Does grammar matter? - Andreea S. Calude Spoken language has been neglected and marginalized for much of our history on account of its perceived inferiority in comparison to written language. Written language was historically regarded as the language of the ‘learned,’ given that few people could read or write. It also had permanence (written records can be preserved for hundreds of years, and it is only recently that speech recordings became an achievable technology for most of us), and it was thought to be of a higher standard and quality (often summed up as having “better” or more “correct” grammar). You can read more about this biased view of written language over spoken language in the online book “The Written Language Bias” by Peter Linell. We all know that languages differ with respect to their grammar – we have all tried to learn another language only to be baffled not just by new vocabulary but also by the order and other quirks of how that language organizes its vocabulary – but what can and what does actually vary?
IdiomSite.com - Find out the meanings of common sayings 18 Fun and Simple Creative Writing Activities Some of you teachers may be a John Keating in the making. Still more may need a little help. Here are some creative writing activities and prompts that will honor your students’ imaginations. I had great creative writing teachers when I was in high school. Creative Writing Activities to Explore This terrific list of activities come from Marcus Roskilly in the UK: Free Writing—5 minutes to write on a “spark word” determined by the teacher. Other Engaging Approaches Here are some select writing activities from Caroline Swicegood: Life is Not Like a Box of Chocolates: Use the prompt: “Life is like a box of…” You fill in the blank and go from there.No-Send Letters: If you know you’ll never send a letter to someone of your choice, what would you write on it? Creative Writing Prompts Some prompts from Buzzfeed’s 23 Of The Most Creative College Essay Prompts From 2014–2015 “You’ve just reached your one millionth hit on your YouTube video.
Verb Tenses Chart - GrammarBank Simple Present Tense It snows in Alaska.I watch television everyday.I visit my cousin all the time. Also see Tense Agreement In general, the simple present expresses events or situations that exist always, usually, habitually; they exist now, they have existed in the past, and probably will exist in the future.See Simple Present Tense for detailed grammar explanations. PDFs: BE Positive BE Negative BE Questions BE Mixed WH Questions Simple Past Tense It snowed yesterday. At one particular time in the past, this happened. PDFs: Regular Positive Simple Past To Be Irregular Positive Irregular Negative & Questions Mixed Exercise Simple Future Tense It will snow tomorrow.I will watch television tonight.I will visit my cousin later. At one particular time in the future, this will happen.See Simple Future Tense for detailed grammar explanations. See Simple Tenses Practice Present Progressive Tense He is sleeping right now. He is asleep at the moment. Past Progressive Tense He was sleeping when I arrived.
Sentence Length Today's topic is sentence length. This episode was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier. I was glad to hear from those of you who enjoyed Bonnie's writing last week. I'll be back as the writer next week, but Bonnie and other writers may continue to fill in for me on occasion as I start working on my next book and head out this summer for my book tour. Long Sentences My dad has a memorable poster in his bathroom: a diagram of a ridiculously long sentence by Marcel Proust. Sentence Fragments I have to applaud Proust for being able to keep everything straight in that sentence—because he sure used a lot of semicolons, commas, clauses, and other tricks to lengthen it. All of this Proust talk is making me hungry for a madeleine, a small shell-shaped cake that had a starring role in In Search of Lost Time. Finding the Proper Length Proust’s enormous sentence is an anomaly, but long sentences certainly haven’t disappeared. Finding and Fixing Long Sentences
Matching Quizzes for ESL Students (Flash) Complex Sentences & Compound Sentences: How to Tell the Difference How can you tell the difference between complex sentences and compound sentences? That's a question that I recently received in my inbox. I struggled with this concept when I was learning grammar myself, so I wanted to share the answer with you. Here's the question: Dear Elizabeth, How can I help children correctly divide complex and compound sentences into independent and subordinate clauses? I washed my hands before I ate breakfast. Some students divide this sentence into two parts ("I washed my hands" and "I ate breakfast") and ask me why these two clauses can't be treated as clauses of equal rank. Is there a simple way to teach this? - Udaya, English Teacher Compound Sentences Compound sentences are made from two or more independent clauses. Compound Sentence --> She cooked and he cleaned. Independent Clause --> She cooked. Coordinating Conjunctions The independent clauses are connected by a coordinating conjunction. Complex Sentences Complex Sentence --> My mom smiled when I made dinner.
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Ereading Worksheets | Free Reading Activities & Resources Vitamin D Deficiency Common By Meredith Hegg Washington, D.C.20 July 2009VOA News While scientists have known for decades that vitamin D deficiency leads to bone diseases like rickets, more recently they have found connections between low vitamin D levels and a wide range of other illnesses, including cancer, autoimmune disorders and caradiovascular disorders. The human body creates vitamin D through exposure to sunlight, and yet some of the sunniest parts of the world have the highest rates of vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D necessary for bone strength Healthy bones depend on vitamin D, says Ambrish Mithal of the Indian Society for Bone and Mineral Research. "Vitamin D is what absorbs calcium into our body and helps it reach the bone. Getting enough vitamin D should be relatively simple. "The major source of vitamin D is sunshine," Mithal says. Vitamin D deficiency common, even in sunny places But some of the world's sunniest regions have the highest rates of vitamin D deficiency. Deficiency could be dangerous
Verb Tense Worksheets | Ereading Worksheets Saving Fluffy The Bunny (Future Progressive Tense Worksheets) – The science teacher is planning on dissecting Fluffy the Bunny in science class tomorrow. You must find a way to save Fluffy. Write at least twenty sentences in future progressive tense in which you discuss how you will save Fluffy.Saving Fluffy The Bunny RTFSaving Fluffy The Bunny PDFPreview Saving Fluffy The Bunny in Your Web Browser Verb Tense Analysis… with Pirates: Determine the verb tenses of the pirate themed sentences, and then explain how you knew.Verb Tense Analysis… with Pirates RTFVerb Tense Analysis… with Pirates PDFPreview Verb Tense Analysis… with Pirates in Your Web Browser Verbs and Verb Phrases with Pirates – Read the exciting sentences about pirates. Practice with Past Perfect – use a variety of past participles in complete sentences using past perfect tense.Practice with Past Perfect RFTPractice with Past Perfect PDFPreview Practice with Past Perfect in Your Web Browser ELA Standards: Language
Differentiated Reading Instruction Worksheets and Activities Are you a teacher who has suddenly been told that you need to “differentiate” your reading, English, or language arts instruction? You are probably looking for worksheets and materials to help you comply with this unfamiliar concept, and I’ve got just the thing. Differentiating instruction seems challenging and overwhelming, but it doesn’t really have to be. Just follow these simple steps and use the worksheets below. Implementation: Put students into small groups and assign them a story to read.Give each group one of these worksheets.Guide student groups as needed.Assign students another story and a different worksheet.Modify the approach as necessary and repeat. Climax, Story Structure, and Elements of a Story Worksheet – As with all of these worksheets, this can be applied to most stories. Identifying Facts and Opinions Worksheet – In this worksheet, students identify statements of fact and opinion from the text.
Where do new words come from? - Marcel Danesi Find the creation of new words fascinating? Click here to find out more. How new words are born is a great article on this topic. What are the origins of some words that are commonly used? The Oxford Living Dictionary that provides word origins will help you find out. Loanwords are those words borrowed from another language. Finding this idea of creating new words fun? What about combining two words into one?