Grammar Keepers

A popular workshop presenter and winner of NCTE's James Moffett Award in 2010, Gretchen Bernabei has been teaching kids to write in middle school and high school classrooms for more than thirty years. In addition to four other professional books and numerous articles for NCTE journals, she is the author of National Geographic School Publications' The Good Writer's Kit, as well as Lightning in a Bottle, a CD of visual writing prompts.

Acknowledgments Introduction: What's a Keeper? Part I. Common Errors Lesson 1. They're Lesson 2. There Lesson 3. Their Lesson 4. Too Lesson 5. Two Lesson 6. To Lesson 7. It's Lesson 8. Its Lesson 9. You're Lesson 10. Your Lesson 11. Who Lesson 12. Whom Lesson 13. Who's Lesson 14. Whose Lesson 15. We're Lesson 16. Were Lesson 17. Where Lesson 18. Our Lesson 19. Are Lesson 20. Then Lesson 21. Than Lesson 22. A Lot Lesson 23. Already Lesson 24. All Ready Lesson 25. All Right Lesson 26. Less Lesson 27. Fewer Lesson 28. Lie Lesson 29. Lay Lesson 30. Should've Lesson 31. Used to Lesson 32. Me/I Lesson 33. Subject/Verb Agreement Lesson 34. Accept Lesson 35. Except Lesson 36. Loose Lesson 37. Lose Lesson 38. Affect Lesson 39. Effect Part II. Punctuation Lesson 40. Apostrophes-Contractions Lesson 41. Apostrophes-Possessions Lesson 42. Apostrophes-Plurals Lesson 43. No Apostrophes-Plurals Lesson 44. No Apostrophes-Verbs Ending in s Lesson 45. Commas in a Series Lesson 46. Commas in a Letter Lesson 47. Commas in Appositives Lesson 48. Commas After Beginning Phrases/Clauses Lesson 49. Commas Before Ending Phrases/Clauses Lesson 50. Commas With Direct Address Lesson 51. Commas in a Date Lesson 52. Commas Between City and State Lesson 53. Quotations-Question Marks Inside Lesson 54. Quotations-Ending in Punctuation Lesson 55. Hyphenated Adjectives Lesson 56. Colons Lesson 57. Punctuating Dialogue-Chicken Dance Part III. Capitalization Lesson 58. Proper Nouns Lesson 59. Proper Adjectives Lesson 60. Letter Closings Lesson 61. First Words in Sentences Lesson 62. First Words in Quotations Part IV. Spelling Lesson 63. Silent E Lesson 64. Words Ending in y Lesson 65. Words Ending in Consonants Lesson 66. I Before E Lesson 67. Ce/Ci/Ge/Gi Part V. Fragments Lesson 68. Two-Word Sentences Lesson 69. Sentence Wringer-Psst! Statement Lesson 70. Sentence Wringer-Is There a Verb? Lesson 71. Joining Sentences Legally Lesson 72. Joining Sentences Illegally Lesson 73. Sentence Wringer Practice Lesson 74. Paragraph Overhaul Lesson 75. AAAWWWUBIfication Part VI. Pitchforking Lesson 76. Pitchforking Actions Lesson 77. Pitchforking Nouns Lesson 78. Pitchforking Using Ba-Da-Bing Lesson 79. Pitchforking Using Exclamations Lesson 80. Pitchforking Using Descriptions Lesson 81. Pitchforking Using Sounds Lesson 82. Pitchforking Using Smells/Tastes Lesson 83. Pitchforking Using Contrasts Lesson 84. Pitchforking Using Participial Phrases Lesson 85. Pitchforking Using Absolutes Part VII. Parts of Speech Lesson 86. Nouns Lesson 87. Verbs Lesson 88. Adjectives Lesson 89. Adverbs Lesson 90. Pronouns Lesson 91. Prepositions Lesson 92. Conjunctions Lesson 93. Interjections Lesson 94. Sentence Patterns Part VIII. Beyond Verbs Lesson 95. Direct Objects Lesson 96. Indirect Objects Lesson 97. Gerunds Lesson 98. Participial Phrases Lesson 99. Infinitives Lesson 100. Predicate Nominatives Lesson 101. Predicate Adjectives Appendix

"Students and teachers need accessible ways to talk about and use grammar. In Gretchen's trademark style, she gets these ever-important conversations started and keeps them going. This book is a keeper." -- JEFF ANDERSON, author of Revision Decisions and Everyday Editing "Gretchen Bernabei is a force as a teacher and an important mentor for using grammar instruction to help students become better writers. Gretchen has always bridged teaching the mechanics of language with authentic reading and writing because, as she says in this practical, straightforward book, 'We only have time for the best authors, the best poetry, the best ways of living, the best ways to learn the most valuable things.' . . . This is a smart book to add to your collection of professional resources." -- PENNY KITTLE, author of Write Beside Them and Book Love "Gretchen Bernabei presents teachers with a buffet of concrete strategies to help student tackle grammar within the context of their own writing. Grammar Keepers provides teachers and their students with easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes ranging from the simple concepts of grammar to more advanced structural understanding of writer's craft." -- TIM MARTINDELL, Ed.D, President, Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts