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
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