Transcript Didn`t They Say The Comma Would Teach Itself?

Arming Students
With
Grammar Survival Skills
By: Frances Crawford Fennessy
Department of English
Sam Houston State University
Writing Project
Huntsville, Texas (2005)
About Frances Crawford Fennessy:

graduate student in the English department at Sam
Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas

teach junior and senior level English at Heritage Christian
Academy in Huntsville, Texas

teach developmental English to freshmen at Sam
Houston State University

CRLA certified master tutor of writing at Sam Houston
State University for three years

currently conducting research regarding measuring
grammar teaching methods and their translation to
application for my thesis
It’s a Jungle Out There:
 designed for usage in middle school, junior high,
and high school classrooms
 particularly useful for freshmen in college
 not meant only for language arts classrooms; it
can be adapted to accommodate any writing
enhanced course
Identifying the objective:
 to help students make sense of the grammar
knowledge they already possess
 to arm students with enough grammar
knowledge that they will be able to survive
their high school and college writing
assignments
Getting a solid start:
 Patrick Hartwell’s five-pronged definition of
grammar:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The grammar in our heads
Linguistic science
Linguistic etiquette rules
School grammar
Stylistic grammar
In the beginning…
 each student should have a short period of
time, perhaps five to ten minutes, to write in a
journal
Be careful
with
assumptions!
The world of grammar can seem as dangerous
as traveling into a wild jungle.
However, you must
remember that even wild
beasts can be tamed.
It is essential to find a
good guide to lead you
through the safari.
Until that happens, a few survival skills will be helpful.
First, you must determine what gear you will
need.
You might ask yourself, “What more
do I need than camouflage, and my
weapon?”
Perhaps you prefer to keep your questions
hidden.
Just remember, upon closer examination, we all
get caught.
Your silence is not a good weapon. It cannot protect you
from an assault of the RED PEN.
You might ask:
Why would someone
want to assault me?
It’s not you. It’s
your comma splice
that they are after.
It’s a misplaced
comma.
Any more
words
of advice?
YES!
When you see a bee…(because),
get your comma out of there!
Why?
Bee…cause! We don’t usually
need commas!
I do not want a comma because I do not need one!
Remember you always need complete sentences.
A complete
has yourself
a subject
Without
them,sentence
you may find
wetand
anda verb.
miserable.
A noun is:
place
A verb is:
an action word
person
thing
The man sits on the rock.
sits
A complete sentence needs a subject and a verb.
This lazy lion lounges on the ground.
Like your shelters, not all sentences need
your standard tools.
While you are
concentrating
on your
complete
sentences,
remember
that…
a period
works well,
but a semicolon is great
too!
If you want to connect two sentences together, you can simply use
a semicolon.
This elephant follows.
This elephant leads.
This elephant follows; this elephant leads.
;
If you come across a FANBOYS
JOINING 2 COMPLETE
SENTENCES, be sure to leave
him a comma.
I am lost in the jungle.
I hope I run into this man soon.
I am lost in the jungle and hope I
run into this man soon.
What is a
comma splice?
Get your comma out of there!
for
and
nor
comma
here
but
or
because…..
yet
so
;
This elephant follows this elephant leads.
;
Subject + verb
,
Subject
+ verb
What is a
dangling
modifier?
You might find yourself in an awkward situation while
venturing through the jungle. Perhaps you will be
confronted with a dangling modifier.
I really
don’t
have time
for this
right
now!
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase apparently modifying an
unintended word because of its placement in a sentence.
While flying over the lake, the man shot his arrow
at the ducks.
While flying over the lake, the man shot his arrow
at the ducks.
Who is flying?
Have you ever heard the rule about putting in
a comma when you take a natural breath?
The problem with that rule is that we all
breathe at different paces.
Another thing to think about:
What happens if you hyperventilate?
A final word of advice:
If you are not sure about the comma,
do not put it there!
Why I think this lesson is important:
 At least 50% of college instructors of English
DO NOT teach grammar.
 At least 90% of college instructors penalize
students who do not use “proper grammar.”
 Students are counting on their teachers to
make sure they have the grammar skills they
need. YOU are their last stop.
To further support those statements:
 ACT National Curriculum Survey
 April, 2003
 Groups of writing skills that college instructors
believe are most important for entering college
students to have –grammar and usage skills–
are considered to be least important by high
school teachers.
The theory that supports it:
 William Labov says that hypercorrection is a
misapplication of an imperfectly learned rule.
 Mnemonics is a memory device that can be
traced as far back as Aristotle.
 Moffet asserts that students learn through a
procedure described as the I-You-It process.
Rei Noguchi:
 teaching minimal grammar is
necessary to improve student writing
 minimal grammar refers to a
manageable collection of a select few
rules
 grammar should be used as an editing
tool tool
Supporting Bibliography:
Aristotle. Aristotle on Rhetoric: A Civic Discourse. Ed. George A Kennedy. Oxford:
Oxford UP, 1991.
Hartwell, Patrick. “Grammar, Grammars and the Teaching of Grammar.” College
English 47 (1985): 105-27.
Labov, William. Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1972.
Moffett, James. A Student-Centered Language Arts Curriculum,
Grades K-6, A Handbook for Teachers. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1968.
Noguchi, Rei. Grammar and the Teaching of Writing: Limits and Possibilities.
Urbana: NCTE, 1991.
“Survey Shows Writing Skills Most Important to College Teachers Not Always
Emphasized in High School Instruction.” ACT Newsroom. 8 April 2003. ACT, Inc. 14
June 2004. http://www.act.org/news/releases/2003/4-08-03.html.