The Writer as an Artist Grammar as Brushstrokes

Karen Greco

Tomball , High School

Tomball, Texas

July 72004

Tomball is a rural community, 25 miles north of Houston.

Hewlett Packard provides their tax base. The district has one high school , two junior highs and six elementary schools.

Classroom Profile

• Straight Seven Schedule

• 55 min. classes

• 25-30 students per class

• I teach four classes of English IV Reg.

two classes of English IV AP.

• Sponsor – The Writers’ Club (45 students)

Supportive Research

• Harry R. Noden

Image Grammar, Using Grammatical Structures to Teach Writing

“Parallel structure has rhythm.”

“The writer is like an artist, and he or she can add details to each sentence in the same way that artists use brush strokes for detail.”

Supportive Research

• Donald M. Murray

Crafting a Life in Essay, Story, Poem

“Writing poetry is profound fun, a serious game played with a light touch. Poetry says more in fewer words. Poetry is the bouillon cube of literature; meaning is compressed in the reader’s mind.”

Supportive Research

• Constance Weaver

Teaching Grammar in Context

“Grammar is best learned developmentally and in context. Students can learn to edit their writing to develop a rich language.”

The Pocketbook: an simple product

• Fold blank paper into halves 3x’s

• Crease the center for a sharp edge.

• Gently tear the center fold.

• Return the book to the “hot dog” fold.

• Push to make “diamond shaped” hole.

• Continue to press into 1/8 page book.

The Writer as a Painter1. Article- a, an, the

2. Noun- stuff

3. Pronoun- represents stuff

4. Adjective- describes stuff

5. Adverb- how stuff moves

6. Preposition- relationship of stuff

7. Participles- “ing” or “ed” verb

8. Absolutes- nouns + participles

Adding Brush StrokesA simple stem sentence : “The dog ran after the cat.”

• Add a participle as a brush stroke. “Barking and snarling, the dog ran after the cat.” • Painting with Absolutes

“Teeth barred, the dog ran after the cat.”• Painting with Appositives

“The dog, a huge St. Bernard, ran after the cat.”• Painting with action verbs

“The dog sprinted suddenly after the cat.”

Additional ProductUse an index card to write a

“prepositional poem.”

Each line should a with a prepositional phrase, then add

additional brushstrokes to enrich the language.

In the Middle

On a dark corner,

beneath the broken street light,

within my fragile heart, I felt a crack begin.

After you left me, for another woman,

In my silence and pain, I began to wonder How can I start again?

Celebrate variety!