Teaching Grammar through
Literacy
Kim Jeffcoat
Education Program Specialist
K-12 Literacy
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
What do the experts say about
teaching grammar through
literacy?
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
In 1936, NCTE said the following:
“The formal teaching of grammar and
mechanics has little effect on students’
writing and, in fact, has harmful effects
when it displaces writing time.”
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Not RULES but TOOLS
“Grammar and mechanics are not rules to
be mastered as much as tools to serve a
writer in creating a text readers will
understand.”
(Jeff Anderson, Mechanically Inclined, p. 5)
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
What is Literacy?
Think It
• Read It
Think It
• Write
It
• Talk It
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Know It
What do the “experts” say about
grammar instruction?
You must teach the standards and
elements of your grade level.
You must provide remediation when
needed, but you need to move beyond the
identification of the parts of speech
(remember “Use”).
You must connect grammar to relevant
texts (mentor texts).
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
What do the “experts” say
about grammar instruction?
In order for students to understand style (in
both reading and writing), they need to have
a basic understanding of grammar rules and
syntax (structure).
Understanding comes from reading, explicit
instruction, writing opportunities, and
feedback.
Mere identification will not prove that a
student understands and applies the rules of
grammar.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
A few concepts taught well and a few
pieces done well can be much more
important for a student writer’s growth
than many concepts and lessons taught
superficially and many pieces of writing
assigned without much guidance.
~Constance Weaver
Grammar to Enrich and Enhance Writing
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity #1:
Questionnaire
What have I done to teach this grammar or
mechanics pattern?
Have I thoroughly shared many correct models of
the skill, both visually and verbally?
Have I modeled the grammar and/or mechanics
pattern in my own writing?
Have I modeled how to correct these errors?
Have I allowed the students enough time to
practice?
Is this mechanical or grammatical error important
enough that it demands all of this work?
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Non-negotiable facts about
teaching grammar and mechanics:
Teachers MUST teach the grammar and
mechanics students need to know.
Teachers MUST NOT merely mention the
grammar and mechanics rules.
Teachers MUST NOT merely correct
students’ errors in grammar and
mechanics.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
What do we mean by Conventions?
Conventions are not merely rules for
punctuation, capitalization, etc., but also
include the following:
STYLE (Style is basically the way you write as opposed to what you write about, though
the two things are definitely linked. It results from things like word choice, tone, and
syntax. It's the voice readers "hear" when they read your work.)
SYNTAX (The grammatical arrangement of words in sentences.)
VOCABULARY/WORD CHOICE
SPELLING
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity #2
What do I teach?
Look in your participant’s guide and locate the
“Conventions” list.
In a small group or with a partner who teaches
the same grade you do, study the standards and
elements of the grade level that is before and
after the grade you teach.
Note the similarities and differences.
Share your discoveries with your group.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Why Learning Conventions is a
Challenge:
Students don’t see the power of
conventions.
Teachers are always searching for the best
way to teach conventions.
Educators are often reluctant to
encourage risk taking.
Schools often put too much stock into
programs.
~Ruth Culhum, 6 + 1 Traits of Writing
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement." Kathy Cox,
State Superintendent of Schools
What is the best method to
teach conventions?
The best way to teach conventions is by
example.
Examples used may be mentor texts or
the student’s own writing.
Use skill-focused lesson books wisely to
help fill in the gaps discovered about
students’ weaknesses.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
What the research says:
Research does not support claims that the
separate teaching of grammar:
Will improve the quality
or accuracy of students’
writing.
Will help form the mind
by promoting “mental
discipline.”
Will help students score
better on standardized
tests that include
grammar, usage, and
punctuation.
Will help people learn the
grammar of another language
more readily.
Will help people master the
socially prestigious conventions
of the spoken and/or written
language.
Will help people become better
users of the language---that is,
more effective as listeners and
speakers, or as readers and
writers.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Culham, 2003
How to teach conventions:
1. Assess to get a good picture of what students know
and what they still need to learn.
2. Teach the skills that are developmentally appropriate
according to the GPS.
3. Allow for plenty of practice, time to experiment, and
opportunities to apply the new skills in writing.
4. Begin to hold students accountable for specific skills on
future writings.
ALL OF THIS SOUNDS SO SIMPLE, RIGHT? IN TRUTH,
THIS IS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT WORK! THE SECRET
COMES IN FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
“Teaching skills in the context of students’
personal writing is far better than teaching
them in isolation.”
Ralph Fletcher
Author of Craft Lessons:
Teaching Writing K-8
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
What is the power of
conventions?
Students should see conventions as a tool to
make their meaning clear and to help the reader
understand what they are saying.
When readers know to pause or stop at
punctuation, it’s like a nod of the head.
When readers see and understand accurate
spelling, it’s like a big smile.
When readers see capitalization used correctly,
it’s like having direct eye contact.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Have students combine sentences: Start
simple by inserting adjectives, adverbs, etc.
Have students imitate model sentences.
Have students practice using reference tools
like charts, organizers, etc., in their
classrooms and reading/writing notebooks.
Have students practice with partners and
independently.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Provide students with guidance and feedback via
small/flexible group instruction and student/teacher
conferencing.
When giving feedback, look for patterns of errors.
Also, be specific about what the child is doing well
(reinforcement).
Have students assess themselves and/or partners
according to a checklist.
At times, children will take a piece through the
publishing process, which includes revising and
editing.
"We will lead the nation in improving student achievement." Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Have the students apply whatever approach
you use to their own writing and to their
reading.
Have students identify and examine how
their favorite writers manipulate sentences;
have the students emulate their favorite
writers, using the exact same style.
Have students use newspapers and their own
writings as sources for grammar examples
and exercises.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Assessing for Conventions
Consider two approaches:
1. A holistic approach
2. Grade-level expectations
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Good, Everyday Practices for
Teaching Conventions:
Wait!
Set aside editing time.
Ask why.
Model.
Keep writing tools handy.
Get ‘em, one by one.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
When teaching conventions,
remember:
Students should understand that editing and
revising are different.
Teachers should expect correctness, but only
according to appropriate developmental level
and age.
Teachers should value experimentation right
along with correctness. Remember, it’s a
balancing act.
Teachers must be patient. Learning to use
conventions well takes time and practice.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Be Spontaneous!
1.
2.
3.
4.
Setting the stage:
Students are working on rough drafts.
Teacher is walking around the room, giving
praise and answering questions.
Teacher notices something special on a
student’s paper.
Teacher spontaneously borrows the student’s
example and teaches a mini-lesson on that
particular thing.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Example of a Spontaneous
Lesson:
Using Action Phrases in Description:
1. You have noticed that a student, after clustering ideas
for a descriptive writing, has spontaneously produced
some –ing modifiers and has incorporated two of them
into one sentence.
**Sample sentence: I felt the wind going through the trees
like ice cream melting in the summer.
2. You write the sentence on the board and interject a
brief mini-lesson showing the other writers how they
too can use similar action phrases in their description.
3. Encourage students to emulate this technique.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity #3:
Rate the three lessons
Locate the activity, “A Tale of Three
Lessons.”
Read each lesson, and rank the lessons
from the best example to the weakest
example using the provided worksheet.
Locate some professional examples from
your own mentor texts that support your
favorite lesson.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Be a Sentence-Stalker
Always be on the lookout for great mentor
texts: sentences, paragraphs, essays,
articles, advertisements, and novels.
(Vicki Spandel, 2005)
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Why do students struggle with
word choice?
Too often, language is used to exclude
Vocabulary is usually taught in isolation
Students get “word drunk”
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity for Description
A list of activities for sharpening
descriptive powers is listed in your
participant’s guide: “Activities for
Sharpening Descriptive Powers.”
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Why is searching for just the
right word so important?
Mark Twain once said, “The difference
between the right word and the almost
right word is the difference between
lightning and a lightning bug.”
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activities
In your participant’s guide, you will find
two separate activities to support word
choice:
1. Activities for Using Exact Language
2. Activities for Choosing Colorful Words
and Phrases
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
The Three P’s Approach to Teaching
Grammar
Positive
Productive
Practical
“Teaching grammar to enrich and enhance writing is
teaching grammar as possibility. We see it as positive,
offering options rather than focusing on errors; as
productive, especially in the sense that it produces
effective sentences and paragraphs that flow; and as
eminently practical.” Constance Weaver, 2008
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity #4:
12 Principles Supporting the Three P’s
In your participant guide, you will find a
list of 12 principles.
Look at these twelve principles, and label
them as true or false.
You will have five minutes to construct
your responses.
I will ask for volunteers to share
examples.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Working with Models
from literature
from a previous or current student
1. Share a model
created by the teacher in advance
composed by the teacher on the spot
teacher
2. Create another model
teacher and students together
(pg. 63, Grammar to Enrich
"We will lead the nation in improving student and Enhance Writing,2008)
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Daily Practice: Using Mentor
Sentences to Develop Concepts
This practice promotes quick, daily
instruction and practice.
It is best carried out at the beginning of
class.
The time should take no more than ten
minutes.
A shared experience with grammar and
mechanics is provided daily.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Use of Mentor Text:
Tips from Mechanically Inclined
Use mentor text during reading, writing,
or skills time (for modeling in the minilesson, work time, or closing).
Teach one thing at a time (be focused).
Have students analyze in reading time and
apply during writing time.
Have students keep a reading/writing
notebook.
Provide visuals and scaffolding.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Teaching Conventions with
Mentor Text
Teachers model appropriate use of
conventions using mentor text(s).
Using mentor texts allows for explicit and
intentional teaching.
Students can see “rules” in the context of
real literature.
Students will be more likely to experiment
with this same language in their own
pieces.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity #5:
Using Mentor Sentences
Locate the pages for examples of mentor
sentences in grades 6-8.
Follow along as we quickly review the
examples.
Working with a partner or in a small
group, find additional mentor sentences
within the books you brought that will
support the elements of the conventions
domain.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
How do we teach students to
avoid sentence fragments?
Share common language: incomplete
sentence, non-sentence, intentional
fragment
Teach the two-word sentence strategy:
Subject + verb = sentence.
Examples of Mentor Text:
They race. (p. 5) Jerry Spinelli, Loser
He sprung. (p. 128) Stephen King, Cujo
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
What about Run-on Sentences?
Students need to understand the differences
between dependent and independent clauses.
Students need to understand that information
should not flow breathlessly but should instead
be placed into meaningful chunks of details that
flow smoothly.
Studying mentor sentences is an excellent
method of teaching students the craft of
avoiding run-on sentences.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Sample student run-on error:
Something that makes me happy is my
friend Destiny she doesn’t try to act all
cool and she is just goofy like when she
dances she don’t care about what nobody
says and she just dances and laughs and
doesn’t worry so she is a lot of fun to
hang with because she makes me laugh
and we can go to the mall and walk
around she is not shy so we always get to
meet guys.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Analysis of the problem…….
The writer has a lot to say about her
friend, Destiny. Furthermore, the writer is
almost breathless in putting her thoughts
down on paper. It is quite possible that
the writer does not understand the
meaning of a simple sentence. She needs
strategies to help her put into manageable
chunks all of the details that are so easily
flowing whenever she writes.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Prepositional Phrases to the
Rescue!
If students continue to have problems
with run-on sentences or identifying the
subject and verb of a sentence, giving
them information about prepositional
phrases may help.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity # 6:
Just how important are prepositions when we
write?
Think of a room in your home.
You will have five minutes to describe the room
as clearly as possible.
Focus on the location of the room, the décor of
the room, the placement of the furniture in the
room, etc.
YOU MAY NOT USE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES!
Share your writings with the members of your
group.
What did you discover?
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity #7: How Important are
Prepositional Phrases?
Look at the example piece on prepositional
phrases.
One volunteer in the group should read the first
passage aloud.
Another volunteer should read the 2nd passage
aloud.
Discuss what happens when the prepositional
phrases are omitted.
How important are prepositional phrases?
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
How do we teach manageable
chunks?
Students need to discover the secrets for
adding information to sentences without
creating sentences that run-on.
Students need to understand dependence
first.
Next, students need to learn that a
sentence earns its independence when it
stands on its own.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Independent vs. Dependent
Students must understand the difference
between an independent clause and a
dependent clause.
Support this idea with examples of
sentences from mentor texts.
Analyze the parts of the sentences.
Locate the dependent clause/s and the
independent clause/s.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity # 8
Creating Mind Movies
Students close their eyes.
Teacher reads the sentence and asks the
students to see it in their minds.
Teacher guides the students to see the parts of
the sentence as they act like a camera, gliding
across a scene and giving a close-up of the
details.
Look at the sentence again. Students will
emulate sentences of their own using commas
to separate and hold together the groups of
words.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Dangling Modifiers
Modifiers “dangle” when it is not clear
what they describe.
Modifiers usually need to be near the idea
(noun) they are meant to describe or
modify.
Correctly placed modifiers make sentences
clear and help combine several ideas or
actions into one thought.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Example of Dangling Modifiers
in student writing:
Student Error:
Barking like a burglar was breaking in, I
checked on the dog.
Mentor Text:
Barking furiously, Cujo gave chase. (p. 18)
Stephen King, Cujo
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Confusion is the result of
misplaced or dangling modifiers:
In Anguished English (1989), Richard
Lederer shows how confusion is evident
due to misplaced modifiers:
Yoko Ono will talk about her husband, John
Lennon, who was killed in an interview
with Barbara Walters. (p. 150)
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
An activity for preventing dangling
modifiers: Play with Sentence Parts
Students will close their eyes and practice visualizing sentences.
The teacher will provide a scene for them to visualize, such as: “Close your
eyes and picture a dog approaching you.” Once they have a “picture” in
their minds, the teacher will write a sentence. Example: The dog
approached me.
Next, the teacher will instruct the students to add action, pictures, or sound
to the sentence.
A list will be created and posted.
Then the students will close their eyes again, and the teacher will read the
list of words. Example: “Barking, scowling, snarling, the dog approached
me.” The teacher repeats the sentence a few times.
Next, the class will move the –ing words to the end of the sentence and
discuss which is liked better.
Finally, the class adds an –ing clause, such as “wagging its tail.”
This activity allows students to move sentence parts around and see the
possible placement patterns while discovering the differing effects and
"We will lead the nation in improving student achievement." Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of
punctuation.
Schools
Double Negatives:
Read the passage in your participant’s guide
from Katherine Paterson’s novel, Bridge to
Terabithia.
Answer the following questions about the
author’s use of double negatives:
What do we know about the characters of
Momma and Brenda as a result of Paterson’s use
of the double negative?
When is it ok to use formal language as opposed
to informal language?
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State Superintendent
of Schools
Sneaky Negative Words
barely
none
hardly
nor
not
neither
never
nobody
nothing
nowhere wouldn’t
didn’t
can’t
won’t
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity # 9
Punctuation Activity
In a small group, read the copy of What Jamie
Saw without any punctuation to guide your
reading.
Add whatever punctuation you think is
necessary.
Share the different versions with the other
groups in the room.
Look at the original text with the punctuation
and discuss the different versions.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Follow up on What Janie Saw…
When asked to explain why Coman would
play with sentences and fragments the
way she did, one middle school student
said it best, “This piece couldn’t be written
in regular sentences. What’s happening
here is so horrible that it could only come
out in gulps.”
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Those Confounding Commas….
When do we need them?
~To join two independent clauses
~To separate equally linked words or
phrases
~To separate dependent clauses from the
rest of the sentence
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
COMPOUND SENTENCES
Compound sentences show links or
connections between two ideas.
Students will use a compound sentence in
speaking correctly long before they show
mastery of its use in their writing.
Compound sentences result when each
independent clause on either side of the
conjunction has its own subject and verb.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
A Student’s Misconception
Conjunctions words are words that
ALWAYS have a comma in front of them.
Example of Student Error:
John, and Sam ran to Piggly Wiggly,
and purchased candy bars for their
friends.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
The Remedy…..
Students must see why the sentence
does not need the commas.
The teacher may want to discuss the
pattern of a simple sentence.
The following visual pattern will be
helpful:
SENTENCE , conjunction sentence.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Commas after Introductory
Elements:
When a sentence begins with a phrase or
a clause, use a comma to help the reader
understand how the sentence parts make
sense of the intended message.
Certain words can signal writers that a
comma may be needed after the opener:
after, since, if, when.
Participles in the first word position also
need commas.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Sample Mentor Texts for
Introductory Elements
When I saw the woman, she reminded me
of a bird. Though her hair was white with
age, she walked with small, quick, lively
steps. (p. 13) Laurence Yep, The Star
Fisher
Holding his hat against his chest and
Tarfufo’s leash with one hand, he knocked
on his office door with the other. (p. 6)
E.L. Konigsburg, The Outcasts of 19
Schuyler Place
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of
Schools
Sample Mentor Text for Adding
on without Running On
They handle the BB gun carelessly, trading it
back and forth, each slinging the barrel over his
shoulder like a hunter in a frontier television
show. (p. 1) Winter Birds by Jim Grimsley
Abraham was growing fast, shooting up like a
sunflower, a spindly youngster with big boney
hands, unruly black hair, a dark complexion, and
luminous gray eyes. (p.11) Lincoln: A Biography
by Russell Freedman
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activities for Constructing Better Sentences
See the handout in your Participant’s
Guide:
“Activities for Constructing Sentences that
Enhance Meaning”
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
The Bionic Mnemonic
*AAAWWUBBIS
(Ah-whoo-bus)
This large mnemonic helps students
remember the subordinating conjunctions:
after, although, as, when, while, until,
because, before, if, since.
~*Jeff Anderson, Mechanically Inclined, p. 91~
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Ban the Daily Correct-all Activities
According to Jeff Anderson, Mechanically
Inclined, middle school students don’t
need proofreading practice to capitalize
the first word of a sentence or to put a
period at the end of a sentence. Their
errors emerge when they struggle to shift
gears from the informal communication of
their world to the more formal or standard
language expected in academic writing.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Less Skill and Drill, More
Authenticity
Save the worksheets for intervention,
remediation, and homework.
Worksheets alone should not be the primary
resource for the writing instructional time.
Integrate the conventions within the context
of genres/content writing.
There will be more transfer and application of
the skills because of student relevance.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Clauses, clauses, clauses
Middle school students must recognize
adjective clauses, adverb clauses, and
noun clauses.
Students must incorporate clauses into
their writing in order to improve syntax.
Students must be familiar with the rules of
clauses.
Students must be able to distinguish
between a clause and a phrase.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Activity #10
Accessing the Information
Using the handouts on Adjective, Adverb,
and Noun clauses, locate sentences in
your mentor texts that match the
examples given.
You may use the worksheet provided.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
20 most common errors in order of
frequency (Connors & Lunsford)
No comma after
introductory element
Vague pronoun reference
No comma in compound
sentence
Wrong word
No comma in nonrestrictive
element
Wrong/missing prepositions
Comma splice
Possessive apostrophe error
Tense shift
Unnecessary shift in person
Sentence fragments
Wrong tense or verb form
Subject-verb agreement
Lack of comma in a series
Pronoun agreement error
Unnecessary comma with
restrictive element
Run-on or fused sentence
Dangling or misplaced
modifier
It’s versus its error
"We will lead the nation in improving student achievement." Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Sample Editor’s Checklist
CHECK:
Capitalization
Homophones
Commas
Pronouns
Apostrophes
Subject-verb agreement
Double negatives
Dialogue
What could get its own
list:
Capitalization
Word wall of homophones and
frequently misspelled words
Compound sentence patterns
Complex sentence patterns
Serial comma patterns
Pronouns
two-word sentences
Verb tense
Dialogue rules
"We will lead the nation in improving student achievement." Kathy Cox, State Superintendent
of Schools
An Example: The Three Little
Pigs by Paul Galdone
Conventions that are in this book include
Quotation Marks
Compound Sentences
Phrases
Commas to Show Pause
Varied End Punctuation
**This is not an all-inclusive list of
conventions.
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Suggested Mentor Texts for
Minilessons
Nouns
A Cache of Jewels by Heller
Merry-Go-Round by Heller
Your Foot’s On My Feet by Terban
Adjectives
Guinea Pig ABC by Duke
Many Luscious Lollipops by Heller
Feet by Parnall
The Widow’s Broom by Van Allsburg
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
Suggested Mentor Texts for
Minilessons
Verbs
The Night Thief by Allen
The Big Squeeze by Brown
Things I Like by Browne
Kites Sail High by Heller
Watch Me by Ann Mazer
Jiggle, Wiggle, Prance by Noll
Source: Fayette County, KY Public Schools
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools
What’s next?
Most important point: Teach the standards
and elements.
Remediate when necessary.
Use reading and writing as the basis for your
conventions instruction. (This will improve
the students’ learning in so many areas.)
Make conventions an important part of your
integrated curriculum.
Balance is the key!!!
"We will lead the nation in improving student achievement." Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
ELA Contact Information
Kim Jeffcoat, Education Program Specialist, K-12 Literacy
kjeffcoat@doe.k12.ga.us
404-656-0675
Mary Stout, ELA Education Program Manager
mstout@doe.k12.ga.us
Malaika Jartu-White, Teacher on Assignment
Malaika.jartu-white@doe.k12.ga.us
"We will lead the nation in improving student
achievement." Kathy Cox, State
Superintendent of Schools