A Note to Teachers

I’m passionate about language arts. I love to read, write, and speak. As a
homeschooling mom, I wanted my own children and my friends’ children to share my
passion. Over the years, I found aspects of many different curricula that clicked with
my students. But I never found something that did everything I wanted a complete
curriculum for elementary students to do:
 Use the most powerful medium to teach language arts: story
 Give the why of language arts to motivate students
 Teach to mastery rather than drill the same concepts year after year
 Limit seat work and use little-to-no-prep games to teach instead
 Teach skills like reading fluency, handwriting speed, and public speaking
I felt called to create my own fast, easy, and fun curriculum for homeschooling
parents and others who want to see students succeed in language arts.
Grammar Galaxy: Nebula is for students who are just beginning to read and
write. This curriculum does not take the place of beginning phonics and handwriting
instruction. It is also meant to be read to students. The stories and concepts are
appropriate for students in first to sixth grade, however, making this a perfect read
aloud for families. Be sure to point out the synonyms for vocabulary words that are
provided. Following each story, there are questions to ask your student to check for
understanding. With your help, the student should complete the corresponding
mission in the Mission Manual before moving on to the next story. The Mission
Manual can be purchased at GrammarGalaxyBooks.com.
My hope is that your student will accept the call to be a guardian of Grammar
Galaxy.

Melanie Wilson

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 Chapter 1

It was Saturday morning. The three English children, Kirk, Luke,

and Ellen, sat playing their favorite video game. Their dog, Comet, lay
next to them, looking bored.
This was the usual order for a weekend on their planet. Their
parents were the King and Queen of English. They wouldn’t normally
request their presence until lunch time.
Today was different. The king and queen hurried into the game
room looking upset. Kirk and Ellen stopped playing immediately and
stood to greet their parents.
“What is it, Mother?” Ellen asked.
“Yes, Father, is there a problem?” Kirk asked. Kirk was the oldest
and was eager to please.
“There is indeed a problem,” the king responded. He seemed more
worried than Kirk could ever remember.
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 Chapter 1: The Importance of Reading 

“It involves all of you,” the queen explained. When she saw that
young Luke was still focused on the game, she sighed. “Luke, you
must stop playing and listen,” she said sternly. Luke glanced up and
was convinced his mother was serious. He put his game controller
down and stood to join them.
“Children, our planet and all of Grammar Galaxy are being
threatened,” the king said.
Kirk stood tall and said, “Father, I will do whatever is necessary to
protect our planet. You can trust me.”
The king put his hand on Kirk’s shoulder. “I believe I can, Kirk.
But this is a problem you cannot solve alone. You will need your
brother and sister to help you.”
Kirk looked at his younger sister Ellen and wondered how she
could help him fight a real enemy. She wasn’t very good at fighting
video-game aliens! Ellen seemed to read his mind and putting her
hands on her hips, said, “I will also protect our planet, Father.”
Both of the elder English children turned to look at Luke. He had a
gift for gaming, but had a difficult time paying attention to much of
anything else. They wondered how they could possibly need his help.
“I’ll fight, too!” Luke proclaimed, pretending to kick and punch aliens.
Little Comet barked his approval. The king couldn’t help but smile at
his children’s courage. But they didn’t know what was happening. He
asked the children to take a seat and ordered the screen to play a
commercial.
Kids appeared on the screen who were using gaming devices to fire
at alien ships. The game-playing kids laughed and smiled while an
announcer spoke. “Our children…the hope of Grammar Galaxy. They
can learn the battle skills they will need to defeat aliens in the future,
or…”
The screen changed to images of children bored with books. “…we
can insist that children waste their time on books,” the announcer
sneered. “The future belongs to gamers…not readers.” The commercial
ended with a boy and girl celebrating their destruction of an alien
ship. The announcer rapidly concluded, “Paid for by Citizens for a
Better Galaxy.”
“That was awesome!” Luke exclaimed. “Do you want us to become
better gamers so we can save the galaxy?”
“No,” his father answered, getting louder. “That’s the opposite of
what we want.”
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 Chapter 1: The Importance of Reading 

“Children,” the queen began. “Grammar Galaxy owes its very

existence to books.”
“Yes,” Luke interrupted. “But games are the future!”
“No,” the king said a little too harshly. He calmed himself and said,
“Grammar Galaxy will disappear without books. Let me explain.” The
king stood and commanded the screen to display a graphic of
Grammar Galaxy.
“Here is planet English,” he said, pointing. “You know that
anything that happens around the galaxy affects our citizens. In the
same way, anything we do on planet English affects the galaxy.”
The three English children nodded.
“This ad campaign is telling parents to 
stop having their children read. It is exquisite – beautiful
changing life on our planet and in the inestimable – valuable
galaxy at large.” The king began to
pace as he went on. “The head tenacity – determination
librarian of our English libraries 
requested an emergency meeting with
me. She told me that she will not be purchasing any more books
because children aren’t checking them out.
“That’s just the beginning. Because children aren’t reading, words
on planet Vocabulary are dying. They aren’t being used because they
aren’t being learned in books. Look!”
The king ordered the screen to switch to a live feed of planet
Vocabulary. The words exquisite, inestimable, and tenacity faced
the camera, looking pale and weak. “I don’t know those words,
Father,” Luke said sadly.

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 Chapter 1: The Importance of Reading 

“I’m not surprised, Luke. If you don’t start reading, there are many
words you will never know. And Vocabulary isn’t the only planet in
trouble. Show planet Spelling,” the king ordered.
The screen showed letters running around in a panic. “What’s
wrong with them, Father?” Ellen asked.
“They don’t know their place anymore. Children aren’t reading
books, so they aren’t learning how words are spelled,” her father
explained.
“The poor things look exhausted,”
her mother added. 
“The worst news of all is that our
composition – writing
largest planet is failing. Go to planet
Composition,” the king said. The 
screen gave a wide-angle view of the
planet and then zoomed in to show Poetry City, deserted.
“Where are all the poems, Father?” Kirk asked.
“The same place as all the stories, papers, and books,” his father
answered. “They’re leaving Grammar Galaxy.” He turned back to the
screen. “Show Export City.” Poems, stories, papers, and books were
boarding ships bound for planet Recycling. “You see, when children
don’t read, they stop writing. They have fewer words to use, they don’t
know how to spell, and they aren’t inspired to write. All these written
works will disappear.”
“What about the writing on the Internet?” Kirk asked.
“With fewer visitors reading, websites will be shut down. We will
lose everything that took years to create,” his mother said.
“This is a disaster!” Kirk exclaimed.
“Yes, Kirk, it is. I’m glad you understand,” the king answered.
“Why are these advertisements being run if reading is so important
to the survival of the galaxy?” Kirk asked.
“Very good question, my son,” answered the queen. “We believe
this is the work of our enemy.”
“Video game makers?” suggested Luke.
“No, dear, though I understand why you think they’re the problem.
Instead, our galaxy’s enemy is…” she explained.
“The Gremlin,” the king and queen said together.
“From the beginning of Grammar Galaxy, he has sought to destroy
us. He is most likely behind these advertisements,” the king said.

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 Chapter 1: The Importance of Reading 

“Father, just get him and put him in the dungeon!” Luke jumped
up and pretended to slam the Gremlin into a cell.
The king grinned at his youngest son. “The problem is we can’t see
the Gremlin. But we can see the damage he does—damage we have to
try to fix right away.”
“Just tell us what to do,” Kirk said.
“You have to get the children of planet English reading again.”
“How can we do that, Father? We’re just children ourselves,” Ellen
asked.
The king drew his children close. He raised his hands over them
and declared, “You are no longer just the royal children of planet
English. You are Guardians of Grammar Galaxy. I give you the
authority to assign our young people missions that can defeat the
Gremlin. With their help, I know you can save the galaxy.”
A servant entered the game room carrying a book, which the queen
took from him. “You will need this,” she said, handing the book to
Kirk.
Luke and Ellen were eager to see it, and Ellen was first to read the
book’s title, The Guide to Grammar Galaxy. The children stared at it
and wondered what could be written in it that would be of help to
them.
“We are always here for you, children. But you must learn to rely
on this guidebook if there is any hope for us,” the king said, reaching
for his wife’s hand.

When his parents left the room, Luke broke the silence. “Okay, are
you guys up for another game of Super Nova?”
“Luke, this is serious!” Ellen warned.
“I am serious. I want to play!”
Kirk ignored his siblings and opened the guidebook to the table of
contents—the list of topics that were in the book. “The Importance of
Reading” was the first entry, which he read to his brother and sister.

The Importance of Reading 

The more you read, the better reader you will become. The better reader you 
are, the more you will know. The more you know, the more likely you are to get 
good grades, get a job you love someday, and even get along with others. 

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 Chapter 1: The Importance of Reading 

The good news is you don’t have to read boring books to get all the benefits of 
reading. Reading books you enjoy will help you increase your vocabulary (the words 
you know). You will also learn to spell and write well. If you don’t read many books 
now, you can start today and still be a good reader. One of the best ways to find 
books you like is to go to the library. Reading books that are easy for you is a good 
place  to  start.  But  spend  some  time  trying  to  read  books  that  are  a  little  more 
challenging, too. Read out loud, listen to audiobooks, and have someone read to 
you. 

“Now what do we do?” Ellen asked when Kirk finished reading from
the guidebook.
Kirk looked thoughtful and then certain. “We give kids a mission.”
Once they had decided on a mission to solve the crisis, Ellen had
an idea. She suggested giving each young person on the planet a
mission manual. Luke insisted on getting a manual as well. Mission 1
on the importance of reading was written. It was then delivered to
every young person on the planet with high hopes of saving Grammar
Galaxy.

What does composition mean?

Do you like to read?

What would happen if everyone stopped reading

and played video games instead?

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 Table of Contents

A Note to Teachers ............................................................................................................. 1 
Unit I: Adventures in Literature .......................................................................................... 2 
Mission 1: The Importance of Reading .......................................................................... 3 
Mission 1: Update ......................................................................................................... 14 
Mission 2: Reading from Context ................................................................................. 16 
Mission 2: Update ......................................................................................................... 22 
Mission 3: Reading Comprehension ............................................................................. 25 
Mission 3: Update ......................................................................................................... 31 
Mission 4: Identifying Fiction & Nonfiction ................................................................ 33 
Mission 4: Update ......................................................................................................... 39 
Mission 5: Story Elements ............................................................................................ 41 
Mission 5: Update ......................................................................................................... 47 
Mission 6: Tall Tales .................................................................................................... 49 
Mission 6: Update ......................................................................................................... 55 
Mission 7: Rhyming Words .......................................................................................... 57 
Mission 7: Update ......................................................................................................... 63 
Literature Challenge 1....................................................................................................... 66 
Literature Challenge 2....................................................................................................... 69 
Unit II: Adventures in Vocabulary ................................................................................... 72 
Mission 8: Synonyms and Antonyms ........................................................................... 73 
Mission 8: Update ......................................................................................................... 79 
Mission 9: Vocabulary .................................................................................................. 81 
Mission 9: Update ......................................................................................................... 89 
Mission 10: Fix the Prefixes ......................................................................................... 91 
Mission 10: Update ....................................................................................................... 97 
Mission 11: Fix the Suffixes ......................................................................................... 99 
 Mission 11: Update ..................................................................................................... 105 
Mission 12: Superlatives ............................................................................................. 107 
Mission 12: Update ..................................................................................................... 113 
Vocabulary Challenge 1 .................................................................................................. 116 
Vocabulary Challenge 2 .................................................................................................. 119 
Unit III: Adventures in Spelling ..................................................................................... 122 
Mission 13: Alphabetizing .......................................................................................... 123 
Mission 13: Update ..................................................................................................... 129 
Mission 14: Syllables .................................................................................................. 131 
Mission 14: Update ..................................................................................................... 137 
Mission 15: Phonics .................................................................................................... 139 
Mission 15: Update ..................................................................................................... 145 
Mission 16: Spelling with Phonics ............................................................................. 147 
Mission 16: Update ..................................................................................................... 153 
Mission 17: Compound Words ................................................................................... 155 
Mission 17: Update ..................................................................................................... 161 
Mission 18: Contractions ............................................................................................ 163 
Mission 18: Update ..................................................................................................... 169 
Mission 19: Abbreviations .......................................................................................... 171 
Mission 19: Update ..................................................................................................... 177 
Spelling Challenge 1 ....................................................................................................... 179 
Spelling Challenge 2 ....................................................................................................... 182 
Unit IV: Adventures in Grammar ................................................................................... 185 
Mission 20: Nouns ...................................................................................................... 186 
Mission 20: Update ..................................................................................................... 193 
Mission 21: Common and Proper Nouns .................................................................... 195 
Mission 21: Update ..................................................................................................... 201 
Mission 22: Singular and Plural Nouns ...................................................................... 203 
Mission 22: Update ..................................................................................................... 208 
 Mission 23: Pronouns ................................................................................................. 211 
Mission 23: Update ..................................................................................................... 216 
Mission 24: Articles .................................................................................................... 218 
Mission 24: Update ..................................................................................................... 224 
Mission 25: Adjectives ............................................................................................... 226 
Mission 25: Update ..................................................................................................... 233 
Mission 26: Verbs ....................................................................................................... 235 
Mission 26: Update ..................................................................................................... 242 
Mission 27: Adverbs ................................................................................................... 244 
Mission 27: Update ..................................................................................................... 251 
Mission 28: End Marks ............................................................................................... 253 
Mission 28: Update ..................................................................................................... 260 
Mission 29: Quotation Marks ..................................................................................... 262 
Mission 29: Update ..................................................................................................... 268 
Grammar Challenge 1 ..................................................................................................... 270 
Grammar Challenge 2 ..................................................................................................... 273 
Unit V: Adventures in Composition & Speaking ........................................................... 276 
Mission 30: Handwriting ............................................................................................ 277 
Mission 30: Update ..................................................................................................... 287 
Mission 31: Forms ...................................................................................................... 288 
Mission 31: Update ..................................................................................................... 296 
Mission 32: Thank-You Notes .................................................................................... 297 
Mission 32: Update ..................................................................................................... 305 
Mission 33: Directions ............................................................................................... 306 
Mission 33: Update ..................................................................................................... 313 
Mission 34: Introductions ........................................................................................... 315 
Mission 34: Update ..................................................................................................... 322 
Mission 35: Reading Aloud ........................................................................................ 323 
Mission 35: Update ..................................................................................................... 332 
 Mission 36: Storytelling .............................................................................................. 333 
Mission 36: Update ..................................................................................................... 340 
Nebula Final Challenge 1................................................................................................ 341 
Nebula Final Challenge 2................................................................................................ 344 
 A Note to Teachers
This isn’t your average language arts workbook. In fact, it is a mission manual your
young guardian will use to save Grammar Galaxy from the evil Gremlin. In other words, it’s
supposed to be fun!
Read the corresponding lesson in the Grammar Galaxy: Adventures in Language
Arts, Nebula text to the student before completing each mission. You will then read each
step of the mission to your student and give as much help in completing them as your student
requires. It’s important to note that most Nebula-level students aren’t ready to work
independently. Much of their enjoyment of their mission manuals will come from spending
time with their teacher /parent.
Each step of a mission may be completed on separate days or all at once, depending on
interest level and schedule. Missions are short so students stay motivated and have time to
read and write in other ways they enjoy. Most missions ask students to use a highlighter to
indicate their answers. Highlighters are more forgiving for students with less developed fine
motor skills and are fun to use. Correction tape / fluid and adhesive flags will also be used for
some missions.
Students will be asked to use vocabulary words in a sentence. Give students an example
sentence first. All vocabulary words are taken from the text. Vocabulary will improve with
repeated exposure. Don’t worry if your student doesn’t recall word meanings.
Missions marked “For Advanced Guardians Only” can be given to students who want to
complete them as well as older students who are beginning with the Nebula level.
When all three steps of a mission are completed, read the Update to your student. For
students who want more practice with a particular skill, be sure to check the website for
resources at http://GrammarGalaxyBooks.com/Nebula.
To use Grammar Galaxy with more than one student, purchase a digital version of the
workbook with copying rights for your family or purchase additional printed workbooks.
Copying from the printed workbook is a violation of copyright. Thank you in advance for
your integrity.
Have a question? Contact the author at [email protected].

1
Mission 20: Nouns

Dear fellow guardians,

We hope you have not disappeared and are able to read this
letter. As you probably know, people, places, and things have been
disappearing. What you may not know is who is responsible.
Remember General Arnold who caused problems with our
phonics? He ordered our ships to remove nouns from Noun Town
without permission. We are happy to report that those words have been
returned. But the bad news is that we need your help to make sure only
nouns have been returned. We also need to determine which street
each word lived on.
Thank you in advance for your help. We are hoping our dear dog,
Comet, will come back to us if we succeed. Please let us know if you
see General Arnold anywhere!

Sincerely,
Kirk and Luke English
Guardians of Grammar Galaxy

P.S. You have been reviewing the words in your word book, haven’t
you? We sure don’t need another vocabulary crisis!

……………………………………….

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 Mission 20: Nouns

Step 1: On Guard & Identify Nouns

On Guard. Highlight TRUE or FALSE for each statement.

1. Abbreviations and contractions are both short TRUE FALSE

forms of words.

2. Swimmingpool is a correct compound word. TRUE FALSE

3. The word war comes before word in the TRUE FALSE

dictionary.

4. A thesaurus gives synonyms for words. TRUE FALSE

5. You will probably read more if you read at the TRUE FALSE
same time each day.

Say each of these words in a sentence. Their meanings are given.

pandemonium – chaos apprehension – fear essential – necessary

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 Mission 20: Nouns

Put the words that are NOT nouns back on the spaceship. Draw a
line from the words that are NOT nouns to the spaceship. Hint: Draw
a line from words that are NOT people, places, or things.

188
 Mission 20: Nouns

Step 2: Sort Words by People, Places, and Things

Draw a line from each noun to the street where it lives.

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 Mission 20: Nouns

Activity. Have your teacher write different kinds of nouns on small

sticky notes and put them around the room(s) when you aren’t
looking. Go on a hunt to find them all. When you do, stick them in
the right column for person, place, or thing.

PERSON PLACE THING

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 Mission 20: Nouns

Step 3: Find Nouns in Sentences

Highlight nouns in the following sentences. These are words that live
in Noun Town because they are people, places, or things.

1. The man and dog were friends.

2. The woman went into the bank.

3. The driver had a fast car.

4. The ship sailed near Africa.

5. The squirrel ate some nuts.

Vocabulary Victory! Do you remember what these words mean?

Check Step 1 if you forgot.

pandemonium apprehension essential

191
 Mission 20: Nouns

Advanced Guardians Only

Write or dictate a sentence using a person noun, place noun, and
thing noun. Your sentence will have at least three nouns.

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb

192
Mission 20: Update

Dear guardians,
We are so happy to tell you that Comet is back home! We actually
found the words dog and pet and brought them back to Thing Street
personally. The museum, shopping mall, and stadium are all back, too.
We wish we could tell you that General Arnold was in jail where he
belongs, but we still haven’t found him. We will have to stay alert to any
nouns that are out of place.
We are attaching the solutions to this mission. Thank you for doing
what you do to protect the galaxy!

Sincerely,
Ellen, Kirk, and Luke English
Guardians of Grammar Galaxy

Step 1 Solutions
1. Abbreviations and contractions are both short forms of words. TRUE FALSE

2. Swimmingpool is a correct compound word. TRUE FALSE

3. The word war comes before word in the dictionary. TRUE FALSE

4. A thesaurus gives synonyms for words. TRUE FALSE

5. You will probably read more if you read at the same time each day. TRUE FALSE

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 Mission 20: Nouns

Step 2 Solutions

Step 3 Solutions:
1. The man and dog were friends.
2. The woman went into the bank.
3. The driver had a fast car.
4. The ship sailed near Africa.
5. The squirrel ate some nuts.

194