SSuummmmeerr (School) Is Coming!

“We don’t teach grammar and punctuation so students will know how to circle the preposition and underline the prepositional phrase. We teach grammar and punctuation so students will write well.”

The Grammar Punk™ Method is the brainchild of an English teacher, long frustrated with the way that grammar and punctuation has traditionally been taught. Grammar Punk™ was created by a teacher for teachers.

Grammar Punk™ is PERFECT for summer school! Even the most reluctant student will get into rolling

dice and garnering ideas from brightly colored cards. Make your SSuummmmeerr SScchhooooll classrooms feel

more like play. And we’re having a sale! Contact us about our great group rates for bulk orders!

www.grammarpunk.com

April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, and one of four months with a length of 30 days. April was originally the second month of the Roman calendar, before January and February were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the fourth month of the calendar year (the year when twelve months are displayed in order) during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it also was given 29 days.

The traditional etymology is from the Latin aperire, "to open," in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open," which is supported by

comparison with the modern Greek use of ἁνοιξις (opening) for spring. Since most of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was sacred to Venus, the Festum Veneris et Fortunae Virilis being held on the first day, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month Aphrilis, from her Greek name Aphrodite (Aphros), or from the Etruscan name Apru.

National Poetry Month (United States) April Fools' Day - April 1 Good Friday (Christians) - April 2, 2010 Easter Sunday – April 4 World Health Day - April 7 Buddha's Birthday - Traditional Date - April 8 Tax Day (US) - April 15 Boston Marathon - Third Monday Earth Day - April 22 Arbor Day - last Friday of April in United States Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work Day, usually fourth Thursday (United

States) April starts on the same day of the week as July in all years, and January in

leap years.

Aries

March 21 - April 19

Imaginative and sensitive; compassionate and kind; selfless and unworldly; intuitive and sympathetic.

Taurus April 21 - May 19

Dependable and persistent, loyal and patient, and generous.

pril Facts

The birthstone of April is the diamond Birth flower is either the Daisy or the Sweet Pea

Writing with a purpose April is National Poetry Month How cool is that? An entire month in honor of a very particular type of writing. You just had to know we would be fans.

Po·et·ry

1. the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. 2. literary work in metrical form; verse. 3. prose with poetic qualities. 4. poetic qualities however manifested: the poetry of simple acts and things. 5. poetic spirit or feeling: The pianist played the prelude with poetry. 6. something suggestive of or likened to poetry: the pure poetry of a beautiful view on a clear day.

Poetry has often received a bad rap, certainly by students in Language Arts classes faced with the task of reading or, gulp, writing poetry! A fate worse than death! We have to respectively disagree. We cover poetry in our Grammar Punk Programs, though it’s not technically a grammar subject. We offer lessons, cards, and examples covering the simplest rhyming words, to haiku, to the sky’s the limit. We think poetry rocks. And we’re right. Writing is of course our favorite medium, expository, creative, you name it. Poetry is right up there on the list. The best part of poetry is the freedom it offers the occasionally rigid rules of language. I know that is not the first thing one thinks of when the word poetry is uttered, but it’s true. Poetry, with all its attendant rules and limitations can make that same language sing. What could be better? So play at rhyme with your students, work on syntax, verse, and a quatrain or four. Fiddle with sonnets and limericks, blank verse, doggerel. Rhyme, don’t rhyme, just write! Write with a purpose.

We’ve told you about the addition of the IDEA cards to the Grammar

Punk™ 9-12 Secondary Program.

Did we mention how much fun, creativity, motivation, spontaneity,

originality, inspiration, imagination, confidence, inventiveness,

artlessness, stimulation, audacity, encouragement, and hilarity these

cards will offer your students and classrooms?

Clarice enjoys clapping her long, scaly, dragon’s tail on the rough, rugged rocks.

The private detective was apoplectic at his abject incompetence at solving the missing porcupine case.

Alien Planet: The Martian circled the stranger’s spaceship cautiously; the

thing hadn’t been there the day before.

Kid Stuff: ―We must gather all the carrots together,‖ Penelope, a very bossy bunny said crossly, ―we’re late, late.‖ late.‖

Hyperbole Gritting his teeth, Simon prepared to count to a hundred to prevent his head from

actually exploding.

Diazeugma With seemingly little effort, the dragons tromped the knights, terrorized the maidens, and conquered the King.

Onomatopoeia One thing was clear: the ticky tacking, clickety-clacking of the crickets romantic clamoring was seriously getting on Clark’s nerves.

We work with children, troubled children, many of them come here with learning difficulties. This is a great way to get them excited about learning. —Rhonda Geissinger, Clarence, MO

We’ve been at it

again. We’ve been working on TheWriter—now renamed: Constructing

Writers. We’ve added nearly thirty pages of text, more games and

challenges, and more good stuff for writers. Constructing Writers, like all

Grammar Punk products is intended to be interactive and hands-on.

We’ve also added even more cards (Expository, Genre, Situation,

Character Quirks, Occupations, Emotion, Location, What’s In A Name?

Sensory, and Plot Twists) which offer hundreds of brainstorming ideas and

a timer. Because writer’s write!

Constructing Writers is ideal for classroom and/or individual use. The

cards (136!) can be mixed and matched by an entire classroom with

endless possibilities for story-generating fun. The games and challenges

are perfect for bell-ringers or just to get students writing.

What we recently heard from a teacher.

New!

School Discounts Save big with our group rates! Contact us at info@grammarpunk.com for more details.

Contact us

Remember: We accept school Purchase Orders.

Grammar Punk 286 North Center Street American Fork, Utah 84003 Fax: 801-763-8657 Or call: 801-867-5899. Operators are standing by!

www.grammarpunk.com

phone801-867-5899

fax801-763-8657

emailinfo@grammar

punk.com

―Practice is the best of all instructors.‖ —Publilius Syrus

Spring Is Springing!

T I W D S E C W K H K Y G O F D C G H D

I B S N H G N K W U H M I H I I S S E O

L M J V O V S C M F K S L E B R J B G D

Z S C H O O L G H K P I O M Y E G K O Q

E I M S I C I S S A L C A N F P Q G J G

I Z S E Y O D R Z Y N I F H N N G E S B

A E P A O U O L E A G T M P O E T R Y X

E F G V N P F Y R T A N M E R X T T B Z

M X C T S L F R E X E A P E R C G S T K

V R L W O E A O F S E M L G N I R P S P

U S R W J T D G R C S O A N G T C W R S

Y U E E I Y Q E A P O R N T L E O K C H

C R L V M N V L I W M C T F N M M B S U

S Z E O V M E L N C S H I G A E N A R F

N Y G G B Q U A T R A I N R M N P L L C

Q H Y B A T F S Y N E R G Y Y T T L H T

Y E W A G M Y T C A A I H R X L Y A F A

H K P E E C I T J X P R O S E D J D S G

K I J F L N I F O E J L Y W I V Z Y S Y

J P R Y N U P X T B B C U M N O T P G I

ALLEGORY BALLAD CLASSICISM

COUPLET DAFFODILS DOGGEREL

ELEGY ENCHANTMENT EPIGRAM

EXCITEMENT FANTASY FLOWERS

HAIKU IAMBIC IDYLL

IMAGERY LIMERICKS LYRIC

NARRATIVE PENTAMETER PLANTING

POEM POETRY PROSE

QUATRAIN RAIN REFRAIN

RHYME ROMANTICISM SCHOOL

SONNETS SPRING SUMMER

SYNERGY TULIPS VERSE