Comments for Pennington Publishing Blog

Comment on The Great Grammar Debate by Why We Don’t Teach Grammar | Adverb.biz

Why We Don’t Teach Grammar | Adverb.biz — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:58:28 +0000

[...] and adverbs). We don’t need any more student casualties as a result of any ” Great Grammar Debate.” Our ignorance is no excuse. We need to learn how to teach grammar in a meaningful writing [...]

Comment on Why We Don’t Teach Grammar by Mark Pennington

Mark Pennington — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 04:02:59 +0000

I would definitely agree with your first reason.

Comment on Why We Don’t Teach Grammar by C Koeffler

C Koeffler — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:23:56 +0000

Thank you for this. Three more quick ideas about which I’d love to hear agreement or disagreement from others to whom proper English and grammar are sacred.
1) English grammar has declined because students no longer have to study a second language. There’s no substitute for getting the point that all pronouns are not created equally and that plural nouns really deserve plural verbs.
2) It’s considered elitist or rude to correct someone’s langauge. I don’t know why it isn’t rude if someone is told that 2+2 does not =5, but it is rude to point out that “lay” is transitive and “lie” is not.
3) Many (maybe most) people don’t really care if English is correct, so long as the point is communicated. “Good enough” has set the bar very low.

In any case, glad to see others share my concerns and consternation.

Comment on The 18 Reasons Not to Use Accelerated Reader by Grade 5 Teacher

Grade 5 Teacher — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:37:40 +0000

Response to Caronline G. The purpose of AR has never been “simply to gain points.” The point system is a way for students to set a goal for the amount of reading they do for a given period of time. Can it be done in other ways? Of course. This just happens to be one very motivating way that many students enjoy. I am also a teacher and I have seen many of my students take off with AR. Those that don’t do well with the program are, for the most part, those that aren’t reading. I would also have to say that those students that struggle benefit from the support that the leveled system provides. In addition to selecting books in their ZPD (Zone of Proximal Developement), I teach my students how to select any book, AR or not! So, I guess what I am saying is, if the system works for teachers, let them use it. If the system doesn’t work for one of my students, because they want to read non AR books for instance, I encourage that, but students then do an oral retell or written summary in place of the AR quiz. Whatever the student elects (choice is an extremely powerful motivator), the student is providing evidence that they have read the book;evidence that indicates how well they comprehended the material; and a brief rating of the book (reflecting on how well they liked the book). Love it or hate it, give teachers and students a choice! Parents, please respect the choices made by your child’s teacher and your child! I would also ask the same of this publisher!

One last note, in this digital age, let’s embrace the electronic tools we have at our fingertips, and if they aren’t exactly perfect, then let’s see what can be done to improve them; and let’s provide teacher’s with the training necessary to implement a best practices reading program. YES,AR can be an effective piece of a great literacy program!

Comment on The 18 Reasons Not to Use Accelerated Reader by Taylor

Taylor — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:17:03 +0000

And btw im 11 and have been dong this stuff for 6 years. Ii IS a chore for our reading grade.
ugh

Comment on The 18 Reasons Not to Use Accelerated Reader by Taylor

Taylor — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:16:05 +0000

I HATE ar. We HAVE to do it for my class. It does turn into a chore for us. Sure I always get my required points, i just hate it and hate reading.

Comment on The 18 Reasons Not to Use Accelerated Reader by Question Your Assumptions: McNuggets and Accelerated Reader « Skeptic Family

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:54:29 +0000

[...] Many kids spend far more time thinking about how to game the system rather than actually reading nat…. [...]

Comment on The 18 Reasons Not to Use Accelerated Reader by Caroline G

Caroline G — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:01:40 +0000

My son’s school started the AR programme last year and I hate it! I am a teacher myself and cannot see the point in a scheme where the purpose of reading is simply to gain points – I want my son reading for pleasure. He is 9 and has been assigned a fairly narrow level from which he can choose books and take quizzes and he is not allowed to access quizzes for books above this reading level. My son has never been a keen reader but has recently discovered the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. He is on his second read of the series and I do not wish to discourage him from reading them as he is clearly enjoying them. We are also reading the Harry Potter series together. However as these books have been levelled by AR at a level higher than his assigned reading level he is unable to do the quizzes and therefore gain the points. He has been critised at school for not reading enough and thus not taking enough quizzes and I have argued that as he is reading books he is enjoying I am not prepared to stop him reading those just so that he can satisfy their requirement for him to do quizzes, gain points, so they can tick a few boxes. I hate it, hate it, hate it…..

Comment on How to Eliminate “To-Be” Verbs in Writing by Kasey

Kasey — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:43:52 +0000

Thank you so much for writing this article. I am in honors english and my teacher hates “to be” verbs. My class gets points taken off of our essays if “to be” verbs are included in them. It is really frustrating to try and eliminate these verbs–especially if you do not know what all of them are! This article really helped and I will pass on the link to my teacher.

Comment on How Not to Teach Context Clues by Special Education by onora - Pearltrees

Special Education by onora - Pearltrees — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:11:07 +0000

[...] Because the initial task of teaching students to read largely falls upon the shoulders of primary teachers, these teachers tend to be more familiar with this debate than their colleagues who teach older students. However, the underlying issues of this debate are just as relevant to intermediate, middle, high school, and college teachers who teach “reading to learn.” How Not to Teach Context Clues | Pennington Publishing Blog [...]