Customer Reviews

Scholastic Guide: Checking Your Grammar: Scholastic Guides

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful reference for both children and adults alike. In fact, I am ordering 6 copies for my classroom so that my students can have an easily understood, well written guide to use as they muddle through all of the eccentricities of English Grammar.

This book is a masterpiece that everyone, student or adult, shouild read. It clearly illustrates the fundamentals of good writing and conveys complex ideas in an understandable way. Mr. Terban has clearly written the best grammar book on the market and every classroom should have a copy. Plus, it is a very useful tool for highschool student studying for the SAT's or SAT2's in writing. I highly advise anyone who wishes to improve his or her grammar to pick up a copy.

A must have for anyone who writes or teaches writing or is learning writing. My 7 yr. old 2d grader loves this book but so do I as a writer and teacher. My son finds it easily understandable and it is written in such a way it is fun for him to use. As a result he is far ahead of most children his age in his writing skills.

What sets this book apart from other books or grammar is not only is it superbly organized but it has numerous examples which make the principles of grammar easily understood. That is one reason is is useful for a teacher in that it provides so many examples for use in the classroom.

The book begins with the theme of sentence buildng and the user learns how to build sentences. That is a valuable concept in both learning and teaching grammar.

I enthusiastically recommend it.

One question people ask me when I tell them I'm an English teacher is, "What's a good grammar book?" I always talk up this little powerhouse of a grammar and punctuation guide. Produced by the ever-present Scholastic Book Company, it would cover all basic principles -- parts of speech, irregular verbs, punctuation, spelling rules -- everything up to an intermediate level in 144 pages. Now the really funny thing is that there are no other decent grammars for this level! Strange but true, and I've looked, believe me. This is a serious lacunae in American publishing and I don't know why this should be so.

The material itself is not difficult -- the book could even be a bit shorter without example sentences and somewhat dated, thumb-nail illustrations. I've sometimes thought of writing one myself, there is such a felt need.

It's fine if teachers can get adult beginners to accept this as a text; actually, my adult students were glad enough of such a simple, clear approach. Now, "Checking Your Grammar" has no tests, quizzes, or much vocabulary. Scholastic Books has other books on spelling, idioms, synonyms, a dictionary, etc. by the same author. Teachers take note: be sure you get the library binding version so you can xerox pages easily. My copy must have faded ink, it's been through the copying machine so many times in 15 years of English tutoring.

I was delighted I could actually still use this book for my class in public school, and in fact, the materials I had discovered and developed over time were welcomed by the lead teacher. My tried and true favorites are: CYG, "An Outline of English Grammar" (long out of print), "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make a Difference!" (children's version), by Lynn Truss, "Warriner's English Grammar and Composition", different levels, for tests on every aspect of usage (out of print). Another excellent one for a more advanced level is "Harper's English Grammar", also, naturally, out of print. For teens to adult, "Essential English Grammar" by Philip Gucker (1966,Dover Books) is more than acceptable and is in print with a snappy new cover design [of the Union Jack, possibly confusing to new American learners]. I just do not comprehend why most junior grammars are usually lengthy, expensive, and bad. I think it's time to change this.

(Many thanks to those who left comments on my recent reviews. I have been requested to shut up and so cannot reply, which is unfair, considering that my posts were always grammatically faultless.)

This book is a masterpiece that everyone, student or adult, shouild read. It clearly illustrates the fundamentals of good writing and conveys complex ideas in an understandable way. Mr. Terban has clearly written the best grammar book on the market and every classroom should have a copy. Plus, it is a very useful tool for highschool student studying for the SAT's or SAT2's in writing. I highly advise anyone who wishes to improve his or her grammar to pick up a copy.

Since my original language is German it was a great help to have this book now that my daughter is a student in an American school. Although I understand the basics of English grammar this book showed me steps on how to teach my daughter English grammar without making it too complicated. It also helped me refresh my grammar. I have also recommended this book to my daughters 1st Grade teacher as an ideal companion for any parent whose kids are starting to write stories of their own.

I've recommended this book for people, who want to improve the writing skill. I found this book very helpful for foreign people. The book contains the basic ideas and good examples.

I homeschool my children and this has been very useful as a teaching tool and a review for myself...I learned a few things even as an adult.

I use this book in my professional career to ensure my use of proper grammar is adequate & to minimize embarassing mistakes. Additionally, I use it to help my 4th grader with homework assignments.

This book is a great, simple, explanation of most of the key grammar topics that most elementary students face. It works really well with the Dailygrams series. It's easy enough to follow that you can send your students to find the information themselves.