New Approaches to
Teaching Writing and
Grammar
Barry Gilmore
Hutchison School
www.barrygilmore.net
@barry_gilmore
Incorporating grammar and writing
Grammar errors unique to essay writing: tense shifts,
parallelism, commas, transitions
Strategies for grading essays
Writing across content areas
Research paper expectations
Grammar : Writing ::
:
How can weDaniel:
teachMiddle School
Marybeth: College
Essay
grammar in order Writing
to
produce better writers?
What engages students
to write and motivates
them to write well?
MaryBeth:
College
Essay
MaryBeth: Ongoing Challenges
•
•
•
•
•
Tense Shifts
Commas
Lack of precise language
Use of transitions
Development of ideas
In regards to the object I would bring to college with me, I have
chosen the cork bulletin board that hangs on the wall above my
bed. This object may seem to be just a bunch of simple words and
pieces of paper to the casual observer, but due to a large number of
years during which the bulletin board has been collecting scraps and
mementos of my life, it has become a meaningful repository of
memories that I treasure. There are a pictures, concert tickets, and
even immature love letters, all of which are like a puzzle that
together forms the pieces of my life. Knowing its with me, college
will be easier to take and I won’t feel homesick, but instead I will
look forward to the new tacks, nametags and bumper-stickers I can
fill it with depending on my future.
Re-examining vision:
topic, approach, voice, point of view,
direction
Revisiting organization:
structure, order, argument
Editing for style:
reconsidering syntax,
imagery, clarity
Proofreading:
grammar
Daniel:
Struggling
Learner
Robert Frost poem talk about two roads
that meet in a forest. The poem mostly
says he is standing there thinking. He
don’t know which road to take. Frost
poem at last makes a choice. He take the
road less travelled. Then he is happy with
his choice.
1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard
English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
a. Explain the function of verbals (gerunds, participles,
infinitives) in general and their function in particular sentences.
b. Form and use verbs in the active and passive voice.
c. Form and use verbs in the indicative, imperative,
interrogative, conditional, and subjunctive mood.
d. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb voice and
mood.
(L.8.1)
Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of
substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning
and relevant and sufficient evidence.
(W.1)
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly
supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from the text. (R.8.1)
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and
analyze its development over the course of the text,
including its relationship to the characters, setting, and
plot; provide an objective summary of the text. (R.8.2)
By the end of the year, read and comprehend
literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the
high end of grades 6–8 text complexity band
independently and proficiently. (R.8.10)
In MDSN Lysander quote “The course of true love
never did run smooth” is based on real life
situation. There are many ways such as:
confusing, hurt, and happiness. Those are the
things people that love go through. Lysander
quote also applies to Midsummer night because
even though it has a happy ending and deals with
magical things, they still went through things to
get what they wanted.
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and
analyze its development over the course of the text,
including its relationship to the characters, setting, and
plot; provide an objective summary of the text. (R.8.2)
In MDSN Lysander quote “The course of true love
never did run smooth” is based on real life
situation. There are many ways such as:
confusing, hurt, and happiness. Those are the
things people that love go through. Lysander
quote also applies to Midsummer night because
even though it has a happy ending and deals with
magical things, they still went through things to
get what they wanted.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lysander’s quote
“The course of true love never did run smooth” is
based on a real life situation. There are many
problems for Lysander, such as: he is confused, he is
hurt, and he has no happiness. Those are the
difficulties people that love go through. Lysander’s
quote also applies to the play because even though
the play has a happy ending and deals with magical
things, it shows that love is not easy to find.
How can we teach
grammar in order to
produce better writers?
Share Your
Book
Practice You
Might Use
Key Research Finding:
Teaching grammar in isolation
leads to isolated grammar
knowledge, not better writing.
“In view of the widespread agreement of research studies based upon many
types of students and teachers, the conclusion can be stated in strong and
unqualified terms: The teaching of formal grammar has a negligible or,
because it usually displaces some instruction and practice in actual
composition, even a harmful effect on the improvement of writing.”
-Research in Written Composition, Braddock, Lloyd-Jones, and Schoer (NCTE), 1963
• Teaching grammar concepts in isolation cannot be linked by
research to better student writing. (Hillocks, 1986)
• Learning punctuation in the context of writing is much more
effective than studying punctuation marks and rules for
punctuation in isolation (Calkins, 1980)
• Sentence combining and practicing sentence variety can be linked
to learning about syntax (DiStefano and Killion, 1984; Daiker, Kerek,
& Morenberg, 1990; Hillocks and Smith, 1991)
• Extensive reading may promote the acquisition of grammatical
structures better than explicitly studying or practicing such
structures (Elley, 1991; Krashen, 1993)
Calkins, L. M. (1980). When children want to punctuate: Basic skills belong in context. Language Arts, 57, 567-573
Daiker, D. A., Kerek, A., & Morenberg, M. (1990). The writer's options: Combining to composing (4th ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
DiStefano, P., & Killion, J. (1984). Assessing writing skills through a process approach. English Education, 16 (4), 203-207.
Elley, W. B. (1991). Acquiring literacy in a second language: The effect of book-based programs. Language Learning, 41 (3), 375-411.
Hillocks, G., Jr. (1986). Research on written composition: New directions for teaching. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
Hillocks, G., Jr., & Smith, M. W. (1991). Grammar and usage. In J. Flood, J. M. Jensen, D. Lapp, & J. R. Squire (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English language
arts (pp. 591-603). New York: Macmillan
Krashen, S. D. (1993). The power of reading: Insights from the research. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Are students getting
worse at writing?
Lunsford and Lunsford:
• Types of errors have change over time, but not frequency
• Essays have grown longer over the past 100 years, but
frequency of errors remains constant
• Teacher commenting patterns remain the same over time:
teachers marked specific patterns and around 40% of errors
found by researchers
• Growth of wrong word errors can be attributed to spell-checker
• Shift to argument and away from personal narrative (leading to
more errors in attribution)
• Readers notice errors less often if the writing is cognitively
challenging and interesting
What Works?
Separate
Simulate
Integrate
Separate:
Explicit
teaching of a
rule
Simulate:
Write a short
passage
Integrate:
Ongoing use
of the rule
Use a semicolon between
two
independent
clauses
Write a
paragraph in
which you use
a semi-colon
Use a semicolon in writing
two weeks later
1. Students learned
the rules of
prepositional
phrases in class.
2. For homework,
each student found
3-5 phrases w/prep
in personal choice
book.
3. For homework,
each student wrote
2 sentence with a
prep phrase about
the book.
4. In class, the teacher had
each student describe,
with details, the location of
a student sitting on the
teacher’s desk. The student
with the most prep phrases
in each group read her
response aloud.
5. Students reviewed the
rules about phrases and
completed workbook
pages.
6. Students took a quiz on
prep phrases.
“Caroline is sitting on the desk. The
desk is in front of the window. She is
beside the stapler. She is also beside
the lamp. Caroline is sitting above
the carpet and beneath the ceiling.
She is over the floor.”
Preparing for:
The plate of cookies is/are on the table.
“Caroline is on the teacher’s
desk. She is in front of the red
chair. She is beside the
stapler. She is also beside the
lamp. She is above the floor
and beneath the ceiling.
Caroline is over the carpet.
1. Students learned
the rules of
prepositional
phrases in class.
2. For homework,
each student found
3-5 phrases w/prep
in personal choice
book.
3. For homework,
each student wrote
2 sentence with a
prep phrase about
the book.
4. In class, the teacher had
each student describe,
with details, the location of
a student sitting on the
teacher’s desk. The student
with the most prep phrases
in each group read her
response aloud.
5. Students reviewed the
rules about phrases and
completed workbook
pages.
6. Students took a quiz on
prep phrases.
Falling In
Birds chirp as the autumn breeze blows;
Cherries and chestnuts descend to wet, dark despair.
Chilled air will whisper, yet scream in our ears;
Tall, looming figures reach bare arms to us.
Vibrant colors of scarlet and gold glow like church
windows.
No more will the leisures of spring and summer come to us.
Nights turn long, cold, and bitter;
Now we must wait until winter.
Separate
Separate
Simulate
Integrate
Simulate
Integrate
What Works?—Simulated Activities
Sentence Play:
• Sentence Combining
• Sentence Unscrambling
• Sentence Imitation
• Sentence Expansion
Sentence Combining series, Kilgallon (Heinemann)
Sentence
Combining
The Olympic games were founded in ancient Greece.
The games were reinstated in the modern era.
The games are meant to unite multiple nations and peoples.
The Olympic games, which were founded in ancient Greece,
were reinstated in the modern era as a means of uniting
multiple nations and peoples.
What Works?—Simulated Activities
Skeleton Stories:
• Basic plot provided
• Add specific grammatical
constructions
• Discuss effects
What Works?—Simulated Activities
Poetry Forms:
Independent clause with an appositive phrase in it,
Participial phrase,
Participial phrase,
Participial phrase,
Participial phrase,
Participial phrase.
Lynne Webber, St. Mark’s School of Texas
What Works?—Simulated Activities
Poetry Forms:
Bats, dark demons of sunset, swirl and flutter
squeaking their songs of chaos,
gathering in patterns of shadow,
blocking the sun’s streaking,
clustered in nightmare battalions,
swooping from their underground lair.
Lynne Webber, St. Mark’s School of Texas
What Works?—Moving toward
Integration
Use punctuation (comma,
ellipsis, dash) to indicate a
pause or break.
8.L.2.a
In this exercise, you will learn how to use a
comma to indicate a pause or break by asking
the question, “Would this sentence still make
sense if this phrase were removed?”
1. Find a sentence in your book that uses a
mark of punctuation to show a pause.
1. Find a sentence in your book that uses a
mark of punctuation to show a pause.
2. Read samples. Make a list at your table of
“rules for writers” concerning punctuation to
indicate a pause. Make an anchor chart.
1. Find a sentence in your book that uses a
mark of punctuation to show a pause.
2. Read samples. Make a list at your table of
“rules for writers” concerning punctuation to
indicate a pause. Make an anchor chart.
3. Choose a partner. Passing a paper back
and forth (one sentence each), write a
paragraph in which you describe something
unexpected and exciting happening in this
room right now. Use punctuation to indicate
a pause at least once each.
Separate
Integrate
Simulate
Discussion
•
•
•
•
Tense shifts
Parallelism
Transition words
Comma use (especially with introductory
element)
• Sentence variety
Responding to grammar errors
(Or, Are you a grammar stickler?)
“No matter that you have a PhD and have read all of
Henry James twice. If you still persist in writing,
'Good food at it's best', you deserve to be struck by
lightning, hacked up on the spot and buried in an
unmarked grave.”
Lynn Truss, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves
http://www.apostrophecatastrophes.com/
“Sometimes, caring about punctuation can be a burden, but
this shop in the UK clearly doesn't have that problem.”
“Shouldn't this psychic have predicted that her ad
would be publicly shamed on Apostrophe
Catastrophes?”
“Obviously, the Hustler Casino isn't trying to appeal to an
intellectual crowd, but casino's?!? Really, Larry Flynt?!”