Reading and Writing Skills Assessment Sponge

1. Sponge 1 What are the strongest and weakest aspects of your reading and writing skills? (3-5 sentences)

2. Sponge 2 What are the 8 parts of speech? Which one(s) confuse you most? What about them confuses you? (3-5 sentences)

3. Sponge 3 What are sentence fragments and run-ons?

4. Sponge 4 Which punctuation marks confuse you? Why? (3-5 sentences)

5. Sponge 5 What are 3 academic goals you have for this year? What do you plan to do to achieve them? (5 sentences minimum)

6. Sponge 6 What was life like in Puritan New England? (3-5 sentences)

7. Sponge 7 Identify basic Puritan beliefs in this passage. The God that hold you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath toward you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire. (John Edwards, 1734)

8. Sponge 8 In what ways did the Puritans attempt to make religion a controlling force in everyday life? Use the passage below for help. The God that hold you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath toward you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast into the fire. (John Edwards, 1734)

9. Sponge 9 Considering what you’ve read, what is your opinion of Puritan life and beliefs?

10. Sponge 10 What aspect(s) of Puritan life might you disagree with most?

11. Sponge 11 Give an example of a modern day witch hunt.

12. Sponge 12 SA = Strongly Agree A= Agree N = Neither D = Disagree SD = Strongly Disagree • It is okay to accuse someone of an act they did not commit. • I would confess to something I truly did not do. • One should be cautious and suspicious of those around them. • I would accuse my friends of something wrong if it would save me from trouble. • Trusting others is difficult • I am a trustworthy person • The most popular opinion is usually the correct one. • I sometimes follow the crowd whether they are right or wrong • I believe most people are good hearted. • People should be innocent until proven guilty.

13. Sponge 13 Identify the subject and verb in each sentence. • The lightening fills the sky. • Cheetahs run faster than most other animals. • The motors are running. • The girl has been sick. Copy the following: • An –s ending is often a sign of a singular verb. • When a sentence contains a verb phrase, it is the helping verb that agrees with the subject

14. Sponge 14 Copy the following: • Compound subjects – consists of two or more connected subjects having the same verb. When two subjects are connected by and, even if they are both singular, they are followed by a plural verb. • HINT: If the subject is plural, substitute the pronoun they for the plural subject. • Example: Mr. Duffy and his daughterhave gone fishing. • They have gone fishing. • EXCEPTION: A compound subject that refers to a single person or to two or more things is considered a unit (one thing) takes a singular verb • Example: A mother and homemakerhas a challenging job. (one person is meant)

15. Sponge 15 Copy the following subject/verb agreement hints: • Cross out all prepositional phrases. • Every one of the students tries hard. • Cross out word groups with commas. • The doctor, as well as the nurses, works hard. • Cross out word groups beginning with either…or and neither…nor • Either the vase or the dish was a gift. • Neither the teacher nor his students were here.

16. Sponge 16 Complete the following: • Cherry trees (lines/line) the Potomac. • Many colleges (has/have) computers. • Forest rangers (says/say) that we can prevent forest fire.

17. Sponge 17 Copy the following rule: • The following common words are singular: each, either, neither, one, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, anyone, someone, somebody Complete the following examples: • Anyone without tickets (is/are) asked to see Mrs. Harris. • Each of the newcomers (was/were) welcomed to the city. • No one (understand/understands) a person who mumbles.

18. Sponge 18 When someone is accused of a crime today, do people still have a tendency to side with the accusers? Explain.

19. Sponge 19 At this point in the play, which character seems to be the protagonist, and which seems to be the antagonist?

20. Sponge 20 Predict what you think will happen in Act 3

21. Sponge 21 In sports, in politics, and in war, people often demonize their opponents – that is, they portray their enemies as incarnations of evil. Can you think of an example? Why do you think people do this? What effect do you think such behavior has on society as a whole?

22. Sponge 22 Write a brief summary of the play’s main events to this point.

23. Sponge 23 When John reveals his true relationship with Abigail, what do you think he also reveals about his character and his motivation?

24. Sponge 24 How does the relationship between John and Elizabeth change throughout the play?

25. Sponge 25 A = Agree N = Neutral D = Disagree • The girls were right to accuse people of being witches. • Tituba did the right thing by falsely confessing. • None of the characters in the play were trustworthy. • Fear and suspicion can destroy society. • Most of the characters in the play were goodhearted. • People should be innocent until proven guilty. • People who claim to be good may be hypocrites. • It may be better to die with integrity than to compromise your honor, decency, and faith. • People can use the ideas of virtue and godliness to advance a selfish or wicked agenda. • In the play, the most popular opinion was the right one.

26. Sponge 26 What did you think of the play?

27. Sponge 27 • the pilot had no alternative, stowaways must face judgment • The pilot had no alternative; stowaways must face judgment. • did the nasa pilot exaust everyone of his options • Did the NASA pilot exhaust every one of his options?

28. Sponge 28 • barton’s ship lurched , slowed and suddenly accelerated agin • Barton’s ship lurched, slowed, and suddenly accelerated again. • in 1954, when the short story The Cold Equations were written, no people had yet went into outer space • In 1954, when the short story “The Cold Equations”was written, no people had yet gone into outer space.

29. Sponge 29 • him and me enjoy sience fiction because its exiting and imaginitive • He and I enjoy science fiction because it’s exciting and imaginative. • andy and me taked a trip to the Mojave Dessert • Andy and Itook a trip to the Mojave Desert.

30. Sponge 30 • next Monday us students will read our drafts to one and other • Next Monday we students will read our drafts to one another. • not anybody wanted to read a essay a loud • Nobody wanted to read an essay aloud.

31. Sponge 31 • a strongly, detailed, precise, setting effects the reader’s emotions • A strongly detailed, precisesetting affects the reader’s emotions. • Boys and Girls is a short story that is setted in tough butally hard ranch country in canada • “Boys and Girls” is a short story that is set in tough, brutally hard ranch country in Canada.

32. Sponge 32 • floras the horse name Keisha sayed but whats the protagonists name • “Flora’s the horse’s name,” Keisha said,“but what’s the protagonist’s name?” • Flora runned out the gate but the men catched her anyways • Flora ran out the gate, but the men caught her anyway.

33. Sponge 33 • alice has never wrote no novels and don’t think she never will • Alice has never written any novels and doesn’t think she ever will. • That is the most coldest milk of the world • That is the coldest milk in the world!

34. Sponge 34 • alice walker who was the most young of 8 children is born in Eatoton Georgia • Alice Walker, who was the youngest of eight children,was born in Eatonton, Georgia. • walker’s novel The Color Purple was winning the pulitzer prize in fiction in 1983 • Walker’s novel The Color Purple won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 1983.

35. Sponge 35 • where’s you’re sister at Larry • Where’s your sister, Larry? • unfortunately i have me a sister whose a lot like Dee • Unfortunately I have a sister who’sa lot like Dee.

36. Sponge 36 • john steinbeck almost didn’t except the nobel prize, he was afraid he wouldn’t wright any more • John Steinbeck almost didn’t accept the Nobel Prize; he was afraid he wouldn’t write anymore. • during the great depression of the 1930s many families in the midwest losed their farms • During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many families in the Midwest lost their farms.

37. Sponge 37 • wheres you’re sister at Larry • Where’s your sister, Larry? • unfortunately i have me a sister whose a lot like Dee • Unfortunately I have a sister who’sa lot like Dee. [me deleted]

38. Sponge 38 • john steinbeck almost didn’t except the nobel prize, he was afraid that he wouldn’t wright any more • John Steinbeck almost didn’t accept the Nobel Prize; he was afraid that he wouldn’t writeanymore. • during the great depression of the 1930s many families in the midwest losed there farms • During the Great Depression of the 1930s, many families in the Midwest lost their farms.

39. Sponge 39 • because the daughter didnt think of herself as a prodigy her mother gets angry with her • Because the daughter didn’t think of herself as a prodigy, her mother got angry with her. • the daughter thought her mother was trying to make her something she wasnt her mother just thinks her child is being disobedient • The daughter thought her mother was trying to make her something she wasn’t; her mother just thought the child was being disobedient.