{"id":1583,"date":"2014-09-17T19:08:13","date_gmt":"2014-09-17T19:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janice-campbell.com\/?p=1583"},"modified":"2017-05-19T22:13:25","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T22:13:25","slug":"teaching-grammar-to-diagram-or-not-to-diagram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doingwhatmatters.com\/teaching-grammar-to-diagram-or-not-to-diagram\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching Grammar: To Diagram or Not to Diagram?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When I teach essay writing for high school or college exams, I encourage students to beware of using absolutes such as “always” or “never,” because these are rarely true \u2014 there are exceptions to almost everything, and those absolutes are an almost guaranteed trigger for a professor’s red pen. I was\u00a0reminded of that caution when I came across an article\u00a0in the Atlantic Monthly, titled “The Wrong Way to Teach Grammar<\/a>.”\u00a0The author unequivocally declares that the old fashioned way of teaching grammar doesn’t work<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

Does the traditional way of teaching grammar work?<\/h1>\n

Many homeschoolers and classical school students could challenge the statement that\u00a0traditional grammar lessons “don\u2019t help and may even hinder students\u2019 efforts to become better writers,” but I don’t think that grammar lessons are\u00a0the real issue. The author cites studies that support her contention that teaching grammar before<\/em> writing is an ineffective strategy, and for the most part, I agree. Her example of\u00a0classes in which students\u00a0“can spend up to a year before being asked to write more than a paragraph,” seems atypical, though. Most school systems have been de-emphasizing grammar or using a writing-first approach for decades.<\/p>\n

Grammar needs context<\/h2>\n

That said,\u00a0I think the elephant in the room\u00a0is the fact that over the past century, time spent\u00a0reading and writing has dropped dramatically. In fact, a study reported by the National Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> reveals that people of all ages spend about three to five times as much time watching television as they do reading books. This deprives them of necessary context for effectively learning grammar.<\/p>\n

It is incredibly hard to teach details or parts<\/strong>\u00a0to someone who rarely experiences the context of the whole<\/strong>. Many modern kids don’t read any more than the bare minimum, if that, and often don’t hear well-spoken English in their daily lives. Because of this, they have not absorbed\u00a0fluent language patterns\u00a0as a reader does, and without those patterns to provide a context, grammar terms become simply a list of words to memorize for a test, rather than living parts of speech that can help them write more clearly.<\/p>\n

Writing; then Latin<\/h2>\n

I grew up when diagramming wasn’t being taught, but as a voracious reader, I was always able to write decently, score well on tests, and win essay contests. However, I always wanted to take Latin, and when I finally got to college to do it, I learned wonderful things about grammar \u2014 both Latin and English grammar \u2014 that helped to improve my skills.<\/p>\n

When I started homeschooling our boys, I knew I wanted them to have a better handle on the vocabulary of grammar than I did, so we went through Grammar Made Easy<\/em><\/strong>, a once-through-and-done program with diagramming. It was useful, but I am convinced that it worked because it was just one brief part of our language arts instruction, rather than a year after year focus.<\/p>\n

Our language arts foundation was reading and writing, mostly using Charlotte Mason<\/a><\/strong>‘s methods. Without\u00a0saturation in well-crafted language, the grammar instruction would have been out of context and\u00a0nearly pointless. However, once a solid language foundation\u00a0is in place, grammar can be taught with a simple grammar course, followed by Latin\"\"<\/a> or another foreign language in which the student will gain a more solid grasp on the structure of language.<\/p>\n

Should students learn to diagram sentences?<\/h2>\n

I think it’s a good idea, but it should not be the focus of writing instruction. Writing is a creative process that involves\u00a0much more than grammar, and students should be spending far more time reading<\/strong> and\u00a0writing<\/strong> than dissecting the language or filling out worksheets. Just as it is easier to learn music theory if you have heard music and can practice on\u00a0an instrument, it is easier to absorb\u00a0grammar if you\u00a0do so while\u00a0applying what you learn in real-life writing assignments.<\/p>\n

\"Model<\/a><\/p>\n

For students who do an extensive amount of reading, my preferred program\u00a0is simple (students who do not read extensively\u00a0or who are approaching English as a second language may need additional instruction):<\/p>\n