Stefan Gatward is a man in England who is known as the Apostrophe Man of Royal Tunbridge Wells. That's because he goes around identifying street signs which have either an apostrophe missing or have one in the wrong place. He even went so far as to paint in a missing apostrophe on a street sign in his town. (It was subsequently removed.)

But his efforts have not gone without effect.

Local government groups around the country have now resorted to issuing crib sheets to their staff in a bid to raise standards of grammar in their organizations. The guides warn against basic errors, such as the common mistake of using an apostrophe to denote a plural, eg: 'banana's for sale'.

Of course, problems with apostrophes are not limited to British government officials. If you'd like your child to use that punctuation mark effectively, here are the some of the major rules

Rule 1. Use the apostrophe with contractions. The apostrophe is always placed at the spot where the letter(s) has been removed.
Examples: don't, isn't

Rule 2. Use the apostrophe to show possession. Place the apostrophe before the s to show singular possession.
Examples: one boy's hat

Rule 3. Use the apostrophe where the noun that should follow is implied.
Example: This was his father's, not his, jacket.

Rule 4. To show plural possession, make the noun plural first. Then immediately use the apostrophe.
Examples: two boys' hats

Rule 5. With a singular compound noun, show possession with 's at the end of the word.
Example: my mother-in-law's hat

Rule 6. If the compound noun is plural, form the plural first and then
use the apostrophe.
Example: my two brothers-in-law's hats

Rule 7. Use the apostrophe and s after the second name only if two people possess the same item.
Examples: Cesar and Maribel's home is constructed of redwood.

Rule 8. The only time an apostrophe is used for it's is when it is a contraction for it is or it has.
Examples: It's a nice day.

Rule 9. Use the possessive case in front of a gerund (-ing word).
Examples: Alex's skating was a joy to behold.

Now, you're ready to help your child with the grammar quizzes that might appear --in case his or her school still requires grammar.

Posted by Marion Blank at 06:01 PM
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Because of the critical role it plays in school and life success, reading rightly receives a lot of attention. But, sometimes in all the serious effort, we forget the fun that comes from playing around with words.

For example, here are some interesting facts you might want to get your children to ponder.

What are the longest words that contain only letters that can be played on a musical instrument?
The answer is

the elght letter words--cabbage and fabaceae. (The latter refers to a large group of flowering plants.)

If we go down a notch to seven letter words, the choice is much larger and includes
acceded, baggage, bedface, cabbage, defaced, effaced.

And what is the longest word whose letters are arranged in alphabetical order?
For that question, the answer is the eight letter Aegilops, (another group of plants).

Turning that question on its head, we can ask: What is the longest word whose letters are arranged in reverse alphabetical order.
Here the answer is a lot more familiar. It is spoonfeed-- nine letters long.

It's also possible to switch from letters to "numbers" and ask: What are the longest words that are exclusively made up of Roman Numerals?
Now we are back to less familiar territory again--with the answers being cimicic (meaning a social network for people who love words) and cimicid (a particular fossilized bug).

Of course, from a practical point of view, none of this information seems to be of much use. But science has been showing that brain teasers are great for stretching and expanding our minds. And activities like these are a great way to get children interested in language. If you would like to do more along these lines, go to http://www.rinkworks.com:80/words/oddities.shtml

Posted by Marion Blank at 10:12 PM
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There are many "orphans" in reading instruction--areas that are vital to reading but which are shunted aside in the overwhelming emphasis on phonics. Punctuation is one of these areas. Whatever attention it does receive is a story of "too little, too late." As a result, for many children, the only punctuation you'll see them using is a period at the end of the first sentence. After that, it's all up for grabs.

The end result is less effective skill in both reading and writing.

Now Elsa Eckart, an experienced teacher, has--at the age of 74--tried to turn matters around through publishing her first book. It is titled Punctuation Celebration. Using poems, she transmits the meaning of most of the central punctuation children need to master. Then through cartoons with a short text, she illustrates the use of the various marks. For example, in defining a dash, she says:
The dash-a punctuation mark-is
more casual than a comma.
So I prefer to think it is
A comma in pajamas.

Oops! I had better mention this.
Remember when you read it
A dash is used to emphasize
The words that will precede it.

For more information, go to http://www.elsaknightbruno.com/punctuation-celebration/

Posted by Marion Blank at 02:35 PM
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