Teaching Grammar and Story-making in one 3D lesson

Dr. Paul R. Friesen

Teaching grammar can be tedious. Though there are many ways to get the technical ideas through, story-making is often in a separate reading unit. This paper is a step by step program which, any teacher can use as a plus to their present material. The program matches the other programs designed by the author. The purpose is to teach a 3 dimensional (3D) lesson, from Technical through to Functional, regardless of subject. It can be especially hard with grammar. This program, if followed, will develop the bridge to better reading and writing activities, as each student moves up the education ladder and age.

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Teaching Grammar and Story-making in one 3D lesson

Teaching Grammar and Story-making in one lesson

The following idea is developed from Dr. Roys Everything Grammar Volume 1. As this idea has developed, the challenge has been to move it forward into more than grammar. In order to do this I tested the idea in a private language school, with a Korean teacher. The students were elementary students. Though they were tested higher in I.Q., their English level was not at an equal level. At any level most grammar classes are tedious. The system designed by Dr. Friesen is a project oriented one. This fits into his strategy of developing 3D lesson plans. In the program students will prepare a project which will demonstrate their ability to function and move to; a next level, or a different direction. In designing the program, the choices are the carrot. The choices will also allow the student to develop their strengths in: writing, presentation, or debate. All these areas require writing, and writing requires a good foundation of grammar. Ms. Hyun Ju Sung and I developed the following strategy. As you work through the book, section by section, you will be able to, as a teacher, build on the initial story idea. Each time you use a series of sentences, students can rework or add to their story. This challenges the students to develop analytical skills. Strategy Ms. Sung took sentences from the sections, she was teaching. This was followed by asking the students to list all the sentences with the same tense. Following this exercise the student were then told to put them in a sequence of events. They do not always fit, as you will find, but that is where the creativity is needed. Creativity being the backbone of the process to success, filling in the gaps to make a paragraph. With the understanding that paragraphs should be focused on; one (1) topic and one (1) tense, this exercise will strengthen this understanding. Step 1 was to develop a set of about 4~5 tenses per section. You can see a list on the following page. Ms. Sung used the sentences in the sections she taught. Creativity and flexibility of storytelling, combined with grammar and story development can create exciting essays. Firming up this idea will help students develop a self-check method in later writing challenges.

An Example

(From Ms. Sungs Playbook)

These sentences are found in the first sections of this book. They are just listed to reflect the same ideas. There are too many for one paragraph, with the same tense. When using a list like this, with a lot of present tense sentences, have the students put the ideas into an action sequence, followed by two (2) or three (3) paragraphs. The goal is to create first an understanding of story movement. Second, it is to affirm the understanding that each paragraph should have one tense. Third, to allow the student to be creative, while at the same time affirming the students grammar learning. Step 1 Make a list
I go to the game every day. I went to the game. John goes to the game every day. John went to the game last night. They went to the game two days ago. She waits for us. She is waiting for us. She was waiting for us. She waited for us. She has waited for us. Each boy has a pencil. Each boy had pencils. Every boy has a pencil. All boys have a pencil. All boys had a pencil. I want a hat. She wants a hat. I wanted a hat. He wanted a hat. All the boys wanted a hat. I enjoy the pancakes. Jim enjoys the pancakes. Mary enjoys the pancakes. We enjoyed the pancakes. All of them enjoyed the pancakes. That girl is my friend. The boy is my cousin. Those girls are his friends. This lady is my sister in law. This gentleman is my father in law. Your coat is on a hanger. Your hat is near the door. The car was on the street. My friend is next to Paul. My shoes are under the table.

Step 2

The Present Tense

The following sample is the previous list in a paragraph form. There is no selected sequence. The focus is the paragraph form.
I go to the game every day. She waits for us. Each boy has a pencil. All boys have a pencil. I want a hat. She wants a hat. I enjoy the pancakes. Jim enjoys the pancakes. Mary enjoys the pancakes. That girl is my friend. Those girls are his friends. Your coat is on a hanger. Your coat is on a hanger. Your hat is near the door. My friend is next to Paul. My shoes are under the table. Your hat is near the door. This lady is my sister in law. This gentleman is my father in law. The boy is my cousin. My friend is next to Paul. My shoes are under the table.

Step 3 Sequence selection The time to do this can be extensive. It would be a wise decision to have the students do this as a homework assignment. It can be very intense. The object of this exercise is to have students begin to see ideas as more than just sentences, but a part of larger idea, just out of order. To make a story or paragraph, students need to develop a more global view of what they read and speak. As an ESL class, this is vital to their acceleration in acquiring the target language. The previous list of sentences has now been separated into same ideas. The first is about a game, or clothes. I have highlighted the pronouns. Putting these together will help the student develop a good idea of the action sequence. In a later step the student will combine sentences, and this will be of great help, as they can see the repetition, and then fix the repetition.
. I go to the game every day. I want a hat. My shoes are under the table. She wants a hat. She waits for us. Your coat is on a hanger. Your hat is near the door. . I enjoy the pancakes. Jim enjoys the pancakes. Mary enjoys the pancakes. . Each boy has a pencil. All boys have a pencil.
. This gentleman is my father-in-law. This lady is my sister-in-law. Those girls are his

friends. That girl is my friend. My friend is next to Paul. The boy is my cousin.

Step 4 Creating the story

This gentleman is my father-in-law. This lady is my sister-in-law. Those girls are his friends. That girl is my friend. The boy is my cousin. My friend is next to Paul. I enjoy the pancakes. Jim enjoys the pancakes. Mary enjoys the pancakes. I go to the game every day. I want a hat. My shoes are under the table. She wants a hat. She waits for us. Your hat is near the door. Your coat is on a hanger. Each boy has a pencil. All boys have a pencil.

Step 5 Filling the gaps In this section the student has put the sentences together in a time sequence. The gaps, between ideas, need to be filled in. Keep the present tense. There are four (4) major idea connections. Therefore, you have three (3) gaps to fill. I have highlighted them. The gap sentences provide a reason for the following collection of sentences: . breakfast and pancakes . Saturday and game . keep score and pencil.
This gentleman is my father-in-law. This lady is my sister-in-law. Those girls are his friends. That girl is my friend. The boy is my cousin. My friend is next to Paul. I like breakfast. I enjoy the pancakes. Jim enjoys the pancakes. Mary enjoys the pancakes. Saturday is always special. I go to the game every day. I want a hat. My shoes are under the table. She wants a hat. She waits for us. Your hat is near the door. Your coat is on a hanger. I need to keep score. Each boy has a pencil. All boys have a pencil.

Step 6

Combining the ideas

When you combine, you take out the repetition and add small words and punctuation. You will find that adding connector ideas will help students link their story together. Dr. Roys Grammar Volume II has punctuation in it for reference. Using the basic ideas of punctuation is easy. Using conjunctions is a bit more difficult, especially for Koreans, because they are not easily used in their first language. This step will help develop this inherent weakness, and develop a better self-correction skill in the student.

Title: Going to the game

This gentleman is my father-in-law, and this lady is my sister-in-law. Those girls are his friends and that girl is my friend. My friend is next to Paul. The boy is my cousin. I like breakfast before I go to the game. Jim, and Mary, and I enjoy the pancakes. Saturday is special, because I always go to the baseball game. I need to keep score. Each boy has to have a pencil. Do all the boys have a pencil? She and I want a hat. Your hat is near the door and your coat is on a hanger. My shoes are under the table. Hurry! She waits for us. We do not want to be late!

Step 7 From One to Five Going from one (1) short paragraph story, to a short essay is not so hard. You still have some sentences left to use. Following steps 1~6 for each set of sentences, revise the story as you go. You already have the core sequence. As you develop the story, use this theme to build a longer essay ideas. The teacher can focus on different parts of grammar, from each section in the book. Your story will use these ideas. The grammar structure will fit, and the development of creative thinking will happen. Students can develop more contextual thinking, allowing for faster reading, stronger critical thinking, and in the end better presentation/debate skills. This is just the beginning. Utilizing a 3D model in your lesson will move the student, from the technical structure of grammar, to a creative functional understanding, to be used in other areas of their life, and continuing personal development.