Grammar & Writing for Ninth Grade

I found this at a flea market.

It is important that teenagers (including my son) learn how to communicate by using the written word. Being able to write concisely, correctly, and creatively requires practice.  It is also vital to attain the basic skills of grammar. Additionally, applying the different writing methods can help teenagers to attain their needs and desires. The homeschooling materials that parents provide to their teenagers is a means for the students to learn the skills they need to survive in this world.

Researching the internet to find what a ninth grader needs to learn about grammar and writing in Texas yielded me the following results:

Grammar components would include-

-plurals of nouns

-types of sentences

-subject/verb agreement predicate

-nouns and pronouns

-verbs adverbs adjectives

-phrases 

-conjunctions

-punctuation (period, commas, semicolons, colon, apostrophe, quotation marks, ellipsis)

-capitalization

-prefixes, suffixes, root words

Formal writing would involve the following assignments-

-persuasive essay- convincing someone about a viewpoint in a certain situation

-personal essay- writing about oneself

-compare/contrast essays- finding similarities and differences between two things

-research writing- composing a presentation by collecting data from several sources

This is a checklist to assess the writing-

-the voice (using unique words to write)

-development of ideas (utilizing thoughtful, insightful ideas)

-organization (transitioning smoothly within the writing)

-focus and coherence (remaining on topic)

-conventions (using rules of grammar correctly)

I recently went shopping at a flea market and found this textbook which seems promising for teaching writing and grammar to my son:

English: Writing and Skills, Complete Course (Coronado Edition) by W. Ross Winterowd  and Patricia Y. Murray  Hold, Rinehart and Winston 1988

If more help is needed with writing, we could obtain help from the internet at:

http://www.writingfix.com/left_brain.htm

For grammar, I can buy this:

http://www.timberdoodle.com/Editor_In_Chief_C1_p/410-596.htm

If more help is needed for grammar, my son could obtain help from the internet at:

http://englishgrammar101.com/

The above is just a sampling of what is required learning for a ninth grader in Texas in the areas of writing and grammar.  It is, by no means, an exhaustive list.  I scoured the internet to find information specific to Texas because this is where I am homeschooling. 

How about you, my readers?  What resources do you use for your children, if you homeschool?  Do you scour the internet for help to teach writing and grammar?  Or do you have favorite books or curriculum that you use with your children?  I encourage you to turn to the internet if you are on a limited budget.

God bless you all with His peace, my beloveds.

This has been an entry for my Thorough Thursdays series.

I found some of my information at: http://www.georgetownisd.org/ccorner/language/9.asp