That versus Which

Which vs. That

By: Brian A. Klems | August 7, 2012

Q: I’ve been writing for a long time and always assumed which and that were interchangeable, but I’ve recently been told that isn’t the case. How do I make sure I’m using the right word? —Anonymous

The battle over whether to use which or that is one many people struggle to get right. It’s a popular grammar question and most folks want a quick rule of thumb so they can get it right.

Here it is:

If the sentence doesn’t need the clause that the word in question is connecting, use which. If it does, use that. (Pretty easy to remember, isn’t it?) Let me explain with a couple of examples.

Our office, which has two lunchrooms, is located in Cincinnati.
Our office that has two lunchrooms is located in Cincinnati.

These sentences are not the same. The first sentence tells us that you have just one office, and it’s located in Cincinnati. The clause which has two lunchrooms gives us additional information, but it doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence. Remove the clause and the location of our one office would still be clear: Our office is located in Cincinnati.

The second sentence suggests that we have multiple offices, but the office with two lunchrooms is located in Cincinnati. The phrase that has two lunchrooms is known as a restrictive clause because another part of the sentence (our office) depends on it. You can’t remove that clause without changing the meaning of the sentence.

The Grammar Vigilante - Get this guy a superhero cape!

I shared this with my students today. 

You decide... Is he committing a crime, or is the real crime the misplaced apostrophe?

NoRedInk Engages our 8th Grade Grammarians

Today we launched NoRedInk.com, a new grammar program that engages students based on their interests. As you can see, our 8th Graders were totally enthralled!

8th Graders Celebrate February by Writing Sonnets

How To Write A Sonnet

Each quatrain should progress the poem as follows:

First quatrain: This should establish the subject of the sonnet.

Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: ABAB

Second quatrain: This should develop the sonnet’s theme.

Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: CDCD

Third quatrain: This should round off the sonnet’s theme.

Number of lines: 4. Rhyme Scheme: EFEF

Fourth quatrain: This should act as a conclusion to the sonnet.

Number of lines: 2. Rhyme Scheme: GG

Sonnet Characteristics

A sonnet is simply a poem written in a certain format. You can identify a sonnet if the poem has the following characteristics:

• 14 lines. All sonnets have 14 lines which can be broken down into four sections called quatrains.
• A strict rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet is ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG (note the four distinct sections in the rhyme scheme).
• Written in iambic Pentameter. Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, a poetic meter with 10 beats per line made up of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables. (Think Dr. Seuss) For example: "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May".
• Powerful imagery
• Subject of love

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (Sonnet 18) by William Shakespeare, 1564 - 1616

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to Time thou grow’st.
    So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
    So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Poem due Thursday, Jan. 26

You have learned about the following poetic devices and have examples of them in your poetry packet. As you continue to write your poem that began with imagery, include these other devices.

The Images:

Imagery

Simile or Metaphor

The Sounds:

Alliteration

Assonance or Consonnance

Onomatopoeia

Requirements:

• At least 20 lines

• No COPS errors
• Line breaks that make sense - your poem should look like and be written like a poem, not an essay with sentences.
• Thoughtful punctuation - throughout the lines and/or at the end of the lines
• Keep your five senses (especially sound) in mind as you craft your poem.
• Typed
• Due Thursday, January 26

Check out the examples of assonance and consonnance here.

From http://westmaneditorial.com/alliteration-vs-consonance-vs-assonance-whats-the-difference/

Examples of Alliteration

• The wicked witch of the west
• Larry, like Laura, likes leaving late.
• Freezing frost in February
• Johnny jumped and jiggled.

WHAT IS CONSONANCE?

Consonance is often confused with alliteration, and understandably so. Consonance is similar to alliteration in the fact that it deals with the repetition of consonants. However, the repetition in consonance occurs with the inner consonant sounds, or those at the ends of words, rather than the consonants at the beginning of the words in a phrase.

Examples of Consonance

• He struck some good luck.
• Think tank
• Touch the peach on the beach.
• The big frog was on a log.

WHAT IS ASSONANCE?

Similar to both consonance and alliteration, assonance uses the repetition of a pattern of sound. In assonance, the repetition occurs with the vowels inside the words, rather than the consonants. It is used online shop to create internal rhyming within a phrase or sentence in a more subtle manner than with alliteration.

Examples of Assonance

• There was a rock in a box that was locked.
• The cat came back to attack the man.
• A white owl was flying high in the night.

Creative Writing Rubric

General Writer’s Workshop Rubric

Score  ( /10)	Writing Traits
	CLEAR, WELL-ORGANIZED, WELL-DEVELOPED IDEAS The writer’s purpose is clear. Transitions are used to connect paragraphs. Introduction, body, and conclusion provide logical sequencing of ideas. Narrative shows a sense of story/plot arc (remember conflict moves action)
	SENTENCE VARIATION IN PARAGRAPHS Lead sentence captures the reader's attention. Sentence lengths and structures are varied: At least one successful compound sentence with either comma/conjunction or semicolon structure. At least one successful opening adjective sentence At least one successful delayed adjective sentence
	WORD CHOICE and STYLE Utilizes vivid, lively verbs. Avoids vague, overused, repetitive language (a lot, great, very, really, there is, there are, super, like . . .). Word choice and phrasing gives the writer a personality or "voice".
	GRAMMAR, USAGE, MECHANICS No run-on sentences or fragments - READ YOUR PIECE ALOUD TO LISTEN FOR RUN-ONS. FIX AS NEEDED. Subject/verb agreement Consistent verb tense Pronoun/antecedent agreement Correct punctuation, capitalization, and spelling
	EXPLODING A MOMENT Clearly demonstrates the writer knows how to “explode a moment” using either a snapshot, a thoughtshot, or baby steps to draw the reader’s attention.
____/50	________/ 100

10- Excellent   

8 - Good   

6 - Fair

4 - Needs Work

2 - Unacceptable

Middle School English - First Trimester Happenings

Middle School English has taken on a different look this year. Class is based on a Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop model. During Reader’s Workshop this trimester, students have been selecting their own titles, allowing them to follow their own interests and read at an individualized level and pace. Through one-on-one work with us, class mini-lessons, and partner shares, students have been developing the stamina and skills to understand and enjoy longer, more complex titles. We encourage our students to read a variety of genres; they have set personal reading goals and tracked their progress throughout the trimester in their Reader’s Notebooks.  To showcase their understanding of their independent titles, students write letter essays about their reading. Topics covered include understanding character, making inferences, and supporting ideas using textual details. Students have also presented book commercials to each other, persuading their peers read similar titles. The excitement in the room was palpable as they discussed why their books were worth selecting.

Since September in addition to their letter essays, students have been writing

expository, narrative, and descriptive pieces. Using their Writer’s Notebooks as a seed bed for ideas, students have been practicing different types of writing skills from how to hook a reader and write a thesis statement to varying sentence structure by playing with adjectives. They even spent a class observing the outdoors and then turned those observations into a poem that focused on sensory details and rich vocabulary. They practiced telling a story with very few words.

Students are able to additionally practice their grammar (compound sentences, compound-complex sentences, complex sentences beginning with subordinate clauses, opening adjectives and delayed adjectives) when they craft their original sentences for their weekly Word Voyage lessons based on  classic Latin and Greek roots.

This has been a busy trimester, and we continue to develop the skills that make our students lifelong readers and writers. We are looking forward to building on the foundation we’ve laid in the first trimester as we head into the winter term. Second trimester highlights will include book clubs - again self-selected but with more than one student reading the same book at the same time to allow for rich discussion - and a study of poetry culminating in The Country School’s longest and most celebrated tradition, The MacLane Poetry Recitation.