Archive
Tag: English grammar
Why Grammar Doesn’t Stick
You see, my colleague is not convinced by the research that purportedly indicates that direct grammar instruction has no impact on student acquisition of language skills.…
Grammar Openers
Following is a brief analysis of the four most common means of current grammar instruction. Teachers will tend to agree with my summary and analysis of…
How to Teach Sentence Diagramming
Sentence diagramming can be a useful visual tool to teach students how to identify the different parts of sentences, understand how these parts function, and see…
Does Sentence Diagramming Make Sense?
Effective writing instruction melds both analysis and practice. Students need the deductive apply-the-components/rules-of-grammar approach and the inductive practice-the-meaningful-communication of ideas-with-feedback approach to become effective writers. Some…
Standards and Accountability
The standards-based movement has ushered in a new era of accountability in public education with all of its attendant problems and teachers may be the ones…
How to Teach Helping Verbs
English teachers learn early in their careers that strong nouns and “show-me” verbs are the keys to good writing. Of these two keys, verbs give developing…
How and When to Teach Adverbs
Adverbs are tricky. Knowing the definition of this basic part of speech only gets us so far. Yes, we do need to know what we are…
How and When to Teach Adjectives
Why do teachers have to re-teach adjectives every year? Is it the past teacher’s fault? Or is it simply the way we learn grammar? Following is…