Teaching+Grammar+in+Context

Teaching Grammar in Context
My experience with grammar as a student was not an extensive one, but the short exposure I did have was not good. The only grammar instruction I ever remember receiving was in sixth and seventh grade, and some more in high school in eleventh grade, but we focused more or writing then. In sixth grade the only thing I remember is the "Preposition Song" (which I still use) and how to write a "complete" sentence. In seventh grade, it was just worksheets which we would do in class, go over and correct, and then move on. In later grades, teachers would mark our papers for grammar mistakes but not teach us how to correct them because "We were already supposed to have learned that in __(fill in previous grade here)__." As a result, in many situations I felt significantly behind other students when I got to college. Sometimes professors would write notes about "passive voice" or "split infinitives" and I had to go ask other students what those were - I didn't even know what these terms meant much less know how to correct the errors. Their corrections always left me feeling inadequate. As a teacher I wish I could find some happy medium between teaching students what they need to know but not drilling and killing them. Some of what I learned in Dr. Reaser and Dr. Pope's classes have helped, but I am always ready to learn more.

As for the articles, I found them fairly similar with cooperating messages. Like much of what we've read already, researchers have recognized that teaching grammar on its own and forcing students to memorize arbitrary rules and exceptions rarely lead to retention or improvement in writing. In fact, student writing often gets worse because they would rather simplify their writing style than risk making a mistake, so they avoid it altogether. I can speak from experience because I've done this numerous times myself. Though the articles were similar, they do present distinct ideas. My biggest takeaway from Peterson was that the best way to teach grammar is to provide positive examples and work on grammar skills as students do other activities or projects. That way, they see the application of grammar skills and the impact they have on readers and writers. From Weaver, I I understood that grammar can be taught to the entire class if used in the context of a writing assignment and in small doses. For example, if your students were writing a narrative and you noticed many of them making errors with contractions, you could address these briefly in class and reference the assignment. If you expect students to correctly use grammar in their writing, you have to show them //how// to use it.