Writing Activities & Free Resources to Teach Writing
Free Resources for Writing Mechanics
Courses Related to Writing Mechanics
Writing Mechanics & Grammar
Learning the mechanics of writing is a critical component of learning to write. Having strong skills in writing mechanics allows writers to get their message or story to their readers in a clear and understandable way. It is important to know the rules of English and to use them properly.
Time4Writing.com is an amazing place to find resources to help students improve their familiarity with the mechanics of mechanics. You’ll find free writing resources covering capitalization, grammar, and punctuation. The articles on each topic give additional guidance and students can practice their skills using activities that include video lessons, printable worksheets and quizzes, standardized test prep materials, and interactive games. For a more in-depth look at writing mechanics, eight-week courses are available.
Parents and educators can use these resources to motivate students and reinforce skills. Students can gain a better understanding of writing mechanics as well as expand their skills with online practice and boost confidence in their writing.
Free Writing Resources: Printables, Videos, Presentations, and Games
Parts of Speech
Knowing the parts of speech, using them correctly, and understanding how they relate to one another is an important early step in creating strong writing skills. From nouns and verbs to prepositions and conjunctions, each part of speech plays a key role in sentence structure and clarity of thought. ... Read More »
Subject-Verb Agreement
The question of subject-verb agreement highlights a writer's need to make sentences clear and understandable. Having plural subjects with singular verbs, or the reverse, eventually results in nobody being quite sure who is doing what. This becomes particularly important when long phrases separate the subject from the verb. Learning to make subjects and verbs consistent with each other is the first step to making the meaning of a sentence perfectly clear and interesting. ... Read More »
Capitalization
In a world of lowercase texting, learning proper capitalization takes on a whole new meaning. From learning to distinguish between "capitonyms" (a turkey in Turkey, a march in March) to learning the basic rules of which situations require words to be capitalized, students have much to gain from mastering this area of writing mechanics. ... Read More »
Punctuation
Punctuation marks are signposts used by writers to give directions to their readers about which way a sentence is going. Properly punctuating a sentence is one of the most crucial elements in making the meaning of the sentence absolutely clear. Take our favorite example: "Let's eat Grandma!" becomes considerable less worrisome of a proposition when a single comma is added … "Let's eat, Grandma!" ... Read More »
Homophones, Homonyms, Homographs
Some of the most interesting words in English are homophones, homonyms, and homographs. However, intrigue can quickly give way to confusion when dealing with sound-alikes and look-alikes! Learning the distinction between identical spellings with two different pronunciations or two different spellings with identical pronunciation, is not just confusing, but potentially frustrating. Still, with the proper approach, students can be brought to appreciate these types of words. ... Read More »
