Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Teaching Grammar
I wanted to find a video that talked about teaching grammar and there were so many out there it was hard to choose. I picked this one because it was short and to the point. Laura form young writers workshops.com gives us several useful tips and ideas on how to teach grammar. First she talks about using mini lessons. I believe that this is a great idea because it does not overload the students with all kinds of rules and regulations because this can make students not want to learn. You can also apply the mini lessons to writing assignments you are doing in class. Again this could be related to peer editing in the fact that they can use what they just learned to help edit other students papers. Next she talks about using literature that you are reading in class as a way to look at grammar by favorite authors. This can be helpful for students writing because when they find a favorite author they are likely to try and mimic their writing style.
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This was Posted by William Burns on November 3rd 2009
ReplyDeleteI think that by reading literature that exhibits good grammar techniques, students will can a greater insight to the effect that good grammar can have on a piece of writing. It can make an incomplete writing complete. It can broaden the horizons for what children can do with their writing. I think that finding authors that students like and enjoy reading is a great way to get students engaged and is an interesting way to teach grammar. I also think that mini lessons are a great idea as long as children now how and when to apply the rules that they learn. Mini lessons can capture students attention and get them engaged for long enough to complete the whole lesson. I think that these lessons would be quick for the teachers to come up with and can be quick lessons to present to the class. Rather than overloading students with information, they can get the knowledge they need to know in small doses. I think that grammar is a valuable tool that can increase the sophistication of children's writing and help them become lifelong writers.
ReplyDeleteThis blog video is very relevant to chapter 6 in the Weaver text. They talk about the success and characteristics of mini-lessons. When watching this video I agree that students will know what to expect and enjoy grammar more if we as teacher can come up with better techniques. I agree with Will when he states that doing mini-lessons "will not overwhelm the students." If the students are hit hard with grammar in the classroom then they will immediately be "turned off" from grammar. Grammar does not need to be given its only day to teach. It needs to be incorporated into writing lessons so that children can apply the concepts slowly and master them with ease. If we can come up with better techniques in teaching grammar then we can have a more successful classroom with students that do not hate the subject of grammar.
ReplyDeleteI second Stephenette in that this definitely very relevant to Weaver's Chapter 6. Mini-lessons are definitely the most effective way of teaching grammar as a "part." When going from "whole-to-part-to-whole," writing and reading should be used as a contextual reference for teaching the rules of grammar. Most students (myself included) would learn the names and regulations of grammatical rules but wouldn't be able to apply them to my own writing or be able to recognize them in a written text as a whole. Grammar should be taught in a short and sweet manner to set the tone and introduce the idea, and then explored in the students' own writing and in the texts they are reading in class. These are definitely ways to help avoid the issue of students disliking grammar from a young age, from when it is introduced, and then carried on until college and beyond.
ReplyDeleteThis video offered a lot of great ideas for teachers on how to make writing more engaging and easy for the students and teacher. As we have read, mini-lessons are a great resource for teaching writing. They are brief and present students with the basics of a topic. Mini-lessons allow students to be aware of a certain topic, but does not overload them with terms and drills. Also she talks about the use of literature as a source for teaching grammar. This is a great idea that I never considered. We have talked about the connection between reading and writing. If students can see the use of grammar in their favorite authors writing, this may help make the process of learning grammar easier and more enjoyable. I think what the overall message this video gives is to make sure you are teaching grammar using a more constructive approach. Don’t over use the grammatical terms and don’t force students to practice skills to the point where it isn’t helping them anymore. Let students learn from others, whether that is their peers, teacher, or favorite author.
ReplyDeleteWhile she does make some good suggestions about using mini-lessons, I can't help but feel that there is an opportunity to get more creative in teaching than the way she suggests. It sounds a little boring, almost like just using work sheets after a little mini lesson, like on how to use pronouns. Although having a mini-lesson is much more fun than using worksheets. But I am wondering what other ways teachers can get students to practice grammar and most importantly apply it into their work. is this possible? This seems to be a question that is challenging to really answer because there is so much research that still needs to be done on it.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this video was really interesting. I think that mini lessons are a great way to teach. Grammar in general is just very boring to learn and I think that with students' attention span, a mini lesson will engage them for that short amount of time while allowing them to retain what they had just learned in that lesson. I definitely think that mini lessons are a great way to make learning grammar a more enjoyable experience than the regular lecture, then worksheet after worksheet on terms, then review of the concept.
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