On Dec. 1st and 3rd, we will hold our short Readability Presentations, so that everybody who does not want to use the Fry graph can choose a formula to assess the readability of his/her research essay.
To see the order in which we will go, click on our old link: We'll proceed in chronological order. There will be no make-ups for missed presentations, since we do not have enough time for that.
On Wednesday and Friday, you will receive your Research Essays back.
On Friday is our Final Exam at the usual class time. Don't forget to email your essay response to yourself, so you only need to copy and paste it into your Final Exam!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
Please take Survey
For the 7 people who missed class today, Friday, Nov. 21st:
Please take the SURVEY about the course evaluation I emailed you! Then, you can make up for the missed points from our workshop. Deadline: Tuesday next week! After that, I'll close it, and you can't take it any more.
Send me an email to say you took it, because it is anonymous, and SurveyMonkey does not tell me who you are, so I can give you the points. 13 people took it in class today.
I also emailed you the final exam text ("Facebook Generation"); please read it, and prepare it for our final exam on Dec. 5th. Further, you'll find the STUDY GUIDE for the final exam attached to the same email.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
Please take the SURVEY about the course evaluation I emailed you! Then, you can make up for the missed points from our workshop. Deadline: Tuesday next week! After that, I'll close it, and you can't take it any more.
Send me an email to say you took it, because it is anonymous, and SurveyMonkey does not tell me who you are, so I can give you the points. 13 people took it in class today.
I also emailed you the final exam text ("Facebook Generation"); please read it, and prepare it for our final exam on Dec. 5th. Further, you'll find the STUDY GUIDE for the final exam attached to the same email.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Prescriptive Grammar: Part I
The Middle Ages (500-1500 A.D.)
This section contained so many interesting facts that had a hard time choosing the information to include in the blog!
Importance of Latin
First of all, as we probably know, Latin was the primary subject of language study during this period. An individual named Aelfric composed Latin grammar and Colloquium (“Conversations”) around 1000 A.D. Aelfric’s grammar is one of the earliest grammars aimed specifically at English speakers, so this information may be interesting to share with students. Aelfric’s grammar is significant because it foreshadows the later prescriptive tendency to base English grammar on Latin models.
Concept of “Grammar”
The major contribution of this period is “speculative grammar,” which is based on the idea that language is a “mirror” of reality—one could learn about the nature of the world by studying the way that language was used to refer to things in the world. Speculative grammar is the product of medieval scholars called the modistae, who were the first to view grammar as a separate field of study.
The Renniassance (1500-1650)
The first systematic study of the vernacular languages (ordinary, everyday language) of Europe occurred during this time period. An expansion of printing in Europe also occurred during this time, coinciding with the spread of literacy and demand for education.
Universal Grammar
A group called the Solitaires attempted to write a grammar containing all of the properties common to languages known at the time.
For the Blog Response: (Due Monday, Dec. 1)
What do you think about the concept of “Speculative Grammar?” Do you think discussion about this topic should be included in the high school English class?
The Middle Ages (500-1500 A.D.)
This section contained so many interesting facts that had a hard time choosing the information to include in the blog!
Importance of Latin
First of all, as we probably know, Latin was the primary subject of language study during this period. An individual named Aelfric composed Latin grammar and Colloquium (“Conversations”) around 1000 A.D. Aelfric’s grammar is one of the earliest grammars aimed specifically at English speakers, so this information may be interesting to share with students. Aelfric’s grammar is significant because it foreshadows the later prescriptive tendency to base English grammar on Latin models.
Concept of “Grammar”
The major contribution of this period is “speculative grammar,” which is based on the idea that language is a “mirror” of reality—one could learn about the nature of the world by studying the way that language was used to refer to things in the world. Speculative grammar is the product of medieval scholars called the modistae, who were the first to view grammar as a separate field of study.
The Renniassance (1500-1650)
The first systematic study of the vernacular languages (ordinary, everyday language) of Europe occurred during this time period. An expansion of printing in Europe also occurred during this time, coinciding with the spread of literacy and demand for education.
Universal Grammar
A group called the Solitaires attempted to write a grammar containing all of the properties common to languages known at the time.
For the Blog Response: (Due Monday, Dec. 1)
What do you think about the concept of “Speculative Grammar?” Do you think discussion about this topic should be included in the high school English class?
In-class, Nov. 19th: Haiku
HAIKU....
Today, after you have submitted your Research Essay Folder, we are doing the prompt that we neglected so far due to time constraints: "grammar haiku"!!! Go to the following link to find the old post on our class blog.
Preview:
This Friday, Nov. 21st, you are receiving your study guide for the FINAL EXAM, which will take place on Friday, Dec. 5th, from 9:00 - 9:50 a.m. in our ordinary classroom. Dec. 5th is the LAST day of class; don't come the week after ;-)
You will NOT be allowed to bring your study guide to the final exam; it is just meant for preparing at home. The exam will be like the mid-term exam, consisting of three parts:
1) a part with questions about what we have done in class, the answers for which are to be found on the blog, the Down Syndrome movie guide, and your homework assignments;
2) a grammar part about all the topics we covered in our mini lessons (for which the sentences will NOT be on the study guide);
3) a critical response part (essay question) to an article which I will give you after the Thanksgiving vacations, so you can prepare it entirely at home and email it to yourself, to attach it to your final exam in class.
If you miss class on Nov. 21st, you will not receive the study guide.
We will go over it in class that day, and I will answer any questions or concerns you might have.
What we will do on Nov. 21st:
1) an important course evaluation (survey) about your opinions of this course, and how to improve it;
2) study guide for final exam WORKSHOP (you are allowed to exchange questions with your partners)
3) those who went to the Writing Center, and for whom the tutors have written a Conference Summary, will submit their final Research Essay Folder on Nov. 21st in the first 10 minutes of class.
On the remaining three days of class after the Thanksgiving vacations, we will do the following:
- Dec. 1st: presentations of our Readability topics (max. 5 min. each) + course evaluations
-Dec. 3rd: presentations of our Readability topics (max. 5 min. each)
- Dec. 5th: hand in the Readability Essay; finish Readability Presentations (5 min. each); conclusion of course
MEMO: There are no more make-ups for missed days or homework!!! The last EXTRA CREDIT opportunity was for missed days prior to Nov. 17th, for which you made up through extra peer editing.
Today, after you have submitted your Research Essay Folder, we are doing the prompt that we neglected so far due to time constraints: "grammar haiku"!!! Go to the following link to find the old post on our class blog.
Preview:
This Friday, Nov. 21st, you are receiving your study guide for the FINAL EXAM, which will take place on Friday, Dec. 5th, from 9:00 - 9:50 a.m. in our ordinary classroom. Dec. 5th is the LAST day of class; don't come the week after ;-)
You will NOT be allowed to bring your study guide to the final exam; it is just meant for preparing at home. The exam will be like the mid-term exam, consisting of three parts:
1) a part with questions about what we have done in class, the answers for which are to be found on the blog, the Down Syndrome movie guide, and your homework assignments;
2) a grammar part about all the topics we covered in our mini lessons (for which the sentences will NOT be on the study guide);
3) a critical response part (essay question) to an article which I will give you after the Thanksgiving vacations, so you can prepare it entirely at home and email it to yourself, to attach it to your final exam in class.
If you miss class on Nov. 21st, you will not receive the study guide.
We will go over it in class that day, and I will answer any questions or concerns you might have.
What we will do on Nov. 21st:
1) an important course evaluation (survey) about your opinions of this course, and how to improve it;
2) study guide for final exam WORKSHOP (you are allowed to exchange questions with your partners)
3) those who went to the Writing Center, and for whom the tutors have written a Conference Summary, will submit their final Research Essay Folder on Nov. 21st in the first 10 minutes of class.
On the remaining three days of class after the Thanksgiving vacations, we will do the following:
- Dec. 1st: presentations of our Readability topics (max. 5 min. each) + course evaluations
-Dec. 3rd: presentations of our Readability topics (max. 5 min. each)
- Dec. 5th: hand in the Readability Essay; finish Readability Presentations (5 min. each); conclusion of course
MEMO: There are no more make-ups for missed days or homework!!! The last EXTRA CREDIT opportunity was for missed days prior to Nov. 17th, for which you made up through extra peer editing.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Cover Sheet for Research Essay Folder
Here's your Cover Sheet that goes on top of your Research Essay Folder which is due Wednesday, Nov. 19th! You also got it in an email.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Peer Editing Session
Instructions for Peer Editing Session:
1) Use the following Peer Edit Sheet (Rubistar rubric), copy and paste it into a Word document, and save it to your desktop, and highlight the fields with the points you want to give on it in color. Assign an overall grade to the student, judging by what you think is most important in a Research Essay from all the components of the rubric. NOTE: You can also type into my rubric, once you've pasted it into Word. That means, you can include your own personal comments (in a different color, please!).
2) Email this sheet to the author of the essay AND to me as cc., so you can get your points. You need to finish peer-editing ONE paper in class on Nov. 17th (because many people cannot open docx files from home).
3) We are doing "online editing," which means that you are going to employ the "comment function" on the top of your menu list to insert your comments.
Highlight the word that's wrong / the place where a word or punctuation sign is missing, click on "comment," and type in your suggestions. Save your document!!! If you don't save it, you will lose all your entries. When you're done, email it back to the author and me, TOGETHER with the Peer Edit Sheet (rubric). Correct all spelling, grammar, punctuation, format, and content mistakes you can find!
If you want to edit more than one papers, because you need to make up for missed days, ask in class who wants/needs a second peer-edit, and have this student email his/her paper to you. If there's no volunteer, I'll assign you one. When you email the Peer Edit Sheet back to that student, and in copy to me, indicate for which missed day you are making up, so I can put an "excused" on my attendance sheet accordingly! I'll put the volunteers for extra credit on this blog, so tell me who is doing an extra credit peer editing for whom.
CHECK MY GRADE BOOK IN CLASS IF YOU ARE INSECURE ABOUT POSSIBLE MISSED DAYS!!! Maybe you forgot to sign the attendance list on some day.
You will exchange your finished research essays with the following partner (I will distribute the essays you emailed to me to peers who missed that class, or peers whose partner didn't show up):
Group 1: Ken Stoner + Laura Treat
Group 2: Alexandra Rude + Jennifer Gulley (Marissa does one X for Jen)
Group 3: Jacob Talbert + Sarah Klingler (Marisa does one X for Jacob, and for Sarah)
Group 4: Donald Dinkins + Raquel Maxey (Sharita does 1 X for Raquel)
Group 5: Emily Muren + Ashley Epps (Sharita does 1 X for Emily)
Group 6: Sharon Espina + Leah West (Sharita does 1 X for Leah, and 1 X for Sharon)
Group 7: Heather Mormino + Sharita Haralson (Ashley does X for Sharita), Marissa does one X for Heather, Laura Treat does one X for Heather
Group 8: Melisa Ogle + Brian Harris (Sharita does one X for Melisa, and one X for Brian)
Group 9: Marissa Freese + Maddison Green (Alex does one for Marissa)
1) Use the following Peer Edit Sheet (Rubistar rubric), copy and paste it into a Word document, and save it to your desktop, and highlight the fields with the points you want to give on it in color. Assign an overall grade to the student, judging by what you think is most important in a Research Essay from all the components of the rubric. NOTE: You can also type into my rubric, once you've pasted it into Word. That means, you can include your own personal comments (in a different color, please!).
2) Email this sheet to the author of the essay AND to me as cc., so you can get your points. You need to finish peer-editing ONE paper in class on Nov. 17th (because many people cannot open docx files from home).
3) We are doing "online editing," which means that you are going to employ the "comment function" on the top of your menu list to insert your comments.
Highlight the word that's wrong / the place where a word or punctuation sign is missing, click on "comment," and type in your suggestions. Save your document!!! If you don't save it, you will lose all your entries. When you're done, email it back to the author and me, TOGETHER with the Peer Edit Sheet (rubric). Correct all spelling, grammar, punctuation, format, and content mistakes you can find!
If you want to edit more than one papers, because you need to make up for missed days, ask in class who wants/needs a second peer-edit, and have this student email his/her paper to you. If there's no volunteer, I'll assign you one. When you email the Peer Edit Sheet back to that student, and in copy to me, indicate for which missed day you are making up, so I can put an "excused" on my attendance sheet accordingly! I'll put the volunteers for extra credit on this blog, so tell me who is doing an extra credit peer editing for whom.
CHECK MY GRADE BOOK IN CLASS IF YOU ARE INSECURE ABOUT POSSIBLE MISSED DAYS!!! Maybe you forgot to sign the attendance list on some day.
You will exchange your finished research essays with the following partner (I will distribute the essays you emailed to me to peers who missed that class, or peers whose partner didn't show up):
Group 1: Ken Stoner + Laura Treat
Group 2: Alexandra Rude + Jennifer Gulley (Marissa does one X for Jen)
Group 3: Jacob Talbert + Sarah Klingler (Marisa does one X for Jacob, and for Sarah)
Group 4: Donald Dinkins + Raquel Maxey (Sharita does 1 X for Raquel)
Group 5: Emily Muren + Ashley Epps (Sharita does 1 X for Emily)
Group 6: Sharon Espina + Leah West (Sharita does 1 X for Leah, and 1 X for Sharon)
Group 7: Heather Mormino + Sharita Haralson (Ashley does X for Sharita), Marissa does one X for Heather, Laura Treat does one X for Heather
Group 8: Melisa Ogle + Brian Harris (Sharita does one X for Melisa, and one X for Brian)
Group 9: Marissa Freese + Maddison Green (Alex does one for Marissa)
Friday, November 14, 2008
Part 1: Prescriptive Grammar
This section of the book explores the rules of usage established by the prescriptive grammarians on present-day conceptions of grammar, especially among non-specialists of the 18th century and traces their continuing influence. Prescriptive grammar is based on grammatical classifications established by Greeks and Romans.
The Classical Period encompasses language study carried out by the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks were the innovators and the Romans were the transmitters, and their ideas spread throughout Europe. The achievements of Greek linguistic scholarship lie in three distinct areas: the development of an alphabetic writing system, a tradition of conscious speculation about the nature and use of language, and the investigation and establishment of the concept parts of speech.
The development of the first alphabetic writing system was conceived during the first millennium BC and its the most widely used today. The main figures associated with tradition were a group of known philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. They debated the concerns of nature versus convention in language and the relative contribution of analogy versus anomaly to language structure.
In the third century BC, the Greeks had expanded their influence south into Egypt and the city of Alexandria. In Dionysius classifies words into eight classes by adding five new categories toPlato's noun and verb and Aristotle's conjunction: participle, article, pronoun, preposition, and adverb. Furthermore, other related ideas of the parts of speech gave way to a concept called parsing; the process of breaking a sentence up into words, identifying the part of speech it belongs to, and identifying the function of each. Second, was the idea of organizing verbs according to conjunction, that is, by identifying the root of each verb and its suffixes.
Questions: As future teachers, would you teach your students about the Classical Period? Do you think teaching them this would be beneficial or helpful in learning about grammar?
The Classical Period encompasses language study carried out by the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks were the innovators and the Romans were the transmitters, and their ideas spread throughout Europe. The achievements of Greek linguistic scholarship lie in three distinct areas: the development of an alphabetic writing system, a tradition of conscious speculation about the nature and use of language, and the investigation and establishment of the concept parts of speech.
The development of the first alphabetic writing system was conceived during the first millennium BC and its the most widely used today. The main figures associated with tradition were a group of known philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. They debated the concerns of nature versus convention in language and the relative contribution of analogy versus anomaly to language structure.
In the third century BC, the Greeks had expanded their influence south into Egypt and the city of Alexandria. In Dionysius classifies words into eight classes by adding five new categories toPlato's noun and verb and Aristotle's conjunction: participle, article, pronoun, preposition, and adverb. Furthermore, other related ideas of the parts of speech gave way to a concept called parsing; the process of breaking a sentence up into words, identifying the part of speech it belongs to, and identifying the function of each. Second, was the idea of organizing verbs according to conjunction, that is, by identifying the root of each verb and its suffixes.
Questions: As future teachers, would you teach your students about the Classical Period? Do you think teaching them this would be beneficial or helpful in learning about grammar?
Monday, November 10, 2008
Chapter 4: Toward a Perspective on Error
In this chapter, Weaver discusses errors that writers, especially young children, make in their writing. Students may learn grammar rules through observation, and when the learner is ready, they errors can be fixed. Many common errors made by young students deals with their overgeneralization of a grammar rule, such as adding –ed to the end of every verb to present something in the past. Children can only master one thing at a time, so teachers need to be aware of this and not expect them to master a topic all at once.
For discussion, what approach will you use when you edit students' work? Are there any ideas of Weaver's that you disagree with? Concerning style versus conventional grammar, on what will you focus your grading and why?
Wednesday, Nov. 12: Workshop with Results
On Monday, Nov. 10th, was the last day that our audiences could take our surveys.
Today, Wednesday, Nov. 12th, we are going to work those results into our graphs and papers. Make sure you have your 3 previously created graphs accessible (in your email to yourself, to me, or on a flash drive; otherwise, you have to create new ones!).
1. Workshop - What you need to bring on Nov. 12th:
a) your 3 graphs in electronic format
b) your Word document with the whole paper (all components you have) in electronic format
c) printed out comments from me on your components, if you haven't corrected them yet
Topics for Workshop:
1) IF YOU HAVE LESS THAN 10 ANSWERS TO YOUR SURVEY, some peers and I will take your survey for you, to bring your answers up to 10 (minimum)!!!
2) Exchange your "invented" numbers in the xls tables of your 3 graphs for the "real" numbers. Check if the new graphs are displayed correctly. Copy and paste them into your Word document.
3) Change / rewrite your 5-7 statements that you've written for each graph -- their content will be different now that you got the "real" results. Remember that the quality of those written statements is equally important if not MORE important than your graphs!!!
4) Read the comments I gave you on your essay components (Lit Review, Annotated Bib, Abstracts, etc.) of which I will pass back the rest today. Change them accordingly. Get rid of possible spelling mistakes, and if you got the comment "elevate your readability," combine your sentences to make them longer, vary your verbs, and use "academic language" to improve your overall writing style.
5) Compose your Introduction.
6) Compose your Conclusion. If you want, include the "Limitations."
7) Finish up the Abstract (put in concrete % numbers of your findings), and complete the "Participants" and "Methods" sections.
8) Put everything in the right format (single-spaced). If you're not sure, check the three sample research papers from last semester you have already read last month.
WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER WORKSHOP THIS FRIDAY, to finish up our papers. If you can foresee that you will not finish up on Friday in class, do some of the work at home before Friday!
On Monday, Nov. 17th, is our PEER EDITING SESSION. If you're not here, you won't get the participation points. (You still have to contact a peer by email to obtain his/her evaluation, or I won't collect and grade your research essay).
That means, your ESSAYS NEED TO BE COMPLETELY FINISHED on Monday, Nov. 17th, at class time. You don't need to print them out; have them ready in electronic format (as a Word document; no other attachments accepted!). EMAIL THEM TO ME BY MONDAY AT CLASS TIME.
Instructions for Peer Edit Session:
1) Use the following Peer Edit Sheet (Rubistar rubric), copy and paste it into a Word document, and save it to your desktop, and highlight the fields with the points you want to give on it in color. Assign an overall grade to the student, judging by what you think is most important in a Research Essay from all the components of the rubric. NOTE: You can also type into my rubric, once you've pasted it into Word. That means, you can include your own personal comments (in a different color, please!).
2) Email this sheet to the author of the essay AND to me as cc., so you can get your points. You need to finish peer-editing ONE paper in class on Nov. 17th (because many people cannot open docx files from home).
3) We are doing "online editing," which means that you are going to employ the "comment function" on the top of your menu list to insert your comments.
Highlight the word that's wrong / the place where a word or punctuation sign is missing, click on "comment," and type in your suggestions. Save your document!!! If you don't save it, you will lose all your entries. When you're done, email it back to the author and me, TOGETHER with the Peer Edit Sheet (rubric). Correct all spelling, grammar, punctuation, format, and content mistakes you can find!
If you want to edit TWO instead of ONE papers, because you need to make up for one missed day, ask in class who wants/needs a second peer-edit, and have this student email his/her paper to you. If there's no volunteer, I'll assign you one. When you email the Peer Edit Sheet back to that student, and in copy to me, indicate for which missed day you are making up, so I can put an "excused" on my attendance sheet accordingly!
You will exchange your finished research essays with the following partner (I will distribute the essays you emailed to me to peers who missed that class, or peers whose partner didn't show up):
Group 1: Ken Stoner + Laura Treat
Group 2: Alexandra Rude + Jennifer Gulley
Group 3: Jacob Talbert + Sarah Klingler
Group 4: Donald Dinkins + Raquel Maxey
Group 5: Emily Muren + Ashley Epps
Group 6: Sharon Espina + Leah West
Group 7: Heather Mormino + Sharita Haralson
Group 8: Melisa Ogle + Brian Harris
Group 9: Marissa Freese + Maddison Green
HOMEWORK for Wednesday, Nov. 19th, when the PEER-EDITED FINAL PAPERS are DUE:
Submit a FOLDER with the following components:
1. Your completed and corrected RESEARCH ESSAY
2. Staple or attach to it with a paper clip the Report Sheet from www.surveymonkey.com as a pdf file
3. The printed Peer Edit Sheet, and the printed peer-edited essay with your peer's electronic comments. If you have received more than one, submit them all. I'm going to check whether you made the suggestions changes suggested by your peers. Your peers will get credit (or extra credit, where it applies) depending how detailed/well done their proofreading was.
4. Your printed-out three sources (stapled). Make sure they are RESEARCH essays from JSTOR, ERIC, or Google Scholar, not simple webpages. Make sure they printed off correctly; I need to be able to see the page numbers, to proofread your quotations.
5. A written paragraph on a separate sheet of paper in which you tell me whether the peer-editing session has helped you, whether you think I should drop the peer-editing workshop for next year's classes, or whether you would prefer a Writing Center session to an in-class peer editing session, and WHY.
6. The Cover Sheet where you check-mark that everything was submitted, and on which I will write your grade. Print it out from here, and check-mark everything you submitted.
EXTENSION ONLY for people who have their paper corrected in the Writing Center:
You can submit your complete folder on Friday, Nov. 21st (the last day of class before the Thanksgiving vacations). You need to have had a session with a Writing Center tutor about your whole essay, and this tutor needs to have written a conference summary to me by Friday, Nov. 21st. You need to tell this to your tutor; he/she won't do it by himself/herself. I will put your conference summary in your folder. You can make up for your missed homework points in all components this way. I won't grade your folder if you don't have a conference summary, because that would be a late assignment.
NO LATE PAPERS accepted.
Apart from the FOLDER: Also email your research paper to me (without attachments). Those which are A+ or A might be used for next year as good examples. I will ask your written consent before employing any of your material. Your support will be greatly appreciated by my future ENGL300 classes!!! Remember, you also got samples for everything we did from my previous classes...
Today, Wednesday, Nov. 12th, we are going to work those results into our graphs and papers. Make sure you have your 3 previously created graphs accessible (in your email to yourself, to me, or on a flash drive; otherwise, you have to create new ones!).
1. Workshop - What you need to bring on Nov. 12th:
a) your 3 graphs in electronic format
b) your Word document with the whole paper (all components you have) in electronic format
c) printed out comments from me on your components, if you haven't corrected them yet
Topics for Workshop:
1) IF YOU HAVE LESS THAN 10 ANSWERS TO YOUR SURVEY, some peers and I will take your survey for you, to bring your answers up to 10 (minimum)!!!
2) Exchange your "invented" numbers in the xls tables of your 3 graphs for the "real" numbers. Check if the new graphs are displayed correctly. Copy and paste them into your Word document.
3) Change / rewrite your 5-7 statements that you've written for each graph -- their content will be different now that you got the "real" results. Remember that the quality of those written statements is equally important if not MORE important than your graphs!!!
4) Read the comments I gave you on your essay components (Lit Review, Annotated Bib, Abstracts, etc.) of which I will pass back the rest today. Change them accordingly. Get rid of possible spelling mistakes, and if you got the comment "elevate your readability," combine your sentences to make them longer, vary your verbs, and use "academic language" to improve your overall writing style.
5) Compose your Introduction.
6) Compose your Conclusion. If you want, include the "Limitations."
7) Finish up the Abstract (put in concrete % numbers of your findings), and complete the "Participants" and "Methods" sections.
8) Put everything in the right format (single-spaced). If you're not sure, check the three sample research papers from last semester you have already read last month.
WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER WORKSHOP THIS FRIDAY, to finish up our papers. If you can foresee that you will not finish up on Friday in class, do some of the work at home before Friday!
On Monday, Nov. 17th, is our PEER EDITING SESSION. If you're not here, you won't get the participation points. (You still have to contact a peer by email to obtain his/her evaluation, or I won't collect and grade your research essay).
That means, your ESSAYS NEED TO BE COMPLETELY FINISHED on Monday, Nov. 17th, at class time. You don't need to print them out; have them ready in electronic format (as a Word document; no other attachments accepted!). EMAIL THEM TO ME BY MONDAY AT CLASS TIME.
Instructions for Peer Edit Session:
1) Use the following Peer Edit Sheet (Rubistar rubric), copy and paste it into a Word document, and save it to your desktop, and highlight the fields with the points you want to give on it in color. Assign an overall grade to the student, judging by what you think is most important in a Research Essay from all the components of the rubric. NOTE: You can also type into my rubric, once you've pasted it into Word. That means, you can include your own personal comments (in a different color, please!).
2) Email this sheet to the author of the essay AND to me as cc., so you can get your points. You need to finish peer-editing ONE paper in class on Nov. 17th (because many people cannot open docx files from home).
3) We are doing "online editing," which means that you are going to employ the "comment function" on the top of your menu list to insert your comments.
Highlight the word that's wrong / the place where a word or punctuation sign is missing, click on "comment," and type in your suggestions. Save your document!!! If you don't save it, you will lose all your entries. When you're done, email it back to the author and me, TOGETHER with the Peer Edit Sheet (rubric). Correct all spelling, grammar, punctuation, format, and content mistakes you can find!
If you want to edit TWO instead of ONE papers, because you need to make up for one missed day, ask in class who wants/needs a second peer-edit, and have this student email his/her paper to you. If there's no volunteer, I'll assign you one. When you email the Peer Edit Sheet back to that student, and in copy to me, indicate for which missed day you are making up, so I can put an "excused" on my attendance sheet accordingly!
You will exchange your finished research essays with the following partner (I will distribute the essays you emailed to me to peers who missed that class, or peers whose partner didn't show up):
Group 1: Ken Stoner + Laura Treat
Group 2: Alexandra Rude + Jennifer Gulley
Group 3: Jacob Talbert + Sarah Klingler
Group 4: Donald Dinkins + Raquel Maxey
Group 5: Emily Muren + Ashley Epps
Group 6: Sharon Espina + Leah West
Group 7: Heather Mormino + Sharita Haralson
Group 8: Melisa Ogle + Brian Harris
Group 9: Marissa Freese + Maddison Green
HOMEWORK for Wednesday, Nov. 19th, when the PEER-EDITED FINAL PAPERS are DUE:
Submit a FOLDER with the following components:
1. Your completed and corrected RESEARCH ESSAY
2. Staple or attach to it with a paper clip the Report Sheet from www.surveymonkey.com as a pdf file
3. The printed Peer Edit Sheet, and the printed peer-edited essay with your peer's electronic comments. If you have received more than one, submit them all. I'm going to check whether you made the suggestions changes suggested by your peers. Your peers will get credit (or extra credit, where it applies) depending how detailed/well done their proofreading was.
4. Your printed-out three sources (stapled). Make sure they are RESEARCH essays from JSTOR, ERIC, or Google Scholar, not simple webpages. Make sure they printed off correctly; I need to be able to see the page numbers, to proofread your quotations.
5. A written paragraph on a separate sheet of paper in which you tell me whether the peer-editing session has helped you, whether you think I should drop the peer-editing workshop for next year's classes, or whether you would prefer a Writing Center session to an in-class peer editing session, and WHY.
6. The Cover Sheet where you check-mark that everything was submitted, and on which I will write your grade. Print it out from here, and check-mark everything you submitted.
EXTENSION ONLY for people who have their paper corrected in the Writing Center:
You can submit your complete folder on Friday, Nov. 21st (the last day of class before the Thanksgiving vacations). You need to have had a session with a Writing Center tutor about your whole essay, and this tutor needs to have written a conference summary to me by Friday, Nov. 21st. You need to tell this to your tutor; he/she won't do it by himself/herself. I will put your conference summary in your folder. You can make up for your missed homework points in all components this way. I won't grade your folder if you don't have a conference summary, because that would be a late assignment.
NO LATE PAPERS accepted.
Apart from the FOLDER: Also email your research paper to me (without attachments). Those which are A+ or A might be used for next year as good examples. I will ask your written consent before employing any of your material. Your support will be greatly appreciated by my future ENGL300 classes!!! Remember, you also got samples for everything we did from my previous classes...
Chapters 1 & 2 Blog Summary
Responses due by Wednesday, Nov. 12th, at class time
_____________________________________________
Grammar, and the Teaching of Grammar
In chapter one, the book discusses what many people believe grammar to be. There are many different parts that fall into grammar, such as, parts of speech, syntactic structures, sentence structure, etc. But what is grammar. One definition that the book gives is "a description of the syntax of a language." That is to say grammar is breaking down and understanding sentence structure. Another definition states that grammar is "a set of prescriptions or rules for using language."
There are other definitions listed as well, but the book decides to tie them all together in one definition saying that grammar is "the unconscious command of syntax that enables us to understand and speak the language." The book as a whole chooses four main points to focus on: Grammar as a description of syntactic structure; Grammar as prescriptions for how to use structures and words; Grammar a rhetorically eggective use of syntactic structures; Grammar as the functional command of sentence structure that enables us to comprehend and produce language.
Throughout time grammar has been used to reach two major points: discipling and training the mind and teaching grammatical forms and word usages that were considered correct or socially prestigious. People in higher power were taught to understand the language others were left out. Another important fact mentioned is that early text books were based on the Latin grammars. As time passed people saw this as a problem. They wanted their own language. Therefore the English language was created based on rules of Latin grammar. The book states that for certain parts of the sentence, that if it could not be used in the Latin writing, then it should not be functional in the English Grammar.
Over the years, the English language has developed more. More linguist have studied and learned to understand it more. These new developments leave us with the issue of teaching grammar in the same old way. They teaching methods are ineffective. In the 19th century, teachers used memorization and recitation for many of their lessons. The students could regurgitate what the teacher had said, but were they really learning anything?
This brings us to Chapter two. In chapter two we see different researchers theories tested in order to see how effective certain teaching methods are. When reading, it did not seem to me, that the researchers were having much luck determining how to help students truly understand. "all teaching of grammar separate from the manipulation of sentences be discontinued… since every scientific attempt to prove that knowledge of grammar is useful has failed." Another point mentioned was that certain times, people were experimenting and not doing very good tests. For example, two reasearchers, Braddock and Meckel, did the same experiment and got "rather different" results. Certain types of teaching are not working.
The book list some alternative teaching methods: Teach only "correct" punctuation; Restrict the teaching of grammar as a system to elective classes and units, offered with no pragmatic justification as an incentive; promote the acquisition and use of grammatical constructions through reading; Emphasize the production of effective sentences rather than their analysis, etc.
Things to think about: Will you continue to teacher grammar as a separate entity or incorporate it into other lessons. How will you teach these lessons? How was grammar taught to you? Do you feel all the methods to have been effective?
_____________________________________________
Grammar, and the Teaching of Grammar
In chapter one, the book discusses what many people believe grammar to be. There are many different parts that fall into grammar, such as, parts of speech, syntactic structures, sentence structure, etc. But what is grammar. One definition that the book gives is "a description of the syntax of a language." That is to say grammar is breaking down and understanding sentence structure. Another definition states that grammar is "a set of prescriptions or rules for using language."
There are other definitions listed as well, but the book decides to tie them all together in one definition saying that grammar is "the unconscious command of syntax that enables us to understand and speak the language." The book as a whole chooses four main points to focus on: Grammar as a description of syntactic structure; Grammar as prescriptions for how to use structures and words; Grammar a rhetorically eggective use of syntactic structures; Grammar as the functional command of sentence structure that enables us to comprehend and produce language.
Throughout time grammar has been used to reach two major points: discipling and training the mind and teaching grammatical forms and word usages that were considered correct or socially prestigious. People in higher power were taught to understand the language others were left out. Another important fact mentioned is that early text books were based on the Latin grammars. As time passed people saw this as a problem. They wanted their own language. Therefore the English language was created based on rules of Latin grammar. The book states that for certain parts of the sentence, that if it could not be used in the Latin writing, then it should not be functional in the English Grammar.
Over the years, the English language has developed more. More linguist have studied and learned to understand it more. These new developments leave us with the issue of teaching grammar in the same old way. They teaching methods are ineffective. In the 19th century, teachers used memorization and recitation for many of their lessons. The students could regurgitate what the teacher had said, but were they really learning anything?
This brings us to Chapter two. In chapter two we see different researchers theories tested in order to see how effective certain teaching methods are. When reading, it did not seem to me, that the researchers were having much luck determining how to help students truly understand. "all teaching of grammar separate from the manipulation of sentences be discontinued… since every scientific attempt to prove that knowledge of grammar is useful has failed." Another point mentioned was that certain times, people were experimenting and not doing very good tests. For example, two reasearchers, Braddock and Meckel, did the same experiment and got "rather different" results. Certain types of teaching are not working.
The book list some alternative teaching methods: Teach only "correct" punctuation; Restrict the teaching of grammar as a system to elective classes and units, offered with no pragmatic justification as an incentive; promote the acquisition and use of grammatical constructions through reading; Emphasize the production of effective sentences rather than their analysis, etc.
Things to think about: Will you continue to teacher grammar as a separate entity or incorporate it into other lessons. How will you teach these lessons? How was grammar taught to you? Do you feel all the methods to have been effective?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Chaper 3: Acquiring Grammatical Competence
Responses due Wednesday, Nov. 12, at class time
______________________________________________
In the book-Teaching Grammar in Context by: Constance Weaver
Linguistic Tools for Understanding and Analysis
This chapter focuses on how speakers acquire grammatical competence in their native language. Grammar should “explain the unconscious but functional knowledge of grammar that enables all of us to comprehend and produce language, rather than analyze the language actually produced.”
A Linguist named Noam Chomsky introduced the differences between surface structure and deep structure. Chomsky believed that grammar should account for the native speakers’ intuitive understanding of language structure rather than analyzing the language actually produced. He also thought of deep structure as being grammatical in nature. Chomsky developed these structures because he wanted to account for speakers intuitive knowledge of grammar.
Surface Structure- the linear sequence of words, phrases, clauses, and sentences as they are uttered or written.
Deep Structure- one of more basic structures that underline the structure of actually spoken or written sentences.
Grammar Competence and Its Acquisition
Before children even enter school; they acquire a complicated set of grammatical structures and a complex set of rules for combining elements into such structures. In this chapter, Weaver discusses the 4 different invitations that talk about the rules that we all use unconsciously in our own speaking and writing.
Invitation 1
Proper order of auxiliary (“helper”) verbs that sometimes come before a main verb when the sentence is ‘active’ not ‘passive’.
Example:
Mary is leaving at one today.
Tom will be taking over her job.
Invitation 2
The usage of 'any'(or anyone, anything, etc), 'some' (or someone, something etc.)
Add the appropriate choice to each blank without thinking about it; let your response be natural.
I don't want ____ pie.
I can't imagine ____one doing that.
I'd like_____ ice cream please.
Invitation 3
This invitation is not strictly grammatical, but yet involves an intersection of the sound or phonological, system with the grammatical system. It involves the pronunciation of the regular past tense ending. Think about the sounds we add in making the regular verbs past tense. Say these regular verbs with a past tense and think about what seems to determine which sound or sounds we add.
Stop
Lick
Play
Slam
Wish
Laugh
Invitation 4
Making sentences negative:
- Put no or not at the beginning of the entire sentence.
- Put no or not between the subject and predicate pares of the sentence.
- Add an appropriate present or past tense form of do to carry the negative n’t and put it before the main verb.
- Add the appropriate present or past form of do to carry the negative marker and remove the tense marker associated with the main verb
It is not known how young children acquire such "rules." But what is known is that these rules are not directly taught to children, and that children show evidence of beginning to acquire them by about the age of two or three. Even though children do imitate adult speech in some way, it is clear that imitation, repetition, and habit formation are nowhere near adequate to account for the acquisition of one's native language, including grammatical patterns or rules.
For Discussion: Do you think that these 4 rules are correct? Do you believe that children really acquire these rules unconsciously or are they more from an imitation of adult figures?
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