This is the Reading Instruction Show.
I'm your host, does always Dr.
Andy Johnson topic of today's podcast is grammar instruction.
Now, let's start out with silly grammar idea number seven 82.
Here's the silly idea.
In order to be able to write effectively, students must be able to identify and
define grammar sub entities such as a gerund, a participle, adverb,
conjunctive adverbs, direct objectives, ellipses, elliptical, you get the idea.
That's a silly, silly idea.
Now, let me explain.
Give you a little overview of grammar in any communication endeavor.
The desired end is to communicate.
As an example, in the 1967 movie, Cool Hand Luke, Paul Newman says to Strother
Martin, I'd wish you'd stop being so good to me, Captain Strother Martin.
Thanks for a minute.
Then hits Paul Newman with a blackjack and says, what we got here is a failure to
communicate failure to communicate.
Now, Paul Newman's line was delivered with precision.
I wish you'd stop being so good to me, Captain.
It was grammatically correct.
Yet according to Strother Martin, there was a communication failure, a failure
to communicate.
Now, keep in mind that Strother Martin's line was not grammatically correct.
It should have been, what we have here is a failure to communicate.
Or better yet, we have a failure to communicate.
Or even better, we're not communicating effectively.
Nobody hits Strother Martin with a blackjack.
His message was clear.
So what's the lesson here?
It's not that you should hit people with blackjacks if they're communication
falls short.
You shouldn't.
It's not that grammar is unimportant.
It is.
Rather, that effective communication is always the desired end when speaking and writing.
The purpose for writing and speaking is not to produce grammatically correct
prose, but to transmit information, thought, or feeling so that it's not
communicating, so that it's satisfactorily received and understood to communicate.
This does not mean that I'm against grammar instruction, not at all.
As a matter of fact, I'm heartily in favor of it.
It's not the what a grammar instruction that must be considered.
Rather, it's the how and the how much of grammar instruction.
These two podcasts will consider both of these.
Now let's take a look at grammar instruction.
Traditional grammar instruction takes place in an isolated context.
It's called an isolated approach.
This approach describes the rules for conjugating verbs and undangling
participles and coordinating conjunctions and other things.
This is done in isolation, apart from real writing and speaking.
This approach may be effective for completing grammar worksheets,
but it does not address the process of communicating effectively.
In other words, teaching grammar, apart from real writing,
does little to enhance the quality of students writing.
Also, there's very little transfer into students authentic writing and speaking.
Instead, the rules of grammar should be taught in the context of students own writing and speaking.
This is called an embedded approach.
And this is more impactful on students ability to use grammar correctly.
More impactful than teaching these things in isolation.
And this approach doesn't get in the way of their real writing.
Now, I offer unto you 10 tips for grammar instruction.
How should you go about teaching grammar skills to your students?
Tip number one, use direct instruction.
The answer is, use direct instruction.
The elements of direct instruction should be used to teach any skill, including grammar and punctuation.
These elements include input and modeling, guided practice, and independent practice.
Also, as I said, the rules for grammar and punctuation should be taught in the context
of students own writing whenever possible.
This is the most direct of direct instruction as it enables the skill to go directly into students own writing.
Number two, concise and explicit instruction.
Grammar instruction should be as explicit as possible.
It should also be concise so that you can get back to the business of real writing.
Explicit. That means there's no doubt about it.
You're very clear. This is what it is.
And short, brief.
Three, systematic instruction.
Now, this will take a bit of explaining.
Something that systematic instruction means that you start at one end of a list of predetermined skills
and use a standardized process to teach them in a predetermined order.
In other words, you follow the required curriculum like a mindless zombie.
You follow the plan that's been written on some stone tablets and handed down unto you.
That's what some people think is systematic instruction.
But that's not systematic instruction.
That's systematically silly instruction because humans are not standardized entities.
Instead, sensible systematic instruction means that you use some system to document coverage of all the required skills.
However, here's a question.
What's required and what's necessary are often two different things.
Required means that somebody outside your classroom who doesn't know your students has mandated that these skills are imperative.
And they've required you, required that these skills be covered.
Necessary means that you have identified the skills that your students need to be taught to become better writers.
And this class, this list varies from class to class because students are not standardized entity and it evolves over time.
Now, I require, I am not going to be a student.
Because students are not standardized entity and it evolves over time. Now, I require, I recommend that you cover the required skills.
Go over them briefly, but don't spend a lot of time on them.
Create a simple checklist with these skills or standards listed with a space for you to put the date when each one was covered.
But for the necessary skills, I strongly recommend that you teach them.
Use direct and explicit instruction to ensure that your students know and are able to use these skills.
Observe your students, revisit and review these skills as necessary.
Don't depend on others to identify what these skills are.
You're in the best position to determine the skills necessary for your students to achieve their full literacy potential.
And then create another simple checklist with the list of necessary skills on it.
This list should be much shorter than the list of required skills.
Keep track of when each necessary skill is introduced, reviewed and mastered.
Create a similar checklist for each individual student as part of their portfolio.
This should be used for authentic assessment.
Use this checklist to document when you see students mastering each of these skills in their writing.
Now, am I promoting anarchy here when I talk about necessary and required?
Will there be a sudden implosion of all that is right and good if teachers separate the necessary from the required?
Hardly. In fact, students might actually learn more and become better writers.
Imagine that.
Now, this is a bit of an aside.
And I take aside trips all the time, but let's take a look at the fallacy of standards of academic standards.
Here's the dirty little secret.
They're an illusion that gets in the way of good teacher's teaching.
Classroom teachers are often given a whole list of teaching standards, a whole bunch of them,
that they are required to cover with the idea that if each skill were taught and then measured
with standardized tests all over America, all students would be above average in everything.
But here's the simple truth about academic standards.
A few standards are good, but that doesn't mean that more standards are better.
You can't standards your way to good education, to more learning.
There are far too many standards to do anything other than clutter up the teaching and learning
process, making life harder for teachers to do their job.
Now, in teacher preparation programs, we too are given a large, endless,
list of standards.
Nobody could master all these standards in the three or four semesters allotted to us
much less than in three or four years.
The clown based thinking here is that if we put all the little standards pieces together
at the end of three or four semesters in our teacher preparation programs,
we'll have a finished teaching product.
And whenever there's another problem in education,
teacher education programs are blamed for not adequately preparing teachers
and another set of standards are jammed down our curricular throats.
It's the hell of a thing.
In Minnesota, and I'm sure we're not unlike other states, we have state legislators
who've never taken an education class or read an article related to teaching,
teaching, reading or teacher preparation.
But they're on the TV set telling me how I should be teaching, reading and writing.
Imagine that.
They are insisting that I use specific for profit programs.
Imagine that.
Now it's clear that they've come to their for profit conclusions after having conversations
with for profit lobbyists.
Nothing wrong with for profit entities.
However, it's very hard to be for profit and for people at the same time
because profit always takes precedence over people.
Now in my teacher preparation courses, I cover in quotes all the assigned standards in these courses.
But keep in mind that while I'm covering all my standards, the professors in the other three
courses that my students are taking are covering theirs.
There's a whole lot of covering going on higgly, piggly,
but not a lot of learning. And here's the thing.
I've been in education for 40 years.
I've been in all phases of teacher preparation for 31 of these years.
I may not be the brightest carrot stick in the knife drawer,
but I do have a good sense of what pre-service teachers need to get them ready.
I know what's developmentally appealing to me.
I need to get them ready. I know what's developmentally appropriate
and necessary to prepare them for their journey.
And we don't create finished teaching products in our programs.
Rather, we begin the development of teachers who are then ready to grow and learn how to become
master teachers down the line.
You do not create a finished teaching product in four or three semesters of any teacher
preparation program to think otherwise is an insult to all the master teachers out there.
All right, we're back to tip number four and I'm back on track,
scope and sequence. Yes, you can use a scope and sequence chart as a resource.
Nothing wrong with that. It provides a good sense of what you might teach.
However, it stated, don't feel compelled to teach every skill listed here on a scope and sequence
chart. Quite frankly, many of them are just plain silly and your students are your best
scope and sequence. Look at their writing. See what skills they need based on their writing.
Tip number five, revisit and review. Like any skill, grammar and punctuation skills are not
mastered in a single encounter. Mastery is achieved gradually over time as students encounter the new
skill in a variety of contexts. This means you'll need to revisit previously taught skills,
if possible, present them in different contexts and teach students how to apply them in different
ways at successively higher levels. Tip number six, posters. Look for common grammar and punctuation
errors in students writing and put up posters as reminders and quick mini lessons. Remember,
when we teach, when we start a new idea, we start a new paragraph. Tip number seven, worksheets.
There's nothing wrong with worksheets. They can be an effective tool. However, any tools,
effectiveness is determined by how it's used. Worksheets should be used judiciously. Not every
skill is worth teaching. Not every worksheet is worth using. Use your teacher discretion when
selecting skills and worksheets. And whenever possible, have students work in pairs or even
small groups of three to complete worksheets. That way they're able to hear the thought processes
of others. Social learning goes from outside to in. And always keep in mind that your goal is not
for students to be successful worksheet completers. It's for students to be able to write effectively.
That's your goal as teachers of writing. Tip number eight, brief and briskly pace. Keep skills
instruction brief, short duration and briskly pace. Students learn any skill, including grammar
and punctuation skills with little bits of instruction spread out over time, more so than
with large blobs of instruction all at once. Strive for five to no more than 15 minutes of
direct instruction. Then get students back to the task of authentic writing and speaking.
A little direct instruction is great, but that doesn't mean that more direct instruction is better.
Tip number nine, writing practice. Use lots of authentic writing. Call it writing practice
and make sure students practice writing every day just like they practice playing the piano
or playing volleyball or doing any skill every day. Now, if students know they'll be writing every day,
they start thinking about what they'll write apart from writing. And then teach them what they'll
write. And then teach grammar in the context of this authentic daily writing using mini lessons.
And the last tip, tip number 10, voluntary reading. Reading and writing reinforce each other.
Wide reading enables students to encounter a variety of words and sentences and sentence
structures and concepts. They develop an implicit understanding for the sound and structure of
good writing. And this is part of helping them to develop a writer's ear, knowing what good
writing is and what it should sound like. All right, this has been the Reading Instruction Show.
We've looked at grammar instruction and 10 tips for teaching grammar.