National Make Your Bed Day

National Make Your Bed Day


MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

National Make Your Bed Day is September 11. Why it is on the same day as National Patriot Day, I’ll never know, and if you’d rather do that prompt, here it is.

Being able to explain how to do something is an important skill. Have you ever explained to an adult how to do something on their computer or smart phone? Or taught a younger kid how to tie shoes or ride a bike? (more…)

National Patriot Day

National Patriot Day


HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

“Saying you are a patriot does not make you one; wearing a flag pin does not in itself mean anything at all.” -Viggo Mortensen

“Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” -Calvin Coolidge

“True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.” -Clarence Darrow

Why all the quotes about patriots and patriotism? (more…)

Too Many Question Marks and Exclamation Points?

Too Many Question Marks and Exclamation Points?


SHARON’S BLOG

question marks and exclamation pointsWelcome to yet another of biting, incisive grammar question like this one: “Mom, is this sentence supposed to have one question mark or two at the end?”

Other grammar tutorials

If you’re dying to know what the other grammar tutorials are about, click here for one on punctuation in dialog. (Tarzan and Jane help out on that one.)

Click here if you yearn to know how to handle commas in compound sentences with coordinating conjunctions.

And click here for the hard-hitting exposé on where to put the comma, period, colon, or semicolon when using quotation marks.

End Punctuation

I’m fully aware that the heading “End Punctuation” could be the heart’s cry of your struggling students.

However, this week, your students will wrestle with the thorny problem of what to do if a sentence is a question (interrogative) but there’s already a question mark to the left of the end quotation mark.

Take a look at the infographic, which is the lesson. (more…)