Home » Archive

Articles tagged with: english

Featured, Teaching English »

[2 Jul 2009 | No Comment | 269 views]
Basic Sentence Diagramming Quick Reference

Sentence diagramming is a valuable tool to help students visually represent the structures of sentences. It’s true that it is not essential. There are many people who comprehend the deep structures of the English language that do not know how to diagram, but everyone who understands diagramming understands basic grammar.
However, one road that I’ve crossed in my instruction is how to grade diagrams. Often time students understand the grammar, but they forget the diagramming technique.  As a teacher, I had to ask myself whether to deduct points for small mistakes.  …

Christian Education, Headline »

[30 Jun 2009 | No Comment | 216 views]
Style Guide for Christian Schools

A style guide that will help your Christian school or church produce documents with correct punctuation and a consistent style.

Featured, Teaching English »

[25 May 2009 | 2 Comments | 284 views]
American vs. British Spelling

A handy chart for remembering the differences between British and American spelling.

Teaching English »

[11 May 2009 | No Comment | 204 views]
<i>Elements of Style</i> by William Strunk Jr.

Written in 1918 by Cornell University professor William Strunk, Jr., Elements of Style provides concise solutions for common language errors.

Teaching English »

[3 Apr 2009 | No Comment | 118 views]
Book Review: <i>Grammar for Teachers</i>

Rescued from the trash bin when I noticed one of my university professors throwing it away, Constance Weaver’s Grammar for Teachers helped solidify in my mind the necessary place of grammar in the classroom.

Featured, Teaching English »

[19 Mar 2009 | No Comment | 562 views]
Avoid the Middle School Language Traps

Middle schoolers tend to make the same writing mistakes.  Sometimes teachers are required to change the bulletin boards in the classroom.  Solve your bulletin board problems and help students identify their writing problems with this handy print-out for bulletin boards.  This bulletin board display covers many common writing problems: subject-verb agreement, commonly misused verbs, and warning against the obnoxious stuff and things.
Enjoy the file!
Avoid the Middle School Language Traps Bulletin Board (PDF)

Featured, Teaching English »

[18 Mar 2009 | No Comment | 221 views]
<i>Higher Lessons in English</i> by Reed and Kellogg

The definitive grammar book, the one that sat on Ernest Hemingway’s bookshelf and sparked the sentence diagramming craze of the Industrial Era, is Higher Lessons in English: A Work on English Grammar and Composition by Alonzo Reed and Brainerd Kellogg.

Headline, Teaching English »

[17 Mar 2009 | One Comment | 289 views]
Easy Complement Finder

I created this Easy Complement Finder flowchart for students that have difficulty determing correct pronoun-antecedent agreement. It should also help students locate and use pronouns correctly when dealing with direct and indirect objects.