I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9

1.   Read chapter 10.

2.   Write a news story about a current, historical, or imaginary event. Incorporate the punctuation marks highlighted by you and your teacher on the Punctuation Checklist.

3.   If you need to be convinced of the importance of punctuation marks, read Lynn Truss’s picture books Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Twenty-Odd Ducks, and The Girl’s Like Spaghetti.

4.   Watch this video for fun.

5.   Practice punctuating with commas by completing the interactive exercises or handouts for Commas at www.chompchomp.com.
 
I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

1.   Read chapter 9.

2.   Choose a handful of words that you tend to misuse. Use each one in a sentence. Then explain how you can remember proper usage in the future.

3.   Choose a category (i.e. animals, food, desserts, etc. ). Write a list of nouns, beginning with every letter of the alphabet (i.e. aardvark, bear, cat…) on Nouns from A to Z. Add the correct article (a or an) in front of each one. If you don’t want to think through the alphabet again, you can use your list from You’re Mighty Possessive (column 1 or 2). You’re welcome. : )
 
Grammar in context is explained beautifully in this teacher's reflections on a punctuation lesson. She includes a handout, so you can use the idea with your students, too!
 
I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7

1.   Read chapter 8.

2.   Go on a hunt for capitalized words in magazines, newspapers, junk mail, anything in which you can leave gaping holes. Cut out the words and categorize them on A Capital Idea. If they are a unit, like a book title or an address, leave them as a unit.

3.   Write a diary entry as though you are your favorite cartoon or comic book character. Use words from each category, either ones you make up or ones that are on your chart.
 
I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

1.   Read chapter 7. Do what she suggests, with one exception. Instead of writing a poem to fool a spell checker, you may write a short e-mail to a real or imaginary friend. Here is a silly message I sent to a friend which totally fooled my spell checker: Ewe just knead too no eye halve you're back.

2.   Choose three words that stump you when you need to spell them. Make a secret code, so they stump you no more.

3.   Choose ten of the word pairs on pages 76-84. Write a tongue twister for each pair, using both words correctly.
 
I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here, the lesson for chapter 1 here, and the lesson for chapter 2 here.

1.   Read chapter 3. 

2.   Complete You’re Mighty Possessive.

  • In the first column, list careers from A to Z (architect, businessman, carpenter…). Don’t worry if you can’t use every letter.
  • In the second column, list tools essential for each career (blueprints, briefcase, handsaw…). They don’t have to be alphabetical, unless you really want to challenge yourself.
  • In the third column, show that the tool belongs to an individual in that career (the architect’s blueprints, the businessman’s briefcase, the carpenter’s handsaw…).
  • Finally, in the fourth column, show that the tools belong to several individuals in that career (the architects’ blueprints, the businessmen’s briefcases, the carpenters’ handsaws…).

3.   Practice your possessives at www.chompchomp.com. Complete the handouts or interactive exercises for Apostrophes. Practice distinguishing it’s/its, they’re/ their/there, and whose/who’s in Word Choice.
 
I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here.

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

This one is short and easy!

1.   Read chapter 6.

2.   Using “The Respectables” list on pages 70-71, write a short dialogue between two people, one who always uses contractions and one who never uses them. What adjectives would you use to describe each of these people?
 
I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here, the lesson for chapter 1 here, the lesson for chapter 2 here, the lesson for chapter 3 here, and the lesson for chapter 4 here.

1.   Read chapter 5 and do what O’Conner suggests.

2.   English teachers don’t usually prefer students to begin sentences with “there is” or “there are.” See if you can figure out why. Write a couple of there is/there are sentences. Then revise them to remove there is/there are. Which ones do you think are stronger? Why?

3.   Write a list of “I wish” or “If I” statements. (Bonus: Write an “I wish” or “If I” poem. Adapt the “I wish” model just a bit, though. Begin each line with I wish I were. How can you revise the final line to make it fit this new format?)

4.   Write sentences to show the difference between the pesky look-alikes (60-61).
 
I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here, the lesson for chapter 1 here, the lesson for chapter 2 here, and the lesson for chapter 3 here.

1.   Read chapter 4 and do what O’Conner suggests.

2.   Watch Schoolhouse Rock’s Verb: That’s What’s Happening.

3.   I found the following paragraph explaining how to make a sandwich.

My favorite sandwich is a spicy roast beef delight, and making it is such a tasty adventure. Simply retrieve two slices of fresh one-hundred percent whole wheat bread, and spread spicy brown deli mustard and mayonnaise to the inside of each slice. You will then add three thick slices of roast beef to the bottom slice of bread, as well as red onions, two slices of tomato, and a slice of green leaf lettuce to the top piece of bread. Now, place the two slices of bread together completing this scrumptious sandwich. Finally, cut the sandwich in half and serve with a handful of your favorite chips as you enjoy this masterpiece.

Remove or cross out all verbs in the paragraph. Do you agree with O’Conner that “without a verb, there’s nothing going on”?

4.   Write a paragraph about your favorite birthday moment.  Copy and paste it twice. Change the first one to present tense. Change the second one to future tense.
 
I have written lessons to accompany Woe Is I, Jr., a grammar handbook for kids. You can read my introductory comments here, the lesson for chapter 1 here.

1.   Read chapter 2 and do what O’Conner suggests.

2.   Write five words for each plural ending (s, es, ies) which don’t appear on any of O’Conner’s lists. (You can do this informally or use the worksheet  here.)

3.   Write about a recent trip to a store. Make every noun plural.

4.   Practice your plurals at https://sites.google.com/site/easygrammar4kids/plurals