Teaching Grammar Through Writing

Description

·         Stresses the 16 elements of written language–seven parts of speech, six phrases, and three clauses–and shows teachers how to teach students to identify and use these elements effectively in their writing.

 

·         Focuses on one grammatical element at a time to help teachers build on students’ prior knowledge.

 

·         Progresses from words to phrases to clauses, then to editing and process writing.

 

·         Presents definitions and examples of each grammatical element and follows those with exercises and activities for student use.

 

·         Addresses such topics as sentence building, combining, imitation, writer’s voice, word play, poetry, editing, and guided or process writing.

 

·         Enables students to develop the skills necessary to write effectively by teaching grammar within the context of writing.

 

·         Reviews the benefits of teaching grammar through writing: to meet national standards; to provide student writers with useful tools; to enable students to develop a sense of voice; to show students that the use of grammar is part of a process, not an end in itself; to help students become critical thinkers; to enable students to develop confidence as writers; and to help English language learners develop a working knowledge of the conventions of English.

 

·         Introduces the ideas that promote grammatical awareness: read aloud, mini-lessons, Writer’s notebook, scaffolding, and conferencing.

 

·         Uses a flexible approach that lets teachers use the material as it is arranged, or as the teacher specifically needs to use it. The activities are easily tailored to meet students’ needs.

 

·         Provides ideas for writing in the content areas and how to write in response to a prompt.

 

·         Includes reproducible masters.

This is a book about beginning to teach grammar–through writing! In it, author Keith Polette stresses the important role of the 16 elements of written language–seven parts of speech, six phrases, and three clauses–and shows teachers how to teach students to identify and use these elements effectively in their writing. The book focuses on one grammatical element at a time to help teachers build on students’ prior knowledge and progresses from words to phrases to clauses, then to editing and process writing in a flexible approach that teachers can use as presented, or easily adapt to their own particular classroom needs.

 

While the overall structure of the highly successful first edition has been maintained, this edition is streamlined to become even more accessible than the first edition through the author’s careful deletion of certain information and his addition of information that strengthens each chapter.

 

·         New writing activities using nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, gerunds, participial phrases, appositive phrases, adjective clauses, adverb clauses, how to begin sentences, a cause and effect poem, and a new sentence combining activity using absolute phrases have been included.

 

·         Additional information is included on absolute phrases, gerund phrases, infinitive phases, and participial phrases.

Dr. Keith Polette is a Professor of English at the University of Texas at El Paso. Dr. Polette received the UTEP College of Liberal Arts Award for Excellence in Teaching and Research, the UT System Chancellor’s Council Award for Excellence in Teaching, and was recognized by the Texas State Reading Association as an Outstanding Texas Author. Prior to moving to El Paso in 1995, Dr. Polette was a Mentor Teacher and an English/Language Arts teacher for both remedial and gifted students in St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Polette has published over thirty articles in professional journals, eight books on teaching, and two books for children. His most recent publications are Read and Write It Out Loud: Guided Oral Literacy Strategies, Isabel and the Hungry Coyote, Paco and the Giant Chile Plant, and Moon Over The Mountain (Raven Tree Press). For the past twenty years, Dr. Polette has given keynote addresses and been a featured speaker at national, regional, and state literacy conferences, and at schools throughout the United States and Canada.

 

·         NEW! This streamlined edition is even more accessible than the first through the author’s careful deletion of certain information and his addition of information that strengthens each chapter.

 

·         New writing activities using the following have been added: nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, gerunds, participial phrases, appositive phrases, adjective clauses, adverb clauses, how to begin sentences, a cause and effect poem, and a new sentence combining activity using absolute phrases.

 

·         Additional information is included on: absolute phrases, gerund phrases, infinitive phrases, participial phrases.

 

·         The overall structure of the previous edition remains unchanged, presenting a very useable scope and sequence from words to phrases to clauses, and then to editing and process writing. Each chapter also retains its original structure; the chapters that focus on words, phrases, and clauses each begin the same way: with groups of grammatical elements that invite students to identify them, and, based on their observations, then define them.  Definitions and examples of each grammatical element are then presented, and following those are exercises and activities for student usage.

 

Teaching Grammar through Writing is the ideal springboard to teaching grammar to students in grades four through twelve. In a flexible, adaptable approach filled with ready to use activities, author Keith Polette shows teachers how to teach students to learn to recognize, and then consciously use in their writing, 16 essential grammatical elements.

 

Rather than overwhelming students with too many structures, constructions, and rules, the book’s goal is simplification, showing teachers what the essential elements of grammar are that students need to learn to use to become better writers.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1      

Word Works I: Nouns

Word Works II: Verbs

Word Works III: Pronouns

Word Works IV: Adjectives

Word Works V: Adverbs

Word Works VI: Prepositions

Word Works VII: Conjunctions

Chapter 2      

Sentence Works I: Absolute Phrases

Sentence Works II: Gerund Phrases

Sentence Works III: Infinitive Phrases

Sentence Works IV: Prepositional Phrases

Sentence Works V: Participial Phrases

Sentence Works VI: Appositive Phrases

Sentence Works VII: Adjective Clauses

Sentence Works VIII: Adverbial Clauses

Sentence Works IX: Noun Clauses

Sentence Expanding

Sentence Combining

Sentence Matching

Sentence Sense

Chapter 3      

Punctuation Points

The Comma

The Apostrophe

The Colon

The Exclamation Point

Quotation Marks

The Semicolon

Special Focus: The Comma Splice

The Hyphen

The Dash

What Is a Sentence?

Sentence Subjects

Sentence Predicates

Compound Subjects and Predicates

Direct Object

Indirect Object

Predicate Noun

Predicate Adjective

Parallel Structure in Sentences

Sentence Structures

Ten Sentence Patterns to Imitate

Sixteen Kinds of Sentences: Different Constructions for Different Purposes

Figurative Language

A Note on Voice

 

Chapter 4      

Passages to Edit

Reading Closely and Carefully to Find and Fix Errors

Chapter 5      

Poetry Patterns

Build-a-Name Poetry

Diamante

Wishing upon a Poem

Bio-Poem

Night Poem

Alliterative Poem

Alliterative Character Poem

Parts of Speech Poem

Adverb Poem

Another Parts of Speech Poem

Prepositional Phrase Poem

Participial Phrase Poem

Sentence Pattern Poems

Syllable Poems

Syllable Question Poem

Text Message Poem

Chapter 6      

Acts of Writing: Putting It All Together with Process Writing

Five Recursive Steps in the Writing Process

Activities and Ideas to Support Poetry Writing

Writing Extensions

Appendix A   

Ideas for Writing in the Content Areas

Writing about a Nonfiction Topic Using an Alliterative Pattern

Writing about Frogs (or a person, animal, object, or place): Alternative Acrostic Poems

Writing about Two Animals with a Contrast Pattern

Writing about People, Things, or Animals: So You Want to Be

The Five Good Things Pattern

Writing about a Nonfiction Topic Using an Informational Paragraph

The Contrast Paragraph

Writing a Character Analysis/Personality Trait Paragraph

Multi-Modal Character/Person Analysis Paragraph

Biographical Writing: Who Is the Real Walter Frederick Morrison?

Appendix B   

Writing in Response to a Prompt: What Is a Hero?

Appendix C   

Reproducible Masters

Works Cited 

The ideal springboard to teaching grammar, this book is designed to help teachers of grades four through twelve teach students to learn to recognize, and then consciously use in their writing, 16 essential grammatical elements: seven parts of speech, six phrases, and three clauses. The flexible approach lets teachers tailor lessons based on their students’ particular needs.

 

 

In this streamlined version of the first edition, author Keith Polette stresses the importance of teaching students “less” so that they learn “more.” Rather than overwhelming students with too many structures, constructions, and rules, the book’s goal is simplification: What are the essential elements of grammar that students need to learn to use to become better writers?

 

English written language is composed of 16 elements–the foundational pieces of grammar–that students need to learn to use consciously so they can make writing work effectively for them. Teaching Grammar through Writing focuses on these 16 elements–seven parts of speech, six phrases, and three clauses–and shows teachers how to begin by helping students identify and use these elements in both the prewriting and revision stages of the writing process.

 

The book begins with ideas about and writing activities for parts of speech, phrases, and clauses, followed by chapters on punctuation, kinds of sentences, and voice. The end of the book features 16 process-writing activities that invite students to use all they have learned about grammar in their own writing.

Additional information

Dimensions	0.60 × 8.40 × 10.80 in
Imprint	Pearson
Format	gen
ISBN-13	09780132565998
ISBN-10	0132565994
Author	Keith Polette
BISAC	LAN020000
Subjects	higher education, LAN020000, Vocational / Professional Studies, Teacher Education, Literacy TED, Writing Methods (K-8)