Another Give-Away!

I am excited to announce another Art of Teaching give-away!  I have an extra paperback copy of Eats, Shoots, and Leaves that I want to share with YOU.  (If you didn't read my post on it earlier this week, click here).

 

I mean, come on, who doesn't want to read more about a Grammar Ninja Warrior like that panda?!  By the way, did you know that the ?! mark is called an "interrobang?"  I learned that from this book!  Just think of all you could learn, too.  You don't even have to be a teacher to enter/win!

To enter, you must pin an image to Pinterest anywhere from my blog with a direct link and the attribution {The Art of Teaching} and follow the Rafflecopter directions below. 

The give-away will remain open until July 27 at 12 AM.  Leave a comment so I know that you have entered.  And good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pinterest U.

Can anyone else relate to this?

I do marvel at how many great ideas I see teachers collecting and sharing on Pinterest during our "time off."  It's an amazing professional community, for sure.

 

To build off of my post from Monday, I have some of my favorite grammar related pins to share with you.  First, the funny ones.

 

 Don't you just love a good grammar joke?

 

Anyway, I also found this awesome flipbook for parts of speech and usage rules.

 

 

 

The pic doesn't have a link that goes with it, but I'm envisioning possibly using it as a review after I teach serial commas, appositives, and introductory clauses. 

 

It could also be used be used at the beginning of the year as a quick way to see what students already know and which areas will need to be covered.

 

Other ideas?  What are your favorite grammar (or other) Pinterest finds?  And be sure to follow my teaching board here.

The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

 

I'm finishing up some continuing ed. credits this week.  I am looking forward to writing a six-page paper on the Transcontinental Railroad tonight (#yourejealous).  I have also been doing work for two online classes.  Hey, who said teachers take the summer off?! 

Among those classes, I took one through the University of La Verne.  Did you know their credit hours are only $105?  Check it out if you need some CEUs or what have you.  The class I just finished is called "Punctilious Punctuation."  To be perfectly honest, it wasn't fab.  In fact, I could have done much better!  Ha ha... Shout-out to Mike SanMarco for our fabulous grammar class last summer.

What was great about this course, though, was I got to revisit a fun (yes, FUN) grammar book I read a few years ago, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves by Lynne Truss.  Truss is a cranky and witty punctuation curmudgeon.  But she takes her readers on an insightful and playful ride through the rise and fall of punctuation.

 

An explanation of the title from the back of the book jacket:

 



 

What you may be even more interested in is her picture book version by the same title.

The book has two illustrations side by side and shows how commas change the sentence. 

These pages say, "Look at that huge hot dog!"  and "Look at that huge, hot dog!"

I have read this book with students and then had them create their own similar sentences and accompanying illustrations.

Along the same lines, you may be familiar with:

As part of the course I also got to use a book given to me by my cousin for Christmas, I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar: A Collection of Egregious Errors, Disconcerting Bloopers, and Other Linguistic Slip-Ups .  We had to go on a scavenger hunt for bad punctuation in public places and I was eager to bust out this gem to help.

 

If I didn't laugh I would cry.

 

 



 

 

 

 

Side note:  This is me.  Consider yourself warned.

 

Another side note: I'm really paranoid that I made a grammar/punctuation error in this post now.

Classroom Tour pt 2- Grammar Goodness

In case you've forgotten, I'm a bit of a grammar nut.  My favorite text to inspire fun and purposeful grammar instruction is Mechanically Inclined  (read my review here). 

There are several ways this text and method of instruction manifests itself in my classroom.  Namely, the walls are covered in our imitated sentences.

The rule of thumb is students are allowed to display their sentences on any wall and they can stay up until they fall down.  This seems to really get students excited about grammar and showing off their uniquely constructed work off of whatever concept we're practicing.  Admittedly, the room looks a bit crazy at times, but I remind myself that it shows the serious work we're doing.

The sentences above are based on our beginning of the year work discovering the basic parts of a sentence.  (And a few on serial commas and appositives.) For some reason students seem to have nouns down, but struggle a bit more with the concept of a verb.  To help reinforce this, a few years ago my students helped me create our verb rocking chair. 

 

I took a formerly unfinished wood rocking chair and spray painted it black.  Each student chose one favorite verb and used acrylic paint to write it onto the chair.  (tip: I had them write 3 verb choices on an index card to prevent multiples and any that were too crude.  I didn't need a whole chair covered in "burp.")  Then I sewed the cushion for a pop of color from Eric Carle patterned-fabric.  Now it's my favorite special chair for read- alouds.

 

 

In another part of the room we have a "Grammar Brushstrokes" wall to remind us of all the work we've done, including mentor sentences, wall charts, and our imitated sentences.

Grammar Ninja

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have spent six weeks of this summer co-teaching a graduate course on grammar instruction and writing.  To say the least, it's been amusing watching people's facial expressions when I tell them the subject of the course.  Most look at me like I'm crazy, some visibly shudder, a few look as if they're replaying anything they may have just said incorrectly during the first part of our conversation.  But a special few get really excited.  They tell me how much they love grammar.  And then we swoon over it together.

In fact, I have a refrigerator magnet declaring my nerd-love of grammar.  It was a gift from my aunt and uncle and says, "Grammar Ninja: Ruthless, Deadly, Articulate."  I think grammar appeals to the part of my brain that likes order, organization, and math.  It’s logic meets language—what a wonderful combination.

If you're looking for the best professional text on the subject, check out Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson.  It's sure to shake you of any traditional views of grammar instruction and put your beliefs solidly in the power of grammar in the context of writing.  This text has been the focus of my grad class and has been the touchstone of my own grammar instruction for the last several years.  I promise to share more tidbits from it this coming school year and I roll out my own adaptation of J. Anderson on fifth graders.

For now, here are two lovely grammar sources for your Tuesday reading pleasure.  One comes from NY Times writer John McWhorter.  This witty article "A Matter of Fashion" explains how culture and time influence what is considered "correct."   San Marco Says is the blog of my talented co-teacher, Mike San Marco, who teaches 8th grade English in the Kings District.  It has been my pleasure working with him and learning alongside him this summer.