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Zephyr Learning - English and General Literacy Shop

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(based on 17 reviews)

I hold an MA in literature and a CELTA in language, and over the last 20 years I've taught language and literature in the UK and USA as well as ESOL in France and Tanzania. In addition to my work as a teacher, I am the Literacy and Grammar Consultant for Zephyr Learning and Professional Development. These resources have been refined in my own classroom and are the same ones I reference in my CPD for teachers. Prices for complete lessons are based on the current cost of an Americano at my local.

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I hold an MA in literature and a CELTA in language, and over the last 20 years I've taught language and literature in the UK and USA as well as ESOL in France and Tanzania. In addition to my work as a teacher, I am the Literacy and Grammar Consultant for Zephyr Learning and Professional Development. These resources have been refined in my own classroom and are the same ones I reference in my CPD for teachers. Prices for complete lessons are based on the current cost of an Americano at my local.
Compound sentences / semi-colons
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Compound sentences / semi-colons

(1)
Fully resourced lesson that teaches students how to use semi-colons to combine simple sentences into compound sentences. It also teaches them about conjunctive/linking adverbs (e.g. ‘however,’ ‘besides,’ ‘likewise,’ ‘consequently,’ ‘instead,’ etc.) and how they can be added immediately after semi-colons to clarify meaning. Resources include printable explanations and practice exercises along with a Powerpoint presentation that can be used to guide students through the lesson (the Powerpoint includes the answers for the exercises on the worksheet).
Simple and compound sentences bundle
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Simple and compound sentences bundle

4 Resources
Three lessons that teach students how to recognise, punctuate and compose simple and compound sentences. Each lesson includes worksheets with explanations, examples and practice exercises along with Powerpoint presentations that can be used to guide the lesson and display correct answers. Lessons are organised as follows: Lesson 1: how to recognise when a simple sentence is complete and requires a full stop. For the final task students are given an informative article about the Titanic which contains no full stops or sentence-signaling capital letters. They must insert full stops in the correct places. Lesson 2: how coordinating conjunctions can be used to combine simple sentences into compound sentences (and when joining commas should be included). Students are given pairs of simple sentences which they then join with coordinating conjunctions, inserting joining commas as appropriate. Lesson 3: how semi-colons can be used to join simple sentences to form compound sentences. Students practise using semi-colons and linking adverbs to combine simple sentences into compound sentences. I have also added a bonus resource examining simple sentences that do not follow conventional word order (i.e. questions, imperatives and inverted sentences). It includes two pages of explanation and examples followed by an exercise designed to help the teacher assess students’ ability to identify the subject in sentences with unconventional word order.
Full stops - lesson & worksheets
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Full stops - lesson & worksheets

(1)
Fully resourced lesson with Powerpoint presentation, worksheets and answer keys. Students learn to identify when a sentence has ended and a full stop is needed. For the final task, they must insert missing full stops in an article about RMS Titanic.
Compound sentences  / joining commas
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Compound sentences / joining commas

(1)
This fully resourced grammar-for-writing lesson teaches students how to use coordinating conjunctions (and, when applicable, joining commas) to combine simple sentences to form compound sentences. *NOTE: Instead of using the American acronym FANBOYS in this lesson, I have included the more UK-appropriate ANTBOYS (most American dictionaries do not recognise 'then' as a coordinating conjunction, whereas the British council and most UK dictionaries do. Also, although 'for' is recognised as a coordinating conjunction on both sides of the Atlantic, it is almost never used in contemporary writing. As this is a grammar for writing rather than a sentence-parsing lesson, the archaic 'for' has been omitted and the British conjunction 'then' has been included, thus 'ANTBOYS'). With this in mind, teachers in North America or ESOL teachers teaching North American English may wish to hide, delete or replace the slide in the powerpoint in which I have listed the coordinating conjunctions most commonly used in the UK.
Peer assessment-Writing across the curriculum
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Peer assessment-Writing across the curriculum

(0)
A series of peer editing sheets for use across the curriculum, designed to develop writing proficiency without sacrificing attention to subject-specific content. Worksheets are differentiated into bronze, silver and gold levels, with increasingly challenging targets for each level in organisation, grammar, punctuation and use of language. There are separate sheets for explanatory, instructional and persuasive writing. Students simply follow the instructions on the sheet, looking for specific features in their partner's work and circling the corresponding recommendations accordingly. No specialist knowledge is required on the part of the classroom teacher. For teachers in Wales, the targets are in line with those of the National Literacy and Numeracy Framework, with bronze targets aligning with the objectives for year 7, silver matching those of year 8 and gold matching those of year 9.
Peer assessment-Writng to describe or entertain
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Peer assessment-Writng to describe or entertain

(0)
A series of peer editing sheets for use after students have finished drafting descriptive or narrative texts. Sheets are organised into Bronze, Silver and Gold levels with increasingly challenging criteria included in each. Criteria are based on the Literacy and Numeracy Framework for Wales, with Bronze corresponding to Year 7, Silver to Year 8 and Gold to Year 9 expectations.
Full stops - lesson & worksheet
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Full stops - lesson & worksheet

(1)
Fully resourced lesson - students use their knowledge of sentence structure to replace the missing full stops in an article taken from the BBC Wales website. Students start by circling the subject of each sentence and underlining the predicate (the verb and all the words that work with the verb to say something about the subject); they then add full stops and capital letters to separate the sentences from one another.