I agree! Punctuation is fundamental.

Up until reading this chapter on the importance of punctuation and how it’s fundamental to the writing process and meaning, I thought I was flying solo on this position. The impression that I had taken from several past “fish bowl” discussions, was that many people felt like punctuation and grammar just weren’t that significant in comparison to the content of a writing piece. But I completely disagree, and I’m glad Cordeiro agrees with me.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe the content in a piece of writing is crucial—if you have amazing punctuation and grammar, but the writing doesn’t impact or move the reader, you have nothing. However, I agree with Cordeiro when he/she says: “punctuation—ranging from the small, subtle comma to the large, overt paragraph—helps re-create the writer’s meaning for the reader. And in the process of being applied to a written text, punctuation helps the writer understand the writer’s own meaning.” Exactly! Without proper punctuation, it will be difficult for the reader and the writer to understand the context and meaning of their writing. For example, in the story of an imaginary first-grader named Dora, her writing always made sense in her head, but when it came out on paper without correct punctuation and convention use, her thoughts would never make sense to a reader. But through an extensive process of writing, reading her work out-loud, and re-writing, she was able to express her thoughts in a clearer way.

I appreciated in Cordeiro’s story about Dora, how the teacher was intentional about talking about and listening to the children’s explanations of their writing and thinking process. You could see throughout the story, how that practice helped Dora significantly in developing hypotheses and ways to correct her punctuation use—and on her own. The method that the teacher used reminds me a lot of Anderson, and his desire/practice of allowing students to write and think through their own mistakes. Anderson is even quoted in this chapter saying, “By allowing children to reflect on, and discuss the way language is used both by them and around them we give them the possibility to extend and refine their strategies.”

In some ways, Cordeiro’s teaching strategies that she describes in the story about Dora, correlate with what Kiel talked about in her chapter about reading. When Dora had difficulty figuring out where sentences needed to be correctly punctuated, the teacher would have her read through a short picture book in the classroom, and compare her writing/punctuation with the books. It was clear throughout Dora’s learning process, that this practice helped significantly. And it was something tangible for her to refer to. Kiel described in her segment, that reading was crucial for a students writing development—with punctuation, sentence fluency, vocabulary, etc. Again it is proven to be true in Dora’s experience—reading is key!

One sort-of random thing in this chapter that I questioned was on pg. 57, Cordeiro quotes Meyer saying, “…and is perhaps more likely to adhere to the prescriptive rule that orthographic sentences should not begin with ‘and’ or ‘but.’” Contrary to this statement, I recently discovered that this rule should be thrown out the window! So I question (only a little) the credibility of this author that Cordeiro for some reason decided to include.

Lesson to Share: Reading is key.

Reading, reading, reading, and some more reading! I feel like this is the overlying practice in which language development, increased vocabulary, correct spelling, and syntax occur. At least this is what Kiel has found through extensive research, and by simply watching her own children pass through all the developmental stages onto elementary school.

As we’ve been learning more and more about grammar, and how to incorporate it into our future classrooms, I couldn’t help but wonder if there wasn’t a more affective alternative that would actually impact students long-term. Duh! The more a person reads, the more substantial and complex their language becomes. I know that just by observing and reflecting on my own life in those key developmental stages. Before I had developed the ability to read on my own, I can remember all throughout elementary school (and even before then) either teachers reading to the class regularly, or my dad reading to me before tucking me in at night. I can confidently say that it wasn’t those mundane correct-alls and grammar lessons that developed my language and writing skills, but the fact that continuous reading was such a prevalent part of my life. I liked how Kiel emphasized the importance of reading—as a first and foremost priority, instead of wasting time trying to figure out other alternatives. “Maybe we should spend more instructional time not on instructions, but on giving the students a chance to interact with language in a meaningful way: through reading and writing for an audience. It is through such contact that true language learning takes place.” The solution is simple!

Something random I found in the text under the portion on vocabulary, Kiel found in a study done by Elley in 1989 that young children learn new vocabulary from having illustrated storybooks read to them. Why illustrated? Do they have to be illustrated? I was trying to think of the significance an illustrated storybook would bring into the development of new vocabulary, but I’m left a little lost on this conclusion. Maybe because it can help the child with context? Who knows! Food for thought.

Another thing I found interesting was a study Kiel discusses, done by Cook (she doesn’t really mention first names) in 1912, that somewhat contradicts Anderson’s methods of teaching. When talking about spelling, and ways that develop and improve a child’s spelling accuracy, she says: “Because the English spelling system is so complex, with almost as many exceptions as there are rules, memorization of rules is not a viable explanation for spelling competence.” And that brings me back to when Anderson was describing his method of posting rules and suggestions all over his classroom walls, and how that could entice students to memorize the rules instead of fully absorbing and understanding them.

All in all, I loved how Kiel addressed the deeper issues in a child’s language development—lack of or abundance of reading, instead of pretending that correct-alls and formal grammar instructions are what a student needs.

Grammar Workshops Galore

I think every time I pick up this book, I am left feeling refreshed with the ideas and suggestions that Anderson presents, and possessing a new sense of confidence in my future teaching career. What I appreciate most about reading all of Anderson’s suggestions is how passionate he is about teaching them. He is so in tune with the writing needs of all those middle school students, and unlike so many teachers these days (and like the ones we’ve mentioned during our previous fish bowl discussion) that just review overheads and engage students in monotonous tasks, his desire is for the information to impact the students for the rest of their lives. I hope to someday be that kind of teacher.

The first thing he introduced in the third chapter was how to incorporate grammar and mechanics into students’ writing, in a creative and inventive way. One way that he found to be useful was by having students participate in freewriting exercises in their very own “writer’s notebook.” He had each of the students purchase composition books that would act as their “writing canvas” throughout the course of the school year. Anderson mentions when covering the freewriting aspect of the notebooks, something that Peter Elbow wrote in his book Writing with Power: “Frequent freewriting exercises help you learn to simply get on with it and now be held back by worries about whether these words are good words or right words.” I think I identify with and appreciate this “freewriting” aspect the most because for so much of my writing career, I quenched my creative abilities by concerning myself with perfection and structured strict outlines. I think it’s so crucial in the early developmental stages of a writer, that they become comfortable with rough-drafts and grammatical errors—just as long as they are letting their thoughts flow freely. I also liked when Anderson reminded his class that “with freewrites you start with the idea [of hair] and write the whole time, and you can’t get it wrong as long as you keep writing.” I think as long as students are aware that there’s not necessarily any right or wrong way to write, they will not only come to love their ability to express themselves through words, but also desire to learn and adopt all of the grammatical and syntax intricacies of it. The point is—the first step in developing a great writer is allowing his or her creative abilities to flow.

Another idea that Anderson introduced was the “Author’s word and phrase palette.” His goal for this exercise was to have the students record words and phrases that strike them while reading. Eventually an entire collection of words and combinations of words will be formed into a palette, which they can refer to when writing in the future. Creating a word and phrase palette also will help students develop an appreciation for the power of words, Anderson mentions. Among the mechanics that students are encouraged to collect are: active verbs, cool words, phrases or combinations that work, and contrasts/comparisons (similes, metaphors, sensory images, etc.). Reading about this word and phrase palette concept, reminds me of my English classes in middle school, and how undirected I felt in the writing exercises we did. I think something like this would have been incredibly useful to me and the rest of the students (I’m sure) as a resource of words and phrases I could have dipped into when writing.

Well, I could probably write a great deal more about all of the effective teaching techniques that I’ve learned from these two chapters, but I think I’ve covered the things that I felt were most important in the development of my future students’ writing skills. I think I will probably refer to this book a lot in my teaching career because he has so many insights into what it means to be a teacher that leaves a lasting impression.