I have been following the responses to the suggestion of setting up a second discussion forum for teachers who want to discuss grammar teaching in a very practical way, especially at the middle school level. The prevailing sentiment is clearly to try to maintain the unity of the listserv, so for the moment we will keep the listserv as it is. But this is a topic to keep exploring. Just a few minutes ago I responded to a middle school teacher on an NCTE listserv asking about what other teachers at that level were doing with grammar, whether and how they taught the grammar that is included in their textbooks, and so forth. (I recommended our listserv, our site, and our organization generally.) But it is my impression that teachers in such classes want to share not just about teaching grammar per se, which is what we all like to hear about, but about how the grammar can and cannot fit into the context of their day to day classroom situation, assignments, worksheets, etc. I can certainly imagine they might want a place where they can discuss with peers who are in the same teaching situation. (Certainly, some of the discussion on the NCTE Middle level talk list is very concrete--specific textbooks, classroom management, even whiteboards, etc.) So let's keep an open mind on possibilities. Comments from the teachers involved would certainly be welcome. Don't be shy. A resource I just discovered: At the bottom of this and every listserv message from ATEG is a link to the listserv archives. In addition to the process for signing on and off the list, the site contains ALL the ATEG listserv discussion since the beginning, five years ago! You can scan the contents and threads for each month, or use the search engine to get directly to certain topics. It's wonderful. Finally, my congratulation to Rebecca Wheeler for a fine edition of Syntax in the Schools. Two major studies of grammar and writing, a comment on grammar and whole language, a fitting appreciation of Ed Vavra, and a review of Noden's Image Grammar. If you enjoy this list but are not a member of ATEG and are missing out on SIS, you might want to consider joining so you can receive it four times a year. Have a good holiday. Brock Haussamen ATEG President Brock Haussamen English Department Raritan Valley Community College [log in to unmask] phone: 908-526-1200, ext. 8307 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/