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I'd like to widen the debate about the role of good grammar teaching. THREAD. The explicit teaching of grammar is a vital strand of disciplinary literacy. If we want to develop our Ss' subject-specific literacy skills, we need to embed good grammar teaching across the (1)
curriculum, not just within the critical, creative genres of my subject - English. To be a confident writer, reader, speaker in other subjects, similar arguments apply: understanding grammatical choices, and how content is constructed through language, is enabling. Let's take (2)
a brief tour of the curriculum. The nimble preposition indicates relationships between forces & materials in DT - an input force *from* the hand *onto* the scissor blades - similarly, in Physics, PE or Science, it conveys spatial relationships & abstract concepts. Next, the (3)
passive voice can be found in various classrooms from RE - No work is permitted on the Sabbath - to History - Approximately 200 priests and laymen had been executed - to Science - The chemical reactions involved in photosynthesis are controlled by enzymes. Raising qus of (3)
agency, power & control - or, as in the latter eg, used to explain scientific process. As disciplinary knowledge becomes more abstract, so does the language. It's helpful to unpack complex noun groups & nominalised expressions with Ss. So, in Food Tech we may need to (4)
talk, read & write about - The rapid ripening and deterioration after harvesting - to explain a process rather than simply describe, 'yes it's gone manky'. While we're in FT, I will also advocate for the adjective as a central player in evaluative writing - stodgy, stringy (5)
lumpy, mushy, brittle, gritty, tender, waxy, zesty, crystalline, rancid, tart. If we drop in on Music then our Ss may also be engaged in evaluation, using noun phrases to assess - clever twists, strident rhythm patterns, urgent details & restless, fast-moving ostinatos. (6)
A final stop can be made in Maths where the determiner is grafting away to highlight key info in a word problem - *each* gallon of petrol costs X, so for *this* journey.....
In conclusion, (itself a valiant adverbial - oh no, I just fronted it) I think cross- curricular (7)
In conclusion, (itself a valiant adverbial - oh no, I just fronted it) I think cross- curricular (7)
grammar teaching is important because it is that door to disciplinary thinking & doing; powerful for all Ss.
It can & should be delivered in a creative, engaging way - it's so much more than the naming of parts. But that's a whole new thread. End.
It can & should be delivered in a creative, engaging way - it's so much more than the naming of parts. But that's a whole new thread. End.
