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Grammar Without Wincing
Have you read any of the books published in the past few years
about grammar and mechanics? Eats, Shoots, & Leaves by Lynne Truss
ushered in a publishing craze, with scores of texts by grammar
gurus featuring titles like Woe is I and Sin and Syntax streaking
up the bestseller charts.
I have a confession - many of the books written about grammar and
mechanics make me feel like a dope. I've read most of them, but I
can never tell if I am laughing with the authors, or I'm being
laughed at by them. There is a superior tone in too many of these
books, a sense that people who misplace their possessive pronouns
are not only ignorant, but stupid. For me, the insecurity goes
all the way back to Strunk and White's Elements of Style, a book
assigned over and over again by my college English professors. Try
as I might, I could never connect with the authors' advice or
distant, omniscient tone.
That's why Arthur Plotnik's book Spunk and Bite: A Writer's Guide
to Bold, Contemporary Style is one of the few books exploring
grammar and mechanics I return to over and over again when I want
to spice up my writing, or think about teaching language structures
to students. Plotnik's book is all about creating lively writing.
His friendly tone invites readers, instead of subtly condemning
them. Spunk and Bite reminds me that grammar instruction is
really all about the pleasure of words, and the infinite ways they
can be reordered. For Plotnik, a close look at words and
language is all about fun:
Readers love surprise. They love it when a sentence heads one way
and jerks another. They love the boing of a jack-in-a-box word.
They adore images that trot by like a unicorn in pajamas.
Plotnik in Spunk and Bite, p. 10
I thought about Spunk and Bite this week because it's the
one-year anniversary of The Big Fresh. The newsletter's title is
an enallage, a term I learned from Plotnik - turning a noun, verb
or adjective on its head to produce a novel usage.
This week, we've got a feature about terrific children's books
for helping children understand and play with different language
terms and usage. If you already speak the Queen's English, you may
still find a title you like. And if you ain't never paid no
nevermind to grammar in children's books, you might find the list
is a fine starting point for creating a new book basket in your
classroom library.
On a personal note, thanks for making year one of this newsletter
such a success. I hope Choice Literacy can continue to earn your
trust and readership each week for many years to come. Enjoy!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
Franki Sibberson continues her series on revamping her word study
program this fall. This week she considers how she might use
children's books in word work and grammar study, compiling a
booklist of children's literature that might spark good
conversations about language terms and structures:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/416.cfm
The Grammar Slammer is a concise online ready reference of common
grammar terms, errors, and examples of usage. It's a terrific site
to bookmark and return to whenever you have questions about proper
usage. And if you need a grin, they inexplicably include a recipe
for clam chowder in their list of common language terms. Perhaps
regular ingestion of homemade chowder leads to proper grammar?:
http://englishplus.com/grammar/gsdeluxe.htm
Reviews and further information on Spunk and Bite are available
here:
Only a couple weeks left in our PDPalooza Site License and DVD
Sale. If you are considering a site license for your school or
district, these are the best prices of 2007:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/346.cfm
For Members Only
Literacy Coach Carol Wilcox has two sons in middle and high school
who aren't members of the "literacy club." In thinking about their
needs as visual, action-driven readers and writers, she creates a
dozen practical literacy activities linking books, drawing,
writing, and the arts. These are all great activities for early in
the school year to get to know students:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/413.cfm
Remember that first summer before you began teaching, when you
faced bare classroom walls and bare bookshelves? Erin Ocon, ready
to begin her first year teaching 7th and 8th graders, shares the
inspiring story of how she spent the summer developing her first
classroom library on a very limited budget. This short article
would be a fun read in a mentor meeting with new teachers, or in an
administrative discussion of the resource needs of new teachers:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/414.cfm
How can we stamp our rooms with the personalities of our students
in the first few weeks of school? The Sisters (Gail Boushey and
Joan Moser) have a few decorating suggestions in this photo essay -
quick art projects and display ideas that can be completed with
students in the first days of school:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/409.cfm
If you've recently paid for a membership at Choice Literacy, it can
be overwhelming figuring out where to begin in exploring the 300
features available at the site. Many members find wending their
way through the back issues of The Big Fresh in the archives is
the fastest way to get a sense of the range of what is available at
the site:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department62.cfm
That's all for this week!