Hi Gail,

Wow! Your question surprises me.  It reminds me of the question I got when I
owned a 24 foot high tepee. People would ask me why I bought the teepee and
sometimes I'd answer..."if you have to ask, I can't explain it."

Actually, I can explain it. Reading, writing, vocabulary, and the structure
of language are inseparably entwined in my approach to this class. My
English composition class requires two textbooks, a thick reader with maybe
50 professional essays and a grammar handbook.

A big part of the class is writing summary and response papers. Students
miss a lot if they don't understand vocabulary and/or literary or cultural
allusions. My open book tests require more than one reading of the essay,
time spent thinking about it and open the way for class discussion.
Discussion and thinking are a big part of my pre-writing technique
personally. Often I think about an idea and talk to several people and voila
my writing just flows. I plan group discussions and one on one interviews to
help generate ideas for writing assignments.

--

Christine Reintjes Martin
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----Original Message Follows----
From: Gail Stygall <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar

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