MORE Unconventional Approaches to Grammar Conventions

1. Identify the two most significant influences on how you teach grammar. Place your dots on the charts accordingly. • Chart Headings: • The way I was taught and learned grammar • The textbook • Student writing • District/Parent expectation 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza````

2. MORE Unconventional Approaches to Grammar Conventions Tracey Bressman ~ Teacher, PLV Marilou Jasnoch ~ Consultant, ESU #3 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

3. Our Time Together: • Introductions • Goals • Lenses • Why – the Brain • What and How – the Strategies • Action – Your Plan 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

4. 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

5. TheResearch 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

6. TheResearch 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

7. 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

8. Grammar WHY do so many struggle? on the brain • Grammatical concepts are verycomplex • Traditional approaches for teaching grammatical concepts are not“learner friendly” 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

9. 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 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

10. Stages of Learning • Discovery • Trial and Error • Implementation • Improvisation 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. What do you notice? Where Will You Start? Does it make sense to wait ‘til the chapter on sentence structure? 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

15. 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

16. Making sure the pieces of the plan are there… Let’s look at a few lesson ideas … 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

17. Grammar Lessons in Action 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

18. 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

19. Planning for Learning… 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

20. Sample Dialogue 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

21. Sample Dialogue 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

22. Mad-Libs 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

23. Too Good Not to Revisit… Last year’s lesson ideas 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

24. Sentence WritingInfusing 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. Parts of speechInfusing 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

29. 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

30. Parts of speechInfusing grammar instruction with writing activities • Preposition strings • Subject/object pronouns • Transitions • Student samples 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

31. 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

32. 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

33. What do you notice? Where Will You Start? 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

34. Making sure the pieces of the plan are there… Partners or Table Groups: Identify a “hot spot” for learning Generate a Lesson Planner for the learning topic Be prepared to share 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza

35. 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

36. For trying an unconventional approach to teaching conventions Thank you 2009 ESU#3 Writing Extravaganza