The introductory materials are followed by an Options for Options section that not only outlines the resources available for each lesson but also suggests ways to utilize these assets effectively.
SYNTAX FOR SAILORS NAVIGATING THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
AN EXTRAORDINARY LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCE
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Current language arts waterways are an inch deep and a mile wide. Overburdened curriculum demands continually put English teachers in a quandary. We can choose to teach a few programs well at the expense of others, or we can use our limited time and resources to cover everything lightly. Should we choose the latter, our hikers once again splash their way across the shallows, and the water invariably soaks into the shoreline instead of the shoes.
A “souped-up” engine is an engine that has been modified to produce enhanced performance.
Much like incorporating “souped-up” color choices (cerulean, thistle, orchid, fuchsia, aquamarine, mulberry, plum, melon, periwinkle, sepia, goldenrod) has the potential to turn an ordinary crayon project into a masterpiece, incorporating “souped-up” syntactic choices (participial phrases, compound-complex sentences, gerunds, noun clauses, infinitive phrases, adjective clauses) has the potential to improve ordinary communication by dynamically enhancing versatility, flexibility, clarity, and effectiveness.
If we expect grammatical sophistication from today’s writer and speaker, we need to ensure they have a full box of crayons--not eight crayons; not sixteen crayons; but a full box of sixty-four.
I have all the crayons,
and unlike those who fail to foster the incredible variety of readily available syntactic choices that make our language rich, dynamic, and versatile,
I enthusiastically share them all.
Bill Miller
Copyright Bill Miller 2022