Grammar Recipes, Grammar Ideas and Writing Labs

8th Grade GrammarMrs. Malic

Grammar Recipe Loop One 1. Write a complex declarative

sentence that begins with a dependent clause and that contains both a direct object and a subject complement—each of which are personal pronouns.

2. Write a sentence that contains a compound personal pronoun as a subject and a compound personal pronoun as the object of a preposition.

Writing Lab Loop One 1. Write a short description, one page or

less, of an interesting event in your life. 2. Rewrite the description, converting the

entire description into simple declarative sentences.

3. Compare the two descriptions for sound, fluency, interest, naturalness, or anything else that emerges in contrast.

4. What does knowledge of sentence structure have to do with writing?

Grammar Recipes Loop Two 1. Write a compound sentence that

contains a gerund phrase in the first clause and a participial phrase in the second clause.

2. Write a three-clause compound sentence.

3. Write a three-clause complex sentence.

Writing Lab Loop Two 1. Write a paragraph that is filled with

gerunds and participles. 2. Rewrite the paragraph so that it contains

no gerunds and no participles, but every idea in the first version is still present.

3. Think about which paragraph was easiest to write and which paragraph you prefer.

4. What are gerunds and participles, really? What effects do gerunds and participles allow a writer to achieve?

Grammar Recipe Loop Three

1. Write a one-clause sentence that contains an infinitive phrase as subject and a gerund phrase as direct object.

2. Write a complex sentence that contains two dependent clauses and only one independent clause.

Writing Lab Loop Three 1. Write a paragraph of 50-100 words using

only simple sentences, and more than ten coordinating conjunctions.

2. Rewrite the paragraph, but this time, you are not allowed to put the same part of speech on both sides of any conjunction.

3. Reflect on what this attempt has shown you. 4. Write a statement about the nature of

conjunctions, and what the complete structure of conjunction and two conjuncted terms is like when it is well made.

Grammar Ideas Loop Four 1. Write a short statement explaining

the difference between good writing and bad writing. Defend the qualities you choose.

2. Create a metaphorical definition of a grammatical term; for example: An essay is a path that ends where it begins.

Grammar Recipes Loop Four 1. Write a simple imperative sentence

that begins with a one-letter interjection, followed by a present tense intransitive verb, followed by an adverbial prepositional phrase consisting of preposition, definite article and a singular common noun.

Writing Lab Loop Four 1. Write three sentences that have

indirect objects. 2. Rewrite each sentence, using

prepositional phrase after the direct object to replace the indirect object.

3. Compare the two versions of the sentences.

4. Write a statement explaining why you might choose either option over the other.

Grammar Recipes 1. Write a sentence that contains four

pronouns; every pronoun in the sentence must have more than one syllable.

2. Write a five clause sentence that contains only five words.

Writing Lab Loop Five 1. Write a paragraph of five to ten clauses.

The paragraph can only contain one sentence.

2. Revise the paragraph, breaking it into simple sentences.

3. Compare two versions of the paragraph to see which you like best.

4. Write a statement explaining the effect of each version, and suggesting times when each version might be more appropriate.

Grammar Ideas Loop Six 1. Imagine that someone was

extremely upset and was telling his or her side of a story to a best friend. What do you think would be the most common sentence structures in this person’s conversation? Why?

2. What are the most important similarities between grammar and music? Explain.

Grammar Recipes Loop Six 1. Write a sentence in which the

subject of the main clause contains a clause, and the direct object of the main clause also contains a clause.

2. Write a compound-complex sentence in which the most common word in every clause is the adverb.

Writing Lab Loop Six 1. Write a paragraph describing

nonstop frenzied action. Use no verbals.

2. Rewrite the sentences, replacing much of the language with verbals.

3. Consider carefully what the verbals let you do, as a writer. Explain.

Grammar Ideas Loop Seven 1. Are some interjections happy or sad?

Write a paragraph explaining the emotional nature of interjections.

2. Create one more verb tense. Fill out our tense structure. What would the new tense be?

3. Categorize adverbs into two, three or four groups.

Grammar Recipes Loop Seven

1. Write a sentence that contains more conjunctions than any other part of speech.

2. Write a correct sentence that uses three different verb tenses.

Writing Lab Loop Seven 1. Write a paragraph of at least five

short sentences in which every sentence is simple and declarative, and in which there are no compounds or tense changes.

2. Write a comment about what this paragraph teaches you about writing style.

Grammar Ideas Loop Eight 1. When you do a four-level analysis of a

sentence, in what ways is that like doing mathematics, and in what ways is it different from doing mathematics?

2. Imagine that a grammar plague struck the English speaking world, and everyone was unable to use a certain part of speech. Which part of speech’s disappearance would be funniest? Why?

Grammar Recipes Loop Eight 1. Write a sentence that contains a

correlative conjunction and three indefinite pronouns.

2. Write a simple sentence that uses three demonstrative pronouns.

Writing Lab Loop Eight 1. Write three sentences use gerunds. 2. Change the gerunds to infinitives. 3. Write a statement explaining the

difference in tone or style that result from the change.

Grammar Ideas Loop Nine 1. We use different tones in writing.

Some writing is formal, informal, serious, humorous or sad. What criteria could be used to determine if a piece of writing was successful in using a formal tone?

2. In what life situations are we most likely to use the four different sentence structures (declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamatory)?

Grammar Recipes Loop Nine

1. Write a six-word sentence that has no noun or pronouns.

2. Write a sentence that contains no noun or adjective, and that has a compound subject complement.

Writing Lab Loop Nine 1. Write a paragraph describing an

exciting action. Modify every verb with at least one adverb, preferably more.

2. Rewrite the paragraph without using any adverbs.

3. Consider Steven King’s dictum: “The adverb is not your friend.” What do you think of adverbs now? Why?

Grammar Ideas Loop Ten 1. Which two parts of speech do you

think have the most in common and why?

Grammar Recipes Loop Ten 1. Write a sentence in which a clause

with a subject complement predicate adjective is the direct object of the main clause.

2. Write a sentence that has two intentional misplaced modifiers.

Writing Lab Loop Ten 1. Write a dialogue of ten or more lines

between two characters; neither character ever uses a complete sentence, and there are no verbs at all.

2. Think about how this passage sounds, and how difficult it was to do.

3. Explain what truths about grammar this process either reinforced or revealed.