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How to Use Commas in Compound Sentences with Coordinating Conjunctions

How to Use Commas in Compound Sentences with Coordinating Conjunctions

SHARON’S BLOG

commasOkay, so the title of today’s article isn’t the most exciting. In fact, you might find it downright boringor intimidating.

I’ve been known to zone out when my husband tries to explain football lingo and rules to me. My eyes glaze over. My ears stop working. The same might be true for your students and the subject of commas.

Commas, Compound Sentences, and Coordinating Conjunctions

You can use the infographic below to teach students when to use commas in a compound sentence that is joined by a coordinating conjunction.

In this tutorial, you’ll find the following goodies:

  1. An infographic to teach the material
  2. A free, downloadable exercise
  3. The answers
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That’s a Commercial?


HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

commercial for carWhen is a commercial not a commercial?

When it’s written to look like a movie trailer, complete with spies, secret missions, and a plot line.
The Ford Motor Company’s latest commercials for their cars and trucks resemble movie trailers, which you can see on YouTube here and here . Other elements that aid in the “movie” look are the colors (blues and grays), lighting, and the spy-movie music.

View at least one of the commercials and then come back here for more thrills and excitement.

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A Real Science-Fiction Town

A Real Science-Fiction Town

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

This real-life news report is just too good to pass up. I had to share it with you.

What would you do if most of the people in your town moved away, disappeared, or died?

According to Chuck Sheppard’s News of the Weird—and this qualifies—an older woman moved back to her hometown in Japan to find that it was no longer thriving. In fact, it was down to about 37 people.

What did this intrepid woman do?

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The Discoveries of Youth

The Discoveries of Youth

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

There’s an advantage to being very, very young. I’m talking about younger than you are now.

When you’re really little, you discover new things all the time, things that seem old or boring to you now. Everything is amazing; everything is new.

The following is a passage from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. It’s about a woman remembering back to her youth, thinking about the first time she had discovered . . . well, I’ll let you read it:

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Young Entrepreneurs

Young Entrepreneurs

SHARON’S BLOG

How about writing something fun with your children, something that involves dreams and schemes?

Here’s the background: My husband and I traveled to California one year to participate in the Great Homeschool Convention in Ontario, California. At a Winchell’s Donut House in Las Vegas—have you ever tasted their pineapple fritters?!—we saw an interesting entrepreneur who had set up shop in the parking lot.

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Snowflakes in Summer?

Snowflakes in Summer?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Hot, sweaty, summer days are filled with things you can’t do other times of the year, things like going on a beach vacation, weeding and harvesting, canning, swimming outdoors, catching fireflies, going camping, spending time with friends, and so on.

So perhaps it makes no logical sense that this prompts is really about winter.

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How to Avoid Plagiarism

How to Avoid Plagiarism

SHARON’S BLOG

Today’s article comes to you from my friend Lily Iatridis of Fortuigence.com. Her article is a tutorial on plagiarism and how to avoid it. You’ll even find helpful links your students can use to create those pesky citations.

In addition, Lily shares a solid method for taking notes and for keeping track of all the sources. And check out her handy anti-plagiarism checklist at the end!

This is well worth the read. I won’t be surprised if you use this article often as a reference for you and your children throughout the school year.

You can find Lily’s online writing course Essay Rock Star here.

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Your Brain and the 10-Percent Myth

Your Brain and the 10-Percent Myth

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

You may be familiar with the movie Lucy. While the rest of us use only ten percent of our brain, the protagonist Lucy goes beyond the bounds of biology and uses more than ten percent of her brain, giving her extra powers the rest of us only wish we could have.

The movie’s original tagline (which has since been replaced) is this: “The average person uses 10% of their brain capacity. Imagine what she could do with 100%.”

Great premise. It’s the stuff of exciting and sometimes provocative stories.

You’ve heard it before—that we use only ten percent of our brain. How true is this assertion?

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