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Teacher Section

Part One: The Launch

Part One of the Teacher Sectionextends through the first reading of the book,

and provides the important foundation of sentence grammar and paragraph elements

that students will need for the elaborate paragraph

practice exercises in Part Two.

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To the Teacher

Students must write frequently, so this section of teacher resources will be presented as twenty lessons, providing a set of lessons to be availableduring the school year, with flexibility built infor holiday weeks and unexpected events.

I do not envision these lessons as dictating a strictsequence of activities, or as a set of requirements inwhich every element of every lesson must be completed.Rather, I want to provide a collection of possibilities for thethinking teacher to use in adjusting the programto the specific characteristics of the class and the othercurricula that also clamor for attention in the school day.

It will be clear that I have attempted to present theimportant knowledge about the paragraph in a fresh,readable way, while still creating a program that is intensewith solid classical knowledge about writing. The presentationis playful and childlike, but the content—both the factsand the ideas—is advanced, and will support serious reflection by students and teachers.

Few things not enjoyed are ever internalized, and soa strong intellectual life depends upon the process goingbeyond the cognitive plane to the affective domain as well.I hope this text captures the joy of learning something important.

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Four-Level Analysis

Correct writing is impossible without correct grammar. In Paragraph Town, I use the same grammar instruction strategy, four-level analysis, that I have developed in all of my other texts. The companion grammar text for this book, Grammar Town, introduces four-level analysis and provides extensive information about the fundamental elements of traditional grammar, which is the grammar used by writers, editors, and publishers throughout the English-speaking world. It is important to employ this traditional grammar language—the language of every dictionary—and to reject alternative grammar terms; our effort must be to bring students into the mainstream of language culture, not to handicap them by teaching them terms never used in higher academic or professional life. Every dictionary will call the word insidious an adjective; none will call it a describer.

Four-level analysis is a powerful method for revealing the untold secret of grammar: its simplicity. Students struggle through thick grammar texts for years without realizing that there are only eight kinds of words, only two sides of a clause, only several kinds of phrases. By doing four-level analysis each week, students soon experience a stunning revelation: to an amazing degree, every sentence is the same. Always, every word is one of only eight parts of speech. Always, the verb is either action or linking. Always, a clause has a subject and a predicate. Always, the sentence has one clause or more. Once students see this foundation, they become ready to study more complicated sentences; until they do, there is little point in introducing such sentences.

Each of the lessons of Paragraph Town will have a four-level analysis of a short sentence. The teacher will need only to write the sentence on the board, draw four lines below it, and take the class through the analysis. In the early weeks, the teacher can even use the method to teach itself, but as students gain familiarity, the conversation can become more of a dialogue, with the teacher asking the questions, the students calling out the answers, and the teacher writing the abbreviations of the grammar elements in the appropriate lines directly below those elements.

Certainly, there are more challenging sentences in the world than anything we will analyze in these examples, but this method will give students a solid foundation that will enable them to explore further and to comprehend what they learn.

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Four Levels of Grammar: A SummaryEven though this is a writing text and not a grammar text, correct writing is impossible without a knowledge of correct grammar, and it is worthwhile to provide a capsule review of the four levels of traditional grammar.

Parts of SpeechThere are only eight kinds of words, which we call the parts of speech. With these eight parts, we make English. The two main kinds, the noun and the verb, have at their disposal six others to help them. All words, however much can be said of them, are first acting in one of these eight roles in a sentence. The word the, for example, is an adjective; it is a special adjective called a definite article.

Parts of SentenceEvery clause ever written has a verb acting as the simple predicate of a subject, which will be a noun, a pronoun meaning a noun, or an understood subject if the sentence is imperative. If the verb is action, it might shoot the action over to a direct object (D.O.). If there is a direct object, there might then be an indirect object between the D.O. and the action verb. If the verb is linking, it might form an equation between the subject and a subject complement (S.C.).

PhrasesA phrase is a group of words that does not have a subject and its predicate, and that acts as a single part of speech. There are prepositional, appositive, and verbal phrases. Prepositional phrases always begin with prepositions and act as modifiers (adjectives or adverbs). An appositive phrase is an interrupting definition: John Adams, the second president, arrived. Verbals are verb forms that are used as nonverbs. There are three kinds of verbals: gerunds are -ing verbs used as nouns (Thinking is fun); participles are verb forms used as adjectives (The thinking man laughed); and infinitives are the to verb forms used as nouns or modifiers (To think is fun). If a verbal has its own modifiers or objects, it is a verbal phrase. Verbals are exciting and absolutely must be taught from upper elementary grades on because they are common in language and because no one who does not know verbals can understand correct pronoun usage or sentence punctuation.

ClausesA clause is any group of words that has a subject with its predicate. A clause may be independent and able to stand alone, or dependent on being attached to an independent clause in order to make sense. A sentence with two independent clauses joined together is called compound, and a sentence with a dependent clause joined to an independent clause is called complex. Every sentence has at least one clause.

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Systems and Patterns

It is simle to use this book’s four-level analysis method in the classroom. Write the sentence on the board, draw four lines below it, and examine the sentence with the students, identifying all parts of speech, all parts of sentence, phrases, and clauses.

Most ducks are writers.

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

The first examples will be challenging, but students will gain speed as they begin to see the same systems and patterns emerging in every sentence: the adjective always modifying a noun or pronoun, the verb always predicating something about its subject, the direct object always receiving the impact of the action verb—the same patterns in the same systems, again and again. Once students perceive these repeated systems, the light comes on, and they begin to replicate the patterns in their own sentences. These correct patterns are the basis for a life of correct writing.

Most ducks are writers.

Parts of Speech adj. n. v. n. __________________________________________

Parts of Sentence subj. pred. S.C. __________________________________________

Phrases no phrases __________________________________________

Clauses --------------one independent clause----------------- a simple declarative sentence __________________________________________

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Lesson One: Parts of Speech

Chapter One, Pages 5-19

Chapter SummaryChapter One introduces the ducks Fishmeal and Queequack, whose names are allusions to Ishmael and Queequeg, characters in Herman Melville’s great novel, Moby Dick. Like Ishmael, Fishmeal leaves home to explore the mystery of the world, but Fishmeal’s quest is a search for the paragraph. Fishmeal leaves his duck pond and flies to Paragraph Town, where he meets Queequack, a paragraph expert. Before Queequack will tell Fishmeal about paragraphs, he insists on a review of fundamental grammar elements: the parts of speech, subject-verb agreement, and the correct use of pronouns.

Key Concept: Simplicity. Only two main kinds of words, with six assistants.The key to internalizing parts of speech for a life of writing is to realize that there are only eight kinds of words, the nouns and verbs with six secondary words that help out with adjustments, relationships, and connections. The simplicity of the parts of speech system—how easy and pleasant it is to learn and use—is the focus.

Suggested ApproachRead pages 5-19 aloud, with students taking turns reading the parts of Fishmeal and Queequack. Interrupt the reading to check for understanding and appreciation. At the end of the reading, review the story and ask students about the important ideas of the passage.

Supplemental Content: ConjunctionsHave students memorize two key kinds of conjunctions. The coordinating conjunctions are and, but, or, nor, for, so yet. A starter list of subordinating conjunctions is if, since, when, and because. This becomes crucial in understanding clauses later.

Open-ended, Socratic Discussion Questions Suggested by the ContentHow can a language using only eight kinds of words be effective? Would it improve language if there were more parts of speech? Can anyone think of a part of speech that does not yet exist? What are the benefits of a language that uses only two main kinds of words?

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Lesson One Parts of Speech ReviewWe will approach the four-level analysis technique by focusing first on the first level, parts of speech. Students need practice identifying the eight parts of speech before moving on the other three levels.

1. Blue eggs hatched quickly. adj. n. v. adv.

2. Yes, six ducks paddled in the pond. interj. adj. n. v. prep. adj. n.

3. He swam quickly to shore; the water was very cold. pron. v. adv. prep. n. adj. n. v. adv. adj.

4. Fishmeal and Queequack saw Elijah from a distance. n. conj. n. v. n. prep. adj. n.

5. He was tired, but Queequack flew to a high rooftop. pron. v. adj. conj. n. v. prep. adj. adj. n.

6. Oh, the flock of birds flew slowly overhead. interj. adj. n. prep. n. v. adv. adv.

7. They saw us before we saw them; it was a coincidence. pron. v. pron. conj. pron. v. pron. pron. v. adj. n.

8. Queequack told him a very long story about ducks. n. v. pron. adj. adv. adj. n. prep. n.

9. Ugh, the cold wind whipped white tips on the tops of the waves. n. adj. adj. n. v. adj. n. prep. adj. n. prep. adj. n.

10. Queequack knew many important things about paragraphs. n. v. adj. adj. n. prep. n.

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Lesson One Four-Level AnalysisAt this stage, the four-level analysis is a preview for students; it lets them see the dimensions of what they will learn. Write the sentence on the board, draw four lines below it, and discuss the four levels of the sentence with the students.

Most ducks are writers.

Parts of Speech adj. n. v. n. __________________________________________

Parts of Sentence subj. pred. S.C. __________________________________________

Phrases no phrases __________________________________________

Clauses --------------one independent clause----------------- a simple declarative sentence __________________________________________

Parts of Speech: The plural common noun ducks is modified by an adjective most. The verb is a plural (duck is, ducks are) present tense linking verb, and writers is a plural common noun.

Parts of Sentence: The subject of the sentence is the noun ducks. Its predicate is the linking verb are, which links the subject to the subject complement writers. The structure is like an equation in mathematics: ducks = writers.

Phrases: There are no prepositional, appositive, or verbal phrases.

Clauses: Because there is only one subject/predicate set, ducks/are, there is only one clause. The sentence is simple in structure and declarative in purpose.

Comment: The sentence is a classic; it is the kind of crystal-clear statement of equation that a linking verb can accomplish. It demonstrates the power of the linking verb.

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Lesson One Paragraph Lab: AnalysisThe text has not yet formally introduced paragraphs, but the thinking processes involved in writing clear paragraphs can begin. A prominent thinking process in paragraph writing is analysis, the breaking down of something into its component elements. Writing about anything requires analysis because there are different aspects to explore, and each aspect should be explored in its own paragraph or paragraphs.

If, for example, we were writing an essay on the Revolutionary War, we might break the causes of the war down into economic causes, political causes, and social causes. If we were writing about a beautiful lake, we might devote separate sections to the surrounding mountains, to the wildlife, to the sounds of the lake environment. Students must begin to think analytically, pulling a main subject apart into its component topics.

A. Please think about a northern lake. In general discussion or in small groups, make separate lists of details, in these categories:

1. What is under the surface of the water.

2. What is above the surface of the water.

3. What you would notice if you were sitting on the shore.

4. What you would notice from a canoe in the middle of the lake. 5. What you would hear if you lived on a lake.

6. The differences between conditions in the winter and in the summer.

B. If you were to write a description of the lake, but could only use three of the six categories, which three would you choose?

C. Can you think of an important category of details that have been left out of our list?