Giggles in the Middle: Caught’ya! Grammar with a Giggle for Middle School (Caught’ya! Grammar with a Giggle) (Caught’ya! Grammar with a Giggle)

Full Description

5 Reviews

1. Best practices in teaching say that we should teach grammar in context so that kids understand how it fits into the bigger picture. This is the only grammar program I have seen that actually does that. There are three stories in this book: one for sixth grade, one for seventh and one for eighth. The story is broken up into small chunks (enough for each school day of the year), and students are asked to proofread and correct the errors. After they are done, the teacher goes over the errors with students and teaches minilessons on topics such as capitalizing proper nouns, appositives etc…

   Each day also has a variety of vocabulary words that could be used for old-fashioned spelling tests if desired. I post them on my word wall, and students earn extra credit for using them in speech and writings in the classroom.

   The stories, themselves, are such that a middle school student could relate to. They poke fun humorously at teachers and imply that they are robots (what middle school student wouldn’t love that?) The characters (middle school students) deal with the same things my students do: teasing, laziness, nerdiness, etc… and appear very real.

   If the day’s work is too challenging for your student, you can decrease the challenge by editing the passage because everything comes on a CD that comes with the book. Kiester also includes a grammar guide to help you with the minilessons.

   The book is easy and quick to read; it took me only a couple of days. Most of the text is actually the stories and corrections which is why the book is so fat. However, in the little bit of reading there is to do, Kiester shows you how she grades the grammar lessons and gives examples of what to expect.

   After using this book for a few weeks, I have not heard any complaints about grammar from my students,(In fact, they are begging for the end of the story!) and I have been able to talk intelligently about what we are learning when I review their own original writings.

2. Dissatisfied with my level of grammar instruction, I started looking for a book that would help me learn the specifics and give me a way to make it more interesting for students.

   I picked this book up during my 2nd year of teaching, and I still use it 3 years later. It’s very teacher and student friendly. Teachers will like it because the process is well laid out, easy to follow, vocab words are already identified, and there’s a grammar guide if you’re stuck. My 9th graders think the story is super cheesy, but they’re interested and their writing has improved. I use it as bell work at the beginning of class and very rarely hear any student complaints about it – that’s a feat in itself in my opinion!

   If you’re one of those super grammar teachers (that I’m jealous of), you may be a bit disappointed about the lack of depth. Explanations of transitive/intransitive verbs, the functions of the parts of speech, and other crazy things are not included in the daily lessons. You could definitely add to the process very easily, but it’s not spelled out for amateur grammar teachers (like me).

3. I was planning on student teaching in a high school and did some research on good grammar books. I came across The Chortling Bard, another book by this author and was so excited to use it. I ended up in a middle school, and funny enough, I like it better! I remembered the author so I checked to see if she had any similar, fun books for the middle grades and came across Giggles in the Middle.

   I just received it from Amazon today (I placed my order a day and a half ago, wow speedy!). I’ve been flipping through it and all I can say is, I’m really excited to use this resource. I love that she breaks the book up by grade level and offers teaching tips on how to implement these strategies. I didn’t realize it came with a CD which is a double bonus because it allows you to print out all of the stories and worksheets. Yay for not having to go to Kinkos to scan everything!

   I am a private tutor for a 5th grade going on 6th grade girl. She will love these activities!

4. This book is user friendly, it does what it promises and gives teachers the tools to make even grammar fun so the kids can really learn. In addition, the author is gracious enough to respond to email if you have any questions/suggestions.

5. My nine year old is my brainiac, but if there is one thing she struggles with it’s grammar, She’s has such a vast vocabulary, and knows how to use it. This actually works to her disdvantage when it comes to grammar, because she tries to word everything just right and often ends up with too many words in a sentence. Recently we were sent a fabulous tool for teaching grammar to middle schoolers: Caught’ya! Grammar with a Giggle for Middle School: Giggles in the Middle. This book has everything I need for three complete years of grammar lessons! Not only is it all inclusive, but this book takes such a unique approach to teaching grammar, and it works!

   Essentially, you and your student(s) follow along with a three year long story. Each day you take one sentence and work on the grammar in that sentence. Initially the sentences are written wrong, and it’s the student’s job to correct all mistakes. It didn’t take long for my dagughter to not only get interested in what was going to happen next in the story and look forward to her new sentences each day, but I also saw improvements in her grammar within the first two weeks. She loves a good story and is an avid reader, so an interesting, fun, and action packed story was perfect to reel her in. She still has a ways to go, but Giggles in the Middle has my vote for easy and effective grammar teaching!!

   We are holding off on getting too far into the story, as this book is geared toward grades 6-8, but it’s easy approach and step-by-step instructions are a joy to use and a breeze to follow. Even I learned a few things (one of the joys of homeschooling)!