Essential Grammar Skills Book:
Why, What, & How to Teach: A Structural Approach

This comprehensive book presents teachers and students in grades 3-12 with instruction in the foundational aspects of grammar. It uses that knowledge as a scaffold to improve and expand writing skills and reading comprehension. It focuses on an understanding of basic parts of speech with multi-sensory activities. Generalization and review of previously learned skills are an essential part.

A critical part of the book is understanding the six functions of nouns. This foundational knowledge leads to extended instruction in verbals (gerunds and infinitives) and practice with subordinate clauses as nouns. The basic understanding of adjectives and adverbs is followed by practice in identifying and using adjective/adverbial clauses.

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The five main sections of the book include:

• Parts of Speech

• Mechanics

• Sentence Structure

• Usage

• Correcting Sentence Problems

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These sections are connected in a logical and sequential way with each piece of knowledge leading to a more sophisticated understanding of the grammatical structure of the English language. Each section includes many opportunities for students to use what they have learned to write better sentences. In addition to improving writing skills, this knowledge helps students deconstruct complex sentences when reading to improve overall comprehension.

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An answer key and suggestions for improved sentences in the writing activities are included.