This blog is especially important for the future English teachers among you!The reading summary is done by:ENGL300-1: Emilie Russell for 5 points extra credit
ENGL300-2: Abigail Fritschle
Summaries are due on: Wednesday, Sept. 21st, 2011
The responses by the whole class are due by class time on: Friday, Sept. 23rd, 2011
The text you need to read is here._________________________________________________________________by Emilie Russell:
In the article “Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction” by Joan Berger, Joan explains how she wants her students to write better. She wants every minute of class time to be meaningful and for her lessons to impact the students not only in the classroom, but out of it as well. After realizing that her lessons were not sticking with the students, she created a plan.
Joan created a systematic approach to teaching conventions of punctuation and techniques of sentence combining. She started this two year program specifically for 7th and 8th graders including a pre-test and post-test. She used this program in conjunction with reading and writing programs. She used it to increase variety in student’s sentence and structure and punctuation. This plan integrated grammar instruction month by month. She started with compound sentences then moved to adverb clauses, appositives, adjective clauses, and then ended with participle phrases. While teaching these lessons month by month, she would review the previous lessons in between.
In this article, Joan explains how she heightened student’s familiarity with sentence structure and punctuation by the use of mini-lessons, paragraphs in need of corrections, and worksheets. She repeated these lessons in order to make it easy for students to recognize adverbs clauses in sentences. Joan explains that this program is different from traditional programs because other programs teach punctuation separately from writing. Joan’s program is different because it requires students to incorporate their new learned information consciously into their written work. According to this article, Joan encourages students to peer edit each other’s work and to always read each other’s work twice. She encourages them to evaluate organization, clarity, elaboration, word choice, and correctness in punctuation and spelling.
The results from this program were outstanding. The results showed improvement in students reading and writing and helped students transfer their new learned knowledge directly into their writing. This article was informative and helped me realize how important correctly teaching student’s grammar instruction is.
Joan Berger’s article, “A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction” talks about her goals for getting her middle school students to write better. Rather than just writing to write, Berger wanted her students to write something meaningful and with a passion. Over the course of her teaching years, she noticed that students were not retaining grammar knowledge from previous years. Therefore, she devised a plan for improvement. She and her colleagues decided to test students throughout their 7th and 8th grade years. The tests were administered every few months and covered items like compound sentences, appositives, adjective clauses, and participle phrases.
The method Berger used to teach these subjects was simple, she retaught until the students grasped the concepts. Her techniques included worksheets, demonstrations, and letting the students conduct lessons. Typically, punctuation is taught separately from writing. However, Berger thought it made more sense to teach it all at once so the students could understand it as a whole. Overall, Berger’s method was a success because the students were scoring higher in both reading and writing. They were able to not only write their own work, but peer edit and create very good narratives as a result.
As a future English teacher, I found this article to be very informative. Re-teaching is something that I think is very beneficial to the students because the information stays fresh in their heads. Also, I think Berger was smart in teaching all the subjects as once so the information makes more sense.
By: Abby Fritschle
I am all for the author’s idea in this article. I think it is good to start teaching children early these techniques and rules. By teaching them month by month and not overwhelming the students all at once, it helped them gradually get better at writing while learning basics. I also like how she focused on sentence structure and punctuation; two very important aspects in writing. I was not surprised to read that all the students improved in reading and writing. I feel like every grade school should teach students this way to help better their writing.
ReplyDeleteGrammar is something that native speakers of any language do a great job of faking. The problem is that native speakers don't know the parts of speech they are using or why those parts work together. Consequently, grammar is very often misused. This article is very impressive; the system for teaching grammar that Berger has created seems very effective. I like the outline of the two years of instruction that is included in this article. I think Berger's system is so effective because it takes students through the very basic (and necessary) parts of grammar at a slow pace. The students are retaught the parts of grammar and are given a lot of time for review, which should make success very probable. I like Berger's approach of integrating grammar into instruction because it is realistic (in the real world, people are immersed in the entirety of a language and not merely part of it).
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with the author of this article. I hardly remember learning grammar skills when I was younger, and I wish my teachers would have started teaching this when I was younger. I think by gradually teaching children grammar rules and skills, writing styles for the coming generations will improve. I was lucky enough to have amazing English teachers in High School, but many kids are not that blessed.
ReplyDeleteI think the author's style of teaching and implementing grammar is a wonderful approach compared to how it is typically taught in grade schools. My using small lessons and teaching them slowly and until the students understand it is creating a lasting impression on the students. If they know each topic as they learn it they are able to build on top of each of those lessons instead of falling behind like students tend to do when they are not taught this way. I think more schools should start using this author's way of teaching. I believe it would be quite helpful for those schools that are struggling to meet their standards.
ReplyDeleteJoan Berger has created a detailed and in-depth system for teaching grammar. Her seventh and eighth grade students go through a two year program to become better writers. Berger teaches a mini lesson and then for one month students must do writing and grammar exercises that focus on the lesson. This way they are eased into the lesson and have enough time for it to become second nature. I really think the way Berger pushes her student's passion and creativity in their writing is imperative. Students are ensured to grasp the concept and know it well because they spend a good chunk of time working on a lesson. I think it is important for students to have these ideas engraved in their minds. More teachers should adapt her ideas and concepts on teaching grammar and writing.
ReplyDeleteRe-teaching is a great idea considering it normally takes all of us a couple of tries before we actually grasp a concept. Repition is key for retaining information so of course students will score higher on tests. Also, children do not have to feel like they are being rushed to learn a certain topic since a lot of kids learn at different rates. This article is very beneficial and more teachers should really consider the ideas that Joan had implimented.
ReplyDeleteThis article demonstrates just how important correct English is to this teacher. The teacher is completely focused on his students being able to write better. That is the main focus throughout the school year. By the usage of minilessons among other techniques, it seems as if the teacher in fact does teach the students well. It reminds me of our classroom environment (only ours goes much faster). I believe minilessons really do help students learn how to understand correct English better.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was very interesting. I like Berger's way of integrating grammar naturally to make it more realistic. Her system works because of the slow pace at which students learn the fundamentals of grammar. Her program teaches students the very basics of grammar. I was also impressed with the fact that she taught grammar and punctuation simultaneously. With this approach to teaching, academically the class has no where to go but up. Berger’s program has definitely set grammar students on the path to success.
ReplyDeleteThe article, "Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction," has a very good point about how to teach English to younger students. Joan Berger, the author, explains her use getting her students to learn how to correctly write out sentences and then test them afterwards. I believe that this would be extremely helpful because I know I might have done somewhat better if I had been constantly tested and reminded how to construct sentences.
ReplyDelete"Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction" is an article written by Joan Berger. She explains in this article how she came up with her lesson plans for her English class. She discussed that reteaching old material to refresh her students memories, along with new material helped her students succeed more in her class. She also used pre and post tests to help challenge their knowledge. I think this is a smart way to teach children grammar because it not only is showing them new grammar points, but it is also reminding them of old ones that will be important throughout their whole lives.
ReplyDeleteThe article "Systematic Approach to Grammar," was written by a women named Joan Berger. Berger explains her one goal is teaching middle school students to become better writers. Her approach to do this was assigning more interesting topics. Her theory was that if her had her students write about things they actually enjoyed they would have more passion for writing. She thought this approach in the long run would make them better writers. I laughed to myself when Berger became frustrated at students horrible grammar on essays, but the students had excellent grammar when they passed notes to each other. Berger created a two year grammar program for seventh and eighth graders. The program was set up so by the time students finished middle school they were better equipped writers. Her program worked so well that even her students noticed the results.
ReplyDeleteThe article "A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction" by Joan Berger touches on the ideal lesson plans for teaching grammar. She states that this is a two-year process that involves devoting a month to each topic and strict reviewing. However, this is not always going to be possible for teachers. I believe that in theory this is a good approach but it is not realistic. Teachers will not usually seventh and eighth grade and therefore cannot continue on with the desired lessons nor can they review the topics already covered. I also agree that it is a nice idea to spend a month on each topic but standards may require teachers to incorporate more than that to fit it all into the curriculum. I did appreciate where Berger stated that she had a requirement where students had to use the topic of the month on their assignments. I believe this will help strengthens students' understanding.
ReplyDeleteIn this article joan wanted to help her students write better, some of the lessons she did wasn't as effective so she created a program for punctuation and everything. Where there was a pre test.and post test, to ensure the students really gasp what's going on. This system is very beneficial for students. It ensures students to do well in english.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Joan Berger’s article called “A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction.” I personally cannot remember actually having a grammar lesson in elementary school or Jr. High School. I remember vaguely going over certain parts but never comprehending all the rules and regulations it takes to be a good writer. I agree with Joan’s plan, which starts in seventh grade and is a two year program she uses to make her students develop good writing skills. Joan’s grammar curriculum takes learning the lessons slow and she goes over new topics each month. This way is better for the student because some children may need extra time to learn and usually, when they get behind, they stop trying to keep up. It’s not a downside to those who get it faster because then it is reinforced, and the child has a better chance of not forgetting it over the summer break.
ReplyDeleteThis approach to teaching grammar seems to me like a good one. I barely remember being taught grammar in grade school. In fact, I do not remember the specifics of a lot of the grammar we were taught. Of course, some of it stuck but that does not mean that I remembered what certain things were called or all of the rules that went with them. I think this is a better approach to teaching grammar. By introducing different lessons slowly, gradually, over a period of several months, it helps the students to better understand what they are learning and gives them enough time to allow each new thing to sink in and stick.
ReplyDeleteIn her article “A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction,” Joan Berger explores her ideal to improve her students’ writing. By teaching influential lessons that can be effective in both the classroom and in the outer world, every minute of class time can be meaningful. It is not surprising that native speakers of the English language do not use proper grammar –in fact, society does a great job of pretending that they can/do it. The most predominant problem that exists with understanding grammar is that many English-native speakers do not know the various parts of speech and how they work; it is amazing that we are all immersed within this particular language, but not necessarily a part of it—well, completely part of it, that is). Thus, it is common for many to misuse grammar. However, it appears that Berger’s strategy to improve this seems very effective. It is important for her (and others) to guides students from the basics to the more advanced material. Berger’s realistic approach in instruction is one that is both effective and fascinating.
ReplyDeleteIn this article, is about a teacher who wanted to teach her class how to write better. She came up with a theory and a lesson plan. It good to take time and learn something correctly, something new takes time to learn and forever to master.
ReplyDeleteOften, I forget to incorporate all of my grammar knowledge while writing a paper. Like mentioned here in this article, students are rarely taught both in a unison way. However, I think it is awesome that this teacher came up with a system to teach students both. Good grammar is of little use if a person cannot operate with it. I have a feeling this woman's students will go on to struggle less because of her efforts.
ReplyDeleteThe article “A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction” by Joan Berger enforced the importance of grammar not only in the class room but in my own speech. Berger's showed how she taught a two year program to her seventh and eighth graders that taught them grammar. This program helped them not only in their speech but also in their writing. The students were said to be conscious of their grammar mistakes when they write. The students also know the importance of each grammar function and how to use to use the correctly. To me this is important as well. I'm not always aware of the grammar mistakes I make in my writing and I feel that having this tool in my back pocket would have helped me become a better writer.
ReplyDeleteI think that the author is very determined to change the way students learn proper grammar. She noticed not only through papers, but also through emails, and notes that students do not use correct punctuation. She then set up a two year program in order to change the whole way of learning. They way that she found success in teaching was by breaking each unit down over the period of a month, and then she would combine each lesson to overlap. Her new teaching style improved the students reading and writing tremendously. I think that she changed the way grammar should be taught from now on.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, Joan Berger explains her process for incorporating a systematic approach to grammar. I for one remember nothing from my english classes in grade school, at least when it comes to sentence structure. Joan's use of mini lessons and hand outs sound quite familiar to our current english class, and I will say it has been very helpful. Her approach showed great improvement to her students; which I feel most teachers need to do, improve upon what students already know. Teaching English properly is very important and what Joan Berger explained about her approach seems to be the way to do it. This is a very important article and I think most English teachers would agree that Joan Berger's approach has changed teaching from now on.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I think that it says alot about Joan Berger's character considering she created and implemented such an educational program. This clearly shows that her primary concern was the students and their well-being. Her program was very well structured and stressed repitition mixed in with the new lessons. She set the standard for good grammar at the 7th and 8th grade levels for the students' high school future.
ReplyDeleteThe idea is that rather than cramming all of this information into a short amount of time, she spread it out a little bit and re-taught the basics so that way students would have a full understanding of the content. Also I thought it was important that she continued on until students showed that they truly understood the knowledge. I think sometimes, especially in grammar, that students just cram the information for the grading session and then do not retain the knowledge much past the lesson itself. By using a pre and post test, she is able not only to force them to continue to use grammar properly but has a means to gauge the class improvement.
ReplyDeleteThe idea the author used to embed grammar into the students head is a good one. I believe it is important for people to learn about grammar at a young age. Not to be able to "fake" it but actually have a solid understanding of it. I thought it was surprising though on how well it did actually work.
ReplyDeleteIn her article "A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction," Joan Berger describes how her teaching style did not seem to have an effect on her students writing outside of the classroom. E-mails, notes in the hallway and papers written for other classes showed that students did not apply the same concepts for their other classes as they did in hers. She was convinced that the mini-lessons and conferences were having an effect. In addition to these, she developed her "systematic approach." Each month, she would concentrate on one idea, whether its adverb clauses or punctuation, review it, and then concentrate on something new the next month. Her main goal was to keep the subjects interesting so that students would be more likely to retain the concepts longer than before. This approach is very reminiscent of how our 300 class is going right now. We study one concept, review it, master it, then move on to the next concept. So far, I think it has been very effective.
ReplyDeleteThe main focus in the article, "A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction," is for the author, Joan Berger to teach her students how to write better. She realized in her student's essay papers, the students were making simple grammar mistakes including run-on sentences, misused commas and plodding subject-verb sentences. After continually finding these mistakes, she asked the question, "How can I improve students' punctuation and expand their sentence repertoire?" That's when she and a couple of her colleagues created a plan for teaching their students proper punctuation and grammar techniques.
ReplyDeleteBoth summaries are well put together, and are very kin on details. The author purpose of this article is to motivate students to be better in there writing. Every student doesn't learn at the same pace, so each should be taught differently. So the author thought of methods to help each student learn at there own pace and have a successful outcome
ReplyDeleteI fully agreed with the theory of this article. "A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction," by Joan Berger, details her theory of how to teach grammar to middle school aged students. By introducing the material gradually and over a substantial period of time, the students were fully prepared and well versed in the rules of grammar. I agree with this system, and can fully relate for the need for more grammar to be taught.
ReplyDeleteIn the article A Systematic Approach to Grammar Instruction by Joan Berger the idea is very good. Berger discuss how he and his colleagues came up with the idea to give to give their students mini lessons to help them with their wrinting skills. This is a very good idea and is similar to what we are doing in our English 300 level course. I feel that it will help the students a lot and will improve their writing skills like he stated in the article. And it shows that this method can be taught at any grade level rather eight graders or college students.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed is that Joan Berger's work is a lot like what we do in class and I feel like it works the best of any English program I've had to use. The constant repetition and building on pass lessons helps the concepts to really stick which I'm sure Berger realized. The most important thing Berger did was stretch the program over 7th and 8th graders to test the results.
ReplyDeleteIt is very important to understand grammar at a younger age. This article proves that point. Mini lessons on different grammar techniques and punctuation is a very helpful tool to use, not just in younger grade levels, but in higher grade levels as well. I feel that our class is a good example of that. We are learning good fundamental techniques that will help strengthen our writing for the future.
ReplyDeleteBerger's work is important because it is important for younger students to understand grammar. If students understand grammar at a younger age, and learn it correctly then as they get older it will be easier for them to understand more difficult grammar later in their education. Berger came up with the idea for mini lessons to help her students improve their writing skills. I believe this helps because we do this in our class and it helps me.
ReplyDeleteI think that Ms. Berger's system is an excellent approach to teaching grammar. Although I vividly remember diagramming sentences in junior high, I was never taught how to incorporate all of the things I was learning into my own writing. Her idea of teaching one aspect of grammar at a time and then incorporating that into her students' writing immediately after is a great one. It wasn't until college that I considered myself a competent writer, but I could edit a paper with ease in my younger years. I think it is very important that students are taught how to write eloquently and grammatically correct at a young age.
ReplyDeleteMs. Berger technique is very similar to what we do in class. Which speaking from experience i believe it is helpful because since we do repeat the lesson technique we become more aware and familiar with the material which makes it hard to forget. It is also a helpful way to learn new material and contribute it with the old. With this technique we can learn things smoothly without having to jump from one subject to the next.
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