Jeff Anderson seems like the grammar guru, with his self-assured method of teaching this topic aside "powerful literature and student writing." I like how he gets to the point faster than Weaver! Right off the bat, he talks about his early days of teaching grammar: he used all the right pedagogical models, his students had high test scores and he was even schooling other teachers! But... were his students learning anything? It shows that good grades aren't always synonymous with taking away meaning. Anderson also makes an important distinction (that students must make) between "the informal communication of their world" and "more formal or standard language expected in academic writing." Like I said in class, the difference between these two is the stylistic requirements for successful communication. Isn't that what it's all about? But I was a little skeptical about his "show not tell" model: students won't just pick up on these grammatical rules! As I read on though, he explained how he broke down the examples with the students, piece by piece. Doing this every day, he advocates, will fuse grammar into the other areas of the English curriculum. I think that is so great, because we want students to see how everything we teach them comes together, and how to apply their knowledge.
In "Image Grammar," Harry Noden breaks text down in a different manner - to its meaning. How is the image, feeling, thought. etc. being conveyed? In good writing, the words capture the reader and place them in the author's reality. The style must be oh-so-original! And better yet, I got to learn some terminology! Now I feel like a true Junior English Major. But I have to ask if these "5 major brushstrokes" are the way to start teaching grammar at any level, or if this is intended for a grade level with some preliminary knowledge? It is so difficult to break the old traditions, because all I can think is that we HAVE to start with noun, verb, adjective and adverb! Is Noden, instead, trying to create a new set of basic elements to grammar?
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