Grammar Alive: A Guide for Teachers

Grammar has been characterized as "the skunk at the garden party of the language arts." Should teachers ignore it and hope it disappears? Cautiously engage with it? In this informal and inviting book, Brock Haussamen and other members of NCTE’s Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar offer a much-needed resource for the myriad K–12 teachers who wonder what to do about grammar—how to teach it, how to apply it, how to learn what they themselves were never taught. Anticipating the pressures of standardized and high-stakes testing that threaten to revive older, ineffective methods of teaching grammar, the authors of _Grammar Alive!_ offer teachers ways to negotiate the often conflicting goals of testing, confident writing, the culturally inclusive classroom, and the teaching of Standard English while also honoring other varieties of English. Novice and veteran teachers alike will appreciate the hands-on approach to grammar in the classroom that includes numerous examples and practical vignettes describing real teachers’ real classroom experiences with specific grammar lessons—including ESL issues—as well as the chapters that review grammar basics, from how to diagram a sentence to the elements of linguistic grammar. A grammar glossary and annotated list of sources for further reading round out the book. _Grammar Alive!_ is ideal for teachers who believe that grammar could play an important and enjoyable role in the language arts if only they knew better ways to teach it.