How to teach grammar in context with The Red Badge of Courage - a one sentence warmup

Choose a sentence to put under the microscope. Look for a sentence that contains some of the following: figurative language, sensory imagery, alliteration, allusion, clauses, prepositional, infinitive, gerund or appositive phrases. Example:

 The cannon with their noses poked slantingly at the ground grunted and grumbled like stout men, brave but with objections to hurry.

 ·       personification: The cannon with their noses poked slantingly

·       simile: like stout men

·       alliteration: ground, grunted, grumbled

·       sensory imagery: stout men, grunted

·       participles: poked slantingly

·       infinitives: to hurry

·       prepositional phrases: with their noses, at the ground, like stout men, with objections

 The goal is to increase a student’s reading comprehension and writing skills. Analyzing a single sentence makes readers aware of figurative language and symbolism as they read. Identifying an author’s use of verbals and phrases demonstrates writing strategies anyone can use.

The Grammardog Guide to The Red Badge of Courage features 16 multiple choice grammar, style, proofreading and literary analysis quizzes that use sentences from the literature. Answer key is included.