Using Grammar to Improve Writing

Recipes for Action

How we frame grammar instruction matters. If you view it as "fixing incorrect sentences," you teach it that way. If you view it as "building strong, compelling sentences," you take a different approach. Using Grammar to Improve Writing explains a new way to teach grammar—systematically and purposefully—in order to strengthen student writing. It offers detailed guidance on which grammar standards to teach when and how to use grammatical forms to capture ideas. This new approach will enable students to write more efficiently and effectively. Using Grammar to Improve Writing answers these questions: • What should we STOP doing? • How can we teach grammar more effectively and integrate it with writing more systematically? • How can we help students who are not on grade level? • Which other factors affect how well we write? • What should we teach, grade by grade, in K-12 ELA? Though pitched as a grammar instructional manual, this is secretly a book about how to teach students how to write clearly. It should be useful not only to K-12 educators but also to college writing instructors and writers interested in strengthening their practice.