? If yes, indent.! Capitalization: Check for proper capitalization.! Homophones: Correct faulty homophones, which are words that have the same sound but different spelling and meaning.! Underline Dress-ups: The new dress-up is also the adverb clause. Look for the words when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because that serve as adverbs. -ly adverb quality adjective strong verb adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because! (Advanced) Identify Sentence Openers: For advanced students, who already know all their dress-ups, mark the [5] adverb clause opener. [1] Subject [2] Prepositional [3] -ly [5] Adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 19 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 11 at midnight huckleberry finn caterwauled under tom s window while everyone was asleep. after tom climbed out, the boys stealthily headed for the old st. petersburg cemetery to cure they re warts with the dead cat. when the moon went behind the clouds, tom and huck felt jittery. they stopped behind three grate elms that grew near a fresh grave. Because they heard someone approaching, the boys grew silent. muff potter, injun joe, and young doc robinson tramped right up to the grave with a lantern, shovels, and a wheelbarrow. caterwauled: stealthily: jittery: tramped: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 20 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 12 that distressing tuesday night tom and huck watched helplessly while injun joe and muff potter dug up and pried open a coffin. The men rudely dumped a corpse with a pallid face into the wheelbarrow, covered it with a blanket, and bound it in place with a rope. insolently injun joe held out his hand for more money, but doc robinson struck him. you ruffians have been paid plenty already. muff potter dropped his knife. In the pale moonlight he began to scuffle with the Doctor, protesting, don t be hittin my partner! distressing: pallid: insolently: scuffle: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 21 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 13 injun joe grabbed muff potter s knife. Just as the Doctor knocked potter out cold, the vile thief stabbed doc robinson in the chest. when muff potter came to, injun joe slyly lied to him. you done murdered the Doc, he sneered, But I won t let on it was you, muff. the terrified boys fled in the dark as the wan Winter moon silently slipped behind the clouds. they scurried to the village, speechless with horror. I, tom sawyer, the frightened boy whispered, Swears never two tell what I know bout the murder, or injun joe might kill us. huck finn vowed the same. vile: slyly: wan: vowed: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 22 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Checklist Chapter 5: Weeks 14 16 Teacher s Note: Correct use of quotation marks and end marks is practiced in this chapter. You may wish to begin this week by explaining how to use quotes around conversation, and list the possible end marks for your students. Note that end marks and commas belong inside the quote marks. Quotation rules are located in the Appendix on pages A-9 to 10, but end marks are not addressed. Simply list the end marks for your student: the period [.] at the end of statements, a question mark [?] at the end of questions, and an exclamation point [!] after interjections such as hey! and exclamations. Additionally, address the need for a period to end an abbreviation. Advanced students no longer need to identify subject openers. Chapter 5 Editing Checklist! Vocabulary: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Look it up in a dictionary, and then write the definition that best fits the context.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented. Ask yourself, Is it a new topic, a new scene/time, or a new person speaking? If yes, indent.! Capitalization: Check for proper capitalization.! Punctuation: Check for proper quotation marks ( ) and end marks (.?! ).! Homophones: Correct faulty homophones, which are words that have the same sound but different spelling and meaning.! Underline Dress-ups:! -ly adverb! quality adjective! strong verb! adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because! (Advanced) Identify Sentence Openers: Advanced students do not need to mark the [1] subject openers any more! Only mark the following: [2] Prepositional [3] -ly [5] Adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. More tricky homophones to watch for: passed (verb: to move) or past (beyond in space or time) wood (a thing) or would (helping verb) dye (a color) or die (stop living) break (damage or separate) or brake (to stop something or the pedal in the car that stops it) Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 23 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 14 one morning tom, huck, and they re comrade joe harper made a compact to be pirates. that night they met on the riverbank with a ham, bacon, and what provisions they could steel as became pirates with huck and joe at the oars, tom guided the small log raft that they had captured steadily the mighty mississippi river carried the pirates passed the sleeping town of st Petersburg to an uninhabited island on the faraway shore in a dismal forest the lads built a campfire and cooked some bacon. what wood the boys say if they could see us now tom asked excitedly I reckon they d just dye two be here boasted huck Joe wondered aloud if pirates really make men walk the plank and where they bury there treasure? provisions: uninhabited: dismal: reckon: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 24 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 15 tom and joe knew that stealing bacon and ham was wrong, so they couldn t rest. feeling the pangs of remorse, they resolved that they re piracies would never again include stealing next morning the adventurous boys beheld bugs and birds while they happily romped through the woods did a breakfast of Fried Fish ever taste so delicious gradually tom, huck, and joe became aware of a peculiar booming sound in the distance they asked each other what it was? Peering out over the river, the boys watched as a jet of white smoke burst from the side of a ferryboat somebody s drownded exclaimed tom their shooting a cannon too make him come up to the top. remorse: romped: peculiar: peering: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 25 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 16 Scratching his head, Huck speculated who it could be? Boys, I know who s drownded. It s us Tom realized! at home tom s cousin mary, aunt polly, and mrs harper were not enjoying the fakers fine frolic they sobbed as if there hearts would brake the next saturday, wearing deep black, aunt polly, mary, and sid slowly entered the church While the low-spirited congregation exhibited great weeping and wailing, the reverend mr sprague told touching tales about the dear departed youngsters abruptly the Minister looked up from his soggy handkerchief and stood transfixed marching up the aisle came the three dead boys they had been hiding in the choir loft all along listening to their own funeral sermon speculated: frolic: low-spirited: transfixed: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 26 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Checklist Chapter 6: Weeks 17 20 Teacher s Note: Students will now learn to identify the who/which clause dress-up. Be sure they understand when to use who (for people) and when to use which (for animals and things). See the Appendix page A-2. Chapter 6 Editing Checklist! Vocabulary: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Look it up in a dictionary, and then write the definition that best fits the context.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented. Ask yourself, Is it a new topic, a new scene/time, or a new person speaking? If yes, indent.! Capitalization: Check for proper capitalization.! Punctuation: Check for proper quotation marks and end marks.! Homophones: Correct faulty homophones, which are words that have the same sound but different spelling and meaning.! Underline Dress-ups: The new dress-up is the who/which clause. Be sure the who or the which is used correctly. -ly adverb quality adjective strong verb adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because who/which clause! (Advanced) Identify Sentence Openers (for advanced students who already know all of their dress-ups): [2] Prepositional [3] -ly [5] Adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. More tricky homophones to watch for: witch (somebody with alleged magic powers or a nasty woman) or which (used to identify which one) One way to know which witch to use is to put your hand in front of your face and feel for the air. Witch should blow no air; which should blow some. threw (past tense of throw a verb meaning to toss) or through (traveling through, moving through) pale (with less color) or pail (a container to carry things in) tail (rear part of an animal s body or end of something) or tale (a story) Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 27 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 17 summer vacation, which the students eagerly anticipated, was approaching the elderly schoolmaster, which wanted the class to make a notable showing on examination day, was becoming more strict every day the boys, who knew that he wore a wig, privately planned a prank. st petersburg s schoolhouse, which was beautifully decorated with wreaths and flowers, was filled with students, parents, and town dignitaries patiently the schoolmaster presided from his great chair, which rested on a raised platform a shy, small girl who lisped recited mary had a little lamb. with conceited confidence tom sawyer launched into the give me liberty or give me death speech, but he broke down in the middle of it anticipated: notable: dignitaries: conceited: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 28 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 18 the headmaster, which intended to exercise the class s geography skills, rose from his chair, turned his back to the audience, and began drawing a map of america on the blackboard. when his hand, witch was unsteady, slipped, giggles rippled around the room a garret happened to be right above the headmaster, and down threw the trapdoor emerged a cat suspended around its haunches by a string The cat, which had a rag tied around its jaws to keep it from mewing, swung wildly in the air the giggles, which were increasing, flustered the headmaster. Give me just a moment, he called out, Won t you down, down descended the cat, which clawed the air frantically. then it snagged the headmaster s wig with its desperate claws, clung to the headpiece, and was snatched up into the garret in an instant with its shaggy trophy rippled: garret: flustered: frantically: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 29 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 19 during the Summer muff potter s trial vigorously stirred the sleepy town all the gossiping kept tom in a cold shiver. huck, have you ever told anybody that secret witch we been keepin bout injun joe Shuddering, huck answered, tom sawyer, you know we wouldn t be alive to days if that got found out. was muff potter guilty of the murder of doc robinson a somber jury filed into the courtroom shortly afterward, muff potter, who looked pail and hopeless, came in slowly with chains upon him With a grim expression injun joe watched it all first, counsel four the prosecution called up a witness which saw potter near the graveyard about the time of the murder after this testimony potter s lawyer didn t cross-examine, however. Explaining that he found a bloody knife at the gravesite, the second witness was not questioned buy potter s lawyer, either. finally, a third witness testified that he had seen that knife in muff potter s possession I have no questions, said counsel for the defense Tom was apprehensive. muff potter had always been kind too him did this attorney mean two throw away his client s life without an effort vigorously: somber: prosecution: apprehensive: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 30 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 20 then potter s lawyer exclaimed unexpectedly, call thomas sawyer too the witness stand after tom s oath, the lawyer asked, Thomas sawyer, where were you on the seventeenth of june about midnight tom, who glanced at injun joe s iron face, stammered, I-i-i-n the graveyard the audience listened breathlessly were you hidden? I was hid behind the elms that s on the edge of the grave. injun joe gave a barely perceptible start now, my boy, tell us everything. Don t be afraid. beginning in a timid whisper, tom recounted the ghastly tail all eyes were fixed on him the tension peaked when the boy revealed, as muff wrassled with the doctor, injun joe rushed at him with the knife and Crash! Madly injun joe sprang for a window, tore his way threw his opponents, and was gone! stammered: perceptible: recounted: opponents: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 31 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 32 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Checklist Chapter 7: Weeks 21 23 Teacher s Note: Students will now look for comma errors. You may review the rules first (located in the Appendix on pages A-10 to 12) or teach the rules as you find them broken in the sentences. Rules 1 and 6 are not addressed in this chapter. Since there are so many, it may be best to give a general rule for the use of a comma (for a pause or to separate things) and then work on the actual rules as they come up. If your student finds this frustrating, only require him to catch some of the rules and then add on more when the first few become easy. Two of the comma rules (rules 3 and 5) relate to sentence openers. If a sentence begins with a preposition, it is a #2 Prepositional opener. If it begins with an adverb clause, it is a #5 Adverb clause opener. A list of prepositions is provided on the backside of this page to help students identify sentences that begin with a preposition. Chapter 7 Editing Checklist! Vocabulary: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Look it up in a dictionary, and then write the definition that best fits the context.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented. Ask yourself, Is it a new topic, a new scene/time, or a new person speaking? If yes, indent.! Capitalization: Check for proper capitalization.! Punctuation: Check for proper quotation marks and end marks.! Commas: Correct comma errors.! Homophones: Correct faulty homophones, which are words that have the same sound but different spelling and meaning.! Underline Dress-ups -ly adverb quality adjective strong verb adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because who/which clause! Identify Sentence Openers (for advanced students who already know all of their dress-ups): [2] Prepositional [3] -ly [5] Adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. More tricky homophones to watch for: here (a place where I am) or hear (something you do with your ear) there s (contraction for there is ) or theirs (it belongs to them) Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 33 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
When a sentence begins with a preposition, count the words in the phrase. If there are five or more, put a comma after the phrase. Prepositions The #2 Prepositional Opener follows this pattern: Preposition + noun (no verb) It begins with a preposition, ends with a noun or pronoun, and has no verb in it. aboard about above according to across after against along amid among around aside at because of before behind below beneath beside between beyond by concerning despite down during except for from in inside instead into like minus near of off on opposite out outside over past regarding since through throughout to toward under underneath unlike until up upon with within without Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 34 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2009
Tom Sawyer Week 21 Once again Tom was an honored hero. In st petersburg missouri the newspaper even featured him conspicuously on the front page although his days were happy at night he dreamed that Injun Joe looked at him with vengeful eyes After the murder trial a sizeable reward for Injun Joe had been been offered publicized and even doubled. Also the country had been scoured i m glad i saved Muff from the hangman Tom confided to Huck But i won t breathe easy til they find Injun Joe. As time passed Tom s fear of Injun Joe lessened and that inevitable day came when he developed a raging desire to hunt for buried treasure somewhere presently Tom stumbled upon Huck who was always willing to engage in an enterprise which offered entertainment and required no capital bully idea exclaimed Huck vengeful: scoured: inevitable: capital: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 35 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Tom Sawyer Week 22 Since Tom generally knew where to search for buried treasure Huck followed him to the desolate old haunted house just outside of st petersburg they brought along a pick and a shovel trembling and talking in whispers Tom and Huck dropped there tools and climbed the creaky stairs to the second floor of the dilapidated house. after a few minutes two men entered and the boys noiselessly lied down with their eyes to knotholes in the termite-ridden floor Well I ve thought it over pardner said one man And it s dangerous for us to be carryin around this money we stole. the gruff voice made the boys gasp and quake It was Injun Joe digging with his bowie knife, Injun Joe was about to bury the loot when his knife struck something a box. He dug it out and opened it. Silently the men contemplated shiny gold coins desolate: dilapidated: gruff: loot: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 36 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Tom Sawyer Week 23 Injun Joe s comrade whispered greedily there s thousands of dollars hear. Let s bury it for ourselves! Noticing a pick with fresh dirt on it, Injun Joe grumbled somebody s coming back for this. if we bury it they ll see the ground disturbed. No we ll hide it under a cross in my den. Injun Joe then unexpectedly wondered do you reckon theirs somebody upstairs Tom and Huck nearly fainted with terror Putting his murderous hand on his knife, Injun Joe turned toward the stairway the boys heard steps coming up the creaky stairs Panicking, they were about to spring for the closet when their was a crash of rotten timbers. Injun Joe landed on the ground amid the debris. His partner snarled well if anybody s up they re, let em stay there It ll be dark soon so let em follow us. We ll be waiting for em Injun Joe agreed with his friend and they cautiously slipped away into the deepening twilight weakly Tom and Huck stood up They stared after the men threw the chinks between the logs of the house. Follow? Not they comrade: creaky: debris: chinks: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 37 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 38 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Checklist Chapter 8: Weeks 24 26 Teacher s Note: The correct use of apostrophes is begun in this chapter. To prepare your students, review the use of apostrophes ( ) in possessives and contractions as described in the Appendix on page A-13. Chapter 8 Editing Checklist! Vocabulary: Find the bolded vocabulary word. Look it up in a dictionary, and then write the definition that best fits the context.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented.! Capitalization: Check for proper capitalization.! Punctuation: Check for proper quotation marks and end marks.! Commas: Correct comma errors.! Apostrophes: Correct apostrophe ( ) errors.! Homophones: Correct faulty homophones, which are words that have the same sound but different spelling and meaning.! Underline Dress-ups -ly adverb quality adjective strong verb adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because who/which clause! (Advanced) Identify Sentence Openers (for advanced students who already know all of their dress-ups): [2] Prepositional [3] -ly [5] Adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 39 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Tom Sawyer Week 24 the glad tidings in st petersburg were that judge thatchers family was back in town. Beckys mother announced that theyd postponed the longed-for picnic long enough When Becky met Tom she confided weve been hearing how brave you were at the trial tom She then confidently asked will you escort me to the picnic Tom? finally saturday morning arrived and the villages young folks gathered at the thatchers house Judge Thatcher reassuringly explained to the childrens parents theyll be safe with several chaperones mrs thatcher told her daughter, Becky the ferryboat wont get back till late youd better stay overnight at Suzy Harpers. Tying up three miles below town, the ferryboat waited during the lighthearted picnickers feast Somebody jovially shouted whos ready for the cave tidings: escort: chaperones: jovially: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 40 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Tom Sawyer Week 25 The caves massive oak door stood unbarred. dimly revealing the lofty rock walls, the childrens candles flickered No one fully understood the depths of the cave. a young man whispered if a person was to go to far into mcdougals cave, hed wander in the labyrinth and never find the end Couples ducked into shadowy recesses in the walls, and shouted Boo! at there friends By and by the groups who were panting laughing and growing weary returned to the mouth of the cave they were amazed to find that theyd been in mcdougals cave all day eventually the blithe picnickers headed slowly up the river, and back to town on the old ferryboat lofty: labyrinth: recesses: blithe: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 41 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Tom Sawyer Week 26 On sunday morning Becky wasnt at church. neither was Tom. when the sermon was finished Judge Thatchers wife strode up to Suzy Harpers mother. Is my Becky going to sleep all day she half-jokingly inquired. your Becky? Yes didnt she stay with you last night why no I havent seen her. mrs Thatcher turned pail, and sank into a pew just as Aunt Polly strolled up to the to lady s. Smiling, she observed I reckon my Tom stayed with one of you last night since he hasnt been home He didnt stay with us said mrs harper, shaking her head uneasily Mrs thatcher also shook her head, and turned paler than ever. Joe Harper, Aunt Polly asked, When did you see Tom last Joe couldnt say. All three lady s fell to lamenting and wringing there hands. Children and chaperone s were questioned They all said they hadnt noticed whether Tom and Becky were on board the ferryboat on the homeward trip It was dark; no one had thought of inquiring if anyone was missing Finally one young man fearfully blurted out what all were thinking they must still be in the cave! strode: strolled: lamenting: blurted: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 42 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Fix-It: Tom Sawyer Student Checklist Chapter 9: Weeks 27 30 Teacher s Note: This chapter is unique because students will now be challenged to correct commonly misused words. To make it a little easier, the bolded words in this chapter s Fix-Its are not vocabulary words; they are misused in the sentence. Sometimes the misused word is a homonym of another word; sometimes the word is just slightly different from the correct one. Have your students look up the misused word and write its definition; then help them determine what the correct word is supposed to be and write its definition. Since there are so many, the lines to write the definitions and corrections are on the page following the Fix-Its. For advanced students who already know their dress-ups, you can teach the #6 V.S.S. (very short sentence). See Appendix page A-5 for more details. Chapter 9 Editing Checklist! Tricky Words: The bolded words are the tricky words. Define them and write the correct word and definition for these tricky words, contractions, and possessives. The lines for definitions and corrections are on a separate page.! Indent? Decide if each passage needs to be indented.! Capitalization: Check for proper capitalization.! Punctuation: Check for proper quotation marks and end marks.! Commas: Correct comma errors.! Apostrophes: Correct apostrophe ( ) errors.! Underline Dress-ups -ly adverb quality adjective strong verb adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because who/which clause! (Advanced) Identify Sentence Openers (for advanced students who already know all of their dress-ups): [2] Prepositional [3] -ly [5] Adverb clause when, while, where, as, since, if, although, because [6] V.S.S (2 4 words, 5 if very short words, must have a subject/verb)! Rewrite the passage in your notebook. Be sure to double-space. Have your teacher check and correct your work if necessary. Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 43 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Week 27 Tom Sawyer Remember that in this chapter the bolded words are not vocabulary words; they are now misused words that are tricky. Define the bolded word and then find the intended word and define it too. Since there are so many, the words with the lines have been moved to the next page. Now lets go foreword and see what happened to Tom and Becky in McDougal s cave. for a while the chaperones and children stayed altogether, exploring the wondrous cite Toms capitol idea he thought was to make candle-smoke marks on the walls so they could find there way back to the group. He and Becky wandered further into the caves depths then ever before Tom and Becky past through spacious caverns, from who s ceilings hung huge stalactites. Disturbed by the childrens lights, hundreds of bats alternatively squeaked and darted at them. Becky shrieked. The bats chased Tom and Becky a long way so the children thought it wise council to start back Nervously Becky was watching Toms face can you find the way Tom. Its all a mixed-up crookedness to me oh it s alright Becky Well soon find the way Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 44 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Week 27 Tricky Words Tom Sawyer foreword: The word should be: which means: altogether: The word should be: which means: cite: The word should be: which means: capitol: The word should be: which means: further: The word should be: which means: then: The word should be: which means: past: The word should be: which means: alternatively: The word should be: which means: council: The word should be: which means: alright: The word should be: which means: Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 45 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010
Tom Sawyer Week 28 Hunger and fatigue began to effect Tom and Becky so they drank from a nearby spring set on it s banks and ate some cake that Tom had saved from the picnic. exhausted, they laid down, and immediately fell asleep After what seemed a mighty stretch of time both awoke out of a dead stupor of sleep. Sense it was too cold too remain stationery for very long Becky suggested they move on. Well Becky explained Tom We must stay here where theirs water to drink. Beside that, this little piece of candle is all we have left Horrified, the children watched as there candle melted and the wick could burn no further. In a moment, their principle fear being in utter darkness came true. Becky shuddered. Tom took a kite line from his pocket tied it around a pillar and slowly led Becky foreword along a pitch-black corridor Suddenly a human hand who was holding a candle appeared from behind a rock Fix-It Grammar Tom Sawyer Student Pages 46 The Institute for Excellence in Writing, 2010