Real-World Grammar

Real-WorldGrammarSentencesforSymbolizingandWritingActivities

withCross-CurricularContent

AmericanIndianNaturalists

Meadowsareimportantsourcesof

medicinalplantsusedbytraditionalhealers.fromplacardsatTheNationalMuseumoftheAmericanIndian

First Edition © 2015 Betsy A. Lockhart

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Real-WorldGrammar:AmericanIndianNaturalistsRationale:What’sthisgoingtodoformychildrenandmyclass?ThechallengethateveryMontessoriguidefacesishowtooptimizethedepthandbreadthofthevastcurriculumthatweplacebeforethechildren.Therearenotenoughhoursinthedayorweeksintheyeartogivechildreneverythingthatwewishwecould!

Onemaximizationtechniqueis“doubledipping”–usingcross-curricularactivitiestopracticeaskillwhileinsertingcontent.Florexample,ratherthanprovidingstoryproblemsabouthowmanycookieseachchildgets,usenumbersthatarerelevanttoscience,history,orotherareasofchildren’sinterest.

Real-WorldGrammardoesexactlythis,providingsentencesforsymbolizingpartsofspeechwithreal-worldcontentfromtopicsthatarepopularwithelementarystudentsandteachers.

InRealWorldGrammar:AmericanIndians,contentcomesdirectlyfrominformationalplaccardsatTheNationalMuseumoftheAmericanIndianinWashingtonDC.Sentenceshavebeentailoredforchildrenattwoworkinglevels:LevelOnesentencesuseonlywordsthatareamongthe9basicpartsofspeech.Note:childrenneednothaveachievedmasteryofallofthesepartsofspeechtousetheseinformationalparagraphsasagrammarfollow-up!Ifachildisworkingonverbs,hecanfindonlytheverbsintheparagraph,beingremindedthateverysentencehasatleastoneverb.Thechildwhoisworkingatahigherlevelmightbechallengedtosymbolizetheentireparagraph.Forchildrenwhoneedtoworkwithafriend,threechildrencaneachsymbolizeonesentenceinaparagraphandtheneachcanpresenthisworktotheothersasapreliminarycontrol-of-error.Whenallthreearecontentthatthesymbolsarecorrect,theycaneachrecordtheresults.LevelTwoincludesmoreadvancedpartsofspeechincludingverbals(infinitives,participles,andgerunds)aswellas“stacked”partsofspeechlikeconjunctivepronouns,andverbtypes(transitive,intransitive,linkingorauxiliary).Onceagain,thematerialsareflexible:ifchildrenhavenotbeenpresentedthesymbolsforthedifferenttypesofverbs,aplainredverbsymbolwillsuffice!Iftheyhavehadnoexperiencewith“stacked”partsofspeech,aslongastheyhaveidentifiedaconjunctivepronounaseitheraconjunctionorapronoun,theiransweriscompletelysatisfactory!(ChildrenwhohavenotbeenpresentedlessonsonverbalsshoulduseLevelOneparagraphs).

GeekyBrain-BasedLearning:Why“doubledipping”ismorethanjustanefficiencyHowdowebuildknowledge?Howdoeslearningmovefromworkingmemorytolong-termmemory?Certainlythatisatopicworthyofitsownmonograph,butinshort,onewaythatlong-termmemoryisbuiltisbyencounteringinformationinmultiplediverseepisodes.Ifyouweretorecallwhenyoufirstlearnedthataquartissmallerthanagallon,youmightreplayaspecificmemory,anepisode,ofshoppingformilkorofcookingwithasignificantadultinyourlife.Ifthatwasfollowedbyotherexperiences,likestudyingequivalenciesinschool,orchangingtheoilinthecaryoumaynowknowthat4quartsareequivalenttoagallon.

HowisthisrelevanttoReal-WorldGrammar?Aschildrenapplygrammartoreal-worldcontent,theyareexperiencinganepisodeofboththeanalysisoflanguageANDspecificcontenttoreinforceorinspireculturalstudies–anexampleof“doubledipping”thatwillbenefitthechildintwoareasthroughasingleactivity.

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Implementation:HowdoIusethismaterial?Thereisgreatflexibilityinthismaterial.Ofcourse,onecangiveagrammarlessontoagroupofchildrenandthenchooseaparagraphforthegroup,makingenoughcopiesofthemuteparagraphforeachchildtohaveone.Hereisbutoneotherideaofhowtousethismaterial:1) Printandlaminatepages1–62.2) Createabookletoflaminatedpagesforeachtopic.Eachbookletwillhave3pages:

– Cover:pageswithphotographs– LevelOnemuteparagraph– LevelTwomuteparagraph

3) Createabookletcontainingallofthecontrolsoferror.4) Givelessonsonpartsofspeechtoallchildren(butyouweredoingthatanyway,right?)5) Asafollow-up,inviteeachchildtochooseanaspectofAmericanIndians’relationshipwith

thenaturalworldthatmostinterestshim.Givespecificinstructionsastowhatthechildistosymbolize,dependinguponhislevelofknowledgeofpartsofspeech.Forexample:– UseLevelOne.Copythesentence(s)intoyournotebookleavingroomforthesymbols

aboveeachword.Symbolizeonlywordsinthenounandverbfamilies(noun,adjective,article,verb,andadverb).Whenyouaredone,comparewithafriendanddiscussanywordsthatyouhavesymbolizeddifferentlybeforecheckingwiththeControlofErrorcard.

– UseLevelTwo.Copythesentence(s)intoyournotebookleavingroomforthesymbolsaboveeachword.Symbolizeallofthesentencesintheparagraph.Watchforverbals(infinitives,participles,andgerunds)!Iftherearewordsthatyouaren’tcertainofhowtosymbolize,outlinethesymbolforyourbestguesswithoutcoloringitin.Seeifyoucanconvinceafriendorteacherthatyouhavetherightsymbolbeforecheckingthecontroloferror.

Lookingforanextensionintowritinginstruction?1) Copypages62to72.Cutapartindividualsentencestrips.Laminateeachsentence.2) Sortsentencesbyparagraphandputeachsetofsentencesintoindividualenvelopesor

folders.3) Invitechildrentoexperimentwithsentenceorderwithinaparagraph.4) Whenchildrenhaveassembledthesentencesintoasequencethattheyfindlogicaland

pleasingchildrenmaydooneormoreofthefollowing.– writeatitlefortheparagraphoncash-registerpaperandaddittothetopofthe

paragraph– writeatopicsentencefortheparagraph– writeaconcludingsentencefortheparagraph

5) Childrencopytheparagraphintotheirnotebooks.

Doyouhaveolderchildrenwhoarelearningaboutmulti-paragraphessays?1) Choose3paragraphsfromtheprovidedset.2) Dividethechildreninto3teams.Eachteamassemblessentencestomakealogical

paragraph,asaboveandwritesatopicsentencefortheparagraph.3) Askthegrouptoputthethreeparagraphsinalogicalsequence,writingtransition

sentencesfortheendofeachparagraph.4) Childrenindividuallywriteathesisparagraphandaconcludingparagraphtocompletea

5-paragraphessay.

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AmericanIndianNaturalistsTopics

ParagraphsforSymbolizing

Agriculture:Meadows 1

Agriculture:GiftstotheWorld 6

Agriculture:TraditionalCroplands 11

PlantMedicine:Quinine 16

PlantMedicine:Black-EyedSusan 21

PlantMedicine:SunflowersandSunflowerFunFacts 26

PlantMedicine:BroadleafCattailandCattailFunFacts 35

Astronomy 44

Philosophy:DeepConnectionsandEvolvingWorld 49

PhilosophyandArt 58

IndividualSentencesforParagraphStudies 63

Appendix:GrammarSymbolsUsedinNativeAmericanNaturalists 73

Permission is granted for the purchaser to make copies of pages from this document as needed for children’s use in a single classroom; one copy of this document must

be copied for each classroom.

For information address: Lockhart Learning, PO Box 3443, Evergreen, Colorado 80437

© 2015 Betsy A. Lockhart

First Edition

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AmericanIndianPlantMedicine:BroadleafCattailandCattailFunFactsBroadleafCattailNearlyeveryNativecommunityinNorthAmericahasusedthecattailasfood,medicine,orrawmaterialsforbasketsandmats.Manytribesmadecordageforthickropesfromtwistedstrandsofcattailleaves.Thecordagewasusedtomakestrong,weatherproofmatsforhouseorfloorcoverings,aswellastoys,dolls,andduckdecoys.

CattailFunFactsThecattailcontainstentimestheamountofstarchaspotatoes–animportantsourceofenergy.The“fluff”onacattailisreallyitsseeds.ThesoftfluffwasoftenusedbyNativepeoplestopadmoccasins,bedding,andbabycradleboards.

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LevelOne:PartsofSpeech

AmericanIndianPlantMedicine:BroadleafCattails

NearlyeveryNativecommunityin(NorthAmerica)(hasused)thecattailas

food,medicine,orrawmaterialsforbasketsandmats.Manytribesmade

cordageforthickropesfromtwistedstrandsofcattailleaves.Natives

madestrong,weatherproofmatsforhouseorfloorcoverings,(aswellas)

toys,dolls,andduckdecoysfromthiscordage.

– adaptedfromplacardsatTheNationalMuseumoftheAmericanIndian,Washington,DChttp://nmai.si.edu

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NearlyeveryNativecommunityin(NorthAmerica)(hasused)thecattailas


cordageforthickropesfromtwistedstrandsofcattailleaves.Natives

madestrong,weatherproofmatsforhouseorfloorcoverings,(aswellas)

toys,dolls,andduckdecoysfromthiscordage.


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LevelTwo:PartsofSpeech


NearlyeveryNativecommunityin(NorthAmerica)hasusedthecattailas


cordageforthickropesfromtwistedstrandsofcattailleaves.Thecordage

wasused(tomake)strong,weatherproofmatsforhouseorfloorcoverings,

(aswellas)toys,dolls,andduckdecoys.


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NearlyeveryNativecommunityin(NorthAmerica)hasusedthecattailas


cordageforthickropesfromtwistedstrandsofcattailleaves.Thecordage

wasused(tomake)strong,weatherproofmatsforhouseorfloorcoverings,

(aswellas)toys,dolls,andduckdecoys.


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AmericanIndianPlantMedicine:CattailFunFacts

Thecattailcontainsmuchmorestarchthanpotatoes,soitisan

importantsourceofenergy.The“fluff”onacattailisreallyitsseeds.The

softfluffprovidedpaddingformoccasins,bedding,andbabycradleboards.


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Thecattailcontainsmuchmorestarchthanpotatoes,soitisan




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Thecattailcontainsmuchmorestarchthanpotatoes,makingitan




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Thecattailcontainsmuchmorestarchthanpotatoes,makingitan


softfluffwasoftenusedbyNativepeoples(topad)moccasins,bedding,and

babycradleboards.

– adaptedfromplacardsatTheNationalMuseumoftheAmericanIndian,Washington,DC

http://nmai.si.edu

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AmericanIndianPlantMedicine:BroadleafCattail(2paragraphs)

NearlyeveryNativecommunityinNorthAmericahasusedthecattailasfood,medicine,orrawmaterialsforbasketsandmats.Manytribesmadecordageforthickropesfromtwistedstrandsofcattailleaves.Thecordagewasusedtomakestrong,weatherproofmatsforhouseorfloorcoverings,aswellastoys,dolls,andduckdecoys.

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Thecattailcontainstentimestheamountofstarchaspotatoes–animportantsourceofenergy.The“fluff”onacattailisreallyitsseeds.ThesoftfluffwasoftenusedbyNativepeoplestopadmoccasins,bedding,andbabycradleboards.

– fromplacardsatTheNationalMuseumoftheAmericanIndian,Washington,DChttp://nmai.si.edu

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Appendix Grammar Symbols for Level One

Verb Adverb Noun

Article

Adjective

Pronoun

Preposition

Conjunction

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Grammar Symbols for Level One or Two These symbols that are shown on Level Two Controls of Error can be applied to Level One Sentences

Transitive verb: an action verb that has a noun phrase to receive the action. The quarterback threw the football.

intransitive verb: an verb that is complete without a receiver of the action, often an assertion, an expression, a command, or a question. The bell rang.

auxiliary verb: a verb that accompanies the main verb to help define tense, mood, or voice. (be, have, can, will) I will be singing a concert tomorrow.

linking verb: a verb that equates the subject with its complement (be, become, seem) Basketball players are tall.

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proper noun: names a specific person, place or thing and is always capitalized. (George Washington, Chicago, Eiffel Tower)

proper adjective: an adjective formed from a proper noun, and is always capitalized. (Spanish flag, Native peoples)

Conjunctive adverb: a modifier that

connects independent clauses. Also, besides, however, still, then, consequently, moreover, nevertheless, otherwise, still, therefore, yet Kathleen does not like to weed; she did the chore, nevertheless. Conjunctive pronoun: does the work of a Conjunction and a pronoun. that, which, who, whom, whoever, whomever, whichever

I like the experiments that have lots of steps. The girls who ran fastest won the race.

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Grammar Symbols for Level Two: Verbals

Verbals are found only in Level Two sentences: they have been replaced in Level One sentences.

infinitive: takes the form “to + verb” but functions as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Cortney loves to polish the silver. To be or not to be; that is the question. participle: takes the form “verb + ing” (present) or “verb + ed” (past) but functions as an adjective. Rocky, the flying squirrel, is Bullwinkle’s friend. The locked door wouldn’t open. gerund: takes the form “verb + ing” but functions as a noun. Running is good exercise

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