Between the Lines
literacy news @ manheim central | january 2016
Happy New Year and Welcome Back!
Grammar 101: The Comma Splice
Here's what a comma splice looks like:
The sinister First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire, it will not rest
until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.
COMMA SPLICE TOOLKIT
The sinister First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire.
It will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.
2. Conjunction Junction. Link the two clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS - For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So).
Pattern: MAIN CLAUSE + comma + coordinating conjunction + MAIN CLAUSE
The sinister First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire, and it will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.
3. Rely on a Semi. Link the clauses by inserting a semicolon between them (if and only if the two clauses are related to or contrast with one another)
The sinister First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire; it will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.
Pattern 1: MAIN CLAUSE + SUBORDINATE CLAUSE (no comma needed)
or
Pattern 2: SUBORDINATE CLAUSE + comma + MAIN CLAUSE
Because the sinister First Order has risen from the ashes of the Empire, it will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed.
Book Review: Reading Nonfiction - Notice & Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies
- What surprised you?
- What did the author think you already knew?
- What changed, challenged, or confirmed what you already knew?
Next, the Notice and Note Signposts help to draw the reader's attention to and think critically about claims the author is making. There are five signposts each with a corresponding chapter that provides an in-depth explanation, clues to the signpost, and model lessons/language for teaching it.
- Contrasts and Contradictions
- Extreme or Absolute Language
- Numbers and Stats
- Quoted Words
- Word Gaps
Finally, the Fix-Up Strategies include those for use before reading (Possible Sentences; KWL 2.0), during reading (Somebody Wanted But So; Syntax Surgery; Sketch to Stretch), and after reading (Genre Reformulation; and Poster). All the strategies require students to reread the text and talk about what they have read. These discrete skills - rereading and talking about text - are supported by ample research demonstrating their value in increasing reading comprehension.
IF YOU OR YOUR DEPARTMENT WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE STRATEGIES FOR NONFICTION TEXTS, I'M HAPPY TO COORDINATE A BOOK STUDY OR PROVIDE MORE TARGETED SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE.
*** The first reader to correctly identify the song title depicted in the Comma image above wins a copy of Reading Nonfiction: Stances Signposts, and Strategies by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst. Email your answer! ***
Shakespeare on U.S. Tour
The First Folio will tour all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and USVI. We are especially fortunate because the only tour location within Pennsylvania is right here in Lancaster County: Elizabethtown College will host the Folio tour from November 8 – December 5, 2016 at The High Library. Mark your calendars for a rare opportunity to see this historic text in person!
Raeshell Foster
Email: fosterr@manheimcentral.org
Website: www.manheimcentral.org/
Location: Media Center Room 2401
Phone: 717-664-8457
Twitter: @EDUraeshell