10 Minute Grammar Episode #12: Preschool Writing Tips (Writing Tips for Every Grade Series)
Welcome to a new series on the 10 Minute Grammar podcast/videocast: Writing Tips for Every Grade! I start out with the littles—oh how I love the littles! Yep, Writing Tips for Preschool! Here are some of the topics I cover: Writing vs. penning--Penning is art. Writing...
There, Their, They’re for Teachers and Parents
Do you ever just wish someone would take you by the hand and show you exactly how to end the there/their/they’re problems for your students in one quick video? Well, I am your genie, and your wish is being granted! Through my twenty years of curriculum writing and...
Teach Your Kids There/Their/They’re Easily!
If you are on social media much at all and you care about grammar and usage, you have probably seen the frequent their/there/they’re errors. I have come to the conclusion that oftentimes it isn’t the poster’s fault---homophones (homo—same; phone—sound) need a lot more...
A Simple Their, They’re, There Quiz for You!
Have you been studying your Wacky Words “there, their, and they’re”? Are you ready for a pop quiz? Fill in each blank provided with the correct Wacky Word—there, their, or they’re. Cami was thrilled with _____________ involvement.We will take you _______________ to...
Appositives and Subject-Verb Agreement with Mowgli (Punctuation Puzzle)
By Zac Kieser and Donna Reish My writing assistant, Zachary Kieser, and I are having so much fun coming up with these Punctuation Puzzles! They are interesting ways to brush up on grammar and usage skills that you might be rusty on—and great for junior high and high...
Plural Nouns and Passed-Past Confusion With Cinderella (Punctuation Puzzle)
He passed the test or He past the test? Go passed the house or Go past the house? Passed and past are super confusing–as evidenced in social media every where. It’s not just students who have trouble with this confusing word...
Proper Nouns and Quotations with Pinocchio (Punctuation Puzzle)
Oh, proper nouns and quotations. Where do I start to explain the myriad of difficulties that students (and adults!) have with these. Am I starting to sound more like Lamenting Lady than Language Lady in the openings to these Punctuation Puzzles? If so, I am sorry!...
Prepositional Phrases and Commas with Dumbo (Punctuation Puzzle)
Comma rules are super subjective. As a matter of fact, I tell my upper high schoolers that commas following sentence openers will generally not be the errors in SAT/ACT/PSAT testing sentences. These rules are that subjective! I hear and recognize all of the commas in...
Raise/Rise and Indirect Quotations with Cinderella (Punctuation Puzzle)
Zac and Cinderella do a great job explaining the RISE and RAISE problems in today’s puzzle. But RISE and RAISE cannot be taught alone—so Zac has prepared two more Punctuation Puzzles scheduled to follow this one about those similar confusing word pairs—Set/Sit and...
Indefinite Pronouns and Confusing Pronouns with Mulan (Punctuation Puzzle)
Welcome to another Punctuation Puzzle! This one is a doozy…and Zac does an amazing job teaching through it. So I won’t take much of your time in this introduction except to point out two important teacher tips for you: 1) It is imperative that students learn...
Homophones and Parentheses (Punctuation Puzzle)
by Zac Kieser & Donna Reish "Homophones. Homophones. Homophones. Homophones!" Did you sing along with the old Veggie Tales song? I have never seen a Veggie Tale video, and I can even sing that! (Along with "Where Is My Hair Brush?") The song is catchy, but the...
Parallelism and Noun Markers (Articles) with Alice In Wonderland (Punctuation Puzzle)
Parallelism. Some days I can’t even spell it, much less explain it really well. Some grammar concepts are like that. They seem out of reach...until you get a really great example, like today’s Alice in Wonderland Punctuation Puzzle sentence. The moral of this...