1 Choosing the Best Verb: An Active and Passive Voice Mini-lesson Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–12 Professional Commentary: For most students, speech and informal writing flow naturally. Yet students often struggle with formal or academic writing.... 2 Knowing Write from Wrong: Exploring Common Writing Errors in the Electronic Communications Age Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–10 Professional Commentary: In this lesson, students explore how the informality of electronic correspondence has affected communications in the workplace. After responding to a prompt written for two different audiences, students work collaboratively to a writing guide that contains rules and examples to help correct common informal English writing errors.... 3 Showing Good Taste: Writing Thoughtful Restaurant Reviews in the Language Arts Classroom Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 8–12 Professional Commentary: In this lesson students distinguish the important elements of well-written restaurant reviews by analyzing and evaluating reviews from The New York Times and by writing their own reviews of favorite dining locations. Students are encouraged to evaluate critical and persuasive texts as well as writing their own.... 4 Once Upon a Time: Writing Stories about Reading Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 10–12 Professional Commentary: This resource uses a feature article from the New York Times to stimulate a discussion about one's life as a reader. This lesson encourages students to take an inventory of their own histories as readers.... 5 Guide to Grammar and Style Resource Type: Content Supports Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 11–Postsecondary Professional Commentary: This content resource is an extensive guide to grammar and usage, with terms arranged alphabetically. A playful and sophisticated introduction contains hyperlinks to the alphabetized guide and to articles on points of grammar such as dangling participles and split infinitives.... 6 Guideline on Some Questions and Answers about Grammar Resource Type: Professional Resources Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 6–7, 9–Postsecondary Professional Commentary: This NCTE article looks in brief at several issues concerning teaching grammar to middle and high school students. To the point and informative for teachers struggling with how to teach grammar and conventions in their classrooms, the article details both why grammar is important and the most effective means of teaching important concepts.... 7 All in a Day's Work: Modernizing Herman Melville's Bartleby the Scrivener Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–12 Professional Commentary: This lesson plan uses a passage from Herman Melville's 1856 tale, "Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street," to encourage literary response and creative writing. Students respond in writing to the short story by creating their own modern versions of the tale.... 8 Bartleby Usage, Style & Composition Resource Type: Content Supports Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–Postsecondary Professional Commentary: Bartleby Usage, Style, and Composition is an online reference resource providing free access to classic and contemporary usage guides. This internet publishing site houses reference materials, including full-text standard American English guides, style manuals, and writing resources.... 9 Sentence Clarity Presentation Resource Type: Content Supports Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 10–Postsecondary Professional Commentary: This PowerPoint presentation provides help with common sentence clarity problems, including misplaced modifiers, dangling modifiers, and passive voice, as well as strategies for combining sentences together. The twenty-nine slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of methods for improving sentence structure.... Resource Type: Content Supports Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 11–Postsecondary Professional Commentary: This content resource is an electronic grammar course at the University of Ottawa's Writing Centre. The major sections are accessible from the left navigation bar on the Writing Centre website.... |