Hands+On+Grammar+in+Writing+Workshop

toc Welcome to one of six of interconnected pages devoted to exploring the facets of reading and writing workshops in adolescent classrooms. This page is provides an overview of several ideas to teach and review grammar in reading and writing workshop. The information provided in this page was obtained at a training with Rio Grande Valley educational consultant Lourdes Flores on October 28, 2010 (Lourdes Flores, personal communication, October 28, 2010). Although the training, and consequently the mentor texts used, were geared toward grades 3-6, these activities can be extended to the upper grades with some alterations.

// Note: All materials that appear in the photographs, with the exception of the speech bubbles, were created by Joanna Waggoner based on models created by Lourdes Flores. //

Follow these links to explore other components of reading and writing workshop:
 * =  Materials ||= Home ||=  Resources ||
 * =  Conferring ||=  Grammar ||=  Assessment  ||


 * =Hands on Grammar= ||




 * =**Similes** = ||

Earrings by Judith Viorst __ Crazy Like a Fox __ by Loreen Leedy
 * Books ** :

My Simile Bag or envelope Book plates
 * Materials ** :

Use a bag & decorate it like a book.
 * Lesson Ideas: **

Inside you have little simile cards. Simile cards have students’ own similes or similes found in literature.

You can also use an envelope. Another idea is to decorate the bag/envelope with the titles of all the books you read (on book plates or labels or writing directly on the bag) that are related to similes.

Read aloud Earrings & bring in some earrings to describe using similes.


 * = Commas in a series = ||

__ Jessica __ by Kevin Henkes
 * Books: **

Sentence strips Elbow macaroni
 * Materials: **

Write an example of using commas in a series on sentence strips and replace the commas with macaroni.
 * Lesson Ideas: **

Can also be used with apostrophes, quotation marks, etc.


 * =**Action Verbs** = ||



__ My Mommy Hung the Moon __ Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornell
 * Books ** :

Bright colored paper
 * Materials: **

Accordian book: Page 1:Cover: Action Verb Booklet for __My Mommy Hung the Moon__ by Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornell Page 2: Blank Pages 3-6: Top: Example from story with action verb underlined. 1/3 down: Sketch. 2/3 down: Synonym. Page 7: a final sentence to tie it all together (i.e. My mommy hung the moon. She tied it with string.)
 * Lesson Ideas: **


 * = Adjectives = ||

My Pretty Pink Alphabet Book by Tim Bugbird Paper Markers stapler
 * Books: **
 * Materials: **

Each page in the book is devoted to one letter of the alphabet. Students collect adjectives on each page.
 * Lesson Ideas: **


 * = Past, Present, and Future Verb Classification = ||

Skeleton Hiccups by Margery Culver
 * Books: **

Bright colored paper Markers
 * Materials: **

Triifold flip book: First 1/3: Top: verb 1st layer: past 2nd layer: present 3rd layer: future
 * Lesson Ideas: **

Pull verbs from the book & put them on the foldable. Use each verb in a sentence in the correct tense (Cinderella polished the floor. Cinderella is still polishing the floor. Cinderella will need to polish the floor tomorrow.)


 * = Sentence Types = ||



__ Punctuation Takes a Vacation __ by Robin Pulver
 * Books: **

Bright colored paper
 * Materials: **


 * Lesson Ideas: **

Four-Door Foldable Inside: Left side: Definition Right Side: Example

Declarative: Definition: Makes a statement; ends with a period Example: The computer crashed last night.

Imperative: Definition: Makes a command or strong request; ends with a period of exclamation point Example: Fix the computer now.

Interogative Definition: Asks a question; ends with a question mark Example: When did the computer crash? Exclamtory: Expresses strong emotion; ends with an exclamation mark Example: This is such a mess
 * =**FANBOYS (Conjunctions & Sentence Combining)** = ||



Sentence strips Sticky notes
 * Materials: **

Military song (I don’t know what I’ve been told): For And Nor But Or Yet So. Connecting Sentences To and Fro
 * Lesson Ideas: **

Write two simple sentences on sentence strips. Write a connecting conjunction on a post it. Put all pieces together.


 * = Idioms = ||



Amelia Bedelia’s First Valentine by Herman Parish
 * Books: **

Paper
 * Materials: **

Book Inside divide each page in half Top: the idiom Left side: misinterpretation Right side: actual meaning Each page in the book is devoted to one letter of the alphabet. Students collect adjectives on each page.
 * Lesson ideas: **


 * = Dialogue = ||



Unloveable by Dan Yaccarino
 * Book: **

Drawing of character Sentence strips Tape or glue
 * Materials: **

Use a long pink sentence strip. Put a piece of dialogue from the text on the pink strip and tape it so it’s coming out of the dog’s (character’s) mouth.
 * Lesson ideas: **


 * = Subject/Predicate = ||

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
 * Book: **

Colorful cardstock cut into pieces (or index card)
 * Materials: **

Glue together two pieces of colored cardstock. One is the Subject card and on is the Predicate card. Write the corresponding parts of the sentence on the correct card.
 * Lesson Ideas: **


 * = Dialogue/Speech bubbles = ||



__ Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind __ Judy Fincher and Kevin O’Malley
 * Book: **

Speech bubble copy
 * Materials: **

Use this to encourage students to incorporate dialogue.
 * Purpose/Directions: **

= Recommendations for further reading =

Anderson, J. (2005). //Mechanically inclined: Building grammar usage and style into writer's workshop.// Portland: Stenhouse.

Anderson, J. (2007). //Everyday editing//. Portland: Stenhouse.

Ehrenworth, M., & Vinton, V. (2005). //<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">The power of grammar: Unconventional approaches to the conventions of language //. Portsmouth: Heinemann.