Exercises from the Book...

When I asked Barry if I could post four or five exercises from the book at this website, he cried, "Absolutely!" Then came one of the hardest chores I've had to complete in a long while: how to choose just five. Each exercise in the book, just so you know, comes with several pages of teaching materials (practice examples, cartoons, etc.) that will help you instruct your students to be successful with these exercises.

After much pondering, here are the five exercises I have chosen. I hope they provide a glimpse of the "wonderfulness" that is this book!

From Chapter 1: Exercise 1...a great way to teach nouns!

From Chapter 2: Exercise 7...revising a funny story with new knowledge of verbs!

From Chapter 6: Exercise 1...exploring the different types of clauses!

From Chapter 11: Exercise 9...giggle while learning about passive and active voice!

From Chapter 18: Exercise 3...a fun review of commonly confused words

Cathy Campbell's The Giggly Guide to Grammar

Barry Lane says, "There isn't enough fun in education." I agree, and so does author Cathy Campbell. Her book, The Giggly Guide to Grammar, takes daily language drills to a new level. Her technique is simple: teach useful grammar with both a sense of humor and through humorous cartoons and pictures. The lessons found in this book contain wonderful exercises that will make your students smile, then laugh out loud, and ultimately learn.

Humor is too often missing from our classrooms. When students are asked to think about content with their funny bones, they are being asked to process information with a deeper part of their brains.

Cathy's book is an excellent resource to add to your classroom bookshelf. The new edition contains a CD-ROM with loads of bonus materials. At this website, with Barry and Cathy's permission, I have posted materials from the book that might convince you that you need to have your own complete copy.