- A kindergarten student writes: 'My teacher reads books and tells stories every day.' The student wants to add more action words. Which word would fit best in this sentence?
Answer: sings - because singing is another thing the teacher does with children
You want an action word that shows something the teacher does with the class, like 'reads' and 'tells.' 'Sings' is the best fit because singing is a lively action a teacher does with children every day, just like reading and telling stories. 'Waits' is an action word, but waiting before class is not something the teacher does with the children in this sentence. 'Sits' is also an action, but sitting still is a quiet, one-person action that does not match the busy things this teacher is doing. 'Hopes' is not really an action you can see at all; it is a feeling that happens inside, so it does not add another action to the sentence.
- Which action word tells about something both animals do together?
Answer: hide - because the passage says both animals hide together
The word 'hide' is right because the passage says both animals hide when they hear footsteps. That is the one action they do together. 'Runs' is wrong because only the mouse runs across the floor. 'Sees' is wrong because only the cat sees the mouse. 'Jumps' is wrong because only the cat jumps down from the chair. When you look closely at the passage, only 'hide' names something both the mouse and the cat do at the same time.
- Which pair of action words best completes the sentence? 'Every morning, birds _____ in the trees and children _____ to school.'
Answer: sing, walk - because these are words that fit the sentence best
'sing' and 'walk' are action words that fit what birds and children do, so they complete the sentence best.
- In the sentence 'Cats climb trees and dogs dig holes,' which words work together to show us what each animal does?
Answer: cats climb, dogs dig - because each animal name goes with its action
The best answer is cats climb, dogs dig. In this pair, each animal name is joined with the action that animal does, so it shows what each animal does. The choice cats and dogs only names the two animals, but it does not tell what they do. The choice trees and holes only names the things the animals use, not the animals' actions. The choice climb and dig lists two actions, but it does not tell which animal does each one. Only cats climb, dogs dig puts each animal together with its own action.
- Which naming word from this passage tells us about something that makes sounds?
Answer: thunder - because the passage tells us thunder is loud
Thunder is the naming word the passage tells us is loud, so it makes a sound. Rain splashes and might make a soft noise, but the passage never says rain makes a sound. Clouds float and look gray, but the passage does not say clouds make any sound. Animals get scared by the sounds, but they hear the noise — they do not make it. So thunder is the best answer.
- If we wanted to tell this story about what happened yesterday, which words would need to change?
Answer: swim, float, and sit - because these action words would change to show it happened yesterday
To tell this story about yesterday, we change the action words. "Fish swim" becomes "Fish swam," "Ducks float" becomes "Ducks floated," and "Frogs sit" becomes "Frogs sat." These action words change their shape to show something already happened. So swim, float, and sit is the right answer.
The words in, on, and around tell us where things are. These little place words stay the same whether we talk about now or yesterday, so they are not the ones that change.
The words pond, water, and rocks are naming words for things in the pond. Those places stay the same today and yesterday, so they do not change either.
The words fish, ducks, and frogs name the animals. The same animals are in the story no matter when it happens, so these naming words stay the same too.
Remember: when a story moves from now to yesterday, look for the action words. Those are the words that change their shape to show past time.
