From the Desk of WriteShop

The Confusing World of Homophones

“If your going too the movies, make sure you don’t by to many sweets.”

Your/you’re. By/buy. To/too/two. These often-confusing (and frequently misused) words are called homophones—words that sound the same but are spelled differently.

While the difference between its and it’s may not seem like a big deal to some, using these two little words—or any homophone—incorrectly can make us seem ignorant and uneducated. You see, whether or not they mean to, people often form first impressions simply by reading our writing. Isn’t this why our shelves brim with English references, grammar programs, and spelling books? It IS important to us that our children write as accurately as possible.

It’s never too late to teach the rules to your kids. And if you didn’t quite grasp these concepts during your own school days, it’s not too late to learn or re-learn the rules yourself.

All About Homophones

All About Homophones is an exciting new curriculum that will unlock your children’s understanding of these confusing word sets. Author Marie Rippel says:

“Teaching homophones can be tough! They sound the same, but they aren’t spelled the same, and they don’t mean the same thing . . . [All About Homophones] is a complete teaching tool kit that helps you demystify homophones and homonyms for students. They’ll learn and master spelling easily through interesting worksheets and games they love to play.”

One Book, Multiple Grades

Take time to teach your children about homophones so they’ll learn to correctly spell and use these word sets.

Because the worksheets are divided into sections by grade level, All About Homophones is perfect for teaching multple grades. One book includes reproducible worksheets for grades one through eight, making the program budget friendly too.

Lessons You’ll Love

The book includes a comprehensive list of common homophones and recommends which grade to introduce each one. And All About Homophones offers a variety of activities that appeals to different learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.

These aren’t your ordinary dull worksheets! Whimsical illustrations and engaging activities maintain your children’s interest while helping them make sense of each new set of words. Here are some of the ways your children will learn about homophones:

• Homophone Worksheets to reinforce reading and writing.
• Graphic Organizers to help teach the meanings of each set of words.
• Crossword Puzzles, Riddles, and Tongue Twisters to reinforce with fun and humor.
• Card Games with cards and instructions for playing several different games.
• Student Record Sheets
• List of Homophones
• List of Homophone-rich Books to read with your children

Click here to see sample pages from All About Homophones.

Now in the WriteShop Store

We’re always looking for top-notch products that reinforce writing, grammar, and spelling, so we’re excited to announce that All About Homophones is now in stock in the WriteShop store. Stop in and check out this great new resource. Teaching your children to use homophones correctly is one of the best gifts you can give them. Order yours today! 

Homophone Humor

If I haven’t yet convinced you of the importance of teaching homophones—or if you think your children can simply trust their spell-check to correct these troublesome words, you’ll want to read Owed to the Spell Checker. One of my favorite examples of homophone confusion, this humorous poem illustrates just how easy it is to mix up words that have similar sounds.

Like the idea of attending a homeschool convention?

Hate the thought of paying high registration fees, incurring travel expenses, and figuring out child care while you’re gone?

Then you’ll love the Schoolhouse Expo!

Schoolhouse Expo 2010

Whether you live internationally, rurally, or attend a local convention offered to your community, you won’t want to miss The Schoolhouse Expo.

Convenient. Sponsored by The Old Schoolhouse magazine, and featuring a stellar lineup of speakers, the Schoolhouse Expo offers all the perks of a homeschool conference—but without the hassle—including:

• Popular keynote speakers like Susan Wise Bauer, Diana Waring, and Todd Wilson
• Vendor booths
• Freebies
• Door prizes
• And so much more!

Flexible. Unable to listen to all the sessions live? The Schoolhouse Expo lets you choose! All sessions will be recorded. Plan to attend some sessions live, and then listen to any or all workshop audios at your convenience—all year long.

Practical. The Schoolhouse Expo will help your home and homeschool run more smoothly with suggestions, encouragement, and practical, how-to information. You’ll enjoy the fresh ideas, camaraderie, and affirmation that homeschooling works—all from a solid, Christian perspective.

Join WriteShop at the Expo

• Attend Kim’s workshop. As one of the featured speakers, I’m excited to share tips and ideas on Growing Your Child’s Writing Vocabulary. The live session will include a Q and A time.
• Visit WriteShop’s virtual vendor booth.
• Chance to win a WriteShop door prize: a $50 gift certificate

Early Bird Registration

Register early. Get some special perks—and a $5 discount if you register by March 31, 2010. Regularly $24.99, attendance is only $19.99. Take advantage of this limited-time offer by registering now—and I’ll see you at the Schoolhouse Expo!

“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.”

—James Michener 

Photo by Phil Hilfiker / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

First Place

We have our winners in last week’s haiku contest! I used random.org to select the first place winner, Cullen. Here’s his haiku poem:

The grasses are green
dew is sparkling here and there
earth’s morning beauties. 

Second Place

Second place goes to Andrew K., age 9, who wrote my personal favorite and won a World of Animals StoryBuilders card deck. Here’s his haiku about a yellow jacket:

buzz-black, yellow bug
in garden flying, eating
stinging all the worms

It was a tough choice because there were some very clever and well-written entries. But in the end, Andrew’s won out because he:

1. Followed the format.
2. Avoided “to be” words.
3. Made every word count.
4. Picked a nature theme.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Keep up with your haiku!

This past Sunday (February 28) marked the Jewish holiday of Purim. One of the most joyous days on the Jewish calendar, Purim is based on the Old Testament story of Esther.

Someone sent me this clever version of the Purim tale. Hope it brings a laugh to your day!

The World-Famous Story of Purim

by Meish Goldish

The story of Purim is an international tale.

King Achashverosh was Finnish with his disobedient wife Vashti.”You Congo now!” he ordered her. After she had Ghana way, the king’s messengers went Roman the land to find a new queen. And India end, the beautiful Esther won the crown.

Meanwhile, Mordechai sat outside the palace, where the Chile Haman would Czech up on him daily.

“I Haiti you because you refuse to bow to me!” Haman scolded Mordechai. “USA very stubborn man. You Jews are such Bahamas*! If you keep this up, Denmark my words! I will have all your people killed! Just Kuwait and see, you Turkey!”

Mordechai went into mourning and tore his clothes—a custom known as Korea*. He urged Esther to plead with the king. The Jews fasted for three days and grew very Hungary. Esther approached the king and asked, ‘Kenya Belize come to a banquet I’ve prepared for you and Haman?” At the feast, she invited her guests to a second banquet to eat Samoa.

The king asked, “Esther, why Jamaica big meal like this? Just tell me what you want. Unto half my United Kingdom will I give you.” Esther replied, “Spain full for me to say this, but Haman is Russian to kill my people.”

Haman’s loud Wales could be heard as he carried Honduran this scene. “Oman!” Haman cried bitterly. “Iraq my brains in an effort to destroy the Jews. But that sneaky Mordechai—Egypt me!”

Haman and his ten sons were hanged and went immediately to the Netherlands. And to Sweden the deal, the Jews were allowed to Polish off the rest of their foes as well. “You lost your enemies and Uganda friend,” the king smiled.

And that is why the Purim story Israeli a miracle. God decided to China light on His chosen people.

So now, let’s celebrate! Forget all your Syria’s business and just be happy! Serb up some wine and Taiwan on! Happy Purim!

*Behaimeh: (Yiddish) Animal, cow; ignorant drudge; when referring to a human being, means dull-witted
*Keriah: (Yiddish) Jewish custom of tearing one’s clothing after a death

. . . . .

Which one of these puns is your favorite? Share a comment and let us know!

We writing and grammar geeks can hardly contain ourselves as two fabulously nerdy events collide. Today, National Grammar Day meets Words Matter Week.

To celebrate this momentous occasion, I’d like to bring you a fun little way to teach your students to find and fix comma splices.

I know. Your enthusiasm—like mine—knows no bounds.

The Problem with Comma Splices

When a comma joins two independent clauses or sentences, it’s called a comma splice. 

Example 1: J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, he also wrote The Lord of the Rings.
Example 2: The bridge collapsed into the river, fortunately no one was injured.
Example 3: Maya arrived late, her car wouldn’t start.

These two examples demonstrate the typical comma splice. Since it’s one of the most common grammar errors, I encourage you to devote time to helping your students identify and learn to fix comma splices in their own writing.

Suzanne Cherry, director of the Swamp Fox Writing Project (South Carolina), finds that relating the concepts of punctuation and grammar to real-world experiences—in this example, through an intriguing demonstration involving electrical tape—helps students recognize and correct their errors successfully.

Cherry uses a unique object lesson to explain the comma splice error to her students. Showing the class two pieces of wire, each with the last inch exposed, she says: “We need to join these pieces of wire together right now if we are to be able to watch our favorite TV show. What can we do? We could use some tape, but that would probably be a mistake as the puppy could easily eat through the connection. By splicing the wires in this way, we are creating a fire hazard.”

Turning Wires into Sentences

The students usually come up with a better alternative: to use one of those electrical connectors that looks like the cap of a pen.

“Now,” Cherry suggests, “let’s turn those wires into sentences.”

She reminds her students that if they just splice them together with a comma—the equivalent of a piece of tape—it creates a weak connection, or a comma splice error.

The answer is to use the grammatical equivalent of the electrical connector: either a conjunction (and, but, or) or a semicolon. Either option “shows the relationship between the two sentences in a way that the comma—a device for taping clauses together in a slapdash manner—does not.”

[In addition to Cherry's suggestons, I would add that a period also makes an effective repair for a comma splice, as it separates the two independent clauses into distinct sentences.]

Here, our three example comma splices have been repaired:

Example 1: J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit. He also wrote The Lord of the Rings.
Example 2: The bridge collapsed into the river, but fortunately no one was injured.
Example 3: Maya arrived late; her car wouldn’t start.

“I’ve been teaching writing for many years,” Cherry says. “And I now realize the more able we are to relate the concepts of writing to ‘real world’ experience, the more successful we will be.”

Read more: Keeping the Comma Splice Queen Happy

Source: National Writing Project, 30 Ideas for Teaching Wriing.

Words matter. That’s this week’s theme, in honor of Words Matter Week.

Usually I devote the first and third Wednesday to bad signage: examples of signs, flyers, and advertisements containing humorous grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.

But because this is Words Matter Week, I’m going to treat you to ten of my favorites from the past year or so. In no particular order, here are the top candidates for the Bad Signage Award. I hope you’ll cast your vote in the comments section!

1. A flower grows in Brooklyn

2. Spelling suop

3. Apostrophes made to order

4. A true professional

5. The poster child of bad signage

6. This sign should be unortherized

7. Cheedear, anyone?

8. How to slip and fall

9. Risky business

10. Is your child perpared?

When we see mistakes like these, we’re doubly conscious of the way words matter. What a difference correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation make. They really can affect the way people interpret the written word.

Which one gets your vote? Leave a comment below!

Words Matter Week: Day 2

Words matter. And not just the words themselves, but also the grammar, spelling, and punctuation that make those words easier and more pleasant to read and understand.

In truth, no one particularly notices when a piece of writing is structurally sound and fairly free of errors. When the reader isn’t distracted by gross misspellings or misplaced apostrophes, he’s able to take in the words and thoughts in a simple, straightforward manner. That’s one reason it’s so important that we write with care—and teach our kiddos to do the same.

Does Casual Writing Have Its Place?

This isn’t to say that everything we write needs to be pressed through the “grammar sieve” to strain out every wayward punctuation mark or imprecise word. I’m all for casual writing in the appropriate context, such as a quick note left on the kitchen table or a slapdash email to a friend. And I truly understand typing errors we all make when our flying fingers transpose a couple of letters or we miss the “shift” key. 

But when a piece of writing–even a casual email or comment on a discussion board–contains pervasive errors, keyboard accidents can no longer be blamed. As an example, here’s a simple snippet from a blog comment I came across some time ago:

now i know its been WAY to long!! the only one I can reckonsie is Alvin and thats because hes a boy! I so need to come a visit ya’ll this summer and see the family, its been to meny years

Oh, dear.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

Our writing can reveal certain things about us. For example, what conclusions do you draw about this particular writer based on her one little writing sample? Is she kind? Friendly? Most likely. Educated? Careful? Attentive to detail? Probably not.

Granted, careless grammar doesn’t bother everyone. People who don’t use proper grammar and spelling themselves won’t know (or for that matter, care) whether you or your children use proper grammar and spelling.

But many people are pretty picky about such things—college admissions folks and employers among them. Your student’s writing may be judged and perhaps even rejected simply for failing to stick to conventions. Why?

• Valid arguments lose their credibility and impact when the text is riddled with typos and grammatical errors.
• Spelling errors and poor grammar can suggest that a job or college applicant is sloppy at best and ignorant or uneducated at worst.
• If an employee is not attentive to detail in emails, reports, or memos, the promotion may go to someone who is. 

Conventions? What Conventions?

OK, I admit it. It’s hard for me to write anything—even an e-mail—without editing and revising it a dozen times. I’m sure part of that comes from being a writer and an author of a writing curriculum. I feel like my writing is always under the microscope, even when it’s not.

This doesn’t mean everyone has to be that way. A quickie email to a good friend can have a bunch of sentence fragments and a misspelled word—and in that context, who really cares? But when writing is up for public scrutiny—even on a discussion board—and you hope to be taken seriously, you’ll want to give as much attention to convention as to content.

Find the Errors

Just for kicks, scroll back up to the writing sample and see how many errors you can find before you read my list below. There are a lot! Even better, ask your children to edit it. It would make a great lesson.

Here are the mistakes I found.

• now – should be Now (as in: Now, children, a sentence always begins with a capital.)
• i – should be I
• its – missing apostrophe (it’s)
• to – should be too
• !! – never use more than one exclamation point
• the – see #1
• reckonsie – should be recognize (as in: I almost didn’t recognize that word.)
• thats – missing apostrophe (see #2)
• hes – missing apostrophe (notice a pattern here?)
• a visit – and visit? for a visit?
• y’all – I’ll give her this one since it’s a casual note.
• comma splice – …see the family; it’s been too many years; or …see the family. It’s been too many years; or …see the family because it’s been too many years.
• its, to – see #2 and #3
• meny = should be spelled many (as in: Goodness! I’ve found so many mistakes.)

So . . . how’d you do? Did I miss anything?

The “Final Draft”

Here’s the gussied-up version—with proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation:

Now I know it’s been WAY too long! The only one I can recognize is Alvin, and that’s because he’s a boy! I so need to come visit y’all this summer and see the family; it’s been too many years.

The friendly sentiments shine through, don’t they? It’s like cleaning soot from a window. Instead of zeroing in on the grimy, dirty pane, we can focus on the cheerful scene beyond the glass.

Just as cleaning up grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors greatly enhanced the message above, editing and polishing our own writing can clear the way for our message too. So make it a point to teach your children proper writing conventions, because words—and the way we write them—matter.

. . . . .

Don’t forget to enter our Words Matter Week haiku contest. Deadline is Sunday, March 7, 2010.

Words Matter Week: Day 1

Every single day, almost without fail, the poetry lessons draw more folks to this blog than any other article (with the two most frequently accessed posts being Writing a Diamante Poem and Cinquain Poetry). 

This inspired me to launch right into Words Matter Week by introducing a brand-new lesson: how to write haiku (and offer a fun contest too)!

What Is Haiku?

Japanese in origin, haiku is not based on rhyme, but on a pattern of syllables. At three lines long, haiku is a poem of economy. Traditionally, only 17 syllables are allowed, so a finished haiku may end up being just 12 or 13 words long.

By its nature, haiku is concrete and concise, capturing a single moment in a mere handful of words. It’s a tall order to write a poem full of rich imagery, paint a picture in the reader’s mind, and leave an impression on a heart or soul—and do so with so few words.

Every word counts, and that’s why—perhaps more than any other poetry genre—haiku is especially fitting for Words Matter Week.

Writing Haiku: An Experience with Nature

Choosing a Subject for Your Poem

Haiku poems celebrate appreciation for beauty and nature. Plants, animals, water, weather, and seasons are often subjects of haiku. Powerful yet sensitive, these poems communicate a mood or tone without actually using words to describe feelings. 

Red and gold poppies
explode with fresh spring colors,
invading my yard.

Notice how this haiku expresses a crisp, springy, bright feeling. You can picture a tired winter garden coming to life. The words never actually say, “After a cold, colorless winter, I am so happy and cheered to see flowers again!” Yet this is the message the poem brings. 

In the darkest wood
with heads hanging mournfully,
weeping willows cry.

This poem gives a feeling of sadness, even though the words don’t tell you how the poet feels, or how you should feel. Notice how personification helps to communicate this tone. When writing your haiku, think about the emotions you want your reader to experience. Paint a picture with your words to express a mood.

Formatting Your Haiku Poem

Some poetry forms require the writer to follow a certain format, or structure. You may remember that cinquains and diamantes, for example, call for you to use an exact number of words within an exact number of lines. Haiku, on the other hand, requires you to carefully count syllables instead of words. This form of poetry always uses 3 lines and 17 syllables.

Line 1: 5 syllables
Line 2: 7 syllables
Line 3: 5 syllables

When counting out syllables, listen to the beat within a word, silently tapping it out on the table. Usually, a syllable is marked by a vowel sound. “Butterfly” has three syllables (but/ter/fly). The word “cocoon” contains two syllables (co/coon). The word “exuberantly” has five (ex/u/ber/ant/ly). “Flight” has only one (flight).

Because your entire poem is only 17 syllables, every single word must be carefully chosen to say exactly what you want to communicate. Rely heavily on a good thesaurus for terrific, specific words! Your thesaurus will also be useful when you need to find a synonym of more or fewer syllables that will fit better on a line of your poem.

What to Do if a Line Contains Too Few or Too Many Syllables

> Either leave out or add articles (a, an, the) to shorten or lengthen the number of syllables. Example: a six-syllable line must be shortened to five syllables.

A/ small/ frog/ trills/ loudly = 6 syllables
Small/ frog/ trills/ loud/ly = 5 syllables (drop the “a”)

> Use your thesaurus to find a similar word that will fit.

Suppose your haiku looks like this:

Thunder clouds follow me (6)
booming from behind (5)
the sky is so mad. (5)

Do you see how each line has too many or too few syllables? Let’s look at them one at a time.

Example: the first line of a haiku poem must be 5 syllables long.

Thun/der/ clouds/ fol/low/ me = 6 syllables (it’s too long – you need 5 syllables)

Now, look up follow in the thesaurus. Can you find a one-syllable word that will fit? (chase)

Thun/der/ clouds/ chase/ me = 5 syllables (this will work)

> Look for a word to drop.

Thun/der/ clouds/ fol/low = 5 syllables (just drop the “me”)

> Find a different way to say a similar thing. Often your thesaurus will help, but sometimes you just need to think! How can you express the same message while adjusting the number of syllables?

Example 1: The second line must be 7 syllables.

boom/ing/ from/ be/hind = 5 syllables (it’s too short – need 7 syllables)
bel/low/ing/ from/ a/ dis/tance = 7 syllables (use longer words)

Example 2: The third line must be 5 syllables.

the/ sky/ is/ so/ mad = 5 syllables

The number of syllables is correct—so what’s wrong with this line? Remember that you want to avoid “to be” words such as is, and empty words such as so:

the/ an/gry/ sky/ shouts = 5 syllables, OR
the/ black/ sky/ threat/ens = 5 syllables

While still expressing a “mad” feeling, these lines use more specific words that paint a fuller picture.

OK, here’s the finished haiku poem:

Thunder clouds chase me (5)
bellowing from a distance (7)
the angry sky shouts. (5)

Should haiku have a title? Typically not. If you think it needs a title to better explain the poem, do your best to work the title into the poem by removing and replacing words. Use your new syllable skills to help!

Copyright © 2010 Kim Kautzer. All rights reserved.

A Haiku Contest for Words Matter Week!

Now it’s time for you and your children to write some haiku! Everyone who posts a haiku poem in the comments section between now and March 7 will be entered in a contest.

• First Place: One winner will be chosen randomly to win your choice of a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card or a $20 WriteShop gift certificate.
• Second Place: I know it will be hard to decide on a winner, but I’m going to give second place to my favorite haiku poem. If there are too many “favorites,” I’ll draw from among them.

The Rules

1. Only one entry per person is allowed, so pick your best poem.
2. More than one family member may enter as long as each entry is separate and email addresses are different.
3. Your haiku must be formatted properly in order to qualify for a prize.
4. To win a physical gift, winner must have a U.S. mailing address.
5. I will notify winners on March 8. As soon as they’re confirmed, I’ll announce the winners on the blog.

Happy Words Matter Week . . . and happy writing!

~Kim

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

~Mark Twain

Words Matter Week Is Coming!

A whole week devoted to the written word . . . and I’m excited!

I confess that I’m a word geek. From playing word games like Scrabble, Boggle, and crossword puzzles to highlighting a passage of breathtaking prose, I have a thing for words (though if you’ve visited my blog more than once, you’ve probably figured that out).

The more I read and write, the more conscious I become of the power of words. Words really do matter.

• Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. ~Rudyard Kipling
• Death and life are in the power of the tongue. ~Proverbs 18:21a
• A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. ~Proverbs 25:11
• Poorly chosen words can kill enthusiasm, impact self-esteem, lower expectations and hold people back. Well chosen ones can motivate, offer hope, create vision, impact thinking and alter results. ~Nan S. Russell

Yep. Words matter.

And that’s why I’m looking forward to celebrating National Words Matter Week. Sponsored by the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors (NAIWE), this event focuses on the importance of words, particularly the written word.

How To Participate

Anyone with an interest in words and writing will enjoy participating in Words Matter Week, including educators, bloggers, writers, libraries, and homeschoolers nationwide. There are many creative ways to get involved. Here are just a few:

• In Our Write Minds: Check my blog every day during Words Matter Week for vocabulary-building and word game ideas, activities for parents and kids, helpful links, a contest or two—and some thoughts on why words matter.
• Words Matter blog: During March 1-7, you’ll find a daily blog challenge.
• Words Matter Week: Ideas that encourage participation from homeschoolers, schools, bloggers, libraries, churches, bookstores, and more.
• Words Matter Week on Facebook
• Communication FUNdamentals is running a weeklong contest March 1-5, 2010

So I hope you’ll join me next week as we have some fun together exploring why words matter!