Syntax and Explicit Instruction EDC 424

Syntax: The Study of Phrase and Sentence Structure Syntax includes… understanding the ‘architecture’ of phrases and sentences knowledge of acceptable word sequences generation of novel word sequences that conform to the structure of the system

Syntactic Knowledge is… important to both language comprehension and expression and consists of both form parts of speech and function the role of a word or a group of words in relation to the rest of the elements in a phrase, clause, or sentence (Justice & Ezell, 2008)

Research Points to a Relationship Between Syntax and Reading Syntax predicted reading on the WIAT (Cutting & Scarborough, 2006) Grammatical awareness and vocabulary knowledge were significant predictors of later reading comprehension ability (Muter, Hulme, Snowling, & Stevenson, 2004) Reading comprehension in grades 2 and 4 was correlated with grammar performance (Catts et al., 2002) Grade 8 poor readers (comprehension or decoding) performed worse than typical readers in grammatical understanding (Catts et al., 2006) In adult struggling readers, syntax skills were related to reading comprehension and fluency (Taylor et al., 2011)

Explicit Teaching Direct, clear/concise language, sequential; breakdown complex skills into smaller bites; modeling and practice with frequent responses; provide cueing/scaffolding Tell students why and when to use strategies, what strategies to use, and how to apply them Think…. “I do, We do, You do, Re do” sequence

Steps of Explicit Teaching 1. Gain Attention/Anticipatory Set (I do) 2. Objective/Goal/Relevance (I do) (Review critical prerequisite skills) 3. Instructional Input/ Direct Explanation/Modeling (I do; but involve students) 4. Guided Practice (prompted) and Check for Understanding (We do) 6. Independent Practice (unprompted) (You do) 7. Closing of the lesson; review what was learned [8. Application (You do; Redo)]

Project Read/Language Circle 1. Direct (explicit) instruction of the concepts and skills of language 2. Presentation of concepts and skills in their dependent order, from simplest to most complex 3.Multisensory strategies (VAKT) Decoding Reading Comprehension Written Expression

Learn to Expand the Subject and Predicate Areas Practice provided with each concept on the handout

What is a basic sentence structure? Two elements: Subject + Predicate: Barebone sentence Subjects: who or what is the instigator of the action or the state reflected by the verb Simple (girl) Complete: subjects + modifiers; (the tall, lanky boy) Compound subjects: (the girl and her dog)

Subjects… can be a noun, pronoun, noun phrase, clause (What I’d like is a sunny day; That they will attend the party is uncertain) an adjective (The meek will inherit the earth) an infinitive (To err is human) or a gerund (Seeing is believing)

Verbs An action or state of being Provide important information about time (tense), intention (He might go), and number (They are walking). Tense: present, past, future; progressive (ongoing action; she is visiting); perfect (happened in the past and action happened before some other action (They will have eaten by the time they arrive).

Verbs There are: Main and auxiliary verbs (helping verbs); be, have and do are common in English Modals (a class of auxiliary verbs); can, could, may, ought, might, shall, will, must, should, would Be verbs: copula (main verb; She is here); auxiliary (She is coming here)

Verbs Infinitives: to + verb used for efficiency and allow embedding; John is calling. John is telling us about his class. John is calling to tell us about his class. Gerunds: present participle takes the place of a noun or pronoun Cleaning is not my favorite activity). Participles: present (+ing) used for the present participle ‘we are talking’; past (+-ed or irregular forms) for the perfect tense ‘they have eaten’.

Verb Tense Present Past Future Simple: now Simple: regular and irregular Simple: will or shall Progressive: duration; in progress; am, is, are+ present participle (+ing) Progressive: was, were + present participle Progressive: will be; shall be + present participle Perfect: past; happened before another action; has or have + past participle (+d, ed, n, en) Perfect: had + past participle Perfect: will have; shall have + past participle

Verb Tense Present Past Future Simple: now Simple: regular and irregular Simple: will or shall It rains every Sunday. It rained every Sunday. It will rain every Sunday. Progressive: duration; in progress; am, is, are+ present participle (+ing) Progressive: was, were + present participle Progressive: will be; shall be + present participle Carlos is jumping. Carlos was jumping. Carlos will be jumping. Perfect: past; happened before another action; has or have + past participle (+d, ed, n, en) Perfect: had + past participle Perfect: will have; shall have + past participle Linda has missed the plane. By the time she got to the airport, Linda had missed the plane. By the time she gets to the airport, Linda will have missed the plane.

Barebone Sentence

Framing Your Thoughts (FYT) Barebone Poetry

Clauses Building blocks of sentences WORD PHRASE CLAUSE Noun phrases, prepositional phrases

A clause… a group of words unified by meaning; has its own subject and predicate Two types: independent (main clause); stands alone (Ken called me) dependent (subordinate clause) must be combined with another clause to form a sentence When you go to the store, please buy some cat food.

Dependent Clauses Examples: Noun: What I believe is important. Adjective: The boy who keeps calling is my friend; the tests which have been graded are in the office. Adverb: See expanders (time, place, manner, condition, reason) Comparative: John has more marketing experience than Tom.

Sentences Grow Elaboration… The young student reads in the car. S VP NP Art. N Adj. V PP P article N student young reads The in car. the

Expanding the Predicate Area

Sorting expanders….. beside the door without difficulty since he moved away to help his neighbor from the tree like a gentle breeze when the iceberg melted because there was snow

Sorting expanders (phrases and clauses)….. Where How When Why

LLD ESL

Mobility Mobility of adverbial clauses (predicate expanders)

Multiple expanders using mobility Grade 2

Expanding the Subject Area: Subject Describers (Adjectives) Set- Apart: to set the subject apart; comes between the subject and predicate

Sentence Are Classified Based On Their Clause Structure Simple Compound Complex 1 independent clause; 1 or more dependent clauses Compound-complex elements of both; 2+ independent clauses; 1+ dependent clauses) It was true that the building was elevated above the flood level, but the state fined them anyway

Visualizing/ Verbalizing Level 3 with a 5th grader Sentence by sentence recall; where could this student struggle with comprehension?: The small brown head of an animal with bright eyes pops out of a hole in the hot dirt of Africa. It is a meerkat, only one foot long, out to catch some warm sun. The cute meerkats lay on the sand to soak up the heat from the sun. They take turns hopping up to sniff the air for danger. It sleeps cuddled with its large family in a small safe burrow.

Visualizing/ Verbalizing Level 3 with a 5th grader Sentence by sentence recall difficulties: 1. The small brown head of an animal with bright eyes pops out of a hole in the hot dirt of Africa. Processing multiple modifiers; vocabulary; distance between the subject and verb; knowledge of Africa to be able to visualize 2. It is a meerkat, only one foot long, out to catch some warm sun. Knowledge of meerkats; figurative expression 3. The cute meerkats lay on the sand to soak up the heat from the sun. Processing the verb; figurative expression; multiple phrases; background knowledge of animals warming up 4. They take turns hopping up to sniff the air for danger. Concept of predators and protecting behavior; background knowledge; taking turns and integration with sentence 3. 5. It sleeps cuddled with its large family in a small safe burrow. Vocabulary and background knowledge

Teaching Sentence Structure Goal for reading comprehension: Understanding of meanings of longer, more complex sentences with embedded clauses (e.g., think-an increase in number of propositions or nodes) Examples of more complex structures on p. 169 (Moats)

Interventions for Syntax (Paul, 2007) Integrate oral and written language Integrate structures into curricular activities Sequence of steps: Define the targeted structure Identify it in text Use sentence combining Unscramble sentence parts Expand a sentence with a phrase or clause Combine sentences to imitate a model Independent writing with the targeted structure