Improving Syntax

Syntax: the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.



Let's say I have my students check for a Flesch-Kincaid grade level score (Readability and Comprehension ) and they discover their piece is written at a 7.0 or 8.0 level, but they are in 10th grade (or higher) and striving for a more sophisticated tone, style, and syntax in their writing.


What I have them do next is take that same paragraph and run it through this Syntax Analysis Chart to see exactly where the issues are and how they can revise to improve their readability for a higher score and stylistically create a more sophisticated piece of writing.


Oftentimes, students will discover they are using the same sentences openers ("I think"), structure (simple), and "to be" verbs (am, is was, were) repeatedly. One of the most important elements of syntax is the way the words, phrases, and clauses are arranged. This is a key element of the author’s style and can have a marked effect on meaning.  

I first learned of this strategy at a Advanced Placement Language and Composition conference I attended some years back.  The College Board says, "This reflective tool not only helps students examine how style contributes to meaning and purpose but also helps students identify various writing problems (repetitiveness, possible run-ons or fragments, weak verbs, and lack of syntactical variety). In addition, students are made aware of their own developing voices and diction." 

instead of an essay ...try...

Readability Scores and Comprehension

A readability score is designed to indicate comprehension difficulty.  Most webpages try to maintain a 7.0 to 8.0 (7th to 8th grade) reading comprehension level. Students can utilize this feature for improving their writing skills, and teachers can use the statistics to gauge comprehension level for corresponding with parents.

First, with your document open, go to the icon at the top left of your screen and click on Word Options.
Next, click Proofing. At the bottom of that screen you will need to check the Readability Statistics option, then click OK.
After you check your grammar and spelling, you will see the readability statistics pop up after making your corrections.

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level score is determined by total number of words, sentences, and paragraphs resulting in a comprehension difficulty score related to an American grade school level.

To determine the grade level for comprehension of a writing sample, Word counts the number of letters in words, the number of words in sentences, the lengths of sentences, and the lengths of paragraphs. The shorter the words, sentences, and paragraphs the lower the comprehension difficulty and grade level.

The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level statistic can be a helpful tool for writers who want to improve their comprehension level for a specific audience. Students may need to improve their syntax and diction for a sophisticated audience, and educators may need to adjust their writing for broad range of community members and/or parents.

Readability Statistics  provide writers with one more tool to use as a way to evaluate their writing for improvement.

A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me by Derrick Brown

from Barbara Kingsolver- author

Do you go through a lot of drafts?

Gazillions.  I adore revision.  Whether it’s a two-page article or a 500-page book, I rewrite endlessly.  I may rewrite the first paragraph of a novel fifty times before I’m satisfied.  I comb through a manuscript again and again, altering every sentence a little or a lot.  I don’t print out every draft on paper, or I’d be mowing down forests.  


Pounding out a first draft is like hoeing a row of corn – you just keep your head down and concentrate on getting to the end.  Revision is where fine art begins.  It’s thrilling to take an ending and pull it backward like a shiny thread through the whole fabric of a manuscript, letting little glints shine through here and there.  To plant resolution, like a seed, into chapter one.  To create new scenes, investing a character with the necessary damage, the right kind of longing.  To pitch out boldly and try again.  To work every metaphor across the whole, back and forth, like weaving.  I love that word “fabrication,” because making an elaborate fiction feels so much like making cloth. 


Perfectionism is my disease.  Revision is my milk and honey.


Read more from Barbara Kingsolver

How you say it

makes all the difference

...and whether pigs have wings

There are many applications for using Voki with all ages. Choose an avatar and record what you want. Fun! Not able (or willing) to record your own voice? Voki can transfer text to speech too, and you can even choose the accent. The site now has a teacher's corner for tips and lesson plan discussions.


My little experiment was taking one stanza from Lewis Carrol's, "The Walrus and The Carpenter" (Alice Through The Looking Glass) and putting a little spin to it.

Witness the magic

Since the Beat Poets first began appearing in coffee houses in the 50s, poetry has moved from formal readings to impromptu, open mic settings.  Pushing the edges of established views and uses of language, the Beats took free form poetry, added rhythms, and became the voice of a generation.  So, taking note from the voices of the past, and adding the hip-hop voices of today, poetry has become a powerful tool for improving literacy in schools through Spoken Word performances and Slam competitions because even the most reluctant learner is motivated by this self-expressive medium.


I have seen firsthand how Slam poetry when modeled and channeled in a classroom can facilitate literacy, communication, and creativity from kids who are otherwise marginalized in academia. But in order for students to find their voices and be willing to open themselves, they must feel secure and appreciated. And teachers must be willing to stand back, allowing the kids freedom to openly express (while still abiding by school policy) those inner most, sometimes gut wrenching and controversial topics. Students begin to experiment with language in ways they would not otherwise because "getting it just right" takes on a whole new meaning and dimension in this genre.

Dr. Janette Hughes from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology says this about using poetry to improve literacy: "A focus on oral language development through the reading and performing of poetry acknowledges that sound is meaning. When we hear the sound of the words in a poem read aloud, we gain a better understanding of the meaning of the writing...If we want our students to understand how literature, and poetry in particular, brings them to a deeper understanding of life, we need to find meaningful ways to engage them in poetry." 

A former colleague told me once:  "Poetry is an important and integral part of the human experience.  It may not be to the page, but to anybody who has tried to woo a lover through voice, body, or both has experienced poetry.  I don't think it is better than any medium, but it is definitely part of the human spirit."

There are Slam teams in nearly every major city in the U.S. who also compete nationally, so finding a poet to help you out in the classroom would not be difficult.  Bring performance poetry to your students, set up a competition in your class or across classes, and witness the magic unfold. 

What Teachers Make - Taylor Mali

April is National Poetry Month

The Trouble with Poetry: A Poem of Explanation

A U.S. poet laureate shares.

by Billy Collins

The trouble with poetry, I realized
as I walked along a beach one night --
cold Florida sand under my bare feet,
a show of stars in the sky --

the trouble with poetry is
that it encourages the writing of more poetry,
more guppies crowding the fish tank,
more baby rabbits
hopping out of their mothers into the dewy grass.

And how will it ever end?
unless the day finally arrives
when we have compared everything in the world
to everything else in the world,
and there is nothing left to do
but quietly close our notebooks
and sit with our hands folded on our desks.

Poetry fills me with joy
and I rise like a feather in the wind.
Poetry fills me with sorrow
and I sink like a chain flung from a bridge.

But mostly poetry fills me
with the urge to write poetry,
to sit in the dark and wait for a little flame
to appear at the tip of my pencil.

And along with that, the longing to steal,
to break into the poems of others
with a flashlight and a ski mask.

And what an unmerry band of thieves we are,
cut-purses, common shoplifters,
I thought to myself
as a cold wave swirled around my feet
and the lighthouse moved its megaphone over the sea,
which is an image I stole directly
from Lawrence Ferlinghetti --
to be perfectly honest for a moment --

the bicycling poet of San Francisco
whose little amusement park of a book
I carried in a side pocket of my uniform
up and down the treacherous halls of high school.

Billy Collins, the U.S. poet laureate from 2001 to 2003, is the author of seven collections of poetry and is a distinguished professor of English at Lehman College of the City University of New York. He serves as the poet laureate of New York State.

This article originally published on 10/18/2006

Writing A Woman's Life

According to Heilbrun, women's lives have been written under the guise of what the perception of their life should be. Societal pressures, patriarchal constraints, and a lack of language not “steeped in that of men,” all contribute to the silence of real issues and topics for women. I was reminded of Anis Nin who wrote two sets of journals: one for herself and one for others to read.

It was in my Women in Literature class in college that I was first exposed to this book, but I have kept it close for reference ever since. In fact, one year I had a small class of all female, senior Independent Honors students and we decided to tackle the book together. Prior to Women's History Month (March), we wrote letters to prominent, respected women from the local, state, and national arena to come speak at our high school about the trials and tribulations they had to overcome to reach their dreams. Diane Sawyer wrote a letter back to one student, and Hillary Clinton sent a letter from the White House. Several local women came to speak to a small group and were taped for an interview by our broadcasting class. All as a result of reading this book. Well worth the time for men and women to read.

International Women's Day

International Women's Day - March 8th

more about this book

This is  Women's History Month.

March 8th is International Women's Day.

Here's a wonderful book that examines the lives of twenty six American women who changed the world.

National Park Foundation | Electronic Field Trip

National Park Foundation | Electronic Field Trip

You can tell a book by the first line

Virtual Museums

A museum is a place that retains objects a society deems valuable.

Those valued objects may represent national interests, art, technology, history, science, or other aspects of our culture, but most assuredly, museums are no longer stodgy, old buildings with ancient artifacts behind glass walls or untouchable works of art. Museums have become architectural feats with interactive and multimedia rich exhibits to both entertain and educate their visitors since museum patrons are ever more visual and kinesthetic learners who require hands-on activities and media to tease their senses and stimulate active learning, not passive viewing.

When educators and students lack the funds or location restrictions to visit these monoliths of society, the internet is the next best means to bring the resources that museums offer right to the classroom. Aside from the opportunity to enjoy a virtual tour of a museum’s physical locale and its exhibits, their online resources should enhance Project-based Learning, making it authentic with inquiry and research instruments to develop critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills that lead the learner toward real-world applications of their gained knowledge.

My top choices represent museums whose missions are to stimulate intellectual curiosity and do so with a plethora of online resources. In addition to the standards of quality used to evaluate websites, I am focusing on interactivity, visual stimulation, validity, and a “coolness” factor in my ranking of what I deem the “best” museums with an online presence. Shining a spotlight on these evaluation elements means the sites I’ve chosen as “best” encourage students to explore more by doing something other than reading text and make teachers want to share because the content is driven by research, problem solving, and high level thinking strategies.



National Archives



“Teaching with primary documents encourages a varied learning environment for teachers and students alike. Lectures, demonstrations, analysis of documents, independent research, and group work become a gateway for research with historical records in ways that sharpen students' skills and enthusiasm for history, social studies, and the humanities.”

This website ranks number one not only because of its outstanding primary resources for educators and students but because it houses our nation’s most esteemed documents. Every American should take the opportunity to visit the National Archives if for no other reason then to stand in witness to the dimly lit, climate controlled, heavily guarded, glass enclosed Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States. They are the nation’s definitive documents of freedom and democracy. Unfortunately, not all of us can afford such an opportunity, so the online exhibits bring the Archives to our homes and classrooms. We can conveniently view the pieces of history that have made us the nation we are today.

The focused online exhibits contain documented photographs, original testimonies, political cartoons, film clips and recordings, letters, diaries, and audio pieces that chronicle America’s history. Documented Rights, Charters of Freedom, Electing a President, The Way We Worked, and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake are just a few of the featured exhibits that give us a glimpse of our most precious national artifacts.

The Digital Classroom of the Archives provides teaching activities that are correlated to national standards and makes cross-curricular connections. Teachers will find printable worksheets for analyzing written documents, artifacts, cartoons, sound recordings, motion pictures, posters, photographs, and maps that will develop thinking skills prior to working with the online exhibits. A teacher is not limited to using the packaged exhibits contained within this site; she could develop her own units of study by choosing any of the sources available from the Archives.

Smithsonian

“The Smithsonian spans 16 museums, more than 100 affiliates, and seven research centers. Many of the Smithsonian museums, research centers, and outreach offices have education directors and offices that work with educators across the nation.”

The Resources Library contains printable lesson plans based on primary sources that are searchable by grade, subject, state/national standards, and specific museum. Publications and online conferences are also available sources for teachers.

Every educator’s goal is for her students to ask questions, think critically, and write effectively. In the IdeaLab for Artifacts and Analysis, teachers are provided a strategy for incorporating historical artifacts and documents into their curriculum to reinforce inquiry skills to emphasize analytical thinking and writing.

The IdeaLabs for students include US Rationing during WWII, Digging for Answers, Walking on the Moon, and Mr. President. These eye-catching, interactive lessons provide students opportunities to explore primary sources—such as photographs and audio and video recordings. In Prehistoric Climate Change, students learn to examine the fossils of tree leaves and use their findings in a mathematical equation that tells how high the temperatures rose in prehistoric times and how to extrapolate that information to today.

The Museum of Modern Art

“Teacher Programs at The Museum of Modern Art are designed to introduce kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers to the Museum's collection and special exhibitions, to offer techniques for integrating the study of art into the classroom, and to help teachers from all subject areas to find connections with the collection.“

The third ranked Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art has audio, video, and images of great artists as resources to educators and students alike. Programs devoted to specific collections and special exhibits with artist and curator talks can be easily accessed through the Online Projects and Online Communities links of MoMA. Modern Teachers connects educators with MoMA’s resources and collection with guides, lessons, and images to use with their K-12 classes. Students and teachers can register to create their own collection of images for a project or lesson too.

Teens are just one focus group for the museum. The Red Studio is the place for them to go behind the scenes to post questions for artists, manipulate pieces of art, and listen to or create their own podcasts on topics like, “What does the American flag represent? Is a painting still a painting if it's made of chocolate or nails? How is the Museum like a teacup? What does the word "metaphysical" mean to you?” Contest links offer students a place to upload their artwork and compete for honors.

Kids love the works of Tim Burton, including the claymation/animated films “Night Before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride.” In Online Projects, students will find a multimedia lesson to watch two videos of Burton discussing his creative process and art.

AMNH

“Resources for Learning were developed by the American Museum of Natural History to make our extensive collection of scientific and educational materials more readily available to anyone who is interested in teaching and learning about science…Resources on this Web site can help you explain and explore scientific topics and methods. Each resource has a concise description that includes a title, resource type, grade level, and key concepts.”

Educators will find the extensive online sources from the American Museum of Natural History organized by Activities, Curriculum Materials, Articles, Evidence and Analysis, Exhibition Materials, and Reference Lists, according to subject areas of Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Earth Science, or Paleontology and sub-topics in each. In the Special Collections, colorful, grade-level appropriate interactive and multimedia presentations supplement in-depth curriculum topics such as Antarctica or Biodiversity.

In addition, the AMNH is well known for their fascinating dioramas in each exhibit hall, and while they are amazing to view in person, online visitors can enjoy them conveniently too through life like virtual tours.

“The Museum's habitat group dioramas, located extensively throughout its halls, are among the most renowned and beloved exhibits at the Museum. With precise depictions of geographical locations and the careful, anatomically correct mounting of specimens, these stunning dioramas are windows onto a world of animals, their behavior, and their habitats. Moreover, since many of the environments represented have been exploited or degraded, some dioramas preserve places and animals as they no longer exist. The viewer of a habitat group diorama is able to travel not only across continents, but also, in some cases, through time.... 

The habitat dioramas are among the greatest treasures of the American Museum of Natural History, Perhaps nothing embodies the spirit and mission of the Museum so completely as these amazing technical feats of illusion, which are recognized internationally as superb examples of the fusion of art and science." –Lewis W. Bernard, Chairman of the American Museum of Natural History

Ology.com is the museum’s website for kids to explore science adventures, activities, and more.

Virtual Williamsburg

“The sights and sounds of the 18th century: Experience life as it was in our nation's yesterdays…

Our tools for educators bring the excitement of history alive for students. Uncommon classroom resources combine historical content with modern media and teaching methods.”

This spectacular, award winning site is an interactive and media-rich resource replete with bios, essays, and articles on the everyday lives of extraordinary 18^th century Virginia. The virtual tour of the Colonial Williamsburg includes maps, music, images, and timelines fully depicting each building and events in the town and nation highlighted.

Resources allow glimpses into the everyday lives of the people of the colony, politicians of the day, clothing, music and more. Multimedia sources include video, audio, photos, blogs, and games.

This site does not provide teachers with specific lesson plans, but it certainly makes the list of “best” museums because of the interactive quality and quantity of resources for students, allowing them to research and explore life during colonial times. Teachers could certainly develop their own plans of study with the multitude of options provided here. A virtual scavenger hunt could take students from building to building and across the span of events illustrated in the timelines.

USHMM

“A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires leaders and citizens to confront hatred, prevent genocide, promote human dignity, and strengthen democracy.”

The most heinous acts of violence and hate against a group of people took place during the Holocaust of World War II. This museum is a memorial to those who lost their lives, survivors, and a celebration of how nations, groups, and individuals fought the terror of the Nazis and their resistance efforts to protect Jews. The museum provides many online resources for teachers striving to help students learn the history of the Holocaust and reflect upon the moral and ethical questions raised by that history. Holocaust research sources include animated maps with timeline layers, official documents, photos of artifacts, and videotaped stories from survivors. Lessons for the Classroom and Activities are available for download as support for teachers, and Online Exhibitions and Encyclopedias are excellent sources for students to research further.

But the resources do not end with the Holocaust of yesterday because the world’s citizenry is still threatened by extreme acts of violence and hate; Contemporary Issues on Genocide and Anti-Semitism, Non-Jewish Victims of Hate (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Poles, Homosexuals, Handicapped, Sinti and Roma Gypsies), and Conscience Raising sources are here on this site as well.

Three Questions

more about this book

Three Questions - by Leo Tolstoy

One day it occurred to a certain emperor that if he only knew the answers to three questions, he would never stray in any matter.

What is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?

The emperor issued a decree throughout his kingdom announcing that whoever could answer the questions would receive a great reward. Many who read the decree made their way to the palace at once, each person with a different answer.

In reply to the first question, one person advised that the emperor make up a thorough time schedule, consecrating every hour, day, month, and year for certain tasks and then follow the schedule to the letter. Only then could he hope to do every task at the right time.

Another person replied that it was impossible to plan in advance and that the emperor should put all vain amusements aside and remain attentive to everything in order to know what to do at what time.

Someone else insisted that, by himself, the emperor could never hope to have all the foresight and competence necessary to decide when to do each and every task and what he really needed was to set up a Council of the Wise and then to act according to their advice.

Someone else said that certain matters required immediate decision and could not wait for consultation, but if he wanted to know in advance what was going to happen he should consult magicians and soothsayers.

The responses to the second question also lacked accord.

One person said that the emperor needed to place all his trust in administrators, another urged reliance on priests and monks, while others recommended physicians. Still others put their faith in warriors.

The third question drew a similar variety of answers. Some said science was the most important pursuit. Others insisted on religion. Yet others claimed the most important thing was military skill.

-------------------------------

The emperor was not pleased with any of the answers, and no reward was given.

After several nights of reflection, the emperor resolved to visit a hermit who lived up on the mountain and was said to be an enlightened man. The emperor wished to find the hermit to ask him the three questions, though he knew the hermit never left the mountains and was known to receive only the poor, refusing to have anything to do with persons of wealth or power. So the emperor disguised himself as a simple peasant and ordered his attendants to wait for him at the foot of the mountain while he climbed the slope alone to seek the hermit.

Reaching the holy man's dwelling place, the emperor found the hermit digging a garden in front of his hut. When the hermit saw the stranger, he nodded his head in greeting and continued to dig. The labor was obviously hard on him. He was an old man, and each time he thrust his spade into the ground to turn the earth, he heaved heavily.

The emperor approached him and said, "I have come here to ask your help with three questions: When is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?"

The hermit listened attentively but only patted the emperor on the shoulder and continued digging. The emperor said, "You must be tired. Here, let me give you a hand with that." The hermit thanked him, handed the emperor the spade, and then sat down on the ground to rest.

After he had dug two rows, the emperor stopped and turned to the hermit and repeated his three questions. The hermit still did not answer, but instead stood up and pointed to the spade and said, "Why don't you rest now? I can take over again." But the emperor continued to dig. One hour passed, then two. Finally the sun began to set behind the mountain. The emperor put down the spade and said to the hermit, "I came here to ask if you could answer my three questions. But if you can't give me any answer, please let me know so that I can get on may way home."

The hermit lifted his head and asked the emperor, "Do you hear someone running over there?" The emperor turned his head. They both saw a man with a long white beard emerge from the woods. He ran wildly, pressing his hands against a bloody wound in his stomach. The man ran toward the emperor before falling unconscious to the ground, where he lay groaning. Opening the man's clothing, the emperor and hermit saw that the man had received a deep gash. The emperor cleaned the wound thoroughly and then used his own shirt to bandage it, but the blood completely soaked it within minutes. He rinsed the shirt out and bandaged the wound a second time and continued to do so until the flow of blood had stopped.

At last the wounded man regained consciousness and asked for a drink of water. The emperor ran down to the stream and brought back a jug of fresh water. Meanwhile, the sun had disappeared and the night air had begun to turn cold. The hermit gave the emperor a hand in carrying the man into the hut where they laid him down on the hermit's bed. The man closed his eyes and lay quietly. The emperor was worn out from the long day of climbing the mountain and digging the garden. Leaning against the doorway, he fell asleep. When he rose, the sun had already risen over the mountain. For a moment he forgot where he was and what he had come here for. He looked over to the bed and saw the wounded man also looking around him in confusion. When he saw the emperor, he stared at him intently and then said in a faint whisper, "Please forgive me."

"But what have you done that I should forgive you?" the emperor asked.

"You do not know me, your majesty, but I know you. I was your sworn enemy, and I had vowed to take vengeance on you, for during the last war you killed my brother and seized my property. When I learned that you were coming alone to the mountain to meet the hermit, I resolved to surprise you on your way back to kill you. But after waiting a long time there was still no sign of you, and so I left my ambush in order to seek you out. But instead of finding you, I came across your attendants, who recognized me, giving me this wound. Luckily, I escaped and ran here. If I hadn't met you I would surely be dead by now. I had intended to kill you, but instead you saved my life! I am ashamed and grateful beyond words. If I live, I vow to be your servant for the rest of my life, and I will bid my children and grandchildren to do the same. Please grant me your forgiveness."

The emperor was overjoyed to see that he was so easily reconciled with a former enemy. He not only forgave the man but promised to return all the man's property and to send his own physician and servants to wait on the man until he was completely healed. After ordering his attendants to take the man home, the emperor returned to see the hermit. Before returning to the palace the emperor wanted to repeat his three questions one last time. He found the hermit sowing seeds in the earth they had dug the day before.

The hermit stood up and looked at the emperor. "But your questions have already been answered."

"How's that?" the emperor asked, puzzled.

"Yesterday, if you had not taken pity on my age and given me a hand with digging these beds, you would have been attacked by that man on your way home. Then you would have deeply regretted not staying with me. Therefore the most important time was the time you were digging in the beds, the most important person was myself, and the most important pursuit was to help me. Later, when the wounded man ran up here, the most important time was the time you spent dressing his wound, for if you had not cared for him he would have died and you would have lost the chance to be reconciled with him. Likewise, he was the most important person, and the most important pursuit was taking care of his wound.

Remember that there is only one important time and is Now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is always the person with whom you are, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future. The most important pursuit is making that person, the one standing at your side, happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life."

Leo Tolstoy

Kindle vs Paper

When I posted the question "Kindle or Paper?" on my Facebook page recently, the overwhelming response from my friends both young and old was in favor of "paper." This surprised me, especially since a large number of the responses came from the 19-25 age group.

So when Amazon announced that Kindle books have overtaken paperbacks, I was taken aback. 

"In fact, for every 100 paperback books sold, Amazon has sold 115 Kindle books since the beginning of the year," the company said.

Admittedly, I want one because of the convenience factor.  Easier to carry a Kindle than an 800 page turner.  But certainly I draw the line at taking it to the beach.

One friend had this to say: "I love the convenience and instant gratification of my Kindle... not having to wait to scan the words of a book I really want to know more about.... but there is nothing like the paper. The smell and the texture of the pages in my fingertips. I like them all... just give me words!"

I have to agree, just give me something to read.

Reading Support

Research Based Reading Instruction Support

View more presentations from vblori.

Readicide

One of the books used for my Secondary Reading Instruction class is this book by Kelly Gallagher.  From the introduction and first chapter I can already tell this book is going to inspire what I do in my classes from here forward. 

Questions I'm asking myself:

• How do I foster a love of reading in my classes?
• What can I do better?
• Do I overteach books?

More as I go deeper...

Kelly Gallagher's link:  Building Deeper Readers and Writers

New Beginnings

2010 I dubbed, "My Year of Possibilities."  2011 is "My Year of New Beginnings."