An archived stack of papers: 'grammar'

The Importance Of Clarity

In a stack of papers called Instruction.

  • Dec
  • 31
  • 2007

Something about an easy message, this video stuck out to me. The rest of The IT Crowd is hilarious and worth watching, from what little I’ve seen, but this piece should be in all the teacher ed schools. Imagine if something simple like 911 (or the even simpler 999 in England, apparently) changed to something difficult:... read more

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Standard Usage

In a stack of papers called Unorganized.

  • Jun
  • 01
  • 2006

This was originally going to be added to my last posting, but it grew longer and longer. Instead of cut things out, I preserved my thoughts here for posterity. I’d draw a comic of this, but I’m not Kevin or Sutter, so just make due with my mental comic drawing skills as exhibited in this little snippet of... read more

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Grammar, Go Your Own Way

In a stack of papers called Instruction.

  • May
  • 11
  • 2006

If I had reasons to accept grammar into my classroom, I would. As it stands, I have to tell grammar to take a hike.

Against Grammar Instruction

Where is the research that suggests grammar instruction equals better writing? Just because I know the rules of football doesn’t make me a good player.... read more

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Take The [Grammar] Back

In a stack of papers called Instruction.

  • May
  • 10
  • 2006

While I actually think the Rage Against The Machine song “Take The Power Back” is more an anthem against things like traditional grammar instruction, it makes for an interesting read. Have support for grammar in the classroom in mind as you glance at the lyrics. Now let’s see what... read more

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For And Against Grammar Instruction

In a stack of papers called Instruction.

  • May
  • 09
  • 2006

The ebb and flow of grammar instruction continues.

During a meeting today, the subject of a workshop on grammar popped up. A few years ago, my school decided that every English 1 would begin with (at least) a 2-week grammar/syntax unit. Last year, I taught that unit. Various folk in my district have suggested a standardized grammar pre- and post-test for the freshman year. The NWEA test seeks to... read more

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Grammar With CSS

In a stack of papers called Technology.

  • Apr
  • 03
  • 2006

Here’s the example: Punctuation and Capitalization Practice I’ve typed something into a text file (saved as “text.txt”). I want the contents of that file as a variable in a PHP script so I can do some STR_REPLACE action to it, specifically so I can wrap all punctuation in SPAN tags. Surely, you can... read more

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