The rubric and mechanics checklist require students to check and correct ending punctuation, capitalization, commas, apostrophes, and spelling. The editing/revision activity directs students to refer to a "Handy Guide to Grammar and Writing," use a dictionary to check spelling, and conference with a parent to review any grammar rules that need attention. The lesson asks students to read over drafts and explicitly check clarity of tone, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation during revision.

Students review and practice standard grammar items (modifiers, predicate adjectives, direct and indirect objects, compound and simple subjects and predicates) as part of test preparation. The test asks students to expand sentences with modifiers and prepositional phrases, write a sentence with a direct object (and underline it), and circle a sentence with a simple subject and compound predicate. The test also asks students to "write a sentence that reflects the voice" of three characters, and the parent notes instruct the child to correct any problems missed on the test.

The lesson includes explicit instruction and examples of pronoun types (subjective, objective, possessive, demonstrative, interrogative) and asks students to identify and sort pronouns, which practices conventional grammar forms. Option 2 requires students to cross out noun phrases and write replacement pronouns, and the parent notes ask the child to read the revised paragraph aloud and discuss how the paragraph sounds improved. Activity pages and answer keys show students practicing substituting pronouns (e.g., changing "The people of Ember" to "They") to streamline expression.

The lesson's Activity 2 defines antecedents and pronouns and gives explicit incorrect/correct examples showing nonstandard pronoun use and corrected forms (e.g., "Every boy should have their own car" → "his"). The Student Activity Page requires students to circle pronouns, underline antecedents, and rewrite sentences when pronoun–antecedent agreement is wrong. The provided answer key shows corrected rewrites, demonstrating students practice recognizing nonstandard forms in writing and applying specific correction strategies (number, gender, consistency).

Students are asked to identify pronoun case (subjective, objective, possessive) and to fill in blanks with correct pronouns on the Cases of Pronouns activity. In Option 2 students correct incorrect sentences, identify the case of each incorrect pronoun, and name the antecedent, providing explicit practice recognizing and correcting nonstandard pronoun usage. The Things to Review section asks students to produce sentences orally with different pronoun cases, which practices use in speaking.

Students are taught rules about conjunctions and comma usage (Things to Know; Things to Review) and asked to apply them. In Activity 1 students combine pairs of sentences using coordinating conjunctions and pronouns, practicing comma placement for two independent clauses. The Parent Plan provides model combined sentences that show corrected, conventional forms that students can emulate.

Students are asked to write sentences demonstrating pronoun use (subject, object, possession) on the unit test, which practices standard grammar usage. Multiple activities require students to edit and revise writing (e.g., "Editing and Revising" step, final copy for essays and newspaper reports) and rubrics explicitly evaluate revision for minimal spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Parent/teacher prompts instruct students to confer about and correct mistakes during revision.

Students identify and correct run-on sentences in Activity 1 and on the Student Activity Page by locating two independent clauses and revising them. They practice three explicit revision strategies: ending a sentence and starting a new one, inserting a semicolon, or inserting a comma plus a coordinating conjunction. The Parent Plan provides model corrections and students apply those models to sample sentences that illustrate four common run-on situations.

Students are taught five explicit strategies for correcting run-on sentences (separating into two sentences; comma + coordinating conjunction; semicolon; semicolon + conjunctive adverb or transitional phrase; and subordination). The Revising Run-Ons activity requires students to identify and revise five given run-on sentences using those strategies, with guided examples showing each strategy. The Student Activity Page provides models (He slept for twenty years; therefore, life passed him by; Because he slept for twenty years, life passed him by; etc.) that demonstrate recognition of nonstandard/incorrect sentence forms and ways to improve them into conventional written English.

Students are taught the components of a sentence (subject, verb, complete idea) and shown examples of sentence fragments and how to correct them. In Activity 1 students determine whether given groups of words are fragments and revise fragments into complete sentences. The lesson gives two explicit revision strategies: add a subject and verb to prepositional-phrase fragments, and attach dependent clauses to independent clauses (with comma guidance). The Wrap Up directs students to review sentence components and correcting fragments.

Students receive explicit guidelines for writing dialogue that address conventional grammar and usage (e.g., put the subject before the verb in dialogue tags, use commas and quotation marks correctly, start a new line for a new speaker). In Option 1 students are asked to highlight speakers' lines and rewrite the conversation, correcting mistakes, and in Option 2 students must compose original dialogue using correct punctuation and varied tags. The answer key includes a quoted dialectal line ("There ain't a foot o' ground...") drawn from the story, showing nonstandard usage present in student materials.

Activity 5 directs students to "review the tips for using dialogue and the different ways that run-ons and sentence fragments can be avoided and corrected," and refers students to a "Handy Guide to Writing." The short story rubric asks students to check mechanics-related items such as "Do I use dialogue correctly?", "Are my sentences/paragraphs in a logical order?", and "Do I follow the rules of dialogue?" These items require students to identify and correct certain conventional grammar and punctuation errors in their own writing.

Students read primary-source diary entries that are noted to have imperfect grammar and spelling, and parents are instructed to help the child read because "people spoke a little differently." Students are asked to write information "in your own words" (Activity 2) and to compose sentences about the Civil War, cut them between subject and predicate, circle verbs, and rearrange subjects and predicates (Activity 6). The parent guide prompts discussion of language differences and perspective when comparing the two journals.

The point-of-view rewriting activity directs students to choose a passage and rewrite it from Pink's or an omniscient narrator's perspective and explicitly notes that they do not have to represent the characters' speaking dialect. The parent notes repeat that the scene need not include dialect and instruct students to imagine what Pink is seeing and thinking, which guides students to produce a more conventional narration. The Civil War letters and passage-selection tasks require students to work with historical, dialectal text and provide opportunities to produce revised versions in standard narration.

Students study explicit explanations and tables distinguishing lay/lie and sit/set and other commonly misused irregular verbs, including principal parts and example sentences. Students complete activities that require them to identify incorrect verb usage (circle the incorrect sentence) and insert or write the correct verb form in sentences. Students are prompted to practice the correct forms orally and in writing (answering questions in complete sentences and parents are asked to have students use forms in sentences).

Students are instructed to avoid contractions and slang and to use a professional, formal tone, which requires identifying and removing conversational or nonstandard features. Students must mark verbs in their drafts (underline verbs, circle helping verbs, box linking verbs) and include at least two commonly misused verbs, and the rubric specifically assesses correct use of commonly misused verbs. During editing and revising, students read for grammar and spelling and are directed to consult a Handy Guide to Writing and to run a spelling checker as strategies to improve conventional language.

The Parent Plan lists as a skill that students will "produce work that follows the conventions of particular genres (such as essay, feature story, business letter)," and the letter task directs students to refer to pp. 50-51 in the Handy Guide to Writing for letter format. The project requires students to plan and organize writing tasks "considering purpose, audience, and timeline," and the rubric asks students to meet criteria for creativity and appeal, implying review against criteria.

Students practice identifying and correcting nonstandard grammar and punctuation in others' writing by using an Editing Symbols chart (insert comma, insert apostrophe, S/V, tense, fragment, run-on) and by correcting a passage about Kirsti and Annemarie. Students apply proofreading marks to their own writing by rewriting a paragraph in their journal and correcting the bottom paragraph using the four symbols learned (commas, words, apostrophes, quotation marks). The skills list and activities also require students to revise drafts to clarify meaning and edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling.

Students practice identifying and marking nonstandard conventions using proofreading symbols (add a period, delete, transpose elements, space needed, close the space) and copy a paragraph while applying those symbols. Students mark errors in a second paragraph and review an answer key showing corrections for spelling, word order, and punctuation. The Parent Plan lists skills students will do: edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling, and revise drafts to clarify meaning and enhance style.

Students learn and use specific proofreading symbols (e.g., -ed, frag, r-o, capitalization marks) as shown in the Editing Symbols graphic and Student Activity Page. Students correct a provided paragraph and a second paragraph using the indicated editing marks and record corrections in their journals. Students are prompted to rewrite the provided paragraph and to review and write the editing marks they learned.

Students learn and apply four proofreading abbreviations (Sp, -s, s/v, T) in Activity 1 and the Student Activity Page. Students rewrite a paragraph in their journal making the indicated corrections and then edit a second paragraph, marking mistakes with the abbreviations. The materials prompt students to explain each abbreviation and when it would be used and provide an answer key for checking corrections.

Students learn three editing abbreviations (Wdy, Ww, Pron) and are asked to apply them to a provided paragraph (Activity 1). Students rewrite the paragraph in their journals correcting pronoun errors, wrong-word choices, and wordiness, and they can check their work against the provided answer key showing specific corrections. The Skills section and Wrapping Up ask students to edit final products for grammar and review the editing abbreviations they have learned.

Students are asked to revise and edit their drafts by marking mistakes with standard editing symbols (Activity 5) and to refer to a Handy Guide to Writing for grammar and punctuation rules. The Expository Rubric and Mechanics category require students to produce correct punctuation, capitalization, commas, apostrophes, quotation marks, and spelling. The rough-draft instructions explicitly direct students to use a formal style by avoiding 'I', contractions, and slang, and the parent notes instruct students to correct repeated grammatical mistakes with practice sentences and explanations.

The Number the Stars test asks students to identify editing symbols (Question 3: editing symbol for adding a period; Question 5: editing symbol for capitalization) and the Parent Plan states the test will check knowledge of editing symbols and abbreviations. The test also asks students to use vocabulary in context (Question 7: use the word intricate in a sentence) and to circle the sentence where the word contempt is used correctly (Question 9). These items require students to identify and apply conventional punctuation, capitalization, and correct word usage.

Students identify and label pronouns in sentences (Parts of Speech Sentences V) and follow guidance on recognizing pronoun types such as personal, demonstrative, interrogative, relative, indefinite, reflexive, and intensive. The materials instruct students to "unpack" contractions to find the pronoun (e.g., "She's" = "She is"), which is a strategy for making contracted forms explicit. Students read character dialogue that uses nonstandard forms (e.g., "it ain't"), so they are exposed to variation in spoken/written English.

Students are instructed to use conventions of language to communicate effectively (Skills section) and to employ specific debate phrasing such as saying "your idea is mistaken" instead of "you are wrong." The "Rules of Debate" page gives explicit guidance on language choices (avoid "never," avoid exaggeration, avoid "always," do not present opinions as facts, use "many" rather than "most"). Students prepare and deliver opening arguments and timed answers, practicing enunciation and conventional phrasing during spoken responses.

The lesson includes a Dialect Guide that lists nonstandard words (e.g., "ain't," "ya'll," "wanna") alongside their conventional meanings, which directs students to interpret variations from standard English. The Skills section explicitly states students will "Recognize dialect and conversational voice and explain how authors use dialect to convey character," and the Parent Plan suggests discussing dialect and taking turns reading aloud to aid comprehension. The guide and discussion prompts provide direct opportunities for students to identify and translate nonstandard forms into standard meanings.

Students are instructed to combine short, choppy sentences into longer, more interesting sentences in the "Combining Sentences, Part I" activity, with explicit examples showing how to join dependent and independent clauses (e.g., "Although Cassie felt like crying, she didn't want Mama to suspect..."). The student activity page gives five items where students must rewrite 2–3 short sentences into one while keeping original meaning, and the parent notes urge students to vary the ways they combine sentences (not always using the same clause pattern).

Students practice recognizing and correcting nonstandard punctuation in the "Don't Forget the Commas" activity by inserting and deleting commas in provided sentences and checking against the answer key. The Special Notes prompt asks students to notice that Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry sometimes does not follow comma rules, directing students to recognize variations from standard punctuation in another author's writing. The Parent Plan Skills list explicitly includes editing and revising manuscripts to improve meaning and focus, which students are instructed to practice.

Students practice identifying and correcting nonstandard sentence forms in the "Editing and Revising Sentences" activity, where they locate sentence fragments and run-ons and are told how to fix them (attach fragments to independent clauses; separate clauses with a comma and coordinating conjunction). Directions ask students to revise their own drafts by combining short sentences, correcting fragments and run-ons, and checking grammar and punctuation. The parent notes and answer key explicitly label example sentences as fragments or run-ons, reinforcing recognition in others' writing.

Students are instructed to read their rough draft and make changes to correct mistakes and improve their paragraph, explicitly looking for sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and comma errors. The Student Activity Page provides a chart of proofreading symbols with examples for comma insertion, apostrophes, quotation marks, tense problems, pronoun problems, wrong word usage, fragments, and run-on sentences. Students are asked to use the editing symbols to correct their paper and to have a parent read the draft and discuss possible corrections and changes. The activities require students to identify errors in sample sentences and in their own writing and to apply revision strategies.

Students identify and record the actual meanings of euphemisms from the novel (Activity 1), mapping community terms like "Release," "Nurturer," and "Discipline wand" to their real-world meanings. The reading questions and notes call attention to language variation or error (for example, Asher calling a "snack" a "smack" and the sentence "I always confuse the words there, their, and they're" on the italics page). Students also practice conventions by underlining words that should be italicized and by applying rules for italic usage in writing (Activity 2).

Students are asked to review and practice capitalization rules, including proper nouns, titles before names, and capitalization of abbreviations and acronyms (Activities: Rules for Capitalization; practice sentences; list of acronyms to expand). The lesson explicitly tells students to look for and note abbreviations and acronyms in all caps in their journals and to research their meanings. The text also points out that authors sometimes "bend the rules" (e.g., capitalizing Terms like Assignment, Instructor, Twelve) and directs students to notice these nonstandard capitalizations.

Students identify subjects and verbs, circle subjects, underline verbs, and label sentences as active or passive (AV or PV) on the provided activity page. Students analyze sentence forms to recognize passive voice by looking for a form of be + past participle and sometimes a "by _____" phrase. Students are instructed to choose specific, descriptive verbs and to avoid passive voice, and they generate at least two active and two passive sentences as part of practice.

The lesson explicitly teaches students to identify passive voice and convert it to active voice ("find the noun...make it the new subject"). The "Active and Passive Voice, Part II" section gives examples and lists problems with passive voice and shows step-by-step strategy for changing passive sentences to active ones. The "Get Active" student page asks students to identify voice in sentences and rearrange passive sentences into active voice, and the parent notes ask to review the student's paragraph to make sure sentences are in active voice.

Students are told to "use the active voice rather than the passive voice" when writing and the Final Chapter Rubric explicitly asks "Did you write in active voice?" Students are instructed to "read through your sentences and make any changes that could improve the writing" and to "correct any mistakes in spelling, sentence structure, or grammar." Students are given an editing symbols reference sheet and directed to consult a "Handy Guide to Writing," and the Memory Storyboard Rubric lists "Correct grammar and spelling" as a criterion.

Students practice and correct dialogue punctuation in a dedicated Part 2 exercise where they rewrite a passage with missing quotation marks, commas, and question marks. Students read explicit rules and examples showing where commas and periods go relative to end quotation marks, when to use question marks or exclamation points, how to place tags at the beginning/middle/end of quotations, and that each time another person speaks they should begin a new indented paragraph. Students also write their own imagined dialogue and are asked to "check your punctuation," and an answer key shows corrected, conventional punctuation.

Students are given a word bank and explicit practice replacing the verb "said" with more descriptive verbs (Activity 1), including underlining each instance of "said" in dialogues and writing a fitting verb above it. Option 2 asks students to write realistic dialogue without using the word "said," ensuring each character speaks multiple times and that verbs chosen make sense. Parent/teacher checks require students to select verbs that fit the situation, reinforcing word-choice as a strategy to improve expression in conventional language.

The Parent Plan skills explicitly direct students to "Recognize dialect and conversational voice and explain how authors use dialect to convey character," which asks students to notice language variation in the text. Activity 1 has students identify and label Spanish words used in dialogue (e.g., gracias, ándale) and the answer key shows those words appearing in character speech, giving students practice noticing nonstandard or bilingual usages. The reading tasks and illustration prompts require students to interpret characters' speech and cultural language choices in context.

Students are asked to find and highlight transition words in the book and to use a chart of common transition words to combine and sequence sentences (Activity 1 and the Student Activity Page "Using Transition Words"). Students arrange sentence order using suggested transitions and write sentences that include appropriate transition words. The parent notes include a punctuation correction showing correct use of transitional adverbs (Incorrect vs Correct example with "Therefore"), which models a strategy to improve conventional expression.

Students are directed to "use a variety of sentence structures and transitions to link paragraphs" and to "elaborate information and ideas in speaking and writing by using transitions," as stated in the Skills section. Students complete an activity titled "Transitioning Between Paragraphs" where they rewrite topic sentences to include transitional elements and are asked to vary wording. The Things to Review and Parent Plan sections ask students to review effective ways to transition between paragraphs and to check that wording is varied.

Students practice recognizing and selecting correct conventional forms in the "Commonly Confused Words" multiple-choice activity (e.g., choose between loose/lose, breath/breathe). Students write original sentences using target word pairs in the sentence-creation section, and parents are instructed to review and have students use each word correctly aloud. The Skills section and activities explicitly direct students to identify and correctly use troublesome verbs and commonly misused words, and they are encouraged to use strategies such as creating flash cards for words they struggle with.

Students are asked to write and revise dialogue using explicit rules for punctuation (quotation marks, commas, paragraphing for new speakers) and to vary dialogue tags and verbs instead of using said. Students are instructed to read their dialogue aloud to hear whether it genuinely sounds like what characters would say and to give each character a unique voice. Parents are asked to check that the child used quotation marks and commas correctly and to discuss tone, pitch, and voice during oral reading.

Students are asked to identify features of poems that deviate from conventions (for example, Question #2 notes that "Tunnels" is written in all lower-case letters). Activity 2 directs students to "analyze the different punctuation marks, the capitalization, and the lack of sentence structure," and the lesson explicitly defines "poetic license" as deviating from conventional form for effect. The Student Activity Page includes terminology (poetic license, stanza, end rhyme) that students use to describe nonstandard poetic choices.

Students identify hyphenated adjectives in poems (Parts I in Options 1 and 2) and explain how those hyphens affect sound and imagery. Students predict hyphenation for listed words, then look them up in a dictionary and record correct spellings (Part II), and analyze pairs such as re-creation/recreation and co-owner/coexist to see how hyphens change meaning (Part III). Students are asked to include a hyphen in their own shape poem and to read poems aloud, connecting written form to oral presentation.

The found-poem activity explicitly tells students that "poets use poetic license and do not necessarily follow conventional standards for writing" and asks students to rearrange, add, or subtract words from source texts, which requires noticing and making choices about conventional vs. nonconventional wording. Parent prompts ask the child to explain how he decided what changes to make to the original text, which requires articulating revision choices. Multiple activities require students to identify and insert correct dashes and to write sentences using dashes, giving practice with a specific conventional grammar/usage feature.

Students practice using parentheses and examine how parentheses and other punctuation (commas, dashes) are used in poems (Activity 2 and the "Parentheses" page). They are asked to explain why one punctuation mark might be used instead of another and to check that complete sentences in parentheses are capitalized and punctuated correctly (Activity 2 instructions and "Things to Review"). The answer key discusses how poets sometimes use punctuation for effect and contrasts that use with regular writing, prompting students to consider variations in punctuation usage.

Students are directed to study punctuation marks (referenced to pp. 34-35 of the Handy Guide to Writing) and create flashcards for terms they do not know, which practices conventional punctuation and usage. The poetry test includes multiple-choice items that ask students to select appropriate punctuation (questions about dashes, hyphens, ellipses) and to identify poetic license, which requires attention to when nonstandard punctuation or forms may be used. Several activities require students to copy, neatly write, and arrange poems, reinforcing conventional readability and presentation.

Students evaluate sentences on the "Do We Agree?" page, marking correct subject-verb agreement and crossing out and rewriting incorrect verbs (sentences 1–7). The lesson provides explicit strategies for recognizing and fixing nonstandard agreement: rules for compound subjects linked by and/or, ignoring intervening prepositional phrases, treating indefinite pronouns as singular, and locating subjects in questions or inverted constructions. Students also write three subject-verb quiz sentences and give the quiz to a friend, applying and testing these strategies in their own and others' writing.

Students read passages from the story and complete exercises that ask them to underline past perfect verbs and explain the author's use of past perfect. Students convert past-tense verbs to past perfect forms and mark sentences as correct or incorrect for verb usage, crossing out and correcting incorrect verbs. Students work with passages written by others, identifying verb-form issues and producing corrected versions.

Students practice combining short, choppy sentences into single sentences using participial (verbal) phrases in Activity 1 and on the Student Activity Pages. The Answer Key and directions show examples of converting two sentences into one (e.g., "Sitting in the meadow, Cusi carefully watched his flock") and converting sentences into participial phrases. The Skills list also states students will edit and revise manuscripts to improve meaning and focus, indicating practice with strategies for improving conventional expression.

Students are instructed to vary sentence beginnings, combine short sentences, and add transitions to make writing smoother (Activity 1: Varying Sentence Beginnings). The About the Author task asks students to reword listed facts and craft an informative paragraph while focusing on different ways to start sentences. The Parent Plan and Skills list require students to edit and revise manuscripts to improve meaning and to identify and use prepositional phrases, appositives, independent and dependent clauses, and transitions.

Students are directed to edit and revise their drafts using an editing symbols chart and a Handy Guide to Writing (Activity 5), which requires checking spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. The Narrative Essay Rubric explicitly assesses Mechanics and Sentence Structure (verb forms, sentence variation, descriptive language) and asks students to vary sentence structure and paint a sentence to improve expression. Students conference with a parent to review edits and use graphic organizers to revise wording and refine sentences before producing a final copy.