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ENGLISH GRAMMAR AND USAGE
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The
Absolutely Essential Grammar Guide edited by Nancy Atlee. Prufrock Press, 2005. This handy book makes editing and revising a snap. This tool
helps students with the correct use of punctuation, the rules for
capitalization, the definitions and the correct use of the parts of speech,
definitions and examples of sentence parts and types, and the correction of
common usage errors. There is a helpful reference section at the back. With each
explanation you will find an example to clarify it so that you will understand
the correct usage. 87 pages. This book will supplement any language curriculum
and be a wonderful reference to have on hand at home. For grades 5 and up.
BTH-3755. $12.56-D
 Basic
/ Not Boring Grammar and Usage Series concept and development by
Imogene Forte and Marjorie Frank. Exercises by Joy MacKenzie. Incentive
Publications, ©1997. Books in this series present a carefully researched skill
sequence with exercises based on age-appropriate, high-interest themes developed
by experienced teachers to make learning basic skills interesting and
achievable. The exercises in this book can be used to introduce new skills,
review previously taught material, assess skills and content, and encourage the
use of higher order thinking skills.
Basic
/ Not Boring Grammar and Usage Grades 4-5: Inventive Exercises to
Sharpen Skills and Raise Achievement. The theme in this book is
camping. Students learn sentence types as they read sentences related to Camp
Lockout and solve a puzzle to determine in which state it is located. They climb
the ladder to a tree house by finding subjects and predicates. They identify
simple and compound sentences as they try to find a way for Carl to get to the
other side of the lake with the instructions in those sentences. Other skills
taught are distinguishing parts of speech, identifying and using verb tenses,
using regular and irregular verb tenses, identifying and using adjectives and
adverbs, using negatives correctly, and using punctuation and capitalization
properly. 63 pages. BTH-3052. $8.06-D
Basic
/ Not Boring Grammar and Usage Middle Grades: Inventive Exercises to
Sharpen Skills and Raise Achievement. The theme in this book is the beach. Students will discover commas lost in
the surf, meet subjects and verbs more disagreeable than crabs, and find clauses
that are caught in lobster claws. As they encounter various ocean and beach
related exercises, students will learn to find subjects and predicates; identify
simple, complex and compound sentences; identify parts of speech; identify, form
and use possessive nouns; identify and use verb tenses; understand and use
subject-verb agreement; identify and correct dangling modifiers; identify and
use independent and subordinate clauses; use proper punctuation and
capitalization; and create, explain, and properly punctuate common
contractions. 64 pages, including answers. Limited reproduction rights for
classroom use. For grades 6-8. BTH-3041. $8.06-D
Better Sentence Structure Through Diagraming [sic.], Book 1 by Mark
Dressel and Greg Camevale. Instructional Fair, 1995. For grades 5-6. Diagramming
enables students to gain a better understanding of sentence structure and the
different parts of speech. Book 1 offers an introduction to diagramming. The
activities begin with simple sentences and then incorporate more complex ones
which have compound subjects and verbs; adjective and adverb prepositional
phrases; direct and indirect objects; and more. Each lesson describes the
specific structure being studied, gives examples, and provides sentences for
diagramming practice. Students are then challenged to generate their own
sentences to fit the models. 48 pages. Answer key included at back. BTH-4606.
$6.29-D
Better Sentence Structure Through Diagraming [sic.], Book 2 by Mark
Dressel and Greg Camevale. Instructional Fair, 1995. Diagramming helps students
understand sentence structure and the different parts of speech. Book 2 builds
on the diagramming skills taught in Book 1 and introduces appositive phrases,
the different kinds of sentences, noun clauses, and more. Each lesson describes
the specific structure being taught, gives examples, and provides sentences for
diagramming practice. Students are then challenged to generate their own
sentences to fit the models. Even teachers unfamiliar with the diagramming
process will find the step-by-step format easy to follow and use . Hands-on
practice with grammar strategies such as diagramming and sentence variety is a
step in the right direction for proficiency in writing and oral communication.
For grades 7-8. Answers are provided at the back of the book. 48 pages.
BTH-4607. $6.29-D
Capitalization and Punctuation, part of the
Steck-Vaughn Middle School Collection. Designed for junior high and can also be used for
remediation in high school. Begins with a general assessment test. Reproducible for
classroom use. 48 pages, including answer key. There is a glossary of language terms on
the inside back cover. There are three units: Capitalization, Punctuation, and Revision,
and there is an assessment at the end of each. Cat. # BTH1333. $7.19-D
 Easy English, is an explicitly Christian grammar work/text designed for individual
or classroom use. The author, Dick Bohrer, is a teacher who loves English grammar and
shares it with students in fresh new ways. He uses songs, football analogies, stories,
etc. in his lessons and exercises. His goal is that Christians, including pastors and
missionaries, do not discredit their ministries with educated people by murdering the
English language. His emphasis is on parts of speech and sentences, and he includes
diagramming as a valuable tool. Exams and answers are included. BTH-3054.
$9.95*
 Getting
to Grips with Grammar: First Guide to Wacky Words and How to Use
Them by Martin Manser and Alice Grandison. McGraw-Hill Children's
Publishing, 2003. Learning the ins and outs of the English language can be a
little overwhelming at times, but this entertaining guide makes learning proper
grammar a lot more enjoyable! Bright, humorous illustrations fill every page and
the grammar concepts are shown in the context of real-life situations. The
following grammar concepts are presented: nouns, verbs, verb tenses, adjectives,
opposites, comparisons, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, sentences, punctuation,
speech (punctuation), and dictionaries. Perfect for beginning readers, as
well as ESL students. Hardcover with illustrated boards. 29 pages. BTH-3975.
$8.93-B
 Grammar
and Punctuation Series. Evan-Moor. This series provides for the
sequential development of grammar and punctuation skills. Each volume contains
25 rule charts which are each followed by three activity sheets for practicing
the rule. Each book includes a CD-Rom with the rule charts in full color,
a printable PDF of the book, a comprehensive review presented in a test format,
a student record sheet, and a reproducible student rule book. An answer key is
included in the book. This series is correlated to state standards. 112 pages.
Catalog numbers are below:
Grammar and Punctuation Grade 1:
BTH-1569, $17.99-D
Grammar and Punctuation Grade 2: BTH-1571,
$17.99-D
Grammar and Punctuation Grade 3: BTH-1572,
$17.99-D
Grammar and Punctuation Grade 4:
BTH-786, $17.99-D
Grammar and Punctuation Grade 5:
BTH-1573, $17.99-D
Grammar and Punctuation Grade 6: BTH-1574,
$17.99-D
Grammar Basics Plus is designed
for struggling learners who need to understand the building blocks of language.
The easy-to-follow lessons are divided into three units -- Parts of Speech,
Usage, and Mechanics. Each page presents clear directions and a model example to
guide students in their work. Also included are assessment pages for each unit
and a checklist of skills for tracking student progress. Each exercise has a
unified theme, with one selection on the theme being fiction and the other being
nonfiction. This helps students learn to practice their skills in a variety of
genres. There are several suggestions for varying the ways in which students
can record their responses. Books in this series are aligned to state and
national standards. Limited reproduction rights and an answer key are included
in each book. These books are not closely graded. Book A is for beginners of any
age past primary. Book B is for students at the next level. Published by LDA, an
imprint of McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing. 128 pages each. This books is
expected to be restocked by April 1, 2008 or before. Links may be dead before
then.
Grammar Basics Plus Book A:
BTH-2958. $12.59-D
Grammar Basics Plus Book B: BTH-2959.
$12.59-D
 Grammar!
Grammar! Extra! Extra! by Leslie M. Motchkavitz and Dorothy McKerns.
Good Apple, 1998. Students in grades 4-8 explore grammar and parts of speech
through reading fictional news articles and finding parts of speech in context.
As they learn more, they begin to write their own articles. Through the various
reproducible instruction pages and exercises, students will practice working
with plurals, pronouns, verb types, tenses, and forms, prepositions,
contractions, changing verbs to nouns, adjective forms, adverbs, conjunctions,
interjections, subjects and predicates, modifiers, sentence forms, and
punctuation. They will also practice various kinds of writing for newspapers,
such as letters to the editor, factual news articles, and feature stories. 106
pages including answer key. Now out of print, so supplies are limited to stock
on hand. BTH-3154. $12.93
Grammar
Tales by Pamela Chanko. Scholastic Teaching Resources, 2004. For grades
3 and up. This boxed set contains ten engaging stories, each in its own
colorful, 20-page book, that teach parts of speech, proper use of commas and
quotation marks, capitalization, sentence structure, and proofreading. An
included teaching guide is filled with lessons, reproducibles, and mini-book
versions of every story. The teaching guide has 120 pages. This is a humorous
way to teach grammar and usage rules with plenty of examples and a few exercises
in each book, and some added activities in the Teaching Guide. BTH-2946.
$35.99-D Image shows front and back of box. Click to enlarge enough to
see details and read writing.
 Grammar
Tales Teaching Guide by Pamela Chanko. Scholastic Teaching Resources,
2004. For teachers of grades 3 and up. This guide to accompany Grammar Tales
could be enough to use the program without the full-size colorful books that
come in the boxed set. It is filled with lessons, reproducibles, and mini
versions of the Grammar Tales books that can be reproduced for members of the
class. Although included with the boxed set, it can be purchased separately as
well. 120 pages. BTH-2947
No longer available separately. .
 Core
Skills Grammar Review for Middle Grades and Up: The Ultimate Grammar Refresher
by Steck-Vaughn. 124 pages with index and answers. This is it -- the
grammar program you've needed for the middle grades to bring it all together and
make sure that everything important is mastered. This consumable worktext meets
state and national standards and contains instruction and practice in
vocabulary, sentences, grammar and usage, and capitalization and punctuation. It
provides a solid foundation for secondary work.
This book uses the "Rule-Example-Practice" format that is very effective for
independent learning. It provides an assessment at the beginning to see what
needs to be learned, has reviews at the end of each of the four units, and a
test at the end to compare with the one at the beginning to see what has been
learned. Special features include a thorough Table of Contents, a list of over
70 language terms, a list of irregular verbs for reference, a list of commonly
misused words and their meanings, along with examples, an answer key, and an
index. BTH-1150. $13.46-D
 Grammar
in Plain English, Fourth Edition, by Harriet Diamond and Phyllis Dutwin. This
book concentrates on the actual skills needed to write clearly and pass the Writing
Skills 1 and II sections of the current GED tests. Each lesson is progressive, so that by the time
you finish the book, you will have gained a command of English grammar that enhances both
your reading comprehension and your essay writing skills. Because the GED does not test
for it, you will not find teach traditional grammar where one must memorize terms and
definitions. Instead, the student builds on what he has already learned about language
structure by speaking and reading English for years. It begins with the basic sentence
pattern and continues until all essential elements of the language are introduced.
I final review in the form of a practice test for Parts I and II of the Writing
Skills test is included. There are answer keys for all exercises and tests. If
you have never really gotten a good grasp of grammar, or if you wish to try a practical
rather than a theoretical approach to the subject, this is the book for you. Barrron's,
large format paperback workbook. 358 pages. Cat. #BTH-1568. $13.46-D
 Grammar Rules
by Mary S. Schatz. Garlic Press. This book for students, parents and teachers
grew out of the author's frustration while she corrected college students'
philosophy papers. The papers were full of grammatical errors. When she pointed
out that a sentence needed a verb to be complete, a typical response was "What's
a verb?" She wrote this book to teach basic grammar concepts and show how they
are applied in correct writing.
The book has 40 units. Each unit has four parts. The first section of each
unit introduces the parts of speech and teaches students how to recognize
them. The purpose of this is to make it possible for students to understand the
vocabulary of grammar so that they can understand the teacher's corrections.
(You can't correct a sentence fragment by adding a predicate if you've no idea
what a predicate is.)
The second part of each unit, mechanics, explains a rule or common
error associated with the part of speech just taught. The issues chosen
reinforce what was learned in the first section while addressing errors commonly
found in student writing and the SAT II writing test.
The third part, diagramming, shows students the structure of the
English language and provides an ongoing review of the parts of speech that have
been learned.
The last section, proofreading, reviews all the skills learned so far
and teaches students to examine their work for errors. The ultimate goal of
these grammar exercises is correct writing and effective proofreading. As a
former English teacher, I am convinced that this is a much-needed book that
makes it easy to learn with its straightforward approach and user-friendly
exercises. I highly recommend it. Answers are included. 243 pages. Blackline
masters are reproducible for classroom use. BTH-82. $13.46-D
Great
Editing Adventure Series. Students learn and review by
searching for errors in exciting stories you can write on the board or a piece
of paper. Student workbooks contain the grammar activities (so you don’t
have to write them out) and space for the student to write the corrected
version.
 Great
Editing Adventure Series
Volume I contains three
separate stories divided into a total of 90 lessons.
4th-6th Grade
Skills, 7th-8th Grade Review. BTH-3726. $13.50-D
Great
Editing Adventure Series Volume I, Student Workbook,
BTH-2976. $9.00-D
 Great
Editing Adventure Series Volume 2 contains three new
stories, also containing 90 lessons.
4th-6th Grade Skills, 7th-8th Grade Review.
BTH-3727. $13.50-D
Great
Editing Adventure Series Volume I, Student Workbook,
BTH-2977. $9.00-D
 Great
Explorations in Editing Series, Vol. 1. Students learn and review
grammar as they search for the errors in these short passages. Volume I contains
90 lessons divided into two sections. The first, called "A Lesson in History,"
tells the story of Brian's first year of college. The second, called "Amazing
Facts," presents a short fact each day. Editing exercises teach and review
grammar, writing, mechanics, spelling, vocabulary, finding synonyms with a
thesaurus, and dictionary use. 7th-9th Grade Skills, 10th-12th Grade Review.
BTH-3736. $13.50-D
Great Explorations in Editing
Series, Vol. 1, Student Book. The student book gives the grammar
activity from the Great Explorations in Editing Vol. 1, plus space for your
student to write the corrected version. This is a great time-saver for the
teacher. BTH-3737. $13.50-D
 Language Arts Core Skills from
Steck-Vaughn. Available for grades 1-8. These consumable workbooks develop and reinforce
language skills with simple-to-use targeted practice pages that encourage students to
communicate effectively. Only one skill is presented per page, beginning with the
grammatical rule and specific examples that model the activity to follow. Varied exercises
allow the student to practice each skill in different contexts. The books cover all areas
of language arts -- parts of speech, sentences, mechanics, vocabulary and usage, writing,
and research skills. A strong writing section has tips and activities to build up writing
skills necessary to succeed on standardized tests.
There are more than 100 lessons per
book and a bound-in answer key. Books for grades 1 and 2 have 112 pages.
Books for grades 3-8 have 144 pages. Each book is
$8.99-D
See our spring
promotion for Core Skills Series Assortments
Core Skills Language Arts Grade 1: BTH-1113. $8.99-D
Core Skills Language Arts Grade 2: BTH-1114. $8.99-D
Core Skills Language Arts Grade 3: BTH-1115. $8.99-D
Core Skills Language Arts Grade 4: BTH-1116. $8.99-D
Core Skills Language Arts Grade 5: BTH-1117. $8.99-D
Core Skills Language Arts Grade 6: BTH-1118. $8.99-D
Core Skills Language Arts Grade 7: BTH-1119. $8.99-D
Core Skills Language Arts Grade 8: BTH-1120. $8.99-D
Language Arts Handbooks from
Steck-Vaughn. This is a comprehensive series of workbooks that provide activities on every
aspect of Language Arts Skills -- parts of speech and grammar; sentences; writing types;
vocabulary and usage; capitalization and punctuation; paragraphs; comprehension; critical
thinking; reference and library skills, and much more. These are closely graded and each
level contains information and activities that are grade-appropriate. They are useful in
home schooling and to use during the summer if your children are weak in language
skills or if you want to make sure they have really covered all they should have in the
previous grade before school starts again. Available for grades 1-6. 128 pages each,
including answers. . 12.59-D each.
Language Arts Handbook Grade 1: BTH-1187, $12.89-D
Language Arts Handbook Grade 2: BTH-1188, $12.89-D
Language Arts Handbook Grade 3: BTH-1189, $12.89-D
Language
Arts Handbook Grade 4: BTH-1190, $12.89-D
Language Arts Handbook Grade 5: BTH-1191, $12.89-D
Language
Arts Handbook Grade 6: BTH-1192, $12.89-D
Language Exercises: Review, from
Steck-Vaughn. Provides A review of the basic language skills for students in grades 5-8.
Easy to use lessons follow a logical, consistent format to focus students' attention on
the six key skills of vocabulary, grammar and usage, sentences, capitalization and
punctuation, composition, and study skills. This is a consumable workbook. 140 pages. Cat.
# SV-63133, $12.96-D. Teacher Edition contains answer key and reproducible tests. Cat.
#SV-63222, $9.00-D
Language Practice
workbooks from Steck-Vaughn. These are designed for students who need additional practice
in the basics of effective writing and speaking. They provide focused practice in key
grammar, usage, mechanics, and composition skills. The logical sequence of the practice
exercises, combined with a clear and concise format, allows for easy independent use.
These books use a process approach to teaching writing. Includes a skills correlation
chart and answer key. Reproducible for classroom use. Available for grades 1-8. Grades
1-5, $10.76-D each. Grades 6-8, $12.59-D each.
Language Practice Grade 1: BTH-1193. $10.79-D
Language
Practice Grade 2: BTH-1194. $10.79-D
Language Practice Grade 3: BTH-1195. $10.79-D
Language Practice Grade 4: BTH-1196. $10.79-D
Language Practice Grade 5: BTH-1197. $10.79-D
Language Practice Grade 6: BTH-1198. $12.59-D
Language Practice Grade 7: BTH-1199. $12.59-D
Language Practice Grade 8: BTH-1200. $12.59-D
 Laugh and Learn Grammar:
Rules for Plurals, Prepositions, and More by Debra Housel. Teacher
Created Resources, 2006. For grades 4-6. Add a bit of laughter to your grammar
lessons as students practice grammar with worksheets of riddles. Riddles are
also used to explain concepts. The book covers parts of speech, verb tenses,
plurals, contractions, comparisons, superlatives, numbers, question words,
homophones, easily confused words, and problem verbs. Instead of using ordinary
sentences for examples and filling in blanks, this book uses riddles instead. 80
pages. Answer key provided. Reproducible for classroom use. BTH-3258. 9.89-D
Middle School Collection: Complete
Grammar Series by Steck-Vaughn, new in 2007, ©2008. Available
now. The books in this series provide a simple and flexible solution to teaching
grammar and composition at the middle school level. They provide activity-based
instruction for the most important language skills: understanding parts of
speech and their proper usage; correctly using punctuation for correctness and
clarity; being able to identify common errors in mechanics and usage;
understanding clauses, phrases, and sentences; understanding the structure of
different kinds of paragraphs; knowing which types of language are appropriate
for varying audiences; and using roots, affixes, and mnemonics to improve
spelling.
Besides teaching grammar and usage, these books provide
sequential support for teaching composition. In grade six students learn the
basics of sentences and paragraphs and by grade eight they are writing complete
essays.
Each lesson begins with a short explanation followed by three
exercises. Here's an example from the Grade 6 book on the verb "to be." The
explanation provides three example sentences, each using a different tense of
the verb. This is followed by a chart showing the complete conjugation of
each tense. A short exercise -- Try It Out -- gives students an opportunity to
fill in the blanks in in a couple of short paragraphs with the proper tense of
the "be" verb. In the Taking It Further exercise, students are instructed
to write original sentences using an appropriate form of the verb "be" at
least three times. In the last exercise, In the Real World, students are
challenged to use the most "be" verbs they can in a single sentence that makes
sense. Each lesson has this format -- the Explanation, the Try It Out exercise,
the Taking it Further exercise, and the In the Real World exercise. These
exercises have a variety of formats to keep students from getting bored and to
challenge them to read and think critically. Students will sometimes need to use
sources outside the book -- newspapers, other books, magazines, computers, and
other media that are available to most students.
This series does well in providing a structured way to teach
grammar and composition to the middle grades. Although I've not examined each
book in great detail, I did find a couple of things you might want to be aware
of. First, the books are politically correct. A lesson at near the beginning of
the both Grade 6 and Grade 7 books teaches students to find alternatives to
gender specific language. Second, teachers really need to be on the ball and
know their language skills well, since the answer keys cannot help them correct
students' original writing. And the authors have also thrown in at least one
exercise in the Grade 8 book I don't see the wisdom of -- having students
punctuate a passage from Dickens in the style of Dickens' day, not ours.
Although I agree that using examples from literature is useful, I think this use
of the Dickens passage might be confusing to students, since Dickens used
commas, semicolons, and colons differently than we do today. I still think
the series is good and will fill a definite need, but I do want teachers to be
aware of what some might consider weaknesses. 128 pages, reproducible for
classroom use.
Middle
School Collection Complete Grammar Grade 6:
BTH-3824. $15.29-D
Middle
School Collection Complete Grammar Grade 7: BTH-3825. $15.29-D
Middle
School Collection Complete Grammar Grade 8: BTH-3826. $15.29-D
Nitty-Gritty Grammar: A Not-So-Serious Guide to
Clear Communication by Edith Fine and Judith Josephson. This book
is really designed for adults who need a review of what they have forgotten or
never learned in their school grammar courses. The authors enhance the text with
nationally known cartoon strips to illustrate the concepts presented and to add
a little humor to the subject many consider humorless. It presents the
essentials of parts of speech, sentences, diagramming, clauses and phrases,
punctuation, spelling, easily confused words, capitalization, and more. 102
indexed pages. This will be very helpful to those who need a refresher course or to students who
need lots of motivation. It has instruction and examples, but no exercises. If you need
exercises, look over the The Straight Forward Series. $8.05-D
Painless Grammar by Rebecca Elliott.
Barron's, 1997. An enjoyable examination of parts of speech, sentence
construction, and punctuation for those who have always hated grammar. The
author mixes instruction with humor and uses cartoon illustrations to flavor her
down-to-earth examples of correct usage. Layout is designed to be easy on the
eyes. This book is just right for grades 6-8. 264 pages. BTH-269. $8.06-D
Rules of the Game:
Grammar Through Discovery. This three-volume set of work/texts is aimed at grades
5-9, and through examples and guided questions tries to help students arrive at the
grammatical rule that governs the examples. Then, after the student has done his own
thinking, the principle is stated and placed in a box for easy identification. An
explanation of how the principle is applied follows, and then there are exercises which
require students both to identify certain words in sentences and to create their own
sentences, applying the principles learned.
The three books (Book 1 (Cat. #1495), Book 2
(Cat. #1496) and Book 3 (Cat. #1494) are $7.95 each. Answer Keys (Book 1,
Cat. #1497; Book 2, Cat. #1498, and Book 3, Cat. #1499) are 4.95 each.
    
Ruth Heller books:
a series of brightly colored picture books about parts of speech that are a true feast for
the eyes. No family with elementary children should miss these. The title links
here lead to listings on our shopping cart at
www.barbsteachinghelp.com
Titles are
Up, Up and Away: A Book About Adverbs;
Kites Sail High: A Book About Verbs;
Many Luscious Lollipops: A Book About Adjectives;
Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns; and
A Cache of Jewels and Other Collective Nouns . Believe me, the illustrations alone are
worth the price of these books.
See
details on these books.
Sentences part of the Steck-Vaughn Middle
School Collection. Designed for junior high and can also be used for remediation in high
school. Begins with a general assessment test. Reproducible for classroom use. 48 pages,
including answer key. There is a glossary of language terms on the inside back cover.
There are three units: Types of Sentences; parts of Sentences; and Writing Better
Sentences, and there is an assessment at the end of each. Cat. # BTH-1332. $7.19-D
Simply Grammar: An
Illustrated Primer, by Karen Andreola, is a revised
expanded version of First Grammar Lessons by Charlotte Mason, beautifully
illustrated with old-fashioned black and white drawings. The layout is easy on the eyes,
with lots of white space. Lessons and exercises are short and can be done orally with many
different grade levels (fourth and up) at once. Emphasis is on thinking through grammar
principles rather than just mindlessly doing exercises. The book is designed to be used
for short, oral lessons where students and teacher interact, and it is compatible with
other English curricula if you wish to use them. BTH-4500. $22.46-D
The Straight Forward Series
These books measure, teach, review, and help students master specific English skills.
Answers to exercises are included.
Articles: How Do I Teach English, Part I / How Do I Teach English, Part II
Spelling / Writing / Vocabulary
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