Just the other day, as a part of their revision, I asked my students to combine sentences in their reflective essays. A student asked, “How am I supposed to do that?” I responded by having them look at some of their previous mini lessons on sentence variety and combining. The next day, I took 5 minutes to show them some examples, and we combined sentences as a class. This week, I plan on showing them more techniques and examples—much like Lindemann’s on page 166-7. Lindemann makes a valid point about encouraging them to practice unfamiliar constructions and address punctuation. Instead of learning “about” sentences, students need to be able to practice. I am not saying that some drill and skill is unimportant either. I believe that having the lessons and the worksheets are an important foundation for their practice. These practice worksheets and lessons provide students a reference point for their application.
“Language is not just a set of rules. It’s a tool people use to create meaning.” But….those tools are rules that need to be followed or meaning is misconstrued. Ok. So, students don’t necessarily memorize the rules or know the terminology, but they must have encountered them to know what “sounds” or “looks” right. The problem I have with my students is that the English language is “changing.” I argue with my students about what is grammatically correct and what “sounds” right. So…I have to bring out the rules, so that they understand. Ironically, they hate the “rules,” I hate teaching the “rules,” but when it comes down to it…we need the rules in order to understand the practice. Don't we?
I think rules are requisite to building a solid foundation upon which writing structures can be built. Even if those structures break the rules, provided the foundation is firm, they will be sound; that is, rules are meant to be broken, but only by those who know that they're breaking them.
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