Yes, Good Grammar Is Important

We make lots of jokes about the importance of good grammar. Some of us are grammar Nazis who lurk on Facebook and other online forums ready to correct the "great unwashed masses" when they forget an apostrophe or misuse to, too, or two. Others are the type telling these seemingly obsessive protectors of the English language to "lighten up" because it's "just the internet after all" and "no one can expect everyone to be perfect all the time."  Whether you fall into one of these groups or somewhere in between, the simple truth is good grammar is important.

If you ask the average person on the street whether or not using good grammar is important, you may be surprised at the variety of responses you will receive. It seems the debate over the significance of prescriptive English grammar is alive, and sometimes slightly aggressive, in the court of public opinion. My personal belief is that the study and mastery of proper English grammar is not only necessary, but also imperative. Our students’ overall success beyond the academic world is dependent upon their ability to write and speak clearly and professionally – an impossible task without at least some degree of working knowledge involving grammar. My ideology regarding English grammar has developed not simply because I am a teacher of English, but also due to the fact that I have spent so much of my life performing a variety of jobs in the private sector including many years spent as a hiring manager for several different businesses.

In this digital age of texts, tweets, instant messages, and emails, some will argue the use of prescriptive grammar has become out-dated or even archaic; however, when it comes to the professional world nothing could be farther from the truth. Kyle Weins, CEO of iFixit and Dozuki, administers grammar tests to every applicant for every position in his companies. Weins’ justification for using this tool across the board is “grammar signifies more than just a person’s ability to remember high school English. I’ve found that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing — like stocking shelves or labeling parts” (2012). While Weins’ tactics may be slightly more militant than those employed by other companies, the simple fact is more companies today are including grammar and writing tasks in their application processes. These businesses are also turning more potential employees away due to their inability to successfully complete these activities.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter how intelligent, capable, or qualified applicants may be, if they are incapable of presenting themselves competently through their speech and writing. For better or worse, using poor grammar portrays a person as careless, lazy, or at worst ignorant. None of these qualities are highly sought after by any business owner. In this age of electronic applications, contact with potential employers can be limited to written artifacts like cover letters, resumes, and personal websites or social media profiles. Our written words represent our first, and sometimes only, impression. The ability to use proper grammar signifies not only credibility and professionalism, but also commands a degree of immediate respect from those reading and reviewing the materials presented. This in itself is more than enough reason to ensure our students learn and master grammar.

 Now that I've gotten that out of my system, I will leave you with a bit of fun. Weird Al's take on grammar is entertaining and timely - as we ready ourselves to return to school and decide exactly where grammar fits in our classrooms no matter what subjects or grade levels we teach.

Activity: Using Bloom's to Explore Visual and Traditional News Sources

Recently, I was given the task of creating an activity using Bloom's Taxonomy to guide students through the critical examination of multi-platform news sources. In considering this production, I couldn't help thinking of the old adage from Poor Richard himself:: "Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see." I believe nothing, including the news, should be taken at face value. In my opinion, this is also key to the successful media education of students.

I designed this activity with the idea of cross-curricular integration in mind. While it can be used in the English

classroom, it can also be easily adapted for use with Social Studies/History, Science, FACS, Tech Ed, Media Literacy, Speech, Drama, ETC simply by choosing articles applicable to each particular class.

I thought I would share the results in the hope that other would find this type of activity helpful.

Remember –

1. What was the lead story (or front page story)?

OR

2. What story interested you the most?

Understand –

3. Summarize the details of this story. Be sure to include the five W’s of reporting – who, what, when, where, and why.

4. Explain why this news story interested you. (Be sure to consider the topic, the way the story was presented, any personal connection you had to the story, and past interest in other stories like this one.)

Apply –

5. Review the five W’s summarized above. Are there any questions unanswered or not completely or clearly answered? Why do you think this happened? Are there any questions you think should be explained further? Why? (What difference would a better explanation make to the story? Would it make a difference in your opinion of the story?)

Analyze –

6. Examine the story for source information. Did the story give information about the source? Who supplied the information or where was the information obtained? When were the facts of the story revealed? Why was the story released at this time? Does anyone benefit from this story being told at this time?

7. Find another source for the story (i.e. another station, another newspaper, a reliable online source). Are there major differences between the two reports? Using the five W’s, what differences can you identify between the two sources?

Evaluate –

8. Between the two sources, which story do you find to be more believable? Why? (Remember to consider where the story is coming from, who is telling the story, eyewitness reports, and differences in the presentation of the information.)

9. Using the original source, is there evidence of bias present? (Were you given all sides of the story? Is any part of the story speculation? Does anyone benefit either because this story is being told or because of the way this story is being told? Were different viewpoints used in reporting this story?)

Create –

10. Using the information from the previous questions create an alternate version of the story from a different perspective/point of view.

Are We Really Still Assigning Book Reports? 20 Ways to Encourage Students to Interact with Texts

Traditional book reports should be a thing of the past. I mean, do you really want to read 30-125 recaps of the same book? (YAWN!) Well, guess what, your students don't want to write them either. They are boring and tedious. And most importantly, they really don't measure the comprehension of a text or confirm that they have even read the text assigned. All these reports prove is that your students are capable of using SparkNotes or Wikipedia with a certain amount of expertise.

Don't just have your students report on what they are reading. Encourage them to interact with it instead.

Technology-Enhanced Book Interactions

With all the free technology available today, why not give students some interesting choices to use in their textual interpretation?

1. Create a book trailer - Just like a movie trailer, a book trailer tells the story in a way that touches on the highlights, but sells the audience on wanting to experience it. There are a number of great resources students can use, including Animoto for Education, PhotoPeach, and Go!Animate. Richard Byrne over at Free Technology for Teachers offer a Free Guide to Making Videos on the Web, in case you need some assistance. And if your looking for a professional example, here is the book trailer for Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

2. Create a podcast - This could take the form of a book review or a scripted interview with either the author of the book or one of the reader's favorite characters. Students could choose to use audio only or take it a step further through the use of video, props, and costumes. PodBean offers free podcast hosting. Free blogging sites like Blogger and WordPress also support podcasting. Additionally, I know a number of educators who use class YouTube channels to support videos created in their classrooms (of course, this would depend upon your school's specific regulations regarding YouTube.)

3. Create an interactive 3-D pop-up book - ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that lets anyone easily create his or her own 3D pop-up books. ZooBurst books “live” online and can be experienced on your desktop or laptop computer, or on your iPad via the free ZooBurst mobile app. Authors can arrange characters and props within a 3D world that can be customized using uploaded artwork or items found in a built-in database of over 10,000 free images and materials. This is a very cool FREE program!

4. Create a multi-media collage - Glogster is a FREE service that allows users to create one-page media-mash-ups using images, audio, video, text, and more. Glogster EDU is the same platform designed specifically for use in the classroom with stricter privacy measures in place - of course, that also makes it a pay site (Single Teacher License: up to 50 accounts for $29.95/year, up to 200 accounts for $99/year or $11.95/month. Multi-license for individual schools or entire districts: up to 2500 accounts for $2/account/year, from 2500 accounts for $1/account/year). View an example for Tolkien's The Hobbit here or one detailing the Freedom Riders, here.

5. Create an interactive timeline - Capzles is a FREE resource to create interactive timelines using images, video, audio, and text. Just to give you some ideas, view an example covering the historical timeline for To Kill A Mockingbird here or one detailing the Women of WWII, here. I think this tool could be used to make a very interesting small group or whole class project.

6. Create an animated or stop-motion video - Stop Motion Animator and Helium Frog are both FREE resources for creating stop-motion projects. Kevin Hodgson has an absolutely fantastic site, Making Stopmotion Movies, that will walk you through the entire process!

7. Create literature maps - Google Lit Trips founded by Jerome Burg and Terence Cavenaugh utilizes Google Earth to more deeply explore some of the greatest and most important literary road trips ever written. Lit trips explored in the 9-12 level include: the expedition taken by Christopher Johnson McCandless in Jon Krakaurer's Into the Wild; the Joad family's emotional relocation in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath; and Elie Wiesel's horrific journey through the Nazi concentration camps of WWII brought to light in his book Night. Using the site requires the Google Earth application, QuickTime player, an internet browser (Firefox, Safari, or at least Internet Explorer 7), and internet access. SMART board technology or an LCD projector are recommended. Additionally, the site features many student-generated lit trips and tutorials on using Google Earth to create virtual tours which could be adapted to class or group projects at any grade level.

8. Create a comic strip - Students can either choose to re-create a specific scene from the text or do a synopsis of the story as a whole. In either case, students should include important lines, quotes, and thoughts from the text. ReadWriteThink offers a cool interactive tool in their Comic Creator. Additionally, Pixton and Strip Generator use a basic drag-and-drop interface that is easy to use and requires no artistic ability whatsoever. (*This activity can also be done sans technology. See #10 below.)

 

Creative and Critical Thinking Book Interactions (No Tech Necessary)

What if your students just don't have enough access to technology to make assignments like these feasible? (It does happen in some communities, even in this day and age.) Well, there are still a multitude of ideas out there for helping your kids stretch their creative muscles and engage their critical thinking skills that involve no technology at all. (Of course, any of these ideas could also be combined with the tech-enhanced interactions above.)

1. What if? - Have students identify a turning point in the book's plot, then switch it up. What would have happened if the series of events didn't happen that way? What if Romeo had received the letter? What if Simon had not been killed before he could deliver his message about The Beast? ReadWriteThink offers an excellent lesson plan, Happily Ever After?, that is designed to be used with tragedies and offers both resources and student presentation ideas.

2. Create a character - A great exercise in creativity, characterization, setting, and voice. Students create a character that would fit into the world of their novel. They write up a character sketch and then construct a scene in which their new character interacts with one or more of the main characters of the story. The character and the interaction must remain true to the setting and voice of the original author. (I used this exercise with great success with a freshmen lit class working on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.)

3. Change the setting - Have students take a favorite scene or chapter from the text and re-write it in a different setting. How would Macbeth look and sound in a modern, urban setting? What about Great Expectations in the American Old West?

4. Create a new book cover or "movie" poster - Go 'old school' with the images, having students either draw them or use images from magazines, newspapers, etc. Students also choose important quotes, create taglines, and provide a brief synopsis to "sell" the story to the potential audience.

5. Write a character resume - Students choose a character, consider what type of job the character would be seeking, and write a resume for that job. This exercise gives students the opportunity to think about the text in a different way and also exposes them to an authentic life skill (resume writing). It also allows students the flexibility of creativity. Resumes may be funny or serious as long as it reflects the true nature of the character. Some examples could be: Count Dracula applying for a position as a phlebotomist or Doctor Frankenstein searching for a job as a Principal Investigator in the field of biomedical research.

6. Create a word collage (AKA an 'old school' word cloud) - Have students write the title of the book in the center of a sheet of paper, then search through magazines and newspapers to find words, phrases, and sentences that either represent the book or explain something about the book. Students should concentrate on theme, setting, plot, and characters during this exercise. Requirements: a minimum of 50 words, phrases, and sentences, paper should be fully covered and provide the viewer with a strong visual impact that reveals a great deal about the story.

7. Create a novel soundtrack - Students will choose a minimum of 10 songs that represent the characters, setting, themes, motifs, plotline, etc. of the novel being studied. Liner notes should be completed for each song detailing the song information (title, artist, album, year of release, etc.), who or what the song represents, an explanation of why the song was chosen and how it is representative of an element of the story. (*This exercise could also be modified to creating a soundtrack for the students' choice of a single character in the narrative.)

8. Create a childhood - If you are studying a text with adult characters, have students choose a character and think about what they would have been like as a child. Students will tell the story of the character's childhood concentrating on aspects or interactions that could explain why the character's words and actions in the novel are what they are.

9. Create a character scrapbook -  Students will consider the purpose of scrapbooking and what kinds of mementos they would place in their own scrapbooks. After choosing a character from the text, students will use magazines, newspapers, and their own imaginations to cut out and/or draw mementos that would be important to the character.

10. Create a comic strip - For the artistic students in your group, have them choose to re-create a scene in the book or a synopsis of the story as a whole using the popular graphic novel-style and using text bubbles to insert important lines, quotes, and thoughts from the text. ( *For a tech-enhanced version, see above.)

11. Be a costume designer/set designer - Have students consider what it would be like to stage a production of the story. Using magazines, newspapers, advertisements, etc., students create fashion boards to represent how they would dress the main characters and/or set boards to detail how they would set the stage including backdrops, lighting, props, etc. Write-ups should include why these visual choices were made and how they relate to the text using concrete examples.

12. Create a character diary - Students choose a character from the book and compose a diary or journal with a set number of entries discussing important events in the story from the character's point of view.

So, there you have it. Twenty ideas for moving beyond the standard 'ho-hum' book assignments and engaging your students' creative and critical minds in book interactions. Allow your students the chance to stretch their mental muscles. The results will most definitely be surprising, and quite often wonderful!

To Know or Not to Know, That is the Question

Entering the world of education with a background of working with kids in the private sector my whole life, I have received many fantastic nuggets of wisdom about teaching from veterans in the field. I have found these tips on organization, ideas about classroom management, and tricks to ensure sanity invaluable. However, there is one piece of advice I actually received from several veterans that I have never been able to wrap my mind around – “don’t get too involved with the students; it makes it easier to discipline them.” What? What exactly does that mean?

Now, I suppose this could be a way to keep the line between teacher and student unmistakably defined. When I pushed my helpful advisors for a more finite explanation, I never received the clarity I sought. This statement just seems entirely too general in my eyes. I crave specificity.

Don’t gossip with your students – of course not, this is both unprofessional and juvenile. Don’t hang out with your students casually – yeah, I can understand that, after all we are not BFFs. Don’t go out and party with your students – ok, now I’m just being facetious, but I have heard of it happening, so I’ll throw it in here.

These statements are precise and could be helpful to people who have either never been around kids or who are young and lack life experience or who just have no common sense. But “don’t get too involved” – I didn’t understand it then, and I don’t understand it now.

When I decided to go into education, my main reason was because I wanted to be involved in the lives of children. I mean, what better way to help kids learn, grow, and succeed than teaching, right? And it seems to me that the better you know the kids, the better you can anticipate their needs, differentiate to overcome their personal issues, and catch potential behavior problems before discipline or intervention becomes necessary.

TMI – How much is too much?

As I have said before, I am new to the world of teaching. I have however worked with kids in the private sector my whole life. For my “work kids” and those I have tutored over the years, I have provided help with homework and assistance with college entrance exams. I have been there to help my kids and their families fill out FAFSA and college applications. I have given assistance with job applications and resumes.

I have acted as a confidant and offered advice on relationships, parents, school, jobs, drugs, alcohol, and even a couple of unplanned pregnancies. I have always refused to be caught up in their adolescent dramas and have never failed to quite bluntly call them out on drama for its own sake. I always approached them as the young adults they were and treated them with honesty and respect. They never failed to reciprocate.

I am still in touch with many of these kids and their families. And I still refer to them as kids, even though the oldest among them have recently said good-bye to their twenties and now have kids of their own. They are spread far and wide – going to school, working, and living lives of their own. The thing they have in common is this – when they come home, they look me up. They shoot me an email when they can and keep me apprised of the big events in their lives – graduations, marriages, births, new jobs, promotions. Their parents keep me informed of their progress in school and in life whenever I run into them at the grocery store. I have to say that the fact these kids still allow me to be a part of their lives long after I’ve outgrown my ‘usefulness’ in their day-to-day means the world to me.

Did I become too involved with these kids? Do I know too much about the parts of their lives that were not directly related to my professional association with them as a tutor or boss? I’m sure that everyone has an opinion on how much information is too much, but I believe the more important questions are these. Did I help these kids learn, grow, and succeed? Yes, I believe I did. Did I make lasting connections with these kids? Definitely.

So, who gets to decide how much is too much? Aside from gross misconduct or criminal behavior, I can say that I firmly believe the more information you know about the kids you work with, the better you can meet their needs.

In the Classroom

Being present enough to pay attention to what my students are talking about among themselves and taking the time to listen to them when they need someone to talk to has allowed me not only to understand what is happening in their day-to-day, but also to use that information to assist them in improving their performance and experience in my room.

Has this resulted in some TMI overload situations at times? Yes, of course it has, but without this involvement I would have never known:

·         That freshmen girl in your class who has suddenly developed a “diva from hell” attitude has just gotten her first ever boyfriend and is feeling extremely self-conscious and nervous about exactly what that means.

·         That student who has been skipping class and refusing to turn in work has parents who have recently split up; the mother left the state, and the father is out of the country on business.

·         That sophomore who went from falling asleep in class every day to bouncing off the walls and picking fights with everyone sitting around her has made the decision that she is old enough to determine whether or not she needs to take her ADHD medication, and she chose no.

·         That student who seems to have problems with social interactions and quickly becomes combative with his peers just had his little brother and sister taken out of the home by the state which left him all by himself because he has aged-out of the system. He hasn’t seen them in over two months.

·         That student everyone calls lazy is working two jobs to help his family keep a roof over their heads and food on their table.

Now, I’m interested to know exactly how not getting involved with my students serves their best interests or my own? Do these situations influence the way I deal with each of these students? Yes, it does. It doesn’t change my expectations for these kids. I expect the same from them as I do all my students. What it does change is my approach. And isn’t that what individualized education is at its core? Adapting instruction to meet the needs of all students?

If you are a veteran teacher, I have a sincere question for you. Have you ever given this type of advice to a new teacher? What exactly did you mean by it?