Project Description
Photo by Kat DodgeIn Why Don’t Students Like School?, Daniel T. Willingham writes: “Start with the material you want your students to learn, and think backward to the intellectual question it poses” (2008, p. 84). Through this project, I plan to take Willingham’s advice since I want my students to learn how to succeed with comma usage, particularly in compound and complex sentences. For example, on a humorous note, I would love for my students to easily be able to explain why Willingham’s quote above should not contain a comma prior to the coordinating conjunction due to the fact that the sentence only contains one independent clause. In order for my students to accomplish this objective, they will need to learn basic grammar concepts through both Michael Clay Thompson’s approach and book The Magic Lens, as well as have access to a SMART Board. These two technologies will be key tools in teaching and formatively assessing my students’ basic grammar knowledge, as well as provide ample practice for them, which will ultimately lead to later being able to not only correctly place commas but explain their comma placement, too. If students can accurately apply basic grammar knowledge to their comma placement and precisely explain their placement using basic grammar terminology, I will feel confident in their understanding of my objective.
Project Resources
Thompson, M. (n.d.). Language Arts Curriculum Design. RFWP. Retrieved July 14, 2013, from www.rfwp.com/pages/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/LA-SECONDARY1.pdf
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (n.d.). Six Facets of Understanding. Mink Hollow. Retrieved June 26, 2013, from www.minkhollow.ca/becker/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=tnl:facets.pdf
Willingham, D. (2009). Why Don't Students Like School?. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (n.d.). Six Facets of Understanding. Mink Hollow. Retrieved June 26, 2013, from www.minkhollow.ca/becker/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=tnl:facets.pdf
Willingham, D. (2009). Why Don't Students Like School?. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.