Stray from the Conventional Wisdom

• To support standards-based instruction, especially the Ohio English Language Arts writing process and writing conventions standards
• To introduce a model for teaching grammar and mechanics

• One copy per person of Jeff Anderson's article, "Stray from the Conventional Wisdom: Show Writers How to Shape Writing with Grammar and Mechanics," Adolescent Literacy In Perspective (May/June 2007)
• Overhead projector
• One copy per person of the following:
  Teacher Survey—Appendix A
  Epistemology of Teachers—Appendix B
  Syntax Practice Sheet—Appendix C
  Imitation Writing Practice—Appendix D
  Prepositions—Appendix E
  Participial Phrases—Appendix F
  Adjectives Out of Usual Order—Appendix G
  Absolute Phrases—Appendix H
  (Note: Depending on the audience, you might choose to omit the "absolute phrase" examples or to make them optional. Although high school English teachers might be comfortable working with the varied types of absolute phrases, teachers of other content areas or grade levels may experience some frustration with the concept.)
• One overhead color transparency of a beach scene (you can find images on the web)
• One overhead color transparency of a mountain/lake scene (check the web for images)
• Paper and writing utensils—ask participants to bring them

1. Pass out the teacher survey, and have participants complete it independently. Participants should write the number of their response in the blank before each statement. Once finished, participants should add up the numbers to arrive at a total score for the survey.
2. Now pass out the handout titled the Epistemology of Teachers. Explain to participants that the epistemology of a teacher is the set of beliefs about learners and learning that each teacher holds, whether consciously or unconsciously. These epistemological beliefs inform the decisions teachers make each day about what to teach, how to teach, and when to teach it. Read aloud each bullet under both points of view, or ask volunteers to read aloud.
3. Ask teachers to consider the two questions at the bottom of the page and discuss them in small groups. Help the participants realize that they learned more when they were given the opportunity to construct their own understanding of content, not only when they were students, but even when they became teachers. This workshop is a time to reflect upon whether these teachers are allowing their own students the opportunity to construct their own understanding of language arts content.
4. Ask the small groups to share the main points of their conversations with the whole group. The goal is to realize that explaining things to students and having students practice rules is an ineffective approach to creating enduring understandings.
5. Ask participants to check their score totals on the original teacher survey. Explain that those with scores over 10 lean more toward an objectivist belief system and those with scores under 10 lean more toward a constructivist belief system.

Next pass out the imitation writing practice handout. Ask participants to imitate the syntactical pattern of this paragraph, using their own experience from a place they have seen or visited. Let them create their own paragraphs, following the syntax of the model paragraph. Point out that the Caribbean example in the handout is one possible way of imitating the original model. Allow 10 to 15 minutes at the end so participants can share what they have written and to discuss implications for their own classrooms.

You might consider the following questions for closure, which teachers might also use with their own students:

• How did following the models help you with your own writing?
• How did your writing change during this lesson?
• What did you learn about your writing?
• How important was a knowledge of grammar to improving the quality of your writing?