Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson

Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer’s Workshop

By Jeff Anderson
Critique by Aisha Elmasri

Reader Response

When I am looking for grammar help, I often find books that tell me what the grammatical concept is rather than show me its significance within context. This book makes the mechanics of writing meaningful for students. This book is separated into chapters based on related concepts—for example, pronouns and antecedents are grouped together the way they naturally should be. It includes short and daily instruction in grammar and mechanics within writer’s workshop with high-quality mentor texts. As a teacher, this book helped me understand the significance of proper grammar by clearly showing me what the precise misconception would be when the grammatical concept was misused. It also includes visual scaffolding with wall charts and visual cues I could use alongside my lesson.  It even taught me how to create lessons with step-by-step instructions and very thorough ideas. Moreover, Anderson provides helpful commentary and strategic insertions of what to tell students at particular instances within a lesson. All in all, students are empowered by teachers because this book provides them with lessons where students discover the significance of grammar for themselves. I am hooked.

Evaluator Response

Anderson created this book, culminating years of experimentation, aiming to merge the best of writer’s workshop elements with relevant theory about how and why skills should be taught. It connects relevant theory with practical skill-based lesson plans. Although this book is not the end-all-savior for those seeking grammar help (it covers fundamental concepts but does not cover specific concepts, such as gerunds, participles and infinitives.), it targets the fundamental skills of struggling writers. It is clearly organized through a natural increase in rigor and concept complexity. The chapters are student-friendly with interesting titles that partially touch upon the functions, for example, “Dependent vs Independent—Adding On Without Running On.” However, Anderson is clearly addressing teachers—the idea being that teachers have to transfer this knowledge over to their students successfully with creative execution. Nonetheless, this book provides teachers with all the skills they would need to implement a successful grammar lesson, including daily instructional plans, visual scaffolds and even short routines that allow students to revise their errors automatically and consistently.

Teacher Response

 As a new urban middle-school teacher, I found myself struggling to teach foundational grammatical concepts to my 8^th graders that I naively assumed they would already know. Beyond academic struggles, middle-schoolers are struggling with their identity. Their grammar struggles reflect their daily discourse—they struggle to develop an academic formality that doesn’t mirror the environment they are immersed in every day. This inconsistency creates a struggle for them within a classroom where their ability to convey their thoughts effectively is heavily based on their ability to seamlessly master their own grammar. This book makes foundational grammar accessible for students who may have fallen behind in a flawed system. As a teacher, I struggled to maintain rigor while meeting my students where they were at; however, this book allowed me to close those gaps. I feel like I am challenging my students and they feel engaged and empowered as they understand grammatical concepts versus memorize definitions. 

Literacy Coach

The format of this book is incredibly accessible for teachers— there is an explanation of the significances of a grammar concept followed by a mentor text and a solid lesson plan that allows the student to discover the meaning behind the concept for themselves. Overall, the accessible format allows for simple execution of the lesson plans that draw true meaning and thought out of the students. I would definitely challenge teachers to compile different mentor texts and recreate the concept of the lesson plan by adding their own personal spin on it. Teachers could also create a more enriching experience for students by pulling examples from social media where very public figures made terrible grammatical mistakes. This would increase engagement as students could draw connections to their own lives where they are constantly engaging with one another through social media. The more activities you incorporate with grammar instruction, the more likely you are to get students engaged and interested—overall, allowing the concepts to stick in their brain and directly translate to their writing.