Trying to Teach Grammar and Punctuation

I have found that they need a lot of help with almost everything. We have covered a lot of comma rules, none of which they remember or use properly. This frustrates me, but I have felt better to know that it takes a lot of repetition and different kinds of presentations on the same rules for them to stick. It is also comforting to know that some academics think that teaching grammar is pointless. It kind of backs me up!

I'm not sure that much of what they struggle with has been strictly "grammar." A lot of it is punctuation. I can also guarantee that none of my students ever found themselves crowned "Spelling Champion" in any grade of middle school or junior high. They mess up phrases like "awful lot," instead saying "offal lot." They also frequently confuse "there" and "their."

We have gone over the infamous comma splice more than any other problem. I have to confess that I expect them to know what I mean when I say "comma splice" or mark "cs" on their reading responses. However, I still have students asking me what it is or why I marked it. One of the best students in my class had problems with it in his last essay. I told him to get help at the Writing Center in my note to him. Being the good student he is, he approached me after class and asked for a mini lesson on comma splices. His words were, "Can you explain to me what a comma splice is again so I can fix it?" He honestly wanted to learn, so that made me feel better despite the fact that I had already given at least twelve mini comma splice lessons over the course of the semester.

The possessive apostrophe is also a problem. We have only had one "formal" talk about this. They seemed to understand, but when I present this stuff to them as a group and ask questions, only the smart ones answer. So, I think I get a false sense of their grasp of the concept. I think, "Wow. They know all the answers. I'm a good and FAST teacher." The truth is, only a few of them are getting it and speaking up. The rest are sitting there hoping they will catch on, thinking about their upcoming weekends, or sleeping.