A Skyscraper Conversation

Category: Language Building

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"Are you feelingfeeling all right, AlienAlien Threeheads?Threeheads? You look like you haveyou've       seen a ghost!" chortledchortled Snowgirl.Snowgirl.  

"Say, Snowgirl, I amI'm      gettinggetting a bit irritatedirritated by your kiss curl alwaysalways hanginghanging in my face. What isWhat's      wrong with Alien, anyway?"anyway?" grumbledgrumbled TriangleTriangle Head.

"Oh, come on, grumpy!grumpy! It isIt's      a lovelylovely day, the sun issun's      shineshining, the sky issky's      blue and you areyou're      lookinglooking very handsome,"handsome," flirteded SloppySloppy Green.

"Where am I? Who am I? Have I missedmissed something?"something?" blurted out MentalMental Brown.

"Right, since you mentionmention it, my neck isneck's      hurting and it's far too sunny.sunny. I need sunglasses.sunglasses. Three pairs!" snappedsnapped Alien Threeheads.

"Just shut up, the lot of you, I'm sick and tiredtired of your prattle,"prattle," thunderedthundered BlockheadBlockhead Red, gnashinging his sharp teeth menacingly.menacingly.  

"You know, I wouldI'd         like some affectionaffection from you too, Sloppy. I'm stuck behind this homicidalhomicidal maniac,maniac, day in, day out!" beggedbegged Fatty Red-Crest.

"Now, now, Sloppy isSloppy's      never going to give you a second glance, Fats. I mean, look at you! You so need to exerciseexercise and diet,diet, and you could do worse than grow a magnificentmagnificent moustachemoustache like mine!" brayedbrayed The Spiv.

"For heaven's sake, listenlisten to yourselves.yourselves. I'm just tiny but do I complain? No! I just do my best to be the best skyscraperskyscraper I can be," objectedobjected Minion.

"I j...j...just w...w...wish you would all be nice to each other. I c...c...can't b...b...bear it when you squabblesquabble like this," whimperedwhimpered Cry Baby.

"We're sorry,"sorry," the other skyscrapers burst out. "We'll stop now."

Comprehension

Clarify these words: chortled, irritated, flirted, blurted, prattle, gnashing, menacingly, affection, homicidal maniac, brayed, objected, squabble.

Identify the characteristics of each skyscraper. How does the name support this?

How does each speech (inside the speech marks) back up the personality of each character?

How do the 'said' words back up the personality of each character?

 

Word Study

Verb endings: What happens when we add s, ed or ing to: chortle, irritate, get, grumble, tire, snap, menace.

Other affixes: What happens when we add other prefixes and suffixes like yly to these words: grump, slop, sun, love, menacing.

What words do you know that end in -tion like affection?

What other words do you know that have a silent g like gnashed?

Give the two words that make up these compound words: anyway, always, something, sunglasses, yourselves, skyscraper.

What two words are contracted here: you're, you've, I'm, I'd, what's, it's, sun's, sky's, neck's.

What does the apostrophe mean in: heaven's sake.