Three Strategies For Teaching Grammar in ESL: July 5, 2012 Ixchell
Three Strategies For Teaching Grammar in ESL: July 5, 2012 Ixchell
Three Strategies For Teaching Grammar in ESL: July 5, 2012 Ixchell
ESL
Posted on July 5, 2012 by Ixchell
Grammar can often be frustrating for ESL students, partly because many grammar texts contain
exercises that use the drill method with sample sentences out of context. While the drilling
method can be very helpful for students who are in beginning stages of learning English, it may
become difficult for more advanced students to apply the structures in their own writing. To help
students incorporate their newly learned grammar skills into their writing, teachers can ask
students to practice specific skills in a paragraph. As students re-write drafts, the teacher can ask
students to focus on another skill. This way, students will not feel overwhelmed or frustrated.
Second, use a lot of self-talks. This means that as I correct an error on the board, I talk out the
steps: First, I check that my subject and verb are correct; then, I see that the pronoun is she
which is third person singular, and I see that this needs a third-person-singulars. I often ask
students to do this at the board along with self-talks. Because they are ESL students, they have to
internalize these steps. By speaking them out loud while they analyze, their brain has another
chance to remember the steps. Of course, the structure of self-talks will depend on the students
level. I have successfully done this with beginning, intermediate, and advanced English level
students, both children and adults. I model self-talks in my Showme tutorials and have noticed
that the students who watched them at home often use self-talks on their own in class.
Third, guided note-taking can help students who dont have the best note-taking habits or lack
note-taking experience. How does one take notes for grammar? In addition to what I post on the
board and students individual notes, I ask students to circle, underline, and draw arrows just as I
draw them on the board in their independent homework assignment. I have, over the years,
noticed that students who practice this will also do it on an exam, and those students tend to
score higher because they caught an error they made and erased it (this also takes years of
collecting samples). A teacher will also be able to easily see which students are struggling with a
concept because they will often circle or underline incorrectly. Note-taking helps to reinforce
students memories. The Showme tutorials often show my own underlining and circling which
helps encourage students to try out sample exercises the same way.
After all these strategies have been practiced by the students, I often show a video clip and ask
students to write a summary using specific structures from a unit (i.e. parallel structure, adverbs
of time, etc.). I like to use Mr. Bean clips or Wallace and Gromit. They are short, funny, and
usually have no complicated dialogue, so theyre ideal for any level (writing activities should be
tailored accordingly for beginning levels). Finally, this is what Showme has enabled me to do
more! I used to never find the time to show a video clip, but now that students get to review
common errors in my Showme tutorials, students look forward to writing those summaries! Who
wouldve thought? Many of my students used to groan whenever I mentioned a summary. With a
video clip, they have something concrete to write about and although the class writes about the
same clip, I end up with very original samples that students are proud of!
Jumbled Sentences
Purpose: Word Order / Review
Choose a number of sentences from the last few chapters (pages) that you have been working on
in class. Make sure to choose a nice mixture including adverbs of frequency, time signifiers,
adjectives and adverbs, as well as multiple clauses for more advanced classes. Type (or write on
the board) jumbled versions of the sentences and ask the students to reassemble them.
Variation:
If you are focusing on specific grammar points, have the students explain why certain words are
placed in certain places in a sentence.
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Example: If you are working on adverbs of frequency, ask students why 'often' is placed as it is
in the following negative sentence: 'He doesn't often go to the cinema.'
Finishing the Sentence
Purpose: Tense Review
Ask students to take a piece of paper out for a dictation. Ask students to finish the sentences that
you begin. Students should complete the sentence you begin in a logical manner. It's best if you
use connecting words to show cause and effect, conditional sentences are also a good idea.
Examples:
I like watching television because...
Despite the cold weather,...
If I were you,...
I wish he...
Listening for Mistakes
Purpose: Improving Students' Listening Abilities / Review
Make up a story on the spot (or read something you have at hand). Tell students that they will
hear a few grammatical errors during the story. Ask them to raise their hand when they hear an
error made and correct the errors. Intentionally introduce errors into the story, but read the story
as if the errors were perfectly correct.
Variation:
Have students write down the mistakes you make and check the mistakes as a class when
finished.
set
See in set:
Got Grammar? 8 Fun Exercises
3.0 based on 9 ratings
By Jane Oh
Updated on Feb 22, 2013
In the late elementary grades, students are learning complex grammar that most adults can't quite
keep a handle on. Appositives? Clauses? Huh? But for young writers, knowing the nuts and bolts
can be a big step up. Here's a review of some common (and commonly confused) grammar
terms, as well as a quick activity to apply them to real life reading and writing.
What You Need:
Kids' magazines
Highlighter
Pen
Review:
By finding and identifying grammar structures, then using them in her own writing, your child
will be learning and applying these concepts on her own terms. Who knows, she may even teach
you a thing or two!
Jane Oh has taught third and fourth grades for 8 years. She has worked with many
diverse groups of students. Most recently, she has written teacher textbook guides.
Make Mix-and-Match Poetry Dice
set
See in set:
Got Grammar? 8 Fun Exercises
3.0 based on 23 ratings
By Melissa Koosmann
Confused about clauses? Turn a lesson about independent and dependent clauses into a fun, rainy
day game! These cute poetry dice are fun and simple to makeand they pack major educational
value. Remember: a clause is an expression that contains both a subject and predicate, but doesn't
necessarily express a complete thought. Independent clauses can stand on their own as whole
sentences, but dependent clauses cannot. Dependent clauses are headed by a word, called a
subordinating conjunction, that joins them to an independent clause. He'll mix and match
dependent clauses to independent ones, making silly sentences that get the concept of a clause to
stick.
What You Need:
Pencils
Paper
Permanent markers
5. Next, invite him to transcribe dependent clauses onto two of the blocks. Make
sure he doesnt mix dependent and independent clauses on a single block.
The poetry dice wont work if two dependent clauses come up at once.
6. Roll one independent clause die and one dependent clause die at a time, and
read the combination that results. If youre working with more than one child,
encourage them to combine their sets of dice. The more possibilities you
have, the sillier the combinations are likely to be!
ou've packed up the kids, jackets, water bottles, tchotkes and all, and you're off for a special
afternoon. Maybe you'll see a park; maybe a museum; maybe a special friend. Whatever it is,
you know it will be fun, and you'll want to keep some memories. You might even want to send a
few along, perhaps in a letter to a relative, or a thank you to a host. Here's a creative way to do
it...while helping your second grader with some classic parts of the curriculum this year!
What You Need:
Camera
Pencil or pens
Booklet Paper
Nouns: a person, place, thing (there are common nouns, which are not
capitalized, and there are proper nouns, which are capitalized because they
are names of people, places, or things). For example: cat, day, sound, coffee,
bone, book (common nouns)
Verbs: action words. For example: run, read, eat, skipping, jogged, loved,
thought
Adjectives: describing words. For example: green, round, shiny, tall, old,
woodenbug
Adverbs: words that describe verbs (many end in ly) For example: quickly,
busily, happily, angrily
3. When you get to your destination, do like any typical tourist: take some
pictures! Enjoy everything about your experience!
4. Then, on the way home or later that day, make your "Parts of Speech Travel Guide" for today. Have your
child write the chosen part of speech vertically, in all capital letters, down the left side of the paper, as
shown.
5. Now have your child create an acrostic poem about this word, using only words that are that particular part
of speech. This means that for the first line, she will need to think of a noun that starts with the letter n,
such as nest, net, or noodle. She writes her noun beside the capital letter N, and uses the capital N as the
first letter. Then she goes on to the next line, and thinks of a noun that begins with the letter o, such as
octopus, octagon, or ox. She continues in this way until all the vertical letters have been used.
6. Have her reread her NOUN (or verb, or adjective etc.) acrostic poem. Ask her to explain what all the words
in the poem have in common. (They are all nouns, or they are all people, places, or things.)
7. Repeat for other parts of speech. Then, compile all the parts of speech pages into a stapled booklet with
your favorite trip photo on top. You'll have a creative, unique "travel guide" memory of today's experience
a book to keep or to send to a relative or as a thank you to a host. You have also given your child a
natural, memorable lesson in basics of language that she'll be using for the rest of her life. Not bad for one
day's excursion!
Grade
3-5
6-8
9-12
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Brief Description
A gallery walk activity helps reinforce the concept of proper nouns.
Objectives
Students will
Keywords
grammar, noun, proper noun, jigsaw, gallery walk
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]
Lesson Plan
A proper noun is a noun that names a specific person, place, or thing.
After introducing the concept and providing examples of proper nouns use this gallery walk
activity to help build/reinforce students' awareness of the concept.
Arrange students into groups of three or four. Provide each group with a different colored marker
or crayon. Post around the room large sheets of chart paper. Each sheet of paper should have at
the top one of the "Proper Noun Gallery Walk Activity Sheet Headings" listed below. Post the
same number of sheets as you have groups of students.
Nine sheets are listed below. If you only have six groups of students, eliminate some of the
headings.
-- You might combine State, Country, and City Names into one large category, "Place Names."
-- Or you might include eliminate Vehicle Names and include it among the proper noun
categories included under the "Other Proper Nouns" heading.
No matter how many headings you use, be sure to include one sheet of paper that is headed
"Other Proper Nouns." That will accommodate a wide variety of proper nouns not included in
other categories.
Proper Noun Gallery Walk Activity Sheet Headings
State Names
Country Names
City Names
Bodies of Water
Team Names
Company Names
Languages
Vehicle Names
Other Proper Nouns -- Do not give students any hints about what "other" proper nouns
might be listed there. Just see what they come up with. This sheet could capture a wide
variety of proper nouns, including days of the week, months of the year, holidays,
religions, names of special awards, club names, ship names, specific names of landmarks
and buildings, names of specific products
When groups are set, each with a different colored marker or crayon, assign each group to a
chart. Give students five minutes to write on the chart all the proper nouns they can come up
with that fit under that heading.
It might help if the first group at each chart writes closest to the top of the chart. Then each
subsequent group can add their lists under the previous group's list. That will make it easy if you
wish to tally each group's contributions at the end of the activity.
Also, to avoid confusion, You might want to have one member of each group serve as the
recorder for that group. Groups might change recorders from chart to chart so each student gets
an opportunity to write.
At the end of five minutes, have each group tally and record the number of proper nouns it wrote
and circle the number. Then have all groups shift to the next chart to their right. Give them five
minutes to review what the previous group has written and to add new proper nouns to that list.
At the end of five minutes, call time and have all groups tally their contributions and shift to the
next chart to their right. Continue until all groups have had five minutes to add to each chart.
Adding to some of the charts is likely to get progressively more difficult.
When the activity is complete, share each chart with all the students. Draw attention to errors,
clear up misconceptions, and reinforce rules for recognizing proper (vs. common) nouns. Adjust
the groups' tallies accordingly.
Pay a little extra attention to the chart with the "Other Proper Nouns" heading. Bring up any of
the categories of "other proper nouns" that students might have omitted. Did they include days of
the week, months of the year, holidays, religions, names of special awards, club names, ship
names, specific names of landmarks and buildings, names of specific products?
Let students tally the totals for each group to see which group came up with the most proper
nouns.
When completed, the activity should have clarified for students the concept of the proper noun.
Assessment
Provide students with a short quiz of ten statements that include a wide variety of proper nouns.
Some of the proper nouns should be properly capitalized and others should be erroneously
uncapitalized; in addition, some common nouns also might be erroneously capitalized. Have
students edit the statements so all proper nouns are capitalized and all common nouns are lower
case. Students should achieve a score of 90 percent or better on this activity.
Pair Editing
Subjects
Grade
3-5
6-8
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Brief Description
Students share their edits and then edit solo. Two humorous work sheets included.
Objectives
Students will
Keywords
edit, punctuation, grammar, spelling, humor
Materials Needed [shopmaterials]
pencils
Lesson Plan
This activity work sheet provides students with practice in thinking critically and, more
importantly, editing carefully. Provide students with a copy of the What's Up? Work Sheet.
Students should find at least 20 basic errors of spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Give students
10 to 15 minutes to complete the work sheet.
When students are done, arrange them into pairs. Each pair of students should review the work
sheet to "pair edit" it. They can compare the edits they made and identify the corrections that
should be made.
Gather the class to compare edits and to edit correctly.
You might copy the work sheet onto a transparency. Place the transparency on an
overhead projector and make the edits to the work sheet together. See the edits in
bold in the Assessment section below.
How did students do? With that editing completed, are they ready to do a second editing job?
Decide whether they should complete this work sheet individually or in pairs and then distribute
the Cold Water Clean work sheet. If they "pair edit," tell students they must agree on the
corrections they make because each partner will earn the same grade.
The Answer Key for the second work sheet can be found in the Assessment section below.
Assessment
Students will make at least 80 percent of the corrections on the assessment work sheet (#2).
ANSWERS
Corrections appear in bold type.
Work sheet #1 -- What's Up?
On Sunday morning, I sat down to breakfast with my mother. "You know, there's/there is
something I've been thinking about," I told her. "I've been thinking about how much trouble one
little word can cause."
"What are you talking about?" my mother asked.
"Well, think about it," I said. "It's easy to understand the word up when it means toward
the sky or at the top of the list, but why do we wake up in the morning? In school, why does a
topic come up? Why do I have to read up on the Civil War? Why is it up to me to remember to
do my homework?"
"I see what you mean," my mother said. "I just was reading that the mayor is up for
election. When I get to work, I have to write up a report."
"We call up our friends; we warm up the leftovers; and we clean up the kitchen," I laughed.
[delete end quotation mark that was after laughed."] "We lock up the house. I hate getting
dressed up. We open up a drain that is stopped up. It clouds up, then it clears up. Then we fix up
the old car."
"You sound really fed up," my mother chuckled. "Or are you just mixed up?"
"I looked up the word up in Webster's Dictionary and it took up a whole column!" I said,
almost ready to lose it. "I think it's time to speak up!"
"Don't go and stir up trouble," my mother said. "You don't want to wind up with a bigger
problem, do you?"
"You're right," I said. "All this thinking has really helped me work up an appetite though.
May I have some more eggs?"
"Coming right up!" my mother said.
Work sheet #2 - Cold Water Clean
Corrections are noted in bold type:
The sun woke up Rob early in the morning. It was so good to be back in the small Ohio
town where he grew/had grown up. He was eager to spend some time with his 87-year-old
grandfather in the family's cabin at Lagoon Lake, so he hopped out of bed. Grandfather was just
beginning to cook breakfast. "Yum! I smell bacon and eggs!" Rob said.
As Rob held out his plate to be served, he saw a film-like substance on his plate. "Is this
plate clean?" he asked his grandfather.[delete the end quotation mark that was after
grandfather."]
"That plate is as clean as cold water can get it," his grandfather said. "Go on and finish
your meal."
That afternoon, while eating burgers for lunch, Rob saw tiny specks around the edge of his
plate. It looked like there was dried egg on the plate too. "Are you sure this plate is clean?" he
asked his grandfather.
Without looking up from his burger, grandfather said, "I told you before, that dish is as
clean as cold water can get it. Now don't ask me about it anymore!"
Later that afternoon, as Rob was on his way out to get the newspaper, the dog started to
growl. The old dog wouldn't let Rob out the door. "Grandfather, your dog won't let me out,"
Rob complained.
Without looking away from the football game on TV, grandfather shouted, "Come here,
Coldwater. Come here, boy!"
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
Submitted By
Gary Hopkins
National Standards
LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills
Click to return to this week's lesson planning theme page, Teaching Grammar Without the
Hammer: Five Fun Activities.
Brief Description
follow directions.
Keywords
synonym, vocabulary, game, antonym, opposite, foreign language
Materials Needed[shopmaterials]
index cards
Lesson Plan
Before the Lesson
This fun activity requires advance preparation of a deck of cards. You'll need one card for each
student and one for yourself. The prep is simple:
Make a list of synonym word pairs that are appropriate for your grade level. Examples:
sad and unhappy
mistake and error
sleepy and drowsy
perhaps and maybe
A thesaurus is a great and easy source for finding grade-appropriate synonym pairs.
You'll find two lists below, one for use with students in grades 2 to 4 and the other for use
in grades 5 and up.
Use a blue marker to write on blank index cards or 3- x 5 paper the first word in one of
the synonym pairs. (For example, write sad on the first card, mistake on the second card,
sleepy on the third card) Keep the cards in order.
Use a red marker to write on the back of the first card the second word in the second
synonym pair on your list (error). Continue by writing, in sequence, the second words in
each synonym pair. So, on the back of mistake is drowsy; on the back of sleepy is maybe.
On the last card, write the second synonym in the first word pair on the list -- in the
example above, it would be unhappy.
Now you're ready to play the game!
The Lesson
Mix up the cards and distribute them to students, one card per student -- don't forget one
for yourself. Have students look at the blue word on the card they hold. Start the game by
showing and calling out the red word on your card. The students must look at their cards
to see who has the blue word that is a synonym for the word you call out. That student
should call out the synonym.
For example, if you show and call out the word error, the student who is holding
the blue word that is a synonym for error -- in this example, mistake -- must call
out that word.
Then, the student holding the card on which was written the synonym for your card
(mistake) flips over his or her card and reads the red word (drowsy) on the back. Students
look at their cards to see if they hold the blue word that is a synonym for drowsy. The
game continues until you have gone all the way through the deck of cards.
Variations on the Game
o Time students to see how long it takes them to complete the game. When the
game is finished, collect the cards and redistribute them so students have a
different card than the one they held in the first game. Play the game again. Try to
beat the time it took to play the first round.
o Prepare several decks of cards and play the game with different sets of synonyms.
o Make the game more challenging by selecting difficult synonym pairs.
o Play the same game using antonyms (opposites).
o Play the game using words and their definitions.
o Play the game using foreign language synonyms; or foreign language verbs and
their English meanings.
Sample Synonym Pairs Use a thesaurus to create a grade-appropriate list of synonyms.
You might use an online thesaurus. In addition, some versions of Microsoft Word
have their own easy-to-use thesaurus. Simply click Tools in the menu bar, then
choose Spelling and Grammar, and Language.
I used a thesaurus to create the synonym lists below. The first list might be appropriate to
use at grades 2-4.
center, middle
damp, wet
hurry, rush
gaze, stare
hear, listen
lost, missing
lump, chunk
odd, strange
stop, halt
paw, foot
paste, glue
present, gift
quick, fast
get, receive
funny, silly
sad, unhappy
small, little
smile, grin
stay, wait
stream, creek
tow, pull
pick, choose
lid, cover
neighborhood, community
big, large
harm, hurt
fire, blaze
fight, battle
hate, dislike
crash, smash
caution, care
petty, unimportant
copy, duplicate
danger, hazard
distribute, dispense
divide, separate
hesitant, indecisive
inappropriate, improper
poison, toxin
ponder, contemplate
prison, penitentiary
substitute, replacement
sudden, unexpected
tough, rugged
weaken, undermine
veer, swerve
natural, organic
inspect, examine
insult, offend
clench, squeeze
unprotected, vulnerable
courageous, valiant
categorize, classify
mission, assignment
liberty, freedom
restriction, limitation
traditional, customary
exaggerate, magnify
alternative, option
Assessment
Students will correctly identify the synonym word pairs.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/04/lp33401.shtml#sthash.YNONxiE8.dpuf
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Subjects
Grade
3-5
6-8
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Brief Description
Verbs and adverbs take center stage in this lively activity.
Objectives
Students will
Keywords
verb, adverb, grammar, pantomime, drama, acting, theater
Materials Needed [shopmaterials]
Lesson Plan
This lively activity will reinforce the concepts of verb and adverbs.
Before the Lesson
Create two sets of cards; each set should be on a different colored paper. Make at least one card
per student in each color. Index cards or paper cut to 3 x 5 inches works well.
Create a set of verb cards on cards of one color, at least one verb card per student. (See a
sample verb list at the bottom of this section.)
Create a set of adverb cards on cards of another color. (See a sample adverb list at the
bottom of this section.)
Stack the verb cards upside down in one pile; stack the adverb cards in another pile.
The Lesson
This game can be played as a whole class or with the class divided into teams. (See team
instructions below.) One at a time, have each student come up to the front of the class and draw a
card from the stack of verb cards. Then the student must act out, or "pantomime," the word on
the card.
The other students call out the word the student is acting out. The first person to call out the
correct verb earns 1 point.
Then the same student who pantomimed the verb chooses and then acts out the word on his or
her adverb card. The student must act it out as it relates to the verb that was just pantomimed.
As the student pantomimes his or her verb/adverb combination, others call out guesses for the
adverb. When somebody guesses the correct adverb, that person earns 2 points.
Use this activity to instruct students about the role of adverbs: Adverbs modify or limit the action
(verb) that is taking place in a sentence; adverbs provide more specific information about how
that action is being carried out. For example, eating is an action everyone can visualize. But the
action of eating can be carried out in many different ways. Eating swiftly creates a very different
visual image than the image you get of someone eating thoughtfully or noisily or greedily Each
of those adverbs modifies the verb eating in a different way.
Part of the fun of this game is that the verb-adverb combinations students draw from the stacks
of cards don't always fit together. For example, a student might have to act out eat suspiciously
or scream calmly.
Playing the Game in Teams
Students also can play the game in two or more teams. If playing in teams, you will want to
alternate students, calling one student from each team before calling a second student from any
team. You might give each student's team the first chance to guess the verb and adverb he or she
is acting out. If a teammate does not guess the word by the end of a set time limit, then anyone
on another team can call out the word and win those points.
Verb List
Following is a list of verbs that might be included in your set of cards. This list is only a "starter"
list. Feel free to add to it or subtract from it:
argue
attack
carry
celebrate
clean
climb
count
cry
cut
dig
drink
drive
drop
eat
enjoy
examine
fall
fight
fold
grab
jump
kick
kiss
knock
laugh
lead
leave
listen
open
paint
perform
play
point
pray
run
scream
search
shout
shake
shut
sing
sleep
speak
step
study
sweep
talk
taste
teach
think
threaten
throw
touch
walk
wash
wave
wipe
work
worry
write
Adverb List
Following is a list of adverbs that might be included in your set of cards. This list is only a
"starter" list. Feel free to add to it or subtract from it:
accidentally
angrily
anxiously
badly
blindly
bravely
briefly
busily
calmly
carelessly
cautiously
courageously
doubtfully
easily
elegantly
enthusiastically
fiercely
foolishly
frantically
gently
gladly
gracefully
greedily
happily
hastily
hungrily
innocently
inquisitively
lazily
loudly
madly
merrily
mysteriously
neatly
nervously
noisily
obnoxiously
politely
quickly
quietly
rapidly
recklessly
reluctantly
rudely
sadly
selfishly
seriously
shyly
silently
sleepily
slowly
solemnly
speedily
suspiciously
swiftly
thoughtfully
victoriously
violently
wearily
wildly
Added Note
You will also want to take time to introduce the idea that adverbs -- words that modify (or
qualify or limit verbs) do not always end in the suffix ly. The following words are among the
most common adverbs that do not end in ly.
afterwards
almost
even
far
fast
less
more
never
not
often
seldom
soon
tomorrow
too
very
well
Assessment
Given ten sentences, students will circle correctly the adverb(s) in each sentence.
- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/04/lp33402.shtml#sthash.pFcAaFvg.dpuf
Many parents are faced with a crisis when their fifth-grader hands them a three-page essay that's
full of mechanical errors. Where to begin? To help your child refresh his knowledge of grammar,
try the CUPS strategy. CUPS, which stands for Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, and Spelling,
is a useful tool when helping your student edit a writing piece. Plus, it's an activity you can do
together!
What You Need:
Permanent markers
1. On a separate sheet of paper, write the following acronym, with each letter written in a
different color:
C ___
U ___
P ___
S ___
2. Begin with C. Scan your child's essay together (each with your own copy)
looking only for capitalization errors. Make corrections in the C color. Once
all capitalization errors have been identified and corrected, put a check next
to the C.
3. Move on to U. Follow the same process, but have the student read the
writing piece aloud. If there are errors, ask, Does that sound right? Did you
use the correct words? How can you make it sound better?" Make corrections
in the U color and put a check next to the U.
4. Follow the same process for P and S. Use corresponding colors when
fixing punctuation and spelling errors.
CUPS is a useful strategy for helping your child become an independent writer. It is a quick
acronym students can jot down at the bottom of any piece of writing to help narrow their focus
when making corrections. In this way, revising and editing are made simple and the steps are
easy to remember C-U-P-S!