TLN Teacher Voices

Teaching Grammar (do I have to?)

Teaching Grammar: What Really Works
Amy Benjamin and Joan Berger
Eye on Education, (2010)

Reviewed by Marti Schwartz
Literacy consultant and teacher (DE)
Teacher Leaders Network

Raise your hand if you want your students to be better writers. Good – now raise your hand if you feel, somewhere in your conscience or your gut, that you should be teaching more grammar. Gotcha!

So — how about a book that will allow you to accomplish both goals at once? Teaching Grammar: What Really Works by Amy Benjamin & Joan Berger could be just the solution. Their (combined) experience of 70 years in middle and high school classrooms suggests that these folks truly know what they are talking about.

The authors’ clear explanations of nominal phrases, clauses, coordinating conjunctions and participial phrases helped make many things clear to me. Mind you, I “learned” these lessons back in 7th grade (in Mr. Galuska’s class, where we diagrammed sentences on chalkboards), and then promptly forgot them because they seemed so irrelevant.

Now that I’m teaching high school English to students who hope to become the first in their families to go to college, grammar matters. Raising the quality of their written language is hugely important. What Benjamin and Berger have done is made grammar accessible through some very interesting lessons, detailed explanations, and handy downloads (accessible via a code in the book) which will further help your students and save you the time of creating them.

An Excellent Teacher Restorative

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teacher Tales
by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor & Amy Newmark  with a Foreword by Anthony J. Mullen
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishers (2010)

Reviewed by Laurie Wasserman, NBCT
Middle School/Learning Disabilities (MA)
Teacher Leaders Network

I love teacher books that inspire, and was longing for a book that could be read in quick bites that would revitalize and nurture my teacher spirit. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teacher Tales - 101 Inspirational Stories from Great Teachers and Appreciative Students is the perfect book to pack in your book bag to read at school with lunch during a stressful day, savor with a cup of tea or coffee on a Sunday morning, or read on a plane.

The foreword is written by Tony Mullen, the 2009 National and Connecticut Teacher of the Year, who articulates why we need this book: These stories will restore our feelings of being valued, respected and appreciated, as well as some energy and passion too.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teacher Tales is divided into several sections, each written by a 2009 state teacher of the year, a former student wanting to publicly thank a special teacher, or a teacher who longed to share a laugh or tribute to a special student. The 11 sections are titled: “Why We Teach,” “First Year Tales, ”Learning From the Kids,” "Great Ideas,” “Thanks, I Needed That,” “That was Embarrassing,” “Touched by a Student,” “The Teacher Who Changed My Life,” “Tough Kids,” “Reconnecting” and “Reflections on Being a Teacher.” The stories are short, averaging just 3 pages each, but they are so articulate, beautifully written and motivating. They will make you laugh, cry and touch your heart. At the end of the book is a mini biography about each contributor, and some have even shared their e-mail addresses, should the reader choose to contact them.

The book includes several classroom tales written by colleagues of mine in the Teacher Leaders Network. In the reflection titled “Springtime Memory,” Cindi Rigsbee, the 2009 North Carolina Teacher of the Year and National TOY finalist, writes about Brian, a student she had in her 4th period class in 1990-1991 who was killed in Iraq. She reminiscences about the grin he always had on his face and how as his teacher, she has learned to look at her students not for who they are, but for what they will be someday, including possibly a hero. In “Going the Distance,” Bob Williams, the 2009 Alaskan Teacher of the Year, shares his thoughts on Cassidy, his angry student, and his difficulty trying to reach her with the assistance of her equally angry mother. He honestly shares his yearlong building of trust not only with Cassidy, but with her mom as well.

Teacher Tales is candid in its stories shared from the classroom. As teachers we often think back to that special student like Patricia Marini’s Kevonna, a frequent visitor to the principal’s office, who made us tear our hair out, but who we loved and wanted to help. Marini’s story will bring tears to your eyes and melt your heart. There’s a lighter side too, with stories like that of Illah Breen, who tells of being overly confident and having a fourth grader remind her of neglecting her spouse’s birthday. Her student, Jason, wrote a note to her spouse, begging forgiveness for her memory lapse and promised she would take him out for a nice birthday dinner. Or the revelation of Sarah Smiley, when she realizes that she is not just a teacher, but also the shocked parent of “The Naughty Kid” – after her 5-year-old son Owen tells her that “I switch tables every day, Mom. Each time I get in trouble the teacher finds me a new seat.”

Although I had never read any of the Chicken Soup books before, after having a wonderful first experience with this book, I look forward to savoring some of the others.

Outrageous Student Engagement

Teaching Content Outrageously: How to Captivate All Students and Accelerate Learning
By Stanley Pogrow
Jossey-Bass (2009)

Reviewed by Elizabeth Stein, NBCT
Special Education Teacher (NY)
Teacher Leaders Network

I was in my third year of college as a psychology major. The first day of the spring semester began and I walked into my sociology 101 class. There were two students who were even earlier than I was. One student was reading and the other sat slouching in his seat with his eyes closed. After a few minutes the classroom filled up. Class was to begin—but where was the professor?

After about five minutes the murmurs became loud complaints from students who said, “Let’s just go—this is crazy.” I sat quietly, reading and occasionally looking up to observe. I noticed the student who was slouching at his seat was still slouching, but keenly looking around the room. He seemed to be interested in the obvious discontent of students who did not want to wait. He only grunted when approached by another student who said, “We should just leave.” After about 15 minutes of waiting a few students walked out. Once they left, the sloucher swiftly stood up and walked to the front of the classroom. He introduced himself as the professor for this class.

Most students just stared in disbelief. He apologized for putting us through that, and briefly explained his reasoning for beginning a class in this manner. After all, this was a class about human behavior within societies. It left quite an impression on many of us, encouraging us to really reflect on our personal responses and behaviors. Stanley Pogrow, author of Teaching Content Outrageously, would describe this as an outrageous lesson.

  Pogrow, a professor of Educational Leadership at San Francisco State University, clearly places value on the perspective of students when teaching content area material. He is known for developing the HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) Program for accelerating the learning of under-performing students. His book is all about attempting to engage students at the onset of a lesson as a way to guide their attention and deepen understandings of the content and lesson objectives.