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Grammar Keepers: Lessons That Tackle Students′ Most Persistent Problems Once and for All, Grades 4-12
Your best offense against the state assessments
No matter what state you teach in, you can be certain that grammar is being tested . . . frequently and across the grades! The biggest issue? Most of our grades 4-12 students continue to make the same old errors year after year. Grammar Keepers to the rescue, with 101 lessons that help students internalize the conventions of correctness once and for all. Bernabei’s key ingredients include
No matter what state you teach in, you can be certain that grammar is being tested . . . frequently and across the grades! The biggest issue? Most of our grades 4-12 students continue to make the same old errors year after year. Grammar Keepers to the rescue, with 101 lessons that help students internalize the conventions of correctness once and for all. Bernabei’s key ingredients include
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 13, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 18, 2017
Another useful grammar book of lessons.
May 29, 2017
Gretchen Bernabei, a fellow San Antonio teacher, is one of my go-to girls in any aspect of the art of teaching writing. Grammar seems to be an especially strong link with her, and as luck (or bad fortune) would have it, a self-proclaimed weak link of mine. Though I have clear curriculum, I feel that my kids need more bones in their soup o'knowledge. Bernabei, ever the master chef, has written a book that is appropriate for a wide range of ages but that all of our writers need. Clear. concise language guides both the newbie as well as the (ahem) seasoned teacher toward mastery of such hit or miss issues with common errors (they're there, their for ex), punctuation, captitalization, spelling, fragments, pitchforking (s-v splits), parts of speech and going beyond verbs. The companion website, along with the hard copy resources in the back of the text are helpful to place in the back of a reader's/writer's notebook. My only complaint is that though the text is thick, it could be cut down by half by eliminating the student "Practice It" pages on each right hand side of the page. I personally don't need to see how some of her students (Maggie Davis, in particular) wrote out five examples of a sentence wringer in her journal writing for two extra star points. However, with 20 years behind me, that's my opinion; the newbie teacher might find it useful to have his or her hand held so delicately. I would suggest placing those pages in the companion website to save those trees should there be another reprinting...
June 30, 2018
This book will be a great tool in my classroom next year. I struggled this year getting students to understand grammar out of context (surprise, surprise), so I've been looking for a way to incorporate grammar instruction into their own writing with journals. This book has some great tricks to let kids take ownership of understanding their own writing, but I think some of the examples aren't "enough". The prepositions, for instance, rely on students knowing what a preposition is, which is half the battle of learning them, so having students identify them in their own writing will still take some work. But other examples that provide sentence frames or logical proofs for students to use look very promising!
July 17, 2017
Simple ways to practice grammar in real-life writing context. Excited to use this!
April 24, 2016
Book #26 of 2016
I actually finished this a while back, and I am just not sure when. Also, I somehow managed to pass my halfway mark on my yearly goal! And it's only April. Perhaps I should re-evaluate.
Grammar Keepers is an excellent resource to any ELA teacher. The first part is the most illuminating as that is where Bernabei outlines the theories behind her practices. I have been struggling to determine how to include regular journaling in my classroom and make writing a natural process for students while grading them on some grammatical elements and just completing the work in general. Bernabei's ideas are applicable to any classroom. It's not overly intense; in fact, it is downright manageable. She has those solutions that you just couldn't quite think of on your own.
Bernabei's entire theory is to make the intricacies of grammar more visual for students-- always a plus in my book. She has helpful charts and ideas for multiple easy trip ups. After the first bit, the rest of the book is composed of mini-lessons. I love that she includes dialogues to have with students (which is where I have had the most success teaching grammar) and examples from popular YA literature with each lesson. Definitely using this as a resource.
However, I am still trying to determine how to sequence different grammatical skills. I don't think it is necessary for me to teach every single comma rule in one go. In fact, I hope to find a way to theme grammatical tools by their uses rather than their punctuation. I am still looking for a book that can help me get there!
I actually finished this a while back, and I am just not sure when. Also, I somehow managed to pass my halfway mark on my yearly goal! And it's only April. Perhaps I should re-evaluate.
Grammar Keepers is an excellent resource to any ELA teacher. The first part is the most illuminating as that is where Bernabei outlines the theories behind her practices. I have been struggling to determine how to include regular journaling in my classroom and make writing a natural process for students while grading them on some grammatical elements and just completing the work in general. Bernabei's ideas are applicable to any classroom. It's not overly intense; in fact, it is downright manageable. She has those solutions that you just couldn't quite think of on your own.
Bernabei's entire theory is to make the intricacies of grammar more visual for students-- always a plus in my book. She has helpful charts and ideas for multiple easy trip ups. After the first bit, the rest of the book is composed of mini-lessons. I love that she includes dialogues to have with students (which is where I have had the most success teaching grammar) and examples from popular YA literature with each lesson. Definitely using this as a resource.
However, I am still trying to determine how to sequence different grammatical skills. I don't think it is necessary for me to teach every single comma rule in one go. In fact, I hope to find a way to theme grammatical tools by their uses rather than their punctuation. I am still looking for a book that can help me get there!
August 14, 2015
Read the entire book in one coffee shop visit! With a page full of notes and plans, I am already ready to implement Grammar Keepers into my high school English classes this fall. I'm even going to make my yearbook students complete the lessons.
I teach in a techie paperless classroom with 1:1 Chromebooks, but I am also an avid paper journal keeper. I am going to use the paper notebooks to give my students their own private writing platforms and even a little old school handwriting practice.
I'm really optimistic and feel like I finally found a way to easily improve my students' writing!
I teach in a techie paperless classroom with 1:1 Chromebooks, but I am also an avid paper journal keeper. I am going to use the paper notebooks to give my students their own private writing platforms and even a little old school handwriting practice.
I'm really optimistic and feel like I finally found a way to easily improve my students' writing!
July 24, 2016
Easy to follow; I like this set up and feel like students will respond well to the lessons. I also love how the lessons demonstrate proof that the grammar choices are correct. Within just a couple of hours, I had plenty of notes taken and the system set up for use in my classroom. Can't wait to see the results!
July 10, 2015
Yes! Finally a book with practical suggestions and not just theory.
July 16, 2015
I'm going to try this method of combining grammar instruction with journal writing in my classes next year.
January 3, 2016
I love this resource !
June 7, 2016
I am going to implement a form of this next fall.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews