Creating Grammatical Menu Magic Presented by: Mary E Schmutz 8th grade Language Arts Teacher Junction City Middle School USD 475 Geary County Schools 700 Wildcat Lane Junction City, KS 66441 maryschmutz@usd475.org 785.717.4400
Grammar is rarely taught directly anymore. However, students can learn how to spice up their writing by learning the importance and the power of using adjectives to describe things. By using menus from favorite eateries, students learn the power of adjectives to “sell” their products in their own restaurant. Students create their own restaurant, menu, overall design scheme for the restaurant, and even produce a song list appropriate for the restaurant type chosen. They learn grammar, real life skills, and how to write for a different audience in this authentic assignment. Let’s get cookin’! A presentation of the Flint Hills Writing Project For information, please contact Dr. F. Todd Goodson, Director tgoodson@ksu.edu Kansas State University 359 Bluemont Hall, 1100 Mid‐Campus Drive Manhattan, KS 66506
Common Core Standards for 8th grade English Language Arts: Writing Standards: 1. Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others. Kansas Writing Standards and Benchmarks: Standard 1: The students write effectively for a variety of audiences, purposes, and contexts. 2.8‐ Understands and independently uses appropriate strategies to generate expository text (e.g. brainstorming, listing, webbing, working in pairs or in cooperative groups and identifying information from print sources). 2.12‐ Selects original and compelling vocabulary and/or figurative language to inform the reader. 2.13‐ Selects words and phrases that are suitable and precise that create appropriate imagery (e.g. vivid verbs, explicit nouns, natural modifiers). ISTE Standards for Students: 1. b. Creativity and Innovation‐ Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students create original works as a means of personal or group expression. 2. Communication and Collaboration‐ Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students: a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats. 3. Research and Information Fluency‐ Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students:
a. plan strategies to guide inquiry. b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media. c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks. d. process data and report results.
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making‐ Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:
b. c.
plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.
5. Digital Citizenship‐ Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students: a. b. productivity.
advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and
6. Technology Operations and Concepts‐ Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:
a. b. c. d.
understand and use technology systems. select and use applications effectively and productively. troubleshoot systems and applications. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.
Research: Anderson, J., Bills, P., Bush, J., Weaver, C. (2006). Grammar intertwined throughout the writing process: an “inch wide and a mile deep”. English Teaching: Practice and Critique, 5(1), 77‐101. “Noden offers an excellent example of grammar as enrichment in Image grammar (1999). For Noden, grammar is a means of helping students develop their text much in the same way that painters are able to use various brushstrokes to craft their art‐ or the ways that any artist or craftmans uses specialized skills to develop the craft… Our students are often like the novice artist who sees a beautiful scene she wants to replicate and develop, but lacks the ability. Instead, then she uses only rudimentary tools and is unable to replicate those images…It takes specific skills for the crafting of language to make writing interesting and sophisticated” (81). Farnan, N. & Fearn, L. (2007). When is a verb. Journal of Basic Writing, 26(1), 63‐87. “We do argue that the ability to define and identify grammatical elements is not related to writing skills” (64). “Writing can be the context when we teach grammar. We can use writing to teach the grammar we want to teach… If the purpose of grammar instruction is to satisfy standards and prepare for high‐ stakes testing, we can teach sentence parts and enhance students’ writing at the same time without compromising either. The instruction about adjectives, for example, focused on the function of adjectives in sentences, so students learned to understand adjectives’ purpose and to use them properly when they wrote sentences” (78).
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Writing for real audiences Builds on student's culture and background knowledge interests Learning of grammar and mechanics Fun and creative Got to work together
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Got to use technology or on paper Multi‐modal Can still be done, even if they're not good with technology or have technology at home great way to improve descriptive language this lends itself well to collaborative work, all students will have the opportunity to participate reaches into real life and appreciates or recognizes cultural differences students see practical value of rough draft (descriptions) and final draft (actual menu); writing process is truly authentic rather than artificial or forced
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Project Outline for Classroom Implementation:
I usually take one week from explanation until completion. As usual, there are always students who finish early and some who will not be finished by the deadline. Materials needed: Construction paper in various colors Magazines for cutouts of food products Clip art or other images from Internet Computers for word processing documents/images Glue sticks or rubber cement Menus from local restaurants Day 1‐ I explain adjectives and the power those words hold. As a class, we go through using adjectives to describe each other in their small groups. We read a sampling of responses from students. I also pass out the menus from local eateries. We talk about the importance of selling the product to the consumer and how adjectives can help with selling the product. We write several appropriate adjectives for food on the Smart Board and save those in a file. I then explain the actual project of designing a restaurant name, the food items, and an appropriate menu with attractive adjectives describing all their menu items. Day 2‐ The students are placed in pairs by random selection. The students spend this day brainstorming or defending the names of the restaurants and menu items. By the end of the hour, they need to check with teacher for approval of restaurant name and theme. Day 3‐4 ‐ Students are required to include at least 3 of the following items on their menus: Appetizers, main courses or entrees, desserts, and drinks (sodas and milk do not count!). Students are encouraged to have more than that using the sample menus but the rubric requires at least 3 from each category. Day 5‐ Students make final small changes to their menus, placing all cut‐outs and menu descriptions printed off into their menu book. They share by conducting a gallery walk making positive comments along the way. Turn in final copy for assessment. Alternatives/Other approaches: I would encourage all students to create menus using any of the sites we have learned about this summer such as Glogster, Voice Thread, or Issuu. I have a class website via the school and always have students upload material there as well.