I DON’T NEED TO NO KNOW GRAMMAROh, but you do…

Why? We must develop a common lingo

If your students know and understand the lingo, you can tell them to use who for subjects and predicate nominatives and whom for direct objects, indirect objects, and objects of prepositions.

If they don’t know grammar, or have a common lingo, they’ll look at you like your nuts.

It is our responsibility to make sure our students know how to write and speak properly!

What We Know What we have done in the past isn’t

working: Students do not really understand it Students do not try to understand it

because they know it will all go away once the unit test is over

Student writing Data- CSAP and ACT/SAT are focusing more

on grammar because colleges and businesses are complaining about lacking skills

Discoveries about Grammar Instruction

Traditional methods of teaching grammar do not work- learn it and forget it; lack of transfer

Grammar overkill is a bad idea, but treating grammar like a four-letter word is a worse idea

You can’t apply what you don’t understand- we must explicitly teach the skills

DOLs do not provide the fundamental grammar skills students need to know

“Fun” programs are not any more effective than traditional drill and kill

Daily Grammar Practice (DGP)

One sentence per week Different tasks each day

Monday- parts of speech Tuesday- sentence parts and phrases Wednesday- identified clauses, sentence

type, and sentence purpose Thursday- punctuation, capitalization Friday- diagramming (for us it will be a quiz)

Why the Process Works Less is more. They really take these sentences apart and

understand every aspect of them. Thinking is required! Concepts are revisited on a daily basis so that they aren’t

forgotten Students never work with isolated skills. The organization

of DGP allows students to see how all concepts connect The sentences they’re working with aren’t just random

sentences. They’re intentionally loaded with specific concepts at specific times. They start simple and get increasingly difficult. Concepts that students should have mastered at their grade level appear in early sentences and appear often. More difficult concepts appear later.

How to Get Started Give students a pre-assessment (it’s provided in

your book) Teach students how to organize their information Teach mini-lessons for each day (I do) before

releasing students to complete their warm-up Review the correct answers each day and allow

time for students to reflect on what they understand and what they need to improve on each day

Create small groups based on student reflections as you see need to do so

DGP Routine Build expectations in your classroom

about what DGP time looks like in your classroom

Make sure it is structured to be your warm-up

Do not do an extensive review at the beginning of implementation. Students will learn as they go and will have “help pages” to refer to in addition to your daily “I do” instruction around the learning

Have students reflect on their strengths and weaknesses in their notebooks each day

My Routine Students will be expected to have their DGP

warm-up notebook out and on their desk when the bell rings. Students who do not have their notebooks out will be docked points for the day.

I will point out (have listed on the board) the specific notes students will need to refer to in order to complete their exercise for the day

Students will independently complete the daily exercise

My Routine I will think aloud/write the correct way to

complete the exercise Students will be expected to write the

correct example below their own practice

Students will be expected to write 2-3 sentences explaining/reflecting on what they do/don’t understand

Hint At the top of each teach page for each

week there are teaching points for the week: Example- (week one) review predicate

nominatives, interrogative nominatives, and nouns of direct address. Discuss the difference between adverbial and adjectival prepositional phrases. Talk about the difference between your and you’re.

Introducing it to Students Require all students to have a DGP

notebook In the beginning of the notebook, have

students staple in the daily notes Provide students with a model of how to

set up their page (see handout) Provide students with a copy of the

marking guide to place in their notebooks as well

Planning Create a calendar for implementing DGP Design how it will look in your classroom Begin writing formative/summative

assessments for DGP Write down possible concerns about

implementing DGP in the parking lot