Getting the Gist of the English Language: Using Systematic Grammar Instruction to Improve Academic Writing Ability - Softcover

Roach Ed.D., Jennifer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1953360351 ISBN 13: 9781953360359

Publisher: Gifted Unlimited, 2025

Synopsis

Getting the Gist of the English Language: Using Systematic Grammar Instruction to Improve Academic Writing Ability aims to address two main objectives. Initially, the book explores the historical context of grammar teaching, shedding light on the resistance against it. It outlines five significant problems caused by the anti-grammar movement, including polarized viewpoints among educational leaders, flawed research, declining literacy, dwindling academic writing skills, and a reduction in the English Language Arts curriculum's complexity. The book will transition from a historical analysis of grammar teaching to an analysis of present-day practices and then finally to future recommendations advocating for a return to systematic instruction in grammar.
The book proposes a solution using the GIST model, emphasizing inquiry-based learning, instruction in grammar as a complex system comprised of four interworking levels―the parts of speech, the parts of the sentence, phrases, and clauses, and immediate application of grammar to writing. The goal is to help students truly get the “gist” of the English language as they inquire, learn, and apply daily. This book advocates for high expectations for all students regardless of background and provides practical guidance for teachers, including how to utilize four-level sentence analysis, plan grammar instruction in units, modernize instruction beyond skill-and-drill worksheets to include online resources and artificial intelligence tools, and how to weave grammar instruction into writing instruction. Teachers will receive not only practical advice about how to teach narrative writing, informative/explanatory writing, argumentative writing, and literary analysis writing, but also invaluable resources such as a glossary of grammatical terms, a vertical alignment plan, and sample lesson plans. It also gives some advice for how to use AI to your advantage in the ELA classroom.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Jennifer Roach is an educator with over 17 years of experience as a teacher and administrator. She holds degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University, Clemson University, Arkansas State University, and Converse University, where she earned her Doctorate in Professional Leadership. Her award-winning dissertation, The Effect of Systematic Grammar Instruction on Academic Ability, highlights her expertise in grammar education. Dr. Roach is currently the principal of Riverside Middle School in Pendleton, South Carolina.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Problem 3: The Drastic Decline in American Literacy
A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York entitled Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools warns, “American students today are not meeting even basic writing standards, and their teachers are at a loss for how to help them. In an age overwhelmed
by information…we should view this as a crisis, because the ability to read, comprehend, and write―in other words, to organize information into knowledge―can be viewed as tantamount to a survival skill.”¹⁹ The literacy crisis
in the United States is evidenced by the following statistics:
❍ More than 30 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third-grade level. ―ProLiteracy
❍ Children whose parents have low literacy levels have a 72 percent chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves. These children are
more likely to get poor grades, display behavioral problems, have high absentee rates, repeat school years, or drop out. ―National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
❍ 75 percent of state prison inmates did not complete high school or can be classified as low literate. ―Rand Report: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education²⁰
Problem 4: The Regression of Academic Writing Ability
Academic writing refers to the type of writing required in high school or college classes and to the type of writing required in professional settings. Johnson (2016) defines academic writing as “the types of writing used in college-level writing courses.”²¹ Whereas creative writing focuses on voice and word choice, academic writing focuses on content/ideas, organization,
and grammatical correctness. Michael Clay Thompson (2009) suggests that academic writing must be “in standard academic English, in organized essay structure, with correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. The academic genre is the most important, and it must dominate [educators’] priorities.”²²
One main problem with the anti-grammar movement is that “with the advent of the Communicative Approach in [English Language Teaching], grammar has been marginalized as the focus has shifted from accuracy to communicative
competence. Yet, an obvious decline in written proficiency has been noticed due basically to poor grammar.”²³

Edition details

• Publisher: Gifted Unlimited
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1953360351
• ISBN 13: 9781953360359
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 136