Grammar For Dummies

Student Mrs. Spillane English I October 11, 2001

A Strike Out! Tears of a Tiger is about a boy, named Andy who thinks his is doing well in life. Then he “gets a strike” by having beer and then driving. His second strike is when his best friend, Robert Washington, and captain of the high school’s basketball team dies in his car crash. Andy’s third strike and is actually a strike out to his life is all his issues dealing with his friend’s death. All of these strikes lead him through great remorse in his social, school, and reality life.

Passive Verbs

Active Verbs

activity based on Noden, Harry. (1999). Image Grammar. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

5. Add an action verb (replace to be verbs with action): Students say school, perpetual boredom, silences their curiousity.

4. Add adjectives shifted out of order (adjective noun, adj. & adj,): Disengaged students, unmotivated and uninterested, say school is boring.

3. Add an appositive (a noun set off by commas): Students say school, a learning factory, is boring.

2. Add an absolute (noun + ing/ed verb): Attention flagging, students say school is boring.

1. Add a participle (-ing verbs): Yawning, students say school is boring.

Students say school is boring.

(Rosen, 1998)

- plan strategic instruction based on observed error patterns

• Become a Teacher Researcher - analyze student errors for patterns - discover/uncover errors in student thinking or back ground knowledge

• Focus Grading/Responding - focus on content, correctness or a combination - be selective marking errors - focus on ONE or TWO kinds of errors and ignore others

• Ignore errors - called “Benign Neglect” - give students a chance to develop their message - focus on writing strategies and generating writing

My Sentence Rewrites

Example

What is it?

Participle

SENTENCE VARIETY: Absolute

Appositive

Adjectives Shifted Out of Order

Action Verbs

Noden, Harry. 1999. Image Grammar. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemman, p. 4-10.

• expanded phrases = slower paced

• single particple = rapid movement

• paint more detailed pictures

• evoke action

reader more details • create dynamic images • add a second image to a noun • add sensory • zoom in on details details • spotlights an image • intensifies an image • adds rhythm

1. Participles: 2. Absolutes: 3. Appositives 4. Adjectives ing verbs noun + ing/ed shifted out of • gives the verb order

• uses active vs. passive voice • speeds up the action • adds motion • gives “life” to inanimate objects

5. Action Verbs

LIST OF RELATED CITATIONS “GRAMMAR FOR DUMMIES! What is teaching Grammar in Context?” Presented by Lee Ann Spillane, Ed.S., NBCT

Allen, Janet. (1995). It’s Never Too Late. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Hillocks, George Jr. (1986). Research on Written Composition: New Directions for Teaching. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English Hillocks, G. Jr. and Smith, M.W. (1991). “Grammar and Usage.” In J. Flood, J.M. Jensen, D. Lapp and J.R. Squire (eds) Handbook of Research on Teaching the English Language Arts (591-603). Noden, Harry. (1999). Image Grammar: Using Grammatical Structures to Teach Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Routman, Regie. (1994). Invitations. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Weaver, Constance. (1996). Teaching Grammar in Context. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Weaver, Constance. (1998). Lessons to Share: On Teaching Grammar in Context. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Wyse, Dominig. (December 2001). “Grammar for Writing? A Critical Review of Empirical Evidence.” British Journal of Educational Studies, 49, (4) 411-427. Zemelman, S. Daniels, H. & Hyde, A. (1993). Best Practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Complete Bibliography Available Online at: http://www.laspillane.org