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

When I design lessons I use this every week! Grammar used to be so boring but I think this makes it more utilitarian and worthwhile.

Practical guide for veterans and novices alike. Humorous anecdotes sprinkled throughout. Real life scenarios and examples to help teachers plan accordingly. Love it!!

I am obsessed with this book! I’ve never had a grammar book that I was sad to have finished.

Grammar instruction has long been the scourge of students and English teachers alike. To become better writers, educators acknowledge that it is essential for students to learn the basic conventions of grammar and standard usage, but there seems to be little consensus around how to teach those rules effectively. In their book Grammar to Get Things Done, Darren Crovitz and Michelle Devereaux offer a refreshing take on the subject. Despite the fact that it raises as many questions as it attempts to answer, the text presents a compelling and organized approach to understanding grammatical concepts and what they can do once we learn how to use them. In Chapter 1, the authors present a short but lively take on the history of English language grammar and usage and its instruction. Who knew that the “Old Deluder Satan Law” of 1647 mandated the establishment of grammar schools in American colonial communities so that young people could keep the devil away by learning how to read? Chapter 2 discusses some of the moral and social implications of emphasizing “correct” language usage and teaching Standard English, especially to students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In Chapter 3, the authors explain how to incorporate grammar instruction into wider thematic units of instruction. The one widely accepted dictum governing grammar instruction is that it should never be taught in isolation or “out of context” - whatever that means. In Chapter 4, the authors do an admirable job of attempting to provide some meaningful and relevant context to the subject. There are 25 sections, each devoted to a common grammatical concept (e.g. sentences and sentence types) along with a description of its form (what the concept is), its function (how the concept works in the English language), and its use (how we use it in the world). Each section contains examples of various “real world” uses that reveal how grammar is employed to achieve a specific purpose. The authors make it clear that these “use” scenarios are invitations for teachers to “play constructively with language” and eventually encourage “language experimentation” in their classrooms. For all its virtues, Grammar to Get Things Done is not a panacea. Ostensibly, the book’s purpose is to 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.” Before implementing the techniques described in the book in their classrooms, the authors encourage teachers to work through the concepts until they are confident “connecting language choices to specific situations and intentions.” The authors acknowledge that both teachers and students should learn the rules of Standard English. Teachers need “a firm grasp of grammar and usage to help their students become better writers and language users.” Students need to demonstrate facility with Standard English or risk damaging their credibility and having their ideas dismissed. But reading the book left me with some lingering questions. To teach grammar effectively, how much of it do you really need to know? And if you know it well enough to teach it, how were you taught to learn it? And if you managed to learn grammar and use it effectively, why wouldn’t those same methods work with your students? You don’t have to be a grammarian to write like one. You don’t necessarily have to be an expert on the rules and nuances of grammar and usage to utilize them effectively. However, at some point, you must learn the rules. And, like most things, it is imperative to know the rules before you begin to entertain (or “experiment” with) the exceptions to them. As a primary student, I was taught to diagram sentences (see Rex Barks by Phyllis Davenport). To be honest, I don’t recall if I loved it or loathed it at the time. Nevertheless, I learned the rules. I practiced them. And I learned how to write. The authors question the effectiveness of this sort of approach but fail to fully put forth an alternative. Grammar to Get Things Done by Darren Crovitz and Michelle Devereaux is certainly not a substitute for more tedious or traditional methods of grammar instruction. However, it is a worthwhile resource to help teachers broaden or supplement that instruction in creative ways that can help students see how grammar matters in their everyday lives. In many ways, the book presupposes that both teachers and students have already learned the basics of Standard English grammar and usage. If so, the question remains: How were they taught to learn it?

This book is clever and modern! It is written to connect with the current, young audience. The humor is captivating and the insight is memorable!

on time - great condition

University

Of the thousands of grammar books available on the internet to teachers and students, not many talk about mechanics in terms of “everyday language use”. A structure and storytelling device applied by Darren Crovitz and Michelle D Devereaux in “Grammar to Get Things Done”. Crovitz and Devereaux, both seasoned authors with 6 grammar and writing textbooks between them followed the success of this informational text with a sequel “ More Grammar to Get Things Done: Daily Lessons for Teaching Grammar in Context”. The success of a textbook does not necessarily mean that the text will be applicable or even enjoyable for all teachers, students, and grammar novices.Those who love and devote their lives to lexical gymnastics will not appreciate the candor and simplicity of the concepts within the text. Often the text points to students not learning grammar as a separate unit or lesson, but to have it applied to their writing slowly and for correct verbiage and classifications to be used in explaining proper and improper usage. A concept that all students and many teachers still struggle with. The texts addresses this from the start in an anecdote about a rookie teacher, which most teachers likely can relate. It goes on to say that there was “so much about grammar that she didn’t know” and insinuates that by reading this text she learned “what grammar is and how it really works.” A claim that by the end, is a very possible outcome if the reader does not allow the unrelenting rhetoric to get the best of them.More lessons in how and why to teach grammar than teaching grammar it’s self the book lacks application for the reader. Even for those who live in a world of grammatical right and wrong, texts that list rules and allowances are still daunting and tedious. The application of these in the form of worksheets for the reader could really break up that lengthy and exhausting lecturing of grammar and usage which at times will even go over the head of most English teachers.It is a mighty attempt at bringing grammar into the common man’s or student’s world. The text gives support to the language of “rural life or the working class” while trying to avoid “the risk of coming across as brusque and uncompromising, possibly alienating those who think differently.” This concept of grammar being available to everyone and being taught in small doses through practical practices is the heart and soul of the text and one that is accessible to even the most skeptical of teachers.A wonderful text for those who want to increase student understanding and have ideas on how to incorporate grammar in their lessons without overwhelming students. However, it is a book best read in small doses.

Been looking for different strategies so looking forward to trying these.

This book explains very well how to teach grammar in a comprehensive and up-to-date way. It not only gives examples but also helps teachers to make grammar/structures clear for students.