Grammar for High School: A Sentence-Composing Approach—A Student Worktext

Short Description

  • Author : Don Killgallon
  • Author : Jenny Killgallon
  • Binding : Paperback
  • DeweyDecimalNumber : 428.20712
  • EAN : 9780325010465
  • ISBN : 0325010463
  • Label : Heinemann
  • Languages :
  • ListPrice :
  • Manufacturer : Heinemann
  • NumberOfItems : 1
  • NumberOfPages : 176
  • PackageDimensions :
  • ProductGroup : Book
  • ProductTypeName : ABIS_BOOK
  • PublicationDate : 2007-07-06
  • Publisher : Heinemann
  • ReadingLevel : Young Adult
  • Studio : Heinemann
  • Title : Grammar for High School : A Sentence-Composing Approach---A Student Worktext

Listed Under: Grammer

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Full Description

Across America, in thousands of classrooms, Don and Jenny Killgallon’s sentence-composing approach has given students tools to become more proficient, sophisticated writers. Now the Killgallons present the first-ever high school grammar book that teaches grammar through sentence composing.

Grammar for High School : A Sentence-Composing Approach gives students the chance to absorb and replicate the grammar used in some of the finest novels, including student favorites and curricular standbys such as John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.
Fourteen grammatical structures are developed as writing tools in an accessible, understandable, and similar manner through the sentence-composing approach. For each structure students will :
  • learn a clear definition of its characteristics and function
  • practice it through five guided sentence-composing activities
  • deepen their understanding through an independent creative writing activity
  • vary the tools through multiplying and combining them.
Students and teachers will quickly discover how powerful the sentence-composing approach can be for learning grammar-and for raising students’ writing abilities to new, exciting levels.

An online teacher’s guide accompanies Grammar for High School and includes advice, tips, resources, answer keys, and even curricular plans for teachers who are either new to the Killgallon approach or sentence-composing veterans.


5 Reviews

  1. L. Peterson says:
    Posted July 1, 2010 at 12:00 am | Permalink

    I thought this text was exceptional in many ways. I love that it is different from the common grammar texts out there, and I found it to be extremely engaging. I loved the use of actual literature to teach the concepts. That said, I honestly can’t imagine using it. I guess if I was a teacher at a private school where students purchased their own textbooks and already had a wonderful foundation in grammar I would use it. I teach at an urban school, and my kids need more basic grammar than this. Plus, the expense of ordering it would take up my budget for the next 5 years. It is a nice idea, but unrealistic, in my opinion, for the average high school teacher to use.

  2. EdFab says:
    Posted May 9, 2010 at 12:00 am | Permalink

    Regarding the sentence that two reviewers have complained about:

    “A huge difference is the ways those authors build their sentences.”

    This is a perfectly fine sentence. Everything after ‘is’ can be substituted for by a demonstrative pronoun:

    “A huge difference is this.”

    Furthermore:

    “the ways those authors build their sentences.”

    functions as a subject complement, specifically a noun phrase, itself composed of a noun phrase (the ways), and a relative clause ([that]those authors build their sentences)…i.e. ‘the ways [that] those authors build their sentences.’ Within the relative clause the subject (authors) agrees with its verb (build).

    So the sentence is fine grammatically, though slightly complicated.

    Anyway, back to the book. If your main interest is in writing, then buy this book and do the exercises. It teaches you to think in terms of phrases and clauses, and it shows you how to connect them to create interesting and sophisticated sentences, using models from well-known authors. If you are interested in grammar particularly, then supplement this book with a traditional grammar book that focuses on theory. I recommend Understanding English Grammar, by Martha Kolln and Robert Funk, any edition.

  3. Roger Cox says:
    Posted November 12, 2009 at 12:00 am | Permalink

    The sentence-composing approach is practical and down-to-earth. This book should be seriously considered by high school teachers looking for a more engaging approach to teaching the (sometimes dry) subject of grammar.

  4. Shoe-aholic says:
    Posted April 16, 2008 at 12:00 am | Permalink

    See above: “A huge difference is the ways (sic) those authors build their sentences.” A quote from their excerpt – I don’t think I’ll buy this book.

    Uh, the subject of the sentence is difference, which is singular and agrees with “is.” The verb “is” should not agree with the plural “ways” which is a predicate noun, not the subject of the sentence.

  5. Mary-Kay McHugh says:
    Posted April 10, 2008 at 12:00 am | Permalink

    “A huge difference is the ways (sic) those authors build their sentences.” A quote from their excerpt – I don’t think I’ll buy this book.

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