The Story of Our Alphabet, the fourth of the five Great Lessons, tells the history of written communication. Grammar is taught through word study, parts of speech, logical analysis and syntax study. Language expression includes studies in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, interpretive reading, poetry, and style. Lessons in written expression include study of phrases, clauses, sentences, sentence analysis and writing paragraphs. Language study also includes practice in the use of dictionaries, encyclopedias, the thesaurus, and other reference materials. Students learn to outline, use story maps, and prepare rough drafts and final copies of their written work. These studies serve the students in both creative writing and practical writing. Literature studies include small group discussion, book reports and essay writing.