grammar mini lessons coffin week 6
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7/23/2019 Grammar Mini Lessons Coffin Week 6
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Running Head: GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS 1
Grammar Mini-Lessons
Daniel Coffin
Concordia University, Nebraska
Submitted in partial fulfillment of
the reuirements for !DUC "##
December $th, #%&$
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GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS 2
' hated them as a student and yet relied upon them heavily as a teacher of
!n(lish) *o+er*oint presentations, (uided notes, oral drills, correction activities, and
+orksheets, all desi(ned to illustrate and instruct students in a particular aspect of
!n(lish lan(ua(e (rammar he contradiction bothered me, and it +as ri(ht that it did,
accordin( to Constance .eaver, +ho says that research indicates that the teachin( of
(rammar in isolation /ie, +ith +orksheets and the like0 does not translate into improved
student +ritin( /as cited in 1aner-2loser, #%&&, p &&%0 .hatever it is students learn
from such activities, it does not induce them to craft the polished prose their teachers
are lookin( for So +hat, then, is the alternative3
4ather than teach every (rammar concept in isolation, one after another, .eaver
su((ests cuttin( do+n on the number of concepts tau(ht, teachin( them thorou(hly,
and teachin( them in con5unction +ith a +ritin( assi(nment - that is, teachin( them in
conte6t /as cited in 1aner-2loser, #%&&, p &&$0 7ollo+in( are a fe+ e6amples of +hat
mini-lessons desi(ned to teach (rammar concepts mi(ht look like as part of a +ritin(-
intensive classroom 8ll have been dra+n from 9eff 8nderson:s e6cellent te6t about
+ritin( instruction, Mechanically 'nclined
;ne of the (reatest (rammar challen(es ' face as a middle-school !n(lish
teacher is the incomplete sentence 't is human nature to speak +ith one:s peers
informally, +ithout re(ard to proper sentence structure, and my students +rite e6actly
the +ay they talk ' have (otten into the habit of borro+in( 9eff 8nderson:s lesson on
sentence structure +hich he calls <+o .ord Sentence Smackdo+n= /#%%$, p "$-">0
.e start by (atherin( t+o +ord sentences from our classroom and D!84
readin( materials and recordin( them on a chart in class ;nce +e have a lon( enou(h
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GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS 3
list, +e start to e6amine these sentences as a class .hat function does each of the
+ords serve in the sentence3 .hat do all of the +ords on the left have in common3
.hat do all of the +ords on the ri(ht have in common3 hrou(h e6ploration and
discussion, students collectively reali?e that the +ords on the left are sub5ects /people,
places, and thin(s0 and the +ords on the ri(ht are verbs /actions undertaken by the
sub5ects of the sentence0
.e then e6tend the lesson by havin( the class +rite up a stack of inde6 cards in
t+o colors) pink and (reen ;n the pink cards, students +rite verbs ;n the (reen cards,
students +rite sub5ects !ach student (ets one of each hey then roam around the
room findin( other students +ith +hom they can make ne+ sentences he students
then +rite these ne+ sentences in their +riter:s notebooks ;ccasionally, students +ill
hook up a sub5ect +ith a verb con5u(ated improperly for that sub5ect /e(, a student +ith
an <'= sub5ect card and a student +ith a <(uesses= verb card0 hese students ' +ill have
+rite their sentences do+n, +ith an asterisk ne6t to them ' +ill remind them to check
these +hen +e talk about sub5ect-verb a(reement in a fe+ days he lesson culminates
+ith a free+rite ' +ill challen(e students to use at least five t+o +ord sentences in their
free+ritin( 8fter+ard, +hen students share their +ritin(, ' +ill ask students ho+ the
+ritin( sounded +hen students used t+o +ord sentences sparin(ly, +hen they used
them e6clusively, and +hen they intermin(led lon(er and shorter sentences his +ill
(et them thinkin( about sentence structure from a stylistic point of vie+
'n (eneral, students love this lesson 't:s <easy,= the (ame aspect hooks their
interest +hile +e talk about somethin( that mi(ht not other+ise be interestin(, and it
translates directly into +ritin( outcomes /both conventions and style0
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GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS 4
Discussion of sub5ects and verbs leads naturally to the topic of sub5ect-verb
a(reement 8(ain, ' use a lesson authored by 9eff 8nderson /#%%$, p &&@-&&A0 to
illustrate ho+ verbs chan(e form to connect +ith different sub5ects and in different
tenses ' use the mentor te6t 8nderson su((ests, a para(raph from Bate DiCamillo:s
The Tale of Despereaux +ritten in the past tense that features many irre(ular verbs
Upon readin( and discussin( this te6t as a class, +e notice ho+ 5ust thro+in( a <-d= or <-
ed= on the end of a +ord isn:t al+ays sufficient .e then re+rite the past tense verbs in
the passa(e as a class into present tense
8t this point, ' turn my students loose to +rite in their +riter:s notebooks for five
minutes hey +rite a brief /&-# para(raphs0 personal narrative this is supposed to be
told in the first person and in the present tense ' +ill +rite somethin( at the same time
they do and then display it on my SM84 board once the free+rite is finished ' al+ays
use an anecdote from school that features a student ;nce everyone has read my
passa(e, ' then chan(e the point of vie+ from first person to third at this point, ' can
include a little e6tra narration from the student:s perspective, +hich never fails to (et a
lau(h .e then talk about ho+ the verbs chan(ed +hen ' chan(ed the point of vie+ Mr
Coffin is no+ not an <'= in the story, but a <he,= and the verbs attached to those sub5ects
must chan(e accordin(ly ' turn them back to their notebooks for another five minutes to
re+rite their narratives from first person to third as ' did 7ollo+in( this second round of
+ritin( students +ill share both versions of their narratives +hile other students take
notes in their +riter:s notebooks about verb chan(es that surprised them ' +ill offer
constructive critiues if none of the students (et to it first his activity has +orked +ell
for me because students love +ritin( about themselves and ' think they are intri(ued by
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GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS 5
the possibilities of +ritin( about events in their lives from the ima(inary perspective of a
third-person observer his activity helps to outline some patterns of verb con5u(ation
+hich +ill help them, +ith practice, to reco(ni?e +hen their sub5ects and verbs disa(ree
and ho+ to fi6 them so they do
he only (rammar-specific Common Core standard for si6th (rade deals +ith
pronouns /proper case, correctin( va(ue usa(e, etc0, so this is a special focus for my
+ritin( instruction .ith a little classroom discussion and a vie+in( of the e6cellent
Schoolhouse 4ock cartoon <4ufus avier Sarsparilla,= students (et e6cited about the
utility of pronouns and ' inevitably see them used more freuently in their free+ritin(,
until the day comes +hen ' see so many ' can:t possibly fi(ure out +hich pronouns
refers to +hat antecedent
' then kno+ that the class is ready for a mini-lesson on va(ue pronoun usa(e
Like 9eff 8nderson su((ests, ' +ill take a selection from the te6t Kira-Kira by Cynthia
Badohata and create a Clo?e +ith all of the pronouns removed /#%%$, p &%@-&%A0 ' +ill
then reproduce the pronouns on little pieces of paper +hich students can manipulate
into the blanks, usin( conte6t from the sentences to fi(ure out +hich pronouns (o
+here 8fter students have settled on placement for their +ay+ard pronouns, ' +ill
distribute an unaltered copy of the mentor te6t for us to read and compare to our
versions here is enou(h va(ueness in a fe+ sentences +here valid chan(es can be
made to the pronouns +e discuss ho+ +hile still technically correct, chan(in( the
pronouns nevertheless chan(es the meanin( of the sentence
his has been a successful activity for me 8(ain, students en5oy the pu??le of
fi(urin( out +here pronouns (o based on the clues left for them he nature of this
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GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS 6
activity makes it like a (ame he understandin( they (ain leads to better +ritin( they
see ho+ confusin( it can be +hen antecedents are unclear, and they learn 5ust ho+
much meanin( pronouns contribute to the sentence as a +hole hey learn throu(h
e6perience to take care +ith the pronouns they employ in their o+n +ritin(
'n each of these three mini-lessons, students learn valuable (rammar concepts
+hich they can immediately put to use in their o+n +ritin( to (ood effect hey learn
hands-on the craft of +ritin( hey don:t necessarily learn all of the terminolo(y like a
(rammarian +ould, but +hy should they3 My intent as a si6th-(rade !n(lish teacher is
not to create (rammarians, but passionate and effective +riters ' believe cuttin( out as
much of the borin( <skill E drill= +ork to make time for more +ritin( helps me to do that
4!7!4!NC!S
8nderson, 9 /#%%$0 Mechanically inclined: Building grammar, usage and style into
writer’s workshop *ortland) Stenhouse *ublishers
ompkins, G! /#%� Teaching writing: Balancing process and product /"th !d0
2oston) *earson
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GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS 7
1aner-2loser /#%&&0 riting research: ! guide to curriculum planning Columbus, ;F)
1aner-2loser
4!7L!C';N
Unlike most of the last fe+ +ritin( assi(nments, ' felt this came very easily to me '
suppose that ' +as better prepared because ' keep reflections on past assi(nments as a
matter of course, and teachin( (rammar in conte6t is somethin( that my collea(ue and '
have been +orkin( on for the last couple of years here is a dan(er, ho+ever, +hen
one is +ritin( about somethin( really familiar to (loss over important details +hich then
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GRAMMAR MINI-LESSONS 8
leaves the material opaue to an outside reader for +hom it is unfamiliar 't +as for this
reason ' read my first draft to my +ife, +ho made some su((estions re(ardin( my
e6planations of the various mini-lessons +hich ' felt +ere fruitful 't +as +ent ' +as
typin( this reflection that ' then thou(ht about my students, some of +hom really
stru((le +hen it comes to peer editin(, especially if they are supposed to be focusin( on
content rather than conventions hey don:t kno+ +hat to look for +hen they are
assessin( the structure or flo+ of a piece of +ritin( ' +onder if ' had authors first
discuss or describe their topic before handin( it over, +ould the editors then be better
prepared to read and assess <no, this +ritin( doesn:t say +hat you 5ust said to me3= '
mi(ht have to try this in class this +eek
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