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Hand in Writing Lesson PlansGrammar and UsageReading InstructionBook Review: Says and Does

Questions and Answers About GRAMMAR and

USAGE Instruction

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Based on Work FromNCTE's Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar

andMore than 150 YEARS of Research!

Briefly sketch one or two memorable moments with grammar instruction—as a student or as an instructor. Be ready to share.Positive experiences?Negative experiences?

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Negative experiences?

All native speakers of a language have more grammar in their heads than any grammar book will ever contain. Part of our goal as teachers is to help students discover that knowledge

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knowledge. They may need help transferring their knowledge of grammar to knowledge of conventional usage.

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Grammar is important because it is the language that makes it possible for us to talk about language.

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To be able to talk about how sentences are built, about the types of words and word groups that make up sentences—that is knowing about grammar.

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Much usage (and grammar) can/should be taught in the context of student writingFor usage, focus on teaching students to self-edit.◦ Diagnose student needs

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◦ Diagnose student needs◦ “Low hanging fruit”◦ Focus on a handful of serious and habitual rules◦ Portable rules◦ Targeted mini lessons

Grammar can be part of literature discussions, when we and our students closely read the sentences in poetry and stories. Imitation and sentence combining

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Imitation and sentence combining offer opportunities to discuss grammatical constructions.

Teaching grammar out of context will not make writing usage errors go away. Students make errors in the process of

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plearning. As they develop as writers, they often make new errors, not necessarily fewer ones.

Lots of discussion of language, along with lots of reading and lots of writing, are the three ingredients for helping students write in accordance with the conventions of standard English.

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conventions of standard English.USE Language to TEACH language.

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Be selective. Students benefit much more from learning a few grammar keys thoroughly than from trying to remember many terms and rules

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remember many terms and rules.

Use other languages and the various dialects of English in your classroom. Compare informal language use with public standard English. Learn about the noun and verb

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Learn about the noun and verb patterns in Spanish and African American Vernacular English (AAVE) so that you can make comparisons when discussing standard English.

Exercises that help students acquire sentence flexibility have value.

1. Sentence combining2. Imitation

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3. Practice using certain subordinate constructions that enrich sentences. Participles, -ing and -ed verb forms, can be used by themselves or as phrases, adding detail with a sense of action, drawing the reader into the sentence.

Show students how to apply grammatical knowledge, not only to their writing, but also to their reading and to their other language

t ti iti F l k i b i

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arts activities. For example, knowing basic grammar can help students when they come across a difficult passage in a story or poem.

Students find grammar most interesting when they apply it to authentic texts. Try using texts of different kinds, such as newspapers and the

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as newspapers and the students' own writing, as sources for usage examples and exercises. This approach helps make usage and grammar relevant and alive.

The traditional definitions of the parts of speech can be difficult to apply. Students recognize the basic parts of speech more reliably and

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quickly by looking at the form of a word and by using sentence "frames."

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If a word can be made plural or possessive, or if it fits in the sentence "The _______ went there," it is a noun.

If d b d t h t

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If a word can be made to show past time, or can take an -ing ending, it is a verb.

Is a group of words a whole sentence or a fragment? If it doesn't make sense after an opening such as "I am convinced that…" it is a fragment.EXAMPLE: Whatever you could do to help my

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EXAMPLE: Whatever you could do to help my sister.◦ I am convinced that whatever you could do to help my sister.

Example: This is what you could do to help my sister.◦ I am convinced that this is what you could do to help my sister.

To help students find the verb phrase in a sentence, have them make the sentence negative by inserting did not, don't, or a similar term. The verb phrase i ll t t th d “ t ”

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is usually next to the word “not.”Simon tried to put the bike in the garage.Simon did not try to put the bike in the garage.

To help students find the subject of a sentence, have them add a tag questionsuch as isn't it? or aren't they? The pronoun that ends the appropriate tag question will usually refer to the sentence

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question will usually refer to the sentence subject.

Listening to loud music will damage your ears.

Listening to loud music will damage your ears, won't it?

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ENOUGH SAID!

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Tom Swifties

“I’m back again,” returned Tom swiftly.

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1. Tell what someone said.2. Use an adverb to describe how it was

said.3. The adverb should have something to

do with what the person said.

Some Student Examples

“Did you ever slide down a waterfall?” he said rapidly?“Wh I di I’ll i th ” h id

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“When I die, I’ll give you the money,” he said willingly.“I like spices,” he said gingerly.“Button up,” he said openly.

“I’m sentenced to 50 years in prison,” he said guardedly.“I love you,” she said wholeheartedly.“These scissors are dull,” she said bluntly.“I j t t th F it f th L ” h id

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“I just met the Fruit of the Loom,” she said briefly.

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Key Concepts for Teaching Reading at the Secondary Level

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Students who struggle with reading are often unaware of the role the reader plays in comprehending and learning with texts.Unsuccessful readers rarely

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Unsuccessful readers rarely consider what they need to do to be successful. Instead of taking an active role in constructing meaning, they remain passive and disengaged.Require EXPLICIT instruction.

What did you need to understand this text?Prior knowledge and/or context

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Schema is how people organize and store information in their minds.Schema activation is the mechanism by which people access what they k ( i k l d ) d t h it

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know (prior knowledge) and match it to the information in a text.Misunderstanding/ no understanding can result from lack of prior knowledge or inability to access the appropriate prior knowledge.

Were you able to decode the entire text?Where did meaning begin to break down?Where did your ability to make meaning fail altogether (without using a “decoder ring”?)

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Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll

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raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amzanig huh?

Unskilled readers approach reading word-by- word as if it were a word perfect act.Often they can “word call”—read l d ith f t i fl ti t

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aloud with perfect inflection—yet have no idea of what the words they have spoken mean.Skilled readers read for “gist.” They make meaning.

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Read this passage and circle what is important.Read it again, and underline things a robber would find important.Read it again and mark in a different way

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Read it again and mark in a different way things a prospective home buyer would find important.

Strategic readers read for a purpose.Strategic readers constantly pose cognitive questions (Frank Smith, 1988) that allow interaction with the content of the communication

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communication.

What is this text about?What is the author trying to say?What is going to happen next?What does the author mean?S h ?

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So what?How does this fit with what I already know?What questions do I have, or what don’t I understand?

TEACH unskilled readers how to ask these questions and use them to guide developing understanding.

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Strategic readers have strategies to make meaning of complex texts:1. They reread.2. They make use of the way the author organizes

ideas (structure).3. They ask, “What is the main point of this passage?

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y , p p gHow does the author develop it?

4. They try to use syntax cues (the grammar of the sentence).

5. They try to use semantic cues (the meaning of the text).

6. They ask for help.

TEACH unskilled readers these strategies and how to use them.

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A text may be difficult for readers because:1. The content and/ or vocabulary are unfamiliar

(readers don’t have enough prior knowledge).2. The text is poorly organized.3. The text is poorly written.

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4. The text is overly superficial.5. They are unfamiliar with strategies for reading a

particular genre.

Students who struggle with reading lack strategies for understanding different genres and approach all texts the same way.1. They read literary texts for information, not for

the human experience they provide2 They read informational texts without thinking

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2. They read informational texts without thinking about the human voice—the writer—and his or her standpoint and how that influences what information is presented and how it is presented.

When the text is difficult, scaffolding the text (prior knowledge, conceptual vocabulary) is the primary responsibility of the teacher.Teachers must use instructional strategies (chunking, text structure analysis, say-mean-

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matter) to guide students through the reading.Talk with students about the strategies you are using and why.Time spent early in a course teaching student HOW to be effective readers is regained as the year progresses.

INTO◦ Access prior knowledge◦ Connect to students’ life experiences◦ Establish a “comfortable” relationship between

learners and new ideas (frontload conceptual

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vocabulary; have students read an accessible text on the same topic before reading a difficult text, teach students to USE questions as a point of inquiry)

◦ THROUGHPromote active participation in the learning processFoster student’s ability to comprehend new information and ideas by teaching specific comprehension strategies and tools and providing multiple opportunities for successful practice

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multiple opportunities for successful practiceEncourage questions

BEYOND◦ Allow students to reflect on new content.◦ Extend ideas beyond the content.◦ Act on, apply, synthesize new ideas.◦ Reinforce new understandings.

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g

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The teacher MUST read while students read.Students MUST be allowed to choose what they read.Students MUST be able to talk about their reading

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reading.Students MUST have access to high interest books.Students’ reading MUST NOT be tested (book reports) but can be assessed.

“Get students off teacher welfare!”

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welfare!-Donald Graves

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Says and Does

Write a 3-5 page book review using the reviews on the Web site as models. N.B. Candace Schott wrote her published review in response to this assignment for SED 525EN!

Evaluation Criteria Points Possible and Earned for Each Item

Interesting Title 10Includes publication information at beginning or end (author, copyright date, publisher, number of pages, cost)

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Engaging opening sentence/paragraph 10

Demonstrates a clear sense of audience 10

Provides a clear and detailed overview of book’s content 10Identifies potential benefits of book for the reader 10

Demonstrates appropriate use of conventional English 10

Total 100

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Analyze the examples using Says and DoesWhat text structures are common in Book Reviews?What are the differences between a Book Review and a Book Report?Review and a Book Report?