Class 4

LA Homework 9
Name: ___________________________________ Date: ________________
Reading Fiction: Identifying Genre
Directions: Read the descriptions of the texts. Look for details that reveal the genre. Write the genre and
subgenre on the lines and write a sentence explaining your answer. Use the word bank as a guide.
Main Genre : fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry (poetry may not have a subgenre).
Subgenre: autobiography, biography, comedy, essay, fable, fairy tale, historical fiction, legend, myth, science
fiction, tall tale, technical writing, and tragedy (there are other subgenres)

Shooting for the Moon by Lance Legstrong

Lance tells the true story of his own adventure into outer space. Legstrong was once an underachiever with a
troubled past, until one day a teacher influences him positively. Lance describes how he worked hard from
that point on until getting accepted into an experimental NASA space program and going to the moon. Lance
shares with readers the many life lessons he has learned in this exciting text.

Genre: _________________________________ Subgenre: _______________________________

Explain your answer: _________________________________________________________________________

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Vocabulary: WOW
Word Definition Picture or Sentence
Reclosable Able to be sealed or shut
again

Refund Money that is given back;

money that is yours again

Reimburse To give money back; to pay

back

Respond To answer back; to talk

again

Revive To bring back to life; to be

alive again
Class 4

Writing: Fragments and Run-on Sentences

Directions: Each of the following sentences is either a fragment or a run-on. Circle what type of sentence is
shown and rewrite the sentences so that they are grammatically correct.
1. Their camping trip. FRAGMENT RUN-ON

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2. In the sky last night. FRAGMENT RUN-ON

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3. Watching college football. FRAGMENT RUN-ON

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Grammar: Identifying Adjectives

Adjectives are words that modify a noun or a pronoun. An adjective tells what kind, which one, how much, or
how many. The adjectives a, an and the are called articles.
Indefinite articles (a, an): they refer to any member of a general group
Definite article (the): refers to someone or something in particular
Directions: Identify if the article is indefinite or definite. Circle the adjectives.
1. The ripe berries attracted two birds and many squirrels. _________________
2. Edna ordered a large sandwich with extra onions. _________________
3. The sudden wind chilled us. _________________
4. The mysterious noises terrified everyone. _________________

Language: Connotation/Denotation
Directions: Read the word. If needed, look up the word. Fill in the chart below.
Denotation is a word’s dictionary definition.
Connotation are the feelings associated with the word: can have positive, negative, or neutral connotations

Directions: Read each of the following sentences. Decide from the context whether the speaker is showing
approval or disapproval of the topic. Then circle the best word to put into the sentence.
1. I have a lot of respect for Jenny’s father. He’s rather (reserved, antisocial) and dignified.
2. My brother can’t stand his mother-in-law. She’s practically a millionaire, but she’s about as (thrifty, miserly)
as a person can get.
3. This coffee is very (bitter, strong) – just the way I like it!
4. Can you please ask the new saleswoman not to be so (enthusiastic, pushy)? She is scaring away the
customers.
Class 4

AIR Test Prep

Passage 2: from Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan by Hildi Kang

(8) Morning came, and with it their lives took on the predictable rhythm. The caravan moved northward with the slow
speed of heavily laden camels. Day after day they trudged along between the mountains on the left and the gray,
gravelly desert on the right. Herds of wild camels peppered the horizon. Mounds of sand lay trapped, tight against tufts
of brown desert scrub bushes, dried out and prickly.

(9) Chengli had stared in amazement the day they passed the end of the Great Wall. Somehow, he’d thought the wall
just kept going. And there it was . . . the end. It made him a little uneasy to realize he was actually leaving the Middle
Kingdom, the China he had always known. Now China was behind him, and ahead were the deserts he’d heard of only in
stories. To his right, as far as he could see, stretched the gray stones of the Gobi. To his left, just coming into view, lay
the boundless sweep of the Taklamakan sand, drier, and hotter, he’d been told, than any place known to man.

(10) Chengli used to brag . . . that he knew all about caravans, but bit by bit now he realized he hardly knew anything at
all. He hadn’t known where China ended. He didn’t know about the cities outside of China along the edge of the desert.
Oasis cities, Bori called them, because each one could only exist right at the base of a mountain where a river came
down from the melting snow. When the river disappeared under the sand of the desert, the city and the farms around it
just stopped. Nothing would live without that water.

(11) And kings! Oh, the kings that Bori talked about. Each one of those desert cities had its own ruler. Imagine! A
different king each time the caravan stopped. Chengli got confused just thinking about it. Abdul said the kings were like
little emperors, each one ruling his own city. It had to be that way, he thought, because each city stood alone, with
hundreds and hundreds of miles of desert between it and the next oasis. So, for something to do during the boredom of
walking, Chengli memorized the names of each city—Dunhuang, Hami, Turpan, Kucha, and finally, Kashgar—and
wondered what he’d find in each of them.

(12) Trudging northward, the caravan left the protection of the mountains and started around the edge of the great sand
desert. Chengli thought about the city of Dunhuang and wondered what they would trade there. He knew that ninety of
master’s camels were loaded with treasures to be sold at the far end of their route, but the last ten camels—his camels
—had items they could trade at the oasis towns along the way, giving them fresh food and more water for their journey.

(13) Thus every day his curiosity grew, until Dunhuang seemed a magical place. . . . Finally the cry echoed along the line,
“Oasis! Dunhuang!”

(14) And sure enough, far off in the distance, about the green of the oasis, Chengli could just make out the massive, red-
brick tower with its two arching roofs that signaled the gate to the city. As they moved nearer, they came to the farmers’
huts, lush orchards, and colorful gardens, all watered by channels of water brought from the river—a real river! The road
followed the canal, and Chengli grinned from ear to ear as he walked past travelers resting along the water’s edge .

(15) This city of Dunhuang ranked as an official checkpoint for people entering or leaving China. Inspectors gave the
stamp of approval to legal traders and checked for smugglers who tried to get illegal items in or out of China. As such, it
bustled with activity. Noise and confusion bubbled in all directions. Caravans reported their wares with all the details of
where it came from, where it was going, plus the size and weight of each camel’s load. Soldiers patrolled. Inspectors
inspected. Tax collectors collected import and export taxes. Caravans moved through passport and animal control as
they entered and left the safety of the Middle Kingdom.

(16) Chengli knew they would take one of his camels and empty its load at the market, selling iron tools to the men and
bronze mirrors and colorful pottery to the women, along with bricks of hard, packed tea and bags of rice. This city had
nearly as many people as Chang’an, and they all wanted the same luxuries as people farther south and were willing to
Class 4

pay for them. In exchange, the caravan could get the dried food it needed: noodles, fish, figs, persimmons, and
vegetables to keep the group going to the next town.
AIR Test Prep
1. Read the sentences from Passage 2.

“Soldiers patrolled. Inspectors inspected. Tax collectors collected import and export taxes.” (paragraph 15)

What effect is produced by the repetition of words and sounds in these sentences?
A. It emphasizes the importance of the city.
B. It highlights the bustling activity in the city.
C. It illustrates the large population in the city.
D. It demonstrates the organized layout of the city.

2. Select two details from Passage 2 that support the conclusion that Chengli has an important role in the caravan.
A. “. . . he knew all about caravans, but bit by bit now he realized he hardly knew anything at all.” (paragraph 10)

B. “. . . but the last ten camels—his camels—had items they could trade at the oasis towns along the way, giving
them fresh food and more water for their journey.” (paragraph 12)

C. “. . . far off in the distance, about the green of the oasis, Chengli could just make out the massive, red-brick
tower with its two arching roofs that signaled the gate to the city.” (paragraph 14)

D. “The road followed the canal, and Chengli grinned from ear to ear as he walked past travelers resting along
the water’s edge . . .” (paragraph 14)

E. “Chengli knew they would take one of his camels and empty its load at the market, selling iron tools to the
men and bronze mirrors and colorful pottery to the women . . .” (paragraph 16)

Elaboration

Chengli realizes that he knows so little as his caravan is traveling to a new destination: one that he has never been to.
He is curious and excited.

Directions: Elaborate on the statement above. Your elaboration will be 3 sentences. Make sure that your elaboration is
paraphrased/explained in your own words.

How to elaborate: (you can answer all questions or just 3)

1. How does the evidence connect to the text? 3. Why does this text evidence matter?
2. What does this text evidence tell the reader about him/her? 4. Why is the character the way he/she is?

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Class 4

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