Human brain

Get Ready to Read

Readers use titles, pictures, and their own knowledge to predict what will be in a text. A good place to begin is to figure out the topic. The topic of a text is the person or thing that the text is written about. To find the topic, start by looking at the title of the text. Usually, the topic is in the title, but this strategy doesn’t always work. The title The Most Amazing Structure on Earth doesn’t tell us exactly what the most amazing structure on Earth is. Another way to find the topic is to look for words that get repeated, especially in the first sentence of each paragraph. 

Think about these questions or discuss them with a partner.

• Look quickly at the first reading. What do you think the “most amazing structure on Earth” is, according to the text?
• Without looking at the text, try to answer this question: Do scientists say there were always humans on Earth? What does science say about how we got here?
• In your opinion, what can a human brain do that makes it so special?
• What do you think is smarter: your brain or the best computer in the world? Why?

Reading Strategy

Readers check their understanding of a text while they read. In this book, you will practice strategies for checking whether you are really thinking about the words on a page. One strategy is to stop after each paragraph and ask yourself: Can I picture what the text is describing, like a movie playing in my mind? If you can’t picture it, then go back and try to visualize as you re-read the paragraph. If you like to draw, you can even doodle the pictures you see in your mind in the space beside the paragraph.

Try this strategy as you read The Most Amazing Structure on Earth.

Visualizing text

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. A large and very fast computer is called a ______________________________.

2. ______________________________ carry messages between your brain and your body.

3. ______________________________ means able to do something.

4. An animal of any type could be called a ______________________________.

5.  ______________________________ describes something that has many parts that go together in complicated ways.

6. A long, thin animal with a soft body and no arms or legs could be described as __________________________.

7. A ______________________________ is something that is built by putting parts together.

8. The number 1,000,000 is called one ______________________________.

9. The number 1,000,000,000 is called one ______________________________.

10. The number 1,000,000,000,000 is called one ______________________________.

11. ______________________________ means to take in something like information and use it.

Check Your Understanding

The main idea of a text is the point the writer is making about the topic. A text is usually written for one main purpose:

We can figure out the main idea of a text by looking for the point of each paragraph.

1. The text has four paragraphs. Find the paragraph that matches each of the main ideas below.

a. Scientists don’t know everything about the brain, but what they have learned so far can help us in daily life.

b. The cerebral cortex, which has four parts, is the part of our brain that makes us so smart.

c. The brain has cells called neurons that are faster than any computer. Neurons send and receive information throughout the body, allowing us to think, remember, feel, and move.

d. A creature slowly developed into a human over millions of years.

2. Put these events in the correct sequence. Sequence refers to the order that things happen in.

a. The creature grew a spinal cord.

b. The creature became a fish.

c. The creature became a human.

d. The creature was like a worm.

e. The creature became a monkey.

f. The creature grew arms and legs.

Human evolution

3. Are these details true or false?

a. The smartest part of our brain is its surface.

b. The front lobe of our brain processes images from the eyes.

c. The cerebral cortex has six parts.

d. Adults have about the same number of neurons as when they were babies, but now there are more connections between the neurons.

e. Computers are smarter than mice.

4. Fill in the blanks.

a. Our brains took about ____________________ million years to develop.

b. The four parts of the cerebral cortex are called ____________________.

c. The world’s best supercomputer is only about as fast as a ____________________ brain.

d. ____________________ is a word for a type of brain cell.

e. Information from the brain to the body travels along the ____________________.

5. In your opinion, is the human brain the most amazing structure on Earth? Why or why not?

Spelling

A suffix is the end part of a word. Study these words ending in -ture. Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words.

One way to learn to spell a new word is to break it into syllables. Try it. Remember that -ture is its own syllable.

1. structure = ____________________________________________

2. creature = _____________________________________________

3. mixture = _____________________________________________

4. nature = _____________________________________________

5. future = _____________________________________________

6. culture = _____________________________________________

7. signature = _____________________________________________

8. adventure = ____________________________________________

9. departure = _____________________________________________

10. furniture = _____________________________________________

End Punctuation

Punctuation refers to the marks we use in sentences to make our meaning clear. Punctuation marks that come at the end of sentences are called end punctuation.

Fill in all the periods, exclamation marks, and question marks needed in these sentences.

1. How big is your brain It is about the same size as your two fists pushed together

2. Wow You could fit 30,000 neurons on the head of a pin

3. Did you know the brain contains enough energy to power a light bulb

4. The outer part of the brain is a yellowish-grey colour

5. One neuron can have up to 10,000 connections Who knew

6. No way An American chicken named Mike survived for 18 months after his head was cut off and a small part of his brain was left behind

7. Our noses can detect between 4,000 and 10,000 smells

8. We spend one-third of our lives asleep That’s a lot of sleep

Simple Sentences: Identifying the Subject

One way to improve your writing is to use a variety of sentences. In this book, you will learn to write three sentence types: simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex sentences. A simple sentence is a complete sentence if it has:

• a subject
• a verb
• a complete thought

Look at these simple sentences. Underline the subjects.

1. You sleep for about 30% of your life.

2. Monks train their minds to focus on one thing for long periods of time.

3. Bill Reid created brilliant art.

4. The College of New Caledonia opened in 1969.

5. Denmark provides free a college and university education to the people who live there.

6. Lucknow, India, is home to the biggest school in the world.

7. Chess gives your brain a good workout.

8. The spinal cord acts like an information highway between the brain and the rest of the body.

Writing

During your time as a student, you will likely be asked to write many kinds of paragraphs. In this book, you will learn how to write paragraphs that describe things, explain how to do things, tell a story, or give an opinion. No matter what kind of writing task you are working on, there is a strategy you can use to stay on track. It’s called TOWER. The letters in TOWER stand for Think, Organize, Write, Edit, and Rewrite.

Eiffel Tower

Attributions

Human brain
Image by johnhain is in the public domain.

Visualizing text
Image by geralt is in the public domain.

Human evolution
Image by ClkerFreeVectorImages is in the public domain.

Eiffel Tower
Image by Gaertringen is in the public domain.

Albert Einstein

Get Ready to Read

Readers think about their own experiences with a topic before they read a text. They ask questions like, “What does this make me think of?” or “What do I already know about this topic?” Think about the questions below or discuss them with a partner.

• Who or what does the word “genius” make you think of?
• Who is the smartest person you know? What makes her or him smart?
• Agree or disagree with this statement: Being smart means being good at reading, writing, and math.
• Look quickly at the the reader for The Many Faces of Genius. What do you think the topic of this text will be?

Reading Strategy

Readers check their understanding of a text while they read. One strategy is to stop after each paragraph and try to retell the main idea in your own words.

Try this strategy as you read The Many Faces of Genius.

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. The __________________________ is a prize awarded to people who do important work in literature, medicine, and science, or for world peace.

2. A __________________________ is a very smart person.

3. The business that makes movies, TV shows, and plays is called __________________________.

4. __________________________ means to change your behaviour so it is easier to live in a particular situation.

5. __________________________ means to create a piece of music or writing.

6. __________________________ means to deal with problems and try to come up with solutions.

7. To __________________________ is to find the size, amount, or value of something.

8. __________________________ means to form a mental picture of something.

Check Your Understanding

The text has four paragraphs. Find the paragraphs that match each of the main ideas below.

1. It is difficult to define intelligence.

2. There are different ways to be smart.

3. Intelligent people don’t always do well in school. There are many examples of geniuses who struggled in school.

4. You can find out about your strengths by taking a quiz on the Internet.

 Are these details true or false?

5. People who are logic smart are good at reading maps.

6. People who are people smart are good at understanding how others are feeling.

7. People who are word smart are good at explaining things.

8. People who are body smart know their strengths and weaknesses.

9. People who are self smart tend to make good personal decisions.

Answer these questions using a complete sentence. The answers are not in the text. You must draw conclusions based on what you have read.

10. What kind of intelligence do you think Albert Einstein was strongest in?

11. What kind of intelligence do you think Winston Churchill was strongest in?

12. What kind of intelligence do you think Whoopi Goldberg is strongest in?

13. What kind of intelligence do you think you are strongest in?

Whoopi Goldberg

Spelling

A consonant is any letter that is not a vowel. Some words have silent consonants. This means that you do not pronounce them. Common silent consonant patterns include wr, gh, kn, and mb. Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words.

One way to learn to spell a new word is to look for the tricky parts. Silent consonants can be tricky. Cross out the silent consonants in these words.

1. bomb

2. wrist

3. ghost

4. plumber

5. know

6. wrong

7. knee

8. writer

9. thumb

10. knife

Colons

Insert colons in these sentences.

1. People have five senses vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.

2. The tongue can only taste five things sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savoury.

3. I.Q. tests measure many things general knowledge, math, reasoning, memory, puzzle-solving, reading, and analyzing shapes.

4. I.Q. tests have many problems they are unfair to people from different cultural backgrounds, they don’t measure all the ways a person can be smart, and some people don’t do well on tests because they get nervous.

5. Leonardo da Vinci came up with many ideas for inventions a parachute, a glider, a bicycle, a life jacket, and many kinds of weapons.

6. The smartest animals tend to be the ones with a backbone apes, dolphins, dogs, and crows.

7. Neuroscientist a person who studies how the brain is structured and how it works.

8. Psychologist a person who studies human behaviour and the mind.

Simple Sentences: Identifying the Verb

In the last chapter, you learned that a complete simple sentence needs a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. You studied the different kinds of subjects: people, places, and things. In this chapter, you will study verbs.

 Underline the verbs in these sentences.

1. Butterflies fly over 4,000 kilometres from Canada to Mexico every fall.

2. I ate six hot dogs in two minutes.

3. Marilyn Bell swam across Lake Ontario.

4. The sun will burn out in about 5 billion years.

5. People will live on Mars one day.

6. It will rain tomorrow.

7. My grandma has 23 grandchildren.

8. Where are my pants?

9. The longest town name in the world is Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

10. You should drive a riding lawnmower up and down on a hill, not sideways.

11. Tourists can stay in an ice hotel near Quebec City.

12. A big earthquake may hit British Columbia sometime soon.

Writing

An opinion paragraph shares what you think or feel about something. It should:

• Start with a topic sentence that says your opinion
• Include details, such as facts and examples, that prove your opinion
• End with a concluding sentence that reminds the reader of your opinion
• Use linking words like: first, second, third, for example, in addition, also, as a result, for this reason

Below is an example of an opinion paragraph. Organize the information from this paragraph on the Back Up Your Opinion worksheet. Remember that an opinion statement often contains the word “should” or “must.” An opinion can be backed up with facts and examples to convince others to agree.

Adult basic education should be free for all students. First, people who access adult basic education tend to have a low income. If adult basic education costs money, the people who need it most will not be able to afford it. Second, it is cheaper to provide free education than it is to deal with the results of lower literacy rates. Lower literacy leads to more health problems, more crime, and more families in need of welfare. Third, high school graduation rates are low among Aboriginal people. This is the result of hundreds of years of government policies that have tried to destroy Aboriginal communities. Adult basic education programs give people a second chance to finish their high school diploma. The government owes Aboriginal people this second chance. For these reasons, British Columbia should invest in free adult basic education.

Adult education

Writing Task

Imagine that the government of British Columbia has announced a new award: The Smartest Person in the Province Award. You have decided to write a paragraph to suggest the government give the award to the smartest person you know. Remember that there are many ways of being smart! Follow the TOWER method to write your paragraph.

• Think of the names of some people you know who might deserve the award. Choose one person. Brainstorm all the reasons you think they deserve to win.
• Organize your best ideas on a Back Up Your Opinion worksheet.
• Write a first draft of your opinion paragraph.
• Edit your paragraph, with the help of your instructor and The Many Faces of Genius opinion checklist.
• Rewrite your paragraph. You may wish to type it on a computer. Finally, hand it in to your instructor.

Ask your instructor for a copy of the worksheet and checklist, or print copies from the links above. For printable versions, see Appendix 1 and Appendix 2.

Gold medal award

Attributions

Albert Einstein
Image by skeeze is in the public domain.

Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Golberg by Daniel Langer is used under a CC BY SA 2.0 license.

Adult education
Image by ClkerFreeVectorImages is in the public domain.

Gold medal award
Image by ClkerFreeVectorImages is in the public domain.

Get Ready to Read

Think about the questions below or discuss them with a partner.

• Think of a time when you struggled to learn something new. What helped you to cope?
• Are some people born smart or do they become that way through practice?
• What do you already know about learning disabilities?

Learning

Reading Strategy

Readers check their understanding of a text while they read. One strategy is to stop a few times in the text to ask yourself: Can I answer any of the five W questions: who, what, where, when, or why? If you are able to answer at least three of these questions, then you are thinking about what you are reading.

Try this strategy as you read The Many Pathways to Knowledge.

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. A  condition that makes learning difficult is called a ___________________________.

2. ___________________________ means moving in a way where you might drop or break things.

3. A ___________________________ is one of the things that cause something to happen.

4. ___________________________ refers to activity that is done to be healthier.

5. Another word for 10 years is a ___________________________.

6. ___________________________ is the speed at which something happens.

7. ___________________________ means to act on or cause a change in someone or something.

8. ___________________________ means to fear that something will happen.

9. A person in the same age group or social group can be called a ___________________________.

10. An ___________________________ is a way of dealing with something.

Check your Understanding

1. Read the sentences below. Which group of sentences best describes the main idea of the text?

a. Barbara Arrowsmith-Young taught herself to tell time, do math, understand grammar, and be less clumsy.

b. Geniuses aren’t born being great at something. They become geniuses through practice. People with learning disabilities can also be great at the thing they struggle with. They just learn in a different way and at a different pace.

 2. Re-read the second paragraph. What is the main idea?

 3. Put these events in the correct sequence.

a. After lots of practice, Barbara was able to do the things her brain was “unable” to do.

b. Barbara’s teachers said she had a learning disability.

c. Barbara made exercises to teach her brain to do the things it couldn’t.

d. Barbara struggled to learn many of the things taught in elementary school.

e. Barbara started a school to help others who learn in different ways.

f. As an adult, Barbara learned that people can change the structure of their brain through experience and exercise.

4. Try to think of the best word to complete each sentence.

a. Geniuses usually practiced their skill ___________________ hours a week for over a decade.

b. We will have a hard time learning if we do not get enough ______________________ food to eat.

c. Barbara’s teachers said she had a learning ______________________.

d. Barbara heard that people can change their brains through _________________ and ___________________.

e. She created exercises to teach herself to tell ________________________.

f. Afterward, she could also understand the rules of _____________________ and ____________________________.

g. We can change the ________________________ of our brains through practice.

Spelling

Homonyms are two words that sound the same but have different meanings. Study these homonyms. Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words. One way to learn to spell words is to use memorable sentences. If you can remember which spelling goes with which homonym in these sentences, you can use the information to help you spell the homonyms correctly in other sentences.

Do these sentences use the correct homonym? If not, change them. 

1. I wonder what the whether will be like today.

2. Can you put this box down over there?

3. It’s too late at night to practice playing my bagpipes.

4. All the unions decided that they’re going on strike.

5. My shirt is missing most of it’s buttons.

6. Does this medicine have any side affects?

7. The big flood in the town did not effect my house.

8. My parents are selling me their old car.

9. I don’t know weather I should drive in this snow.

Apostrophes in Contractions

Change the underlined words into contractions. Use apostrophes as needed.

1. We do not tend to remember our dreams unless we wake up during them.

2. It is easiest to learn a second language between the ages of 13 and 20 years old.

3. You will likely find that the best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a new one.

4. Studies show that you should not stay up late cramming for a test because sleep is key to learning.

5. You would never be able to learn without neurons.

6. When a baby is 24 months old, she will know that the person in the mirror is herself.

7. A child who does not hear any words or language before 12 years old will not learn to speak.

8. Alan Turing was a computer scientist. In the 1950s, he came up with the Turing Test, a way to tell if a computer is intelligent. To do the test, you sit someone at a screen that is connected either to a computer or another person in a different room. The person chats and asks questions to discover whether they are talking to a computer or a person. If they cannot tell the difference, and it is a computer they are talking to, the computer can be called “intelligent.” Some people say that a computer passed the test for the first time in 2014.

Alan Turing

Sentence Fragments

A complete sentence needs three things: a subject, a verb, and a complete thought. If a sentence is missing one of these, it is called a sentence fragment.

Are these complete sentences or fragments?

1. A boy.

2. Typed the English alphabet on an iPad.

3. In less than six seconds.

4. Astronauts say space has a unique smell.

5. Hit by lightning.

6. Barbie’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

7. Daniel Radcliffe wore 160 pairs of glasses while filming the Harry Potter movies.

8. An artist from Chicago.

9. Made a statue of Madonna using 180 pounds of ham.

What is missing from these sentence fragments — a subject, verb, or complete thought?

10. Is on Facebook.

11. The average Facebook user has.

12. Dyed his sheep bright orange to prevent theft.

13. Is 5 feet 11 inches.

14. A calf in Virginia.

15. Erin Finnegan and Noah Fulmor.

16. Was born with a five-foot long tail.

17. One in every seven people on Earth.

18. The average height of the Dutch.

19. 190 friends.

20. Over 70 species of mushrooms.

21. A British farmer.

22. Glow in the dark.

23. Became the first couple to get married in outer space.

24. Each sentence fragment above can be matched to another sentence fragment above to make a complete sentence. Find the fragments that go together to make a complete sentence. Use them to write a complete sentence.

Writing

How-to paragraphs give directions. For example, this kind of paragraph might explain how to plant a tree, how to make a campfire, or how to send an email.

A how-to paragraph should:

• Begin with a topic sentence that says what task you are explaining
• Break the task down into small steps
• Explain each step clearly
• List the steps in the order the reader should do them
• Use linking words like first, then, next, after that, and finally

Below is an example of a how-to paragraph. Underline the topic sentence, the linking words, and the concluding sentence.

How to Trim a Dragon’s Toenails

People are often afraid to clip the toenails of a dragon, but it’s really not that hard. First, gather all the things you will need: nighttime tea, a tea cup, hedge trimmers, a bumpy rock, and some nail polish. Then, make the dragon a warm cup of nighttime tea. After the dragon drinks the tea, he will fall asleep. Next, pick up the hedge trimmers and carefully cut the top two inches of each toenail. After that, rub the rock back and forth over the edge of each toenail until it is nice and smooth. You may also wish to apply a coat of nail polish. Most dragons prefer red nail polish, but some dragons prefer purple. Finally, run away as fast as you can. The dragon will wake up soon, and you don’t want to be there when he does. Follow these steps and the dragon’s toenails will look fabulous!

Green dragon

Attributions

Learning
Image by geralt is in the public domain.

Alan Turing
Allan Turing, Bletchley Park by Beyond My Ken is used under a CC BY SA 3.0 license. 

Green dragon
Image by PublicDomainPictures is in the public domain.

Get Ready to Read

Think about the questions below or discuss them with a partner.

• What things affect how well you learn? 
• How do you deal with stress?
• How do you motivate yourself to try your best in school?
• What would your perfect classroom physically look like? 

Reading

Reading Strategy

Readers check their understanding of a text while they read. When you struggle to figure out a word, don’t just skip it. Try this strategy instead. When you see a word you do not know, underline it. Go back and read the words before it. Then read the words after it. Now think of a word that would make sense in the spot that you underlined. Does it sound right? Does it make sense?

Try this strategy as you read Boost Your Brainpower.

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. _______________________ is something found in the air that is needed for life.

2. A _______________________ is something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention.

3. The ability to pay attention to one thing is called _______________________.

4. If you have _______________________, you have the ability to see.

5. _______________________ are used to measure the energy in food that gets released into the body.

6. _______________________ are the things that are most important and should be done first.

7. To _______________________ someone is to make them eager to work.

8. A liquid, or something that can flow like water, can be called a _______________________.

9. _______________________ is used to give power to something.

Check Your Understanding

Match each detail to the main idea.

Resting

Spelling

A suffix is the end part of a word. Study these words ending in -tion and -sion. Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words.

One way to figure out how to spell a new word is to write down some possible spellings and see what looks right. Fill in the blanks with t or s based on what looks right.

1. deci____ion

2. emo____ion

3. pas____ion

4. instruc____ion

5. solu____ion

6. mis____ion

7. conclu____ion

8. educa____ion

9. televi____ion

10. addi____ion

Commas in a Series

Add commas to the sentences below.

1. The brain needs food oxygen and water.

2. To help your brain remember the names of the Great Lakes, think of the word HOMES: Huron Ontario Michigan Erie and Superior.

3. People began performing brain surgery 7,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptians Romans Greeks Chinese Indians and Incas all performed brain surgery.

4. Emotions are an important part of survival: Fear tells you to run away from danger anger tells you to fight for your life and love creates a need for connection.

5. The brain has many chemicals that affect our feelings. Dopamine causes us to feel pleasure excitement pain and nausea.

6. Serotonin plays a role in feelings of happiness sleepiness and fullness.

7. Endorphins play a role in relaxation and reducing pain.

8. Noradrenaline can cause us to feel alert excited or anxious.

9. Oxytocin is the chemical that gets released in our brain when we fall in love.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence is made by joining two complete sentences using a comma and one of these joining words: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, or so. To remember these joining words, think of the word FANBOYS.

Combine the two complete sentences into one compound sentence. Replace the period with a comma and one of the FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

1. The most commonly written word in the English language is “the.” The most commonly spoken word in the English language is “I.”

2. Today, it would be rude to wipe your dirty hands on a tablecloth. The original purpose of the tablecloth was for wiping your hands after eating!

3. Honey tastes delicious. It is the only natural food that doesn’t spoil.

4. You can see both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans from the top of Mount Irazu on a clear day. The top of the mountain is usually very cloudy.

5. The ad for the first Ski-Dog snowmobile accidentally called it a Ski-Doo. The company changed the snowmobile’s name to match the ad.

Writing

A descriptive paragraph helps your reader visualize the person, place, or thing that you are describing.

A descriptive paragraph should:

• Begin with a topic sentence that says what you are describing
• End with a concluding sentence that reminds the reader of the topic
• Appeal to the senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound

Author with Huckleberry

Identify the details in the descriptive paragraph above that appeal to these senses:

1. Sight:

2. Smell:

3. Touch:

4. Sound:

Attributions

Reading
Image by JanDix is in the public domain.

Resting
Image by Prinz-Peter is in the public domain.

Playing cards

Get Ready to Read

Think about the questions below or discuss them with a partner.

• Do you have a good memory? How do you know?
• What do you do to remember information?
• Describe a time when you really wanted to remember something but couldn’t.

Think about the title Memory Magic. Which of these words do you think will be in the text?

• attention
• circus
• senses
• focus
• hurricane
• short-term
• long-term
• bullfrog
• chunk
• visualization
• vampire

Reading Strategy

Readers check their understanding of a text while they read. One strategy is to ask questions while you read, and then look for the answers. What do you wonder when you read the sentence below?

Dave Farrow is a Canadian recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for Greatest Memory.

You might wonder, “What did he do to set this record?” Continue reading with this question in mind. Asking questions and looking for answers helps keep your brain thinking while you read.

Try this strategy as you read Memory Magic.

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. ___________________ is a condition that makes it hard for a person to read, write, and spell.

2. ___________________ is a deep blue colour.

3. ___________________ is a deep purple colour.

4. A person someone is romantically involved with, runs a business with, or does an activity with is called their ___________________.

5. ___________________ means happening all the time or very often over a period of time.

6. To ___________________ is to learn something so well that you can remember it perfectly.

7. ___________________ means to remember something.

Check Your Understanding

1. What’s the main idea of paragraph four?

2. What’s the main idea of paragraph five?

3. What’s the main idea of paragraph six?

 4. How does the brain remember information? Put these steps in order.

a. The information goes into your short-term memory.

b. You think about the information over and over.

c. Your brain takes in information through your senses.

d. The information goes into your long-term memory.

e. Your brain pays attention to the information.

Something is incorrect in each of these sentences. Cross out the incorrect words. Add the correct words.

5. Your long-term memory only holds information for a few seconds.

6. Your short-term memory can hold about 15 things at a time.

7. Dave recommends breaking big tasks into smaller tasks, working hard for short periods of time, and taking short breaks to help your mind remember.

8. Roy G. Biv stands for red, orange, yellow, green, brown, indigo, and violet.

9. The text suggests that you memorize an address or vocabulary words in chunks.

Spelling

If a word ends with silent e, drop the e before an ending that starts with a vowel.

become + ing = becoming

choose + ing = choosing

amaze + ing = amazing

share + ed = shared

Keep the silent e before an ending that starts with a consonant.

late + ly = lately

safe + ty = safety

use + ful = useful

sincere + ly = sincerely

These words break the rules:

argue + ment = argument

true + ly = truly

Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words.

Practice the pattern. Spell each word correctly after adding the suffix to the word.

1. write + ing

2. come + ing

3. care + ful

4. wise + ly

5. change + ing

6. use + less

7. surprise + ing

8. hope + ful

9. safe + ly

10. make + ing

11. excite + ment

12. have + ing

13. drive + ing

Commas with Transition Words

Fill in the commas in the paragraph below.

Are humans smarter than other animals? Well there are a lot of things that only humans can do. First we can survive in all sorts of environments. In fact we can survive in extreme environments like the desert, the Arctic, and outer space. Second we can write down information, so that it can easily be shared with lots of people. Third we can make art, stories, poetry, and music. Finally we can invent really complicated things. For example we can build airplanes and computers. In conclusion humans may be the smartest animal in the world.

Run-On Sentences

Turn each run-on sentence into a compound sentence.

1. People say this diamond is cursed for all its owners have suffered illness or death.

2. Tim Horton was a hockey player in the NHL he is better known for his donut shops.

3. There are over 1,000 kinds of bees all over Canada some can even be found in the Arctic.

4. My phone isn’t charged I need to plug it in.

5. We could fly to Calgary or we could get there by bus.

Turn each run-on sentence above into two simple sentences.

Writing

A narrative paragraph tells a story. It should:

• Have a beginning, middle, and end
• Include details about:
  • Who is in your story
  • What happened
  • Where it happened
  • Why it happened
  • How it happened
• Tell the events in the order they happened
• Use linking words to connect your sentences: first, then, next, finally

Below is an example of a narrative paragraph.

The Bus Ride Home
The bus ride home from school usually started out well enough. First, the bus would happily rumble from pothole to pothole down the winding country roads. On a hot summer day, all the windows would be down, blowing the children’s hair wildly in all directions. The kids all seemed to talk at once in their outdoor voices. There was only one thing that could quiet them down. The bus would turn around a big bend as we neared my house. Next, the sweet and sour stink of pig manure would pour through the windows. The excited chatter turned into groans of disgust. Then the bus would screech to a standstill at the end of my laneway, as though the smell was so thick the bus couldn’t bear to carry on. Finally, my brother and I would have to stand up and walk past the rows of eyes scowling at us from above shirt collars that had been yanked up over offended noses. The two of us would walk down our long dirt laneway in silence. Only one thought brought me comfort in that moment: the smell of pig manure was nothing compared to the smell of chicken manure that awaited that bus farther down the road.

School bus

Attributions

Playing cards
Image by gepharts3d is in the public domain.

School bus
Image by richoz  is in the public domain.

Writing

Get Ready to Read

Think about the questions below or discuss them with a partner.

• Agree or disagree: Tests should be banned from schools.
• What tips would you give to a friend who is about to take a test?

Think about the title Put to the Test. Which of these words do you think will be in the text?

Reading Strategy

Readers check their understanding of a text while they read. One strategy is to think about tone. Tone refers to the attitude of the writer. For example, a writer’s attitude can be playful, serious, happy, sad, supportive, or hurtful. 

Try this strategy as you read Put to the Test. How would you describe the tone of this text? Why?

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. A running race that lasts a long time is called a ___________________________.

2. ___________________________ means the ability to understand.

3. ___________________________ means doing something without help.

4. ___________________________ means equal to what is needed.

5. ___________________________ means lots of something; a number of something that is enough.

6. Something that can be done if the first plan doesn’t work is called a ___________________________.

7. The small flat areas on the sides of your forehead are called ___________________________.

Check Your Understanding 

1. Re-read paragraph three. What is the main idea of this paragraph?

2. Put these events in order.

a. Put your name on it.

b. Do your best on every question.

c. Make sure you answered every question and used correct grammar and spelling.

d. Take care of your basic needs.

e. Look over the whole test to see how many marks each section is worth.

f. Read the instructions and questions carefully.

g. Study the types of questions often found on reading and writing tests.

Runner

Answer these questions in complete sentences.

3. What sections in a test should you spend the most time on?

4. How is writing a test like running a marathon? How is it different?

5. What is positive self-talk?

6. The text strongly recommends doing two things that students often forget to do. What are the two things?

Make an inference to answer these questions. An inference is an educated guess.

7. Why do you think positive self-talk works?

8. Why do you think students often skip pre-reading and pre-writing exercises? 

Spelling

Study these words. The prefix pre– means “before.” The prefix ex– means “out of” or “from.” Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words.

One way to learn to spell new words is to look at one closely, cover it up, try to spell it, and then check it. Try this strategy below.

1. prepare   _____________________________________________

2. preview   _____________________________________________

3. prepaid   _____________________________________________

4. preheat    _____________________________________________

5. prefer        _____________________________________________

6. example    _____________________________________________

7. express      _____________________________________________

8. excuse        _____________________________________________

9. exercise      _____________________________________________

Direct Quotations

Quotation marks are used to show that the words inside them are the exact words that someone said, thought, or wrote.

Below is an example from the text:

Some runners use positive self-talk when they are struggling. They tell themselves things like, “I feel good about myself and my abilities. I am not going to worry. I will do the best that I can.”

Notice that a comma follows the word right before the quotation. The end punctuation goes inside the last quotation mark.

Fill in the missing quotation marks, commas, and end punctuation in the sentences below.

1. A parrot named Alex was the first animal to ask a human a question about himself. Alex asked What colour am I

2. When Alex got bored of working with his trainer, he would say Wanna go back!

3. The night before Alex died, he spoke his last words to his trainer. He said Be good. Good night. I love you

4. Koko is a gorilla who can speak a form of American Sign Language. She knows about 1,000 signs and has the ability to create logical words for things she doesn’t know the name of. For example, for ring she said finger bracelet and for mask she said eye hat

5. There was a seal named Hoover who lived in an aquarium. Hoover said How are ya to some visitors. To other visitors he said Get outta here!

6. An elephant named Batyr learned 20 different phrases. He could say Batyr is good He could also say Batyr is hungry

Complex Sentences

Read each complex sentence below. Insert commas as needed. Remember that not all complex sentences need a comma.

1. If you want breakfast in bed you should sleep in the kitchen.

2. To escape a black hole you must go faster than the speed of light.

3. After a spider web has collected dust it becomes a cobweb.

4. The Ski-Doo cost $900 when it first came out in the 1950s.

5. Until 1920 people in British Columbia drove their cars on the left side of the road.

Look at the sentence fragments below. Use your own ideas and the rules you have learned to turn them into complex sentences.

1. If you want to wake someone up really quickly.

2. When riding on the bus.

3. When I was five years old.

4. Until the day I die.

5. Before you buy a lottery ticket.

Look at the complete sentences below. Use the word in brackets and your own ideas to turn them into complex sentences.

1. I love long car rides. (unless)

2. A dog can be a person’s best friend. (although)

3. I was about to pay the bill. (when)

4. I filled the birdfeeder with seeds. (before)

5. The seal watched me from the water. (while)

Writing

Attributions

Writing
Image by aafjevandehulsbeek is in the public domain.

Runner
Image by tpsdave is in the public domain.

Glass ball

Get Ready to Read

Think about the questions below or discuss them with a partner.

• Describe a time when you had a gut feeling that was either right or wrong.
• Do you think people should trust their gut feelings?
• Do you think some people can predict the future?

Reading Strategy

Readers check their understanding of a text while they read. One strategy is to make predictions while you read. For example, read the first paragraph of The Sixth Sense: Intuition.

A fire broke out in the kitchen of a house in Chicago, Illinois. A team of firefighters kicked down the door of the house. They stood in the living room as they sprayed water at the fire in the kitchen. Strangely, the fire would not go out. One of the firefighters had a feeling that something was very wrong. “Get out, now!” he ordered. The team ran out of the house. Moments later, the floor they had been standing on in the living room collapsed.

Predict why the floor collapsed. Predict how the firefighter knew to get his team out of the house. Then read on to see if your predictions were correct. This strategy helps you actively think about what you are reading, to build a deeper understanding.

Use this strategy as you read The Sixth Sense: Intuition.

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. A quicker and easier way to get someplace or do something is called a _____________________.

2. A tendency to unfairly think of some things are better than others is called a _________________.

3. _____________________ means to break apart or fall down suddenly.

4. Something is _____________________ if it is free from mistakes or errors.

5. _____________________ means in a way that is not normal.

6. _____________________ means less in quality or importance.

7. _____________________ describes things related to the human soul.

8. _____________________ is the power of the mind to think and understand in a logical way.

9. A _____________________ is the way people think about something or someone.

10. Something that is _____________________ is thought of as important.

11. _____________________ means to tell someone to do something.

Check Your Understanding 

1. Which of these sentences summarizes the main idea?

a. Firefighters use intuition to decide if a situation is safe.

b. Intuition is not as useful as reason when making decisions.

c. Intuition is a useful ability of the human brain that we should use in balance with reason.

Answer these questions using complete sentences.

2. What is intuition?

3. What is the main idea of paragraph six?

4. What is the main idea of paragraph seven? 

5. How did the firefighter explain why he knew to get out of the burning house?

6. How did the researcher explain why the firefighter knew to get out of the burning house?

7. Find three synonyms for intuition used in the text.

8. What did scientists think of as better than intuition?

9. What different ways of knowing in First Nations cultures are mentioned in the text?

10. How do you think the firefighter felt when he saw the floor of the house collapse?

Firefighter

Spelling

A 1-1-1 word is a word that has one syllable, one vowel, and ends with one consonant. Always double the consonant before adding a suffix to a 1-1-1 word.

Study these words. Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words.

1. getting

2. putting

3. planned

4. sunny

5. hunter

6. loaded

7. sharpest

8. baggage

9. shipping

10. leader

1. One way to learn new words is to look for patterns. Which of these words are 1-1-1 words and which are not? Make two lists. Try not to look at the list above.

Spell each word correctly after adding the suffix. Try not to look at the spelling list.

2. lead + er = ________________________

3. sharp + est = ________________________

4. put + ing = ________________________

5. load + ed = ________________________

6. get + ing = ________________________

7. ship + ing = ________________________

8. bag + age = ________________________

9. sun + y = ________________________

10. plan + ed = ________________________

11. hunt + er = ________________________

Commas with Place Names and Dates

Fill in the commas in the sentences below.

1. There is a place called Intuition Peak in South Shetland Islands Antarctica.

2. Carl Jung was born on July 26 1875. During his life, he developed a theory that we are all born with memories from our ancestors.

3. Jung died on June 6 1961. He died in Zurich Switzerland. Since then, his idea has been proven wrong.

4. Sigmund Freud was born on May 6 1856. He spent most of his life in Vienna Austria. He studied the human mind. He thought he could help people with their mental problems by studying their dreams.

5. Freud died on September 23 1939. He died in London England.

Sigmund Freud

Subject-Verb Agreement

You have learned that subject refers to the people, places, or things that do the action in a sentence. In this lesson, you’ll study how verbs must agree with their subjects.

There is a popular blog on the Internet called “I Can Has Cheezburger?” The blog is full of pictures of cats using grammar in ways that might make your instructor cringe. The cats tend to use verbs that do not agree with their subjects. For example, this cat says, “I are serious cat” instead of “I am a serious cat.”

Serious cat

Unless you are writing for this blog, use the verbs “be” and “have” correctly. Here’s a quick review:

Choose the verb that agrees with each subject.

1. These words have/has no rhymes: diamond, skeleton, silver, and month.

2. A butterfly have/has the ability to taste with its feet.

3. Elephants is/are the only land animals that can’t jump.

4. Mohammed is/are the most common name in the world.

5. Station wagons was/were replaced by mini-vans and SUVs.

6. The umbrella was/were invented in Africa as a way to protect people from the sun.

Baby elephant

Underline the subject in each sentence. Choose the verb that agrees with the subject.

7. Couples who marry in January, February, and March have/has the highest divorce rates.

8. The cherry trees on my street is/are so beautiful.

9. The eyes of a chameleon is/are able to move in two different directions at the same time.

10. The kitten with the big green eyes was/were the cutest.

11. The cookies on the kitchen counter wasn’t/weren’t actually for you.

Writing

Attributions

Glass ball
Image by FeeLoona is in the public domain.

Firefighter
Image by skeeze is in the public domain.

Sigmund Freud
Image by skeeze is in the public domain.

Serious cat
Serious cat by brownpau is used under a CC BY 2.0 license.

Baby elephant
Image by designerpoint is in the public domain.

Personality

Get Ready to Read

Think about the questions below or discuss them with a partner.

• How do others see you?
• How do you see yourself?
• What do you like about your personality?
• If you could change one thing about your personality, what would it be?

Reading Strategy

Readers use texts for many different purposes. We read stories for enjoyment. We read the news to find out what is happening in the world. We read cookbooks to follow a recipe. We read instructions to find out how to put together or use something new. Before you read, think about your purpose for reading. It is easier to use a text when we know why we are using it. The next text you will read is called The Big Five: Personality. Below are some examples of purposes for reading this text:

• To find out more about your personality. As you read, you might ask yourself, “What words in this text describe my personality?”
• To learn what “the big five” are. As you read, you might circle the words that make up “the big five.”
• To find the vocabulary words and figure out what they mean.
• To enjoy yourself.

You may wish to re-read a text a few times, with a different purpose each time. This is a way to get as much information, enjoyment, and reading practice from a text as possible.

Try setting a purpose for reading The Big Five: Personality.

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. Someone who is _____________________ is able to deal with daily life in a way that makes sense.

2. Someone who is _____________________ is hard to please.

3. Someone who is _____________________ is not behaving as expected.

4. Someone who is _____________________ is not willing to listen to different ideas or opinions.

5. Someone who is _____________________ refuses to change their ideas or stop doing something.

6. Someone who is _____________________ tends to tell others what to do.

7. A _____________________ is the part of a cell that controls how a living thing looks and grows.

8. _____________________ refers to the way a child is raised.

9. Someone who is _____________________ wants to know about things.

Check Your Understanding

Answer these questions in complete sentences.

1. What are the five factors researchers use to describe personality.

2. What is the advantage of being an introvert?

3. What is the advantage of being less agreeable?

4. What is the disadvantage of being open?

5. What is the disadvantage of being conscientious?

6. What is the advantage of being less sensitive?

Teenager

Antonyms are words that have an opposite meaning. Find an antonym in the text for the words below.

7. open

8. extrovert

9. stubborn 

Read the descriptions of each person below. Match the personality trait to each person.

10. Lee always does her homework and is never late for school. She writes everything in black pen because she thinks blue looks too messy.

11. Tim loves his partner so much he could burst. He wrote a poem to express his feelings, but was so worried his partner would hate it that he tore it up.

12. On most Friday nights, you’ll find Juan in his pajamas reading a book. If the phone rings, he looks to see who’s calling. He won’t answer it unless it’s his best friend.

13. Sam likes to skateboard, fly kites, play the keyboard, and go bowling. He might join a soccer team next summer.

14. Frieda always greets the people she sees on the street. Once a week, she mows her neighbour’s lawn. Today, she lent her favourite book to a guy she met on the bus. She’s pretty sure she’ll get it back.

Spelling

Study these words ending in –ous. The suffix –ous means “full of.” Arrange a date to be tested on your ability to spell these words.

One way to figure out how to spell a word is to sound out each syllable. Break up these words into their syllables.

1. various = ______ ______ ______

2. serious = ______ ______ ______

3. previous = ______ ______ ______

4. obvious = ______ ______ ______

5. curious = ______ ______ ______

6. famous = fa ______

7. nervous = ______ ______

8. generous = ______ er ______

9. dangerous = ______ ger ______

10. enormous = ______ nor ______

Commas with Appositives

Fill in the commas in the sentences below.

1. Many animals such as starfish and jellyfish survive without a brain.

2. Aristotle the world’s first great scientist thought that the brain’s only job was to keep the body from getting too hot.

3. A doctor in the 1790s Franz Joseph Gall believed he could figure out a person’s personality by studying the bumps on their head.

4. The corpus callosum which allows both sides of the brain to talk to each other is bigger in most musicians.

5. According to a popular personality test which is known as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator there are 16 personality types.

6. The Rubik’s Cube which tests a person’s ability to visualize is the world’s best-selling toy.

7. Sign language which is based on the use of sight uses the same parts of the brain as language that is based on the use of sound.

Rubik’s Cube

Shifting Verb Tense

You have learned about some of the common errors to avoid in your paragraph writing: fragments, run-ons, and subject-verb problems. The final error explored in this book is the shifting verb tense.

When you write a paragraph, choose a verb tense and stick to it unless you have a good reason not to.

Look at the paragraph below. Does it begin in past, present, or future tense? What verb tense does it shift to for no reason? Rewrite the paragraph in one consistent verb tense.

Five Ways of Dealing with Conflict
There are five styles for dealing with conflict: turtle, teddy bear, shark, owl, and fox. The turtle hides his head in his shell and hopes the trouble will go away. The teddy bear will try to make everyone feel better, even if it means putting others’ needs first. The shark just wants to win the argument and doesn’t care about how others feel. The fox will look for compromise, where one side or both sides give up part of what they want. The owl will look for win-win solutions where both sides get what they want. Which one of these five approaches to dealing with conflict best describes you?

Turtle

Writing

Attributions

Personality
Image by RyanMcGuire is in the public domain.

Teenager
Image by OpenClipartVectors is in the public domain. 

Rubik’s cube
Image by OpenClipartVectors is in the public domain. 

Turtle
Image by wjgomes is in the public domain. 

Happy

Get Ready to Read

Think about the question below or discuss it with a partner.

• What do you need to be happy?

Predict which of these things researchers say bring happiness:

• money
• friends
• fame
• power
• good looks
• exercise
• being kind
• being good at something

Reading Strategy

In this book, you have learned about many strategies for checking your understanding of a text while you read:

• Check if you can visualize what’s being described
• Check if you can retell the main idea in your own words
• Check if you can answer any of the five W’s: who, what, where, when, or why
• Check if you can figure out unknown words by using the words around them
• Ask questions as you read and see whether the text gives the answers
• Think about the tone of the text
• Make predictions and read on to check them
• Read with a purpose in mind

Choose one of these strategies to use as you read Secrets of a Happy Brain.

Vocabulary

Find these words in the text. Use the context to choose the best meaning.

1. A building that covers and protects people or things is called a _______________________.

2. A person who was in someone’s family in past times is called an _______________________.

3. A scientist who studies and treats the mind is called a ___________________.

4. _______________________ means good or useful.

5. _______________________ means happening or done without delay.

6. _______________________ means harmful or bad.

7. Something is _______________________ if it produces the result that is wanted.

8. _______________________ is the ability to understand someone’s feelings.

9. _______________________ is the act of spending time in quiet thought.

10. _______________________ are the conditions in which someone lives.

Check Your Understanding

1. What is the main idea of this text?

2. What are the seven habits that make people happier?

Fill in the blanks for the sentences below.

3. When it comes to happiness, the quality of our friendships is more important than the ____________________ of friends we have.

4. Some research has shown that ____________________ can be as effective as medication in treating depression.

5. ____________________ is when we are so interested in an activity that we lose track of time.

6. ____________________ is a synonym for grateful.

7. Going to a place of worship or praying are two ways of practicing ____________________.

Buddhist monk

Spelling

The i before e spelling rule says: use i before e except after c. Arrange a date with your instructor to be tested on your ability to spell these words:

One way to learn to spell new words is learn a rule and then remember which words break the rule. Sort the words into two lists. Which words follow the rule? Which words break the rule?

Apostrophes in Possessive Nouns

Fill in the apostrophes in the sentences below.

1. Some research suggests that the worlds happiest country is Denmark.

2. The part of the brain that allows you to speak is named after Pierre Paul Broca. It is called Brocas area.

3. As soon as a baby is born, it can tell the difference between its mothers voice and all other sounds.

4. Old peoples brains are usually smaller and lighter than young adults brains, but they still make new cells and work well.

5. Einsteins brain was smaller than average.

6. Taxi drivers in London spend up to four years studying all the streets and buildings in order to get their license. The taxi drivers hippocampus, the part of their brain used for remembering, is bigger than it is in most peoples brains.

Writing

Personal letter

Attributions

Happy
Image by tpsdave is in the public domain.

Buddhist monk
Image by sciencefreak is in the public domain.