Download Noun Phrases - Amy Benjamin

Grammar Instruction to Improve
Writing
• Why?
• What?
• How?
Presented by Amy Benjamin
Engaging Grammar: Practical Advice for
Real Classrooms (NCTE, 2007)
I
teaching grammar.
“I’m not sure I’m right.”
I never learned
this.
Takes away from
real writing instruction
“Not interesting. Not fun.”
“Doesn’t transfer.
Doesn’t stick.”
“Rigid.”
“Too negative.
It’s like math.
I.
Cesar Chavez helped the farm workers.
He advocated for them. He did not
encourage violence. He led a boycott
instead of violence. The boycott was an
effective method of resistance. (30)
III.
Cesar Chavez, advocate for farm
workers, helped them not by
encouraging violence, but by leading
a boycott. The boycott was an effective
method of resistance.. (25)
II.
Cesar Chavez helped the farm workers,
and he advocated for them. He did not
encourage violence. He led a boycott
instead of violence, and the boycott
was an effective method of resistance.
(32)
IV.
Cesar Chavez, advocate for farm
workers, helped them not by
encouraging violence, but by leading
a boycott, which is an effective method
of resistance. (24)
Grammar is the most significant
determiner of sophisticated style.
1. Grammar is a system of making sentences out of parts.
The parts have to match (agree):
Number (singular or plural)
Gender (masculine, feminine, neutral)
Case (subjective, objective, possessive)
Tense (past, present, future)
2. Writers and speakers place the parts in a certain order
and that order affects the impact of the message.
3. The two main parts of language are nouns and verbs.
Everything else either modifies nouns or verbs or joins words,
phrases, and clauses.
What should the study of grammar accomplish?
1. Better communication between teachers and students
about language
2. Understanding the rhetorical effects of grammatical choices:
What can a sentence do?
How can I be in control of my sentences?
Lacking sentence integrity:
(Unintentional) fragments, run-ons,
comma splices
No complex sentences; few sophisticated
or compound structures
Lacking sense of subject-verb agreement
Lacking sense of patterns in
English language spelling:
…ght
…ea
…ie/ei
suffixes
Writing is not speech
Lacking detail at the sentence level:
Lacking care in presentation:
Few modifiers:
No margins;
few pre and post noun adjective structures Illegible handwriting;
few adverbial structures
No difference between a period
few prepositional phrases
and a comma;
no use of verbals
Capitalization rules not observed,
no use of appositives
inc.no obvious difference
few introductory structures in sentences; between lower case and capitals
lacking lead-in from one sentence to
the next (lacking awareness of reader needs)
The Basics I
Phrase Group of words, either noun + modifiers or
verb + modifiers; not both
Clause
Noun + verb (plus their modifiers)
Sentence Clause that can stand alone
Kinds of Information
Noun Phrases:
Who?
What?
Adjective Structures
Which one?
What kind?
How many?
Verb structures:
What does/did it do?
Adverb structures:
Where?
When?
Why?
In what manner?
How often?
The Basics II
Noun:
I can put “the” in front of it (and it makes sense)
It will answer this question: What?
Noun Phrase: A noun + its modifiers
•
the big bad wolf
•
the big bad wolf with the green hat
•
the big bad wolf with the green hat that we
saw jaywalking across 52nd Street
Adjective:
I can fit it into the frame “The _______ truck(s).”
It will answer any of these questions:
Which one? What kind? How many?
The Basics III
Verb:
I can put “he” in front of it. or
I can put “must” in front of it.
The word that changes when I say “yesterday”
or “right now” is the verb.
Verb Phrase: A verb + its auxiliaries
see
have seen
will be seeing, should have seen, etc.
Adverb:
It will answer any of these questions:
Where? When? Why? In what manner?
To what extent?
Why teach grammar? Where do I
start? How do I make it interesting?
1.Sentence Wholeness
2.Prepositional phrases
3..Noun phrase expansion
4.Morphology charts
5.”Verbscape”
Declarative
Interrogative
Can you put
It is true that….
in front of it?
Exclamatory
Imperative
Does the group of words tell you
Who or what? and
What about it?
Complete
Sentence
Can you turn it into
a yes/no question?
Can you
add a “Stick-on” question?
The bicycle as a metaphor for what makes a complete sentence:
Subject Wheel tells:
Who or what?
From An Easy Guide to Writing by Pamela Dykstra (McGraw Hill)
You can find the complete PPT for this metaphor at:
http://www.ateg.org/grammar/tips/bike.ppt
Predicate Wheel tells:
What about it?
The sentence-making kit
Fold over index card:
It is true that….
in, on, at, for, with (useful prepositions)
Inside:
Coordinating conjunctions: and, but, so
Common subordinating conjunctions:
aaawwubbis: after, as, although, while,
when, until, before, because, if, since
A complete sentence can be turned
into a yes/no question:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
You used to work at Sears.
You’ve never worked at Sears.
I’ve seen you before.
That cute little light green house
with the dark green shutters in the
middle of town is for sale by owner.
Your cousins, the couple with the
triplets,
live in New Jersey.
You don’t live in New Jersey.
This is a great movie.
Ron Howard directs terrific movies.
All Americans of voting age should
vote.
When you used to work at Sears.
Because you used to work at
Sears
If all Americans of voting age
would vote.
A movie directed by Ron Howard.
Match the“Stick-On” Questions
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
You used to work at Sears.
You’ve never worked at Sears.
I’ve seen you before.
That cute little light green house
with the dark green shutters in the
middle of town is for sale by owner.
Your cousins, the couple with the triplets,
live in New Jersey.
You don’t live in New Jersey.
This is a great movie.
Ron Howard directs terrific movies.
I think.
Therefore I am.
All Americans of voting age should vote.
Haven’t I?
Doesn’t he?
Aren’t I?
Didn’t you?
Don’t they?
Shouldn’t they?
Don’t I?
Isn’t it?
Isn’t it?
Do you?
Have you?
Prepositional Phrases
How can we teach them?
Why should we teach them?
Butterfly
Spoon
Baseball cap
Turtle
Pair of scissors
Why learn to identify prepositional
phrases?
Vary sentence structure
Develop time and place dimension
Punctuate introductory elements
Eliminate redundancy
Achieve subject-verb agreement
Create parallel structure
Useful Prepositions for Essays
•
•
•
•
•
In
On
At
For
With
Noun phrase expansion
Materials:
1. Phonics flash cards (“noun cards”)
2. Small Post-it notes
3. Small Ziplock bags
4. Circular stick-on labels (1”)
Noun phrase expansion
standing over the
fish bowl
the
pink
adventurous
adventurous
pink
IT
in the kitchen
Noun and Their Modifiers
How do we teach them?
Why should we teach them?
Write your original sentence here:
Write your original
sentence here:
Write your revised sentence
(with appositive) here:
An appositive is a noun or
pronoun, along with its modifiers,
that renames the noun or pronoun
that precedes (or, sometimes,
follows) it. Appositives are set off
by commas.
Write your revised
sentence (with appositive)
here:
Morphology Chart
Noun:
The…
Verb:
He…
observation Observe
Observer
Observes
Observatory
Observed
Observant
Observing
Adjective
Which one?
What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what
extent? In what
manner?
Observant Observantly
Observable
Morphology Chart
Noun:
The…
Verb:
He…
Adjective
Which one?
What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what
extent? In what
manner?
Morphology Charts
Verb:
He…
Adjective
Which one? What
kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what extent?
what manner?
Noun:
The…
Verb:
He…
Adjective
Which one? What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what extent? In
what manner?
Noun:
The…
Verb:
He…
Adjective
Which one? What kind?
How many?
The___truck
Adverb
Where? When?
Why? To what extent? In
what manner?