Transcript Unconventional Grammar 09-10

Identify the two most significant influences
on how you teach grammar. Place your dots
on the charts accordingly.
Chart Headings:
o The way I was taught and learned
grammar
o The textbook
o Student writing
o District/Parent expectation
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza````
MORE Unconventional Approaches to
Grammar Conventions
Tracey Bressman ~ Teacher, PLV
Marilou Jasnoch ~ Consultant, ESU #3
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Our Time Together:
Introductions
Goals
Lenses
Why – the Brain
What and How – the Strategies
Action – Your Plan
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
What might be influencing our decisions
about grammar instruction?
 The belief that we learned practical things about
sentence structure, style, and editing from doing
exercises and worksheets
 The tendency to teach the way we were taught
 Pre-service teacher training limited to traditional
grammar instruction
 Expectations from parents and/or administrators
 Lack of support & resources to move away from
the traditional approach, and toward best
practice
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
The Research
Overall, the findings on grammar
instruction suggest that, although
teaching grammar is important,
alternative procedures, such as sentence
combining, are more effective than
traditional approaches for improving the
quality of students’ writing.
Graham & Perin, 2007
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
The Research
It [traditional grammar instruction] does not improve
reading, speaking, writing, or even editing, for
the majority of students – nor does the
teaching of English grammar necessarily make
it easier for student to learn the structure of a
foreign language (indeed, many students who
have studied English grammar learn the
structure of English consciously for the first
time when studying a foreign language).
Weaver, 1998
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
How students often perceive
grammar study
Grammar is a “gotcha”
Mechanics
are mistakes paraded with
red streamers
Conventions (grammar, usage,
mechanics, spelling)…are a “stump the
student” experience for many learners
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Grammar on the brain
•Grammatical concepts are very complex
• Traditional approaches for teaching
grammatical concepts are not “learner
friendly”
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Putting Grammar into Perspective
Man has been speaking for well over 700,000
years. Man has been practicing alphabetic
writing only for about 3450 years. Man has
punctuated, in the modern sense, for less than
250 years.
Whitehall, 1963
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Stages of Learning
Discovery
Trial and Error
Implementation
Improvisation
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Instruction Designed for Learning Grammar
Traditional Instruction
Non-Traditional Instruction
• Behavioral Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Creates Habits
• Enables Hypotheses
• Practice in isolation
• Practice in context
• Anchored in RULES :
Teach – Practice – Use
• Based on RULES:
Minilesson – Model –
Apply
• Decontextualized
assessment; often
summative
• In context of student
writing; formative and
summative
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
There are no miracles here. …teaching grammar in the
context of writing will not automatically mean that once
taught, the concepts will be learned and applied forever
after.
On the contrary, grammatical concepts must often be
taught and retaught, to individuals as well as to
groups or classes,
and students may long afterward continue to need
guidance in actually applying what they have, in some
sense or to some degree, already learned.
There is no quick fix.
Constance Weaver, 1998
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
What? When? How?
Relevant concepts
 Review student samples for errors
 Identify the concepts most appropriate for
your students
 Timely ~ teaching grammar does NOT
require a sequence
 Use the Framework
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
What
you
Wheredo
Will
Younotice?
Start?
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Framework for Teaching a Concept
 Awareness: SHARE A MODEL
 Good examples
 Non examples
 Explicit teaching with student friendly words
 “What do you notice?”
 First Attempts: CREATE ANOTHER MODEL
 Teacher & students
 Partners
 Small groups
 Independent practice
 Minilessons
 Rehearsal
 Strategies
 Contextual with feedback/conferencing
 Checkpoints
 Implementation
 Student writing
 Varied in-context opportunities
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Making sure the pieces of the plan are
there…
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Grammar Lessons
in Action
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Punctuating Dialogue
• Research shows that anchoring new learning
in associative thinking increases retention so
that the student can implement the learning
independently.
• From Heads or Tails: Stories from the Sixth
Grade by Jack Gantos.
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Planning for Learning…
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Sample Dialogue
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Sample
Dialogue
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Too Good Not to Revisit…
Last year’s lesson ideas
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Sentence Writing
Infusing grammar instruction with writing
activities
 Two-word sentences (Mechanically Inclined)
 Fragment Fun
 Sentence Copying (Grammar for Middle
School)
Student samples
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
From students
•
•
•
•
She sat.
She sat for three hours.
She sat for three hours in the airport.
In the airport, she sat for three hours until
her plane was finally ready to board.
- By Molly
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Adam waited.
Adam patiently waited.
Adam patiently waited to hear the news.
Adam patiently waited to hear the
weather forecast on the news.
• Hoping for a snow day, Adam patiently
waited to hear the weather forecast on
the news.
•
•
•
•
- By Marshall
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
• Fragment: “perfect skin”
Sentence: Perfect skin comes from using
Clearasil. (Nick)
• Fragment: “keeping us connected”
Sentence: “Cox Communications is keeping
us connected.” (Nico)
• Fragment: “Vick’s apology”
Sentence: “Vick’s apology offended dog
lovers. (Tiana)
• Fragment: “television’s toughest tough guys”
Sentence: “Television’s toughest tough guys
are on ABC.”
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Parts of speech
Infusing grammar instruction with writing
activities
• Verbs – “How do you come into a
room?” (from Breakthroughs)
Word choice
Subject/verb agreement
Verb tense
Student samples
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
From students:
“Alex crashed into the room.”
“Nyabuom tore noisily into the room.”
“Dustin cart-wheeled in to the room.”
“Kevin picked the lock, broke the security chain,
shoved open the door, and illegally let himself into
the room.”
“Darrian G-walked into the room much to the
pleasure of the girls and to the dismay of the
teacher.”
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Parts of speech
Infusing grammar instruction with writing activities
• Preposition strings
Subject/object pronouns
Transitions
Student samples
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
From students:
“David traveled to Australia on a plane with
snakes and Samuel L. Jackson in the morning on
the most important day of his life.”
“Brian tip-toed through the tulips, over the
rainbow, into the woods, with his best friend,
without any shoes, until twilight settled in the
August sky.”
“Emily went to the ball park with her team early
in the morning before the big game versus their
arch rivals.”
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
From Students:
“In the midmorning sunlight, the puppy
scrambled after its ball.” (Peyton)
“Until he met the teacher in person, Nick
thought she might be the sister of Satan.”
“Under the darkness of night, the thief climbed
the trellis to the balcony and broke into the
master bedroom.” (Kayla)
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
What
you
Wheredo
Will
Younotice?
Start?
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Making sure the pieces of the plan are
there…
Partners or Table Groups:
1. Identify a “hot spot” for learning
2. Generate a Lesson Planner for the
learning topic
3. Be prepared to share
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
A Final Thought to Share
Children learn to write by
frequent writing. The value and
knowledge of writing is as much
caught as taught by teachers who
value writing in their own lives.
C. Brennan (1988)
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza
Thank you
For trying an unconventional
approach to teaching conventions
2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza