This is mainly for Liz Spalding, who put out this request a couple of weeks
ago.
Edith Wollin and I have written a book titled "Writers' Choices: Grammar to
Improve Style." It is being published this year by Harcourt College
Publishers. The following excerpt from its introduction to the teacher
describes our aims in the book, which I think may fit with your aims:
We wrote this book partly for our fellow college writing
teachers who have wished there were an effective and efficient way to teach
sentence structure and style while still giving adequate time to the writing
process, critical reading, and the other important concerns of college
composition. Such teachers typically find that it is impossible to teach
grammar fast. There are so many building blocks to put in place that we
often give up in favor of an ad hoc approach -- a lesson on clauses to curb
the spread of fragments, a drill on restrictive and nonrestrictive elements
to arrest comma delinquency, and so forth. Associated in the students'
minds with the errors that prompted them and fitting into no whole, these
units are seldom the memorable part of the course.
We believe this book can help change that. It approaches
English syntax as something to delight in and experiment with. Focusing not
on what students can't do but rather on the many things they can do with
sentence structures, it helps turn unconscious practice into conscious
knowledge and then solidifies the knowledge by having the students put it
into immediate conscious practice. It does not say, "Avoid this -- it
makes your writing bad." It says, "Try this -- it can make your writing
strong."
We do not pretend that it is possible to teach grammar fast. We do
believe that with brief, focused explanations supported by many examples
and followed by direct application of what they learn, students can grasp a
thorough overview of the phrases and clauses from which English
sentences are built. This overview includes the construction and
punctuation of phrases and clauses, their proper integration into sentences,
and, above all, their rhetorical and stylistic effects.
I am trying to get ordering information for sample copies from Harcourt.
Let me know if you'd like the information, and I'll pass it on when I get
it.
> ----------
> From: Sophie Johnson
> Reply To: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> Sent: Saturday, June 2, 2001 6:33 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Request for assistance with course development
>
> Liz, please have a look at my approach
> to teaching grammar:
>
> http://www.englishgrammartutor.com
>
> I should love to hear your assessment.
> (I can take it on the chin!)
> Sophie
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Liz Spalding <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2001 12:36 AM
> Subject: Request for assistance with course development
>
>
> > Hello! I am a new subscriber to this listserv. I am an assistant
> > professor at the University of Kentucky and director of the Bluegrass
> > Writing Project there. By popular demand, I have decided to offer a
> course
> > this coming fall entitled "Teaching Grammar in Context." I am not a
> > linguist, but I am offering the course because this is a topic of great
> > interest to teachers here in KY. I have advertised the course as geared
> > toward K-12 teachers. I visited the ATEG website but found no current
> > syllabi on line. I would very much appreciate any suggestions any of
> you
> > have regarding appropriate texts, course design, etc. I would also be
> > deeply grateful if anyone shared a syllabus with me. I look forward to
> > hearing your suggestions.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Liz Spalding
> >
> >
> > Dr. Elizabeth Spalding
> > Assistant Professor
> > Department of Curriculum and Instruction
> > 309 Dickey Hall
> > University of Kentucky
> > Lexington, KY 40506-0017
> > Phone:(606)257-4127
> > Fax: (606)257-1602
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
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> at:
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> >
> > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
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> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
>
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