ELA SymposiumGrades 6th – 8th Grammar and the Test

February, 2016

Sari L. BrecoskyHeather Moschetta

WelcomeWe are Heather and SariBreaks am and pmLunch will be on your own 11:30 – 1:00

No smoking around the building

You will receive the PowerPoint at the end of the morning session.

Importance of Grammar. . . College and Career Readiness

◦Share their knowledge through writing◦Clearly articulate their own ideas and confirm that they have been understood

◦Understand that writing varies depending on purpose, task, audience

◦**Demonstrate command of standard English**

Grammar on the PSSA

Nouns. . . Everything relates back to the noun

somehow.

Discernment of “which noun” is the subject

Too often we silo noun types

Person Place Thing

Work with a partner. . . List all the types of nouns

No use of electronic devices

No soliciting assistance outside of your partnership

We will debrief in about 5 minutes

  seashells pickpocket gardening coffee purity spinster flocks’Person              

Place              

Thing              

Common              

Proper              

Concrete              

Abstract              

Singular              

Plural              

Collective              

Gerund OR Verbal              

Countable              

Uncountable OR Mass

             

Gender specific              

Singular Possessive

             

Plural possessive              

Compound Nouns              

Animate              

Inanimate  

             

Noun Assessment. . . Sentence writing

◦ Write a sentence that contains a noun with the following 5 attributes:

Common -Countable -Inanimate Plural -Concrete

Selection The herd’s smallest ponies were following the mares.1. Underline the noun that is collective, possessive, and uncountable. 2. Underline the noun that is common, plural, gender specific, and animate.

Making it public. . .

Generalization is difficult when things are separated as if they were exclusive to a category.

Showing overlap strengthens noun identification.

With a partner. . .Name the four categories of verbsDefine eachList verbs for categories with finite

possibilitiesNo use of electronic devicesNo soliciting assistance outside of your

partnershipWe will debrief in about 5 minutes

Verbs. . . Action

Linking

Helping

◦ Modal Can NEVER act alone!

“to be” “to do” “to have” is, are did, do, have, has was, were does hadambe, being, been

could should wouldwill shall canmay might mustought to

ACTION VERBS

Transitive and Intransitive VerbsDirect and Indirect Objects

Action verbs

TRANSitive transit◦ Moves the action onto who or what

Intransitive -- the verb has no direct object its acting on!I always eat before school.I always eat a good breakfast.

The who or what is called a direct object Indirect object is a noun or pronoun answers “to whom”

or “for whom” it receives the direct object

I gave Jack a dollar.

LINKING VERBS

To beTo do

To have

Other Linking Verbs. . . Common Verbs: appear, seem Verbs of sensation: feel, look, smell, sound, taste◦The type of verb depends on what it is

doing in the sentence!!!! Verbs of existence: act, appear, be, become, continue, grow, prove, remain, seem, sit, stand, turn

The girl tastes the sweet peach

The peach tastes sweet.Turn and explain to your neighbor what type of verb the word “taste” is acting as.

If the subject is doing it – action The peach is not doing anything – state of

being

Different names for the same thing. . .

Subject Complement -----------------------Predicate nominativesPredicate Adjective

Subject Complement. . .

Linking verbs DO NOT show action. They link the subject to more information (the complement.)

They include to be, to do, and to have verbs along with seem, appear, look, taste, sound etc.

Two important points to remember:1. When a sentence contains a linking verb, THE

COMPLEMENT MAY BE EITHER A NOUN OR AN ADJECTIVE.

2. When the subject compliment is a noun, THE SUBJECT AND THE COMPLEMENT ARE EQUAL.

Let’s explicate a couple sentences

Darren is texting his classmates. noun verb verb PN noun

Captain Hook was a pirate. noun verb article noun

The movie is interesting.article noun verb adjective

Subject Helping Verb

LinkingVerb Noun ComplementSubject

ActionVerb Object

Adjective ComplementLinkingVerbC. Subject

HELPING VERBS

To change the tense of a verbTo ask a questionTo work in tandem to create emphasis

To form negative verbsTo form passive voiceTo add inferential ideas

To change the tense of a verb: am hoping [present progressive]

have finished [present perfect]

will go [simple future]

will have been working [future perfect progressive]

To ask a question: Do I have the right password?

Does your daughter have the garage code?

Did you forget to do your homework?

Do + subject + main verb

To work in tandem to create emphasis. . .

After all, the team does plan to attend.

We do need a new couch, no matter what you think!

I did walk the dog.

To form negative verbs. . . I did not see the end of the Pirate’s game. We haven't finished yet. Please do not open this door. The mail won't go out until tomorrow. I will never forget meeting you

Do + + main verb

Not = adverb Not part of the verb phrase

not

To form passive voice. . . were eliminated

have been elected is being organized will be held would have been selected

Add an inferential idea. . . must read [necessity] can read [ability] can read, may read [permission] could read, may read, might read

[possibility] ought to read, should read [advisability]

Take Aways. . .Make grammar instruction as explicit as possible. Model and Talk, Model and Talk, Model and Talk

Make sure that you KNOW it before you TEACH it

Make the rules understandable!

All grades can provide instruction in grammar.

Pay attention to synonymous terminology.

You must take it past a work sheet level! The academic benefit is at the analytical level.

Build a skeleton of knowledge that is constantly reviewed and built upon.

Let’s play. . .Green = yes or trueRed = no or falseWait until I say “show me.”

There are 8 “to be” verbs.

To have an indirect object in a sentence,

you must have a direct object.

Auxiliary model verbs never need another verb

to complete the sentence.

Collective nouns are always also concrete.

The “To be”, “To do”, and “To have” verbs can

perform as a linking verb or a helping verb in a

sentence.

All transitive verbs are action verbs.

The underlined word is an intransitive verb.

Sari went home and drank her wine.

The verb “could” can act as the main verb in a

sentence.

The underlined word is a gerund and a direct object.

Mia enjoys exercising.

Inductive vs. Deductive Approaches

Inductive Involves learners

detecting or noticing patters

Learners work out a “rule” for themselves before they practice the grammar concept

Deductive Learners are given a

general grammar rule The rule is applied to

specific language examples

The rule is honed through practice exercises

Inductive Example:Subject Pronouns

Volunteer, please!

Heather is walking. I am walking. She is walking.

◦ What changes, depending on the person talking?◦ What is a subject pronoun?◦ What rule can you determine from these

examples?

Inductive Example: Object Pronouns Another volunteer, please!

Kevin picked the book up from the table. Kevin picked it up from the table.

◦ What has changed?◦ What is an object pronoun?◦ What rule can you determine from these

examples?

Inductive Pros and ConsPros

Can work with grammar that is consistent and simple in use and form

Learner-centered: learner is more active in the process rather than being a passive recipient

Promotes “noticing” and helps develop deeper understanding

Cons

More time and energy consuming

More demanding of teacher and learner

It is possible that the student could arrive at an incorrect or incomplete rule and thus foster misunderstanding

Deductive Example:Subject/Object Pronouns The subject is the

person or thing doing the action

Subject pronouns function as the subject of the sentence

The object is the person or thing receiving the action

Object pronouns function as the object of the sentence

I you he sheit we you they

me you him herit us you the

m

Deductive Pros and ConsPros

Straightforward, to the point; can therefore save time

Good for rule aspects that can be simply and clearly explained

A number of direct practice/application examples are immediately given

Cons

Novice learners may not be able to understand the concepts or grammar terminology presented

Grammar explanation encourages teacher-centered classroom, so it immediately hinders learner involvement and interaction

Deductive approach encourages the belief that learning language is simply a case of knowing the rule

Turn and Talk. . .Which approach to grammar instruction do you primarily use?

How does it work for you?

Would you try the other approach? Why or why not?

Pronoun Case There are three pronoun cases

◦ Subjective case: pronouns used as subjects◦ Objective case: pronouns used as objects◦ Possessive case: pronouns that express ownership

Pronouns as Subjects Pronouns as Objects Pronouns that

show Possession

I me my (mine)you you your (yours)he, she, it him, her, it his, her (hers), it (its)we us our (ours)they them their (theirs)who whom whose

Problems of Pronoun Case. . .1. In compound structures, where there are two pronouns or a noun and a pronoun, drop the other noun for a moment. Then you can see which case is correct.

◦ Bob and I/me travel a good deal. (Would you say, "me travel"?) – use subjective case

◦ He gave the flowers to Jane and I/me. (Would you say, "he gave the flowers to I"?) – use

objective case◦ Us/We men like the coach.

(Would you say, "us like the coach"?) – use subjective case

Problems of Pronoun Case. . .2. In comparisons. Comparisons usually follow “than” or “as”: He is taller than her/she.

◦He is taller than she (is tall). This helps you as much as I/me.

◦This helps you as much as (it helps) me. She is as noisy as them/they.

◦She is as noisy as they (are).

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement. . .

A pronoun usually refers to something earlier in the text (its antecedent) and must agree in number – singular/plural – and gender – male/female – with the thing to which it refers.

Common Agreement Errors. . . What is wrong with these sentences? How can

you fix them? (2 ways)

◦The AIU welcomes you to their ELA Symposium.

◦Every student must see their counselor before scheduling their classes.

◦No one needs to bring their books to class.

Mandy was always teasing her younger sister It made her mother angry.

Mandy was always teasing her younger sister. This made her mother angry

Both are vague Mandy was teasing her younger sister. This

behavior made her mother angry◦ add This WHAT

Mandy’s teasing of her younger sister made her mother angry.◦ Combine and rewrite

Vague Pronouns

Activity TimeEligible Content. . .

Work with partner or two. . . Color the EC that is shared by all 3 grades The language MUST be exactly the same

Now highlight EC common between 7th and 8th grades

But wait. . .there’s more! Subtle nuances among released items◦5, 6, 7, 85,6 6, 77,8

Overlap. . .

D1.1 = Grammar and Usage

D1.2 = Capitalization Punctuation Spelling

D2.1 = Conventions

Codes. . .

Grammar on the PSSA. . .

Sample questionsSample stems

Released items

1. Decide on grade level2. Choose the correct answer

Activity Time. . .

7thA

8th C

6th

A

7thC

7thD

8thC

5thC

6thA

8th D

6th B

7th C

Take-Aways. . .Grammar concepts - ALIGNMENTGrammar instructionCommon errors/misconceptionsSample questions

◦Why the wrong answers are wrong

Reading Achievement Website the collection of common EC

As always. . .

Thank you for all that you do for

kids.