Calling all English Teachers
A colleague of mine has requested that I offer a grammar and writing unit for all to use. He claims technical lag (similar to jet lag). I can't say I'm too far ahead, but I do have this blog. So, if you wish, use it. Also, if you care to, please offer feedback. The author of the unit is Mr. Foley.
Grammar and Writing
My colleagues unit brings to mind a topic of great interest to me as an English teacher. In the education world where standards and testing are at an all time high, how do we teach writing. I can say taht I don't feel all that competent at taking a student's writing from point A to point B. Writing, and the corresponding skill of grammar, has come easy to me. But many of our students struggle with writing correctly.
How do you teach writing? How do you teach grammar? Is grammar even an important thing to teach? How do we make grammar more accessible to our students (translated: more interesting)? Please let me know.
posted by Mr. McNamar @ 4:31 PM
9 Comments
9 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
His unit looks good to me. I like that he uses writing samples to teach grammar.
What texts do you use for writing/grammar at your school? We have the old out of print Warriner's series, which is getting harder and harder to find. We have The Practical Writer (Bailey and Powell) for our 9th grade curriculum, and it's a very good text.
I am trying something new this year. Portfolios can be unwieldy, but this year, I put a sheet inside each student's folder with the following column labels across the top: Assignment, Date, Grade, Positive Remarks, What Do I Need to Fix? Basically, I'm asking my students to be much more reflective, themselves. I think the only way they improve is through multiple drafts, but that can be so hard if you are teaching in public school with large classes. Constance Weaver wrote a good book called Teaching Grammar in Context. Weaver insists most of what we teach in grammar is unnecessary, but some of us have mandates from schools or systems. At the very least, they should do sentence combining exercises. Sorry--this is something I guess I could write a book about.
We mainly use the Writer's Inc. series, though I don't know how closely. Our school's focus for the past few years has been reading. As our scores rise in reading, we are starting to look more closely at the lagging writing scores.
I wish I had something "exciting" to offer in the area of grammar. But, I'm "old school" and always had 1 semester of grammar and 1 semester of literature throughout high school...and no one cared if it was exciting. LOL
I will say that we have used the Jane Shaffer (sp?) method for helping scaffold student writing. We have had great results. Students are willing to transfer the skills to various content areas (a real plus). There are lots of ways to construct a paragraph, but it is nice to give the kids who struggle a "no fail" template to use until they get the hang of thins.
I am vaguely familar with the model. Topic sentence, fact/evidence/commentary...is that right? I find it so difficult to convey what good writing looks like, to actually explain how to do it. It will certainly be in my Professional Growth Goals for the Pro. Cert!!!
Our middle school and high school has been teaching the five paragraph essay, starting in 8th grade and going through 10th grade. They devote an entire semester just to writing. In the freshman and sophomore year the students have to pass an exit exam, writing an essay, in class, in a style announced on the test day (contrast and compare, persuasive).
The essays are then exchanged with other teachers and graded.
It seems to be working well. My dyslexic sophomore passed the freshman test and now tests on MAP as average and advanced. This is after dismal scores in 6th grade and the 7th grade WASL.
The big test this year will be the sophomore exit essay and the WASL.
good luck!
"The thoughts expressed here are my own and not intended to represent the school or district I work for." The last portion of your introduction should read, "for which I work."
Yes, it should. But only if you believe in antiquated rules like not ending a sentence in a preposition. If you know the rules, you can break them!
Dear Mentor:
First let me introduce myself. My name is Judyth Piazza and I am the CEO of the Student Operated Press (www.thesop.org). The Student Operated Press is a cutting edge news organization that’s intention is to provide novice writers and student journalist with the opportunity to showcase their talents while practicing ethical journalism in an environment that rivals all major media outlets.
Thesop.org will not only help students become better writers, it will also help to build the leaders of our future. Thesop.org will provide a platform in which students are able to create a story, have it edited by their colleagues as well as proven media professionals such as George Curry, Editor-in-chief, National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service and BlackPressUSA.com, Robin Meade, CNN and Laurie Dhue, FOX news to be published in the real world. In addition, this foundation will offer multiple online broadcasting opportunities and scholarships.
I would like to humbly ask for your assistance in bringing the trust back in the media and spreading the word that the Student Operated Press is here. We have teamed up with Florida People Magazine, Vero Beach, FL and The Local Buzz Magazine, Stuart, FL as well as numerous on-line publications who have agreed to help our students get published in the real world. So I would like to extend my hand and discuss any possible affiliation between yourself and thesop.org.
I look forward to working with you in the near future.
Thank you,
Judyth Piazza
772-538-9331
Judyth Piazza’s Bio
In the spring of 2003, a single mom decided to change her destiny. After returning to school, Judyth Piazza began to carve out her place among the millions of adults who return to college every year. Immediately she realized that she had a natural talent for expressing herself in the written word as well as an uncontrollable hunger for news and information.
At that point, she began to seek out any venue that would allow her to publish her work. Through the help and guidance of websites such as the Calder Gazette (www.calder.net) and the College Press (www.thecollegepress.com) Judyth was able to develop stories and publish them for the world to see, which eventually lead her to success as a nationally known print and broadcast media personality. Also, she parlayed the experience gained by producing and hosting her own radio programs on the College Press to syndicate herself as a radio personality, producing and broadcasting six programs on three frequencies.
Judyth Piazza’s journey has led her to create the Student Operated Press (www.thesop.org) a student career assistance foundation. Thesop.org will not only help students become better writers, it will also help to build the leaders of our future. Thesop.org will provide a platform in which students are able to create a story, have it edited by their colleagues as well as proven media professionals to be published in the real world publications such as the Local Buzz Magazine and Florida People Magazine. In addition, this foundation will offer multiple online broadcasting opportunities and scholarships.
Charles Reade once said, “Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home