Customer Reviews

Image Grammar : Using Grammatical Structures to Teach Writing(Bk & Cdrom)

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There are many, many theories that involve the teaching of grammar within the classroom, however, few are successful when put into practice. I've studied a lot of them and tried some out to no avail. Fortunately, I had the pleasure of hearing Noden speak at a seminar and instantly realized that his ideas were highly conducive to the English teacher motto of "show don't tell." I got ahold of his book as soon as I could. I found out that Image Grammar utilizes authentic works of writing in an effort to model how grammar works within the writing structure; how it manipulates words to communicate one's ideas, tone, mood, description, etc. . . I have found that once your students understand WHY learning grammar is important to them as writers, as communicators, then they want to master grammar. They want to use it to make their writing sing like the professional authors' writing used to model the concepts. Image Grammar offers an authentic approach to grammar instruction that no typical English text book could possibly do. For the last two years, I have used Image Grammar in my classroom and have had more successes with my students collectively and individually. This year, 123 out of 127 of my seventh-graders passed the writing portion of the off-grade proficiency. I am convinced that Image Grammar helped put them over the top. Many of them profess to me that they now have a clearer understanding of grammar when they "see it at work" within a piece of writing.

Image Grammar if a very successful classroom practice. It goes beyond grammar and lends style to your students' writing.

There are few books in the study of writing techniques that achieve classic status. This book merits that status. Every writer, beginning or advanced, professional, or amateur, should get a copy. To say that Noden covers everything is only the beginning. Inside, Noden gives concrete examples of what makes writing a story effective, how a writer can create characters so alive that they seem to come alive off the printed page and stand in front of you in the flesh and blood. Noden will propel the writer into new depths of construting stories.

Mr. Noden's book is an excellent resource for teaching students to "paint with words". He begins with simple word choice issues (using specific nouns and verbs, adding detail with prepositional phrases, the use of similes and metaphors) then moves us through an entire process directed at drawing out the best writing our students can produce. Mr. Noden's specific details and quality examples illustrate the techniques he uses beautifully. I found the techniques in this book improved my students' writing almost immediately. This book is a must for any educator that is interested in guiding his or her students to their maximum potential as writers.

Masters of our language can seem like magicians, the paintings they make with words their tricks, leaving us wondering, how do they DO that? How did Hemingway, London, Steinbeck DO that? How does Bradbury paint, as he does, with his typewriter? How do the pros paint images that stay with us long after we've finished reading?

In Harry Noden's Image Grammar, he teaches us, whether we be teachers of writers or writers ourselves, that there is method to the magic made by our most talented writers. He shows us, in a way that is practical, and crystal clear, the grammatical structures used by our best writers, giving examples of the techniques, and breaking them down so that the techniques can be applied by writers and student writers. He gives us tested classroom strategies useful in teaching the structures or in applying them, again, in our own writings.

Image Grammar has taught me much as a writer and has allowed my 7th and 8th grade students to write on a new level, with a new passion, and using professional writing structures and written images I'd never known kids could produce. In its impact on teaching writing, Image Grammar is revolutionary. And once you see how the magic is done, you'll never write, teach writing, or even read writing in the same way again.

I love to try new strategies, and with 25 yrs of teaching experience, I look for suggestions that have worked for others. Mr. Noden's book shares the best of what students can do when given nudges and suggestions with plenty of visually stimulating images. I have adapted his suggestions to facilitate my urban, gifted sixth grade students, and their writing began to take on a new flare and style unlike that of any prior assignments. My students have access to computers and are able to self-select a photo or picture, and begin their writing independently. My students are pleased with their products and seem to take a special pride in displaying the photo/picture as they share their work with the entire class. I thank you, Harry Noden, for adding life to my lessons and teaching!

I have used Harry Noden's Image Grammar techniques with my seventh grade students throughout this past school year. The book is fantastic for providing models (from professional writers and student writers) of descriptive writing. By identifying five basic brushstrokes of grammar, Noden makes it easy for students to develop voice and style in their writing. No,you will not find grammar worksheets for this text,but that is just the point. Students need explicit modeling of strong writing. Noden's book provides them with such models and also gives them the tools to be able to add sophisticated language structures to their own pieces. A valuable resource for any level of Language arts instruction!

This is an excellent book. It will be one of my favorites for writing techniques. The book describes methods for improving your sentences, and then later in the book, for improving your paragraphs and controlling ideas.

I wish I had this book earlier. The book seemed to drag a little in the last one-third of the book. But, given the overwhelming amount of useful material presented by the author, I have to rate the book most highly. This book is appropriate for individual writers as well as writing instructors.

The author provides an extensive bibliography, which has now set me off on a chase for those books he recommended.

John Dunbar
Sugar Land, TX

Harry Noden's years of experience teaching adolescents how to write well are obvious in this refreshingly innovative, authentic, practical method of grammar instruction. Middle and high school English teachers everywhere will rejoice at Noden's unique method of teaching grammar, especially when they see the outstanding results in their students' writing. As a "seasoned" teacher of the English Language Arts, I highly recommend this volume to all middle and high school English teachers who want their students to excel in writing.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS BOOK! I have searched for years for a useful way to teach grammar. This book has been an inspiration to my teaching. I have tried several of Noden's techniques, all with great success. This book is a must have for any English teacher!

This is a very well-done book. The ideas in the book flow and fill your head with plenty of ideas. The writing itself is polished and comfortable. A great book for students and teachers. A good read.