Resource Series Overview

This online professional development is designed to enhance teachers' knowledge and skill so they can effectively teach grammar in context. Teaching grammar in context involves showing powerful models like sentences within mentor texts, rather than marking errors and correcting weak or wrong examples. Using model sentences from mentor texts teaches students to focus on what is effective in a piece of writing and then to give it a try in their own writing.

Using models to teach written conventions in context is closely linked to teaching students to notice author's style or craft. Students begin to notice how different authors use language and conventions to make their writing "work" and come alive for the reader. Teaching written conventions does not involve "hunting" for errors. It does facilitate student thinking and their own development as writers. Students learn to experiment in their own writing--to try what they notice other authors doing with language and conventions.

The series begins with an overview of how to teach conventions in context and is followed by topic-specific resources.

The following instructional practices for teaching written conventions in context use model or mentor sentences to help students learn how conventions are used by authors to clarify and convey meaning in their writing.

  • Notice
  • Imitate
  • Share
  • Collect
  • Write/Revise
  • Break Apart/Combine

 

Resource Series Table of Contents

Click the topics below to view the resources in the Teaching Sentence Skills series. Each topic will open a new resource with instructional information and a video demonstration.

Download and print a resource checklist by clicking the button below.

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Teaching Written Conventions in Context

Teaching Apostrophes in Context

Teaching Appositives in Context

Teaching Capitalization in Context

Teaching Colons in Context

Teaching Dialogue in Context

Teaching Simple and Compound Sentences in Context

Teaching Active and Passive Verbs in Context

Writing a Series