Materials | Computers with Internet access and/or several print copies of any day’s New York Times (enough so that each student, or pair of students, has access to a section.)
Overview | How can students improve English language skills by reading The New York Times? In this lesson, students first compile lists of their own personal “grammar, punctuation, spelling and usage demons,” then play a bingo game to find examples of correct usage in The New York Times; finally, they track particular words, marks of punctuation or elements of grammar or usage through a week’s worth of The Times to view examples.
Warm-up | Put the two sentences “Let’s eat, Grandma” and “Let’s eat Grandma” on the board and ask students what each sentence means. Then ask why a Facebook group that uses these two sentences in its title is subtitled “Punctuation Saves Lives.” (If time permits, you might even take a moment to challenge students to write their own pairs of nearly identical sentences in which one punctuation mark completely changes the meaning.)
Next, ask students to work with a partner to think of three grammar, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, style or usage errors they tend to make regularly. You might have them first scan some of their own work to identify errors; you might also put category headings on the board to help them brainstorm. (For instance, you could list Misspelled Words; Tricky Punctuation; Pronoun Problems; Subject-Verb Agreement Issues; Commonly Confused Words; Clichés to Avoid; Common Grammar Mistakes; etc.)
Give students some time to work and then whip around the room so that each pair shares one grammar, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation or usage “demon.” Compile a master list of their common errors and aggravations on the board. If there are specific mistakes that regularly appear on student work that aren’t mentioned, add them to the list on the board at the end yourself.
Finally, pose a question asked on the Times Topics page on grammar (and slightly tweaked here for students): Why are people so obsessed with grammar, punctuation, and word usage, and so offended by real or imagined lapses?
Related | In the article “This is English, Rules are Optional,” author Neil Genzlinger reviews Rutgers University English Professor Jack Lynch’s new book, “The Lexicographer’s Dilemma.” In the book, Mr. Lynch describes the evolution of the English language and explores the arbitrary rules that are slowly being swept aside as words and usage evolve.
