1.5
WORD STUDY Exact Words
WARM-UP READ, LISTEN, SPEAK Tell students to close their eyes. Then read aloud your personal narrative from yesterday’s For Tomorrow assignment. Ask students to list on the board the exact words that helped them create a clear picture of your story events. Have small groups share the narratives they wrote. Challenge students to identify the exact nouns and adjectives in each narrative.
GRAMMAR CONNECTION
Take this opportunity to talk about words used as nouns or as adjectives. You may wish to have students point out any words used as nouns or as adjectives in their Read, Listen, Speak examples.
TEACH Have a volunteer read aloud the first paragraph of the section Exact Verbs. Ask volunteers to give synonyms for run, smile, and sing. Discuss why using exact verbs improves writing. Then have a volunteer read aloud the two example sentences. Have students explain the meanings of the words walked and strolled. Ask students how the meaning of stroll reflects how the writer feels about the fun house. (The writer wants to take time to see everything.) Invite a volunteer to read aloud the next two paragraphs and the example sentence. Encourage students to explain how the word raced changes the meaning of the sentence. (The writer may be uninterested or excited.) Read aloud the next paragraph and the example sentences. Ask a volunteer to tell what an adverb is (a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb). Then have a volunteer name the adverbs that were removed from the first sentence (quickly and wildly).
Read aloud and answer the question at the end of the section. Have students close their eyes. Then read aloud the excerpt. Ask students to identify exact words that helped create a clear picture in their minds.
PRACTICE ACTIVITY C Discuss the use of print or online thesauruses as resources. Have partners complete this activity. Invite volunteers to share their answers. Discuss how different verb choices affect the meaning of each sentence and offer more detail to the reader.
Diary of Anne Frank
We turned absolutely white. Perhaps he had heard something after all and wanted to investigate our secret den . . . The knocking, pulling, pushing, wrecking went on. I nearly fainted at the thought this utter stranger might discover our beautiful secret hiding place.
ACTIVITY E Have students work independently on the activity. Have volunteers write their sentences on the board. Discuss the exact words that were chosen. Point out any words that were added to make a clearer picture.
Exact Verbs Verbs such as run, smile, and sing are action words. Some verbs show an action more clearly than other verbs do. When you write and revise, use exact verbs to show readers what is happening in your writing. I walked through the fun house at the fair. I strolled through the fun house at the fair.
The second sentence tells readers that the writer walked leisurely through the fun house. Readers get a clearer picture of how the writer walked. The second sentence also tells that the writer wanted to take time in the fun house. The word strolled gives more information than the word walked. How does this revision change the meaning of the sentence? I raced through the fun house at the fair.
When you revise, look for places where you can use exact verbs. Check the adverbs you used with the verbs. When you find one or more adverbs that describe a verb, think about whether a more exact verb might do the job. A thesaurus can help. I ran quickly and wildly through the scary forest. I scampered through the scary forest.
Anne Frank
What other exact verbs might you use to replace the verb and adverbs in the first sentence? ACTIVITY C Replace each verb in italics with an exact verb. Use a thesaurus if you need help.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
My horse ran across the swampy field. A gray rabbit was eating a leaf of lettuce. The campers walked along the crooked trail. I caught the ball and ran toward the end zone. Ned took the basketball from the bully and gave it back to his friend.
6. “I’m going to win!” said the star athlete.
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LiNK
Tuesday, 20 October, 1942
ACTIVITY D Have students complete this activity independently. Encourage students to use a thesaurus if needed. Have volunteers write on the board their sentences. Ask students to explain their verb choices.
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