Curriculum Center: Help with Grammar

Have fun with language! One book is never enough to explore the wide range of verbs! In this follow-up to To Root, to Toot, to Parachute, the crazy cats deliver loads of additional examples to illustrate the power of both action verbs and linking verbs.

What is a verb? It's easier to show than explain! In this fun and animated introduction to grammar, rhyming verse is used to creatively clarify the concept of verbs.

A companion book for the It's Hard to be a Verb story book by Julia Cook. Use as a supplementary teacher's guide with the storybook. Full of discussion questions and exercises to share with students. Worksheets and activities may be reproduced for a specific group or class.

Provides an introduction to verbs. Includes an activity.

Woven through the western town of Ravenous Gulch, the story leaves a cast of many hopping mad. However, just as things look bleak, transitive and intransitive verbs turn the tables and take Bullfrog on another adventure.

Takes a funny and imaginative look at verbs - or action words! Tracy Traynor shows young readers the words in action with fantastic illustrations by a popular author-illustrator team. This fun and educational book also includes a helpful list of synonyms.

Explore language and discover how to identify verbs and their many forms from the imperative mood to active vs. passive voice to verb phrases.

Even frustrated grammarians will giggle at the who's-on-first routine that begins with a donkey's excited announcement, "I yam a donkey!" Unfortunately the donkey's audience happens to be a yam, and one who is particular about sloppy pronunciation and poor grammar.

Victor is training for a race, but he doesn't know his friend Vivian is also training to run in the race! While studying for their test on verbs, Vivian and Victor use several verbs to describe the upcoming race, and soon Victor guesses Vivian's secret! Concepts covered include: basic definition and usage of verbs; action and being verbs; past, present, and future tense; progressive tense; irregular verbs; main verbs; and helping verbs.

Enthusiastic young students make their way from band room (Rattle! Boom! Twang!) to the gym (Whiff! Whack! Swish!) to the science lab (Hiss! Spurt! Ding!) and beyond. Brief back matter offers additional examples of onomatopoeias.

Make some noise for the most fun alphabet book you'll read this year! A lively, engaging read aloud just right for toddlers and preschoolers.

If you were onomatopoeia, you would be a word that sounds like the action it describes. You could CRASH, BOOM, or BANG! What else could you do if you were onomatopoeia?

Brimming with onomatopoeia and Walt's affirming chants, this sweet picture book shows that when it comes to strength, size doesn't matter.

Everybody in the red brick building was asleep. Until . . . WaaaAAH! Rraak! Wake up! Pitter patter STOMP! Pssheew! A chain reaction of noises wakes up several children (and a cat) living in an apartment building. But it's late in the night, so despite the disturbances, one by one, the building's inhabitants return to their beds--this time with a new set of sounds to lull them to sleep.

When four swamp creatures looking to cross a river come upon a log that would allow for precisely that, they can't believe their luck. But a questionable tail adjacent to that log gives them second thoughts.

What happens when musical instruments can't make the sounds we expect them to make? Is music still possible? An uplifting picture book based on a true story. The schools of Philadelphia were filling up with broken violins, drums, pianos, and more, making it difficult for students to learn to play. This sparked an idea for a symphony, played entirely with the broken instruments, that would raise funds to repair the instruments themselves. Musicians young and old volunteered, and their captivating performance showed that even something broken can sing--and that great music is always possible with a bit of inventiveness and improvisation.

If you were a homophone, you would be pronounced the same as another word, but you would have a different spelling and a different meaning. Learn the difference between these two tricky concepts.

Clever Aunt Ant has just moved to the zoo. Speaking in homophones, she describes the quirky animal behavior she sees.

Offers an amusing way to learn all about homographs through seventy riddle sentences in which the reader substitutes a homograph.

At once funny and informative, Yaks Yak presents animals acting out the verbs made from their names.

What is a conjunction? You'll find the answer inside this book--because it's chock-full of conjunctions!

If you were a conjunction, you would join other words or groups of words together. You could be spicy AND tasty OR sweet AND sour. What else could you be if you were a conjunction?

Learning about interjections and conjunctions is fun with this dazzlingly illustrated book from Ruth Heller's World of Language series.

What is an interjection? Oh, my! You'll find the answer inside this book--it's packed with interjections.

If you were an interjection, you would show strong feeling or emotion. WOW! YIPPEE! YIKES! WOOHOO! If you were an interjection, what else could you do?

"At a busy street market, kids eating ice cream exclaim, "Yum!" in English, "Geshmak!" in Yiddish, and "Nam-nam!" in Danish. But disaster strikes when a little dog overturns a spice cart, showering pepper on everyone's ice cream. Will the kids end up crying, "Hai hai," or cheering, "¡Yupi!"?

Cailyn and Chloe are writing a newspaper article. They decide to report on a block party in their neighborhood. Along the way, they use all kinds of conjunctions to tell the story. The girls explore an amazing buffet table, an exciting volleyball game, and a thrilling bouncy castle. Concepts covered include: basic definition and usage of conjunctions; coordinating conjunctions; correlative conjunctions; and subordinating conjunctions.

Iris is stuck writing a story. As Ian proofreads her story, he suggests using interjections to make her story more exciting. What emotions and emphasis will Iris add to make her story come to life? Concepts covered include: basic definition and usage of interjections; exclamation points; interjections in dialogue; multiword interjections; onomatopoeia; and other parts of speech used as interjections.

What is a palindrome? Read this book forward or backward to find out!

If you were a palindrome, you would read the same forward or backward. You could be a PUP, a MOM, or a DAD. Find other palindrome examples in this book.

"Madam, I'm Adam." Can you read this sentence backward? If you can, then it's a palindrome -- and this book is filled with them!

Bob has a problem. He's a palindrome. In fact, once he learns what a palindrome is, he starts finding palindromes everywhere: his little sis, Nan; his pup, Otto; even his Mom and Dad! It's making Bobfeel like a kook. Is there no escape?

In this imaginative picture book, young grammarians are introduced to prefixes.

Have fun learning language! What is a prefix? You'll find the answer inside this book--it's overflowing with prefixes.

Fast-paced, high-interest narratives built around sports- Featured part of speech highlighted in text- Sidebars define and explain parts of speech.

If you were a suffix, you would always be at the end of a word. You could make "tall" become the TALLEST. You could make "end" become ENDLESS. What else could you do if you were a suffix?

Turns traditional grammar lessons on end! Read and reread this book aloud and delight in the sense--and nonsense--of words. What is a suffix? You'll find the answer inside this book--it's overflowing with wonderful suffixes.

Yikes! Mr. Wright announces that word endings will be tackled after lunch. The suffixes written on Mr. Wright's board are in a tizzy. How can they defend themselves and prove that suffixes are helpful?

Have fun learning about language! In this fun-filled book, playful puns and comical cartoon cats combine to show, not tell, readers what prepositions are all about.

If you were a preposition, you would connect a noun or pronoun to other words in a sentence.

Through clever, rhyming text and boldly colorful illustrations, students and language lovers of all ages will enjoy exploring Ruth Heller's world of prepositions.

This garden is on the move! A good-time, rollicking celebration of things that grow. PEPPERS GROW UP. POTATOES GROW DOWN. PUMPKINS VINE AROUND AND AROUND. From seeds dropping into soil to corn bursting from its stalks, from children chasing butterflies to ants burrowing underground, everything in this vibrant picture book pulses with life in all directions!

Patrick and Paula look for their friends in the woods while using prepositions. Patrick and his older cousin, Paula, try to find people in a game of hideandseek. As they look, Paula helps him learn about prepositions. Each person they find has more information about prepositions. But where is the last person? Is she under the bridge? Behind a tree? In a pile of leaves? Concepts covered include: basic definition and usage of prepositions; prepositions of place and time; prepositions at ends of sentences; prepositional phrases; and objects of prepositions.

Something strange happened on an unremarkable day just before the season changed. Everybody who was outside . . . . . . went inside. Outside, it was quieter, wilder, and different. Inside, we laughed, we cried, and we grew. We remembered to protect the ones we love and love the ones who protect us. While the world changed outside, we became stronger on the inside and believed that someday soon spring would come again.

Out the door, down the stoop, past the neighbors, along the block ... Through tree-lined streets, onto a crowded subway car, into the classroom with friends, and finally, retracing her steps back home again.

"Two friends visit a candy shop and have treats while learning how to write poems that rhyme. This series can get young writers writing their own poems! Join in on the adventure as friends learn the basics of writing poetry and the use of rhyme, meter, alliteration, and other tools to write their own poems.

When Jack Prelutksy posted the first couplet of a funny poem on a Web site and invited children to finish it, he expected about 100 responses. He got thousands. Now he has come up with an anthology of poems on 10 popular subjects by well-known poets and combined it with his own poem-starts.

This imaginative collection of silly and sophisticated puns uncovers double meanings that are kind dove hiding in everyday phrases. a helpful pun-unciation guide is included on porpoise to help ewe give it a try!

One, two, here comes the crew! Three, four, here come more...   With three dump trucks, an itsy-bitsy skid steer, and a host of other equipment, there's a whole lot of building going on here!

Rufus and his canine friends put on a play of extended nursery rhymes in this book which helps build phonemic awareness. Hidden pictures on each page begin with the featured letter from the alliterative poems.

Sierra's funny read-aloud romp presents a monster that makes a goo-filled crust, lures hundreds and thousands of succulent flies into it, and invites his disgusting-ist friends and relations to a gala fly-pie party. Illustrations.

If you were a compound word, you would be two words in one. You could take a house and a boat and make a HOUSEBOAT. You could take a boat that rows and make it a ROWBOAT. What else could you do if you were a compound word?

What is a compound word? You'll find the answer inside this book--it's a stockpile of compound words!

If you were alliteration, you would be the same sound at the beginning of two or more words. You could be FANTISTIC FAMILY FUN FOR the FRANK FAMILY or COMPLETE COMIC CHAOS for the CASTER CLAN. What else could you do if you were alliteration?

When the Gumshoe Zoo's alarm alerts them, they learn Betty's Bakery has been burgled! But how? Something isn't quite right--and it's up to these determined detectives to figure out what! Alliteration abounds in this comic book caper featuring the Gumshoe Zoo, a detective agency facing the craziest crime ever committed: pilfered pastries.

What is alliteration? You'll find the answer inside this book--it's packed with wonderful and wacky words that start with similar sounds.

Opposite the simple declarative sentence, "Walter was worried" is a portrait of a very worried Walter. But wait! The letters that spell out his feelings form his facial characteristics, as well as his expression.

The wheels keep turning in Cycle City, and it's finally time for the annual Bicycle Bash, where one and all can ride their bikes indoors. Etta's been specially invited by her Aunt Ellen to attend!

Provides an introduction to nouns and proper nouns. Includes an activity.

What is a noun? It's easier to show than explain--and this book is brimming with examples. Author Brian Cleary and illustrator Jenya Prosmitsky creatively clarify the concept of nouns for young readers.

Perfect for introductory grammar lessons!

Tongue-twisting verses and rib-tickling illustrations make it fun to learn the correct plurals of more than ninety irregular nouns.

One book couldn't possibly be enough to cover the topic of nouns. The cats are back with their comical examples to drive home to readers just what a noun is. Specific types of nouns--such as abstract nouns and proper nouns--are also introduced in this giggle-a-page expansion on the topic.

Acclaimed writer Joan Holub and Caldecott Honoree Melissa Sweet team up in this hilarious and exuberant retelling ofLittle Red Riding Hood, in which a brave, little red pencil finds her way through the many perils of writing a story, faces a ravenous pencil sharpener (the Wolf 3000)... and saves the day.

Parents and children will love sharing this hilarious and imaginative read-aloud filled with clever word play and bright illustrations that introduce readers to the surprising world of collective nouns used to name some of your favorite animal groups.

What are irregular plurals? You'll find the answer inside this book--full of ponies, teeth, potatoes, and geese! Brian P. Cleary's whimsical rhymes and Brian Gable's comical illustrations team up to give helpful guidelines for forming plurals when the usual rules of adding s or es don't apply.

It's Field Day in Mr. Wright's class, and not just for the students. Nouns and verbs want to play their own games, such as tug-of-words and three-legged races. But wait! No one is getting anywhere. First nouns and verbs will have to learn about the kind of teamwork needed to make a sentence.

Nathan and Nicole visit to the Statue of Liberty. Nicole takes along her notebook and writes poems using all kinds of nouns. Nathan uses his camera to snap pictures of all the nouns he can see. But their teacher, Miss Gomez, has a mystery for them: how can you take a photo of a noun you can't see? Concepts covered include: basic definition and usage; common and proper nouns; possessive nouns; compound nouns; plural and collective nouns; irregular nouns; and concrete and abstract nouns.

With his hilarious wordplay and zany humor, Fred Gwynne keeps children of all ages in stitches!

Flash is a visitor to our world who is learning about the creatures of the ocean, but he has some big questions. Can you wish on a starfish? And saddle a sea horse? Flash's computer shows him pictures to explain the possibilities, but something about them is a bit fishy. So his new friend Jack offers to help, and happily paints a clear picture of each confusing creature for Flash in his trusty notebook.

From a bare bear to a foul fowl, this collection of original riddles will keep children laughing as they learn.

Confused by the different meanings of words that sound alike, a little girl imagines such unusual sights as "a king who rained" and "the foot prince in the snow."

What are comparatives and superlatives? After reading this book, you'll have a much clearer idea and will be the best at forming these descriptive words!

Adjectives are words like hairy, scary, cool, and ordinary. Adjectives like frilly, silly, polka-dotted, fizzy, and spunky are printed in color, and all the words will tickle you pink!

Have fun learning language! One book is never enough to explore the wide range of amazing adjectives!

Explore language and discover how to identify and create many different types of adjectives, from demonstratives to articles to proper adjectives.

Discover the colorful, brilliant, dazzling life of an adjective! In this imaginative picture book, young grammarians are introduced to these busy words that describe nouns.

Soft kittens, wooly socks, soggy mittens, fleecy flocks--this pictorial celebration of things tactile explores how what we touch touches us.

Austin and Alex have adjective homework. On a weekend camping trip, they practice using their best adjectives. They watch the yellow flames of their hot campfire and eat the yummiest s'mores. But what happens when the stinkiest skunk stops by their campsite? Concepts covered include: basic definition and usage of adjectives; comma use; comparative adjectives; placement in the sentence; predicate adjectives; and superlative adjectives.

Adverbs tell us when and how. Like, quickly, do your homework now! Bursting with adverbs, this addition to the Words Are CATegorical® series creatively clarifies the concept of adverbs for young readers.

Provides an introduction to adverbs. Includes an activity.

What is an adverb? It's hard to explain but easy to show--and that's just what this book does, in rhyming, comical verse that will have readers giggling as they learn.

'Using expansive color drawings and catchy rhymes, Heller writes about words frequently and vividly and with an unmistakable flourish... A clever introduction.'

Andrew and Allen are taking notes about animals at the zoo. They use adverbs to describe where, when, and how the animals move, eat, sleep, and play. Do the giraffes graze gracefully? Does the bear sleep peacefully? Concepts covered include: basic definition and usage of adverbs; comparative adverbs; adjective modifiers and other adverbs; recognizing adverbs; spelling: -ly, -ily, -ely; and superlative adverbs.

If you were a synonym, you would mean the same thing, or almost the same thing, as another word. You could be BIG, HUGE, or GIGANTIC. What else could you be if you were a synonym?

Have fun learning language! "Word-Nerd" Brian P. Cleary and highly-acclaimed illustrator Brian Gable collaborate to clarify the concept of synonyms for young readers.

Have fun learning about language! One book is never enough to explore the wide range of synonyms!

Just when you thought it was safe to read an early reader . . . SHARK! This fun Step 1 book about two sharks is a study in opposites.

"What's the opposite of the beginning?" A sensible question to ask when opening a book that teaches the reader about opposites. But maybe we should start with something a little easier?

FAST or SLOW, HOT or COLD, or RIGHT or WRONG! Discover the life of an antonym.

Fun with language! What is an antonym? You'll find the answer inside this book--it's all about antonyms!

In this follow up to Stop and Go, Yes and No, the zany (not ordinary) cats deliver loads of additional examples to illustrate the power of these opposites.

Are you as clever as a fox? Or perhaps you're as sharp as any spike? If so, this book will be a piece of cake!

Rufus the fox is up to something. He runs across the meadow as fast as lightning, sneaks up to Babette like a thief in the night, and roars like a lion. Babette, mad as a hornet, chases Rufus all over town. But is Rufus being chased or is he actually leading Babette to a surprise destination? Rufus sure is crazy--crazy like a fox!

A fresh take on a familiar saying, perfect for the first rainy days of spring.

This collection of similes from A to Z is as zany as a chigger chased around a stump. It includes rib-tickling folk expressions from Americans of all walks of life and all parts of the country in a bodacious tribute to both our country's diversity and pioneer heritage.

What's a contraction? You'll find the answer inside this book it's brimming with contractions!

Alfie the Apostrophe is nervous. Can he make it into the punctuation-mark talent show? There's plenty of competition. Question marks tell riddles; exclamation points do cheerleading routines. Worse yet, the director has mistaken Alfie for a comma!

If you were a contraction, you would be a shortened form of two words put together. You would change "it" and "is" to IT'S and "could" and "not" to COULDN'T. What else could you do if you were a contraction?

These are oxymoron's, common expressions made up of two completely contradictory words or elements.

If you were a pronoun, you would take the place of a noun. You could be HE, SHE, HER, OR HIM. You could be EVERYONE or ANYONE. What else could you be if you were a pronoun?

Perfect for introductory grammar and language arts lessons! What is a pronoun? How do you use it? Do you say, "These candies are for him and me"-or "he and I?" Explore language and discover how to use pronouns and their many forms from personal to reflexive to demonstrative.

Pronouns serve as a familiar starting point for kids and grown-ups to expand ideas about gender and celebrate personal expression with fun imagery that provides a place to meet and play. A go-to place to help keep the conversations alive, break down assumptions of who is “she” or “he” and expand beyond the binary to include “they” and more.

Phillip has pronouns homework, and his sister Penny is ready to help. Phillip is practicing pronouns at the pet shop as the two pick out new pet hamsters. Which hamster will he pick? Will they find hamsters to love? How many pronouns can Phillip use? Concepts covered include: basic definition and usage of pronouns; demonstrative pronouns; first, second, third person; interrogative pronouns; possessive pronouns; reflexive pronouns; and singular and plural pronouns.

Commas love taking breaks. In fact, they want everyone to take breaks! Follow along and learn all about commas.

What are comparatives and superlatives? After reading this book, you'll have a much clearer idea and will be the best at forming these descriptive words!