I’ve learned a couple useful grammar rules in the small amount of time spent in class. One tidbit of information that really sticks out in my mind is the new rule (or trend) for apostrophes. Since the fifth grade I’ve been using -s’s to show possession for words ending in –s, but due to new information on the subject I’m now using –s’ in my writing. This simple change has thrown me off a couple times over the last two weeks, but I know over time and with practice it will soon become a habit. Along with changing my own style, I learned effective ways to teach this rule. The graphic shown in class, which is boiled down to the simplest possible terms, will be useful in my classroom and in teaching students.
As far as developing methods for teaching grammar, I’ve found the style used in this class is best for learning rules. Giving a quick lesson on the rule and spending time learning it in the context of reading and writing has been particularly effective at internalizing this information. In elementary, junior high, and high school I learned grammar through exhaustive worksheets and lectures given by the teacher. Although I didn’t have many problems learning this way, it would have been easier to understand and apply grammar rules to my writing if I’d learned it in context. I plan on having workshops, much like we do in this class, where students edit their own writing and discuss the process with peers.
After seeing the picture of the hamburger stand menu which had numerous apostrophe mistakes and no consistency, the idea that wrong grammar rules are often internalized changed my outlook on grammar teaching. Thinking back through my education on language arts, I can’t begin to count the number of times teachers have stated, “The English language is confusing because of all the exceptions to its grammar rules.” As part of his or her lesson the teacher often let us students in on a “trick” to remembering a grammar rule, but right as everyone was starting to understand, an exception was presented that threw everyone off. If students remember a grammar rule wrong then it makes it that much more difficult to correct it, that’s why there should be careful contemplation in planning grammar lessons.
The concepts we’ve discussed in class thus far have been straightforward and easy to understand. I haven’t had any trouble with the subject matter or confusion with what we’ve all learned. I especially enjoyed working on the grammar scrapbook, the house style section was interesting and fun! I’ve been looking through newspapers (with special attention to The Daily Evergreen) for errors in print, but have had no luck finding anything! This particular section is the most important, so I’m a little worried about not being able to find an acceptable number of examples. Hopefully I’ll have better luck as the semester moves on, but so far that’s my main concern with this class.
QUESTION: Why do you think it’s important to teach word classes?
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As Barbara has said, there are only a limited number of word classes that should really be focused on in the classroom. If high school students (or even younger students) are anything like me, they might be intimidated by the exposure to the full breadth of word classes to the point of shying away from writing and taking risks necessary for academic growth. If we teach students just enough word classifications to understand the basic anatomy of sentences without delving too deeply into memorization of technical jargon, they will have a better understanding of sentence structure without spending too much time on it that might be put to better use strengthening their voices as writers.
ReplyDeleteI'd say that knowing only four word classes--the open ones--might be helpful for reading a dictionary and building a working vocabulary.
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