by Sharon Watson | Aug 26, 2014 | High School Tutorial, Literature, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial
SHARON’S BLOG
Welcome to the third in a series of grammar tutorials! You can find the first one on commas in compound sentences here.
The second one teaches the position of commas, periods, colons, and semicolons when used with quotation marks. What could be more exciting?!
Dialog punctuation tutorial
Do you have students who love to hide in their bedrooms and write story after story?
Most likely, they are hoping to be published one day, their stories read and loved by millions, their names on the covers of sought-after books.
One thing editors look for in a new writer is proficiency in grammar and punctuation. Granted, it’s not a huge thing; it’s more important to know how to write a great story. But grammar is an indicator of how well the writer knows the language and its conventions, and it is something that editors take into account when determining whom to publish.
Let’s make sure our students have access to the skills they need to get published.
A tiff between Tarzan and Jane in this fun tutorial will guide your students through the punctuation-in-dialog jungle. (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Aug 24, 2014 | High School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
Eric Peters was a 23-year-old U.S. Army veteran when he spent seven months walking across America. He began in Clark, New Jersey, and ended in California. Along his trek, he talked to reporters, DJs, other veterans, and anyone willing to listen.
Why?
Peters, recently back from a tour in Afghanistan, suffers from (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Aug 19, 2014 | High School Tutorial, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial
SHARON’S BLOG
This compelling grammar lesson answers such thorny questions as this one: “Mom, does a period go before or after the last quotation mark?”
You can find the first in the series of grammar tutorials here; it’s all about compound sentences, coordinating conjunctions, and commas. And if that doesn’t create some excitement in the classroom, I don’t know what will.
Punctuation and quotation marks tutorial
This week’s tutorial includes the following:
- An infographic to teach the material
- A set of sentences your students can correct to reinforce the material
- The answers to the sentences
There are only two rules (can you believe it?), and they are easy (again, is it to be believed?).
This lesson does not cover quotation marks in dialog. Tarzan is in charge of that here.
As you’ll notice by the infographic, (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Aug 17, 2014 | Middle School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS
In The Giver by Lois Lowry, young Jonas becomes the Receiver of Memories. Because his people control the weather, he’s never seen snow. The first cultural memory transmitted to him from The Giver is of snow.
Here’s how Lois Lowry writes Jonas’s first encounter with the idea of snow. Notice how she uses many senses to communicate snow’s feel to readers: (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Aug 17, 2014 | High School Prompts, Sharon's Blog, Writing Prompts
HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS
Memories are powerful.
Jonas finds that out in Lois Lowry’s The Giver.
Memories can cause pain. They also can bring hope, courage, or feelings of love.
Although no one can transmit memories from one person to another simply by touching them, this is exactly what happens in The Giver, and a 
particular memory gives Jonas wisdom when he has to make an important life-and-death decision. I won’t say anything more because I don’t want to spoil the book or the movie for you. (more…)
