Grammar and Punctuation

I know that when I was a student I dreaded Grammar and Punctuation.  I felt like there were too many rules to remember.  I remember that it all felt very overwhelming and confusing.  I was intimidated by comma rules, "i before e except after c" and all the other information I was supposed to be able to apply to my writing.

Now, I've become a "Punctuation Vigilante".  When I read something and notice an error in it, I want to correct it with pen or even send a letter to the author to edit more carefully.

This year, you'll all become "Punctuation Vigilantes".  We'll have a class bulletin board where we'll post errors that we've found and figure out how to correct them.  You'll be shocked when you feel like screaming when you see a sign that says, "CD's for Sale".  

Punctuation will finally be FUNctuation!  I promise that you'll learn some things and not dread using commas!  You can check out the books "Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" by Lynne Truss.  As a class, we'll learn about the hilarious consequences of misusing commas, apostrophes and other punctuation marks.  You'll get a chance to use them both properly and improperly to demonstrate your understanding.

Adjectives, verbs, adverbs, nouns and pronouns will be a lot more fun when we play "Mad Libs".  You'll have a chance to write your own stories and omit key words so that your classmates can fill them in to hysterical results.  If you want to play a Mad Libs type game online, you can go to EduPlace and play their "Wacky Web Tales".  

We'll go further with Grammar in a little activity called "Grammar Sutra".  You'll look at wacky pictures and describe them using certain conditions.  We'll start simple with things like: "Noun, verb, adverb", and work our way up from there.

"Noun, verb, adverb"

"The frog grasped tightly."

How about a making little more interesting?

"2 adjectives describing a noun, adverb describing verb, adjective and noun, another verb (past tense)"

"The miniscule neon frog tightly grasped the humongous appendage, wondering why he ever hopped in that bag."

Can you write a sentence describing this picture that's even better than mine?  The frog looks like he's thinking about something.  Can you describe that?  You have to use all the same criteria, though!  Leave your answers as a comment on this post.

These activities will have you asking, "Can we do more Grammar and Punctuation, Miss Pollock?  Please?"  You'll see.

Movie Recommendation - Freedom Writers

A wonderfully inspiring teacher named Erin Gruwell and her high school students, who became incredible authors, inspired a movie called "Freedom Writers".  You may have seen the movie.  If not, we'll watch (at least parts of) it this year.  I don't want to give much away, but it's the kind of movie that makes you realize that you - yes YOU - can change your own life, and maybe even the lives of others around you.  The power of writing is incredible.  

Writing reflects thinking.  Writing promotes thinking.  This year, we'll explore ways that we can make change through our writing.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, dedicated people can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Writer's Block Busters

A common problem for all writers, experienced, professional and amateur alike, is the dreaded Writer's Block.  In the middle of creating a wonderful piece of writing, we've all been struck by this paralyzing block to our flow and creativity. 

As a way to get those juices flowing again, I'll keep searching for fun writing activities you can try.

Wordle is a website that helps you to create and share fantastic visual poems (or "word clouds").  All you have to do is enter your text, and the site will organize it in an aesthetically pleasing way.  If you don't love the first option, you can customize it further.

Writing with Families

Hello folks,

   I would love to have an opportunity to talk with (via phone, email or in person) parents and guardians of students in my classes regarding Literacy.   Colleagues of mine at other schools have held "Family Literacy Night" in the past.  At "Family Literacy Night", our board's Literacy policy (Balanced Literacy) is discussed.  Families get to participate in activities, to learn, hands-on, about the way their children are learning to be effective readers, writers and thinkers.

Please contact me (you can leave a comment here) to let me know if this would be helpful for you and your family!

If you are interested in learning more about Balanced Literacy, Mrs. Stewart from New York created a summary of many of the basic concepts of this philosophy.