This morning, through a fellow tutor at Jiskha, I found this amazing website. Its title is fairly mundane, but the approach is wonderful: straightforward and startling!
Learn about ENGLISH GRAMMAR and HOW TO WRITE BETTER NOW
There are subtitles and attention-grabbers such as these: "Write Better. Right Now." and "Stop. Writing. Junk."
Just use the different links in the section above the red stop sign to navigate the website. For example, this morning there was a question on Jiskha about the use of the article the. I looked in several of my other stand-by grammar websites, but I couldn't find anything that approached the student's particular question.
So now I have a new website to add to my list of grammar websites, and perhaps this one will be at the top.
Questions? Be sure to post them in the comments.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Thursday, April 05, 2007
How to use [sic]
Interesting error here - and it seems to be a common one whenever most people give it a try: the misuse of the abbreviation sic within brackets inside a quotation.
"A rousing round of complaints and emails later, Berry posted an apology on his blog. It says in part: 'When I’m wrong, I’m big enough to admit it. (sic) I was simply wrong.' "
Hmmm!
The abbreviation sic is to be italicized and used in brackets [ ] not parentheses ( ), for one thing. For another, it is to be used to indicate that the writer understands that the original speaker or writer (the quoted person) made an error. The bracketed abbreviation - [sic] - is then to be inserted immediately after the error. Is that what's going on here? I don't really know. There is an error there (the vague use of the pronoun it), but is that what she is recognizing? If so, her post should have read like this: A rousing round of complaints and emails later, Berry posted an apology on his blog. It says in part: "When I’m wrong, I’m big enough to admit it [sic]. I was simply wrong."
It would certainly be nice to be able to get inside this writer's head and find out what she thought she was writing! Maybe I'll ask her.
"A rousing round of complaints and emails later, Berry posted an apology on his blog. It says in part: 'When I’m wrong, I’m big enough to admit it. (sic) I was simply wrong.' "
Hmmm!
The abbreviation sic is to be italicized and used in brackets [ ] not parentheses ( ), for one thing. For another, it is to be used to indicate that the writer understands that the original speaker or writer (the quoted person) made an error. The bracketed abbreviation - [sic] - is then to be inserted immediately after the error. Is that what's going on here? I don't really know. There is an error there (the vague use of the pronoun it), but is that what she is recognizing? If so, her post should have read like this: A rousing round of complaints and emails later, Berry posted an apology on his blog. It says in part: "When I’m wrong, I’m big enough to admit it [sic]. I was simply wrong."
It would certainly be nice to be able to get inside this writer's head and find out what she thought she was writing! Maybe I'll ask her.
Penmanship -- who cares?
One recent type of assignment for my grandchild in fifth grade is to write his spelling/vocabulary assignments and quizzes in cursive rather than manuscript (printing). That’s an assignment that just blew him away at first, poor baby. I hadn’t realized that no one had ever taught him how to make the letters correctly, much less how to connect them smoothly. His major problem has been connecting letters that end high (such as the cursive o or v) with letters that begin on the line (such as the cursive s or r). He really struggled. Of course, I wrote words out for him and showed him how to make the letters and the connections, but for a child who has spent the past 4½ years printing, it’s been difficult. I went to the D’Nealian website and printed out a sample page. That helped greatly with the lower-case letters, showing the progression from manuscript to cursive. But the upper-case letters aren’t available on that particular website, so we practiced writing those ourselves. All the upper and lower case letters and printable practice sheets are available here and here.
My grandchild in first grade is being taught D’Nealian manuscript (printing). I don’t know if that’s a conscious choice on the teacher’s part, but I’m very happy about it. She will have a much easier time transitioning to cursive than her brother is.
Who cares what children are taught in school? We all should. Obviously, just about all these children have and will continue to have access to computers, but throughout their school years, the legibility of their handwriting (manuscript or cursive) will matter. What my grandson needs to understand is that, if his teachers cannot read what he’s writing (or printing), they won't know what he really knows. In other words, if they can’t read it, it’ll be marked wrong.
To me, writing (cursive, that is) is much faster than printing. I know that to other people printing is all they’ve done, so it’s become quite fast. Others employ a mix of printing and writing, and for the most part it’s legible and fast. Still others have such poor results – printing or writing! – that about all we can do is hope they have access to computers for everything except signatures!
My grandchild in first grade is being taught D’Nealian manuscript (printing). I don’t know if that’s a conscious choice on the teacher’s part, but I’m very happy about it. She will have a much easier time transitioning to cursive than her brother is.
Who cares what children are taught in school? We all should. Obviously, just about all these children have and will continue to have access to computers, but throughout their school years, the legibility of their handwriting (manuscript or cursive) will matter. What my grandson needs to understand is that, if his teachers cannot read what he’s writing (or printing), they won't know what he really knows. In other words, if they can’t read it, it’ll be marked wrong.
To me, writing (cursive, that is) is much faster than printing. I know that to other people printing is all they’ve done, so it’s become quite fast. Others employ a mix of printing and writing, and for the most part it’s legible and fast. Still others have such poor results – printing or writing! – that about all we can do is hope they have access to computers for everything except signatures!
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Pronunciation and Spelling II
I wrote before about how the spelling lists for first and fifth grades in my grandchildren's school are organized primarily by similar sounds and/or similar patterns. I think we've had good success this year for two reasons -- spelling test scores are rarely under 100% for either child and (more importantly) once they learn something, such as the spelling of a word, they rarely forget it.
There was an exception last week. I thought we had it conquered, but I was surprised when my fifth-grade grandson missed a word on his test the previous Friday. He had misspelled families as famalies. Hmmm! So, of course, I asked him to say the word aloud, and sure enough! He pronounced it with an "a" sound in the middle of the word. So we talked about pronunciation again, and he seemed to have it straight. I know it was only one word, but it's a very common word, and he needs to know it as thoroughly as he knows his basic math facts. I doubt he'll make that mistake again.
All this also depends on what kids hear around them, too, outside their homes and outside the classrooms. In songs, for instance, I often hear the word heaven pronounced hea-vun. And in jest, I've heard (and seen in print!) the word whipped pronounced wupt! Some are funny; others aren't, but they're always fodder for helping kids learn the real pronunciation and therefore clean up their spelling.
Pronunciation is key for most words in English, thank heaven. If parents and teachers are good models for their children, they'll help in this language-acquisition process.
Don't forget: If you have questions about anything regarding your child's/children's English assignments, or just questions in general, don't hesitate to post them.
There was an exception last week. I thought we had it conquered, but I was surprised when my fifth-grade grandson missed a word on his test the previous Friday. He had misspelled families as famalies. Hmmm! So, of course, I asked him to say the word aloud, and sure enough! He pronounced it with an "a" sound in the middle of the word. So we talked about pronunciation again, and he seemed to have it straight. I know it was only one word, but it's a very common word, and he needs to know it as thoroughly as he knows his basic math facts. I doubt he'll make that mistake again.
All this also depends on what kids hear around them, too, outside their homes and outside the classrooms. In songs, for instance, I often hear the word heaven pronounced hea-vun. And in jest, I've heard (and seen in print!) the word whipped pronounced wupt! Some are funny; others aren't, but they're always fodder for helping kids learn the real pronunciation and therefore clean up their spelling.
Pronunciation is key for most words in English, thank heaven. If parents and teachers are good models for their children, they'll help in this language-acquisition process.
Don't forget: If you have questions about anything regarding your child's/children's English assignments, or just questions in general, don't hesitate to post them.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Like ... are you tired of it yet?
I know it isn’t news that the word like is terribly butchered and misused these days. I guess what pushed me over the edge is the latest self-promoting ad on The Weather Channel for their new special show called “Epic Conditions.” (It’s probably just as awful as their “It Could Happen Tomorrow” and “Climate Code” programs are!)
In that self-promoting ad, the word like is misused at least six times in less than six seconds! It just grates against my ears!!
So how should the word be used? The word like has more than one definition and use, just as many words in English do. At present, I think the best place to look up words, terms, and phrases is www.answers.com, so I went there and looked up like – and it tells me that this word can be correctly used as a verb, a preposition, an adjective, an adverb, and a noun. Phew!
As a verb: He really likes his steak and potatoes.
As a preposition: He is very tall, like his uncle.
As an adjective: Those three students have like interests in electronics. (meaning similar)
As an adverb: She drove like crazy to get her injured child to the doctor’s office.
As a noun: In describing a person, you can include her likes and dislikes.
If you go to the answers.com link above, take a look at the fourth definition under adv. You’ll find the word Nonstandard. This is the slang that shows up in our children’s and teenagers’ (and too many adults’) speech these days! If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard kids misuse this word, I’d be rich!!
“He said … and I was all like, ‘Wow!’”
I’m like gonna go into WallyWorld now. Bye!
She has like five shirts that are all the same.
Rich, I tell you!! I'd be like richer than Bill Gates!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Paragraphing
I ran across a strangely done blog post yesterday. [NOTE: At some point after I first wrote this, the blogger corrected the error. At first there were no paragraph indications at all; it was just one l-o-n-g paragraph! Now there are paragraph divisions, but (as is usual in blogging) the paragraphs are not developed fully, as they should be in academic papers.]
It's the first time I've seen a blog post or any news article which is not divided into paragraphs. It might have been a technical error on someone's part since other posts at this particular blog aren't like this. But it reminded me of an uncountable number of student papers I've seen over time -- one long paragraph! Every time I see something like this, my mind just shuts down. In my classes, I'd just hand the paper back with no grade and tell the student to rewrite it with the proper paragraphing. For a blog post, though ... I just can't read it!
How does one know when to begin a new paragraph? For an academic paper, the answer goes back to the pre-writing stage -- especially, the brainstorming and planning steps. If a student does complete brainstorming and then plans or organizes the ideas in the paper (in outline form, usually), the individual paragraphs will be indicated beforehand. The student will know when to begin the next paragraph if he or she is following the plan or outline.
What should a paragraph include? A decent guideline is about 6-9 or so sentences that focus on one sub-topic in the paper. It'll include a topic sentence, several supporting-detail sentences, and a conclusion/transition sentence.
There is no cut-and-dried formula to follow for every single paper, but the guidelines will work if the student learns them, follows them, and alters them to fit the ideas he or she is trying to make clear. The point is that everything in each paragraph demonstrates development of the main idea of the piece of writing.
Questions? About anything? Post your questions in the comments section.
It's the first time I've seen a blog post or any news article which is not divided into paragraphs. It might have been a technical error on someone's part since other posts at this particular blog aren't like this. But it reminded me of an uncountable number of student papers I've seen over time -- one long paragraph! Every time I see something like this, my mind just shuts down. In my classes, I'd just hand the paper back with no grade and tell the student to rewrite it with the proper paragraphing. For a blog post, though ... I just can't read it!
How does one know when to begin a new paragraph? For an academic paper, the answer goes back to the pre-writing stage -- especially, the brainstorming and planning steps. If a student does complete brainstorming and then plans or organizes the ideas in the paper (in outline form, usually), the individual paragraphs will be indicated beforehand. The student will know when to begin the next paragraph if he or she is following the plan or outline.
What should a paragraph include? A decent guideline is about 6-9 or so sentences that focus on one sub-topic in the paper. It'll include a topic sentence, several supporting-detail sentences, and a conclusion/transition sentence.
There is no cut-and-dried formula to follow for every single paper, but the guidelines will work if the student learns them, follows them, and alters them to fit the ideas he or she is trying to make clear. The point is that everything in each paragraph demonstrates development of the main idea of the piece of writing.
Questions? About anything? Post your questions in the comments section.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Non-words!
One of the funniest cartoons I've seen lately is "Dilbert," in yesterday's paper. Here's a link to it:
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20070107.html
I know that a living language is always going through changes of various kinds, as well as additions to the vocabulary. In recent years, most of the new vocabulary in American English has come from all the advances in science and computers that have occurred and still continue. However, when people make up words that aren't necessary, it really makes me laugh ... for a while anyway.
One of the most frequent errors that I heard for several years was the use of the non-word orientate. We already have the words orient (the verb) and orientation (the noun), but I guess some people didn't believe the verb could have fewer syllables than the noun!
Anyway -- enjoy the cartoon, and please don't go around making up non-words to confuse people!
Remember: The comments section is for any questions or comments you may have about English, especially if you are trying to help your child with his or her homework and you're up against a wall with it!
http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilbert-20070107.html
I know that a living language is always going through changes of various kinds, as well as additions to the vocabulary. In recent years, most of the new vocabulary in American English has come from all the advances in science and computers that have occurred and still continue. However, when people make up words that aren't necessary, it really makes me laugh ... for a while anyway.
One of the most frequent errors that I heard for several years was the use of the non-word orientate. We already have the words orient (the verb) and orientation (the noun), but I guess some people didn't believe the verb could have fewer syllables than the noun!
Anyway -- enjoy the cartoon, and please don't go around making up non-words to confuse people!
Remember: The comments section is for any questions or comments you may have about English, especially if you are trying to help your child with his or her homework and you're up against a wall with it!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Pronunciation and spelling
How much does a person’s pronunciation affect his or her spelling skills? I’d say a whole lot!! It’s interesting to watch these skills (listening, speaking, and spelling) in young children’s language development … and to note how these skills will probably affect them all their lives.
Here are some commonly mispronounced words in context:
~ My family use to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. <~~The verb should be used to; it's past tense, after all! But if the speaker doesn't hear the past tense, he won't spell it correctly.
~ We are suppose to visit my grandmother in June. <~~The verb should be supposed to; with the auxiliary (helping) verb are, the past participle should be used. Again, if a person doesn't hear it right, likely he won't spell it right either.
~ The story was about a drownded man. <~~The verb form should be drowned; since there is no such verb as "drownd," there can be no past tense or participle spelled "drownded"!!
There are umpteen more, but these are the most commonly butchered words I can think of at the moment. If you think of others and/or want clarification, be sure to let me know in the comments section below.
In first and fifth grades around here (Klein ISD in Texas), weekly spelling lists are phonetically organized. It’s fantastic. If there have to be spelling lists and tests, then having them organized in some logical or phonetic way is a good thing, I think.
In the process of working with my younger grandson on his spelling words each week, I’ve noticed that he has a much easier time than he did last year, even though this year's words are more difficult. Often they are vocabulary words, not just spelling words, so we discuss meanings and uses as well as any spelling issues he has. One week, he had words with the roots ped, port, and dic (pedestrian, import, dictate, etc.). He has learned how to put the words in his lists in “word families” and he studies them in this way.
The words my first-grade granddaughter has been studying are related and phonetic. Here’s one week’s list: much, inch, itch, lunch, such, bunch, munch, crutch, pitch, catch
Of course we had to discuss the meanings of munch and crutch, but she knew all the rest. Other lists she has been given are like this one – very logical, all words related in some aspect. In this way, she gains confidence and can sound out other words with these same sounds.
Excellent pronunciation is tied to good spelling since most English words are quite phonetic. It’s been obvious to me for decades; it’s becoming obvious to these two children also.
Questions? Please post any questions you have in the comments, whether you think it’s related to this topic or not.
Here are some commonly mispronounced words in context:
~ My family use to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. <~~The verb should be used to; it's past tense, after all! But if the speaker doesn't hear the past tense, he won't spell it correctly.
~ We are suppose to visit my grandmother in June. <~~The verb should be supposed to; with the auxiliary (helping) verb are, the past participle should be used. Again, if a person doesn't hear it right, likely he won't spell it right either.
~ The story was about a drownded man. <~~The verb form should be drowned; since there is no such verb as "drownd," there can be no past tense or participle spelled "drownded"!!
There are umpteen more, but these are the most commonly butchered words I can think of at the moment. If you think of others and/or want clarification, be sure to let me know in the comments section below.
In first and fifth grades around here (Klein ISD in Texas), weekly spelling lists are phonetically organized. It’s fantastic. If there have to be spelling lists and tests, then having them organized in some logical or phonetic way is a good thing, I think.
In the process of working with my younger grandson on his spelling words each week, I’ve noticed that he has a much easier time than he did last year, even though this year's words are more difficult. Often they are vocabulary words, not just spelling words, so we discuss meanings and uses as well as any spelling issues he has. One week, he had words with the roots ped, port, and dic (pedestrian, import, dictate, etc.). He has learned how to put the words in his lists in “word families” and he studies them in this way.
The words my first-grade granddaughter has been studying are related and phonetic. Here’s one week’s list: much, inch, itch, lunch, such, bunch, munch, crutch, pitch, catch
Of course we had to discuss the meanings of munch and crutch, but she knew all the rest. Other lists she has been given are like this one – very logical, all words related in some aspect. In this way, she gains confidence and can sound out other words with these same sounds.
Excellent pronunciation is tied to good spelling since most English words are quite phonetic. It’s been obvious to me for decades; it’s becoming obvious to these two children also.
Questions? Please post any questions you have in the comments, whether you think it’s related to this topic or not.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Homework Help Websites
There are many good websites out there at which students can receive homework help. Just about all of them are multi-subject although a few confine themselves to a specific subject area, such as math.
Here is a list of the ones I consider the best, as well as my reasons:
Jiskha – message boards – free – There is a cadre of teachers who answer questions here, along with many opinions (some good and some not) from other people. It’s easy to tell who is in the cadre identified by the website’s owner; they are the ones who can post links to websites!
PATH – message boards and live-help “rooms” – free – Again, there is a cadre of teachers who have been through an extensive background check and training. Some of these teachers focus on answering questions on the message boards; others volunteer their time in the live-help rooms. A new type of assistance is in the planning-and-testing stages: help via e-mail. I've read that’ll be available in January.
Tutor.com – live help – not free, but very good; all subjects.
And here are some that are all right, but rather cumbersome to use:
BJ Pinchbeck’s Homework Helper – click and find or conduct a search – free – no live help or message boards, but an extensive collection of links. Be careful of “broken” links, though! A few are quite outdated, and I don't think the links are double-checked often enough.
Homework help at Answers.com: Use the search bar at the top or find a category that you need in the list of links at the left.
There are many others. A search on Google for homework help can be useful! Most seem to be the click-and-find type (in other words, you look it up), but that assumes that you know what you’re looking for. Sometimes students don’t even understand their assignments; they need their assignments explained and then guidance to help them with content and writing.
Please post any questions you have in the comments -- whether you think they apply to this topic or not!
Here is a list of the ones I consider the best, as well as my reasons:
Jiskha – message boards – free – There is a cadre of teachers who answer questions here, along with many opinions (some good and some not) from other people. It’s easy to tell who is in the cadre identified by the website’s owner; they are the ones who can post links to websites!
PATH – message boards and live-help “rooms” – free – Again, there is a cadre of teachers who have been through an extensive background check and training. Some of these teachers focus on answering questions on the message boards; others volunteer their time in the live-help rooms. A new type of assistance is in the planning-and-testing stages: help via e-mail. I've read that’ll be available in January.
Tutor.com – live help – not free, but very good; all subjects.
And here are some that are all right, but rather cumbersome to use:
BJ Pinchbeck’s Homework Helper – click and find or conduct a search – free – no live help or message boards, but an extensive collection of links. Be careful of “broken” links, though! A few are quite outdated, and I don't think the links are double-checked often enough.
Homework help at Answers.com: Use the search bar at the top or find a category that you need in the list of links at the left.
There are many others. A search on Google for homework help can be useful! Most seem to be the click-and-find type (in other words, you look it up), but that assumes that you know what you’re looking for. Sometimes students don’t even understand their assignments; they need their assignments explained and then guidance to help them with content and writing.
Please post any questions you have in the comments -- whether you think they apply to this topic or not!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Problems in textbooks
Fortunately, most textbooks for English grammar/usage and writing are pretty straightforward and accurate. In fact, many of them seem fairly repetitive of others! Only the examples and exercises seem to change, while the same explanatory content is rolled out over and over. But sometimes there are problems.
Here's an example of a bad question in a textbook in current use somewhere in the US:
Which is a simple sentence?
1. Given the time of day, we were lucky to find a taxi.
2. Shelia used the lawnmower and Jacob drove the tractor.
3. Eventually she will.
4. Jennifer and Brian gave money to the orphanage.
Pity the unfortunate students (and their parents!) who have to deal with that one! In reality, there are three simple sentences and one compound sentence (with a comma missing!). But parents and students – and too many teachers – are very trusting when it comes to expecting errorless textbooks.
My suggestion to parents and students when facing things like this is not to answer it, but to ask the teacher the very next day about it. In this case, the student should point out the one compound sentence (#2) and ask which one of the others (all simple!) should be chosen.
If you have questions about anything, whether it's this topic or not, please post them in the comments.
Here's an example of a bad question in a textbook in current use somewhere in the US:
Which is a simple sentence?
1. Given the time of day, we were lucky to find a taxi.
2. Shelia used the lawnmower and Jacob drove the tractor.
3. Eventually she will.
4. Jennifer and Brian gave money to the orphanage.
Pity the unfortunate students (and their parents!) who have to deal with that one! In reality, there are three simple sentences and one compound sentence (with a comma missing!). But parents and students – and too many teachers – are very trusting when it comes to expecting errorless textbooks.
My suggestion to parents and students when facing things like this is not to answer it, but to ask the teacher the very next day about it. In this case, the student should point out the one compound sentence (#2) and ask which one of the others (all simple!) should be chosen.
If you have questions about anything, whether it's this topic or not, please post them in the comments.
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