Liz ZelencichProgram Co-ordinator

NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATIONEmail your thoughts to nie@thestandard.fairfax.com.au

NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION

12 – TUESDAY, July 15, 2014 The Standard www.standard.net.au

Capital LettersSentencesThe first word of every sentence begins with a capital letter.

Millions of years ago, long before there were any people, there were dinosaurs.Names of peopleThe names of people (and pets) begin with a capital letter.

The lost dog belonged to David.The word "I"Always make the word "I" a capital letter.

Alison and I walk to schools together every day.Place namesPlace names begin with a capital letter. Examples include the names of cities, states, countries, planets, streets and buildings.

Essendon plays Collingwood every year on Anzac Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.TitlesThe first, last and all important words in a title begin with a capital letter. Examples include the titles of books, magazines, stories, poems and movies.

The Little Mermaid, Captain Underpants, The Australian Women’s Weekly, Mulga Bill’s Bicycle.Days, months and holidaysDays of the week, months of the year and holidays all begin with a capital letter.

Easter, Christmas, July, Monday.

NounsCommon nounsWhile there are many different types of nouns, common nouns are the easiest. They are simple words that name people, places, things, or ideas. But they are not the actual names of people, places or things. In other words, the word “girl” is a common noun, but the word “Ashley” is a proper noun because it’s the specific name of that girl.

Finding examples of common nouns is as simple as opening your eyes! Try it! What is the first thing you see when you wake up each morning? Your alarm clock? The word clock is a common noun because it names, or identifies, a thing.

What do you see when you walk out your front door each morning? A car, a tree, the sky, a bus, a house, a shop? All are common nouns because they name a thing, place, or person:

People: mother, father, baby, child, toddler, teenager, grandmother, student, teacher, brother, sister business person, woman, man.

Animals: lion, tiger, mouse, dog, cat,

alligator, cricket, bird, elephant.Things: table, truck, book, pencil, iPad,

computer, coat, shoes, chair, spoon, bowl.Places: city, state, country, continent,

coffee shop, restaurant, park, zoo.Proper nouns These name specific people, places, things, or ideas such as Britney, Melbourne, Holden, Nike.

Since these nouns are naming specific things, they begin with a capital letter. Sometimes, they contain two or more important words. Britney Spears, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Holden Commodore, Nike Air Pegasus.

Possessive Common NounsSingular nounsPossessive nouns show ownership or relation to something else. To make a singular common noun possessive, simply add an apostrophe and the letter “s”.

new parents.

birthday cake.

bite.

Plural nounsIn order to make a plural noun possessive that doesn’t end in the letter “s” all you have to do is add an apostrophe and an “s”.

If the plural noun ends in an “s” it becomes possessive by adding an apostrophe at the end.

Grammar is the

system of a language. People

sometimes describe grammar as

the "rules" of a language; but in fact no

language has rules. If we use the word "rules",

we suggest that somebody created the rules first

and then spoke the language, like a new game.

But languages did not start like that. Languages

started by people making sounds which evolved

into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-

spoken language is fixed. All languages change

over time. So think of grammar as something

good, something positive and something

that you can use to find your way -

like a signpost or a map.

VerbsA verb is a doing word. It shows the action in a sentence. Think of some things you like to do such as run, draw, fish, play, jump. These are all verbs because they show the action. Search through the newspaper to find lots of verbs. Make a verb collage.Can you find the verbs in these sentences?

instead of coffee.

the barn.

project together.AdjectivesThe simplest definition of an adjective is that it is a word that describes or clarifies a noun. Adjectives describe nouns by giving some information about an object's size, shape, age, colour, origin or material. For example, a red car, a huge tree, an old painting, a cute dog.

the newspaper to find adjectives beginning with each letter of the alphabet in turn to create an 'adjective alphabet' to help when writing stories, descriptions etc.

each letter of your name or nickname to describe who you are or what you want to be.

Adverbs An adverb is a word that changes or simplifies the meaning of a verb. Adverbs usually answer questions such as how?, in what way? and to what extent? Often, adverbs end in ‘ly’.

He ran quicklyThey walked briskly around the lakeShe spoke loudly The bird landed lightly on the water

newspaper and give either a noun or verb to them depending on what the picture shows. Clearly a picture of a car would be labelled “car”. However, the picture of a woman sitting behind the wheel of a car could be labelled “driving”.

Next, break students up into groups to challenge each other. The purpose of the challenge is to describe the noun pictures using adjectives and the verb pictures using adverbs. The opposing teams have to figure out what is in the picture given these clues.

Full StopsThe full stop is probably the simplest of

the punctuation marks to use. You use

it like a knife to cut the sentences to the

necessary length. Generally, you can

break up the sentences using the full

stop at the end of a logical and complete

thought that looks and sounds right to

you. Use the full stop to mark the end of

a sentence which is not a question or an

exclamation.Rome is the capital of Italy.

I love to eat roast lamb.

I was born in Australia in 2003.

Read these sentences and correct

the capital letters and full stops.

1) i am playing in the garden

2) the man sat on the bench in the

park3) we went to the cinema to see a film

Mind your grammar

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