Name: ______

I decided to buy the house.

Is my sentence detailed enough to explain which of the house was purchased?

Add to the sentence so the house purchase is understood…

______

I. Adding sentence openers.

Introductory words and phrases add information and emphasis. They clarify the message that you want your sentence to deliver.

______,Indali felt she was where she belonged.

Shaking and perspiring, Ms. Cerulli refused to bungee jump off the cliff.

Exercise 1:Sentence openers should make your reader want to continue reading. Choose words to spark your reader’s interest. Try it for yourself now:

______, Sandy was not afraid.

______, she was ready to earn her black belt.

II. Adding sentence closers.

You can also improve your sentences by adding a word or a phrase at the end, after the predicate. A sentence closer should provide more information for your reader.

James went to the beach every day last summer.

______, becoming stronger and faster.

Exercise 2: Add some extra information to the following two sentences:

1. Paige plans to be a lifeguard ______.

2. I went to the pizza place ______.

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Today we will be reading a story by Eve Bunting called “The Terrible Things”

What are some “terrible things” in the world today? List FIVE:

  1. Why do you think the author told the story of the Holocaust in this symbolic way? Who is this story directed to?
  1. Why do you think the Terrible Things take away the animals one group at a time?
  1. In an allegory, people, places, and events are used as symbols. What can the clearing in the woods stand for? What about the different animals? The Terrible Things?
  1. What kind of excuses do the other animals offer to explain the fate of each group as it is taken away? How do these reactions help the Terrible Things?
  1. How are the Terrible Things described? What verbs are used to describe their actions? How do the descriptions affect your feelings about the Terrible Things?
  1. During the Holocaust, terrible things were done by real people, people with faces, names, and life histories. Why do you think the author shows the Terrible Things as anonymous?
  1. What choices do the animals in the clearing have when the Terrible Things come?
  1. What would you say to Big Rabbit’s statement, “We are the White Rabbits. It couldn’t happen to us”?
  1. When the Terrible Things come for the rabbits, what do the rabbits do? What choice does Little Rabbit make? Why? What does this tell you about the Terrible Things?

10. Little Rabbit hopes someone will listen to him. Why might no one listen?