English 574[new title: Grammar in Teaching Writing]
Spring 2003
Instructor: Dr. Constance (Connie) Weaver
Course Description and Goals
Deals with issues surrounding the teaching of grammar, various aspects of grammar itself, and ways of teaching grammar and developing students' grammatical competence. [This course will NOT provide a comprehensive introduction to the grammar of English.]
This course is for teachers and pre-service teachers, not for students in a liberal arts or business curriculum. Most assignments are geared toward teaching.
This course will focus on:
Other topics may become the focus of individual reports or inquiry papers/projects: for example, language acquisition, grammatical aspects of style in literature, bilingual education, and even teaching a foreign language.
Course goals:
• for you to become well informed on, and articulate about, all of the
topics above, and a topic of your choice (which might be one of the above)
• for you to become competent in using the syntactic options and editing
skills we study, and competent in helping other writers do the same
• for you to become competent in the processes implied in the items in
the course focus list, and competent in helping others do the same
• for us all to learn more about teaching, teaching writing, and using
grammar effectively in writing than we could ever have anticipated in advance
• for us all to enjoy learning with and from each other
Prerequisities for English 574: Grammar
for Teachers
Ordering books for yourself
The required books and most of the recommended books should be available in Western's bookstore, and probably in the University Bookstore as well. However, here are the Web addresses and telephone ordering numbers for most of the publishers. Usually, it is much faster for you to order books yourself, online. Furthermore, you may save money by ordering more than one book from the same publisher or online source, and some publishers offer discounts for ordering online.
In many instances, the books will be described on the publisher's Web page, so you can read about them before making a decision what to order.
Amazon on-line bookstore
http://www.amazon.com
[many of the books can be ordered here]
Barnes and Noble
http://www.bn.com
Heinemann
http://www.heinemann.com
1-800-793-2154, Fax 1-800-847-0938
Offers discount for ordering online.
Bedford/St. Martin's
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com
Harcourt College Publishers
http://www.harcourtcollege.com
1-800-245-8744, fax 1-800-433-6303
Check amazon.com for Harbrace Handbooks on writing/grammar.
Rethinking Schools
1-800-669-4192
http://www.rethinkingschools.org
Offers 10% discount for ordering online.
National Council of Teachers of English
http://www.ncte.org/books (to read
descriptions)
1-877-369-6283 is a direct line to Customer Service
1-800-369-6283, fax 1-217-328-9645
orders@ncte.org
Required: Three specific books and a journal issue, plus
a self-chosen professional book
Core texts
Hacker, Diane. (2003). A Writer's Reference . 5th ed.. New York: Bedford/St. Martins.. Easy- to-use and popular grammar handbook; deals mostly with editing issues but somewhat with style as well. Relatively easy. For a description of complementary resources, see http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/hacker/writersref
Noden, Harry. (Sept. 1999). Image Grammar: Using Grammatical Structures to Teach Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook - Heinemann. This outstanding book is a "must" for teachers of writing from middle school through at least the first year of college--and for writers who want to develop a more effective style, especially for narration/description, but also for explanation/argument. Draws upon the work of Francis Christensen, various artists and writers, and his own teaching experiences. Noden introduces various grammatical structures and words and demonstrates how they are used effectively by published authors and by his eighth graders. He helps students understand how various grammatical options generate effective details, too. An accompanying CD includes examples that can be printed for class use, sample pictures to stimulate writing, hot links to useful web pages with art works, and more. From the online description of the CD alone, it is clear that this book is suitable to guide an entire course in writing, or parts of several courses at different grades.
Weaver, Constance. (1996). Teaching Grammar in Context. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook - Heinemann. ISBN 0-86709-375-7. Paper; about $25. Discuses what "the research" says about teaching grammar in isolation and why teachers continue to do it; explores how language is acquired and describes how various kinds of errors reflect progress; offers a rationale and a "scope-not-sequence" for teaching grammar in the context of writing; and concludes by putting the teaching of grammar into a broader perspective of learning theory. Drawing from Weaver's own experience at the college level, the Appendix offers many adaptable lessons on teaching various aspects of grammar in the context of writing. Includes glossary of grammatical terms.
NOTE NOTE NOTE: I have just discovered that I accidentally ordered Teaching Grammar in Context as recommended instead of required, and ordered my edited Lessons to Share as required rather than recommended. We need to discuss how to deal with this.
Voices from the Middle. March 2001 issue of the English Journal, published by the National Council of Teachers of English.
For a different perspective, I tried to order the Nov. 1996 issue of the
English Journal on teaching grammar. However, it is no longer available.
If you want to read some of the articles in that issue, you will have to locate
it in the Education library; OR, I have been told that the issue can be accessed
online.
Select a "Choice Professional Book" from among the following (most of which you would need to order yourself, perhaps through Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com)
Cummins, Jim. (2000). Language, Power, & Pedagogy: Bilingual Children Caught in the Crossfire. Clevedon Press. Cummins is currently "the" authority on bilingual education, in the opinion of Stephen Kucer, another authority. Costs about $24.95 from amazon.com.
Freeman, David, & Freeman, Yvonne. (2001). Between Worlds: Access to Second Language Acquisition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. This book has won an award fromthe Modern Language Association. It is an in-depth treatment of the topic.
Freeman, David, & Freeman, Yvonne. (2000). Teaching Reading in Multilingual Classrooms. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Obviously grammar isn't the major topic here, but it's certainly related. This book might be an especially good choice for elementary teachers.
Freeman, Yvonne, and Freeman, David. (1998). ESL/EFL Teaching: Principles for Success. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. An easier text for those less interested in the theory and research background than that provided in the authors' Between Worlds (above).
Romano, Tom. (2000). Blending Genre, Altering Style. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. ISBN 0-86709-478-8/2000/189. Those who enjoy experimenting with stylistic options typically love this book!
Weaver, C. (Ed.). (1998). Lessons to Share on Teaching Grammar in Context. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook - Heinemann. Distributed by the NCTE. The first two articles address the learning and teaching of grammar. The next eight articles deal with teaching grammar through writing, across the grades. The authors demonstrate ways of teaching punctuation, parts of speech, effective word choice and syntax, plus conferencing with students to teach revision and editing. An article on sentence composing is followed by two articles on style, one focusing on "image grammar" (see Noden's book, above) and one on "breaking the rules" for stylistic effect (Tom Romano). Other articles focus on Ebonics, teaching ESL and EFL students, grammar study as language exploration, and the hazards of grammar-checking software. [This is the one I accidentally ordered as required.]
Perry, Theresa, and Delpit, Lisa. (Ed.) (1998). The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African-American Children. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998. Originally published as a special issue of Rethinking Schools. I've ordered this as a choice option for the last few semesters, but you may find the Smitherman book (below) to be more interesting. I can photocopy two or three articles from the Perry and Delpit book for the group reporting on Ebonics, if you wish--and of course you can consult the book in the library. [I asked the bookstore to order this one as recommended.]
Pinker, Stephen. (date?). The Language Instinct. Harper/Collins. Written for a general, intellectually curious audience, this book should appeal to those interested in linguistics and the study of language and its acquisition and use. [I asked the bookstore to order this one.]
Rickford, John R., & Rickford, Russell J. (2000). Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English. Deals with history, structure, and the "soul" of Black English, with discussion of the controversies surrounding its use in classrooms.
Schuster, Edgar. (February 2003). Breaking the Rules: Liberating Writers Through Innovative Grammar Instruction. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Having read much of the manuscript, I view this book as a little more sophisticated than most of my Teaching Grammar in Context (but I could be wrong). Schuster has interesting activities and ideas for debunking the "myth rules" commonly taught, teaching "bedrock" rules, and examining the contemporary uses of punctuation marks.
Smitherman, Geneva. (1999). Talkin that Talk: Language, Culture, and Education in African America. New York: Routledge. This collection of essays by Smitherman spans three decades of her work. An especially good introduction to Ebonics. Other good sources are John Baugh's Out of the Mouths of Slaves (University of Texas Press, 1999) and Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English, by John Russell Rickford and Russell John Rickford (John Wiley & Sons, 2000).
And some other options that I will bring to class.
Practical books ordered as recommended; you don't have to purchase one
Allen, Janet. (1999). Words, Words, Words: Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Includes prefixes, roots, and suffixes. You could draw upon this one for your required teaching of a short lesson on grammar (the within some words).
*Buffa, Liz, and Adam Robinson. (1999). Cracking the SAT II: English, offered by The Princeton Review. New York: Random House. $17. Deals with both writing and literature, including the essay portion of the writing test. Includes discussions of sentence "errors" and other items for editing (slightly over twenty items in all). Includes practice exercises.This is not a complete grammar handbook. Can be ordered from amazon.com. Useful for English teachers.
Cazort, Douglas. (1997). Under the Grammar Hammer: The 25 Most Important Grammar Mistakes and How to Avoid Them. Updated edition. Los Angeles: Lowell House. 124 pp. The humor, cartoons, and folksy style of this book make it easy to read and study. Highly useful for helping teachers to learn the grammar they most need in order to help students learn to edit for these twenty "most important" grammar mistakes, the book is great for student use, too. It includes a reassuring chapter titled "You Know More Grammar than You Know You Know, and You Need to Learn Less than you Think." The last chapter recommends "America Lighten Up." Relatively easy. May be ordered from amazon.com. [Can be purchased for about $5.95 from Barnes & Noble.]
Other popularbooks and handbooks for particular levels of instruction (for your interest only; no choice required)
College level books and handbooks
Buffa, Liz, and Adam Robinson. (1999). Cracking the SAT II: English, offered by The Princeton Review. New York: Random House. $17. Deals with both writing and literature, including the essay portion of the writing test. Includes discussions of sentence "errors" and other items for editing (slightly over twenty items in all). Includes practice exercises.This is not a complete grammar handbook, so it may be best chosen in addition to a handbook. Can be ordered from amazon.com. Useful for English teachers. Ordered as recommended for this class.
Daiker, D., A. Kerek, & M. Morenberg. (1990). The Writer's Options: Combining to Composing. 4th ed. Harper & Row. Excellent text for college students, advanced high school students, and teachers at any level. Not a grammar handbook, but a worktext.
Hacker, Diana. (2000). A Pocket Style Manual. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's. Not a complete grammar handbook, but sufficient for many purposes. Incluses MLA, APA, and Chicago styles of referencing. Small and easy to carry, as the title suggests. May be appropriate for secondary as well as college. Ordered as recommended for this class.
Hodges Harbrace Handbook. (2000). 14th edition. Includes sections on grammar, mechanics, punctuation, spelling and diction, effective sentences, writing, plus a glossary of usage and a glossary of terms. [I did not order this one. The 2000 edition was supposed to be available by June 2000, but apparently it's not yet available. It can be pre-ordered through amazon.com.
Killgallon, Don. (1999). Sentence Composing for College. A good resource for adults, as writers and/or teachers. Killgallon also has another book suitable for teachers: Sentence Composing: The Theory Booklet.
Lunsford, Andrea, and Robert Connors. (1999). The Everyday writer: A Brief Reference. Bedford/St. Martins. Similar in format to Hacker's A Writer's Reference (above), but somewhat more detailed--more for the college level or for teachers. Especially helpful on how to reference electronic sources.
Lunsford, Andrea, Robert Connors, with F. Horowitz. (1998). Easy Writer: A Pocket Guide. New York: Bedford/St. Martins. Smaller and less expensive than The Everyday Writer, it includes MLA, APA, Chicago, and CBE styles, plus frequently asked questions about documentation online. May be appropriate for secondary as well as college.
Rozakis, Laurie E. (1997). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Grammar and Style. New York: Alpha Books. 325 pp. Includes chapters on the parts of speech as well as on the conventions of written English. Much more detailed than the shorter book by Cazort, this one, too, is characterized by humor. Despite the title, this book does not deal much at all with grammatical aspects of style. Can be ordered from amazon.com.
Secondary, middle school, elementary
Buffa, Liz, and Adam Robinson. (1999). Cracking the SAT II: English, offered by The Princeton Review. New York: Random House. $17. Deals with both writing and literature, including the essay portion of the writing test. Includes discussions of sentence "errors" and other items for editing (slightly over twenty items in all). Includes practice exercises.This is not a complete grammar handbook, so it may be best chosen in addition to a handbook. Can be ordered from amazon.com. Useful for English teachers. Ordered as recommended for this class.
Killgallon, Donald. (1998-2000). Sentence Composing for High School and Sentence Composing for Middle School, and now Sentence Composing for Elementary School. Portsmouth, NH:Boynton Cook - Heinemann. Each book has the subtitle A Worktext on Sentence Variety and Maturity. Boynton/Cook - Heinemann. Drawing heavily upon Francis Christensen's investigations into style, these books deal with sentence unscrambling, imitating, combining, and expanding. They are intended as texts for their respective grade levels, and they are also for teachers' own learning. Less innovative and comprehensive than Noden's Image Grammar, these sentence composing books can be a useful starting point for teachers who are beginning to explore how to help writers understand and use grammatical options more effectively.
Books from the Write Source, http://www.thewritesource.com/index2.htm. Write Source books can be ordered through http://www.greatsource.com/catalog.html. Great Source is part of the Houghton Mifflin line of products. The Write Source books include the following, among others:
Daily Oral Language, Grades 1-12. McDougal, Littell; now listed with the Write Source books. Each level is a teacher's manual, with sentences to be put on the chalkboard and "corrected." Many teachers prefer to draw upon the idea of DOL, but instead use sentences from their own students' writing. Information available from the Great Source catalog, http://www.greatsource.com/catalog.html.
The Writing Spot, for kindergarten; Write One, for first grade; Write Away, for grade 2; Write on Track, for grade 3; Writer's Express, for grades 4-5; All Write, for grades 5 and up. I've only seen two of these, which are described below, along with the books especially for junior and senior high.
Kemper, Dave, Ruth Nathan, and Patrick Sebraneck. (1996). Write Away. Burlington, WI: Write Source. For young writers, approximately grades 2-3. Emphasizes writing, with attention to basic mechanics. Access information on the book via the Write Source Web address above.
Kemper, D., Ruth Nathan, and Patrick Sebraneck. (1995). Writers Express: A Handbook for Very YoungWriters, Thinkers, and Learners. Burlington, WI: Write Source. Suggested for grades 4 and 5, this book, like the Writers INC below, has a useful reference section (maps, historical time line, etc.). However, writing and the writing process are the major focus. A chapter titled "The proofreader's guide" deals with punctuation, spelling, and mechanics. Access information on the book via the Write Source Web address above.
Sebranek, P., V. Meyer, & D. Kemper. ("New" edition). Write Source 2000: A Guide to Writing, Thinking, and Learning. Burlington, WI: Write Source. Suggested for grades 6-8 but also for "students of all ages," this book is similar to the one just listed, but it has more: more of everything, including a rather complete "Yellow pages" guide to marking punctuation. Access information on the book via the Write Source Web address above.
Sebranek, P., V. Meyer, and D. Kemper. (1990). Writers INC (2nd ed.). Burlington, WI: Write Source. This compendium of information has an encyclopedic quality; it includes information on various topics, grammar being only one of them. Suitable for students from junior high through college, if they can make use of a text that defines grammatical terms and concepts more than explains them. Access information on the book via the Write Source Web address above
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Other books and links on grammar
Other books on and for teaching grammar. See also Recommended links.
Following are the major assignments:
You are expected to have near-perfect attendance: two absences will begin to affect your grade if there are other factors like turning in work late. Three absences will definitely affect your course grade, and four absences are grounds for failure in the course. Leaving night class at break time counts as half an absence. Frequent excessive lates will also lower your course grade.
I use a "portfolio" method of grading. You are asked to keep all of your course materials in one or more notebooks, but a professional portfolio includes more than this: things like attendance, submitting papers on time, observations of your preparedness for and your participation in class.
In order to translate your "portfolio" into a letter grade, we use what might be called templates: that is, descriptions of the patterns typical of those who earn an A, an AB, a B, and so forth. The complete syllabus handed out in class will include a template for various grades, but here is my current one for an A. Boldfacing indicates the most crucial items, while boldfaced italics indicate the next most crucial:
The person receiving an A meets most, though not necessarily all, of these criteria:
The complete syllabus will include an attempt to indicate what percentage various factors will count, but I use the template method rather than the percentage method whenever the overall pattern seems reasonably clear.
Contact for this page: connie.weaver@wmich.edu
Last revised: 1/6/03
