Showing posts with label English Grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label English Grammar. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Punctuation the Write Stuff

I decided to pick up Basher Basics: Punctuation: The Write Stuff for a family member after purchasing Basher Science: Chemistry: Getting a Big Reaction and enjoying the presentation and format of the material.

While this book is in the same series it had a different author, so I was interested to see if it would be as strong as the first book I picked up. While a different writer, the series continues to be one I am pleased with and I would like to find the additional English focused titles.

The book divides punctuation into categories and gives each of the marks a personality that will help children remember the identity and purpose of each type of punctuation. This is an interesting approach to teaching what can be a dry subject. The illustrations and humor is a creative approach to getting children engaged in learning and may actually lead to children remembering what they have learned.

I would suggest this as a great addition to a family or classroom library. It is a handy book to review those often forgotten punctuation rules.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Brain Cleary's Language Series

People are always looking for creative ways to teach English Language skills to students. Brian Cleary has found a creative way to teach elementary students parts of speech and various English language issues Cleary wanted to address.

I recently purchased a couple of his books for a relative. Looking through them, I was reminded at how creative his teaching methods are for engaging children in the topic. In Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? (Words Are Categorical), the author does not start by defining an adjective. In fact, at the end he asks the child to define the word. Instead, he uses alternate colored text to highlight the adjectives he uses to describe the pictures. He demonstrates different types of adjectives in an effort to give children examples of ways adjectives are used. This would be a great way to help kids develop a definition of the word adjective.

The second book I found a copy of in this series was To Root to Toot to Parachute: What Is a Verb (Words Are Categorical). This book teaches children about verbs. The format is very similar to the adjective book. This is the strength of the series. Children are exposed to a variety of examples of the topic and then given a chance to create a definition.

While I would not suggest this series as your primary English series, it is a wonderful supplement to introduce or supplement an established program. It is a way to get students to formulate a definition and not just memorize one.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Language Arts, English Grammar, Writing, and English Literature Sites See Author Page for Authors’ Official Pages





Language Arts Sites:

Grammar and English

Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms Word Frog

Capital Community College Foundation Guide to Grammar and Writing Practice/Tests Sentences to Papers

Comma Use

Dictionary Practice Skills and Review TLS

Discovery Education English

Grammar Worksheets Have Fun Teaching

Grammar Worksheets and Activities

Houghton Mifflin Grammar Blast Grades 6-8

Nouns on the Farm TLS

Online Practice Grammar Quizes

Proofreading

Shoreline Community College Practice Exercises

Sorting Nouns and Verbs

Spelling Bee Video Style Game

Spelling Focus On Vowels Turtle Dish

Synonyms and Antonyms Furious Frogs Video Style Game

Verb Tenses Verb Viper




Handwriting
Cursive Writing

Cursive Writing

Handwriting Resources

Keyboarding

gpschools

Puzzle and Game Board Makers

Board Game Maker

Create a Cloze Exercise

Cryptograms

Discovery Education Puzzle Maker

Maze Maker

Make Your Own Word Search

School Express Puzzle Makers, Worksheet Makers

Word Search Maker




Check out the Poetry Page for resources.

Reading Comprehension


Behaviors

Change Reading Behaviors in Children

Comprehension Activities

Helping Struggling Readers

Reading Comprehension Activities Grades 1-4 Free

Reading 101 Explanation of Terms and Strategies

Venn Diagram

Elements of Literature

Genre:

Fairy Tales and Traditional Tales

Fairy Tale and Traditional Tale Resources

Tall Tales

Tall Tale Resources

Plot

Plot Worksheet

Fluency

Reader's Theater

Literature Circle

Literature Circle Resources

Reading Logs Free From Activity Village

Textbooks

Textbook Comprehension Skills




Speech Skills

Reader's Theater

Speaker's Theater

Speech Writing

Spelling
AAA Spelling and Vocabulary

Kid Spell Games

Writing

Graphic Organizers

Graphic Orginizers from Houghton Mifflin


Merriam Webster's On-Line Dictionary/Thesaurus

Scott Foresman Online Grammar and Writing Book

Story Maker

Thesaurus Practice TLS

Writing it Right

Write Source Web Resource of Elementary Writing Guide

Includes models and guides for APA and MLA as well as early writing samples


MCAS English Language Arts



Literature Sites:

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Online

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site

Fables, Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes

Greek Myths Review Sheet

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum

Laura Ingalls Wilder Quizzes on the Books

Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House Quizzes and Activities from Harper

Myths and Legends

Find The Complete Little House Nine-Book Set at Amazon

The Origin of the Mary Had A Little Lamb Nursery Rhyme

Winnie the Pooh

Wizard of Oz Info

Wizard of Oz Online

Piglet Wizard of Oz Site