Patsi,
What WONDERFUL stuff you're talking about in your classroom. Would you like
to write that up into an article for Syntax in the Schools? No more than
2,500 words? It's concrete, animated, and a fine model.

Next issue will come out in the Fall. The current one is about to head out
today or Monday.

Cheers,

Rebecca,
Guest Editor
SIS

Frans De Becker wrote:

> Dear all,
> Bob Yates wrote:
>
> >         Actually it is not a good definition of a passive sentence. <
>
> So what's our definition of the passive?
> A working definition will vary according to  target group.We don't all
> work as deep as University linguists although Grammar teachers should
> also be conscious of this level.
> My class don't get a definition until they've worked through some steps
> and can form it.
> So I tell my school kids we just have to use our brain a bit! In simple
> cases of the passive what is logically the 'subject', as we know some
> one person or more factors (agents: lovely word to play with...007!)
> are behind this, just isn't 'important'.
> >  this is the black board image for a sentence. Here are infinitive
> options before I open my mouth and it also illustrates one aspect of the
> impact of the words in their word order. (It's good for other
> things,too). They know this from earlier lessons
> So we pull up a logical object and make it a grammatical subject because
> of it's 'importance' in the given situation. (We could be detectives
> investigating a crime.) It stands to reason that we can't slap in the
> verb normally or we'd confuse the situation so we need a marker which is
> the appropriate form of to Be. There are markers in grammar  just like
> in 'real life' , think of wash room doors or police cars.etc  and the
> confusion when not marked. I'm sure you get the picture of how I do it
>
> I use a lot of images with my school kids.For example , we have to learn
> as much vocabulary as possible because the words are the bricks we want
> to build our house with and we want to become architects, not just
> hod-carriers.It's like money in the bank and helps us through life if we
> use it correctly. We are then in a position not only to buy something
> small easily but also something reall big if we want it!
> Most kids like sports or the circus. After a little disussion they
> realize we see the end product of a lot of practice and training behind
> that feat. So we train our brain 'muscle' to see and  to use structures
> consciouly which develops to insight.
>
> Grammar illustrates the route we take to get where we're going. I want
> to get from A to B let's take the 'Autobahn'. Are we going to take a
> more leisurely walk but use some muscle? Sometimes it's an obstacle race
> and we fall on our nose.The way we take, the grammar we use, depends on
> the situation and the objective.
> The scene of the Crime, At the Auctioneer's or a visit to the Tower of
> London are ways to practice past participles and passive in a playful
> situation for school kids
> When all is done they verbalise their own rule in a sentence and reduce
> it to a (sometimes funny) formula.
> One 12 year old told me his 'reminder' was:
> He's so passive is he dead?
> No, he's in bed - be+ed
> which was enough for him to get his test right!
> I've even had
> You mean the object in my head is the subject in B+ed
> which caused roars of laughter in upper revision as it was said in all
> innocence.
> I now remember to pronounce it 'be plus ed' to avoid embarassment.
>
> If we are a forum or Grammar Teachers, can't we get some 'good'
> definitions for the passive formulated, together with our target group?
> Logical Object -->Grammatical Subj. + BE + ED works for me.
>
> Patsi
> PS
> I keep getting a lot of ' EEEK!Take me off this list' mails. Am I
> frightening people off?

--
*******************************************
Rebecca S. Wheeler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of English
Christopher Newport University
1 University Place
Newport News, VA 23606-2998

Guest Editor, Syntax in the Schools
The newsletter of the Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar (ATEG),
an assembly of the NCTE

phone: (757) 594-8891;  fax: (757) 594-8870
email: [log in to unmask]

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