Cheryl Tijerina's CU

A Study of American English Grammar
Using the Novel Huckleberry Finn

Cheryl Tijerina

Academic Setting

The following unit is intended for use with eighth grade students at Roosevelt Middle School in Tijeras, New Mexico. These classes include special education students with mild to moderate learning disabilities in a general education setting (approximately one quarter of each class is made up of special education students). The typical class size is twenty students. Students at each grade level are placed on “teams;” each team has the same teachers in common throughout the school day.

                 Roosevelt Middle School is located approximately fifteen miles outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The community is part bedroom community for Albuquerque, part rural. The majority of students are White; the largest minority is Hispanic. The stability rate for Roosevelt students is approximately seventy-five percent and the mobility rate is approximately thirty-six percent. Roosevelt has about 600 sixth, seventh, and eighth graders—it is projected that there will be about 150 eighth grade students next during the 2002-2003 school year. Very few students are identified as having English as a second language (ESL) or are Limited English Proficient (LEP students function well in English language classrooms with very little remediation). Roosevelt serves a diverse socio-economic population, including several land-grant communities.

Context and Background

I have found the presentation of grammar to students to be very problematic. I have struggled with this question for years: how can I teach students grammar in such a way that they comprehend it, understand why it is important to them, and incorporate it into their daily written and oral language use? I know that the ability to use grammar effectively in a first language tends to be mastered fairly early in language development. If one has not acquired this ‘ear’ to recognize whether language conforms to the generally accepted rules of grammar usage or not, it is very difficult to learn it later unless one is very motivated to do so. Also, the grammar that one acquires is spoken and is often dialectal, so the standard grammar that one is expected to use in written language is in some ways a second language. Some students are able to shift from their spoken language to standard written language with little difficulty; others are not. My students are all currently capable of communicating adequately; therefore it is a challenging task for a teacher to convince them of the need for a greater knowledge of Standard English in writing and in some spoken contexts.

            The other difficulty in teaching grammar is that it tends to be very abstract. How necessary is it that one knows the finer points of diagramming sentences when one is perfectly capable of putting together a well-constructed sentence? Very few of us look back fondly on our days of learning sentence diagramming; many of us only remember the rules we learned watching “Grammar Rock” during Saturday morning cartoons. (It may be noted that “Grammar Rock” presents basics of grammar using catchy tunes, a rather untraditional method). Therefore, I am designing this unit around a novel in the hope that by studying grammar in conjunction with a high-interest, age-appropriate novel, students will be learning to apply the finer points of our language in context.

Standard American English

So what is Standard American English? The notion of a standard English is not without controversy for a variety of reasons which are not the goal of this paper to address. As used here, the term means the language spoken by the majority of educated people. For example, the speech used by national news broadcasters is generally Standard American English, and this is the standard I am referring to. One may accept that there is a difference between Standard spoken American English and Standard written American English; the main difference would be that written language tends to be more formal than spoken language.

            As Albert Baugh explains, “If we judge them (varieties of English) simply on their capacity to express ideas clearly and effectively, we must admit that one kind of English is seldom superior to another” (Baugh 314). So what makes it desirable that students should be able to use Standard American English? One answer is explained in a statement by George Bernard Shaw, quoted in Baugh (314), “People know very well that certain sorts of speech cut off a person forever from getting more than three or four pounds a week all their life long—sorts of speech which make them entirely impossible in certain professions.” Professional basketball players and fashion models aside, for all practical purposes, this quote is almost as true today as it was when Shaw said it in the nineteenth century. Right or wrong, our society values Standard language over other forms. This is also true in social arenas. People tend to judge others first on appearance, including how they speak; one is categorized based on how well or poorly one uses the English language (in context). This is not to discount the variations of American English, but it is important that our students have the choice to use language to move from one social sphere or profession to another and to feel comfortable with various language (Tchudi 256). However, one need not adhere to the standard at all times; it is unnecessary and impractical to do so, as deviation from the standard allows us to fit in with particular groups. Most people use many different forms of language in order to show identity to social, racial, economic, gender, and ethnic groups, and geography also plays an important role in the language speakers may use (Finnegan 371).

Grammar

What is grammar? For our purposes, the term grammar refers to the structural rules of a language. Without structure, particularly in word order, a sentence in English becomes nonsense. Note the difference between the sentences “excited to dog the stick him boy the threw when got,” and “ The dog got excited when the boy threw the stick to him.”   Obviously, English has certain rules about the order of words in sentences.

            The eighteenth century brought a vigorous interest in making the world orderly and in discovering the rules in every aspect of life, including language (Baugh 306). It was at this time that authors and students of language became very concerned with the fact that the English language had no standardized grammatical system. Until then, treatises on grammar had been mostly intended for foreigners learning English; now it was decided that the principles of English needed to be codified, errors needed to be recognized and corrected, and disputed points on usage needed to be settled. This is what grammarians of the eighteenth and nineteenth century set out to do, and this is where many of the standard conventions of grammar were first put forth. It must be pointed out however, that some of these ‘grammarians’ were not particularly qualified to make such judgments; more importantly, most ignored the importance of usage in determining what is or is not correct in language (Baugh 306-337). One might even argue that these were really moot discussions, as all language is constantly changing, and though individuals or groups may attempt to prescribe language, it often has little or no effect on people’s everyday speech. It is rather like trying to stem the tide; language will evolve according to its usage, not prescription. These attempts to pigeonhole a changing language into a set of imposed rules and render it static for all time missed the mark, to say the least, but it did have an impact on the language nevertheless. One need only harken back to those days of sentence diagramming and red marks on papers (prime instances of the traditionalist approach to grammar) that most of us suffered when in school for proof of the effects of language standardization.

                 Research of grammar instruction throughout the last 100 years has consistently shown that formal grammar instruction produces very few results in improving students’ written language. Particularly since the 1960’s, research on the teaching of grammar has shown that the traditional approach to teaching grammar involving memorization of rules, parts of speech, and sentence diagramming does not improve student writing. However, there has also been a lot of pressure from parents, business and community leaders and even universities on teachers, administrators and school districts throughout the country to return to a ‘back to basics’ approach to language instruction. Despite all of the research to the contrary, there is a perception among many that more traditional grammar instruction will improve writing skills. This pressure is a result of the perception that students cannot write or spell because there has been a decline in emphasis of the basics of grammar instruction (Tchudi 247-256). Constance Weaver confirms this, stating, “And when other stakeholders in education realize that grammar is not being taught as a formal system, and that students are not necessarily mastering some of the conventions of edited written English, it is easy for them to assume a causal relationship and believe that English teachers are not doing their duty when they don’t teach grammar as a complete subject” (2002 4). Therefore, schools return again and again to the traditional approach, or as I have observed among many of my colleagues, grammar instruction is given short shrift. This latter neglect comes about as teachers become frustrated with the lack of evidence of all of the hours spent teaching the basics of grammar.

            All of the studies read during preparation for this paper agree that many students who speak and write well are unable to demonstrate the ability to analyze grammar usage; conversely, students who are capable of diagramming sentences and reciting grammar rules with facility often show little skill in their personal writing. Students taught grammar using formal methods have difficulty retaining information because it has little relevance. There appears to be little correlation between the teaching of grammar in conventional ways and student learning (Levy 1). As Weaver puts it, “in general, the teaching of grammar does not serve any practical purpose for most students…It does not improve reading, speaking, writing, or even editing, for the majority of students.” (Weaver 2002 5).

                 However, this is not to say that students do not need to know grammar. The study of how language works is a fascinating subject, just as worthy of investigation in its own right as any other classroom subject. Students who write and speak well have an intuitive grasp of grammar; students who do not possess this intuition can be helped to achieve it by indirect rather than direct methods (Weaver 1979 5). The study of syntax can help students better understand and appreciate literature (Weaver 1979 94). I believe that when a student begins to reflect on language usage, his own or others’, this heightened awareness will lead him to question communication in all its complexities and to apply what he learns through this examination to his own speaking and writing, thereby becoming a more thoughtful, effective communicator. As Edward R. Levy states, “…as students talk about their writing and writing in general, they develop a vocabulary for that discussion. Metalanguage leads to metacognition” (2).

            While much research has been done on teaching grammar through the writing process, there has not been as much done about exposing students to well-written examples of literature in order to provide a standard for students to adhere to. My own experience bears out the value of this approach: having always been an avid reader, I have had little difficulty generalizing the examples from literature to my own writing. I believe that having Standard English modeled through literature is a component of language instruction that needs more emphasis in our classrooms, and one that will produce more effective speakers and writers among our students. In his book The Power of Reading, Stephen Krashen reports that “studies show that more reading results in better reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical development” (12). Edward R. Levy also states that, “The more reading and discussion that the student engages in, the more likely that new words and linguistic structures will begin to appear in the student’s own writing. Linguistic osmosis is an important part of reading and hearing language” (2).

                 Unfortunately, many students read only for necessity, not for pleasure. It is my hope that by introducing some of the old classic books and stories in my language arts class, I can get students ‘turned on’ to them; they are classics because they are good, because readers have for decades or even centuries enjoyed them, and because they are timeless. The language of some classic books is a stretch for many students to read for themselves, so I advise reading books to them. I have done this for years, and my students love it; they learn to really appreciate the books we read, and their comprehension improves the more I read to them.

Purpose

I do not attempt to address all aspects of grammar with this unit; my primary purpose is to have students learn to recognize appropriateness of different language in different situations, and to begin to affectively correct their own speech and writing to conform to Standard American English. The unit will be confined to issues of semantics (meanings of words), syntax (meaningful order of words), and pragmatics (hidden meanings of language) of grammar. Thus, is not the purpose of this unit to instruct students in the basics of grammar; it is assumed that students have a working vocabulary of common grammatical terms (verb, noun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, sentence, etc.). A brief review of these terms may be necessary for some students before this unit is attempted. It is also assumed that students have not yet gained the proficiency expected of speakers and writers in a university setting, so this unit attempts to act as a remediation for common errors made by young writers and speakers. I also hope that students will come away from this unit with an interest in the study of language for its own sake.

Huckleberry Finn

“ EXPLANATORY: In this book a number of dialects are used, to wit:
the Missouri Negro dialect; the extremest form of the backwoods
southwestern dialect; the ordinary ‘Pike County’ dialect;
and four modified varieties of this last. The shadings have not been
done in a haphazard fashion, or by guesswork;
but painstakingly, and with the trustworthy guidance and support of
personal familiarity with these several forms of speech” –Mark Twain.

The novel I have chosen for this grammar unit is Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. For one thing, it is just plain fun to read, if one doesn’t analyze the stuffing out of it! In my opinion, this novel represents the beginning of modern American English in written form, in a way no earlier work does: it exhibits earlier forms of some of the common dialects used in current American English and it illustrates how language can be used to indicate social class; the Standard English speakers in the book are always from higher socio-economic classes and tend to be the most trustworthy of the novel’s characters, showing higher morality than other characters (Sewell 87).   However, as in ‘real life’, departure from the standard does not necessarily mean the character is ‘bad’; the two protagonists, Huck and Jim, do not speak Standard English. And the ability to assume standard American English by some of the characters under certain circumstances does not mean they are ‘good.’ The novel also includes a wide variety of dialects; the speech of some characters even changes to show development of character or change of situations, which reflects the language choices people make in everyday situations in order to participate in different groups (one’s work, family, or peers, for example). I use the terms ‘dialect’ and ‘language’ interchangeably; both refer to the variations of speech used by most speakers on a daily basis to reflect affiliation with a group.

            I have provided the following information on characters from Huckleberry Finn along with explanations of their dialects in order to give a clearer understanding of their linguistic differences for teachers to use throughout the study of the novel. This information is primarily from David R. Sewell’s book Mark Twain’s Languages. The characters’ languages are categorized by Sewell as standard English, folk speech, misappropriated standard English, speech of pretentious ignorance, and ornery speech; each of these usages indicate the moral stance of the character (Sewell 99).

                 Huckleberry Finn uses folk speech; this reflects an innocence and na�vet� which renders him incapable of using the standard form of English. Doing so would be a falsehood for him, and his moral character does not allow this. Despite attempts by Miss Watson (and others) to instill conventions of language in Huck, he refuses to take them seriously and consciously digs in his heels, refusing to go along with something that goes against his nature. He is impressed by and recognizes as ‘fine’ the standard or pretentious speech of other characters, but cannot replicate them for himself (Sewell 103). Although they may speak different dialects, other characters that fall into the folk speech category include Jim, Aunt Polly, Judith Loftus, Aunt Sally Phelps, and the raftsmen. All of them are trustworthy; their departure from the standard reflects an innocence of character, not degeneracy. They do not fall into the ornery speech category.

            Pap Finn uses language that betrays his moral depravity. This ornery speech is used by those in low social positions; characters who are hostile to the conventions of the society that surrounds them. Other speakers of the ornery speech are the Bricksville Loafers.

            The speech of pretentious ignorance is exhibited by The King, who pretends, badly, to be an Englishman; The Duke, a better actor than The King, who uses an exaggerated form of standard English in order to perpetrate his scams; Colonel Sherburn, who approximates standard speech in rhetorical style but misses the mark with his grammar; and Tom Sawyer, who borrows lofty literary phrases in order to establish his authority over the other boys, but often has little idea of the meaning of the words. In each of these cases, the character ‘puts on’ a language in order to fool others.

                 Standard English is best represented by Judge Thatcher. In fact, he is the only character in the novel that betrays no dialect or inconsistency in his speech. According to Sewell, “A character like Judge Thatcher is ‘as good as his word’; his verbal currency is backed by moral gold, authentic social worth…Judge Thatcher’s careful discrimination between words illustrates the value of literate culture” (87). There are other characters in the novel that use standard speech, but they do so inconsistently. An example of this is Mary Jane Wilks, who speaks the same sort of Southern dialect as the rest of her family until chapter 28 when, in her indignation at the injustice she encounters, she assumes an elegant form of standard speech, in keeping with her transformation into the role of heroine (Sewell 89).

                 Although often appearing to flout the conventions of language, Twain himself was very concerned with matters of grammar and often wrote his opinions on the importance of correct language usage throughout his life. Twain accepted the rules of grammar but often poked fun at the grammar instruction that was attempted by schools of his day: “I know grammar by ear only, not by note, not by the rules. A generation ago I knew the rules—knew them by heart, word for word, though not their meanings—and I still know one of them: the one which says—which says—but never mind-- it will come back to me presently” (Sewell 19). As flippant as this may sound, he was very deliberate in his choice of words and language in his written work. He was quite conservative in his respect for correct language, despite his frequent deviations from it in the speech of the characters he wrote. It has been generally accepted that the dialects he wrote in Huckleberry Finn are quite accurate, though perhaps stylized or romanticized; whether or not there are actually seven different dialects, as Twain claimed in his Explanatory is somewhat disputed (Sewell 94).

Implementation

The following lesson plans are designed for use before, during and after study of Huckleberry Finn. Some explanation of the historical context of the book may be necessary in order for students to understand why the characters make certain choices. For example, Jim is so alarmed at the thought of being “sold to Orleans” that he runs away; an explanation of the harsh conditions on the plantations in the extreme South would be helpful.

           In the Albuquerque Public Schools, eighth grade students study American history in social studies; much of the historical information the book references is taught through that class. Huckleberry Finn easily complements the study of nineteenth century, pre-Civil War America. I also suggest giving some of the background on why the novel has at times been considered scandalous and has even been banned, in order to pique students’ interest before beginning the book. I would recommend having a discussion of the word ‘nigger,’ as it has such derogatory connotations. I like to approach this from an etymological standpoint. A good source for this information can be found at the website wordorigins.org.

Goals: After completing this unit, I would like for students to be able to:

-    Demonstrate improvement in their ability to self-edit work

-    Demonstrate the ability to enrich their own written and oral language (use of more complex sentence structures and more skillful use of adjectives than shown at the beginning of the unit)

-    Have more of an appreciation for language when it is used well (language use is, after all, the root of many art forms)

The unit will attempt to address the following Albuquerque Public Schools Standards and Benchmarks for Language Arts:

           Strand I: Reading Process

           Content Standard: The student employs appropriate reading strategies to read and            interpret increasingly complex texts for a variety of purposes.

           6-8 Benchmarks: The student demonstrates competence with reading processes to            comprehend, analyze, interpret, and evaluate a wide variety of informational text across content areas.

            Reading Strategies:
           #3. Uses a variety of reading processes and strategies when independently reading a variety of literary and informational texts in order to understand main story elements, author perspective, and style.

            Strand II: Reading Analysis

Content Standard: The student responds to, examines, and critiques historically and culturally significant events portrayed in literature that both illustrate and affect people, society, and individuals.

6-8 Benchmark: The student examines literature from a variety of authors, cultures, and genre and makes connections among a variety of literary works.

            Literary Elements:

            #8. Evaluates the effectiveness of the use of dialect in a variety of texts.

            Literary Applications:

#11. Analyzes how the use of significant literary devices (e.g. symbolism, dialect) affect the meaning of the text and provide clues to the author’s perspective.

#12. Analyzes personal perspective towards texts and the influence of society, culture, and historical issues on the reader.

      Strand III – Expressive Language: Writing

Content Standard: The student writes effectively for different audiences and purposes using appropriate writing strategies and conventions.

6-8 Benchmark: The student develops and demonstrates proficiency and competence in writing strategies and conventions across content areas to describe, narrate, express, explain, persuade, and analyze critically for a variety of purposes and audiences.

#4 Writing Conventions: Demonstrates competence in using writing conventions (e.g. grammar, spelling, mechanics, capitalization) with emphasis on the following:

a.       uses correct and varied sentence types and sentence openings.

b.      revises writing for word choice, appropriate organization, consistent point of view, and transitions between paragraphs, passages, and ideas.

c.       compares items for emphasis

d.      evaluates the use of dialects in standard and non-standard English.

      Strand IV-- Expressive Language: Speaking

Content Standard: The student speaks effectively for different audiences and purposes using appropriate speaking strategies and conventions.

6-8 Benchmark: The student develops and demonstrates proficiency and competence in speaking strategies and in appropriate speaking conventions to describe, narrate, express, explain, persuade, and analyze for a variety of speaking purposes and audiences.

#2 Speaking Conventions: Demonstrates competence with speaking and language conventions (e.g. grammar, standard English, diction) with emphasis on the following:

a.       uses correct and varied sentence structures and sentence openings

b.      juxtaposes contrasting ideas for emphasis

c.       evaluates the effectiveness of the use of dialects.

d.      identifies formal and informal speaking contexts and explains when slang, jargon, and different language styles are appropriate.

Strand V: Receptive Language: Listening and Viewing

Content Standard: The student demonstrates, analyzes, evaluates, and reflects upon the skills and processes used to communicate by listening to and viewing a variety of auditory and visual works.

6-8 Benchmarks: The student comprehends, analyzes, and interprets formal and informal auditory and visual works, including multimedia presentations.

Listening and Viewing Strategies:

#1 Develops and uses constructive criteria to evaluate the quality of communication:

a.       uses knowledge of language structure and literary or media techniques to assess meaning;

b.      draws conclusions based on evidence, reason, or relevant information;

c.       considers the implications, consequences, or impact of those conclusions;

d.      determines purpose through exploring bias, intended messages, emotional factors, or persuasive techniques;

e.       identifies and explores the underlying assumptions of the author/speaker, remaining open to different interpretations; and

f.        recognizes the point of view of the author/speaker by considering alternative points of view.

Listening/Viewing Applications

#6. Participates in group discussions and/or activities:

a.       shares personal reactions to questions raised;

b.      gives reasons and cites examples from texts to support opinions;

c.       clarifies, illustrates, or expands on a response; and

d.      asks classmates for similar expansions.

Please note: standards and goals will be referred to within the lesson plans by numbers and letters only. I will cite chapters rather than page numbers for reference as there are many available versions of Huckleberry Finn, and any of these can be used with this unit.

Lesson One: Introduction to the Study of Language

Time Required: approximately one class period

Materials Required: none

Standards Addressed: III, #4, c & d. and IV, #2, c. & d.

Prior to beginning Huckleberry Finn, students will participate in a classroom discussion and write a reflective paragraph evaluating their own language use. The discussion should address the topic of what students think of as Standard American English, giving examples of exemplary speakers, etc., and what they think of as examples of nonstandard speech. The discussion should also include how people use different language in different settings and it should be pointed out how incongruous some language can be in the ‘wrong’ setting. There are many examples of this; a teacher may come in to class using student slang; a student might be persuaded to give a rendition of how their grandmother or grandfather talks, etc. Each of these points out the difference in dialects, and how “code-shifting” (going from one language or dialect to another) can go wrong if the context is inappropriate.

For the reflective piece, it will be necessary to urge students to be specific, give examples, describe what they think they are good at and what areas they feel need improvement, and how their individual use of language differs from anyone else’s usage. Assessment will be based on how thoughtfully and thoroughly students evaluate their language.

Lesson Two: Translation #1

Time Required: Approximately one class period

Materials Required: Handout #1

Main New Mexico standards addressed: III, #4, b.

Before reading the novel Huckleberry Finn, students will be given a copy of the passage from Chapter 1 in which Huck describes Miss Watson and asked to ‘translate it’ into modern standard speech. Assessment will be based on how many of the ten grammatical and spelling errors are corrected, and on how well they update the passage. This will provide the instructor with a baseline to see how difficult the language might be for some students and how much of the novel should be read to students and how much they can read on their own.

Lesson Three: “Good” vs. “Bad” Language

Time Required: varies

Materials Required: none

Main New Mexico standards addressed: II, #8, #11, #12; III, #4, d.; IV, #2, c.

Students will be asked to evaluate their own language and that of characters within the novel. It is suggested that this lesson take place throughout the reading; each time a new character is introduced, have students predict whether that character is going to turn out to be ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ Discussions should include a look at values, in other words, what makes language good or bad, does language really predict a person’s moral character, etc.

An example would be when Huck and Jim first meet the character of The Duke in chapter 19. Before he reveals himself to be a duke, in speaking to the King he says of himself, “Jour printer by trade; do a little in patent medicines; theatre actor—tragedy, you know; take a turn to mesmerism and phrenology when there’s a chance; teach singing-geography school for a change; sling a lecture sometimes—oh, I do a lot of things—most anything that comes handy, so it ain’t work. What’s your lay?”

Compare the previous passage to the revelation of his royalty to Huck and Jim on the next page:

“Yes. My great-grandfather, eldest son of the Duke of Bridgewater, fled to this country, about the end of the last century, to breathe the pure air of freedom; married here, and died, leaving a son, his own father dying about the same time. The second son of the late duke seized the titles and estates—the infant real duke was ignored. I am the lineal descendant of that infant—I am the rightful Duke of Bridgewater; here am I, forlorn, torn from my high estate, hunted of men, despised by the cold world, ragged, worn, heartbroken, and degraded to the companionship of felons on a raft!”

At the end of the chapter, once the royalty of the Duke and the King have been revealed, ask students to decide what kind of characters they are in terms of moral values, good guys or bad guys, trustworthy or devious, and have the students justify their choices with the language used by the characters. This may be done as a class discussion or as a pair or small group activity, with students reporting their decision and evidence back to the class. These passages also provide examples of code-shifting (see Lesson One). Assessment will be based on how well students justify their choices.

Lesson Four: Chapter/Section Discussion

Time Required: varies

Materials Required: each student will need a copy of the novel Huckleberry Finn

Main New Mexico standards addressed: I, #3; II, #12

Students will be asked to read parts of the novel aloud in class. This will allow me to assess how well the novel is understood and mediate any difficulties with language in the book. I would also suggest making any historical explanations that may be necessary.

Lesson Five: Translation #2

Time Required: approximately one class period

Materials Required: Handout #2

Main New Mexico standards addressed: III, #4, b

Students will be given a passage and asked to ‘translate’ it into modern standard speech. A follow-up to this and Lesson One is to have them do a comparison (either written or as a class discussion) of the passages from Handout #1 and Handout #2. Handout #2 is intentionally more difficult than the first, to check for progression in students’ understanding of the language as the reading of the novel progresses. As in Lesson One, assessment will be based on how many of the more than one hundred spelling and grammatical errors are corrected and on how well they translate the passage into standard modern English.

Lesson Six: Runaway Slave Poster

Time Required: one or two class periods

Materials Required: poster boards or butcher paper, markers, copies of the novel

Main New Mexico standards addressed: II, #12; IV, #2, c

In groups of three, students will design two posters for runaway slave Jim. The first poster will be in Huckleberry Finn’s dialect; the second is to be written for Southern ladies and gentlemen. Students should be warned that posters must be “G-rated.” Students will present their posters to the rest of the class and explain how the language on their posters is different from the standard form of English, giving as many examples as possible.

Lesson Seven: Hate a Line, Love a Line

Time Required: approximately 10-20 minutes per week

Materials Required: copies of the novel

Main New Mexico standards addressed: III, #4, a.; V, #6

Throughout the reading of the novel, students will occasionally be asked to choose a sentence they like and one that bothers them and be prepared to explain why. The point of this exercise is to get students to identify their own opinions about language, to make personal connections with words and how they can be used and to begin to think about the emotional effect that language usage has on people. There are no right or wrong answers, only opinions, but they must give some specific explanation of their likes and dislikes.

Suppose a student chose the following sentence as one he didn’t like, from chapter 21, in which Huck describes a character named Boggs, ”Everybody yelled at him and laughed at him and sassed him, and he sassed back, and said he’d attend to them and lay them out in their regular turns, but he couldn’t wait now because he’d come to town to kill Old Colonel Sherburn, and his motto was, ‘Meat first, and spoon vittles to top off on.’” The student might justify his choice of this sentence as one he ‘hated’ because there are too many ‘ands,’ it seems like a run-on sentence, just going on and on, and because he has no idea what Boggs is talking about with his motto; it doesn’t make any sense to him, especially in this context.

An example of a sentence a student might choose as one he likes might be, ”It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didn’t ever feel like talking loud, and it warn’t often that we laughed—only a little kind of a low chuckle” (chapter 12).   The student may choose this sentence because he likes the word solemn, or because he likes the way it illustrates how it felt to be on the Mississippi in the middle of the night, or because it reminds him of a feeling he has while camping once, etc.

Another possibility with this lesson is to have students re-write the sentences they don’t like in order to fix what bothers them about it, or to have them experiment with constructing sentences in their best rendition of Mark Twain’s style or Huckleberry Finn’s voice.

Lesson Eight: Dialect Research

Time Required: one week, mostly homework

Materials Required: none

Main New Mexico standards addressed: III, #4, d; IV, #2, c & d

Students will be asked to prepare a research paper on three of the dialects they encounter in their daily lives. One must be a dialect they use; the other two must be dialects they hear but do not necessarily use themselves. There are many examples for students to choose from; they may even use characters in movies, as long as they speak English. Assessment will be based on how well they describe each dialect, giving at least three examples that show how the dialect differs from standard spoken English. Students will be expected to cover the topic thoroughly, and all the usual convention of a well-written research paper should apply (organization, spelling, grammar, punctuation, flow, etc.)

Lesson Nine: Mark Twain on Trial

Time Required: at least three class periods

Materials Required: copies of the novel; access to the Internet or school library.

Main New Mexico standards addressed: II, #12; IV, #2, a, b, & d; V, #1

Students will be placed on teams (the class may be divided into two or four groups, with one or two of the teams playing the defense and the others playing the prosecution) in order to answer the question: Was Mark Twain guilty of prejudice? This is actually a research project; students will need to look at what Twain and others have said about his choices of dialect in Huckleberry Finn. This need not be limited to a discussion of racism; however, the point may be raised about any of his portrayals of different social groups or people from different geographical locations. Once students have been placed (or have chosen) teams, allow them to meet in order to brainstorm strategies, plan roles, and decide what needs to be done in order to build the case. This portion of the lesson should take approximately one class period.

During the next class period or two students will spend time doing research. This can be done in the classroom if students have access to the Internet, in a computer lab, the school library, or the research portion can be assigned as homework.

Once students have gathered the research, each team should meet to prepare its case. I like to encourage students to get as much ‘ammunition’ as possible in order to win their case. I warn them, however, that the information used must be accurate and from reliable sources.

The trial(s) will take place in approximately one or two class periods. Students should be encouraged to dress up for their parts. Any students not playing a direct role in the trial can be members of the jury, witnesses, etc. Students may choose to portray characters and historical personages, and they may be called to the stand. The more dramatic students get in the trial or debate, the more fun it is.

Assessment will be based on the accuracy of the research, the use of examples and details, how well students employ the conventions of public speaking, and how much effort students put into the research, preparation, and the trial itself. Grades may be assigned individually, to the whole group, or both.

Lesson Ten: Character Study

Time Required: Approximately 2-3 days, in class or as homework

Materials Required: copies of the novel Huckleberry Finn

Main New Mexico standards addressed: all standards listed above

After reading the novel, students will be asked to choose a character and prepare a report on what the language of that character shows about him or her. In addition, students will be asked to address the following questions:

-          Does the language the character uses change during the story?

-          Does Twain use misspellings when giving this character voice? If so, list four or five of the most common words misspelled.

-          What language characteristics do you have in common with this character?

-          Do you like this character? Why or why not?

Papers should be two to three pages in length, and assessment will be based on how thoroughly and thoughtfully they address the points listed above, as well as mechanics, spellings, punctuation, etc.

Documentation

Handout #1

Please translate the following passage from Huckleberry Finn into grammatically correct, modern words. Please be sure to translate word for word ( as much as possible).

Her sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had just come to live with her and took a set at me now with a spelling book. She worked me middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up. I couldn’t stood it much longer. Then for an hour it was deadly dull, and I was fidgety. Miss Watson would say, ”Don’t put your feet up there, Huckleberry”; and “Don’t scrunch up like that, Huckleberry—set up straight”; and pretty soon she would say, “Don’t gap and stretch like that, Huckleberry—why don’t you try to behave?” Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there. She got mad then, but I didn’t mean no harm. All I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was a change, I warn’t particular. She said it was wicked to say what I said; said she wouldn’t say it for the whole world; she was going to live so as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn’t see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn’t try for it. But I never said so, because it would only make trouble, and wouldn’t do no good.

Handout #2

Please translate the following passage from Huckleberry Finn into modern day, grammatically correct English. Try to translate word for word as much as possible.

Excerpt from Chapter 8

Well, you see, it ‘uz dis way. Ole missus—dat’s Miss Watson—she pecks on me all de time, en treats me pooty rough, but she awluz said she wouldn’ sell me down to Orleans. But I noticed dey wuz a nigger trader roun’ de place considable lately, en I begin to git oneasy. Well, one night I creeps to de do’ pooty late, en de do’ warn’t quite shet, en I hear old missus tell de wider she gwyne to sell me down to Orleans, but she didn’ want to, but she could git eight hundred dollars for me, en it ‘uz sich a big stack o’ money she couldn’ resis’. De wider she try to git her to say she wouldn’ do it, but I never waited to hear de res’. I lit out mighty quick, I tell you. I tuck out en shin down de hill, en ‘spec to steal a skift ‘long de sho’ som’ers ‘bove de town, but dey wuz people a-stirring yit, so I hid in de ole tumbledown cooper shop on de bank to wait for everybody to go ‘way. Well, I wuz dah all night. Dey wuz somebody ‘round all de time. ‘Long ‘bout six in de mawnin’ skifts begin to go by, en ‘bout eight er nine every skift dat went ‘long wuz talkin’ ‘bout how yo’ pap come over to de town en say you’s killed. Dese las’ skifts wuz full o’ ladies en genlmin a-goin’ over for to see de place. Sometimes dey’d pull up at de sho’ en take a res’ b’fo’ dey started acrost, so by de talk I got to know all ‘bout de killin’.    I ‘uz powerful sorry you’s killed, Huck, but I ain’t no mo’ now.

Bibliography

Baugh, Albert C. and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language. 4^th Ed. London:              Routledge, 1993.

Provides a scholarly overview of the history of the English Language from its earliest origins through the mid nineteenth century.

Finnegan, Edward. Language: Its Structure and Use. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace, 1999.

Gives historical information on language and usage; includes examples of language studies on usage in different parts of the world.

Hillocks, George and Michael Smith. “Facts on the Teaching of Grammar.”
            http://www.heinemann.com/. 1991.

A short treatise on teaching grammar. Cites research on what works, what doesn’t work, and implications for teaching grammar as an aid to writing.

Kirby, Dan and Tom Liner. Inside Out: Developmental Strategies for Teaching Writing. 2^nd Ed.              Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc., 1988.

A handbook for teachers on writing instruction. Has creative ideas for implementing writing in a variety of ways in a variety of disciplines.

Krashen, S.D. The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research. Englewood, CO: Libraries              Unlimited, 1993.

Provides an overview of what works best according to recent research in the teaching of reading.

Levy, Edward R. “Teaching Grammar Using Literature.” http://www.vcsun.org/~ilene/grlit.html. 6/7/2002.

Gives reasoning behind approaching grammar instruction in context, particularly using writing to teach grammar in order to make grammar more relevant for students.

McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert McNeil. The Story of English. New York: Penguin               Books, 1992.

An easy-to-read overview of the history of the English language. Includes colorful personages and events that helped shape English, and has information on the development of different ‘Englishes’ throughout the world.

Sewell, David R. Mark Twain’s Language: Discourse, Dialogue, and Linguistic Variety.             Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1987.

An interesting study of language use by Mark Twain. Includes a chapter on        Huckleberry Finn that addresses dialectal and moral differences between characters, and how Twain used language to give certain qualities to his characters.

Tchudi, Stephen and Diana Mitchell. Explorations in the Teaching of English. 3^rd Ed. New York: HarperCollins Publisher, 1989.

A valuable handbook for English teachers on designing a successful language program. Mostly for use in middle and upper grades.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Airmont Publishing Co., 1962.

The story of the adventures of a boy as he travels down the Mississippi River. Illustrates pre-Civil War nineteenth century America.

Weaver, Constance. Grammar for Teachers. U.S.A.: National Council of Teachers of English, 1979.

Provides an overview of grammar for teachers, and suggestions for how to incorporate effective grammar instruction in writing and reading lessons.

----“Teaching Grammar in the Context of Writing.” The English Record. 52, #2, (2002): 4- 21.

Gives research, rationale, examples and suggestions for implementation for teaching grammar in the context of writing.

Reading List for Students

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Airmont Publishing Co., 1962.