Dear List,
My English department is developing a grammar handbook for teachers which will
eventually be used as a guide for curriculum and instruction throughout our
charter school organization. Our schools serve a highly motivated population of
students in grades 5-12 whose English education will include AP English Language
and AP English Literature (along with at least five other AP courses). I would
appreciate some feedback on the instructional objectives we are using to
organize this document. The objectives are organized topically below. Please let
me know what you think should be added, deleted, or changed, and what doesn't
make sense.
Thanks,
Scott Woods
Appositive Phrases
Objectives
Ø Students explain the key characteristics of the appositive phrase.
Ø Students explain how the appositive phrase differs from other typical
noun slots.
Ø Students (a) explain and exemplify the difference between restrictive
and nonrestrictive appositive phrases, (b) punctuate both accurately, and (c)
correct punctuation errors.
Ø Students explain and exemplify the sentential appositive phrase.
Ø Students transform sentential relative clauses to restrictive relative
clauses modifying sentential appositive phrases.
Ø Students identify appositive phrases in context.
Ø Students transform appositive phrases into relative clauses and reduce
relative clauses to appositive phrases, analyzing and explaining the different
effects of each construction (objective duplicated in Relative Clauses).
Ø Students transform relative clauses with wh-pronouns and be-verbs to
appositive phrases.
Ø Students add appositive phrases to sentences, distinguishing between
worthwhile and superfluous additions.
Ø Students identify appositive headwords in their own writing and refine
them, so that (a) their appositive headwords are precise, interesting nouns that
add meaning to the modified NP, or (b) appositive phrases with useless headwords
are reduced to adjectives or adjectivals in an adjacent clause.
Ø Students are exposed to and compose serial appositive phrases in
climactic order, and analyze and explain the effect.
Ø Students are exposed to and compose serial appositive phrases with
repeated headwords, and analyze and explain the effect.
Ø Students are exposed to and compose compose sentences with introductory
appositive phrase series, and analyze and explain the effect.
Participial Phrases
Objectives
Ø Students (a) explain and exemplify the difference between restrictive
and nonrestrictive participial phrases, (b) punctuate both accurately, and (c)
correct punctuation errors.
Ø Students distinguish between progressive constructions and predicative
presentparticipial phrases.
Ø Students distinguish between passive constructions and predicative
pastparticipial phrases.
Ø Students distinguish between postpositional restrictive participial
phrases, without commas, and postmodifying nonrestrictive participial phrases,
with commas, by punctuating accurately in their own writing and correcting
errors they encounter.
Ø Students practice moving nonrestrictive participial phrases within
sentences, analyzing and explaining the different effects of each position and
recognizing when a position does not work.
Ø Students explain the adverbial quality of nonrestrictive participial
phrases.
Ø Students explain the temporal relations of nonrestrictive participial
phrases to their matrix clauses, and correct errors in usage.
Ø Students identify participial phrases in context, testing for participle
headwords, removability, movability, and the lack of a subject.
Ø When identifying participial phrases, students recognize that
postpositional restrictive participial phrases that serve as subject or object
complements are only ambiguously removable, and that postpositional restrictive
participial phrases modifying the headword of an absolute phrase are not
removable at all.
Ø Students reduce main, relative, and adverbial clauses to participial
phrases combined with other clauses.
Ø Students expand sentences by adding (usually nonrestrictive) participial
phrases.
Parts of the Clause
Objectives
Ø Students explain the key qualities of linking verbs and subject
complements.
Ø Students are exposed to the class of common linking verbs.
Ø Students identify linking verbs and subject complements in context based
on (a) the complement questions, and (b) the complement and subject's
co-referentiality.
Ø Students differentiate predicate nominatives from direct objects based
on (a) their semantic understanding of the two concepts, and (b) the predicate
nominative and subject's co-referentiality.
Ø Students identify indirect objects in context using the indirect object
question, "[verb] + to/for whom/what?"
Ø Students are exposed to the class of verbs that can take indirect
objects.
Ø In their writing, students transform indirect objects to prepositional
objects, and vice versa, to improve the clarity of their sentences.
Ø Students identify direct objects in context using (a) the direct object
question, "[non-linking verb] + whom/what?" and (b) the passive transformation.
Ø Students explain the utility of identifying direct objects in context.
Ø Students identify prepositional objects in context using the
prepositional object question, "[preposition] + whom/what?"
Ø Students identify the subject by (a) using the subject question,
"Who/what + [VP]?", and (b) testing the relationship between a noun phrase's
number and the verb's inflection.
Ø Students distinguish prepositional objects from subjects, even when the
prepositional object directly precedes the verb phrase.
Ø In their writing, students use accurate subject-verb agreement when a
prepositional object directly precedes the verb phrase, and correct errors in
usage.
Ø Students explain the utility of identifying subjects in context.
Ø Students identify compound verbs in context.
Ø Students identify compound subjects in context.
Ø In their writing, students use accurate subject-verb agreement in
clauses with compound verbs, and correct errors in usage.
Ø In their writing, students use accurate subject-verb agreement in
clauses with compound subjects, and correct errors in usage.
Ø Students identify both the simple subject (the noun headword) and the
complete subject (the noun phrase) in context.
Ø Students define the predicate.
Ø Students identify the predicate of a clause in context.
Ø Students regularly analyze and regularly practice the full variety of
clause patterns.
Ø Students explain and exemplify the significance of word order in
English, and relate it to our remaining inflectional systems (especially the
inflections of verbs and pronouns).
Ø Students define the clause.
Pronouns
Objectives
Ø Students identify pronouns in context.
Ø In their writing, students use reflexive pronouns accurately, and
correct errors in usage.
Ø Students explain and identify the difference between its and it's.
Ø In their writing, students use its and it's accurately, and correct
errors in usage.
Ø Students are exposed to a thorough list of indefinite pronouns, and put
in extra practice on identifying and recalling indefinite pronouns.
Ø Students explain and exemplify the subjective and objective pronoun
cases.
Ø In their writing, students accurately use the subjective and objective
pronoun cases, and correct errors in usage.
Ø Students identify and correct vague cataphoric pronoun reference.
Ø Students identify vague pronoun reference, and correct it by recasting
the sentence.
Ø In their writing, students use accurate pronoun-antecedent agreement
with compound antecedents, and correct errors in usage.
Ø Students consider compound indefinite pronouns singular, accurately
inflect verbs and pronouns that take them as antecedents, and correct errors in
usage.
Ø Students (a) distinguish between singular and plural of-indefinites, (b)
explain the difference, (c) accurately inflect verbs taking of-indefinites as
their subject, and (d) correct errors in usage.
Ø Students practice a variety of methods for dealing with the problems
posed by English's lack of a person, singular, 3rd person epicene pronoun.
Ø Students identify and correct unclear pronoun reference.
Ø Students avoid the generic they, it, and you.
Ø Students transform independent demonstratives into determiner
demonstratives by adding a noun.
Relative Clauses
Objectives
Ø Students explain the key qualities of the adjectival relative clause.
Ø Students (a) explain and exemplify the difference between restrictive
and nonrestrictive relative clauses, (b) punctuate both accurately, and (c)
correct punctuation errors.
Ø Students explain and exemplify the difference between sentential and
adjectival relative clauses.
Ø Students transform sentential relative clauses to restrictive relative
clauses modifying sentential appositive phrases (objective duplicated in
Appositive Phrases).
Ø Students identify adjectival relative clauses in context through three
tests: (a) removing the clause, (b) locating a relative pronoun, and (c)
identifying the modified noun.
Ø Students identify sentential relative clauses in context.
Ø Students combine sentences by transforming main clauses into relative
clauses, which are incorporated into neighboring clauses.
Ø Students expand sentence with relative clauses that add information or
details.
Ø Students reduce relative clauses to phrases, which are incorporated into
neighboring clauses.
The Verb
Objectives
Ø Students both explain and exemplify the system of regular verb
inflections.
Ø Students identify verbs in context based on syntactical and
morphological features.
Ø Students consistently apply the spelling conventions for regular verb
inflections, especially for common verbs, and correct relevant errors.
Ø Students explain the difference between go and be and the rest of our
verbs (demonstrating their understanding of the inflectional system).
Ø Students correctly conjugate all auxiliary verbs, and correct relevant
errors.
Ø Students are exposed to the class of strong verbs, and to subclasses of
strong verbs.
Ø Students explain and exemplify the difference between regular verbs and
strong verbs.
Ø Students use strong verbs accurately, especially common strong verbs,
and correct relevant errors.
Ø Students are exposed to classes of irregular verbs grouped by common
characteristics.
Ø Students use irregular verbs accurately, especially common irregular
verbs, and correct relevant errors.
Ø Students explain, identify, and exemplify verb phrases (as opposed to
solitary verbs)
Ø Students distinguish between linking and non-linking verbs.
Ø Students distinguish between transitive and intransitive (linking and
non-linking) verbs.
Ø Students identify auxiliary verbs in context.
Ø Students use auxiliary verbs accurately, distinguishing as needed
between tenses, and correct relevant errors.
Ø Students identify multi-word verbs in context, distinguishing them from
verbs followed by adverbs or prepositional phrases.
Ø Students use the progressive construction when appropriate, and correct
erroneous usage.
Ø Students identify the progressive construction in context,
differentiating progressive aspect verbs from gerunds and adjectival
participles.
Ø Students use the perfect construction when appropriate, and correct
erroneous usage.
Ø (Identification of perfect constructions in context is secondary.)
Ø Students use the subjunctive mood when appropriate with commanding
that-clauses and contrary-to-fact if-clauses, and correct erroneous usage.
Ø (Identification of the subjunctive mood in context is secondary.)
Ø Students accurately use the instantaneous present, the habitual present,
the eternal present, and the literary present in writing, and correct errors in
usage.
Ø Students identify verbs in their own writing.
Ø Students accurately use lie, lay, sit, set, rise, and raise, and correct
usage errors.
Ø Students ensure semantic coherence of verb-subject pairs.
Ø Students accurately use common verb-preposition pairs, and correct
errors in usage.
Ø Students take definite measures to improve the accuracy, precision,
sophistication, and literary appeal of their verbs.
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