Zeller Language A: Year 4/ English Language Arts 9

MID-YEAR EXAM PREPARATION DATE: TIME: ________________________ ________________________

General Information: 2 hours (you may leave after 45 minutes if youre finished early) Multiple Choice (approximately 90 questions) No notes allowed Mainly Skills-based I want to know what you know, not what youve crammed and will instantly forget; therefore, there will be no testing of content knowledge (e.g. questions on The Pigman or poems we have already studied) on the exam except for parts of speech, basic literary terms, and poetic devices Bring two pencils and an eraser to use on your Scantron form. Bathroom breaks are not allowed during the exam unless accompanied by an invigilator. Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Total Details: I. II. Parts of Speech: Identify the correct part of speech (noun, verb, pronoun, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, interjection) Style and Language Mechanics: Choose the correct spelling/form of a word (e.g. there/their/theyre; then/than) and/or the best sentence structure (e.g. Last night I saw an elephant in my pajamas, is an awkward structure; the author probably means, Last night, while in my pajamas, I saw an elephant). Poetry Analysis: Given a (previously unseen) poem, analyze the meaning, as well as identifying its poetic devices (e.g. alliteration, onomatopoeia). Reading Comprehension & Fiction Analysis: Given a text, answer multiple choice comprehension questions. The last section will also include basic literary terms (e.g. plot, setting).
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Criterion A: Content (terminology) - Parts of Speech Criterion C: Style and Language Mechanics word choice, spelling and sentence structure Criterion A: Content Poetry Analysis including poetic devices Criterion A: Content - Reading Comprehension Criterion A: Content - Short Fiction Analysis including literary terms

15 marks 30 marks 15 marks 15 marks 15 marks 90 marks

III. IV.

Zeller Language A: Year 4/ English Language Arts 9

Mid-Year Exam Notes & Practice Exercises I. Grammar: Parts of Speech Definition A person, place, thing, idea or feeling. Answers the question, Who/what is doing the action? Common noun: general, not specific Proper noun: a specific noun; a name (always capitalized) Collective noun: a group or class of common nouns A word that expresses action. Answers the question, What is happening? Main Verb: states central action of sentence Auxiliary Verb: changes the tense or meaning of the verb. Always comes before the verb in a sentence. Often answers the question, When is it happening? in terms of past/present/future. A word used to replace a noun. Answers the question, Who/what is doing the action? A word used to describe or modify a noun. A word used to modify or describe a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. A word generally with some meaning of position, direction, time or other abstract relation. A word that joins sentences, clauses, phrases, or words. A word that indicates an emotion, often showing surprise. A word used to introduce a noun, as well as to limit or clarify it. Example

Part of Speech

father, city, dog, knowledge, anger Joe, Vancouver, Lassie family, team, pack (of dogs)

Noun

jump, play, work, move, type, sleep will, might, could, should, was

Verb

Pronoun Adjective Adverb Preposition Conjunction Interjection Article

he, she they, it we, me, mine, somebody beautiful, six, many, hot, blue quickly, lovingly, highly to, between, under, on, after

and, also, therefore, because Wow! Bah! Alas! an, the, a

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Get more practice at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/ Try the Intermediate Test at: http://elt.oup.com/student/practicegrammar/?cc=ca&selLanguage=en (dont worry about the relative clauses section!).

Zeller Language A: Year 4/ English Language Arts 9

II.

Language Skills and Usage a. Theyre/there/their Theyre is a contraction of the two words they are. o Theyre very happy people. There indicates a place. o Lets go there for lunch. Their indicates possession. o Their menu is huge. b. To/two/too To is a preposition indicating direction. It is also used as part of the infinitive form of verbs. o He is going to move to a new apartment next month. Two is the same as the number 2. o He will have two roommates in his new apartment. Too means also; in addition to; very; overly so. o The rent is too high for him to live there alone. c. Use/Used Use is a verb. It means to employ; to make use of. Pronounce the s like z. o Selena used a broom to sweep the floor. Used is often followed by the word to. It means accustomed to; familiar with; was in the habit of. o She used to have a vacuum cleaner. d. Whose/Whos Whose is the possessive form of the pronoun who. It means belonging to whom. o Whose tennis shoes are these? Whos is a contraction of the two words who is. o Whos going to put them in the closet? e. Your/Youre Your is the possessive form of the pronoun you. It means belonging to you. o Your car is in the parking lot. Youre is the contraction of the two words you are. o Youre going to drive home with Joe.

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Zeller Language A: Year 4/ English Language Arts 9

PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the correct words 1. __________ is going to be a parade on St. Patricks Day. 2. I hear that __________ giving a party in __________ home to celebrate the holiday. Use these words in sentences of your own: 1. (there)_________________________________________________

2. (their)_________________________________________________ 3. (they re)________________________________________________

PRACTICE EXERCISE 2 Instructions: Circle the correct form of the word in parentheses 1. Hals (principals, principles) would not let him charge (personnel, personal) expenses to his expense account.

2. I had (suppose, supposed) that he would rather fly (then, than) drive to the conference. 3. We were (quiet, quite) surprised by the changes in the company (personal, personnel). 4. Based on (passed, past) experience, the organizers were (supposed, suppose) to reserve a bigger ballroom for the meeting. 5. (Theyre, their, there) expecting a larger crowd (then, than) they had last year.

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Zeller Language A: Year 4/ English Language Arts 9

PRACTICE EXERCISE 3 Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the correct words: 1. At 5:10 P.M. __________women approached the bank teller.

2. The teller told them that it was __________late __________ withdraw money from the bank. Use these words in sentences of your own. 1. (to)__________________________________________________

2. (two)_________________________________________________ 3. (too)_________________________________________________

PRACTICE EXERCISE 4 Instructions: Fill in the blanks with the correct words 1. _____________ calling, please?

2. I dont know _____________ number I have called. Use these words in sentences of your own. 1. (whose)______________________________________________

2. ( whos)______________________________________________

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Get more practice at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/ Try the Intermediate Test at: http://elt.oup.com/student/practicegrammar/?cc=ca&selLanguage=en (dont worry about the relative clauses section!).

Zeller Language A: Year 4/ English Language Arts 9

PRACTICE EXERCISE 5 Instructions: Choose words from the box to complete these sentences. Some words may be used more than once and some not at all. 1. Use a _______________ at the end of a sentence.

2. Use a _______________ between two main clauses to form a compound sentence. 3. Use a _______________ at the end of a main clause to introduce a list. 4. Use ________________ around the exact words of a speaker. 5. Use a _______________ to separate three or more items in a series. 6. Use a _______________ with two or more words that act as a single unit describing a noun. 7. Use a _______________ if you want to indicate a break in thought. 8. Use __________ letters to begin the first word in a sentence, the name of a person or place, and the names of the days of the week. 9. Use _____________ under the names of newspapers, magazines, or books to indicate italics in handwritten material. 10. Use ____________________ around the names of short stories, chapters within books, poems and songs. Hyphen Exclamation marks Semicolon Uppercase Period Quotation marks Dash Underlining Lowercase Colon Comma Italicizing

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Get more practice at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/exercises/ Try the Intermediate Test at: http://elt.oup.com/student/practicegrammar/?cc=ca&selLanguage=en (dont worry about the relative clauses section!).