Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer's Workshop

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By: Jeff Anderson
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EDITORIAL REVIEW



Some teachers love grammar and some hate it, but nearly all struggle to find ways of making the mechanics of English meaningful to kids. As a middle school teacher, Jeff Anderson also discovered that his students were not grasping the basics, and that it was preventing them from reaching their potential as writers. Jeff readily admits, “I am not a grammarian, nor am I punctilious about anything,” so he began researching and testing the ideas of scores of grammar experts in his classroom, gradually finding successful ways of integrating grammar instruction into writer's workshop.



Mechanically Inclined is the culmination of years of experimentation that merges the best of writer's workshop elements with relevant theory about how and why skills should be taught. It connects theory about using grammar in context with practical instructional strategies, explains why kids often don't understand or apply grammar and mechanics correctly, focuses on attending to the “high payoff,” or most common errors in student writing, and shows how to carefully construct a workshop environment that can best support grammar and mechanics concepts. Jeff emphasizes four key elements in his teaching:
  • short daily instruction in grammar and mechanics within writer's workshop;
  • using high-quality mentor texts to teach grammar and mechanics in context;
  • visual scaffolds, including wall charts, and visual cues that can be pasted into writer's notebooks;
  • regular, short routines, like “express-lane edits,” that help students spot and correct errors automatically.


Comprising an overview of the research-based context for grammar instruction, a series of over thirty detailed lessons, and an appendix of helpful forms and instructional tools, Mechanically Inclined is a boon to teachers regardless of their level of grammar-phobia. It shifts the negative, rule-plagued emphasis of much grammar instruction into one which celebrates the power and beauty these tools have in shaping all forms of writing.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Publisher: Stenhouse Publishers
Pub. Date: 1st January 2005
Catalog: Book
Media: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 216
Ean: 9781571104120
Isbn: 1571104127

ABOUT THIS BOOK

USER REVIEWS

Great Resourse
~ Written on Nov 19, 2009. out of users found this review helpful.

I wish I could use this better in my classroom. Unfortunately, I have little control over what I teach.

Children Learn from Quality Examples
~ Written on Sep 27, 2009. out of users found this review helpful.

Mechanically Inclined is a MUST HAVE RESOURCE for any teachers of writing from kindergarten through college. Here's the gist: children learn to write from analyzing quality examples of published writing. Students learn the mechanics of our written language by "trying on" skills they see authors use.

The Skills Side of Writing Workshop
~ Written on Mar 14, 2009. out of users found this review helpful.

So many teachers new to Writing Workshop (aka Writers Workshop) think that it's just a free-for-all time of creative, non-directed writing. So far from the truth! The best teachers infuse mini-lessons which develop the writer's craft and skill set, and bring about real improvements in grammar, usage, and editing skills. For the teacher seeking to do this, Mechanically Inclined is highly recommended. You'll find yourself amazed that langauage arts skills can integrate so easily into your writing program, without sacrificing student creativity.

Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer's Workshop
~ Written on Mar 5, 2009. 1 out of 1 users found this review helpful.

A must have book if you are teaching writing. It provides a novel approach to teaching grammar in context with rich literature. It is a book of great examples and wonderfully rich excerpts from literature. It is a book that may be used with fourth graders as well as students in junior high and high school. My students love his cleverness. We laugh as we learn together. Great!

Best Buy
~ Written on Nov 18, 2008. 3 out of 3 users found this review helpful.

I'm a glutton for books on education, and I can comfortably say that this is hands-down the most practical, entertaining, and useful book I read in 2008. While I was still reading the book I was able to implement some of Anderson's ideas in my own classroom. He's a middle school teacher but I adapt many of his lesson ideas for my third grade class. He answered every question and eased my discomfort about teaching structure in a fluidly structured environment like writer's workshop. Well done in striking the balance between squelching student ideas and squeaking by with any old slop.

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