A Backstory

When I agreed to write a post about grammar and conventions for this blog series, it seemed like a great idea. However, as I wrote, revised, and reflected, I realized that grammar and conventions, while frequently discussed together, occupy two different buckets. Therefore, I’ve separated the two in this post, and I’ve linked different research to them. 

As a Coach

If you are reading this post, I bet you have heard or said one of these phrases along the lines of:

• “They all know that sentences start with capital letters, but they don’t do it.”
• “I know they know that I should be capitalized.”
• “They can’t be bothered with punctuation.”

But here’s the conundrum… I’ve deciphered many beautiful pieces of student writing when I’ve tackled the challenge of messes, streams of thought, and original spelling. As a result, I’ve become careful and cognizant about weighing the importance of legibility against that of creativity and expression. Writing is an act of vulnerability. Even adults I know will not share their writing publicly because they worry about their misuse of commas. But is the correct placement of curves what makes a great writer? I work hard to balance feedback in such a way that I honor the ideas and stories that children have with the skills of formalized language they should develop.

Let’s Start With a Focus on Grammar

How We Got Here: Finlay McQuade’s study and research (Mcquade, 1980) argued that formal grammar instruction often fails to improve writing and can even be detrimental. He pointed to limitations in the research base and emphasized the importance of focusing on writing itself rather than isolated grammar drills. His alternative approaches advocated for teaching grammar in context, emphasizing its role in communication and meaning-making rather than rote memorization of rules. McQuade’s research also shows that students are more likely to learn and retain grammar naturally through writing and discussion.

The work of Constance Weaver aligns with McQuade’s study. Weaver wrote Teaching Grammar in Context and Grammar to Enrich and Enhance Writing and many other articles and publications about grammar. Her work draws on the combination of theory and practice and emphasizes the importance of “focusing on key grammatical options and skills in the context of actual writing, throughout the writing process and over time” (Weaver et al, 2006).

Examine The Evidence: Dr. Steve Graham has become my go-to person for writing research. His work includes meta-analyses and the synthesis of existing research on writing. In 2012, he created an expansive document for the U.S. Department of Education, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers. While significant recommendations for writing instruction support the writing process, teaching strategies for fluency, developing a community of writers, and having daily time for writing, there is no consistency when it comes to effective instruction of grammatical concepts. However, his research and documents echo and support Weaver’s practice. “Grammar instruction that relies on worksheets or copying tasks to teach sentence-writing skills can be disconnected from students’ actual writing. Students may be able to correctly circle parts of speech or identify and correct errors in punctuation, but they often do not develop the ability to use these skills in their own work” (Graham 2012, p. 33). Graham’s work emphasizes the importance of students practicing these skills within the writing process.  

“Grammar instruction that relies on worksheets or copying tasks to teach sentence-writing skills can be disconnected from students’ actual writing. Students may be able to correctly circle parts of speech or identify and correct errors in punctuation, but they often do not develop the ability to use these skills in their own work.”

(Graham 2012, p. 33).

Implications for Practice

The work of Jeff Anderson and Whitney LaRocca in the series Patterns of Power involves a predictable process of having students notice, note, and emulate sentences. Those sentences may contain grammatical elements, as well as explicit uses of punctuation. The challenge becomes moving beyond lessons and practice and getting students to transfer those skills into their authentic writing work. To do this, consider:

• Aligning grammar and convention skills to relevant units. Some examples include but aren’t limited to:
  • Rules and conventions that relate to quotation marks during a narrative writing unit because dialogue has explicit rules.
  • Sentence variety and structures during an opinion unit because repetition and parallel structure are powerful persuasive strategies.
  • Sentence fragments during information writing unit because notetaking should usually be done with bullets of information.
• Naming and noticing in all types of literary experiences grammatically-oriented decisions that authors made including but not limited to:
  • The use of fragments.
  • Beginning sentences with conjunctions.
  • Varieties of sentence structures and lengths. 
• Providing students with opportunities to practice skills in isolation such as:
  • Combining short sentences with a variety of conjunctions or sentence structures (appositives and prepositions are great for this work!)
  • Using strong sentences as mentors to try the structures with students’ own words or ideas. 
  • Naming and developing terms and language for linguistic structures

… And On To Punctuation

This last section focuses more on those insidious dots and lines known as punctuation. Whenever I talk about punctuation, I think about my friend Maryann’s room of first graders who reflexively used end punctuation and capital letters. Both were non-negotiables in her classroom. If I combine this memory with what I know about research on habits, I can make some connections. 

While research on habits happens more because of weight and health issues and not because of periods and commas, many of the findings are applicable. This NPR interview with Charles Duhigg, who wrote The Power of Habit, provides insights into how habits form, and this post in The Conversation offers an overview of brain research related to habit-forming. Punctuation use is an important and positive effort: therefore, my work involves what research says about building habits. 

Additional research that relates to students’ use of conventions deals with specific parts of the brain. When learning or developing new skills, the brain relies on working memory. The working memory is a complex system, important for manipulating information and skills for greater and more complex use (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974). The capacity of human’s working memory varies depending on several factors which include how information can be chunked or organized, but neuroscientists agree that there is a limit to the information the working memory is able to hold onto at any given time. To learn and master a skill, the transfer to long-term memory has to happen since, as stated in this article in Scientific American, “working memory as a gateway into long-term storage. Rehearse information in working memory enough and the memory can become more permanent.” With the amount of information required of working memory being the cognitive load, it’s important to realize that writing, even without the use of conventions, requires a significant cognitive load. 

Implications for Practice

To build a habit:

• Know that research shows habits form more easily in the morning than in the afternoon. Therefore, consider reminding students to use punctuation in the morning. 
• Start small. Lean into the habit of capital I every time or the first letters of sentences. 
• Be consistent. Have a chart in the room that enumerates the expectations and refer to it. A lot. 
• Celebrate successes. 

Alternative Viewpoint or Opposing Views

It’s important to note that the body of evidence around how students acquire and learn grammar and conventions is relatively small compared to other literacy fields. Controversy continues when it comes to traditional grammar, and the debate about the effectiveness of grammar instruction remains ongoing. I look forward to reading more research that supports effective instruction around grammar and conventions. 

Concluding Thoughts

Good teaching involves balance, prioritization, and clarity. Writing requires the integration of many skills, many of which are approximations long before they are mastered. Celebrate the approximations, knowing that there will be times when students’ use of grammar may regress, and students may not always remember to use capitalization and punctuation that they know. I know exactly how to hit a forehand in tennis, but there are plenty of times when what I KNOW does show up in what I DO. I hope that some of this research and implications for practice will resonate with someone, leading to celebrations, reflections, and reminders about how people learn.

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This is a giveaway of How to Become a Better Writing Teacher by Carl Anderson and Matt Glover, donated by Heinemann. To enter the giveaway, readers must leave a comment on any BUILD YOUR EXPERTISE BLOG SERIES POST by Sun., 2/18 at 12:00 PM EST. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on February 19. The winner must provide their mailing address within five days, or a new winner will be chosen. TWT readers from around the globe are welcome to enter this contest!

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References:

Works Cited

Anderson, Jeff, and Whitney La Rocca. Patterns of Power : Inviting Young Writers into the Conventions of Language, Grades 1-5. Portland, Maine, Stenhouse Publishers, 2017.

Baddeley, A., and Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. Psychol. Learn. Motiv. 8, 47–89. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.12.014

Burmester, A., & US, T. C. (2017, June 5). Working memory: How you keep things “in mind” over the short term. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/working-memory-how-you-keep-things-ldquo-in-mind-rdquo-over-the-short-term/#:~:text=It%20seems%20only%20elaborative%20rehearsal,being%20tied%20to%20spatial%20location.

Duhigg, Charles. “Habits: How They Form and How to Break Them.” Npr.org, 2019, http://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147192599/habits-how-they-form-and-how-to-break-them.

Graham, Steve, et al. “Writing: Importance, Development, and Instruction.” Reading and Writing, vol. 26, no. 1, 29 June 2012, pp. 1–15, link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11145-012-9395-2, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-012-9395-2. Accessed 22 July 2019.

Graham, Steve. Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers. 2012.

McQuade, Finlay. “Examining a Grammar Course: The Rationale and the Result.” The English Journal, vol. 69, no. 7, 1980, pp. 26–30. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/817403. Accessed 10 Feb. 2024.

Smith, Ashleigh E., et al. “Here’s What Happens in Your Brain When You’re Trying to Make or Break a Habit.” The Conversation, theconversation.com/heres-what-happens-in-your-brain-when-youre-trying-to-make-or-break-a-habit-201189#:~:text=During%20the%20early%20stages%20of.

Weaver, Constance. Teaching Grammar in Context. Boynton/Cook, 1996.

Weaver, Constance, and Jeff Anderson. English Teaching: Practice and Critique. Vol. 5, no. 1, 2006, files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ843821.pdf.