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…)
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.
This week’s tutorial includes the following:
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…)
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…)
Okay, so the title of today’s article isn’t the most exciting. In fact, you might find it downright boring—or intimidating.
I’ve been known to zone out when my husband tries to explain football lingo and rules to me. My eyes glaze over. My ears stop working. The same might be true for your students and the subject of commas.
You can use the infographic below to teach students when to use commas in a compound sentence that is joined by a coordinating conjunction.
In this tutorial, you’ll find the following goodies:
When is a commercial not a commercial?
When it’s written to look like a movie trailer, complete with spies, secret missions, and a plot line.
The Ford Motor Company’s latest commercials for their cars and trucks resemble movie trailers, which you can see on YouTube here and here . Other elements that aid in the “movie” look are the colors (blues and grays), lighting, and the spy-movie music.
View at least one of the commercials and then come back here for more thrills and excitement. (more…)
This real-life news report is just too good to pass up. I had to share it with you.
What would you do if most of the people in your town moved away, disappeared, or died?
According to Chuck Sheppard’s News of the Weird—and this qualifies—an older woman moved back to her hometown in Japan to find that it was no longer thriving. In fact, it was down to about 37 people.
What did this intrepid woman do? (more…)
Writing tools for all ages!
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