My Thoughts on "But When Do You Teach Grammar?" Allaying Community Concerns about Pedagogy

When researching scholarly articles for this post I came across a lot of interesting articles that conveyed a lot of new techniques I should consider when looking at grammar instruction. The article I was most interested in gaining knowledge from was in the English Journal this article contained some pretty worthwhile advice on grammar instruction. The article is called, "But When Do You Teach Grammar?" Allaying Community Concerns about Pedagogy by, David Gold (High School Edition). Urbana July 2006. Vol 95, issue 6, pg. 42-6. This article outlines the problems David Gold encountered when trying to set up an English program at a new private high school. Some teaching techniques that David Gold described proved to be very responsive in the new high school. One such technique, was described as "teach writing as a reflexive and reflective process, emphasizing the importance of multiple revisions through conferences, class workshops, and peer reviews in a supportive class community (Brooke, Mirtz, and Evans; Elbow; Murray). i think this strategy is very helpful in a classroom enviroment, where students can get feedback and learn from each other.
Gold also points out another strategy that I found to be against go teaching grammar. "Teach grammar, usage, and mechanics rhetorically, in the context of students' writing, not as separate "formal" subjects (Andrews et al.; Hartwell; Kolln; Weaver). " This statement I don't agree with fully, grammar should be taught in the context of student writing but there also should be some time devoted to formal lessons on grammar and how to use it, but they must be done right and with the students being engaged and motivated, this would prove to be a little difficult.
The last strategy i found to be a great asset was the "use (of) portfolio evaluations for each assignment, requiring students to turn in not only final papers but also their work at each stage in the process, including metacognitive essays that require students to reflect on their work as readers and writers (Hillocks; Raphael, Englert, and Kirschner; Yancey)." This I feel is a great way to approach assessment and to teach writing to students. As a teacher you can grade students work as a progression as well as seeing how and what your students are learning.

Image Grammar: The Writer as Artist

The concepts written about in this chapter I found very interesting to discuss with friends and fellow colleagues. Writing as Seeing, is something I have never thought about before. Images in writing are very important to me as a reader and if I read something I have made it a point to visualize all I can. If a writer uses images and words that evoke pictures in my mind I can relate more to what I read. If I can teach my students to show me something, rather than tell me something I think that I have done my job as a teacher of writing. Words that describe actions always enhance my writing and when grading students papers it seems to me that the students who explore more with descriptive words tend to write papers that I enjoy reading and in turn get better grades. The process of revision is a teaching strategy that I fully support and hope to use in my classroom. Positive comments on students papers and their ability to realize their mistakes and strengths is one aspect of teaching writing I enjoy. Building students confidence in their writing is important and through revision I think this can be accomplished.

Rough Draft Ideas for Indy Teach

The book that I am teaching for my Independent Teaching assignment is Thirteen Ways of Looking for a Poem: A Guide to Writing Poetry by Wendy Bishop. This book seems interesting to me in that it gives a lot of insight into poetry and how to be a great poet. Thirteen Ways of Looking for a Poem is grounded in the belief that the best way to learn to write poetry is by practicing, and that practicing the craft of writing poetry can improve one's writing in general. In the books thirteen chapters centered on the sonnet, the haiku, and other traditional forms, Wendy Bishop demonstrates through numerous, innovative exercises the many ways in which beginning poets can enrich their writing by studying and practicing poetic form. To me this book is a fresh new approach to writing poetry and being a writer. Poetry seems daunting to many students in school, but practicing and having fun is the best way to become good at it.

Essential Questions?

How can you become a great writer?
What kinds of poems are there?
How can you develop the skills needed to be a poet?

Activities

Bishop describes that practice helps beginning poets gain inspiration and voice. Students will practice with different forms of poetry and then post their poems on their blogs. Students could have a discussion on which form of poetry is the best and conveys the most meaning. Students brainstorm what makes a good poem and have a discussion from there.

This book seems to be a great tool for writers of poetry and I could see myself teaching this text as a teacher of English at the middle school or high school level.

The English Teacher's Red Pen: History of an Obsession

When reading this chapter, I began to imagine what it would be like as a teacher and what I would focus on when teaching. I imagined myself sitting at a desk grading papers, tests, worksheets, or projects, and being frustrated. The chapter brought up many new thoughts that I had always wondered about when it came to evaluating student work. It seems to me that through out my time as a student I was extremly concerned about not making my papers turn out like a battlefield of ren pen corrections. I was so focused in the grammar, syntax, and semantics, that I forgot about why I was writing or even having fun with it. The ideas never flowed and the inspiration wasn't there. To me the best option for a teacher to consider is to focus more on giving positive feedback in comments about their writing process and their ideas, and leave the red pen in your teaching bag. Responding with "I like your use of that character it really made me relate" or "Have you ever thought about it this way." This could be difficult in a world where standards and benchmarks are the way things must be done, but we should focus on developing writing through ideas not fostering perfection. Students get frustrated and their self esteem lowered when all they see on a paper is red pen grammar errors that lower their grade. Don't get me wrong grammar is important and should be taught, but it should not be the only basis for grading in the english teachers plan. Teachers must develop a new and different way of responding to student writing, or students will continue to dred their writing assignments.

Online Resource for Middle School Teachers

Here is an online resource that new teachers can use to gain advice from teachers who have multiple years of experience in the classroom. This website deals with many issues that middle school teachers face when put in many different situations. The main links that I think are helpful are the "Help for New Teachers," "New Teacher SOS," "Discipline and Classroom Management," to name a few.
Here is a website that can benefit any teacher and I hope to use it in the future.

MiddleWeb: The First Days of Middle School

"I am From...

I am from corn fields, water towers, and street lights.
I am from fresh cut grass and rock music.
I am from Thanksgiving meals, friends high "5's,"
and Pepsi's on a hot summer day.
I am from my mom's swear words, my basketball hoop,
and "giving nothing but my best."
I am from church bells ringing, coaches whistling,
and good times that never end.
I am from my friends high pitched laugh, my brothers guitar
and days that start at 8am and go to 9pm.
I am from Fourth of July fireworks, arts and crafts,
and stories that don't have endings.
I am from the fire place warmth, the dirt on the baseball field,
and ground balls through the legs.
I am from Saturday bike rides, conversations about life,
and memories of bad decisions.
I am from good advice, police sirens, and being shocked by a door handle.
I am from reciting lines from movies, and friendships that never end.

Murray's "Crafting a Life" Response to "Starting to Write"

This is my response and views toward Murray's chapter about "Starting to Write." I believe that it is absolutely pertinent to explore yourself and your own experiences even before you put pencil to paper. Developing a style or voice to your work is often an under appreciated aspect to being a writer. A voice gives the reader a perspective of where you are coming from and shows emotion in your writing. A voice can show anger, empathy, joy, or even pain. There is no limit to the amounts of emotions writing can show. I like how Murray brings up the point about being an observer, this makes me think that all of life can be a story and the people around us are the characters. The television show "Seinfeld" is a big hit not because of an ordinary plot or staged events. The show was a success because of its hilarious observations on normal everyday life. Getting your inspiration or ideas for your writing can come in any form and from any where. This is often an overlooked and most important aspect of writing. Often too many assume that there has to be a certain way of writing or a scripted approach. The good news is there isn't and it all relies on the writer to develop his or her own style or voice.

From Donald Murray's "Crafting a Life"

By reading Donald M. Murray's book "Crafting a Life" I have formed my opinion's on what it means to be a writer.

What does it mean to be a writer?

I believe that to be a writer you must have a vast imagination and creativity. Writers must understand that writing comes from their own experiences and that writers can be anything they want when they put words on paper. To be a writer you can change the world or just one person by the words you write on paper. For example, by writing you can inspire, motivate, or even empower people just by your choice of words. Writers write for self discovery, entertainment, education, or even for no reason at all. To be a writer is to be human, because everyone has problems, solutions, dreams, and opinions it just takes a pen and paper to get those ideas out.

Choose one quote from the reading to comment on?

There were many unique quotes from Murray's work, but one in particular struck my mind as being related to my life and growth as a writer. Murray writes, "Becoming myself, I became others," to me this means a lot more then what you may think at first glance. I believe that through writing you create extensions of yourself. Through this you ultimately improve your life because by inventing new persona's or characteristics to your life your confidence and attitudes can change by the words you write down. By writing you can solve problems, create problems, be who you want, or just be someone you've never thought you could be. Writing is a unique thing that can only be explained by the person who reads the words you wrote.

From Daniels and Bizar's, "Methods That Matter"

These are my thoughts and beliefs on what Daniels and Bizar wrote in their book "Methods that Matter."

What is your understanding of Best Practice teaching?

To my understanding Best Practice teaching is a term that I hope to live by every time I enter the classroom. To me it demonstrates a teachers devotion to expressing ideas that are current, respectable, and worthwhile to their students not only for their academic benefit but for their development as a person and member of a community.


What are the tenet's of Best Practice teaching?

To me the tenet's of Best Practice teaching are devoting yourself to learning along with your students. This means listening to what they have to say and reacting to them. Teaching should be student centered, meaning the students are the main focus of the material presented in a classroom. This may include hands on learning or inductive lessons, collaborative group discussions, reflective lessons, democratic classroom descisions. The students should feel responsibility for their work by goal setting and expressing options for students when it comes to picking their own books, writing topics, or research projects to gain their interests and motivation.


What is NOT Best Practice teaching?

In my opinion there are many things that distract students from learning and developing that do not constitute as Best Practice teaching. For example, whole class directed discussion or lecturing really doesn't help students retain the information present, they need to be able to voice their opinions or thoughts. Silence also is not to be rewarded in the classroom, because if students are given an opportunity to voice their opinions then they are actively participating. Another aspect that is not Best Practice teaching is devoting time to "fill in the blank" worksheets or work that is stationary to their seat. Students need an opportunity to move around the classroom and to think critically about the material not just know what happened or specific dates or characters.


How might you use Best Practice teaching in your classroom?

In my classroom I would hope to incorporate new research and new findings into lessons where students would have to think critically and form their own opinions about what a novel or character is feeling in a story. Simply knowing the plot is not enough, students should indentify with one or more of the characters in a book and relate their experiences to that of the key players in the story. I am a firm believer in options for my students; if students are given choices in a rubric for instance they can choose their grade for an assignment or even personalize their projects by choosing a topic that best suits their interests. By doing this students can feel a sense of accomplishment that they tried their best and learned something that they personally were interested in. In an a classroom enviroment such as this I would hope that my students would get a great experience that benifits them as learners but people as well.