2nd Edition
The Elementary School Grammar Toolkit Using Mentor Texts to Teach Standards-Based Language and Grammar in Grades 3–5
Teaching grammar can be overwhelming and is often an overlooked part of effective instruction. The Elementary School Grammar Toolkit to the rescue! Now in its second edition, this comprehensive guide makes grammar instruction fun and meaningful.
You will learn how to…
• Teach grammar in a practical way to help students grow as readers and writers by presenting each grammar rule as a useful writing tool.
• Use mentor texts—excerpts from great literature—to help students understand grammar in action.
• Promote metacognition along the way so that students become responsible for their own learning.
• Implement innovative instructional strategies and tools aligned with Common Core and other state standards.
Throughout the book, you'll find step-by-step recommendations for teaching each of the grammar tools to help students meet the Common Core State Standards and other state language standards for grades three to five, plus classroom snapshots that show you the tools in action, handy templates that you can use in the classroom, and new tips for extra support at the end of every chapter.
New! The second edition features revised classroom snapshots and exemplars to showcase successful practices, new visuals, more free charts and activities, and new "Bonus Tips for Support" in each chapter, with extra practices and strategies to use with students who need extra support. The expanded, free annotated bibliography is updated to include contemporary, high-quality children’s and young adult literature and gives examples of key grammatical concepts found in each work. These resources are available as supplemental downloads on our website.
Meet the Author
Acknowledgments
Introduction: What's in Your Toolkit? Connecting Literature and Grammar Instruction
Part 1: Grammatical Concepts Aligned With Grade Three Common Core Language Standards
1 The Importance of Pronoun Reference
2 Subject-Verb Agreement
3 Using Commas and Quotation Marks When Writing Dialogue
4 Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences
5 Recognizing Differences Between Spoken and Written Standard English
Part 2: Grammatical Concepts Aligned With Grade Four Common Core Language Standards
6 Re-Envisioning Writing with Relative Pronouns and Relative Adverbs
7 The Progressive Verb Tenses and Why They Matter
8 Why Writers Use Modal Auxiliaries
9 Remaking Writing With Prepositional Phrases
10 Guidelines for Capitalization Use
11 Choosing Words and Phrases to Convey Ideas Precisely
Part 3: Grammatical Concepts Aligned With Grade Five
Common Core Language Standards
12 The Perfect Verb Tenses
13 Conjunctions and Interjections
14 Using Punctuation for Clarity and Effect
15 Dialects and Language Variations
16 Figurative Language
17 Assessing Students' Knowledge
Part 4: Putting It Together
Conclusion: Final Thoughts and Tips for Classroom Practice
References
Biography
Sean Ruday is an associate professor of English education at Longwood University and a former classroom teacher. He frequently writes and presents on innovative ways to improve students' literacy learning. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanRuday and visit his website at www.seanruday.weebly.com.
