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Learn/Practice English with MOVIES (Lesson #2) How to Write an Effective Essay: The Introduction. How to Improve Your Vocabulary. There are many ways to improve your vocabulary.

How to Improve Your Vocabulary

When working to do so, it's important to know your goals in order to best choose the way in which you want to learn. John's Keys to Success - Idiomatic Story. Slowing down time (in writing & film) - Aaron Sitze. Using Descriptive Words. Does your homeschool teen know how to describe a person using vivid vocabulary?

Using Descriptive Words

Because students can struggle with good observation skills or summoning up an arsenal of strong words, description can be a challenging task! In The Prince and the Pauper, Mark Twain paints a word picture of King Henry VIII using descriptive language: Before him, at a little distance, reclined a very large and very fat man, with a wide, pulpy face, and a stern expression. His large head was very grey; and his whiskers, which he wore only around his face, like a frame, were grey also. His clothing was of rich stuff, but old, and slightly frayed in places. Likewise, in The Bronze Bow , Elizabeth George Speare describes a young Roman soldier with vivid words: When he straightened again, the Roman was pulling off his helmet, revealing crisp fair hair. Using Descriptive Words. Teaching Metaphors and Similes: Make a Game of It. For students, learning about metaphors and similes can sometimes feel like doing taxes on April 14.

Or taking your daily dose of cod liver oil poured over bran flakes. Or picking blueberries under a sweltering summer sun while wearing a corduroy three piece suit. Admit it. We English teachers can sometimes beat the joy right out of the most wonderful, playful topics. I am 99.9% certain that at some point, in every English classroom around the globe, the definitions of metaphors and similes get taught in some fashion. One way I move beyond simple definitions of these terms is by playing a game that helps students understand the power of comparison and why using it well adds such style, life, and efficiency to our writing.

The game is a simple one. How I set up the Metaphor Game: Give students 3 slips of paper.Review what a NOUN is. Describe That Face: An Interactive Writing Game. ReadWriteThink couldn't publish all of this great content without literacy experts to write and review for us.

Describe That Face: An Interactive Writing Game

If you've got lessons plans, videos, activities, or other ideas you'd like to contribute, we'd love to hear from you. More Find the latest in professional publications, learn new techniques and strategies, and find out how you can connect with other literacy professionals. More Teacher Resources by Grade Your students can save their work with Student Interactives. More Home › Classroom Resources › Lesson Plans Lesson Plan. Describe That Face: An Interactive Writing Game. Sample. How to make your writing funnier - Cheri Steinkellner. Three anti-social skills to improve your writing - Nadia Kalman. How teachers can best use TED Talks in class. What happens when a teacher mixes Madame Bovary and a TED Talk?

How teachers can best use TED Talks in class

Good things, actually. Photo: iStockphoto My high school English class had just finished reading Madame Bovary, and we were all confused. (For those of you who have not read it, please skip to paragraph two. Spoiler alert!) That night for homework, our only assignment was to watch a TED Talk: “Why we love, why we cheat” by anthropologist Helen Fisher. I didn’t realize what my teacher was doing until class discussion the next day.

Figurative writing/speaking

Grammar. Punctuation Rules. Commas and periods are the most frequently used punctuation marks.

Punctuation Rules

Commas customarily indicate a brief pause; they're not as final as periods. Rule 1. Use commas to separate words and word groups in a simple series of three or more items. Example: My estate goes to my husband, son, daughter-in-law, and nephew. Note: When the last comma in a series comes before and or or (after daughter-in-law in the above example), it is known as the Oxford comma. Example: We had coffee, cheese and crackers and grapes.

Adding a comma after crackers makes it clear that cheese and crackers represents one dish. We had coffee, cheese and crackers, and grapes. Fiction and nonfiction books generally prefer the Oxford comma. Rule 2. Example: He is a strong, healthy man. Example: We stayed at an expensive summer resort. Another way to determine if a comma is needed is to mentally put and between the two adjectives. Rule 3a. Incorrect: He walked all the way home, he shut the door. There are several simple remedies: How to Write a Letter (with Free Sample Letters) Steps Method 1 Writing a Formal Letter <img alt="Image titled Write a Letter Step 1" src=" width="728" height="546" class="whcdn">1Know when to write a formal letter.

How to Write a Letter (with Free Sample Letters)

How to Write a News Article (with Downloadable Sample Articles) Edit Article Four Parts:Sample ArticlesPlanning Your ArticleWriting Your News ArticleProofing Your ArticleCommunity Q&A Writing a news article is different from writing other articles or informational pieces, because news articles present information in a specific way.

How to Write a News Article (with Downloadable Sample Articles)

How to write a Personal Narrative Essay. How to write fiction that comes alive - Nalo Hopkinson.