Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Language of Grammar: Pattern Six

My students feel no small sense of pride (and relief) when we get to pattern six. That’s because it’s the most advanced pattern yet, combining earlier sentence structures in a new way, and it’s the second to last pattern of all. Better still, pattern six is almost identical to pattern seven, so mastering six is really key. We refer to it as the beginning of the end of our sentence patterns.

Pattern six has four core parts. First comes the familiar subject noun (SN), or who or what the sentence is about. Next comes the verb-transitive (V-t), which is an action verb that sends or transfers its action to something else. The something that receives the action is called the direct object (DO).

Wait. That sounds like pattern two. And so it does—until we add one more core part.

Last of all comes the object complement noun (OCN), which is a word that means the same thing as the direct object.

Now you’re probably scratching your head just like my students do and asking, “Isn’t that like a predicate noun?” Yes, it is! The only difference is that predicate nouns match subject nouns, while object complement nouns match direct objects.

Okay, that’s a lot to take in all at once. Let’s break this down with some visuals for review and  comparison.

Pattern One
Pattern Two
Pattern Three
Pattern Four
Pattern Five
Pattern Six

Notice that pattern six starts off in a linear fashion, moving from the subject noun, to the verb-transitive, to the direct object. Then, it suddenly doubles back with the object complement noun. In a way, pattern six blends the logic of pattern two and pattern four.

Let’s put this in context with an example. Be sure to download the grammar memorization questions as a cross-reference.

SAMPLE LESSON

Here is a simple sentence about Henry’s oldest daughter, Mary, which shows the internal logic of pattern six.

To classify this sentence we would follow a simple script.

Who crowned Mary queen?—England (SN)

What is being said about England?—England crowned (V)

Crowned whom?—Mary (DO)

Since we have a direct object, we can go back to the verb and label it transitive—(V-t)

Crowned Mary what?—queen

Does queen mean the same thing as Mary?—yes (OCN)

With a little practice, my students quickly learn to recognize pattern six sentences. Since they start off so similarly to pattern two, it becomes rather easy to tack on the last part of the question and answer flow to identify the object complement noun.

The only tricky part can be figuring out which word is the direct object and which is the object complement noun. Happily, they just have to remember that the direct object always comes first. 

Now for the diagram.

Notice it looks like a combination of pattern two and pattern four. Because of that similarity, my students have a relatively easy time mastering the format.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

Let’s keep working with Queen Mary, next in the line of succession after her brother Edward. Since, as we previously learned, Edward died prematurely without even the chance to marry, he had no heirs and reluctantly passed the crown onto her.

Mary thus became England’s first female monarch to rule alone, marking a fundamental shift in gender politics that would eventually give way to the so-called modern era.

That’s right! Mary is the “farmer’s wife” from “Three Blind Mice.” The mice represent three influential Protestants whom she had killed. She is also featured in “Mary, Mary Quite Contrary.” In that one, her “garden” is made of the dead she tortured and killed with “silver bells,” “cockle-shells,” and “pretty maids all in a row.”
“App” stands for appositive, which is a repetitive name for something. In this case, “Elizabeth” is a repetitive name for “sister.” The first name is always the subject noun, and the second name is the appositive.
She was advised to kill Elizabeth but chose instead to imprison her in the Tower of London.
His intentions were fundamentally driven by a quest for power, but Mary did not seem to realize that during their courtship.

Mary’s story is a sad one. She was born into one of history’s most tumultuous families, separated from her mother at a young age, and denied even a chance to visit her on her death bed. When Mary did become queen, she was constantly in danger of being overthrown. Her marriage was more or less a sham, as Philip made open advances toward Elizabeth and readily supported naming her heir.  

Nevertheless, Mary’s personal charisma and political acumen were so lacking that history has little sympathy for her. It has reduced her entire rule to a Protestant witch hunt and, not surprisingly, infamously dubbed her “Bloody Mary.”

What is surprising is that Elizabeth, a Protestant, would persecute and kill even more Catholics during her rule and yet gain the undying love of her people. We’ll start looking at Elizabeth’s long and complex history in the next lesson on pattern seven.  

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Language of Grammar: Pattern Seven

We’ve made it all the way to pattern seven! This is the point when my students start celebrating, and they feel like they’ve mastered the language of grammar. Of course there’s a lot left to learn from here, but there’s no reason not to celebrate. Mastering all seven patterns is a major accomplishment.

So here is what pattern seven looks like. It has four core parts and follows the same internal logic of pattern six, making it relatively easy to learn. First comes the familiar subject noun (SN), or who or what the sentence is about. Next comes the verb-transitive (V-t), which is an action verb that sends or transfers its action to something else. The something that receives the action is called the direct object (DO). Last of all comes the object complement adjective (OCA), which modifies the direct object.

Let’s put this in context with an example. Be sure to download the grammar memorization questions as a cross-reference.

SAMPLE LESSON

Here is a simple sentence about Henry’s second daughter, Elizabeth, next in the line of succession after Mary.

To classify this sentence we would follow a simple script.

Who considered herself clever?—Elizabeth (SN)

What is being said about Elizabeth?—Elizabeth considered (V)

Considered whom?—herself (DO)

Since we have a direct object, we can go back to the verb and label it transitive—(V-t)

Considered herself what?—clever

Does clever mean the same thing as herself?— no, clever modifies herself (OCA)

So the only difference with pattern six is that the object complement modifies the direct object, making it an adjective, instead of meaning the same thing as it. It really is that simple!

And, it gets even better. Pattern seven diagrams are the same as pattern six.

You probably noticed that this is a comparatively short sample lesson. That’s because I previously went into so much detail on pattern six, which is the foundation for pattern seven. If you need clarification, just go back to pattern six. If not, continue on to the practice sentences.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

All of our practice sentences will revolve around Queen Elizabeth. She is such a prominent historical figure, I am going to take her story a little at a time. For this post, I am focusing on some of her overarching characteristics and style of rule. There will be time to get into finer details later. As always, I am going to mix other patterns along with pattern seven.

She’s not so beloved in my classroom, however. We spend considerable time studying Saint Edmund Campion, and it’s hard to like Elizabeth in that context. Similarly, we study William Shakespeare and Elizabeth’s patronage therein, and it’s hard to ignore the propagandist impact she had on turning family rivals like Richard III into monsters through Shakespeare’s plays.

Despite these criticisms, my students generally agree Elizabeth deserves all the fanfare she’s been awarded throughout history. She was extremely good at managing the affairs of state in tandem with the politics of her personal cult. In a way, she redefined power itself. Generations of leaders, both male and female, have borrowed from her playbook.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Language of Grammar: Pattern Five

Once you understand pattern four sentences, pattern five are a snap. They share the same internal logic, so it actually works well to learn them simultaneously.

Like pattern four, pattern five has three core parts. First comes the familiar subject noun (SN), or who or what the sentence is about. Next comes the linking verb (LV), which ties the subject to the predicate in a two-directional way. Last comes the predicate adjective (PA), which modifies the subject noun.

Let’s put this in context with an example. Be sure to download the grammar memorization questions as a cross-reference.

SAMPLE LESSON

Here is a simple sentence about Henry that shows the internal logic of pattern four.

To classify this sentence, we would use the following script.

Who was angry?—Henry (SN)

What is being said about Henry?—Henry was (V)

Was what?—angry

Does angry mean the same thing as Henry?—no, angry modifies Henry (PA)

Go back to the verb. —was (LV)

If you compare this question and answer flow with the one for pattern four, you will notice that everything is the same until we get to the fourth question about whether or not the predicate matches the subject. In pattern four, the answer to this question is YES, they DO match. But, in pattern five, the answer is NO, they DO NOT match. Nevertheless, they are connected in that the predicate adjective adds more meaning to the subject noun. In this example, “angry” explains what kind of person Henry is.

This is what it looks like in a diagram.

The difference between pattern four and pattern five is so subtle, they follow the exact same format when it comes to diagramming.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

For better or worse, it’s time to say goodbye to Henry and move onto his children. We will begin with his youngest child, Edward, who took the crown next in succession thanks to the practice of primogeniture explained in this post. These sentences combine pattern four and five.

“Son” matches “Edward,” so this sentence is pattern four.
“Pale” and “thin” modify “he,” so this sentence is pattern five.
“King” matches “Edward,” so this sentence is pattern four.
“Distressed” modifies “kingdom,” so this sentence is pattern five.
“Protestant” modifies “kingdom,” so this sentence is pattern five.

His rule was so short because he died prematurely at the age of fifteen, leaving a very complicated line of succession in his wake. Being so young and unwed, he had no heirs.

Thus, his eldest sister, Mary, who had previously been declared illegitimate, managed to ascend the throne despite Edward’s opposition. We’ll look at her reign in the next lesson on pattern six.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Language of Grammar: Pattern Two

Once you have learned how to classify and diagram pattern one sentences, the next step is to learn pattern two sentences. They have three core parts.

First comes the subject noun (SN), or who or what the sentence is about. Next comes the verb-transitive (V-t), which is an action verb that sends or transfers its action to something else. The something that receives the action is called the direct object (DO).

Before we get started with examples, take a moment and download the grammar memorization questions as a cross-reference.

SAMPLE LESSON

Pattern two sentences are all about the verb-transitive. If students understand their function, then everything else falls into place. Let’s take a look at a few to see how they are used in sentences.

Aside from the fact that Henry has some serious anger management issues, you probably noticed that each verb-transitive is directly connected to an object. We can establish that connection by taking the verb-transitive and simply asking what after it.

Pounded what?—fist

Kicked what?—door

Lowered what?—hatchet

If there were no answer to the what question, then we would have to conclude that the verb was not a verb-transitive. Here are some sentence examples with verbs that are not transitive.

The first two examples have action verbs, but they are not transitive because their action does not go anywhere, so to speak. Yes, there are prepositional phrases that follow the verbs, but prepositional phrases can’t receive action. Remember, they show relationships between ideas. They establish context. As such, the first two sentences are pattern one.

The last sentence definitely does not have a verb-transitive because “was” is not even an action verb. It’s a linking verb, which we’ll get to later when we learn patterns four and five. Since “was” has no action in the first place, it certainly can’t send action to anything.

Finally, let’s try diagramming our pattern two sentence examples.

Each core part goes on the main horizontal line in the same order they appear in the sentence. We use a long vertical line to separate the subject noun and the verb-transitive because that signals the separation between the complete subject and the complete predicate. Yes, that means the direct object is part of the predicate because it is connected to the verb. As such, we only use a short vertical line to separate the two.

Go back to the previous lesson for a review of the modifier questions for adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

Now for the fun part. Let’s try classifying and diagramming some pattern two sentences about Henry VIII and his six wives.

And there you have the tragic tale of Henry VIII’s six wives. We’ll look at some of the other players in this great drama in the next lesson on pattern three sentences.  

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Language of Grammar: Authentic Sentences #2

Today we will classify and diagram some of Queen Elizabeth’s most famous quotes. Though we have covered her story quite extensively in this series on the language of grammar, it has not always been glowing. It is only fitting, then, to give Elizabeth a chance to speak for herself. After all, it was her words more than her actions that won the hearts of her people.

Before we begin, let’s recap what we have covered about her so far and match it up with our grammar lessons.

First, we looked at her ascent to the throne of England in connection to learning pattern six. Then, we covered some basic background on her rule when we learned pattern seven.

We continued her story through three lessons on verbals. For infinitives we considered her relationship with Saint Edmund Campion. For participles, we examined her patronage of William Shakespeare. For gerunds, we reviewed her leadership role in defeating the Spanish Armada.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

Now it’s time to look at what Queen Elizabeth said during her lifetime. That will give us a window into how she perceived herself and how she wanted to be perceived by others. It will also give us more practice with authentic language, or words spoken in their natural context. 

We have looked at a lot of these elements already, so let’s focus on the appositive phrase “and a king of England.” It is an appositive because it is restating the idea of “king” in a different way. We stack “and” on a dotted horizontal line because it is an expletive, meaning it does not really have a function or add meaning to the sentence.
This is a rather complicated diagram. Let’s focus on the phrase “more anxious than my country.” Whenever we see a comparison of the degree of something, we have to break down the inferred words in that comparison. In this case, we can understand the sentence to be saying, ‘There is nothing about which I am more anxious than I am anxious about my country.” Then, we draw the diagram with all of the inferred words marked by an “x.”
Notice that “but” is not a conjunction here. It is an adverb that means “only.”
“We pay for love” modifies “price.” It answers the question, “What kind of price?”
“Whose” is an adjective modifying “those.” It answers the question, “Which of those?” The answer is, “Those whose faith and silence you have not already tested.” Notice that “faith and silence” are compound direct objects even though they come at the beginning of the adjective clause.
Notice that “cannot” is a verb here as opposed to “can not,” which is a verb plus an adverb. The difference is that “cannot” means something is impossible whereas “can not” means something may or may not be possible.

This last quote is my favorite because of its political genius. With her characteristic eloquence, Queen Elizabeth aligns her rule with the Will of God and presents herself as His humble servant. This would have been a particularly important message to convey in light of England’s split with the Catholic Church. Without the pope to sanction her rule, she needed God to do so Himself.

But her cleverness does not stop there. In praising the gratitude of her people, she is actually applauding herself and implicitly stating that the people should be thankful she is queen.  

Now let’s focus on that last word for a moment: queen. Elizabeth knew that she was ruling in a man’s world. She felt the threat of rebellion at many points in her rule and knew she needed to present herself in a way that would make her appear not merely as strong as a king but even stronger.

At the same time, she needed to retain her femininity and make herself lovable. When taken as a whole, these quotes showcase the brilliant ways in which Queen Elizabeth walked that fine line. She was strong and beautiful, severe and magnanimous.

I imagine she would have taken Machiavelli’s advice about it being better to be feared than loved, if one cannot be both, as a challenge. “Of course I can be both!” she might have answered. Elizabeth was feared by many during her lifetime because of her iron-fisted rule, but it is the extent to which she was loved that is most remembered.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Language of Grammar: Gerunds

The last of the three verbals, gerunds usually end up being a snap for my students. Like infinitives and participles, they are also made from verbs. These ones, however, always end in –ing and perform noun jobs in sentences.  

Let’s put this in context with a few examples. Be sure to download the grammar memorization questions as a cross-reference. And don’t hesitate to jump through the other lessons for review. They are all linked in the introduction to this series through the table of contents.

SAMPLE LESSON

Here are a few examples of the various noun jobs gerunds can use in sentences.

Hopefully, you immediately recognized this sentence as a pattern five (SN LV PrN). Just in case, let’s review the script we would follow if we were classifying the sentence.

What was sinking ships?—pastime (SN)

What is being said about pastime?—pastime was (LV)

Was what?—sinking ships

Does sinking ships mean the same thing as pastime?—yes (PrN)

Since we have a predicate noun phrase that begins with a noun made from a verb that ends in –ing, we can label the whole phrase gerund predicate noun—(GPrN)

Our next sentence is simply the reverse of our first one.

Now, “sinking ships” is the gerund subject noun phrase, and “pastime” is the predicate noun.

Gerunds can also be used for objects of the preposition, first introduced in this lesson.

The prepositional phrase is “for sinking ships.”

Here is the script for that phrase.

For?—preposition (P)

For what?—sinking ships (OP)

Once again, we would go back and add gerund (G) in front of object of the preposition (OP) because “sinking ships” begins with a noun made from a verb that ends in –ing. So the full label would be GOP.

Gerunds can also be used as direct objects.

The script for a pattern two sentence (SN V-t DO) should also be familiar.

Who liked sinking ships?—Elizabeth (SN)

What is being said about Elizabeth?—Elizabeth liked (V-t)

Liked what?—sinking ships (DO)

Since we have a direct object phrase, “sinking ships,” that begins with a noun made from a verb that ends in –ing, we can label the whole phrase gerund direct object–(GDO)

Another common use for gerunds is as object complement nouns found in pattern six sentence (SN V-t DO OCN).

The script for the core parts looks like this.

Who considered Elizabeth’s hobby unfair fighting?—Spain (SN)

What is being said about Spain?—Spain considered (V-t)

Considered what?—hobby (DO)

Considered hobby what?—fighting 

Does fighting mean the same thing as hobby?—yes (OCN)

Since we have an object complement noun phrase, “unfair fighting,” that begins with a noun made from a verb that ends in –ing, we can label the whole phrase gerund object complement noun–(GOCN)

Now for the diagrams.

As you can see, the gerund is placed on a series of lines that looks like a stairwell. I like to think of the gerund as “running” up and down the steps with one floor being for nouns and the other for verbs. Since gerunds are neither, they are kind of stuck in between.

Lastly, the pedestal is somewhat optional. I tend to use it when the gerund has modifiers since it spreads out the words and affords plenty of space. Otherwise, the diagram can look squished and messy.

PRACTICE SENTENCES

Ever since Queen Elizabeth turned down King Philip II of Spain’s marriage proposal, their relationship soured along with that of their respective states. Spain, the more dominant power, sought to advance itself ever further at the expense of England.

Elizabeth, knowing her country’s disadvantage but unwilling to cower, came up with a clever plan to wage secret naval warfare on Spain. She enlisted the help of William Drake, a “sea dog” or pirate of sorts, to attack and sink Spain’s ships in nearby English waters. The strained relationship between the two countries eventually came to a head, with Spain attempting to invade England in 1588.

We’ll use the story of that invasion for our practice sentences on gerunds. As always, we’ll mix in a variety of sentence patterns and other verbals.

Indeed, it cemented England as the rising power in Europe. Her preemptive strikes on Spain and her resolve to stand with her men at Tilbury were critical to the victory, which ultimately changed the course of Europe’s balance of power.

England had arrived, so to speak, and it was led by a woman. Like her or not, Elizabeth was a champion for her country and dramatically changed the world.  

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Language of Grammar: Introduction

Grammar was an intimidating subject when I first started teaching. Much like my students, I worried about remembering all the rules, not to mention all the exceptions to the rules. Unlike my students, I had the teacher edition of the textbook. Lucky me!

Once I mastered the material, I was able to start really developing my teaching philosophy. This blog series is going to breakdown what that consists of and offer several sample lessons complete with instructions. I hope it will prove useful to anyone interested in learning the language of Grammar.

LANGUAGE-BASED GRAMMAR INSTRUCTION

I used to draw the majority of the material for my Grammar lessons from textbooks, my favorite being Shurley English. Now, I use the textbook more as a pacing guide to ensure I am teaching all the key concepts for my age group. It’s great for drills and quick reinforcement, which are absolutely essential for the learning process.

That said, I find a language-based Grammar class that focuses on sentence classification and diagramming most beneficial and rewarding for students. We work with well-written sentences to understand all sorts of concepts, from parts of speech to types of sentences and more. It not only shows the practical application of rules in a meaningful, interesting context, but it also draws on critical thinking skills in a highly logical fashion.

SENTENCE CLASSIFICATION

Sentence classification is a method of labeling all the words in a sentence according to their “jobs.” Let’s take a look at an example.

“I” is a subject pronoun, “love” is a verb, “the” is an article adjective, and “Renaissance” is a direct object. Don’t worry if that feels confusing at the moment. It will become clearer after the first lesson or so.

Notice that word “jobs” are not necessarily the same as parts of speech. For example, a noun is a part of speech, but its job in a sentence can be subject noun, object of the preposition, direct object, indirect object, and predicate noun. Likewise, “Renaissance” is a proper noun, which is here used as a direct object.

By figuring out the job a word plays, students gain a much deeper understanding of the English language than simply looking at parts of speech. Sure, every child should learn to tell the difference between nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. But it’s how those words are used together in a sentence that matters.

Word jobs look at those relationships in a formulaic way that tends to be easy to internalize. Better still, it can be scripted aloud with a question and answer flow that engages students and allows them to immediately self-correct.

Using the example above, I might say, “Who loves the Renaissance?” The class would respond, “I—subject pronoun.”

Next, I would ask, “What is being said about I?” The class would respond, “I love.”

“Love what?” I would continue. “Love the Renaissance,” the students would respond.

Finally, I would simply state, “The.” The class would say, “Article adjective.”

That’s pretty much it. As the teacher, I initially prompt the students for every sentence, but they soon learn how to do it themselves. The back and forth is extremely engaging in what might otherwise be somewhat boring and overwhelming. Instead, much like a math problem, students learn the “formula” for identifying word jobs. In the process, they gain a keen understanding of the internal logic of sentences.

To assist in this process, I frequently recite a set of memorization questions that drill students on the definitions of the various parts of speech and the types of jobs they can play. Here is a copy, which you may want to keep as a handy reference for the upcoming lessons.

Grammar Memorization QuestionsDownload
SENTENCE DIAGRAMMING

Even if you never learned how to sentence diagram, you have probably seen them before. Diagrams are “drawings” that connect words according to their relationship to one another in a sentence. In contrast to classification, which is very auditory, diagramming is very visual.

Let’s take a look at the same sentence.

Each diagram line is “coded” with meaning. “I” and “love” and “Renaissance” are on the main horizontal line, thereby indicating they are the most important. The vertical line that separates “I” from “love” shows that everything in front of it is part of the complete subject and everything after it is part of the complete predicate. The other small vertical line shows that “Renaissance” is the direct object of “love.” “The” is on a diagonal line, showing that it modifies “Renaissance.”

Again, don’t worry if that sounds confusing. I will break it down more systematically in the coming lessons. For now, just consider it an example of what diagrams look like and how they communicate information.

“That looks hard!” parents often say when they visit during a Grammar class and see a row of students classifying and diagramming at the board while the rest do the same at their desks.

Well, it is, and it isn’t. With clear, well-paced instruction and plenty of interesting practice, students move through and master each lesson with relative ease.

What’s more, many tell me it’s fun. No, I’m not just talking about the high-flyers or kids trying to win brownie points. Nearly all of my students jump at the chance to classify and diagram at the board. They say it’s like putting together a puzzle. After they connect one of two pieces, they uncover the hidden “picture” or logic behind the individual parts.

As a teacher, there’s nothing like seeing a student complete a sentence classification and diagram. They begin with a quizzical look but that soon turns into one of focus and determination. By the end, their entire presence is one of triumph.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
  1. Pattern One: Subject Noun + Verb
  2. Pattern Two: Subject Noun + Verb-transitive + Direct Object
  3. Pattern Three: Subject Noun + Verb-transitive + Indirect Object + Direct Object
  4. Pattern Four: Subject Noun + Linking Verb + Predicate Noun
  5. Pattern Five: Subject Noun + Linking Verb + Predicate Adjective
  6. Pattern Six: Subject Noun + Verb-transitive + Direct Object + Objective Complement Noun
  7. Pattern Seven: Subject Noun + Verb-transitive + Direct Object + Object Complement Adjective
  8. Mixed Patterns: Infinitive
  9. Mixed Patterns: Participle
  10. Mixed Patterns: Gerund
  11. Mixed Patterns: Simple Sentences
  12. Mixed Patterns: Compound Sentence
  13. Mixed Patterns: Complex Sentence
  14. Mixed Patterns: Compound-Complex Sentence
  15. Authentic Sentences #1
  16. Authentic Sentences #2

I hope you enjoy these lessons! Feel free to share and reproduce them with attribution.

Posted on by Stephanie McGann

The Lady of Shalott #3: Memory Work

No matter how well versed my students are in memory work, long narrative poems tend to be a source of anxiety—but only at first. Such is the case with Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem, “The Lady of Shallot” At nineteen stanzas long with nine verses each, it is little wonder my students look downcast when I first tell them we will be memorizing the whole thing.

“That’s a sha-lot of words,” a student once quipped.

Nevertheless, within the first week or so, a sense of pride and accomplishment takes over. Students realize that long memory work is no different than short memory work, provided it is done in a well-paced, strategic manner. Then by the end, they shrug off the assignment like it was no big deal. Of course, that’s not really the case. The work is hard and even relentless, but it stops feeling that way once they understand how to manage it.

But why take on such a big project in the first place? In a world where information is readily available with the swipe of a finger or the tap of a keyboard, why should students invest time in committing anything, let alone a poem about a fictional character, to memory anyways?

As classical educators have long held, the reasons are many!

To begin with, memorizing poetry provides students with a ready store of language patterns to draw from. I have seen this firsthand over and over again. After committing a poem to memory, student writing will showcase many of the new patterns, not to mention a huge stockpile of new vocabulary words.

Similarly, memory work deepens student understanding of the material and allows them to engage it in a more meaningful way than simply reading it and discussing it. By spending so much time imprinting the words into their minds, they come to embody the ideas behind them.

Philosophically speaking, the poems become a type of music for their souls that will stay with them throughout their lives.

“All that is well and good,” one might say, “but give me a more scientific justification!”

Well, here is one. Memory work strengthens the brain and makes it more agile for all sorts of other work. Many of us know this through our own experience. Just think of all the phone numbers your mother stored in her memory before the age of cellphones on top of the endless doctor’s appointments and soccer practices and birthdays and so forth. Compared to a lot of us today, she would be considered a savant. Yet, all she was really doing was making her brain work. The more it worked at memorizing information, the better it got at it.

Research backs this up as well. Take a look at Benedict Carey’s book, How We Learn: The Surprising Truth about When, Where, and Why It Happens. He draws together a vast array of research that shows how the brain gets stronger as it commits more things to memory. What’s more, the possibilities of what and how much one can memorize are seemingly endless.

That brings us to the question of how students should memorize “The Lady of Shalott.” I recommend using a variety of strategies, all of which should be led by the teacher and reinforced at home.

A Little at a Time

The first and most fundamental is chunking the poem into smaller sections. That makes it much more manageable for students because they can work on memorizing a little at a time. “The Lady of Shalott” has four parts, with four stanzas in the first, four in the second, five in the third, and six in the fourth.  As such, I have the class memorize one part at a time and end up with four quizzes throughout the duration of our study. I use the strategies below for each part.

Recite. Recite. Recite.

For several days, we simply recite an entire part of the poem together as a class. They may have a copy out to read along or just listen and join in by ear. Either way, students gain an initial understanding of how the poem sounds and grow accustomed to its rhythm and melody.

Sometimes we recite as a single voice. Other times, I say a line and they repeat it. Still other times, I say the beginning of a line, and they finish it. I like using a combination of these approaches because it forces students to attend more closely to what they are saying. As we get more comfortable, I begin calling on students to lead the class through similar practice.

This type of repeated recitation is absolutely essential in memory work. As such, I encourage students to do similar work at home. Some, however, do not end up needing to do any because the classroom practice is enough.

Memory Moves

The next step is to ask students to come up with motions to go along with the poem. It might seem a little silly at first, especially for older students, but it is a dynamic way for them to visually imagine the story behind the poem and cue their memory in the process. Plus, it tends to be a lot of fun!

To that end, we line up around the classroom, and I assign a couple verses each to pairs of students, being sure to match the order of the verses with their line order. They come up with some kind of “move,” like spreading their arms wide as if they were separating water when they say, “On either side of the river lie.”

After the first pair teaches its move to the rest of the class, the second group goes. Then, we put it all together—words and moves—from the beginning. We repeat this process until we get through the whole poem.

By the end, students have a strong association between the moves and the words, which is mutually reinforcing. I always smile to myself when I see them quietly wriggling their bodies in recollection when it comes time for a quiz.

Writing Makes Perfect

The final step is helping students learn to write it out in proper poetic format, meaning they separate the verses and stanzas appropriately. For this, I have students number each verse in the stanza 1-9 and so forth. I give them the first word or two on the board, and they fill in whatever else they can remember.

This is always harder than the oral recitation, largely because it is completed independently. Students who think they know the whole thing soon realize they don’t. As such, it’s an important “check-point.” We write out the poem many times, and students remember more and more with each practice.

When quiz time rolls around, most students ace it, and of them do well.