Warm-up #1: We are reading the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury this quarter. It is a science fiction novel.
Science Fiction is a popular form of entertainment. Write about cartoons, books, graphic novels, television shows,
and movies that you have enjoyed in the Science Fiction genre. Do you like stories about robots? space travel?
magic? the future? time travel? Which are your favorite sci fi characters and stories?
Warm-up #2:
Define the following words from Fahrenheit 451.
stolid (p. 1)
singed (p. 2)
minstrel (p. 2)
flue (p. 2)
waft (p. 2)
marionette (p. 9)
mausoleum (p. 9)
tallow (p. 9)
pulverized (p. 11)
stratum (p. 12)
serum (p. 12)
adders (p. 13)
cataract (p. 15)
Warm-up #3:
Define the following words from Fahrenheit 451.
capillary (p. 22)
olfactory (p. 22)
proboscis (p. 22)
morphine (p. 22)
procaine (p. 22)
multifaceted (p. 23)
ballistics (p. 24)
trajectory (p. 24)
proclivities (p. 30)
rollick (p. 33)
centrifuge (p. 42)
cacophony (p. 42)
pantomime (p. 44)
Warm-up #4:
Define the following words from Fahrenheit 451.
feigning ( p. 48)
pratfall (p. 53)
sauterne (p. 53)
nomadic (p. 54)
cartographers (p. 55)
dictum (p. 55)
custodians (p. 56)
titillation (p. 56)
bestial (p. 58)
Theremin (p. 58)
tactile (p. 58)
dike (p. 59)
drear (p. 59)
gullet (p. 59)
sieve (p. 67)
Warm-up #5:
An author’s outlook on life and the world, the audience he or she expects to read their work, and the language
they know and use all have an impact on the writing. In today’s warm-up, choose one of the following
experiences that you may have had recently. Write a letter about it to a close friend:
*An injury or illness.
*Your love life.
*Running low on money.
*Family issues.
*Disappointment.
*Some problem with job or school.
*An auto mishap.
*Witnessing a shocking example of misconduct.
Warm-up #6:
An author’s outlook on life and the world, the audience he or she expects to read their work, and the language
they know and use all have an impact on the writing. In today’s warm-up, write about the same experience you
described to a friend in warm-up #2. Write another letter about it, this time to one of your grandparents, a
police officer or your boss.
Warm-up # 7:
An author’s outlook on life and the world, the audience he or she expects to read their work and the language
they know and use all have an impact on the writing. You wrote two letters - one to a friend and one to an
authority figure. What do you notice different about the two letters? What is the same? How are your outlook,
your audience, and your language different/similar between the two? Write at least a paragraph!
Warm-up #8:
Commas - Place commas in the following sentences.
Yes I heard you.
At two o’clock on the dot the first shift ends.
Before we leave let’s call Pam.
Tea for example also contains caffeine.
Contestants take your places.
The house a brick ranch is for sale.
This road I think leads to the stadium.
Yes Paula you have three minutes for your rebuttal.
Warm-up #9:
Denotation:
the dictionary and literal meaning of a word
Connotation: the emotional / contextual / cultural meaning attached to a word; shades and degrees of meaning
For example: hot
denotative- high temperature, giving off heat
connotative- attractive, desirable
Write both denotative and connotative meanings of the following words:
1. skinny
6. home
2. cheap
7. chocolate
3. soup
8. winter
4. weird
9. alien
5. cockroach
10. war
Warm-up #10:
We are about half way through the novel Fahrenheit 451. What do you think? Do like the characters? The plot?
What do you think is going to happen?
Eight Verb Forms
• The next eight warm-ups will be eight common verb forms, one per warm-up.
• You will write down the notes.
• Then, you will fill in the blank in the sentences, using that verb tense.
• Warm-ups 11 through 18
Warm-up #11:
Simple Present Tense: Present tense refers to present time; now.
The sun rises in the East.
The whale is a mammal.
That house has twelve rooms.
The referee signals a penalty.
1. The play ___ at eight. (to begin)
2. I ___ that you moved. (to hear)
3. I ___ you husband and wife. (to pronounce)
4. I ___ this meeting adjourned. (to declare)
5. Call me as soon as the train ___. (to arrive)
6. She ___ that you’re having a good vacation. (to write)
7. The suit ___. (to fit)
8. She ___ in Dublin. (to live)
9. Hans ___ to work. (to walk)
10. I ___ of her often. (to think)
Warm-up #12:
Present Perfect: Present Perfect verbs connect a past event to the present moment. This verb tense implies that
the action is complete.
The book has gone through eight editions since 1974.
They have jumped off the bridge with bungees every year for the past 10 years!
1. The tire ___ flat. (to go)
2. We ___ a contract. (to sign)
3. The border ___ closed since 1945. (to be)
4. I ___ Brian since kindergarten. (to know)
5. She ___ to drop the class. (to decide)
Warm-up #13:
Present Progressive: Present Progressive verbs are ongoing. They are in progress.
She is developing a strong forehand.
It is snowing in the foothills.
The chef is always complaining.
1. The twins ___ their father in Spain again. (to visit)
2. Teixeira ___ first base tonight. (to play)
3. He ___ stubborn. (to be)
4. The predictions ___ true. (to come)
5. They ___ a lot of money on that remodel. (to spend)
Warm-up #14:
Present Perfect Progressive: Present Perfect Progressive connects a past event to the present. It implies that the
action could still be going on now.
Someone has been parking in my reserved space.
Have you been smoking?
1. Emily ___ karate lessons. (to take)
2. I ___ for you for two hours! (to wait)
3. We ___ really healthy food lately. (to eat)
4. Frankie ___ Halloween candy nonstop for two days. (to eat)
5. They ___ a Disneyland vacation for summer of 2015. (to plan)
Warm-up #15:
Simple Past: This tense means “Then” as opposed to “Now.”
Most mornings he was up at dawn.
The store opened in 1958.
Susanne cried herself to sleep last night.
1. My parents ___ very upset with me. (to be)
2. We ___ the president with a ceremonial gift. (to present)
3. We ___ two miles yesterday before wrestling practice. (to run)
4. I ___ a slide show of my vacation pictures. (to create)
5. The Mediterranean ___ the main route to Asia. (to be)
Warm-up #16:
Past Perfect: Past Perfect is used with an action that occurred before a time in the past; it is “past before the
past.” Remember a while back? Well, it was before that!
They had already chosen a movie before we arrived.
1. She said she ___ the books on time. (to receive)
2. He called to say that he ___ to lock the door. (to forget)
3. The police chief reported that they ___ the body. (to find)
4. Mrs. McCarty ___ away her family’s savings by the time she was thirty. (to gamble)
5. The divers ___ pieces of the Titanic from the ocean’s floor to feature in the documentary. (to recover)
Warm-up #17:
Past Progressive: Past Progressive has nothing to do with the present. It refers to an action that was in progress
sometime in the past.
Miles hurt himself while he was hunting.
They were living lives of luxury until the stock market crashed.
1. She ___ on a ladder when the earthquake hit. (to stand)
2. I ___ on going to the wedding, but my car broke down. (to plan)
3. The kids ___ very carefully to Mrs. Johnson. (to listen)
4. The ship ___ just as the explosion occurred. (to unload)
Warm-up #18:
Past Perfect Progressive: Past Perfect Progressive indicates an ongoing, temporary action or situation that
occurred before a particular time in the past.
It had been snowing for four days when Marianne felt the first labor pains.
1. She ___ a call from Miami, so she wasn’t surprised when the phone rang. (to expect)
2. They ___ for hours when they finally saw the sign for Atlanta. (to drive)
3. I ___ in a homeless shelter before I got the call for the audition. (to live)
4. The call came at 10 p.m. We ___ all day! (to wait)
Warm-up #19: Write down the following 20 verbs, and label each properly from warm-ups 11 through 18.
1. has been spinning
11. is crying
2. is spinning
12. had driven
3. had been driving
13. have known
4. had forgotten
14. am willing
5. has been eating
15. had decided
6. was listening
16. received
7. had been raining
17. sounded
8. is reading
18. was planning
9. arrives
19. is
10. rhymes
20. called
Warm-up #20: Use the verbs to write your own sentences. Refer to warm-ups 11 through 18 if necessary.
to be - simple present
to know - present perfect (hint: use words like lately, since, or recently in the sentence)
to work - present progressive
to eat - present perfect progressive
to go - simple past (hint: use words like then, yesterday, last winter, or a month ago)
to decide - past perfect
to jump - past progressive (hint: use words like when or while)
to expect - past perfect progressive