Sunday, October 28, 2007

Grammar 2.0.

This week's readings made me think about grammar instruction in the English classroom that I am currently observing in. I observe in a twelfth grade classroom in which grammar is rarely, if ever, taught. I agree with Anderson, in his "Zooming In and Zooming Out" article, that grammar should be reinforced throughout an English course. Anderson suggests that grammar should be woven into context in ways like "teach[ing] one thing at a time and apply[ing] it to our daily writing," and encouraging "rich experiences in the writer's notebook" (32). Just as most teachers approach reading instruction, I believe that they must, too, focus on a small example of a grammatical rule and lead their students out to a larger context. I liked Anderson's idea of utilizing books that are already present inside of the classroom to help students connect grammar lessons with real writing. Schuster also revealed that examples taken from professional writing (essays) can be used to reinforce particular lessons. He discussed the appropriateness of sentence fragments, an important lesson that may prove difficult for new teachers.

The usage chapter that our class read this week brought a few thoughts to mind. Will I be ready for the grammar questions that my students will ask me? What will my students know about grammar before they enter my classroom? How will I acquaint myself with the dialect and language features used in the area that I teach in? I found this selection to be very helpful because it included sections on how to approach different types of grammatical issues in the classroom. Double negatives and split infinitives are common errors that students in my English classes have been making. Activity 3-5 (tracking a public figure's speech habits) revealed one way that I can engage my students in discovering standard English rules by making students aware of the relevance that grammar has in today's society. More than anything, my goal as a grammar teacher will be to prepare my students to use standard English "when the occasion demands it" (64).

Monday, October 22, 2007

Grammar.

I believe that I will always have to work at learning grammar. Before I came to college, I did not have structured grammar education. As a result, I am a twenty-two-year-old who must constantly refer back to grammar guidelines. Just as Milner and Milner state in a grammar section in Bridging English, I believe that "grammar...means different things to different people" (79). Bill Gribin attempts to classify grammar into three useful parts: Grammar 1 (our unconscious knowledge of grammar), Grammar 2 (our conscious knowledge of grammar), and Grammar 3 (our concern for proper usage). I agree with Milner and Milner that too often people, when debating grammar instruction, leave out one of these essential grammar components. After all, every student will be exposed to different language environments and there is a time and a place for particular words. I think it is important for English teachers to keep these different grammars in mind as they teach students.

Because I do not have experience yet with grammar instruction in the classroom, it is hard to say which method for teaching grammar is most effective. I do think that some of Burnette's strategies (presented in "Daily Grammar Practice") work through grammar concepts as students are encouraged to write daily. I like her idea of sentence diagramming. I diagrammed several sentences in college courses and, even though they were not the most entertaining exercises, they really helped me learn grammar. A necessary evil if you will. I believe that diagramming sentences and instruction that doesn't isolate individual parts of speech make it easier for students to learn grammar in a more whole sense, as they see how unique words and phrases connect. I agree with Barton's view that "connecting written, read, heard, and spoken language" (86) is significant teaching grammar to students. As an English teacher, I will not always be able to make grammar lessons exciting, but I know that, if I work hard, I can make them meaningful.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Comic books, technology, and writers...oh my!

I attended my first English teacher conference this weekend, and I learned a great deal not only about teaching, but also about English teachers. While I found some sessions to be quite helpful, there were a few that I might not have benefited as significantly from. I enjoyed the presentations on technology and comic books the most because I feel like I can really use strategies from both presentations to engage my students in the classroom regardless of what material I am covering. One of my favorite experiences at the conference was with the author that I met, Scott Loring Sanders. In an intimate environment, we were able to hear this writer read from his new book. This was an exciting situation that I have not been in since elementary school. His reading and his book discussion really got me thinking about finding local writers in the areas that I teach in and inviting them to share their stories with the class. Personally, I felt encouraged by him to take chances and pursue my dreams. I feel like local writers can really move students in ways that their text(s) alone cannot.

At the conference, I also was able to meet and interact with English teachers from around the state. I quickly noticed that there was a large age difference between most of the conference participants. Either participants were graduate students or very new teachers, or participants were older, more experienced teachers with years of teaching under their belts. In sessions like the 21st century skills session, this difference was magnified. The new teachers or graduate students had fewer questions about emerging technologies, while the more experienced teachers listened closely and asked more questions. I felt as though both groups had so much to offer one another. The conference also allowed me to see how every teacher brings a unique dynamic to the English classroom. We all have different strengths, and an important element of teaching is to tap into that dynamic, embrace it, and, above all, use it to help students reach their potential.

Sunday, October 14, 2007

An iPod Generation

About a year or so after hearing about iPods for the first time, I purchased my very own black 8GB second generation iPod nano. Until I began my first methods course, I had never really explored the educational benefits of such a device. As the course has progressed, I have learned about different ways that students can use iPods in the English classroom (e.g. podcasts). This week's article, however, discussed how iPods can help students who are not native English speakers. The article, published by The New York Times, discussed how hearing popular American songs in English can help students learn English in less time than the traditional English education would take. Some schools have moved so far as buying enough iPods so that every student who is trying to learn English will have the opportunity to interact and learn with one.

Although I see the benefit in iPods for students who are not native English speakers, I do not feel that pop music (e.g. The Black Eyed Peas) contains the right phrases and words for new English speakers to learn. Not to mention, do we expose our English-speaking students to today's pop music or promote it? No. In fact, for the most part, the very things that today's pop music encourages are ideas and behaviors that we as teachers either avoid discussing or discourage. I do like the idea of music as a tool for education, but I believe teachers must be very careful in their selections of music as it is very influential in the lives of young people.

One final thought: my theory on what I call "iPod isolation." iPod isolation is very common among young people today. It occurs when individuals cannot seem to go anywhere or do anything without their iPods. It distances the listener from the world outside, and, as a result, their social skills and relationships may suffer. If students are not native English speakers, teachers who utilize iPods in their classes should be careful to educate them on when it is appropriate to use iPods, for students will see the average American doing most anything with those white earplugs lodged in their ears, insulated in their own worlds and separated from the world outside.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

"Monsters" & Assessment

Following a unit on Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon period, my cooperating teacher asked students to complete a two-page essay in which they identified and described a "monster" in their lives that they have overcome. Yesterday, most students handed in a draft of their essay for my cooperating teacher and I to look over and provide feedback on. As I read the first draft, I was amazed at the eating disorder that one of my male, yes male, students is currently facing (and has been facing for over two years). That paper was only the beginning of my journey into the problems that my students are dealing with. Just as other students in the program have confessed, I felt completely overwhelmed. What are the lines between being a teacher, a parent, and a friend for our students? The "monster" papers haunted me the rest of the day.

When my thoughts had finally settled from the students' papers, I began to think about assessment. This paper served as an outlet for many students to reveal their deepest thoughts and feelings about struggles in their lives, so how would I, as a teacher, grade this assignment? I found Griswold's idea of assessment lists to be a great way to assess students with an assignment like the "monster" essay. If I were grading the "monster" paper, I would make it clear to students that I was grading how they wrote the paper not the details they discussed in the paper. Assessment lists provide students with the exact elements that they are expected to include in their assignments so there is no guessing or confusion. I really like Griswold's idea of distributing the assessment list at the same time as the assignment is given because it helps get students have a clear direction from the beginning. Assessment lists are flexible, yet students know they must meet each assignment expectation, as the list serves as an "assignment contract" between teachers and students.