Teaching Grammar: What Really Works

Instill grammar fundamentals using lessons that stick! In this book, authors Amy Benjamin and Joan Berger share procedures for teaching grammar effectively and dynamically, in ways that appeal to students and teachers alike. Ideal for teachers just beginning their work in grammar instruction, this book includes day-by-day units and reproducibles to help them embed grammar lessons into writing instruction.

Using visuals, wordplay, problem solving, and pattern-finding activities, teachers can forgo methods that fail to engage students in grammar. Through a series of activities designed to delve deeper into grammar learning, the authors share strategies that have proven successful during their extensive years of teaching and literacy consulting. Topics include:

• Using time wisely: Assess for cumulative understanding and development of writing style
• The "Verb Map": A visual metaphor of the verb system
• Teaching parts of speech for effective expression, not just memorization
• And more!

Amy Benjamin is a literacy consultant who works with educators across the United States and Canada. Her work is informed by more than thirty years of teaching experience at the middle and high school levels. She has been recognized for excellence in teaching by the New York State English Council, the State Education Department of New York, Tufts University, and Union College.As a member of the professional development team for the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and president of its Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar, Amy has had a major impact in transforming the paradigm of grammar instruction from fill-in-the-blank worksheets to the kind of active, authentic, discovery-based models presented in this book. This is Amy's eleventh book for Eye on Education., Joan Berger has developed unique approaches for teaching writing and grammar during her four decades working with high-school and middle-school students. A Golden Apple finalist, Joan has written articles for various National Council of Teachers of English journals, as well as NCTE's teacher sourcebook Professional Communities at Work: Grammar. Now a consultant who works with schools and school districts, Joan also speaks frequently at NCTE conferences about writing and grammar. At her workshops, Joan gives teachers fun, easy-to-use strategies that inspire their students to write effectively.