Commas and Semicolons Worksheet

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Word of the Day: Cantankerous

Cantankerous-irritable; grouchy I know I look all cute and cuddly now, but I can be a cantankerous cat if you rub me the wrong way...

Daily Grammar: Editing

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Correct the following paragraph:

It was a beautiful Fall afternoon. the leaves were begining to change colors. It was the perfect day, for running down a long country road

Corrected:

It was a beautiful fall afternoon.  The leaves were beginning to change colors.  It was the perfect day for running down a long country road.

Word of the Day: Abash

Abash: To embarrass
I was so abashed when my mother called me Pookie in public.

Daily Grammar: Editing

Correct the errors in the paragraph below:

orcas are also known as killer whales they are black on top, and white below.  Orcas can grow to more than 26 fet.  They weig about 10,000 pounds.  They like to eat Seals, Sea Lions Penguins, and whales. Orca’s are some interesting creatures.

 Corrected Paragraph

Orcas are also known as killer whales. They are black on top and white below.  Orcas can grow to more than 26 feet.  They weigh about 10,000 pounds.  They like to eat seals, sea lions, penguins, and whales.  Orcas are some interesting creatures.

Free High-Interest Short Story with questions: Cat and Pilar

 (image:graphicsfactory.com)

Free (for a limited time) short story about how a caterpillar deals with his friend becoming a butterfly. It includes multiple choice questions and research questions.

Cat an

Daily Grammar: Commas and Semicolons

Correct the following sentences by using a comma or a semicolon.

1. I am very sleepy so I am going to bed.
2. I am very sleepy I am going to bed.

1. I am very sleepy, so I am going to bed.
2. I am very sleep; I am going to bed.

Daily Grammar: Nouns, Pronouns, Adjectives

  Identify the nouns, pronouns, and adjectives

1.     Redwoods are the tallest trees in the world.

2.     They can live for a thousand years.

3.     I think they are magnificent!

1.     n=redwoods, tree, world; adj=tallest

2.     n=years; pn=they; adj=thousand

3.     pn=I, they; adj=magnificent

Daily Grammar Adjectives

Identify the adjectives and the nouns they modify.

1.     Fall is my favorite season.

2.     The leaves are gold and orange.

3.     The weather is crisp and cool.

4.     The sky is big and blue.

5.     Oh! Fabulous fall; I love you.

favorite modifies season

gold; orange modify leaves

crisp; cool modify weather

big; blue modify sky

fabulous modifies fall

Daily Grammar: Adjectives

 Identify the adjectives.

1.     Sausalito is a beautiful town in California.

2.     The town is surrounded by blue and green water.

3.     There are a lot of expensive stores and restaurants.

4.     Wow! It is such a lovely town.

Daily Grammar: Nouns and Pronous

Identify the Nouns and Pronouns
1. A few weeks ago, I went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
2. I saw a Barns & Noble with apartments on top.
3. I think I would like to live there.
4. It seems like a pretty cool place to live.

1. N=Myrtle Beach; South Carolina PN= I
2. N=apartments; top PN=I
3. PN=I; there
4. N=place; PN=It

Daily Grammar: Nouns and Pronouns

Identify the nouns and pronouns.
1. Kelly went to San Francisco last June.
2. She really liked San Francisco; it is a beautiful city.
3. The next time she visits, she would like to take her dogs.
4. They would love it too!

1. Nouns-Kelly, San Francisco, June
2. Nouns-San Francisco, city; Pronouns-She, it
3.Nouns-dogs; Pronouns-she
4. Pronouns-They

Daily Grammar: Nouns (Cape Hatteras Lighthouse)

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 Identify the nouns.  State whether they are common or proper.

1.     Have you ever visited a lighthouse?

2.     Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is located in Buxton, North Carolina.

3.     It is 208 feet high.

4.     If you want to climb the lighthouse, you have to climb 257 steps.

1.     lighthouse=CN

2.     Cape Hatteras Lighthouse*=PN; Buxton=PN; North Carolina=CN

3.     feet=CN

4.     lighthouse=CN; steps=CN

* I struggled with Cape Hatteras Lighthouse because an argument could be made that Cape Hatteras is an adjective and Lighthouse is a Common Noun.  What do you think?  (For students just learning about nouns, this may be confusing. You might want to leave this sentence out or reword it.  For advanced students, this would be a great discussion.)

Daily Grammar: Nouns

Daily Grammar: Nouns
Identify the nouns in the sentence. State whether they are common or proper.
1. I went to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina this weekend.
2. Wrightsville Beach is a small town located on the ocean.
3. The people there are very nice.
4. The food is also good.
5. It is a wonderful place.

Answers
1. Wrigthsville Beach-Proper Noun; North Carolina; Proper Noun; weekend-Common Noun
2. Wrightsville Beach-PN; town-CN; ocean-CN
3. people-Cn
4. food-CN
5. place-CN

How to go from Teacher to Instructional Designer

Almost two years ago to the date, I quit my job as high school English teacher.  It was October and I did not have a plan other than to leave the teaching profession.  And now I have been blessed with a job as an instructional designer, where I design and facilitate professional development courses for community college faculty.  It took me 14 months to find a permanent job, and here is what I learned along the way:

1. Learn an eLearning software program.  You don't have to be an expert, but at least learn it enough to have a working knowledge.  As far as eLearning software goes, Captivate seems to be the most marketable, but a lot of companies use Articulate as well. You can get a 30-day free trial from the company, but I suggest you eventually purchase your own if you  really want to learn the program.  As a teacher, you can get most software for a third of the price.  The regular price for Captivate is $1099, but the education pricing is only $349.
Visit the Adobe site for more information.

I spent about two weeks learning the basics of Adobe Captivate.  The following books were really helpful:
Adobe Captivate the Essentials
Adobe Captivate Beyond the Essentials


2.  Make sure that you are familiar with an LMS.  If you are a high school teacher, you probably have access to Moodle or Blackboard.  Make sure that you use it!  If you do not have access to an LMS, you can learn Blackboard by creating your own free courses it at Course Sites.

3. Don't wait for a job in your field to begin adding things your portfolio or to create a portfolio.  You can create your own lessons and courses and add them to your online portfolio.  While  I was out of work, I created a Captivate tutorial and added it to my portfolio. When  I later interviewed for a job in training in the human resources department at a state agency,  I didnt get the job, but they were so impressed with my portfolio that they created a temp job for me. That particular state agency actually used Articulate, but they figured if I could use Captivate I could easily learn Articulate.  Eventually, they attempted to create permanent job for me there, but I declined because it involved too much travel.

4. Consider Going Back to School-Look into getting a Master's Degree in Instructional Technology or an eLearning graduate-level certificate. There are many reputable online programs out there.

5. Keep the faith-As a Christian, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the role that my faith and spirituality had in me finding a job.  When I left my job two years ago, my husband asked me "What's your plan?"  My principle said, "I'm just worried that you don't have a plan." I had no idea what I would do; I didn't even know that there was a job out there like mine that even existed.  And they way that things unfolded, and how I ended up at the place that I am now, God clearly had a plan and I am grateful.