Grammar is the thing that I hate. I wake up in a cold sweat thinking about grammar. Horrible, horrible grammar. I have a t-shirt that proudly states, "Bad Spellers of the World Untie!" (I know that spelling and grammar aren't necessarily the same, but I, like many high schoolers group it in with the entire grammar nightmare). People find out that I am going to be an English teacher and then they ask me things about grammar and I always end up having to look up the answer just like they would have and it makes me feel awful incompetent. I am not a fan or grammar.
This is one reason that I decided to read the book, Mechanically Inclined for my book study group. That book and the readings for today have really helped me realize that in order to successfully teach grammar, mechanics, and revision, we can use many of the principles that we would use to successfully teach other parts of the English curriculum. Grammar needs to be taught in context and should be made relevant to a student's life, or they will end up shutting down and turning off just like I did when I was force fed it in my school days. The importance of demonstrating to students that mechanics and revision can be incorporated into their writing process and doesn't have to be a painful, tedious task will make it easier on everyone involved. Breaking it down and taking it one spoonful at a time in conjunction with our other writing stages will hopefully make it go down a little easier.
Take heart my fellow grammar haters and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and if you want real world application strategies, to go along with the great ones in "The Writer's Toolbox," check out Mechanically Inclined (it has some very useful stuff!) Also, to look on the bright side, remember that your distaste for grammar can only help you be better at teaching it- at least that is what I am finding.
My link of the week:
Grammar Slammer--English Grammar Resource
This site has a bunch of grammar help including links to common mistakes.
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2 comments:
Great post. I am starting to wish that I had chosen to read that book because grammar is one of the most intimidating parts of teaching to me. I like the ideas of teaching contextually--that's what I will do--it makes sense.
Sarah--I feel your grammar and spelling pain. I love the shirt and am somewhat sad that I don't own it. Usually when people ask me grammar, word meanings and spelling questions, I usually just tell them that's more of a linguistic thing, rather than an English thing. People either don't understand what you're talking about, or they feel enlightened by your seemingly brilliant distinction. Either way, they stop looking to you for those answers. Feel free to use that line in the future.
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