Customer Reviews

Caught'ya!: Grammar With a Giggle

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is a great tool for teaching and reviewing grammar skills at the junior high level. A story unfolds, one sentence a day, and provides needed repetition of basic grammar skills. I use it as the sponge lesson each day at the beginning of my classes. The book also contains quizzes and writing lessons. The kids love it; they are honing their grammar skills, and they race to be "first" because that person gets to write the correct sentence on the overhead! It's amazing what a little competition can do! I teach in Texas with a state-mandated skills test hanging over us every year, and I'm convinced it has helped our 7th and 8th master the writing portion of the exam.

Before I found Jane Bell Kiester's books, I didn't have a clear path to follow when teaching writing. The Caught'Ya books solve the problem of teaching your students grammar and mechanics. Each day students are given a sentence that adds to a story line appropriate for their age group. Students become engaged in the learning process throughout the story and often can't wait to see what happens next. Students become intimately involved in the story as they become part of the story when the teacher inserts their name as a character in the story. Although Caught'Ya's are integral to the teaching of grammar and mechanics, the greatest bonus I found in using these wonderful sentences was the fact that students naturally and easily learn to paragraph appropriately. This is a difficult task to teach and for students to understand. Caught'Ya's solve this for teachers and students alike. If you can't purchase any other resource this year, you must purchase one of Jane Bell Kiester's Caught'Ya books! Your students will learn to write in a way that will improve all test scores! Do not hesitate! This is the perfect purchase.

As a high school teacher, I thought that my subject area, English, meant teaching literature and working on developing mastery in writing. When I discovered that many of my students had trouble putting together complete sentences, I knew that I had to do something to reinforce grammar skills, but I dreaded worksheets, etc. When I found Kiester's book I decided to give it a try. The beauty is that this approach works with all levels of students and can be tailored to focus on your class' needs. I loved the results--especially seeing the vocabualry appear in their papers. I recommend this for any teacher who struggles with basic grammar and punctuation at a high school level.

I began using Caught Ya' Grammar with a Giggle with my second grade students almost nine years ago. I found it to be the very BEST way to teach grammar to children. My second graders were hooked immediately. Mrs. Kiester makes grammar a cooperative learning experience by involving the entire class in the process. The one thing my students love most is the way she incorporates a story line into the day-to-day grammar lesson. They also learn some wonderful vocabulary words which begin to appear in their own writings. I am now a third grade teacher and I continue to use all of Mrs. Kiester's books with my students. They enjoy grammar so much that when they go to fourth grade, they insist that their fourth grade teachers use the Caught 'Ya books. I often comment in jest that if the school were to catch fire, I would see that my students were safely out of the building but I would grab all of my Jane Bell Kiester books as I exited the building. I am very proud to say that after sharing with Mrs. Kiester the excitement my students now have for grammar, she included a short story about my second graders in the preface of her book, "Elementary My Dear." I look forward to reading and using anything Mrs. Kiester writes. As a classroom teacher, she understands what makes learning fun for students and teachers. Throughout the year I conduct many workshops in my district both for classroom teachers and university pre-service teachers. I never conclude a workshop without sharing Mrs. Kiester's books.

I had the honor of meeting Jane Bell Kiester at the NCTE conference in Washington, D.C., several years ago. Seeing her presentation changed the way I thought about grammar. The book is easy to use and fun to incorporate into the classroom. Students find the grammar corrections challenging, and even the most unmotivated students often find themselves discussing basic elements of grammar (to comma or not to comma?) amongst themselves--often discussions in which I am not even peripherally involved. I have shared this method of teaching grammar and writing skills in my district, and am proud to report that almost all of the English department is now using "Caught'ya's" on a regular basis. The only argument I have with the book is that I don't always agree with Kiester's corrections, and some of the written paragraphs are too short. However, I think it must be stated that most English teachers have differences of opinion regarding paragraph length and proper punctuation, so my disagreements with the corrections should in no way reflect on the content of the book. I highly recommend this book to veteran English teachers, foreign language teachers who need to teach grammar skills, and anyone just starting out in the language arts.

The book suggests 7-9th grade students and I tried it with my 10th grade remedial classes--english language learners and some special needs kids. Although I thought the sentences were solid and the vocabulary cues subtle but effective, after about a month my kids were bored with the Romeo and Juliet story. I tried the strategy of using my own story line, which the book explains and suggests, but they just never had the excitement of following a running story line through the week's warmups that I thought they would get. I think this is a super system but Keister's grade level recommendations are definitely not stretchable, and I would be even a little leery about using this with 9th graders. Overall an awesome strategy!

I was excited about using the book, so when I received it I became a little discouraged because some of the vocabulary was over my child's head. However, I was able to adjust it to her level. This book is geared toward a teacher with many students, so if you're homeschooling, you'll just have to overlook that part. Most of the book is explaining what Caught'Ya! is, how it works and samples. She gives very detailed steps for using the sentences with lots of ideas included. She has broken down the sentences into vocabulary, spelling, diagramming sentences, writing assignments, showing writing and tests. She has also included as examples copies of her students' work and how she graded it.
As I write each sentence on the blackboard we use at home, I have changed some of the sentences and vocabulary words as I said. Since we've been using this daily for about three or four weeks now, I decided before I wrote this review to ask my child how she likes using this program. Her response was, "I love it. It's lots of fun." I can also tell you she has progressed a great deal since we started. I haven't even really begun to explain commas to her, yet she was asking me should she put one in a sentence she was working on. I've been pretty impressed with her progress, especially since she's ADHD. It's been tough for her to grasp this part of learning, so finding something that works is quite an achievement.
The most important part of all of this is the hype as Ms. Kiester says in her book and as I say each day to my child as we start a sentence, "Do I get to Catch Ya! today?" She responds with a defiant look and a slightly mischievious twinkle in her eye, "I don't think so!"

As homeschoolers, we love this grammar program. It's simple, quick and very effective. We started seeing a difference in our children's' writing after only a few days. Our kids are 8 and 10, and they really enjoy doing grammar now, I think in large part because of how quick it is and the fact that it doesn't involve a huge amount of writing. They have, on occasion, begged to do grammar because they can't wait to find out what happens next in the ongoing story. Once you get the idea of how this program works, it would be fairly easy to write your own stories (if you're so inclined).

The only drawback is that the book is written for school teachers, so there's a lot about how to manage it with 30 students. Much of that is irrelevant to homeschoolers; however, the directions and stories are very helpful. Also, the tips on how to write your own stories are excellent, which help ensure you're covering everything your kids need to master, and that you're not working too far in advance (and thus risking working for nothing if you have to change course).

Overall, a great grammar program, highly recommended.

I discovered this book while completing my Master's in Education. I was lucky enough to be a student teacher in Ms. Kiester's middle school classroom, where I watched her in action. During grammar lessons, she often had every student's attention. This book is a valuable tool for new and experienced teachers.

I am a new homeschooler. I quickly realized my older kids (ages 7 & 10) needed to work on their grammar. I have tried a number of things but this system seems to have captured their attention. They want to know what happens next in the story. I also appreciate that the author explains the approach and gives examples of how she has used it in her own classroom. The only thing I wish it had was a list of generally accepted proofreading marks that could be easily copied. That would be useful for those of us using it at home. A great purchase for us and a great idea for making grammar fun.