With
Teaching Grammar in Context
, thousands of teachers discovered why students achieve better results when they learn grammar during the process of writing. In
Lessons to Share
, Connie Weaver's promised sequel, she focuses on the practical, offering valuable "lessons" from educators at all levels.
The first section of the book addresses the learning and teaching of grammar, setting the stage for subsequent sections. The purpose behind the article on how language is learned is to help readers understand that babies and preschoolers acquire the grammar of their language without direct instruction and that language continues to develop indirectly during children's school years. Connie's article on teaching grammar in the context of writing articulates other aspects of the rationale that underlies this book: teaching grammar in the context of its use.
The second and major section deals with teaching grammar through writing, across the grades. The authors address punctuation, parts of speech, effective word choice and syntax, and conferencing with students to teach revision and editing. The next section focuses on style, with emphasis on sentence composing, "image grammar," and "breaking the rules" for stylistic effect. There is also a discussion of the power of dialects and the dialects of power. The last section deals with teaching the English language and its grammar to ESL students in kindergarten through college. The section and book conclude with an article on using grammar checking computer software.