Some teachers love grammar and some hate it, but nearly all
struggle to find ways of making the mechanics of English meaningful
to kids. As a middle school teacher, Jeff Anderson also discovered
that his students were not grasping the basics, and that it was
preventing them from reaching their potential as writers. Jeff
readily admits, "I am not a grammarian, nor am I punctilious about
anything," so he began researching and testing the ideas of scores
of grammar experts in his classroom, gradually finding successful
ways of integrating grammar instruction into writer's workshop.
"Mechanically Inclined" is the culmination of years of
experimentation that merges the best of writer's workshop elements
with relevant theory about how and why skills should be taught. It
connects theory about using grammar in context with practical
instructional strategies, explains why kids often don't understand
or apply grammar and mechanics correctly, focuses on attending to
the "high payoff," or most common errors in student writing, and
shows how to carefully construct a workshop environment that can
best support grammar and mechanics concepts. Jeff emphasizes four
key elements in his teaching: short daily instruction in grammar
and mechanics within writer's workshop;using high-quality mentor
texts to teach grammar and mechanics in context;visual scaffolds,
including wall charts, and visual cues that can be pasted into
writer's notebooks;regular, short routines, like "express-lane
edits," that help students spot and correct errors
automatically.
Comprising an overview of the research-based context for grammar
instruction, a series of over thirty detailed lessons, and an
appendix of helpful forms and instructional tools, "Mechanically
Inclined" is a boon to teachers regardless of their level of
grammar-phobia. It shifts the negative, rule-plagued emphasis of
much grammar instruction into one which celebrates the power and
beauty these tools have in shaping all forms of writing.
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