This is a lesson plan I have created to introduce generative syntax tree diagrams. It is meant for 10th grade high school students of English.
Objectives:
From this very short introduction, the students should:
1) be able to diagram a simple sentence using this new method
2) gain a deeper understanding of the generative, recursive nature of language
3) understand how we manipulate the base forms of language to form new sentences
4) understand how the choice one makes in how to diagram a sentence shows how one is interpreting the sentence
Time-frame:
One night to watch the video and read some of the background information, and one class period the following day to go over tree diagramming and do some practice. After some further demonstration in class, the students will attempt to diagram a few simple sentences and then use the tree diagrams to transform them into more complex and different types of sentences (e.g., adding modifiers, gerund phrases, and prepositional phrases; forming questions).
This is a video showing a few of the basics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJCwe1GxHAc
Here are a few links for background information:
http://feeds.delicious.com/v2/rss/lalloydus?count=15
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I think that the lesson objectives and the video are very clear and effective for teaching the topic. If you were to do future videos with you writing, I would suggest writing bigger in order to make the text clearer for the viewer. The delicious bookmarks also support the lesson well and give the background knowledge that you would not have time to present in a video clip such as this one. Were you able to figure out a way to incorporate a podcast as part of the lesson or did I just not see it?
ReplyDeleteThank you for the YouTube lecture of syntax tree diagrams. That reminded me of my undergraduate age. I have learnt the same thing when I took linguistics course in undergraduate, and you explained it more clearly so I could concentrate on your YouTube lecture. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading your lesson plan. I have one suggetion for you. Why don't you use Smartboard when you record YouTube video for the students from next time? It was OK, but the letters was little bit small to see them properly. In addition, if you use Smartboard, you will be able to make your lecture more effectively with a lot of functions which Smartboard has. I wish I have Smartboard in my country in near future.
ReplyDeleteLloyd, thank you for sharing your lesson plan.
I think that the lesson and video were clear in your effort to teach about Syntax Tree Diagrams. The writing was hard at times to see and I think to keep your viewers attention, maybe you could shorten the video demonstration to around 5 minutes. Otherwise, I think the lesson was very effective.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I really like the inclusion of the video tutorial, I found this lesson to be a tad dry. The goals are clear and superb, but let's admit it, diagramming sentences are boringggg. So how can you use technology, personal choice, or personal interests, to make this grammar lesson something that they will remember, want to use later, feel connected to, find value in? Connecting things to our students lives in essential. In Bruce Pirie's book, "Reshaping High School English," he stated, “a perceived lack of purpose is a probable cause for resistance” (p. 13). I always resisted things that I didn't see the value in, so how can we get our students to not just see OUR value for this assignment, but to create their own?
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