Hello and welcome to our grammar class blog! I really enjoyed working with you today, and I hope you came away with useful ideas for teaching grammar in the context of the other language arts.
Have you had a chance to glance at the book yet?
Please use our new blogosphere to ask questions, make observations, request information about teaching grammar using linguistic principles.
Let's start by just chatting a bit about what we learned today and how we think we might use it.
9 comments:
Thanks to Amy, Maureen, and all the participants for an engaging conversation today. I have just started to read your book, Amy. It feels as though your work provides us with a sensible middle path for grammar instruction.
I was a product of formal grammar instruction (indoctrination?) in the 60's. My 7th and 8th grade English teacher, Miss Reidy, gave us a thorough grounding in traditional grammar, complete with Warriner's exercises and diagramming. (I loved it, nerd that I was.) As an elementary teacher, I came of age in the 70's when grammar basically went out the window.
Now, thirty years later, I'm faced with the daunting task of spearheading the creation of an elementary grammar curriculum within a balanced literacy context. I feel confident, however, that our work together will give me some good ideas--as well as courage--for this task.
I really enjoyed today's session and felt that I left the room with some tools that will be used in my classroom.
The presentation of the reading rods and some possible scenarios to use were really helpful. The fact that I can get Mad-Lib cards at my second home, Walmart, is awesome. I feel like I am going to have a new bag of tricks next week at school and that it will help my students and hopefully, they will have an "ah ha" moment like I did today.
I have always struggled with how to teach grammar. It was always just something "I knew" but could never adequately explain.
Looking forward to what others have to say and plan to read the book tonight.
Well Amy, you accomplished your goal of making grammar come alive while engaging the attention of our class with your enthusiasm for the subject. Thank you for the review, reinforcement and for the new learning that took place today. I've just begun to interact with the text but immediately see that I will be helped by increasing my lesson blueprints in grammar even for my more impaired language students. Looking forward to our further
Great class Amy! I really enjoyed it, and I now understand how and why Maureen was inspired.
I'd like my students to make discoveries about grammar, as I did yesterday. As I mentioned at the end of class, I learned that it is the subordinating conjunction which makes a clause dependent. While I'm sure a 4th grader will not be too excited about that, he or she may be excited to use those reading rods and to find the verbs!
As I glance through your book, I can quickly see that I have many connections. Our class discussion from yesterday and my background knowledge about grammar makes the connection easy.
I look forward to your next blog and our class next week!
Amy and Maureen, thank you for sharing your knowledge and creating awareness. I walked out of your class today thinking about language. Yes, how true it is that teaching our students grammar gives power to language. Thinking of grammar as math gave me an added understanding of the balance and order in our language. I am looking forward to reading more about parallel structure in the text to further my understanding.
Our class on Saturday brought great conversation and enthusiasm. I loved as teachers we can make learning grammar fun and exciting. It is wonderful to be passionate about the language that one is teaching. The games that were introduced today were great tools that promote thinking and communication. I know that I can differentiate my instruction using these games in my fourth grade inclusion class. I will be reading the text this week and Im looking forward to further discussion.
I hope that I am not the only one having trouble leaving my comment...
Amy's book is starting out as a wonderful read. I love the teacher's journal. What a great format.
Today I did a mini lesson after listening to 3 students share their journal writing about "Me and ...did" They constructed their own rule. Let's see if they can apply their new knowledge.
Also, we identified subjects and predicates during sentence reading in Wilson. I think that it help with their reading comprehension and will hopefully help with their writing.
Thank you Amy............
As a health teacher, I usually do not
participate in LA types of classes, however this one has been fabulous! In fact, this class inspired me to go home and read the book 3 Cups of Tea, a book someone lent to me months ago.
I love language, I love to write and read!
This class has refueled my love of writing and reading.
Thanks Amy and Maureen! I learned a tremendous amount on Saturday. I went away with lots of ideas to use in my classes and in my (new this year) writing lab.
Amy, I especially warmed to the way that you modeled the dialogue and learning that could take place with the simplest of games involving word work.
As far as your book is concerned, I've been looking very closely at the syllabus at the back. It's given me lots of ideas about planning lessons this quarter.
Has anyone checked out the grammar blog on the NY Times website? It's called "After Deadline" and it lays bare for the public (this used to be just through internal memos) grammar gaffes and writing successes by its own writers. It's an interesting site to show students. Bye for now.
Thank you Amy and Maureen for the history of our language, a new way of thinking about language and the hands on manipulative to place in my teaching bag of tricks. Amy, now that I have been playing and exploring the learning possibilities with the reading rods you have me and my students hooked. Maureen, now that I'm hooked I would love to learn where and how you applied for the grants to fund these hands on engaging tools to explore language. With the dreaded governor’s budget expected next Tuesday our school budgets are under the microscope, so I need to explore ways to fund these hands on manipulative to help me meet the needs of my students.
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