Common Grammar Pitfalls and How to Avoid them

Grammar is an often-dreaded subject that can turn a great essay into a confusing mess. But fear not! Mastering grammar is essential for clear communication, and with a few simple tips, you can elevate your writing game.

Common Grammar Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

• Subject-Verb Agreement: Even the best writers need help with this one. Make sure your verb matches your subject (singular or plural).
• Example: The cat is playful. (singular)
• Example: The cats are playful. (plural)

• Comma Splices: Avoid joining two independent clauses with just a comma. Instead, use a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, for, nor, yet, so).
• Incorrect: I love to read, and I also enjoy writing.
• Correct: I love to read; I also enjoy writing.

• Pronoun Agreement: Make sure your pronouns agree with their antecedents (the nouns they refer to) in gender and number.
• Example: Everyone should bring their own book. (incorrect)
• Example: Everyone should bring his or her own book. (correct)

Tips for Improving Your Grammar

• Read Widely: The more you read, the better your grammar will become. Pay attention to how authors construct their sentences and use punctuation.
• Write Regularly: Practice makes perfect! The more you write, the more comfortable you'll become with grammar rules.
• Use Online Resources: There are countless websites and apps that can help you improve your grammar.
• Proofread Carefully: Always review your work for errors before submitting it.

Beyond the Basics: Style and Clarity

• Vary Your Sentence Structure: Avoid choppy sentences by mixing short and long sentences.
• Choose the Right Words: Use precise language to convey your meaning effectively.
• Be Concise: Get to the point without unnecessary words.

Remember, grammar is a journey, not a destination. With consistent effort and attention to detail, you can become a confident and effective writer.

A note to the teacher — I have lesson plans, activities, practice exercises, quizzes, and videos in my store that address each of the tips above. I invite you to visit my store and choose the resources that will be helpful. Click here for a free resource in my store. 

Visit my store for more helpful resources.

Thanks for reading. Check out the Linky Party below to find blog posts from my teacher friends at The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative. If you would like to join this group, click here.

Video Lessons Make Teaching Grammar Easy

Have you noticed how many students are all about videos? My grandson can learn how to do anything he wishes by watching YouTube, and he prefers watching videos, although he also loves to read.

I’ve spent many hours throughout the summer creating instructional videos and practice worksheets to accompany my Simple Steps to Sentence Sense High School Grammar Book. They will also be helpful for teachers who use the Simple Steps to Sentence Sense Middle School Grammar Book.
 
My goal is to make the lessons and activities clearer for visual and auditory learners while also providing worksheets to encourage students to analyze sentences on their own. 

I also hope that watching these videos will help teachers prepare for each step before presenting it to their students. 

 
In the videos, I talk directly to the students and explain each step in the program. The videos include:

•  How to Use Sam (Sentence Analysis Map)
  
•  Step 1 – Finding the Prepositional Phrases
  
•  Step 2 – Finding the Verb
•  Step 3 – Finding the Subject
•  Step 4A – Finding the Action Verb Complements (Direct Object, Indirect Object, and Objective Complement)
• Step 4L – Finding the Linking Verb Complements (Predicate Nominative and Predicate Adjective)
•  Step 5 – Finding Adjectives and Adverbs 
  
•  Step 6 – Finding Phrases (Participial, Gerund, Infinitive, and Appositive)
  
•  Step 7 – Finding Clauses (Independent, Adjective, Adverb, and Noun)
  
• Step 8 – Classifying sentences (Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound/Complex)
  

 
As I explain each step, I tell students the tips and tricks that I used with my own students. Even the most reluctant learner can understand and be successful when using my method of learning grammar. Learning grammar does not have to be difficult.
 
You can use the videos as an introduction before you start each step in the book or as a follow-up to be sure they have mastered each step before they move on to the next. If you are familiar with my grammar program, you know that it’s all about the sequence in which you teach sentence analysis. It’s easy if you follow the steps in order. Your students will make good grades and be successful. 
 
These videos are a valuable tool to use with students who enter your classroom late in the year and need to catch up with your class. They are also helpful for students who are absent and miss the class in which you presented the lesson. 
 
Here is a link to the (FREE to you) Step One Video: Finding Prepositional Phrases.

 
You can buy the videos individually as needed, or you can save 20% off the individual resources if you buy the bundle. You will find these videos here in my TpT store.

Thanks for reading,

Charlene

Below you will find some helpful and interesting blog posts from my teacher friends in The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marking Cooperative. If you would like to join this helpful marketing cooperative, you can find more information here. 

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Misplaced Modifiers Often Create Strange Mental Pictures

Misplaced modifiers can create mental pictures that are often humorous. Sometimes, it's possible to read a sentence that contains a misplaced or dangling modifier and not notice the error. As always, it is easier to detect the mistakes in other people's writing than it is in your own. You know what you are trying to say, but you will say it badly if the modifiers are out of place in the sentence.

A modifying phrase or clause must clearly modify a word in the sentence. If there is no word to which the modifier is attached, the modifier is misplaced.

For example, Carrying an armful of flowers, his foot caught on the steps.

His foot is not carrying the flowers. There is no word in the sentence for the participial phrase to modify, so it contains a dangling modifier.

Corrected: Carrying an armful of flowers, he caught his foot on the steps.

Another way writers can confuse readers is by placing a modifier in a sentence that may be taken to modify two different words. As a result, the reader will not understand the writer's intended meaning. This error is called using a squinting modifier. (Sometimes it is called using a two-way modifier.)

For example, Todd said after the game Jack acted like a jerk.

Since the phrase after the game could modify said or acted, the meaning of this sentence is not clear. Did Todd say this after the game, or did Jack act like a jerk after the game?

Clear: After the game, Todd said Jack acted like a jerk.

Clear: Todd said Jack acted like a jerk after the game.

To avoid dangling modifiers, be sure to place the modifier close to the word it modifies. Sometimes you will have to add a word to the sentence, and sometimes you can just move the modifying phrase or clause closer to the word it modifies.

To avoid squinting modifiers, carefully construct your sentences to say what you mean, and make it clear which word is being modified.

How do you avoid errors such as these? Proofread what you write carefully and make sure to write sentences that are well constructed. The more you write, the better you will be at avoiding errors with misplaced and squinting modifiers.

For practice, here are a few examples for you to correct.

• The bear was near the empty garbage can searching for food.
• The dog ran into the room wiggling and jumping for joy.
• He saw her at the meat counter talking to the butcher.

If you want more practice, here's a free exercise your students can use in Google Drive ™ for distance learning.

Here's a free exercise. You can print it or use in Google Drive.™ You will find the answers here.

I also have a self-grading deck of BOOM Cards™ that your students will love to play while reviewing misplaced modifiers. The resource comes with a mini-lesson. You can preview the deck before you buy it.

I hope you will find this information useful. Your students will become better writers if they can identify and correct errors with misplaced, dangling, and squinting modifiers.

Take a look at these helpful blog posts from my teacher friends at The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative.

Thanks for reading,

Charlene

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Sun, Sand, and Savings Week is Coming Soon

This summer, a group of teachers who write lessons for TeachersPayTeachers.com will participate in a sale that will offer fantastic savings. A special selection of products will be priced at $1 and $2.

The sales will continue from June 22nd to July 27th. It is the perfect time to stock up on resources that you can use for the new school year. Each week there will be a $1 sale on digital resources that may be especially useful in the fall. These will include BOOM cards, Google Drive Digital Lessons, and Interactive PDF lessons.

I am in the process of choosing which of my resources will be in the sale. I plan to include some of my best selling products and put them on sale for the amazing price of $1 and $2. Don't miss your chance to get these now, as the price will go back up on July 28th.

You will also have an opportunity to enter a contest each week for exciting Giveaway Prizes.

Visit and follow my Facebook Page for the latest information on the sale and frequent updates.

http://www.facebook.com/booksbycharlenetess

I hope your summer is going great, and that you are safe and well!

Thanks for reading.

Two Day Sale on TpT

Click here to visit the sale and save up to 28%.

TeachersPayTeachers.com does not have sales very often, 

but when they do, it's a good one.

Visit the web site on January 20 and 21st and enter the code START16 at checkout. Everything in my store is 28% off including my Simple Steps to Sentence Sense books and bundles. It's a great time to clear out your wish list and save lots of money.

The spring semester is the perfect time to teach grammar. You can easily go through the entire book in a semester, and your students will be involved, make good grades, and enjoy learning grammar. Everything you need is in my books. You will not need to do any advance preparation. Click here to see what teachers are saying about my books.

Hurry! Don't miss this sale.

I hope you have a very successful teaching year in 2016. Let me know if I can help with any grammar or usage questions. You can always email me at charlenetess@yahoo.com or leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading,

Practice with Sentence Patterns for Christmas

Good writers vary their sentence patterns by sometimes placing phrases or clauses at the beginning of their sentences. The twenty Christmas-themed sentences in this exercise all begin with the subject and the verb.

Learning to rewrite the sentences without changing their meaning is good practice for students to achieve sentence variety. At the same time, they will be reminded of things that are associated with the Christmas season. Enjoy!

If your students need more help with recognizing and using phrases and clauses correctly, Simple Steps to Sentence Sense explains everything clearly and provides notes, practice exercises, tests, and writing connection exercises.

Click here for more information about Simple Steps to Sentence Sense. You may wish to purchase the book, or just the individual steps on phrases and clauses.

Click here for Step 6 Phrases

Click here for Step 7 Clauses

Have a blessed Christmas and Holiday Season!

Thanks for reading,

Cyber Smile Sale at TpT

Don't you just love a sale? 

I certainly do. TeachersPayTeachers.com is having a Cyber Smile Sale November 30th and December 1st. You can save up to 28% on everything in my store and many other sellers are participating, as well. 

Enter promo code SMILE at checkout.

I stock up on clip art, photos, and valuable lessons that I will use to homeschool my grandson. Because of TpT, I can develop a complete curriculum and feel confident in the lessons I present to him because they were developed by certified teachers and tested on students in real classrooms. 

I have found that so many of the materials found in workbooks sold in stores were written and prepared by people who have never been in a classroom. My grandson used to attend a private school, and although his workbooks were filled with valuable lessons about the Bible and about how to treat others with kindness, the actual language arts, history, and science lessons were filled with errors.

I taught English and creative writing in public schools for thirty-five years, and although I am officially retired, I have never stopped teaching. Now, I write instructional materials for teachers to use in their classrooms, and I teach my grandson five days a week.

If you need a comprehensive curriculum to teach grammar, usage, and writing, I think you will like what you find in my books. Everything you need is included.

Click here to see what teachers are saying about Simple Steps to Sentence Sense. 

Click here or on the book covers below to visit my store and read more about the Simple Steps way to learn grammar and writing. And the best part is, that for a few days, THEY ARE ON SALE! Don't miss it!

Thanks for reading,