Preparation

Domain 1:

The candidate presents artifacts and accompanying descriptions which demonstrate command of the subject he or she will teach

NCTE Standard 2: ELA CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

NCTE Standard 2.2: Candidates apply and demonstrate knowledge and theoretical perspectives of the relationships among form, audience, context, and purpose by composing and critically curating a range of texts (e.g., print, digital, media).

NCTE Standard 2.3: Candidates apply and demonstrate knowledge and theoretical perspectives of language and languaging, including language acquisition, conventions, dialect, grammar systems, and the impact of 3 languages on society as they relate to various rhetorical situations (e.g., journalism, social media, popular culture) and audiences.

InTASC Standard 5(i): The teacher respects learners’ differing strengths and needs and is committed to using this information to further each learner’s development

: Candidates apply and demonstrate knowledge and theoretical perspectives, including antiracist/antibias ELA, pertaining to texts, composition, language, and languaging.

https://ncte.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021_NCTE_Standards.pdf
and
https://ccsso.org/sites/default/files/2017-11/InTASC_Model_Core_Teaching_Standards_2011.pdf

Description

This artifact was an essay written for Grammar and Its Teaching Methods (ENG 327) about grammar instruction in the American education system. The paper’s thesis’ claims that grammar instruction is deficient in the US despite how necessary grammatical knowledge is for proper communication, and it states that explicit grammatical instruction must be reintroduced into school curriculums to improve students’ knowledge of grammar and writing capabilities. The essay uses peer-reviewed journals gathered online to review the history of grammar instruction in the US and analyze how well American schools teach grammar as of 2021. It also provides suggestions to improve explicit grammatical instruction by recommending helpful grammar methodologies such as memorizing grammar rules and sentence diagramming. It suggests that educators gain a proficient understanding of English grammar before teaching students in English instruction. The paper also includes a “Teaching Implications” section after the essay where I record my reflections on writing the essay and how I would apply this knowledge as an educator.

Implications

This artifact displays an excellent understanding of grammatical knowledge and its impact on the education system. The essay explains how an understanding of grammar improves student writing and communication. I show my awareness of students' potential misuse of parts of speech and the passive voice in their writing, and I write how to correct students' misconceptions by teaching sentence diagramming and routine memorization of the grammatical term. It shows my familiarity with effective teaching strategies by sharing a list of useful grammar methodologies and describing the benefits of explicit grammar instruction. The descriptions of these instructions demonstrate an understanding of the prerequisites students need to understand explicit instruction. The “teaching reflection” section shows my ability to adapt this understanding of grammar instruction to my teaching.

This essay highlighted the importance of knowing grammar instructions to teach writing. I now know that a proper understanding of grammar is essential to educate so that my students can best articulate themselves. An English teacher should not ignore grammar instruction. It is as important to teach explicit grammar instruction as it is to teach book analysis and essay workshops. This paper showed me how I can implement new methodologies and strategies that instruct explicit grammar in a classroom. I plan to teach my students grammar definitions whenever I can and dedicate time to diagramming sentences to show how each part of speech functions within a sentence. This essay revealed new teaching opportunities that I previously did not think were possible.