Teachers Are Heroes Sale on TpT

The TpT sale has been extended for one more day!

Take a look at some of the Teacher'sPayTeachers.com stores in the graphic above. These lessons are carefully written and tested by a group of dedicated Super Secondary Teachers. You can't go wrong by using one of their lessons. The price is right, too! Enjoy this sale and get up to 28% off on most products. Click here to go to the linkup and visit their stores.

Do I believe that teachers are heroes? 

Yes, I absolutely do. It would be wonderful if every child had a warm and nurturing home life, but the sad fact is some of them don't. Sometimes the only smile and kind word that children receive all day is from their teacher.

The responsibility that teachers bear to keep their students safe from harm, to keep them engaged and interested, and to challenge their minds is a huge endeavor.

I admire everyone involved in the work of helping shape our children's lives. Bravo teachers, and thank you!

Be sure to enter the promo code HEROES at checkout.

My enitre store in on sale for two days including the Simple Steps to Sentence Sense series.
Click here to see what people are saying about Simple Steps to Sentence Sense.
Click here to visit my store.

Thanks for reading!

Two Spaces Between Sentences is a No No

Proofreading is a skill that all writers must master. If you are using a typewriter like the one pictured above, this article is not for you. However, if you are using a word processor or a computer, the rule about the spaces between sentences has changed.

After you have labored over an article, an essay, or a piece of fiction trying to say exactly what you mean, it would be a shame to ruin the whole effect with mistakes. If you do not find the errors before you submit your piece, believe me, someone else will.

Many people make the mistake of placing two spaces between sentences when using a computer or a word processor. It is totally incorrect to do so. That practice is a holdover from typing class. It was necessary then, but it is wrong to do so now.

There is a difference between typesetting and typing, and we computer users are actually doing our own typesetting.

You can read more about it here.

If you have already created something and need to change your document so that there is only one space between each sentence you can use the FIND feature in WORD.

Press Ctrl Find on a P.C. or Command Find on a Mac. Click on the Replace tab. In the first box type a period and two spaces. In the second box, type a period and one space. Then click on replace all.

Remember, you will also have to do that for several other combinations.

If you are writing dialogue, you will need to also find the following:

."

?"

!"

After you have finished making the changes, you can run a check to see if you missed anything.

1. Click the round Office button in the upper-left corner of the window.

2. Click the Word Options button.

3. Click Proofing.

4. Down near Grammar, click the Settings button.

5. Set the "Spaces required between sentences" list box to 1.

6. Click OK.

Then go to the Review Tab on the ribbon and do a spell check. It will stop on sentences that have more than one space between them. In the future, you will see a red wavy line between sentences that have more than one space.

Everything you write using a computer or a tablet will look more professional if you single space between sentences.

Click here to visit my TpT store to find lots of helpful products to improve your writing.

Thanks for reading,

  

Avoid the Greengrocer's Apostrophe

Do not use an apostrophe to make a noun plural.

The name “Greengrocer’s Apostrophe” comes from errors in the use of apostrophes that frequently occur on signs that appear in store windows or in the produce section of grocery stores. This error also occurs in many other places, as the following examples show.

The correct way to write this sign would be:
 iPads 
For Sale Here

The correct way to write this sign would be:
Oranges 
$1.25 a pound

Some people sign Christmas cards and letters incorrectly by adding an apostrophe to their family's name to make it plural.

It would be wrong to sign a card from the Smith Family as: The Smith's

The correct signature would be: The Smiths

Click here for a free lesson that expands on learning to use apostrophe's correctly.

Click here for another lesson that will help:

Thanks for reading,

When to Use “Who," "That," and "Which"

Here are a few simple hints to help you decide whether to use “who,” “that,” or “which” in the  sentences that you write.

Use “who” when referring to people.

For example: The employee who answered my questions was very polite.

Use "that" for clauses that define something specific and provide necessary information.

For example: The pie that I made today was tart. (You are talking about a specific pie.)

Use "which" for clauses that can be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence. The movie, which I saw yesterday, was about a war hero. 

Clauses that begin with “which” can be placed between commas or in parentheses.

Click on the button below to visit my store to see my products and lessons on grammar and usage.

All the best,

Grin and Grab it Day 1-25-2015 Free Products for One Day

Hello to all! I have joined with several bloggers who will offer one of their best products for free for one day only. Please check below to read Carolyn Wilhelm's blog post and find  the links to the free Grin and Grab it products. Please be sure to leave a rating and a comment if you decide to accept their free offer. Remember, the products will be on sale for one day only - Sunday, January 25th, 2015. Enjoy!

This post is about another blog hop Grin and Grab it Day 1-25-2015 with free products for one day. Several bloggers have joined this blog hop and by visiting their blogs you can see which usually priced products on TpT are free this Sunday only. We live in different time zones, but products will be marked down in the morning and be priced again in the evening. We just ask you kindly rate them while they are still free as after they are again priced, people who get them for free will be unable to rate them at that point in time.
 First, La Profesora Frida  whom I have written about previously on this blog, has a Spanish Adjective Agreement and Clothing Practice product. No prep! Just print and go! The activities in this packet are designed to supplement your already in place Spanish curriculum and to offer extra opportunities for your students to buff up on their adjective agreement skills.

Charlene Tess who has written several guest blog posts on this blog has a lesson in comparing and contrasting two short stories and a rubric for grading the composition product that will be free Sunday. Included in the packet are: • a note to the teacher with instructions on how to present the lesson; • 2 sample rubrics; • a graphic organizer on which students take notes on the plot, characters, theme, point of view, and tone of two short stories; • and more!
 Artistic Educational Tools has Rhyming Word Family Flip Books, for grades 1-2. This version is black line only. The black line version is well suited for students to color their own flip books. It is also nice for schools and homeschools with limited or no color printing capabilities!

The Silent E Love Bugs and Magic e! Valentine's Day Literacy Center is being given by Teaching Resources for the Classroom. This product helps meet CCSS RF.1.3, RF.1.4, RF.1.3e, RF.K.3, and RF.2.3 as well as providing fun learning experiences.

Wise Owl Factory is joining in this free product day, too. The Mice Themed Prepositional Phrases product will be free Sunday. It helps meets CCSS L.1.1i and L.K.1e.

We hope you enjoy our free product day and that you will enjoy the lessons and activities

Thank you for reading, Carolyn Wilhelm

How to Choose Between Affect and Effect

How to Choose Between Affect and Effect

One of the most often asked grammar questions is when to use affect and when to use effect.

Affect is used as a verb and effect is used as a noun.  Since only nouns can be modified by the articles a, an and the, I can show you a simple trick to help you choose the correct word.

If you are not sure how to choose between“affect” or “effect,” see if one of the articles “a, an, or the” works in front of it.  If so, “effect” is probably the correct choice. If you try to place an article in front of a verb, it will not be correct. Since "effect" is a noun, the article will sound correct.

Examples:

Your behavior had a negative effect on me.

Polio affected his legs.

It may help you to know that effect usually means "the result" and affect usually means "to influence."

Now you try it:

1.  She wore a tiara on her head and the (affect, effect) was ridiculous.

2.  Your behavior is having an (affect, effect) on everyone in the class.

3.  Watching a feel-good movie did not (affect, effect) his bad mood.

Answers:

1.  effect   The article "the" appears before the noun "effect."

2.  effect   The article "an" appears before the noun "effect."

3.  affect   The articles "a, an, and the" would not make sense before the verb "affect."

Click here for a computer exercise to study common homonyms:

And for a more advanced class, click here for an interactive advanced vocabulary quiz.

Thanks for reading.

I Feel Bad for Those Who Say They Feel Badly

Winter is a good time to help your students brush up on common errors in their writing and speaking and learn to correct them. One of the most common errors is making the wrong choice between the words bad and badly. Here's a quick explanation that may help.

 Be careful when using the words "bad" and "badly," so you will say exactly what you mean.

 Sometimes, even people who try to speak and write correctly end up making errors. I know I am guilty of that. Often those errors occur when people try to decide between the adjective “bad” and the adverb “badly.”

 Most of the time, the choice is easy. He has a bad cold. (Bad is an adjective that describes what kind of cold he has.) He behaved badly. (Badly is an adverb that describes how he behaved.)

 The problem usually occurs when the word follows a linking verb, especially the linking verbs “feel” and “look.” (Remember that adjectives, not adverbs, should follow a linking verb.)

• I feel bad. (This means my emotions are sad, unpleasant, or I am ill.) 
• I feel badly. (This means my sense of touch is poor.) 
• Jon looks bad. (This means he may be ill, or his appearance may be less than attractive.) 
• Jon looks badly. (This means Jon has trouble with his vision.) 

 Don’t feel bad if you have been making this mistake in your writing or speaking. I have heard two famous television talk show hosts use these words incorrectly. On one of the programs, the host said, “No one can make you feel badly about yourself except you.” I had a mental image of fingers moving around in the air.

The best way to avoid this mistake is to be conscious of the fact that you are using any form of the verb “feel” (feels, felt, feeling), and then choose the correct word.
             

If you need help with grammar or usage, be sure to check out my Simple Steps to Sentence Sense series of books. They have everything you need to become a better writer and speaker.

Take a look below at all of the great blog posts from other Secondary Teachers. Your students are sure to learn something!
Thanks to ELA Buffet and Desktop Learning Adventures for hosting this linkup.  Hang in there! We are almost Out of the Deep Freeze.

Thanks for reading,

An InLinkz Link-up