Just
the mere mention of the word grammar causes students’ eyes to glaze over and
English teachers to argue methodology.
In fact, until the Virginia Standards of Learning were adopted, most
county administrators frowned upon the teaching of grammar, usage and mechanics
solely as separate entities.
When preparing for the Standards of Learning assessment, they took heed of the warnings from district English teachers regarding students lack of understanding of basic grammar and usage concepts. The leaders rescinded their previous viewpoint.
Those of us leading classrooms know that students won't understand a comment on a paper that states, "Verbs must agree with their subjects in number" unless they know what a verb is, as well as its subject, and understand what number means in relation to this part of speech. Expecting them to do so reminds me of the time my neighborhood car mechanic growled at me about all of the dirt clogging my oil filter. Oil filter? What was that? I knew my car needed oil...where...I didn't know. And it was filtered? Chalk up another, "I didn't know that even existed," for me.
I strongly feel that students need to see the connection between the “what they say” and the “how they say it” aspects of their
writing. Combined with my philosophy
that learning can be fun, I attempt to eradicate the consternation associated
with the study of the English language. So do my grammar go to make-believe teenagers, Bubba and Zelda. Readers have met these two in the Troublesome Words Power Point (http://teachitwrite.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-trouble-with-troublesome-words.html) and the Prepositions Power Point (http://teachitwrite.blogspot.com/2013/04/prepositions-are-talkin-about.html), both of which are also FREE. They are back to engage students grammatically by sharing some of their antics.
The
key word, when planning for a grammar segment, is interaction. Just the other day, a BFF from shortly after we were born and I laughed about the hours and hours that we spent at the blackboard in high school diagramming sentences. Did we learn? Yes, but at the price of sheer, teeth-grinding boredom. After years in the classroom, we know that lifelong learners emerge from lessons that inspire students with engaging and fun activities.Therefore, it is vital that students do more
than work through the exercises in a grammar book.
In fact, other than using a text to clarify
the definitions of the work under study, I only utilized our adopted book for defining
the grammar concept and for learning and reinforcing the rules associated with
its usage. Every introductory lesson for a concept should start with the
students writing original sentences on the board. Next, the teacher should guide them to
- find the errors (when choosing the sentences to use, I made sure that I selected examples that exhibited the concept that I wanted students to grasp).
- name the concept.
- review the concept’s rules with students coming to the board and writing original sentence that show the principle.
- connect the concept with one of its rules.
The
study of the concept in question continues with as much student involvement as
time allows, utilizing both small and large group instruction. The following FREE 36
pages of worksheets, tests and answer keys (Yes, 36 FREE pages) are by no means conclusive, but are
a sampling of how form and function can combine to increase students’ understanding
of English usage. I compiled many of them
after selecting prevalent usage errors from students' essays. In others, I use
characters that I have created who are the Composites
of Students Past (Zelda and Bubba). I found that students displayed more enthusiasm in
completing the worksheets when they related to the thoughts, actions and
reactions of the young people wired to their likes and dislikes. You will, too. Download this Freebie from my TpT store:
I copied the various grammatical definitions from: Kinneavy, James L, and Warriner, John E. Elements of Writing : Complete Course. Austin
NOTE: Regarding the Active Voice Rules activity on pages
27-28, I sell a corresponding Power Point that teaches this
concept and that uses these sentences: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grammar-ActivePassive-Voice-PowerPoint
Happy Teaching,
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