Teaching Conventions

Grammar stalks us all, teachers and students alike.

– Jim Burke

BRADDOCK et al . , 1963MCQUADE, 1980HILLOCKS, 1986

THE YORK STUDY: ANDREWS et al . , 2004

What Research Tells Us About Grammar Instruction

Braddock et al., 1963

“In view of the widespread agreement of research studies based upon many types of students and teachers, the conclusion can be stated in strong and unqualified terms: the teaching of formal grammar has a negligible or, because it usually

displaces some instruction and practice in actual composition, even a harmful

effect on the improvement of writing .”

Studies of grammar instruction have shown:

No difference on composition standardized tests between those who had taken and those who had received direct grammar instruction.

Editing student improved as much on yearly standardized tests in the year they did not take the course as in the year they did take the course

Post-test essays contained almost as many errors as pre-test essays

Post-test essays were poorly written: “awkwardly and I believe self-consciously constructed to honor correctness above all other virtues, including sense.”

Hillocks, 1986

“The study of traditional school grammar has no effect on raising the quality of student writing. Taught in certain ways, grammar and mechanics instruction has a deleterious effect on student writing.”

Hillocks, 1986

“In some studies a heavy emphasis on mechanics and usage (e.g., marking every

error) resulted in significant losses in overall quality. School boards, administrators, and

teachers who impose the systematic study of traditional school grammar on their students over lengthy periods of time in the name of teaching writing do them a gross disservice

which should not be tolerated by anyone concerned with the effective teaching of good

writing.”

The York Study: Andrews et al., 2004

“In terms of practice, the main implication of our findings is that there is

no high quality evidence that the teaching of grammar, whether traditional or generative/transformational, is worth the time if the aim is the improvement of

the quality and/or accuracy of written composition.”

“Teaching grammar in isolation, as a school subject, has little or no effect on most

students’ writing.”—Weaver

Time for a Change

“ [ S ] O M E R E S E A R C H S H O W S T H AT S T U D E N T S W H O TA K E E N T I R E C L A S S E S D E D I C AT E D T O T H E S T U D Y O F

G R A M M A R A L O N E O F T E N P R O D U C E W O R S E W R I T I N G A F T E R T H E C L A S S E S E N D .”

FINAL 4 CORNERS QUESTION

OMG what are we supposed to do?!Grammar in the Context of Writing

Teaching certain grammatical structures can enrich students’ writing by

Encouraging addition of details Clarifying relationships Creating style or voice Promoting variety, fluency & rhythm

Grammar, punctuation & usage are skills and structures to accomplish these goals.

Students can then also notice these structures in their reading & use them to enhance their writing.

Grammar in the Context of Writing

We emphatically do not subscribe to the school of thought that “grammar” is avoiding or correcting “errors,” or making grammatical choices mistakenly thought to be universally “right” rather than “wrong.”

– Weaver

Grammar in the Context of WritingUse an Inductive ApproachI.e., DON’T begin with the rules,

begin with the desired outcome: effective communication with the intended audience and understanding of structures to enhance textual analysis

Teach tools to achieve intended results

Jeff Anderson – Invitations to Notice

Grammar in the Context of Writing

Study the USE of language conventions, not language conventions themselves.

When students stretch, they will make more errors.

Don’t lose sight of the parallels between oral and written language as students get older.

Don’t overemphasize conventions—and don’t emphasize them too soon developmentally or in the writing process.

Grammar in the Context of Writing

Through observation – What do my students know? What do they need to know?

Design mini-lessons to teach the concepts they need to understand better

For each large reading or writing project, choose the grammatical, usage, or mechanical aspects that you will emphasize, connecting this language study to the other work happening in the classroom

Embed these lessons into the writing and reading study in which students are engaged

Students have been taught to think grammar study is all about the error;

we need to change that thinking. Grammar, mechanics and usage are

about making meaning! When teaching grammar we need to always

focus on the WHY—To what end are we learning this new

concept?

“I make my class about discovery, models, beauty, categorization, visuals, and writers using

grammar and mechanics to shape text and create meaning.”—Weaver

GRAMMAR LESSON FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

Practicing the Model

What do you notice about the underlined parts?

I came upon her late one evening on a deserted street in Hyde Park, a relatively affluent neighborhood in an otherwise mean, impoverished section of Chicago.

To her, the young black man—a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket—seemed menacingly close.

It was in the echo of that terrified woman’s footfalls that I first began to know the unwieldy inheritance I’d come into—the ability to alter public space in ugly ways.

What do you notice about the underlined parts?

And on late-evening constitutionals along streets less traveled by others, I employ what has proved to be an excellent tension-reducing measure: I whistle melodies from Beethoven and Vivaldi and the more popular classical composers.

From Brent Staples, “Just Walk on By: How Black Men Alter Public Space.” Quoted in Jim Burke, The English Teacher’s Companion.

Guided Practice

Using the model provided, write your own sentence in which you mirror the structure. President Barack Obama, a community organizer from

Chicago, once taught law at the University of Chicago in Hyde Park.

While in graduate school at the University of Chicago, I took classes in Judd Hall, a neo-gothic structure which includes the John Dewey-inspired University Lab School.

As we grow older, each of us comes to recognize how we impact others—our children, our students, our colleagues, even strangers.

Popcorn Handout