Well the votes are in and of the responses I've received the consensus was more than 2-to-1 to maintain the current newsletter format of an annotated digital dozen. I know Yahoo makes it difficult to vote if you don't have a Yahoo login, but I believe the results I've received are pretty representative of the larger audience sentiment, based on emails I've gotten in addition to the votes tallied on the list site. Thank you so much for your input! It's good to know the newsletter continues to meet the needs of its subscribers.

This week I took a step back to address quality resources for one of the grand old men of education, English instruction. No matter how child-centered or constructivist your classroom may be, English grammar is there somewhere lurking and looking for his chance to make himself purposeful even in this new century of colloquialisms and jargon. So whether you're a strict traditionalist or a whole language practitioner, I'm hoping you'll find something here that will help enrich your students' use of the language in the new year. Thanks to Jerry B for his recommendations. Check out his page of English links at http://www.angelfire.com/ny2/library218/languagearts.html!

• Ask a Linguist - http://linguistlist.org/~ask-ling/
  Sponsored by the Linguist List, these dedicated experts offer this service to answer questions about linguistics and language to anyone who asks. There's links on languages, etymologies and grammar and there's also an archive of past questions and answers. The question submission form makes it easy to use too.
• Behind the Name - http://www.behindthename.com/
  Subtitled "the etymology and history of first names," this is a fully searchable site that allows students to study the origin and history of some 9,000 names. You can search by gender, meaning or description and even just browse alphabetically. Even more intriguing are some of the name collections, such as most popular, and elements in first names. Can't find a name? Ask on the message board or email the webmaster himself!
• Common Errors in English - http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
  Washington State University at Pullman offers this intensive listing of words which are commonly misused. The listings are offered without line breaks so it's rather hard on the eyes. On the other hand it's alphabetically listed so there's not a lot of clicking to find a word you question. Want to feel vindicated? Then go to the link of non-errors and justify your idiom!
• Fake Out - http://www.eduplace.com/fakeout/
  Every week the folks at Education Place offer another set of Fake Outs for K-2, 3-5 and 6th grade and up. "But what's a Fake Out?" you ask? It's a quick, easy way to build vocabulary by having children select a term from a group of three words and then identify the correct definition from a list of suggested meanings. Imagine how you could build on these vocabulary terms from Monday til Friday.
• Grammar Bytes - http://www.chompchomp.com/
  Robin Simmons’ collection of interactive exercises, terms, rules and handouts for students and teachers; there’s about a dozen online activities to take part in and the handouts are pretty well put together: comma splices, fused sentences, irregular verb usage. I especially like the way the handouts reinforce the work students are doing on the website.
• Guide to Grammar and Writing - http://ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
  This exhaustive site focuses on the technical aspects of English, including close-ups on sentences, paragraphs, essays, and nearly 100 online grammar quizzes. There's also an ask-the-expert link for questions that cannot be handled on the site or in the classroom. I especially like the way the site is broken down into levels: word & sentence, paragraph, essay, research paper and so on.
• Linguistic Fun Page - http://www.ojohaven.com/fun/
  Looking for a new twist to many of the English topics we tirelessly attempt to impart to our students? This sight is a hoot - lots of offbeat approaches and fun links. Consider "Funny Translation Errors," "The Book of Clichés" and "Shakespeareisms" are good indicators of where this site is leading students - learning through playful use of language.
• Monthly Idiom - http://www.comenius.com/idioms/
  The Comenius Group provides a new idiom each month to assist students of English in their understanding of these figures of speech. Simply click on a letter of the alphabet and then use the handy drop down menu to select an idea from the generated list. And now you not only can read about the idiom, there's a quick loading audio example that demonstrates its use, as well.
• Outta Ray's Head - http://www.rayser.ca/
  Ray Saitz is an eccentric teacher and librarian from Ontario who didn't see what he needed online and so he decided to make it himself. He's changed domain names over time, but his site is the stuff lore is made of: teacher generated lesson plans that have been classroom tested and are provided for free with accompanying handouts to teachers around the world. Topics include literature, writing, poetry and library skills.
• Plumb Design Visual Thesaurus - http://www.plumbdesign.com/thesaurus/index.html
  Here's a tool that will accommodate your visual learners in the highly auditory discipline of English. Let the page completely load, then click at the top where instructed and a separate window opens that presents a moving, seemingly living web of words flowing out from a central term. Just type in a new term in the field at the bottom and hit return to send the web in a new direction. What a great way to show the streaming association of words.
• Pop-Up Grammar - http://www.brownlee.org/durk/grammar/
  This is a well-intended site that offers some great online interactive learning opportunities if you can just steer clear of the clutter from requests to visit sponsors. Quizzes cover parts of speech, gerunds, clauses, mechanics and diction. Each quiz has ten questions the student answers, and with each answer the student is given immediate feedback on their response. Students can then evaluate their performance at the end of the quiz.
• World Wide Words - http://www.quinion.com/words/
  One of the challenges of English instruction is to get students thinking about the ways in which language is used. World Wide Words does just that by looking at the ways the English language is used around the world. Written in great Britain, it has that uniquely British viewpoint that is sure to change the perspective of students whether they're in Australia, the U.S. or any other English speaking community. Example: "Why should a flashy person pretending to have money or ability be called a 'Tinhorn'? And does the little phrase To boot, meaning 'in addition', have anything to do with footwear?"

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