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 12, 2014 | High School Tutorial, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial
SHARON’S BLOG
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.
Commas, Compound Sentences, and Coordinating Conjunctions
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:
- An infographic to teach the material
- A free, downloadable exercise
- The answers (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jul 22, 2014 | High School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial
SHARON’S BLOG
Today’s article comes to you from my friend Lily Iatridis of Fortuigence.com. Her article is a tutorial on plagiarism and how to avoid it. You’ll even find helpful links your students can use to create those pesky citations.
In addition, Lily shares a solid method for taking notes and for keeping track of all the sources. And check out her handy anti-plagiarism checklist at the end!
This is well worth the read. I won’t be surprised if you use this article often as a reference for you and your children throughout the school year.
You can find Lily’s online writing course Essay Rock Star here.
(more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jul 6, 2014 | Middle School Prompts, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS
You want to create a character for your story, but you’re stuck. You can’t think of one.
Keep reading to find out one trick that will give you oodles of ideas.
As readers, we find out about characters by what they do and say, what others say about them, what they look like, and what they wear. For instance, if a character (more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jul 1, 2014 | High School Tutorial, Middle School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial
SHARON’S BLOG
Proofreading is never easy. Anyone who says it’s easy is trying to sell you something or has never actually tried it.
If we can’t make it easy, at least we can make it easier for our troubled, weeping students. In fact, with these three tips, you can change it from a job that requires the strength of a backhoe to one that uses a garden trowel.
Many professional writers use the first two methods in their own writing, and so can your students. The third one is exclusively for students.
(more…)
by Sharon Watson | Jun 17, 2014 | High School Prompts, High School Tutorial, Sharon's Blog, teaching aids, tutorial, Writing Prompts
SHARON’S BLOG
If your writer is reluctant, writing opinions is a good place to start. Everyone has opinions, and most students like to express theirs.
Opinions are all about the writer: “I love . . . ,” “I think people should . . . ,” “I hate it when . . . .”
Writing to persuade someone else, on the other hand, is all about the reader. Your students make a shift in their thinking: What ideas and points do readers need before they will change their minds? A persuasion essay needs a few important tools. (more…)
