Jumpstart! Grammar

Synopsis

Fully updated to help teachers deal with the new 2016 Grammar Tests, this second edition presents a collection of simple to use, multi-sensory games and activities that will jumpstart pupils' understanding of grammar in action

It includes coverage of the subjunctive and past progressive, selecting which tense is the most definite, identifying when a word is used as a subordinating conjunction/preposition, explaining how a comma can change meaning, and an increased emphasis on the passive. Jumpstart! Grammar will prepare children for any grammar tests on the horizon in an engaging way so that they love playing with words and spinning sentences to make ideas dance. And, of course, they will be able to name the parts if that is what is required.

Fun games will focus first on helping children hear the difference various types of grammar can make followed by activities to help them understand what different effects you can create with grammar. Technical terms will only be introduced once the children have established what the various features can do, with a particular focus on those terms that really help children discuss what makes language coherent and effective.

This indispensable, practical book celebrates the joys of language and coherent expression; of finding just the right words or phrases to express what you want to say.

Summary

Chapter 1: Getting to Know the Parts of Speech

* Defines and identifies nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
* Example: In the sentence "The happy dog barked loudly," "dog" is a noun, "barked" is a verb, "happy" is an adjective, and "loudly" is an adverb.

Chapter 2: Subject-Verb Agreement

* Explains how to make sure verbs agree with their subjects in number and person.
* Example: "The students are studying" is correct because the subject "students" is plural and the verb "are" is also plural.

Chapter 3: Pronoun Antecedents

* Defines antecedents and explains how to make sure pronouns refer clearly to their antecedents.
* Example: In the sentence "The player hit the ball into the field. He ran after it," "player" is the antecedent of the pronoun "he."

Chapter 4: Verb Tense

* Introduces different verb tenses (present, past, future) and their uses.
* Example: "I walk to school every day" uses the present tense to describe an ongoing action.

Chapter 5: Adverbs

* Explains the different types of adverbs and their functions.
* Example: In the sentence "He walked slowly," "slowly" is an adverb that modifies the verb "walked."

Chapter 6: Prepositions

* Defines prepositions and explains how they show relationships between words.
* Example: In the sentence "The book is on the desk," "on" is a preposition that shows the relationship between "book" and "desk."

Chapter 7: Conjunctions

* Introduces coordinating and subordinating conjunctions and their uses.
* Example: In the sentence "I went to the store and bought some milk," "and" is a coordinating conjunction that connects two independent clauses.

Chapter 8: Sentence Structure

* Explains the different types of sentences (simple, compound, complex) and their components.
* Example: "The dog is sleeping" is a simple sentence. "The dog is sleeping and the cat is playing" is a compound sentence. "The dog is sleeping because it is tired" is a complex sentence.

Chapter 9: Clauses

* Defines independent and dependent clauses and explains their roles in sentences.
* Example: In the sentence "If it rains, we will stay home," "if it rains" is a dependent clause and "we will stay home" is an independent clause.

Chapter 10: Fragments and Run-Ons

* Explains the difference between sentence fragments and run-on sentences and provides strategies to correct them.
* Example: "The dog is running." is a sentence fragment. "The dog is running a long race and he is tired after that." is a run-on sentence.