English 326: Final Blog

I have always enjoyed writing stories, it was something that has been close to my heart since a very young age, and I honestly think that most kids have a strong imagination and are not given a change to utilize it very often. Now this is just a concept, but I like the idea of teaching grammar through creative writing. Imagine having an English class where you do the normal everyday high school English class things. Read a novel, pick it apart, and analyze the themes – those sorts of things. Now imagine that same class but every Friday there is a new grammar concept. I teach the class the rules of using whatever that week’s concept is and then give them their task: continue their story, experimenting with this week’s concept.

I like the idea that throughout the course of the semester students write a novel of sorts, piece by piece. Every Monday another page, double spaced, of their story is due. It is a pretty small assignment, but by the end of the year they have a pretty substantial story on their hands. Not only does it get students just to write, never a bad things, and not only does it allow students to utilize a creative side of themselves that schools normally don’t stress, but by asking them to experiment with new grammar concepts it as helps them learn.

Then students can share with the class, if they want to, what is happening in their story and how they used the grammar concept to help them make a more solid sentence. This concept is very similar to how you have us use a new grammar concept every week, but instead of a blog post on a certain subject, it is a running story of the student’s own creation. It makes grammar relevant and its integration hopefully less stressful.

If all that wasn’t enough, it also makes grammar relevant to writing. Instead of being something that is tied to a worksheet or a lesson, students are trying to utilize it within the bounds of their own writing, their own story. I think it creates a bond between grammar and writing that is much stronger than just teaching a lesson on grammar.

I understand that this sort of strategy might not be for everyone, and that not everyone loves to write creative stories, but it is a very small amount of writing on a weekly basis that ingrains concepts in a fun and innovative way.