Name _____________________________________________________

Date ___________________

Jeremiahs Song by Walter Dean Myers

Build Vocabulary
Using the Prex: disThe prex dis- means the opposite of. When the prex dis- is added to the beginning of a word, the new word means the opposite of the base word. For example, someone with a pleasant personality can be described as agreeable. A person who is not pleasant is disagreeable. A. DIRECTIONS: Add the prex dis- to each of the words below and write a sentence that uses the new word in the space provided. The rst word has been done as an example. New Word displeased _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ _____________________ Sentence The displeased customer asked for his money back. ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

1. pleased 2. order 3. approve 4. obey

5. organized _____________________ 6. like _____________________

Using Words from the Selection The words diagnosis and disinfect are dened for you in the selection. Here are denitions of two other words from the selection. condition setback a state of health or physical tness a stopping of progress; a reversal

B. DIRECTIONS: Fill in the blanks with the word that best completes the sentence. 1. Grandpa was not well, but the family hoped that his ________________________ would improve. 2. Dr. Crawford had already made his ________________________ of Grandpas health. 3. Ellie used bleach to ________________________ Grandpas room. 4. In spite of help from family and friends, Grandpa suffered a ________________________ in August. Analogies C. DIRECTIONS: Each item consists of a related pair of words in CAPITAL LETTERS, followed by four lettered pairs of words. Circle the letter of the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to the one expressed in the pair in capital letters. 1. DISINFECT : GERMS :: a. broken : toy b. jump : pounce c. douse : re d. hour : minute 2. SETBACK : WORRIED :: a. progress : encouraged b. u : virus c. question : answer d. happy : cheerful

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Name _____________________________________________________

Date ___________________

Unit 1: Growing and Changing

Jeremiahs Song by Walter Dean Myers

Build Spelling Skills: Adding disSpelling Strategy A prex never changes the spelling of the word, even when the word
begins with a vowel. Examples: dis- + qualied = disqualied dis- + organized = disorganized A. Practice: Add the prex dis to each word. Write the new word on the line. 1. dis- + appear 2. dis- + similar 3. dis- + like ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ 6. dis- + honest ________________________ 7. dis- + connect _______________________ 8. dis- + satised ______________________ 9. dis- + belief _________________________ 10. dis- + contented _____________________

4. dis- + approve ________________________ 5. dis- + respect ________________________

B. Practice: Complete the sentences below by adding the prex dis- to each given word and writing each new word on the line. 1. Ellie (trusts) ________________________ Dr. Crawfords diagnosis. 2. Grandpa Jeremiahs stroke has caused a (ability) ________________________ that prevents him from doing chores on the farm. 3. In spite of his (comfort), ________________________ Grandpa is still able to tell his stories. 4. Macon values the stories and does not (courage) ________________________ Grandpa Jeremiah. 5. Ellie (agrees) ________________________ about the importance of these stories. Challenge: In the story, Dr. Crawford makes a diagnosis of Jeremiahs illness. The word diagnosis is formed from the prex dia- and the ancient Greek word gnosis. One meaning for the prex dia- is completeness or thoroughness. Gnosis means knowledge. Dr. Crawfords complete knowledge of Jeremiahs condition enables him to tell exactly what is wrong with him; that is, to make a diagnosis. Another medical term the author could have used in the selection is prognosis. The Greek prex pro- means before or beforehand. When the doctor says that Jeremiah probably will not live long, he is making a prognosis; that is, a prediction, telling what will happen before it actually does happen. Many English words are based on one or more Greek words. Below is a list of words derived from Greek. The Greek words and their meanings are in parentheses. In the space next to each word, write the letter of the correct denition from the list of denitions on the right. ____ ____ ____ ____ 1. biology (bio = life; logy = scientic study) 2. tyrant (tyrannos = king) 3. pharmacy (pharmakon = drug) 4. philanthropist (philos = love; anthropos = human being) a. powerful ruler b. person who helps others c. the study of animals d. drugstore

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Name _____________________________________________________

Date ___________________

Jeremiahs Song by Walter Dean Myers

Build Grammar Skills: Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. The noun that is replaced by the pronoun is called an antecedent. For example, in Jeremiah likes summer. It is his favorite season. His is a pronoun replacing your Jeremiah, and it is a pronoun replacing summer. The most common pronouns are listed below. Personal pronouns: pronouns that refer to the person speaking or writing (rst person), to the person spoken or written to (second person), or to the person, place, or thing being spoken or written about. First person pronouns: I, me, my mine, we, us, our, ours Second person pronouns: you, your, yours Third person pronouns: he, him, she, her, it, they, them, theirs Interrogative pronouns: pronouns that introduce questions. The ve interrogative pronouns are what, which, who, whom, and whose. Indenite pronouns: pronouns that refer to people, places, and things, often without specifying which ones. Indenite pronouns include such words as all, both, few, no one, another, each, anyone, everyone, everything, anything, little, much, none, nothing, others, some, somebody, and several. As you can see, these pronouns do not show a denite number (some, many, few) or denite person, place, or thing (someone, anything), which is why they are called indenite. A. Practice: Underline the pronouns in the following sentences. 1. I just knowed she wasnt gonna be liking him hanging around. 2. You couldnt do nothin that was gonna please her. 3. I think his mama probably made him come at rst, but you could see he liked it. 4. They been asking about him in the church. 5. Who liked Grandpas stories the best? 6. Everybody started tiptoeing around the house after that. 7. Some got bent and some got twisted and a few fell . . . , but they didnt break. 8. What is going to happen to the farm after Grandpa Jeremiahs death? 9. Macon brought his guitar with him and played the new tune he had written. 10. It reminded listeners of other tunes Macon had played, but something was different. B. Writing Application: Write three sentences of your own about the story. Use at least one personal pronoun, interrogative pronoun, and indenite pronoun. Underline each pronoun. 1.

2.

3.

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Name _____________________________________________________

Date ___________________

Unit 1: Growing and Changing

Jeremiahs Song by Walter Dean Myers

Reading Strategy: Using Context Clues

When you encounter an unfamiliar word while reading, you may not need a dictionary to determine its denition. You may be able to use context clues to make a fairly accurate guess about the words meaning. Context is the text (words, sentences, or paragraphs) before and after the unknown word. The clue might be a word or phrase you do know, one that sheds light on the word you do not know. For example, in the following sentence from Jeremiahs Song, where Ellie comments on Grandpa Jeremiahs health, the word improving might give you a hint that could help you if you did not know what setback means. [examp text] Now that hes improving, we dont want him to have a setback. The word improving tells you that Grandpa Jeremiah was feeling better. However, the negative comment we dont want lets you know that Ellie is concerned that the improvement might not continue. So you could guess that setback had something to do with stopping or reversing improvement. Directions: Fill in the chart below to gure out the denitions of the italicized words in the following sentences. The rst one has been done for you as an example. 1. Ellie thought that Dr. Crawfords medical knowledge was obsolete because she thought that he must be out of touch with new developments in medicine. 2. Deacon Turner probably enjoyed hymns that were sung in church more than the tunes that Macon played for the family. 3. Grandpa Jeremiahs illness had left him so debilitated that he was unable even to get out of bed. 4. Grandpa Jeremiahs eerie stories were enough to give the young narrator nightmares. 5. Ellie had no patience with the stories. She liked modern stories, not the antiquated tales from the past that Grandpa Jeremiah told.

Unfamiliar Word 1. obsolete 2. 3. 4. 5.

Context Clue

Denition

out of touch with new developments

out of date

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Name _____________________________________________________

Date ___________________

Jeremiahs Song by Walter Dean Myers

Literary Analysis: First-Person Narrator

The narrator of a story is the teller of the story. Sometimes an author will use a character from the story as the narrator. That character calls herself or himself I, and speaks directly to the reader, as if she or he were actually telling the story. Such a character is called a rstperson narrator. It is important to remember that a rst-person narrator does not know what other characters are thinking or planning, but only what those characters reveal through their words or actions. On the other hand, a rst-person narrator can share with the reader private thoughts and feelings that only she or he would know. In Jeremiahs Song, the rst-person narrator is Grandpa Jeremiahs grandson. Referring to himself as I, he tells you, the reader, what he, himself, thinks and feels. He also tells about events and actions he has experienced or heard about. A. DIRECTIONS: Show which of the following sentences is spoken by a rst-person narrator by writing the letters FP on the line. Write an X on the line if the sentence is not spoken by a rstperson narrator. ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ 1. I was the one who loved Grandpa Jeremiah the most and she didnt hardly even know him so I didnt see why she was crying. 2. The boy loved Grandpa Jeremiah the most, and so he couldnt understand why people who hardly knew his grandfather would be crying. 3. All the time Grandpa Jeremiah was talking, the boy could see Macon ngering his guitar. 4. All the time Grandpa Jeremiah was talking, I could see Macon ngering his guitar. 5. The boy was glad when the rain nally stopped. 6. When the rain stopped, I was pretty glad.

B. DIRECTIONS: In the space provided below, rewrite the following paragraph with the boy as the rst-person narrator. The boy sat by his grandfathers bed, listening to the old mans stories. He wondered if they were really true, but didnt ask. When he had asked in the past, his grandfather would just change the subject, so the boy didnt bother any more. The room was hot, and the boy felt perspiration trickle down his back. He could hear birds chirping outside and wished for a breeze. He thought about being old, and not being able to work or run around. He heard a knock on the door and Macon came in with a guitar. He was glad to see Macon, who smiled at him.

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