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High School English Teachers Chatboard

grammar errors

by Renee

Jun 10, 2011

To yayforsummer,

Thanks for the comment. My class sounds very much like yours. I am also considered a tough teacher, but my students learn. I have high school students coming back saying that the last time they had grammar was with me in 7th or 8th grade. They are having trouble on the ACT and in college classes. I feel for them, but I can...See More

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Jo On 6/20/11, Mark Pennington wrote: > Jo, > > So true that our strict adherence to the writing process has relegated > grammar and mechanics to the all-too-frequently-ignored editing stage. > Here are diagnostic assessments with recording matrices to inform the > teacher as to how to best differentiate grammar instruction and hold ...See More

Jun 21, 2011

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Peter D You make the following assumptions:

1. Taking points off for written grammatical mistakes is an effective way to hold students responsible for correct grammar. 2. Teaching effective use of commas, sentence structure, and grammar does not require too much effort. 3. Old-fashioned teaching is good teaching.

These are all assumptions...See MoreYou make the following assumptions:

1. Taking points off for written grammatical mistakes is an effective way to hold students responsible for correct grammar. 2. Teaching effective use of commas, sentence structure, and grammar does not require too much effort. 3. Old-fashioned teaching is good teaching.

These are all assumptions worth questioning and thinking about.

-Peter

On 6/13/11, msteacher wrote: > Students should know how to write grammatically correct sentences. > It is imperative for life. Now that we are more writing more than > ever due to technology, knowing how to write grammatically correct > sentences is a must! Although technology has given us shortcuts in > our written communication, we still need to stick to the > basics..grammar!!! It's a lost art, and many students don't know > how to write good sentences anymore because grammar is not being > taught. > > I may be mistaken, but I thought the TEKS held h.s. teachers > responsible for grammar, usage, and mechanics as well. If so, then > they must be taught/reviewed and students must be held accountable > for using them correctly in their writing and with a loss of points > if they don't. Our high school teachers teach proofreading and > editing skills not to mention how to diagram sentences on top of > all the other objectives they must cover in their ELA classroom. > > It is our job to prepare our students for life...not just for tests. > I don't think commas, sentence structure, and grammar require too > much effort. > > It's my job as an English teacher to make sure these objectives are > taught as well as the millions of other objectives that are on my > plate each and every year. Nothing is too small or tedious in my > book. If it in is the TEKS, then it is taught in my classroom. > > We are so busy focusing on state assessments that good old-fashioned > teaching isn't happening like it should. > > > > > On 6/10/11, Jo wrote: >> We have EOC tests, but grammar and spelling are such a small >> portion of the points that the teachers have decided it is too >> much effort to focus time on that. >> >> On 6/10/11, yayforsummer wrote: >>> On 6/10/11, Renee wrote: >>>> To yayforsummer, >>>> >>>> Thanks for the comment. My class sounds very much like >>>> yours. I am also considered a tough teacher, but my >>>> students learn. I have high school students coming back >>>> saying that the last time they had grammar was with me in >>>> 7th or 8th grade. They are having trouble on the ACT and >>>> in college classes. I feel for them, but I cannot tell >>>> antoher teacher how to teach her classes. Anyway -- one >>>> question. Do you deduct 5 points for any error in a >>>> sentence. I have been deducting 1-3 points per error >>>> (depending on the type of error). I only deduct on grammar >>>> that I have taught. The content area teachers want to start >>>> grading for grammar in their classes next year. We are >>>> trying to come up with a consistent point system for all >>>> classes in junior high (hopefully it will carry over in >>>> high school. What are your thoughts? >>> >>> I weigh each sentence as 5 points. That way they can have >>> several errors in one sentence and only lose the 5 >> points. I >>> highlight the sentence and write the number of errors that >>> the sentence contains. I only hold them accountable >> for what >>> has been taught concerning their grammar/usage/mechanics. I >>> make them figure out why the sentence is highlighted. >> They >>> have to correct those highlighted sentences on a separate >>> piece of paper to show they understand what they did wrong. I >>> don't put commas and such in for them. >>> >>> Students usually get 2 grades on a composition: 1 grade for >>> grammar/usage/mechanics/sentence structure and 1 grade for >>> ideas/voice/organization. I teach in a 2A school and am the >>> only 8th grade English teacher, so they leave my class >>> knowing their grammar, which is what the 2 h.s. English >>> teachers asked me to focus on besides rhetorical writing. >>> >>> Maybe you and your fellow teachers should agree to take 2 >>> points off for each error no matter the type...be >> consistent. >>> As for your h.s. English teacher, she should support you in >>> this, especially with the new STAAR test. The objectives >>> with the new test are making us vertically align more where >>> we have to review previous objectives as well as teach new >>> ones. >>> >>> I just don't understand why you would work so hard at the >>> middle school level to get these kids to be great writers and >>> use correct grammar to have it all fade away. Doesn't >> h.s. >>> have STAAR and EOC tests? What do their scores look like? >>> Just curious. If students shouldn't worry about grammatical >>> mistakes then why is it on the state assessment? If they are >>> having problems with ACT and college classes, then maybe this >>> teacher isn't doing her job and someone needs to step in to >>> help her. Does she have an English degree? Is this an >>> experienced h.s. teacher or a veteran? Honestly, sounds >> like >>> your h.s. English teacher needs to teach art or something >>> because she is too free-spirited. Nothing against art >>> teachers, but that's just how I picture her. LOL! >>> >>> I hope my input helps.

Aug 19, 2011

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Technology in the HS English Classroom

by Victoria

Jun 13, 2011

Hello, everyone! Next year, I am going to be teaching 10th grade English for a group that is receiving iPads from the school to use in class. I was wondering if anyone had any tips, app or lesson ideas that may be helpful. Thanks so much!

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Ken in Las Vegas On 6/13/11, Victoria wrote: > Hello, everyone! Next year, I am going to be teaching 10th > grade English for a group that is receiving iPads from the > school to use in class. I was wondering if anyone had any > tips, app or lesson ideas that may be helpful. Thanks so > much!

This might be the place to start: [link removed] ...See More

Jun 13, 2011

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curiositycat Thanks to Cool Cat Teacher Blog, I just ran across this great website that shows how various iPad apps fit into Bloom's Taxonomy (I'm all about getting my students to the higher levels of thinking, so I'll definitely be exploring this site at greater length):

[link removed]

On 6/13/11, Ken in Las Vegas wrote: > On 6/13/11, Vi...See More

Jun 14, 2011

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How do I help a freshman who can't read?

by Jenna

Jun 13, 2011

Last year, I had a boy in my English 9 class who couldn’t read. He did okay when we did whole-class books because we discussed them and read parts of them in class. When I had the kids in book groups, he said he didn’t like his book. When I asked him why, he clarified that he really didn’t like reading at all because he doesn’t understand a...See More

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Resource English Teacher I teach resource (Special Ed.) English I, II, III, and IV. When I go to ARD meetings (IEP meetings in Texas are called ARDs), I am amazed at how many parents and students honestly believe the student can read and is on grade level. I went to two graduation ARDs and told the parents and students that the students that an adult literacy program is go...See MoreI teach resource (Special Ed.) English I, II, III, and IV. When I go to ARD meetings (IEP meetings in Texas are called ARDs), I am amazed at how many parents and students honestly believe the student can read and is on grade level. I went to two graduation ARDs and told the parents and students that the students that an adult literacy program is going to be needed or at the very least a remedial English class. One problem with the special ed kids is that the parents are not much higher academically or intellectually than their children. Another problem is that the kids themselves believe that they are as smart or smarter then any AP or GT kid. So it is not possible to read books written for first, second, or third graders in high school. This is what I do. The literature books have CDs with stories in them. So I use the high school literature book for the student and play a CD in class for every kid to listen to. We carefully discuss every piece of literature. I also read the tests to the students. You have to remember it is very hard if not impossible to teach a high school student to read because in many cases the kid believes he can read. The students do not want to read out loud. In order to learn to read, the kids are going to have to read orally to a teacher as well as to classmates. If you compare your kids who do well in school and those who don't do well in school, you will find that you lower achieving kids did not have books, newspapers, or a lot of conversation in the home. These kids probably watched a lot of television. Their parents probably did not have good parenting skills or skills that could help students with specific learning disabilities or generic learning disabilities.

On 6/14/11, marjoryt wrote: > We see MANY of these situations in college; nationally 60% of > freshmen need at least 1 developmental course or more. Many > universities don't accept these students; community colleges grab > them and begin specific programs to boost the abilities. It is > entirely possible your local community college has software to test > this guy - to see what level he's on. They might see this as a > recruiting tool and do it for free; it's going to be just different > enough to appeal to the student and family. The summer could be a > GREAT time to do the testing and see the results. > > 1. Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) tests reading, math, and > grammar. It's used by GED and some community colleges to gage > "ability to benefit." The results can be normed to the GED and the > ACT (and probably the SAT). The results for each section of the test > come back in grade/month equivalent. Because the test can be used as > an indicator for vocational/technical/academic programs in college, > the father might be willing to allow this testing. > > 2. Some colleges use copyrighted software, such as Accuplacer. > > 3. Inquire with Pearson Publishing Company about their My*Lab > software. This would be an EXCELLENT solution for him during the > summer. You can take a look at it at [link removed];

Jun 29, 2011

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marjoryt I totally agree with every reason you listed, and the list goes on, especially when dealing with student athletes - I've had parents tell me, "My son/daughter is going pro - he can pay someone to read for him/her."

The key to all the tests I mentioned is instant response - the student/family get quick results that are comprehensible. ...See More

Jul 10, 2011

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Interactive Notebooks

by Teri

Jun 14, 2011

Just wondering if anyone used Interactive Student Notebooks in their high school English classes? I've been wanting to use these for a couple of years now, but haven't had the chance. I'd love to hear challenges/successes.

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Teri Here's what I was thinking:

I teach some English classes and some intensive reading. For my reading classes, I think they'd be easier. The input would be the "how to" of the different strategies. The output would be their practicing the strategies.

For English...it does seem harder. The input would consist of mostly background in...See More

Jun 15, 2011

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Delilah72 Hello, I love using I.N's! I just created a new FB page that is all about Interactive Notebooks. Please check it out!

On 6/15/11, Teri wrote: > Here's what I was thinking: > > I teach some English classes and some intensive reading. For my > reading classes, I think they'd be easier. The input would be > the "how to" of the ...See More

Jul 31, 2011

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British Literature Do's and Don'ts

by Teri

Jun 17, 2011

Bad news--three of our high school's English teachers were surplused and sent to other schools. Good news--I will FINALLY be given a couple of senior British literature courses next year!

I am very interested in hearing about your experiences teaching British literature. Any texts that work especially well? Any that the kids just really ha...See More

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Mrs. Z My students really get into the gothic novel - Dracula, Frankenstein, etc. I'm working some more modern novels in this year. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time was a hit too.

Jul 25, 2011

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Tdub I teach Orwell's 1984 to seniors in high school because I think it's important for them to get the warning that Orwell presented related to Big Brother's infiltration (the loss of privacy)into our lives. The destruction of language as it relates to writing (texting)today mirrors what Orwell was describing with newspeak. We are heading towards an in...See More

Sep 1, 2011

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Gone With the Wind

by Lizzie

Jun 20, 2011

Hello! I've been assigned a new prep for next year, and I was looking for materials to teach "Gone With the Wind." A lot of the resources aren't quite what I was looking for (and/or aren't free), so I was wondering if someone here might have some resources they would be willing to share. I center my classes around whole-group and small-group discus...See More

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Lizzie It's very realistic. It's a required read for our honor's program, so despite the text's length, the students are highly motivated to read it; it's been a huge success for the class for many years. How do I know? The junior honors class that I teach raves about it throughout the year.

That being said, I've never taught the novel, so I'm no...See More

Jun 22, 2011

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Roberta Today on CNN's website [link removed]

On 6/20/11, Lizzie wrote: > Hello! I've been assigned a new prep for next year, and I > was looking for materials to teach "Gone With the Wind." A > lot of the resources aren't quite what I was looking for > (and/or aren't free), so I was wondering if someone here > might have some resou...See More

Jun 25, 2011

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New teacher

by Jessica Head

Jun 22, 2011

Any suggestions for a new English teacher getting out of the credential program?

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Sara On 6/22/11, Jessica Head wrote: > Any suggestions for a new English teacher getting out of > the credential program?

One could write books of suggestions. Do you have a job? Do you need suggestions for landing a job or for managing a classroom?

If I limited myself to five, I'd say...

Don't be afraid to be human - t...See More

Jun 23, 2011

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90 min class

by Krista H

Jun 23, 2011

Hi! I've been teaching high school for 4 years and need some help. I feel like I've hit a plateau. When I came to high school I went with what "they" did and that was using the literature text. The problem is our test scores are dropping and the students are disengaged. So, here's my question...

If you had 90 minutes and 90 days to teach E...See More

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Teacher What does your state test focus on? The test for Texas focus on writing. When we go to EOC testing in 2012-13, the kids will have no more than 26 lines to write on. You need to divide the 90 minutes into blocks of 20 minutes, more or less. This is what I am going to do this year. Our journal will be a paragraph a week. This should take a minimum of...See MoreWhat does your state test focus on? The test for Texas focus on writing. When we go to EOC testing in 2012-13, the kids will have no more than 26 lines to write on. You need to divide the 90 minutes into blocks of 20 minutes, more or less. This is what I am going to do this year. Our journal will be a paragraph a week. This should take a minimum of 3 days. The kids will brain storm their ideas. The kids will write a first draft, revise and edit and write a final copy. Vocabulary--The kids will define 5 vocabulary words. They will do this using ideas from Marzano. On Friday the kids will have a vocabulary test. Daily oral language everyday. Teach literary elements and short stories the first 6 weeks. The kids like the Washwoman, American History, any short story in lit. book. Test freqently on literary elements. Have students use literary elements in their writing. Have the students annotate lit. elements in fairy tales. Sometime during the first six weeks have your students write an autobiography. This will be their first big writing assignment. My ninth graders will read mythology, Fahrenheit 451, and possibly the Odyssey. My department head is the grammar queen. So we spend a lot of time on grammar. The kids work on sentences, parts of speech, etc all year long. On 6/23/11, Sara wrote: > On 6/23/11, Krista H wrote: >> Hi! I've been teaching high school for 4 years and need >> some help. I feel like I've hit a plateau. When I came to >> high school I went with what "they" did and that was using >> the literature text. The problem is our test scores are >> dropping and the students are disengaged. So, here's my >> question... >> >> If you had 90 minutes and 90 days to teach English, how >> would you set up your classroom? >> >> What are some novels you use for 9th grade and American >> literature? >> >> THanks! > > I think 90 minutes for a literature or English class is too > long... that said, it's what you have to do if that's how the > schedule is set up. Of course, your test scores are dropping > can come from many things some of which have nothing to do > with what happens in the classroom. > > My best advice is - what do the other building teachers do? Do > they just teach from the text every class all class? You might > watch Freedom Writers for some ideas of a supposedly very > interactive Lit class. I'd probably give over some time to a > break... and some time to either 'work' in groups or free > write though in a shorter length class I rarely do either of > those. > > Do you have a laptop and a video projector? I'd certainly look > up every novel, every topic and every related idea that comes > into my mind and punch them into google and youtube both to > see what comes up and use any of it that's possible. You can > even punch 90 minutes Lit class into youtube and see if > demonstration classes come up that you get some ideas from > because you surely can't lecture and/or discuss for 90 minutes > at a time. > > For 9th grade we've used Catcher in the Rye - they like it - > Macbeth - House on Mango Street, The Things They Carried. > Sometimes we've used Brave New World, an oldie but a goodie > that usually produces good discussions. If I had 90 minutes > blocks, I'd only use novels that are edgy and so have a chance > of stimulating diverse opinions and discussions.

Jun 29, 2011

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Niner I'd try to break up the 90 minutes into the smallest segments possible. Anything over 15 minutes and you lose them. Even if you're reading a short story aloud, break them up after a while and have groups discuss what's happened so far, what do they predict will happen, etc. Or get them up and walking around - put 6 big pieces of butcher paper aroun...See MoreI'd try to break up the 90 minutes into the smallest segments possible. Anything over 15 minutes and you lose them. Even if you're reading a short story aloud, break them up after a while and have groups discuss what's happened so far, what do they predict will happen, etc. Or get them up and walking around - put 6 big pieces of butcher paper around the room & then groups write a question they have on the paper - each group moves to the next station & writes their answers, move again, add more answers, etc. Then groups go back to original station and report back to the class on the findings/do they agree/why or why not .... etc.

This is just one example, but you have to keep them moving & changing up the activity and working in different mediums.

You could give them a short "break" after the 1st 45 minutes, but not a real break. It's a time to stretch their legs (not to use bathroom) but have them still do something - they can choose the activity: add a journal prompt to the journal jar, add a quote or song lyric to the quote wall, this is when they can check out a book from your room library (if you have that/allow it), sharpen pencils, clean up the room for an extra credit slip, they can also chat quietly, but when they have options like this many of them will choose one.

OR you can use the "break" simply as a break from the lesson, but to do something "fun" yet still using their brains: put up a brain teaser to solve, play a song and have them identify any figurative language they find, do a quick "mad libs" that reinforces Parts of Speech, and so on.

Regarding novels/longer texts: 9th grade: Romeo & Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, Speak, Flowers for Algernon American Lit: Fahrenheit 451, The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, Our Town

On 6/23/11, Krista H wrote: > Hi! I've been teaching high school for 4 years and need > some help. I feel like I've hit a plateau. When I came to > high school I went with what "they" did and that was using > the literature text. The problem is our test scores are > dropping and the students are disengaged. So, here's my > question... > > If you had 90 minutes and 90 days to teach English, how > would you set up your classroom? > > What are some novels you use for 9th grade and American > literature? > > THanks!

Sep 1, 2011

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