Grammar to Get Things Done: A Practical Guide for Teachers Anchored in Real-World Usage

by Darren Crovitz, Michelle D. Devereaux

CO-PUBLISHED BY ROUTLEDGE AND THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH
Grammar to Get Things Done offers a fresh lens on grammar and grammar instruction, designed for middle and secondary pre-service and in-service English teachers. It shows how form, function, and use can help teachers move away from decontextualized grammar instruction (such as worksheets and exercises emphasizing rule-following and memorizing conventional definitions) and begin considering grammar in applied contexts of everyday use.

Modules (organized by units) succinctly explain common grammatical concepts. These modules help English teachers gain confidence in their own understanding while positioning grammar instruction as an opportunity to discuss, analyze, and produce language for real purposes in the world. An important feature of the text is attention to both the history of and current attitudes about grammar through a sociocultural lens, with ideas for teachers to bring discussions of language-as-power into their own classrooms.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Teaching

250 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2016

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic. The introductory sections basically function as a social justice treatise on grammar and language. There's so many good ideas here--I will need to buy a copy of this in the fall!

TBH, I did only skim the concepts section (chapter 4) since...it's summer and I'm not actually planning lessons or helping students evaluate their writing right now.

[Karson Chicvara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grammar To Get Things Done: A practical guide for teachers anchored in real-world usage is designed for preservice English teachers of all levels. By starting with revisiting definitions and grammar study, this book opens up to moving away from standard worksheets to scenario-anchored learning. It provides a constructive foundation for English teachers who need to increase their confidence in grammar instruction.

The book is divided into 4 chapters, with the meat and potatoes being in the 4th chapter. You get to that quickly. I liked how it focused on teaching grammar intentionally. The authors take a different approach by targeting grammar as a “generative, useful tool rather than simply a set of rules for correcting errors.” The hook was when they spoke about usage. “I ain’t got none means I don’t have any or I have none.” It means the same but why do we consider one wrong? While it borders on preachy at times, I think it’s a good baseline for reimagining what grammar could be.

I think this book is most intended for teachers at the start of their career, before they get trapped into their classical authoritarian grammar school ways. It provides a constructive foundation but is not meant to be used as a “straight-off-the-shelf workbook.” I give this a thumbs up and it is a useful book on any English teacher’s bookshelf.

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about grammar instruction. The book not only discusses the pedagogy behind their ideas of grammar, but it also provides examples of how to teach grammar in-context to the student writing. I am happy to see that it is not an explicit "here is a curriculum" type book, but it provides you with the skeletal base lessons, units, and instruction to use and modify to your own curriculum.

[Heather Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great advice particularly for teachers uncomfortable with grammar. Includes Excellent and relevant lessons that incorporate grammar into kids' writing!

[Anna Robinette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will be using in my future classroom.

[Mandy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this a lot in the classroom

[Nicole Marie]

I didn't read this entire book, so I don't feel that I can assign a rating. However, I found the first few chapters to be incredibly interesting. The authors discuss some of the implicit values that lie behind prescriptive grammar instruction and argue for the benefits of grammar instruction that values the language usage in students' communities beyond the classroom. All language use is based on grammar rules, and our society's evaluation of some grammars as better than others is both arbitrary and discriminatory, and I appreciate the framework that the authors provide for formal grammar instruction that builds on rather than negates students' experiences with language outside of school. The second part of the book includes many lesson ideas for embedding grammar lessons in an English curriculum, and if I plan grammar lessons in the future, I definitely intend to revisit this resource.