Prep+for+Class+5+MLP

Ch. 6 LEA Language Activity p. 158 “Casserole, Again?”
 * 2. Andrew's LEA Text:**

A. Oh my f*ing god. I went over to Jim’s house and his mum had made the most disgusting tuna casserole. It smelled revolting. I had to put that glotinous gloop inside my mouth and actually eat it just to make her happy. Eugh. I don’t plan on EVER doing that again. B. Hey mum. Remember how I said I was going over to Jim’s parents for dinner? I take back anything I ever said about you being a poor cook. His mom made this awful tuna casserole. I thought I was going to be sick just looking at it. It smelled like burnt cream and rotten fish and tasted like an old sneaker. I will not be doing that again, ever. C. Grandma! I’ve missed you too. Yes I have a boyfriend. I know. Actually I went over to his parents house for dinner. His mom made this...lovely tuna casserole. I don’t think it quite agreed with me though, you know how that is. Bless her heart, I think maybe his mom got the flour and salt confused. Hopefully I won’t have to eat that again. D. Jim...your parents are really lovely. It’s just...what in the hell did I just have to eat? That tuna casserole was disgusting! I thought you said your mom knows how to cook! Well! That was the most awful thing I’ve ever had to eat and that includes three years of college cafeteria food!

1. In some, I use more profane language. In others, I am more descriptive. In one of them I lie through sarcasm to show how I did not enjoy the tuna casserole. 2. If I am more familiar to the person and/or close in age, such as my friend and significant other, I am more apt to be brutally honest and use profanity. I speak much more respectfully to my mother and grandmother.

a. Teaching grammar should be fun and not just wrote memorization! In Dr. Reaser’s class, we discussed this concept a lot! Trivial lessons and trite rules won’t help our students learn how to use lagnuage. I think one of the most interesting concepts of language is this idea of code-switching and how we change our language based on our audience. I think this is something teachers need to actively teach to our students, HOW to change our language based on who we are communicating with. b. The Peterson article articulates the same things as in ELA. Teachers need to root grammar instruction in genuine language activities. Out-of-context grammar lessons teach students very little. They are not able to retain and use that information in different settings in the future. Teaching students elements of language while they read/write/communicate is an authentic way to teach grammar! I really liked the insistence on throwing workbooks and textbooks out of the window. Workbooks and worksheets are often the main teaching tool for grammar. This is a poor substitute for authentic instruction! The Weaver article talked about research that they did to prove the ineffectiveness of this traditional grammar instruction. I thought it was very interesting how students actually would do better on the pre-test before a grammar class than the post-test! I also like how they emphasis the importance of practice. Grammar isn’t something to be taught and then will be perfect. It requires practice and re-teaching like any concept. I really liked the Leaves Poem activity. It showed how we can teach our students how to use descriptive language in a subtle way. Bring in actual leaves got the students to think about leaves and fall, evoking all the emotions/memories/sense related to the season. This helped to cue them in to writing a poem with a lot of description. This worked much better than just telling the students to write a poem using a lot of adjectives and adverbs.
 * 3. Teacher Grammar in Context:**


 * Link to Mission Possible Mini-Inquiry Project**


 * Link to Inquiry Project Page**