Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms: How do they differ?
In the very first lesson of the very first level of Fix It! Grammar: Level 1 Nose Tree, students are asked to select the correct word from among three homophones: there, their, and... read more
Stylistic Techniques: The www.asia Clause
Of the stylistic techniques, the last dress-up to be introduced to students is the www.asia clause. Like the because clause dress-up, the www.asia clause is a dependent (subordinate) clause. By definition, a clause... read more
Teaching Writing Can Be Easier Than You Think! Podcast Episode 277
In June IEW presented its second annual Online Writing Conference. Attended by people from all around the world, the conference offered education and support for teachers, administrators, parents, and students. In this week’s... read more
Stylistic Techniques: the Quality Adjective
During the section of video instruction on key word outlines in Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, Andrew Pudewa relates parts of speech to describe people’s personalities. Verb people are those students who love... read more
Stylistic Techniques: More about the Strong Verb
In a blog post last week, I introduced the strong verb dress-up. The third dress-up to be introduced, the strong verb constructs a clearer visual image of the action in the reader’s mind.... read more
Stylistic Techniques: The Strong Verb
In the Structure and Style sequence, the strong verb is the third dress-up to be introduced, sandwiched between the who/which clause and the because clause. Strong verbs replace their more bland siblings and... read more
Stylistic Techniques: The -ly Adverb
In the stylistic techniques progression, the -ly adverb is the first dress-up that students encounter. An adverb modifies either a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. These words answer the questions how, when,... read more
Stylistic Techniques: The Who/Which Clause
After students learn how to insert a -ly adverb, the next stylistic technique they learn to construct is a who/which clause, a type of adjective clause. In grammar, a clause has two parts:... read more
Plurals: Plain and Piquant
When adding a plural suffix onto a base word, often the plain vanilla approach works just fine. You have two options: -s or -es. Determining which one to apply is generally a simple... read more
Meet the Mighty Morpheme!
In addition to teaching Structure and Style writing to co-op classes and individual tutored students, I also work as a reading and spelling tutor, employing a structured literacy approach. To say that I... read more
Compose or Comprise? A Dictionary Investigation
Which words correctly fill in the blanks? Fifty states ________________ the Union. (compose, comprise) The Supreme Court typically ______________ nine justices. (composes, comprises) Do you know the answers? If not, you’re in good company. Truth be... read more
Homophones, Homographs, and Homonyms: How do they differ?
In the very first lesson of the very first level of Fix It! Grammar: Level 1 Nose Tree, students are asked... read more
Stylistic Techniques: The www.asia Clause
Of the stylistic techniques, the last dress-up to be introduced to students is the www.asia clause. Like the because clause dress-up,... read more
Teaching Writing Can Be Easier Than You Think! Podcast Episode 277
In June IEW presented its second annual Online Writing Conference. Attended by people from all around the world, the conference offered... read more
Stylistic Techniques: the Quality Adjective
During the section of video instruction on key word outlines in Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, Andrew Pudewa relates parts of... read more
Stylistic Techniques: More about the Strong Verb
In a blog post last week, I introduced the strong verb dress-up. The third dress-up to be introduced, the strong verb... read more
Stylistic Techniques: The Strong Verb
In the Structure and Style sequence, the strong verb is the third dress-up to be introduced, sandwiched between the who/which clause... read more
Stylistic Techniques: The -ly Adverb
In the stylistic techniques progression, the -ly adverb is the first dress-up that students encounter. An adverb modifies either a verb,... read more
Stylistic Techniques: The Who/Which Clause
After students learn how to insert a -ly adverb, the next stylistic technique they learn to construct is a who/which clause,... read more
Plurals: Plain and Piquant
When adding a plural suffix onto a base word, often the plain vanilla approach works just fine. You have two options:... read more
Meet the Mighty Morpheme!
In addition to teaching Structure and Style writing to co-op classes and individual tutored students, I also work as a reading... read more
Compose or Comprise? A Dictionary Investigation
Which words correctly fill in the blanks? Fifty states ________________ the Union. (compose, comprise) The Supreme Court typically ______________ nine justices. (composes, comprises) Do... read more
