Suggests the use of toys to help children learn to use prepositions. Also describes a group activity in which children work together to punctuate a piece of writing. (TJ)

A fifth grader wanted to know what he had to do to get all his ideas the way he wanted them in his story writing "and" have the spelling, punctuation and quotation marks correctly styled. His teacher encouraged him to think about writing as a process and provided the student with three steps as guidelines for effective writing. (Author/RK)

Offers a step-by-step guide to teaching elementary school children conventions such as punctuation, spelling, and grammar and includes a sample minilesson and 10 tips for teachers. An interview with author Donald Graves answers questions about teaching writing. (SM)

Written for children who are in the first four years of school, this handbook provides review and additional practice in language, grammar, and punctuation for students who may need such study. Younger children may need parental help in using the handbook, while older children may be able to read and understand the material for themselves.…

Intended for use by students at any level above grade one, this practice book is designed to familiarize students with the basic elements of a sentence. The practice book then proceeds to nouns and verbs, and then to capitalization and punctuation. The book is self-paced so that students may use it independently, and answers are provided for…

This workbook is designed as an introduction to the "Editor in Chief" series, which reinforces the rules of written English. In this workbook, student first review the rules of grammar and mechanics using multiple-choice questions; then the students learn to apply these rules in context by editing stories in a variety of formats. This "Beginning"…

Intended for use by students at any level above grade 2, this practice book helps students recognize and correct sentence fragments, edit sentences for subject-verb agreement, use nouns and pronouns correctly, use present and past tense, and capitalize and punctuate sentences and abbreviations. The book also introduces students to the correct…

Intended for use by students at any level above grade 4, this practice book sharpens students' knowledge of basic grammar skills. The book emphasizes combining and expanding sentences as well as checking written sentences for correct use of various parts of speech. The book includes a section on capitalization and punctuation. The book is…

Intended for use by students at any level above grade 5, this practice book helps students master fundamental grammar concepts and avoid grammar errors commonly made in speaking and writing. The book emphasizes correct sentence structure and clarity of expression. The book includes editing and proofreading exercises and a section on capitalization…

Intended for use by students at any level above grade 3, this practice book helps students use the parts of speech correctly in speaking and writing. The book reviews (1) the kinds of sentences; (2) the use of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, and adjectives in sentences; (3) capitalization and punctuation; and (4) proofreading. The book is…

The effects of sentence combining instruction on student writing skills (punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and syntactic maturity) and reading achievement were studied in eight-, nine-, ten-, and eleven-year-old children. The experimental group, which received instruction in sentence combining, consisted of 20 students from each age group.…

This book presents 15 essays that consider writing development from many different angles, creating a collage that focuses on how to help students develop into competent writers. The first section of the book consists of four chapters on how to support young writers. In the second section, the essays explore how a variety of issues influence…

Elementary school teachers acknowledge the need for better writing instruction, but seldom have time for it within their already crowded curricula. Writing instruction suffers from placing skills development before writing activities, from emphasis on reading, and because many teachers are not well prepared to teach writing. A low priority is…

Discusses nine orthodoxies, including the idea that spelling, grammar, and punctuation are unimportant, that decrease teacher effectiveness. (DF)

The writing skills item bank contain 82 objectives each represented by two writing prompts with criteria for holistic scoring. Grade levels covered are one through eight. The objectives deal with aspects of composition such as grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, logic, and creativity. The "items" are writing prompts to which the student…