Marvelli 6
Annotated List of Internet web sites
From the ELA Curriculum Guides
For High School
Grammar is coming, but in a subtle way. Scattered throughout the documents of the new Common Core State Standards are asterisks with no apparent references, unless you pay close attention to the first pages. Teachers should not ignore the asterisks marking various concepts initially presented in grade three or six. They mark concepts that are to be repeated with growing complexity from then on. Given the specificity of the strands, grammar cannot be ignored, paid lip service or otherwise soft pedaled. The fact that a concept was taught in one grade does not exempt the following grades from teaching the same material with greater complexity or depth.
In other words, if you inherit students who have not been taught correct use of prepositions previously, you inherit the responsibility. Other disciplines will be expected to assist with composition whether written or oral expression. Grammar, however, falls to the ELA camp and nowhere else.
Following is a list of the web sites presented in the new ELA pacing guide. I’ve visited each site and looked through each. This does not mean I looked through every nook and cranny. I hope that you will do that and report what you find through Edmodo.
The sites essentially follow in the order they were presented in the first draft of the guide. This may change over time. The name of the site is in bold beginning each paragraph. The URL follows the description. If you have the electronic version of the doc file, you will be able to hyperlink to the site from the document. This file is available at my WSFCS web page under “Class Room Documents.”
Grammar
1. Grammar Bytes: A playful, interactive online website to help students with common grammar problems. It’s noisy and goofy, but the author/editor/creator creates lessons students understand. Each of the exercise sets is accompanied by a PDF of the sentences that requires the students to record their responses and correct the errors.
http://chompchomp.com/exercises.htm
2. Capital Community College (Hartford, CT) Guide to Grammar and Writing: The site, sponsored and funded by Capital Community College Foundation in Connecticut, is a wonderfully detailed resource. It may be over the heads of many students, but certainly will be a welcome resource for most teachers. It is an informational site aimed at the advanced high school student and college students.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
3. The Daily Grammar: The site is intended primarily as a daily exercise for students, teachers, home schooled students and the general public. It functions through Google’s Blog program. The lessons tend to be simplistic, although they are generous in their coverage of a wide variety of grammar issues. In addition to reviewing parts of speech and punctuation, the site authors also cover the mechanics of grammar. One note of caution: because this site is not privately funded, it depends on commercial advertisers whose ads pop up at every opportunity either obstructing progress or sending your students to another website where in he or she is solicited to purchase something. I made the mistake of clicking what I thought was a free offering and found myself fending off the University of Phoenix.
http://www.dailygrammar.com/
4. The Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab): The website is the gold standard of public websites designed to aid students and teachers of all levels. The link provided takes the user immediately to grammar section of OWL. However, the site provides much more information and many other resources of great value. My advice is to bookmark the link to the main website (provided below in addition to the grammar URL) for future reference. The index is awesome.
Grammar link: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/5/
OWL main page: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
5. Language Arts – Go Grammar: This is a public school district’s grammar website. It is a collection of different activities found on this and other websites to which the user will be re-directed. The level of work is middle school or high school students who are English Language Learners. The teacher will need to direct students to specific activities. Unfortunately students are not required to confirm the activities or success. This is an asset for your lower level learners.
http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/la-grammar.html
6. Grammar-Monster.com: The site is aimed primarily at students and is suitable to lower level high school and middle school students. However, it is wonderfully inclusive in that offers a vast number of topics and areas of concern in grammar. (I found marvelous definition and description of the absolute possessive as I have ever seen. Best of all, the site is well designed, simple and easy to use. As with most of these types of web pages, the teacher does not have an easy way to check student progress other than to test or quiz students after they have completed an assignment. There are tests. So that offers a ready means of checking for student activity and progress.
http://www.grammar-monster.com/
7. Guide to Grammar and Style: The site authored by Jack Lynch at Rutgers University is an excellent site aimed at the advanced student in high school in addition to college students. As teacher I use it as a resource. Lynch is a marvelous writer with an eclectic taste. The site is not all-encompassing (I couldn’t find the definition absolute phrases and words), but I have discovered a number of university sites around the world who post Lynch’s site as a student resource. I want WSFCS to do the same (with Prof. Lynch’s permission). Book mark this one. You don’t want to be without it. Be alerted, Lynch writes for the professional.
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/
8. The Internet Grammar of English: With this site (originally created by the University College of London) our British cousins get into the act. Be prepared. These guys speak Brrrrrritish English, not American. Remember JBS’s definition: “We are two peoples separated by a common language.” The site is a bit on the eclectic side, but fun to poke around in (Sorry, Dr. Lynch). It is strictly grammar. Not much in the way of style and composition. I may have to by the CD version of the site. I suspect there is more on that disk than on the web site. Enjoy!
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/home
9. The University of Ottawa (Canada) Grammar Course: Another must entry in your bookmarks. The website is logical, hierarchically structures and clearly presented. If for no other reason I love the site because the authors call the “action or state-of-being” expression in sentence a “predicate.” I am driven to state of utter consternation when professional teaches label the predicate of a sentence “the verb.” Verbals can be nouns, adjectives and adverbs. Verbs are parts of speech, not parts of the sentence. What I like most of all about the web site is the “drill down” aspect. As material is presented, any concept that is not understood may be further explored by clicking on the bold-faced word that represents the thought. Of more significance are the site’s lessons on phrases, clauses and sentences and the concept of writing with style via a thorough understanding of these grammatical elements. Because of the simplicity of language, this is site is suitable for everyone from rank beginner to the advanced scholar.
http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/writcent/hypergrammar/
10. University of Hong Kong Grammar Quizzes: Yup, that’s right – Hong Kong – not the University of Iowa. The site offers grammar quizzes only, not the explanation or preparatory lessons for the quizzes, which are tricky and in some cases downright arcane. After taking the quizzes and correcting mistakes (according to the web site) I found myself having to own up to a lack of strong grammar knowledge in some cases: I was particularly alarmed to find myself unable to “hear” the correct usages of linking verbs when they connected singular predicate nominates and plural subjects. Remember “The wages of sin is death” argument? According to this website the singular form of the predicate is required because the predicate nominative is singular. The individual teacher must decide how to use the site and whether or not the usage (which may be British English in origin) is acceptable. I love playing there. You might also.
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/elc/iowa/quiz/
11. Grammar Resources: University of Chicago Writing Center: Book mark this one. This is the “mother lode” of grammar websites. The scholars, authors and teachers at UC collected the most useful sites they could find for their students. Yes, Jack Lynch is prominently featured as is the University of Iowa iteration of the University of Hong Kong’s site. Also linked is the Schoolhouse Rocks site with grammar raps and songs. The animated presentations are on UTube,
http://www.schoolhouserock.tv/Grammar.html)
which means we can’t use them in the class room without downloading the videos in advance. The useful links are infinite: Churchill on prepositions, common grammar myths, usage, online thesauri and dictionaries and multiple style sites including Strunk, Kings English and the classic Mencken’s The American Language. Also listed are scientific and technical style guides and guides for those learning English as a second language. Book mark this site. Put it on your desktop. Give it to your students. Of all the sites I have listed, this one is a must. Below is the URL.
http://writing-program.uchicago.edu/resources/grammar.htm#classic
12. St. Cloud (MN) State University Writing Center: The site is mainly aimed at students preparing to write a research or some other form of extended essay or paper. You will have to root around to find what you want. I especially recommend the facility for students preparing to write a paper. Drill down through the Writing Place Catalogue. The topics are presented clearly and simply by subject and area of interest (writing versus grammar versus diction versus style). No exercise, quizzes or other student materials are available. The site’s information is intended to be advisory and informational. As another resource, however, the site is useful especially if you are searching for a point of comparison on some grammar or style issue.
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/index.html
13. Bartleby’s Site (Strunk and White’s Style Book): Bartleby’s is known as a literary resource site. The particular link below is the Strunk style book which is only one of the resources warehoused at Bartleby’s. Also available is Mencken as is Roget’s International Thesaurus. You will find Bartlett’s Quotations, the King James Version of The Bible. This is another site I book mark for frequent use and easy access.
http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html
14. SchoolSoft.com: Although is a lower level of style, usage and grammar website, it is useful because of the number of topics loaded with worksheets and quizzes. The site assumes the teacher has already taught the topic and is using the site’s resources for support and extension of classroom activities. I looked into the resources specifically aimed at teachers but was unimpressed. However, if you need materials for quickie lesson plans, this should be your choice.
http://www.softschools.com/language_arts/
Sentence Diagramming
The Reed-Kellogg system of sentence diagramming is standard. I learned this system 60 years ago. For too long the system has languished ignored and not taught. Yet the methodology, first developed by Alonzo Reed and Brainerd Kellogg and introduced in 1877, is a simple means of graphically parsing sentences and graphically displaying the relationships between and among the parts of a sentence. Below are my suggestions for sentence diagramming sites.
15. Reed-Kellogg Sentence Diagramming System Presented: I know, I know, Wikipedia is pooh-pooh, but this is as good a definition and explanation of this diagramming system as I have been able to find. Read and learn.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_diagram
15. University of Texas Rules of Diagramming: UT’s demonstration of the rules of diagramming is one of many sites that show the basics of diagramming under the Reed-Kellogg system. It is not comprehensive on the first page, but if you will be patient and work through the lessons and their associated discussions the site will bear fruit. After reviewing the first page, drill down to the handouts (bottom of the page) to find a topic of interest.
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/langling/e360k/handouts/diagrams/diagram_basics/basics.html
16. Reed-Kellogg Automatic Diagram Parser: It took some effort to find the source for this website. Simply said, “NLP for .Net” is a C+ library for natural language processing. It allows lexical and syntax analysis of text in English. NLParser breaks plain text into the Reed-Kellogg diagrams. Type in a sentence, press enter, and then watch as the parser provides one or more Reed-Kellogg diagrams. Try “Now is the time for the quick brown fox to jump over the lazy dog’s back.” I received eight different diagrams. I offer a word of caution here: the parser difficulty with complements. Test your sentence before using the software in class.
http://1aiway.com/nlp4net/services/enparser/
17. Dr. Rebecca Ann Walls (WSSU Dept. of English) Diagramming Exercises: Professor Walls provides a series of examples with discussion and then, at the bottom of the page, links to a series of multiple choice exercises. This is an excellent means of teaching students to recognize patterns. This site is more beneficial to teachers and advanced students. I have not had an opportunity to explore the entire site, but intend to do so.
http://myweb.wssu.edu/wallr/ENG3321/sentypesdiagrams.htm
20. Capital Community College Sentence Diagramming: The site is another portion of the Hartford, CT, college’s Guide to Grammar and Writing. The URL takes the teacher or student directly the Reed Kellogg diagramming instruction. The examples are simple, clear, and easy to navigate, which makes the site a nice match for Dr. Walls’ site at Winston-Salem State.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/diagrams/diagrams.htm
21. University of Central Florida Downloadable Diagramming Software: The site offers a free downloadable program that comes with a manual, which is straightforward and easy to comprehend. The software will take a little time to master, but it does offer a quick and efficient means of demonstrating diagramming for the class with your computer and a projector.
http://sendraw.ucf.edu/
22. About.com’s Homework Self-Help Site for Sentence Diagramming: This offering from About.com is a basic primer for sentence diagramming. This is a self-teaching tool students can use to learn the Reed Kellogg system. It’s a start.
http://homeworktips.about.com/od/englishhomework/ss/diagram.htm
Believe it or not, that’s about all for sentence diagramming. After four pages of Google, I ran into the same web sites as those listed above. This leaves me with the obvious conclusion that this generation of English teachers must re-start diagramming. If you encounter a web site you find valuable, please pass it on to me.