Grammar in the Writing Classroom
from NCTE INBOX 11-9-04

Teaching grammar for the sake of grammar is the wrong way—so what is the right way to help students understand the rich structures underlying language use? These resources explore ways to bridge between direct grammar instruction and a meaningful exploration of a writer's purpose and meaning.

The Language Arts article "Integrated Word Study: Spelling, Grammar, and Meaning in the Language Arts Classroom" (E) provides a framework for the coordination of spelling, vocabulary, and grammar instruction through a range of reading and writing activities. The ReadWriteThink lesson plan Sentence Quest: Using Parts of Speech to Write Descriptive Sentences (E) outlines another option for exploring words in action in the elementary classroom.

Read "To Grammar or Not to Grammar: That Is Not the Question!" (M) from Voices from the Middle to learn ways that teaching a limited number of grammatical concepts in contexts of their use is far better than isolated grammar study in getting students to understand the grammatical options and conventions available to them. The ReadWriteThink lesson Every Punctuation Mark Matters: A Mini-Lesson on Semicolons (M-S) provides a strategy for teaching the semicolon to demonstrate to students that grammatical choices create style in writing.

The January 2003 English Journal article "Why Revitalize Grammar?" (S) outlines ways to prepare writers to make difficult but informed choices in each rhetorical situation they encounter -- from sentence structure to copy editing conventions. Check out the complete January 2003 issue, focusing on the theme "Revitalizing Grammar" for additional teaching ideas. Begin your discussion of the choices writers make with the ReadWriteThink lesson Choosing the Best Verb: An Active and Passive Voice Mini-lesson (S), which asks students to explore verb choice in a variety of online resources then draw conclusions they can apply to their own writing.

Check out the Teaching English in the Two-Year College article "Welcoming Grammar Back into the Writing Classroom" (C) for three approaches to reintroduce grammar to modern process classrooms in ways that help students write more effectively. The College Composition and Communication article "Making a Case for Rhetorical Grammar" (C) explores ways that we can invite writers to participate in a discourse that takes seriously the connection between writing and thinking, the interwoven relationship between what we say and how we say it.

For even more resources on grammar in the writing classroom, check out the NCTE title Grammar Alive! A Guide for Teachers (G). Don't miss the book's sample chapter, "Discovering Grammar," in the online bookstore for additional teaching ideas. And for more free resources, take a look at the Grammar Teaching Resource Collection (G).


NOTE: Free access to journal articles mentioned in this Inbox is provided for 21 days. After this free access period expires, articles are available to journal subscribers only. This Inbox Idea was published 11-09-2004.

Initials in annotations indicate academic level of the resource (E=Elementary, M=Middle, S=Secondary, C=College, G=General).

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