Teaching Grammar Deliberately

This week, my classmates and I discussed the importance we place on grammar and mechanics. Much of the class said it's "somewhat important". But I lean towards the pretty-darn-important side of Mechanically Inclined is pretty interesting to me. Call me a grammar geek, but I find all the little intricacies of grammar and mechanics to be actually kind of intriguing. (Although after taking a little grammar and mechanics survey in class, I'm kind of ashamed to say how little I apparently know, oops!)
the spectrum, honestly, which is why Jeff Anderson's book,

One conclusion I've taken away even from the first chapter of Mechanically Inclined, though, has been that teaching grammar and mechanics has to be a balance between teaching a grammar lesson singularly...and teaching grammar as a side-bar to whatever else we're teaching. Basically, it's possible to teach grammar and mechanics both in context and workshop-style. Anderson gives a list of ways to do this. I've simplified it a little bit:

1. Using the shortest mentor text possible
2. Teaching one thing at a time and applying it to our daily writing
3. Adding quick daily doses of grammar and mechanics experiences with short mentor texts and editing
4. Providing rich experiences in the writer's notebook to play with mentor sentences

I really love the idea of mini workshops in the classroom, and I think this is what Anderson sort of achieves, especially by doing quick daily doses of grammar and mechanics. For me, that teaches students that grammar and mechanics are important on a daily basis, not just on the occasion that we might be talking about it. Because we can just talk about it and think about it almost every day.

Why Teachers Need This

One thing that really caught my eye in the beginning of Anderson's Mechanically Inclined was why he thought he had to write this book. He cites that our generation of teachers doesn't feel confident about teaching grammar and mechanics, and he's SO right. Sometimes, I feel insecure about my abilities to teach grammar and mechanics because sometimes I feel like I should know more. I often think, Oh my goodness -- I need to take a class on this stuff...
But Anderson makes me feel a little better about this. He says that grammar and mechanics is a "creational facility rather than a correctional one". And one thing I've come to learn about myself is that I am a great writer, and in turn, a great creator, so I know I can help my students do this and see it this way.