More Attention to Grammar in Nova Scotia
Grammar, punctuation and spelling will get more attention in Nova Scotia classrooms beginning in the next school year.
Education Minister Jane Purves today announced a new Writers in Action program that will begin in Grade 4. The program will provide new books for students, more classroom resources and more support for teachers.
"Grammar is like the rules of the road for effective communication," said Ms. Purves. "Students need these basic skills at an early age to succeed in school and in life."
All Grade 4 students will receive writing handbooks, which they can keep to use in all subjects in school, at home and in future years. It will be the first time that students are given, rather than loaned, books.
"Giving these books to students is a way of emphasizing the importance of good writing skills and proper grammar in everything they do," said Ms. Purves. "We also want them to recognize that attention to grammar does not end in their language arts classes."
Dictionaries, thesauruses and other learning resources will be added to every Grade 4 classroom's writing centre. Each teacher will also receive a resource, including sample lesson plans and learning activities to help students study grammar, spelling, word usage and punctuation in the context of their own speech and writing.
A professional development session will also be held for school board leadership teams in May 2002. The teams will then train teachers in their areas on how to use the resources in their classrooms.
The program will be extended to junior high in future years. Students will receive more advanced handbooks, and teachers will get new resources and professional development.
"As teachers, we know that reading and writing go hand in hand," said Beth Charlton, a teacher specialist in early literacy with the Halifax Regional School Board. "In our classrooms, we provide many opportunities for students to read and write so they will think about how language works and how to use this knowledge to improve their own literacy skills. Writers in Action will support us as we help students grow as readers and writers."
Ms. Purves said this program builds on efforts already under way to support literacy. Active Young Readers was launched in September 2000 to build on the reading elements in Nova Scotia' s elementary language arts curriculum.
The minister will also ask the department and universities to discuss how all teachers in training could spend additional time on grammar and writing. The committee is already planning to review how reading can get greater attention in teacher training programs.
The Conference Board of Canada's employability skills profile lists the skills and abilities one needs to succeed in today's world of work. Writing effectively in the languages in which business is conducted is among the communications skills listed.