Aninclination for many teachers when we teach grammar is to start at the front, by defining the concept: An appositive is a word or phrase that renames another noun or noun phrase in a sentence. Ugh.
Instead, I start with inquiry into authentic examples from our mentor text study. Examples help students explore and identify a concept BEFORE it gets named, and students are much more likely to remember and apply the learning.
Sometimes, depending on the concept, I later share examples that help students learn to differentiate the concept I am teaching from other constructions that look similar, just to clarify their understanding. But either way, I work from examples back to the concept, rather than starting with the definition of the concept.
Sentence combining is another way we can weave grammar with writing. A daily practice that can help students understand important concepts about writing, sentence combining is a research-supported practice that improves writing. Generally, it helps students learn that
Myhill et al. found that explicit teaching of grammar does improve student writing, especially when teachers employ a playful approach that involves lots of talk and clear connections to the writing students are doing. Exactly the kinds of instruction we can implement with a few shifts in stance!
Deborah Dean, formerly a secondary English teacher, is a professor of English at Brigham Young University, where she teaches preservice and practicing teachers about writing instruction. She is the author of What Works in Grammar Instruction; Strategic Writing: The Writing Process and Beyond in the Secondary English Classroom; Genre Theory: Teaching, Writing, and Being; What Works in Writing Instruction: Research and Practices, and the Quick Reference Guide (QRG) Teaching Grammar in the Secondary Classroom.
It is the policy of NCTE in all publications, including the Literacy & NCTE blog, to provide a forum for the open discussion of ideas concerning the content and the teaching of English and the language arts. Publicity accorded to any particular point of view does not imply endorsement by the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors, the staff, or the membership at large, except in announcements of policy, where such endorsement is clearly specified.
Good grammar skills are essential for effective and meaningful communication. By understanding the common mistakes made in grammar, you can avoid them and express your thoughts in writing clearly to convey your intended meaning.
This section focuses on the most common grammatical mistakes made in writing. The mistakes are organized under 13 grammatical categories. In each of these categories, the tutorial presents an error, explains it, and shows ways of avoiding or correcting it. Use the examples and explanations in this section as reminders when you proofread and edit your written work.
Take the Quick Self-Test to identify the common grammatical mistakes you may encounter in your writing. Follow the links included in the answers to the quiz questions to learn more about how to correct or avoid each grammatical mistake. Consult the Glossary section of the tutorial if you encounter an unfamiliar grammar term.
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These OWL resources will help you use correct grammar in your writing. This area includes resources on grammar topics, such as count and noncount nouns, articles (a versus an), subject-verb agreement, and prepositions.
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Standard English conventions in grammar form the basis for clear and effective communication. However, learning grammar rules in isolation only helps students to memorize rules rather than applying or understanding why those rules matter. To encourage students to master English conventions, BJU Press middle- and high-school writing and grammar courses teach grammar at the point of application as well as in independent practice and review. As the students progress through each grade level, they will
To reach these goals, grammar chapters in Writing & Grammar 7, 8, and 9 include several Practice, Use, and Review the Skill pages in the lessons. Teachers can use these pages for in-class or independent practice, or they can use them on review days. Grammar workshop pages in middle school courses give students a chance to see how grammatical concepts and rules affect writing. Additionally, each BJU Press teacher edition includes suggestions for teacher modeling so that teachers can show students how to work through activities. Handbooks, available in the back of the Writing & Grammar 7 and 8 student worktexts, review common errors and problems the students will need to review.
Mentor texts give students a starting point for analyzing the grammatical structures of sentences. In each BJU Press student edition, students will find mentor texts and writing activities that promote understanding not only of the function and value of grammar but also how to structure written pieces. Student activities afford students the opportunity to analyze each mentor text to learn from it. Teachers can use these texts to prompt analysis of how sentence structure and word choice influence communication, and how the writers of the mentor texts might have changed what they meant or said by using the language differently. From these mentor text activities, teachers can direct students to analyze how they use standard grammar conventions in their own writing and communication. Students will also learn writing strategies, how to diversify word choice, persuasive techniques, and more.
By teaching students how to be good writers, teachers are also encouraging them to be good communicators. Good writing is clear, accurate, and considerate of its audience. As a building block for clear writing, grammar conventions give students a foundation for writing without confusing errors. Students can use grammar tools to improve their communication. Research and study skills support young writers in developing truthful and virtuous writing by teaching them to find, understand, restate, and properly cite information sources to build or defend an argument. These skills give authenticity and merit to their writing. Ultimately, most writing is designed for the benefit of the reader, not the writer. To that end, we equip teachers to help their students better understand the needs of their audience. Throughout each course writing instructions, teaching notes, and writing checklists will regularly remind students to consider their audience and the appropriateness of their word choice and usage.
In addition to mastering grammar conventions, students need to know where to look for useful information, how to categorize and organize it, and they need to understand it well enough that they can reuse it in their own words. Study skills enable students to understand how they learn and process information so that they are better equipped to use that information later . Student researchers need to be able to process and categorize the information they encounter. In addition to learning effective research skills, students will also need to master effective study skills. The BJU Press Writing & Grammar program teaches study and research skills regularly in each course, including how to recognize credible sources and how to ask good questions that lead to a better understanding. The handbooks in Writing & Grammar 7 and 8 and the Study Hacks feature in Writing & Grammar 9 offer detailed reviews of relevant study skills, such as how to schedule study time, suggestions for memory work, and strategies to improve reading comprehension.
Teaching strategies throughout the program direct teachers to lead in a variety of collaborative projects and assignments. Many projects include oral presentations that require both speaking and listening as students present and peers evaluate presentations. Teachers can lead visual analyses of infographics and full-page visuals that inform students about the topics for that chapter. Projects that include oral presentations also help students learn how to develop and give PowerPoint presentations on a topic of interest to them. As they engage in writing projects and practice their research skills, students will expand their digital and media literacy. Writing projects and presentations often require students to work with word processors or presentation software to develop an effective presentation. In these presentations, they will improve collaborative skills in group projects and through peer reviews of their writing.
Sentence: fragment; run-on; simple, compound, complex; declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory; Complete subject and predicate; Simple subject and predicate; Compound subjects and predicates; Dependent and independent clauses; Introductory prepositional phrases; Sentence patterns; Diagramming
Shared writing; Independent writing; Paragraph development; Writing process: plan, draft, revise, proofread, publish; Writing traits: ideas, organization, word choice, conventions; Graphic organizers: events/details chart, persuasion chart, plot diagram, time-order chart, Venn diagram, word web; Rubric for self-assessment; Proofreading marks to improve writing and make corrections; Using a dictionary; Using a thesaurus; Avoiding propaganda tactics
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