Best
Practices in Teaching Grammar
Questions
and Answers about Grammar
Image Grammar Lessons
and Resources
"Grammar
RX": Resources for Diagnosing Student
Issues in Student Writing
Final
Academic Projects: An Anthology of
Teaching Grammar
Resources
for Other Grammar-Freaks
(besides us...)
English 574 Course Materials
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The issue of
teaching
grammar is not as simple as it first may appear. Within the goal of
'teaching grammar in the context of writing' are key controversies and
ideas that must be confronted and discussed.
Pairs of class members
were each assigned one 'frequently asked question' on grammar and
grammatical instruction and asked to respond with academic rigor and
appropriately researched answers. These are all questions that Dr.
Jonathan Bush recently received in respond to a posted call to teachers
in West Michigan, asking "what are the biggest questions you hear from
parents and other teachers about grammar?
I
thought grammar was taught so
we didn’t make mistakes. Now I’m hearing that it is there as a ‘tool’
to help us become better writers. What’s the difference? How can
grammar instruction help people become better writers?
Mike Murray and
Amanda O'Neil
What about diagramming
sentences? Does that have any value anymore? How does this fit into
grammar instruction? How much? When?
Jonathan Bush
What
is the value of traditional
grammar study – nouns, verbs, sentences, etc. I know that our main goal
is to help students become better writers, but shouldn’t we also focus
on helping students learn the ins-and-outs of our language? When? How
much?
Stacey Huisingh
and Melanie Yard
I
hated grammar as a kid. All
those worksheets. Isn’t grammar, by necessity, boring? How can it be
made to be relevant and important?
Laurel Powell
and Alison Pushie
How do
young kids actually learn
grammar? I don’t teach my 6-year old what a sentence is, but she is
still able to write one. Doesn’t this mean that we shouldn’t
teach grammar in classrooms?
Bryce Cameron and Elizabeth Hull
How does grammar
fit into the writing process? We know it shouldn’t be the main part of
writing instruction, but how can we integrate it into a writing project
without having it become the focus of the project?
Rachel Bennett
and Candace Blankenship
What
is wrong with the old way
of teaching grammar? It worked for me. I didn’t like it, but I
turned out OK. Are we scared of making kids work? Don’t teachers
understand grammar anymore?
Marc Van Soest
and Jan Miller
Isn’t grammar
something for elementary school only? Shouldn’t high school students
already know about parts of speech and other aspects of grammar?
Jackie Shurmack
and Brandy Stone
What’s all this
talk about “multiple” grammars? Isn’t there one correct way to speak
and write English?
Lauren Haapala,
Emily Hallman, and Ellen Waisanen
OK, I get it. The
‘old way’ of using worksheets and exercises doesn’t work. So, what are
the ways I should bring grammar into my classroom?
Christin
Davis and Andrea Gottschalk
How does grammar
fit into the grading of writing? I know that it’s not the most
important thing, but it does matter, doesn’t it?
Valerie Mickley
and Paula Fox
I’ve heard
that grammar is just a waste of
time and ‘busy-work.’ So, tell me, why is grammar important?
LaToya Hilliard and
Amanda Martin
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