Question

A fifth-grade student reads the sentence, "After playing with her friends all day, Kaylee did her science homework, her geography project, and her composition in one fell swoop." The student asks the teacher for help understanding what is meant by the phrase one fell swoop.

The teacher can best help the student understand this idiomatic expression by:

A. discussing with the student more examples of the phrase used in context.
B. directing the student to look up different meanings of fell and swoop in the dictionary.
C. helping the student create a tree diagram of the structure of the phrase.
D. asking the student to find other sentences in the text that use the words fell and swoop.

Answer 1

The phrase 'one fell swoop' means to do multiple things all at once or in a single action. It emphasizes efficiency and completion. The teacher can help the student understand by providing more examples of how it is used in context.

Step-by-step explanation:

The phrase 'one fell swoop' is an idiom that means to do multiple things all at once or in a single action. In the sentence you provided, it means that Kaylee did her science homework, geography project, and composition all at the same time. It emphasizes that she completed them quickly and efficiently.

For example, if someone says, 'I cleaned my entire house in one fell swoop,' it means they cleaned the entire house all at once, without taking breaks or doing it in separate parts.

To help the student understand this idiomatic expression, the teacher can give more examples of how the phrase is used in context. This will help the student see how 'one fell swoop' is used to express completing multiple tasks simultaneously or in a single action.