Please don’t forget to go to the Vocabulary and Spelling City app and play the games! Just log in to Edmodo and click on the icon at the top left of your screen that looks like a phone or a calculator. I will give one point of extra credit for each of the games that you play on VSC.

Please don’t forget to go to the Vocabulary and Spelling City app and play the games! Just log in to Edmodo and click on the icon at the top left of your screen that looks like a phone or a calculator. I will give one point of extra credit for each of the games that you play on VSC.

Study Guide

Commonly Confused Homophones

to/tooyour/you’re

their/there/they’reaccept/except

there

There is, there are, there wereOver thereThere are five kittens in the litter.Even though the twister destroyed almost every

house in its path, there were three houses that were completely untouched.

Look under that tree; there is a huge nest on the top limb.

their

“Their” is a possessive pronoun. All of the students closed their books.The teachers sat together to eat their lunches.Five babies sucked their thumbs.The dogs wagged their tails.Even though it wasn’t hot outside, the boys

zipped up their jackets.

they’re

they’re = they areThey’re never going to forgive you.They’re going to see Frankenweenie this weekend.Even though they’re old enough, they don’t

smoke or drink alcohol.Look out for those dinosaurs! They’re going to eat

you!They’re going to talk to their teacher.

there/their/they’re

______________ dog was a scruffy little mutt named Harry.

there/there/they’re

Their dog was a scruffy little mutt named Harry.

there/there/they’re

_________ is an owl in that tree over __________.

there/there/they’re

There is an owl in that tree over there.

there/there/they’re

Those kids are going to have to start _____ homework earlier.

there/there/they’re

Those kids are going to have to start their homework earlier.

there/their/they’re

__________ going to be mad when they find out that __________ are only two girls in the class and twenty boys.

there/their/they’re

They’re going to be mad when they find out that there are only two girls in the class and twenty boys.

• Spelling Tip:

• All three of them start with “THE”theirthere

they’re

Some people switch the “I” and the “E” in “their.”

your/you’re“Your” is a possessive pronoun. It describes

something that belongs to you:your dadyour car

your attitudeyour gradesyour shoesyour dog

your friend

your/you’re“You’re” is a contraction for “you are”:You’re welcome. (You are welcome.)You’re getting on my nerves! (You are getting on my

nerves!)You’re too tall to go on that kiddie ride. (You are too tall…)While you’re reading, please be quiet. (While you are

reading…)Even though you’re my friend, I won’t tell you the secret.

(Even though you are my friend…)After you’re finished with that book, may I please read it?

(When you are finished with that book…)

your/you’re

When someone says “thank you,” you should always reply with “________ welcome.”

your/you’re

When someone says “thank you,” you should always reply with “you’re welcome.”

your/you’re

I asked the teacher if I was solving the math problem correctly.

She said, “_____ on the right track.”

your/you’re

I asked the teacher if I was solving the math problem correctly.

She said, “You’re on the right track.”

your/you’re

Please give this note to ____ teacher.

your/you’re

Please give this note to your teacher.

your/you’re

_______ late! ______ father is going to ground you for sure!

your/you’re

You’re late! Your father is going to ground you for sure!

(You are late!)

your/you’re

_______ going to go to bed so you can get _______ beauty sleep.

your/you’re

You’re going to go to bed so you can get your beauty sleep.

to/too“Too” means “also” I want to go see Frankenweenie, too!She likes cake, and she likes ice cream, too.“Too” is also used as a modifier:You can never be too careful.Mr. Chioffe was too sick to go to work.Anna always felt that math was too difficult.Even though she was too full to eat any more,

she somehow found room for ice cream.

to/too

“To” is a preposition (like in, on, out, under, around, outside, inside)

Let’s walk to the store.I want to drive to the movies.

To the moon, Alice!

to/too “too” is is used two ways:to show intensity: too smart, too tall, too hard,

too salty, too cold, too hot. Imagine yourself drawing out the “oo” sound when you read the sentence.

For example: You might say, “Your making me go to bed tooooo early, mom.”

But you would not say, “Let’s drive toooooo the movies.” (I mean, that would just sound weird! Right?)

to/too The other way that “too” is used is when you

mean “also”:I, too, liked the movie.I liked the movie, too.You two are going with us, too, aren’t you?Haile is a great middle school. Braden River is a

great school, too.

to/too

When are we going ____ Target?

to/too

When are we going to Target?

to/too

This classroom is much ____ small for all of these desks!

to/too

This classroom is much too small for all of these desks!

to/too

Are you going ____ the homecoming dance, ____?

to/too

Are you going to the homecoming dance, too?

to/too

Are you spending the night _____?

to/too

Are you spending the night, too?

accept/except

• To “accept” means to agree to take something:

• She accepted the gift and opened it.• The man accepted the offer to become

principal at the new school.• Amanda was going to accept the award.

accept/except

“except”Everyone except Nick made it on the basketball

team.She could do all of the math equations except

the last one the test.Andrea liked all of her teachers except one. All of my fifth period class did their homework

except Jessica.

Would you please _______ this rose as a symbol of my love?

accept/except

Would you please accept this rose as a symbol of my love?

accept/except

We talk every day __________ Wednesday.

accept/except

We talk every day except Wednesday.

accept/except

She gets really embarrassed when she is complimented on her beautiful hair. She has a difficult time ___________ compliments.

accepting/excepting

She gets really embarrassed when she is complimented on her beautiful hair. She has a difficult time accepting compliments.

Spacing Rules

When you are typing you need to type:

ONE space after a comma TWO spaces after a period FIVE spaces for indenting a paragraph

Spacing Rule for Typing

How many spaces after a period?

Spacing Rule for Typing

TWO spaces after a period.

Spacing Rule for Typing

How many spaces to indent a new paragraph?

Spacing Rule for Typing

FIVE spaces to indent a new paragraph.

Spacing Rule for Typing

How many spaces after a comma?

Spacing Rule for Typing

Use ONE space after a comma.

Daily Edit Items

Proper nouns MUST be capitalized!

Chris DavisCarlos E. Haile Middle School

Bradenton, Floridathe White House

One Direction (the band)President Obama

Book Titles

Always capitalize and underline book titles.

The Hunger GamesTo Kill a Mockingbird

Stormbreaker

Short Stories, Plays, Poems

• Always capitalize and use quotation marks around the titles of short stories and poems:

“Oranges”“The Cremation of Sam McGee”

“The Monkey’s Paw“Raymond’s Run”

Question Mark?

When you are writing, be sure to always use a question mark at the end of a question. It seems simple, but I see questions all the time written by students that are punctuated with a period.