Marshall,
I haven't seen the study, but Hillocks refers to it in his Research on
the Teaching of composition, the 1986 book that heavily influenced
NCTE's anti-grammar position. I don't have it in front of me, but my
memory is that, as he sums it up, the curriculum was met with a great
deal of resistance, anger, and hostility. To some extent, the focus on
sentence combining was a way to salvage some use for generative grammar
within the classroom. It, too, has had mixed results.
Craig>
Martha Kolln wrote:
>
>> Marshall,
>>
>> No, I'm not familiar with them. Any idea where I could find them?
>>
>> Martha
>>
>>> Martha Kolln wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dear John and Eduard and all,
>>>>
>>>> It is indeed true that my colleague Sandra Wyngaard, head of English
>>>> at State College (PA) High School, and I are in the throes of
>>>> production. Our book, "Discovering Grammar: Unlocking the Language
>>>> Toolbox for Middle School Readers and Writers," takes teachers and
>>>> students step by small step through minilessons to mastery.
>>>>
>>>> We begin with a short lesson on Subject/Predicate, which, by the
>>>> way, includes a structured writing assignment (which many of the
>>>> minilessons do). Then come nine minilessons on nouns and noun
>>>> phrases and pronouns. These lessons include discussions of
>>>> form--singular/plural as well as derivational endings-- that help
>>>> students unlock their own inner grammar expertise. Next come seven
>>>> minilessons on verb forms. All of these lead to and are integrated
>>>> with the next series of lessons on ten sentence patterns, which are
>>>> essentially predicate patterns. With each lesson, directed mainly
>>>> at teachers, we include several "Unlocking" exercises and
>>>> "reading/writing connection"
>>>> exercises, classroom activities for the students--many of which are
>>>> connected to the young-adult literature they are reading.
>>>>
>>>> I have learned from Sandra--and by talking to many teachers--that
>>>> today's language arts classes are very different from what many of
>>>> us remember way back when--or even not so way back. Today's
>>>> teachers rely on minilessons, on word study, on word sorts (many of
>>>> which we include), with very little, if any, attention to syntax
>>>> in an organized way. That lack of attention is due in large part to
>>>> the teachers' own inadequate grammar background and very scant help
>>>> from textbooks.
>>>>
>>>> We are very excited about what we have accomplished so far. The
>>>> first section of the book--100+ pages--will be class-tested this
>>>> fall in all nine middle schools of Carroll County, Maryland, as well
>>>> as in
>>>> selected classes in four other school districts, including districts
>>>> in two other states as well as Pennsylvania. We expect to have the
>>>> finished published version ready for fall 2007. We are publishing
>>>> and planning to market it ourselves.
>>>>
>>>> As I explain in the Introduction, the material is based on my
>>>> "Understanding English Grammar," which is based on sentence
>>>> patterns. I firmly believe that the framework of sentence patterns
>>>> has been enormously helpful for my college-level students in the
>>>> teacher-prep grammar class. In the new book, we are including the
>>>> very simplest diagrams for the sentence patterns--so they will be
>>>> there for those teachers who want to include them.
>>>>
>>>> As I said in my keynote address at ATEG last month, minilessons are
>>>> here to stay in the language arts classrooms of middle schools. If
>>>> we want to have an impact, we have to join them. Believe me, these
>>>> are not the minilessons that Constance Weaver describes in her
>>>> books, the "teachable moment" occasions that occur in writing
>>>> workshops. Ours are organized in small steps, designed to fit into
>>>> a classroom period, that scaffold on one another but that also bring
>>>> to the students' conscious understanding step by organized step the
>>>> subconscious knowledge that they had with them when they entered
>>>> kindergarten. Mastery through minilessons is our goal.
>>>>
>>>> I'll appreciate your input and interest, especially those of you who
>>>> might be interested in seeing more detail as it becomes available.
>>>> The table of contents will be ready soon; that might give you a
>>>> better idea of our program.
>>>>
>>>> Martha
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> John:
>>>>>
>>>>> I guess the safest way to find out if this is true or not is to ask
>>>>> Martha Kolln herself if she and her friends intend to publish a book
>>>>> designed for "the lower level Japanese students." I am sure, as you
>>>>> say, that "Japanese students would benefit from a version of this
>>>>> book pitched at a lower level." Hopefully Martha is reading this
>>>>> message and will answer your question.
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Eduard
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Mon, 21 Aug 2006, John curran wrote...
>>>>>
>>>>> >Eduard,
>>>>>
>>>>>> Re your last submission:
>>>>>> Here is a message from an Australian teacher in Japan at the
>>>>>> chalk-
>>>>>
>>>>> face=
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ,=20
>>>>>> teaching at the primary level. ATEG's "Grammar Alive - A guide
>>>>>> for=20
>>>>>> Teachers" has been very helpful but it is difficult to adapt this
>>>>>
>>>>> book to=
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> =20
>>>>>> the needs of the lower level Japanese students. Japanese students
>>>>>
>>>>> would=20=
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> benefit from a version of this book pitched at a lower level. There
>>>>>
>>>>> is a=20=
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> rumour going around that Martha Kolln and friends are preparing such
>>>>>
>>>>> a=20=
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> book. Can we be so lucky?
>>>>>> John Curran
>>>>>>
>>>>>> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
>>>>>
>>>>> interface at:
>>>>>
>>>>>> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
>>>>>> and select "Join or leave the list"
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
>>>>> interface at:
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>>>>> and select "Join or leave the list"
>>>>>
>>>>> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
>>>> interface at:
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>>>> and select "Join or leave the list"
>>>>
>>>> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>>>
>>> Martha,
>>>
>>> Are you familiar with the two t-g books by Jacobs and Rosenbaum,
>>> published in 1967 and designed for seventh graders? They're called
>>> Grammar 1 and Grammar 2.
>>>
>>> Marshall
>>> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
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>>> select "Join or leave the list"
>>
>>> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>>
>>
>> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
>> interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and select
>> "Join or leave the list"
>>
>> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>>
> Martha,
>
> I have copies of both.
>
> Give me your snail mail address, and I'll loan them to you.
>
> My memory is not very sharp about this, but I think there was a NCTE
> study of middle schoolers to see if teaching them transformational
> grammar would affect their writing. I believe it was in the 60's or 70's.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Marshall
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface
> at:
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>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
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