Teaching Grammar and Mechanics in

Writing Workshop

Grammar vs. Mechanics

• Grammar includes principles that guide the structure of sentences and paragraphs.

He likes to eat pizza, but I like spaghetti.

Grammar vs. Mechanics

• Mechanics is how we punctuate to achieve meaning (punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, formatting).

“Let’s eat Grandma.”

“Let’s eat, Grandma.”

Why Teach Grammar and Mechanics?

• Grammar and mechanics shape meaning

• Allow writer’s words to be understood by the reader

“I say we spray!”, shouted Dad taking aim with a squirt.

“Yes! Spray! Spray!” cried out Mom and Emily.

“So spray already!” sputtered Oliver.So they spritzed him and sprayed him. And they gooped, glopped, and moussed him. They even hair-pinned him flat in five places for good measure.

“Aaah,” they said, sighing a confident, job-well-done sigh.Oliver’s bedhead was now one slick gelhead.And then…

Margie Palatini, Bedhead

How do we teach it?• Studies show that teaching

grammar in isolation is not the most effective teaching strategy.

• Teach grammar in context.

• Apply grammar/mechanics to students’ writing.

Teach Grammar and Mechanics

• As principles to be studied, explored, examined, and practiced rather than rules

• Tools to serve a writer in creating text reader will understand

Focus on Craft instead of Correctness

• Students need grammar and mechanics tools so they have choices and can make decisions about crafting their writing

• Make editing and revising activities as regular as breathing.

They can’t even…• What are they using correctly?• What are they attempting to do?• Make a list of grammar and

mechanics errors you notice over and over in students’ writing

Boys- Is the writer able to arrange words, sentences, and paragraphs to convey meaning?

- Does the writer understand the sentence as a unit, even if the punctuation isn’t correct?

-Does the writer understand verb tense?

--What grammatical understandings is this student approximating?

-- Does the writer understand simple conventions such as contractions, indenting, use of punctuation, subject-verb agreement?

Spending hours correcting grammar and punctuation?

• Hours of work…tons of hope… little result

• “Marking every error does as much good as yelling down a hole.” Nancie Atwell

What do I teach?

• Base your teaching on the errors they make. Use Treasures/Trophies as a resource and guide.

• Base your teaching on the strategies they need.

• 20 Most Frequent Errors

20 Most Frequent Errors

-sentence fragments -tense shift

-run-on sentence -its vs. it’s error

-subject-verb agreement -vague pronoun reference

-no comma in a compound sentence -possessive apostrophe error

-pronoun agreement error -wrong/missing prepositions

-no comma after introductory element -wrong word

-lack of commas in a series -unnecessary shift in person

-wrong/missing inflected endings -comma splice

-no comma in nonrestrictive element -dangling or misplaced modifier

-unnecessary comma with restrictive element -wrong tense or verb form

(Connors and Lumsford)

Argument: Correct-Alls vs. Mentor Texts

• DOL helps with editing…sometimes.

• More than one concept• Visually absorbing incorrect

writing

What is a mentor text?

• Any text or piece of text that can teach a writer about an aspect of writer’s craft, from sentence structure to quotation marks to “show don’t tell”.

• Sentence Stalking

We Know We Need to Teach Grammar in

Context…• Context is about meaning.• The key is meaning, not length.• Use mentor sentences to teach

grammar and mechanics principles.

Teaching Grammar• Teach one thing at a time• Apply it to daily writing• Use the shortest mentor text

possible• Give students time to work with

the principle• Scaffold for maximum success• Display visuals for constant

reinforcement

At first they may…

• Copy directly• Overuse concept• Attach meaning to

the wrong things

And you…• Keep teaching, re-

teaching, repeating, mentioning, thinking aloud, noticing, encouraging

• Writing is recursive• Students may need WEEKS

to master one principle

If struggling readers need to see a word forty times to learn it (Beers

2002), then I’ll make a leap and say students need to see grammar and

mechanics rules highlighted in different contexts at least as many

times to own them.- Jeff Anderson

Mini Lessons on Grammar and Mechanics

• Short! 5 - 10 Minutes!• Best taught at the beginning of

Writing Workshop• Display and read mentor text

– Make observations– Play around with punctuation, etc.– Make more observations

• Discuss rule or principle

Moving Past a 4

Various Sentence Structures are Used

• Simple sentences• Complex sentences• Compound sentences• Sentence variety ., !, ?

Assumption

A sentence has a subject and verb. It must make sense and stand on its own.

His mother yelled, “Be careful crossing the street.”The boy raced across the street.

+Sentsentence

Subject(who or what did something)

Verb(what did they do?)

stands on its own

What makes a sentence?

Cows moo.

Cows moo?

Cows moo!

Sentence Fluency begins in theear.

A fragment is missing a subject or verb and/or doesn’t make sense.

A car came zoomingbig and bold

when I was little

Kids need to be able to identify and fix fragments. In order to do this, they must understand the simple sentence.

Everything builds on this understanding – from compound to complex.

The ability to pare down a sentence to its essential core is the first tool students need in order to uncover the craft of all

sentences.

Jeff Anderson, Mechanically Inclined

Sentence Smack Down

When I was five. I had a Chuckie doll. I would scare everybody with Chuckie. Chuckie was about two feet, had orange hair, little red and white shoes, overalls, and plastic knife. To make Chuckie look more like the real thing. From the kitchen drawer. Like a mini-butcher knife. I super glued it into

Chuckie’s hand.

Sound familiar?

Compound SubjectMy mother looked at the map. My sister looked

at the map.

My mother and my sister looked at the map.

Compound PredicateThe leaves fall on the ground. The leaves cover

the ground.

The leaves fall and cover the ground.

This is easy!

Compound Sentences

• Essential tool in a writers toolbox.

• I like teaching reading but I don’t like teaching PE.

What do you notice?

Every day was a happy day, and every night was peaceful.

-E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

Nick Allen had plenty of ideas, and he knew what to do with them. -Andrew Clements, Frindle

I want to buy a new car, so I have to save some money.

I want to take a cruise to Hawaii, but I don’t have enough time.

What do you notice?

Every day was a happy day, and every night was peaceful.

Every night was peaceful, and every day was a happy

day.

Every day was a happy day and every night was peaceful

Every day was a happy day every night was peaceful.

Probing Questions

-What do you notice?-What else?-What’s the punctuation doing?-How does it sound as we read it?-What would change if we removed this or that?-Which do you prefer? Why?

Building the Compound Sentence Pattern

Sentence

for and

*nor

but * or *yetso

sentence, .

I want to go, but I have to clean my room.

I want to go, but I have to clean my room.

Compound Sentences

Notice, Notice, Notice

I hit a double, and then everything changed.

He forgot his lunch money, so he had to eat a peanut butter sandwich.

I thought I lost my homework, but it was under my bed.

Grammar Notebooks

Download Mentor Sentences

ELR Cab Conference

Build Grammar Section of Writer’s Folder

• Explain principle• Students cut and paste principle and

mentor sentence in writer’s folder

Subsequent days…• Students imitate sentence and/or pattern• Leave room below -- encourage students

to find more sentences from their reading to add

Let’s Give it a Try• Invitation to imitate I sat near the back with Stephen, and he

kept pestering me.

Stephen is my best friend, but I’m not sure he would admit it.

There was only about a block to go before our bus stop, but I couldn’t stand Stephen’s whining.

-Andrew Clements, The Report Card

Let’s Give it a Try• Invitation to imitate

I sat near the back with Stephen, and he kept pestering me.

I sat on the floor with Harry, and he kept licking me.

-Andrew Clements, The Report Card

Collecting Sentences

Next Steps• Add compound sentence(s) to daily

writing• Collect sentences• Practice combining I tried calling her as soon as I got

home from school. Her line was busy.

Celebrating Grammar• For homework have children, “Shop the

World” looking for sentences that follow the pattern (or have them write one)

• Share the sentences aloud• Celebrate, reread, compare, contrast,

enjoy, and review the craft of grammar• Display sentences all over the room• Empower kids -- “I can do that, too!”

If struggling readers need to see a word forty times to learn it (Beers

2002), then I’ll make a leap and say students need to see grammar and

mechanics rules highlighted in different contexts at least as many

times to own them.- Jeff Anderson

Principles We’ve Learned• Construction of a Simple Sentence Subject + Verb + stands on its own

• Construction of a Compound SentenceSentence, + Conjunction +

sentence.

Moving on… Complex Sentences

Dependent

Vs.

Independent

If independence means to stand on your own, what does dependence mean?

Independent clause(Simple sentence)

Subject Verb

An Independent Clause

•Is a sentence•Stands on its own•Is perfectly fine as it is

We can write complex sentences.

Not all of our sentences have to be short;

We need long and short sentences.

• Can’t be a whole new sentence• Can’t stand on its own— it must

be…

independent clause (sentence)

must lean on an

Invitation to Notice

They are shouting your name, asking if dinner is ready yet. -Jim Grisley, Winter Birds

Abraham was growing fast, shooting up like a sunflower.-Russell Freedman, Lincoln: A Photobiography

Furlough found his brother in the library, standing on the top of the great open book.

-Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux

Sentence closer, .

Download Mentor Sentences

ELR Cab Conference

Let’s Give it a Try

The dog approached me.

There are three basic complex sentence

patterns

• Add information at the beginning of a sentence

• Add information in the middle of a sentence

• Add information at the end of a sentence

, closing .

Beginning ,

, interrupting ,

Complex SentencesThe three basic patterns…

Where should we add the dependent?

At the Beginning?, Middle?, End?

• Which one sounds the best?• Does it add detail to the sentence?

Flapping its wings, the duck flew.

The duck , flapping its wings, flew.

The duck flew, flapping its wings.

Which do you like better?

You are the artist you get to decide which is best.

Dependents can be many things, but they will always:

> Begin> Interrupt> Close> Add detail to an independent clause