Principals and Deputy Principals
Julie Kay, Assistant Principal, Our Lady of Mt Carmel School
A difficult concept that you managed to engage us and even got us enthusiastic about. I appreciate the hands-on, fun and realistic approach to the topic, The level of chat and the sharing of ideas is testament to the way people received this learning. A new whole approach, easy as 1-2-3. Darryl Winsor, Principal, Holy Rosary Primary School Greg's passion is infectious. Shoebox Grammar helps to fill in the 'why' gaps that we were left with when we were first taught the 'how.' Margaret Dove, Principal, Millen Primary School Greg’s presentation was, as the subtitle of his handbook claims, practical, relevant and fun. His passion for language is evident through the clear and easy to understand structures and patterns which build up teacher knowledge. Greg’s approach to grammar is based on problem solving. He does not talk about a meta language or a grand repertoire of grammatical terms but uses examples and metaphor. The staff members were impressed and appreciative with the opportunity to re-engage with grammar and the teaching of grammar in a comprehensive and relevant manner. Noriel Crosby, Deputy Principal (ret.), Millen Primary School Thank you, Greg, for a dynamic and inspiring workshop. Shoebox Grammar simplified the process of teaching grammar for our staff. Your expertise was unsurpassed and we thoroughly enjoyed the novel hands-on approach. We look forward to you returning to work with our students as part of our Literacy plan in 2013. Bernadette Higgins, St Patricks Catholic Primary School The Shoebox Grammar workshops were very informative and engaging. Practical, explicit and captivating activities were modelled that could be used in the classroom. |
Teachers
Laura Marshall, Pearsall Primary School
Greg was very knowledgeable and obviously passionate about the content and teaching of grammar. I now have a more structured and organised means of approaching grammar in my classroom. Luke Skehan, Our Lady of Lourdes School, Dardanup, December A common sense guide to grammar! I can see this program being of great benefit to the students at our school. Michelle Wenzel, Pre-primary teacher, Swan View Primary School I was absolutely blown away by how engaging grammar could be and how an effective teacher can make it all so fun and simple to understand. ECE Teachers, St Lawrence’s Primary School, Geraldton We have been empowered by being shown the principles of structure. Following the Shoebox guidelines, the content our students provide can be easily transferred into quality writing. Katrina Prodger Year 6/7 Teacher, Beckenham Primary School After the presentation Greg made at our whole school professional development day, I was inspired to get going with Shoebox Grammar straight away. I felt confident that I could immediately work it into my established Literacy Block sessions and found that the students responded exceptionally well to the idea of the three parts of a sentence – they caught onto the principles a lot more quickly than the staff did! The colour system has been fantastic as a visual reminder for students, even in the upper primary years. Students have been able to convert what they already know about words and sentence structure and extend on this by using the Shoebox Grammar techniques. Thank you. Junior Primary Teachers, St Lawrence’s Primary School, Geraldton It was engaging, inclusive and the skills taught were practical. Your passion for grammar was inspirational. Margaret Cooper, Year 1 Teacher, St Lawrence’s Primary School, Geraldton I would like to apply the 1-2-3 notion of grammar to my modelled writing sessions. I think the sentence language of the sessions could be taught to Year Ones. I like the simplicity of the language used. It was great to have question samples and a clear model to refer to after I go back to the classroom with this new approach to teaching grammar. Claire Johnson, Year 6 Teacher Our understanding of grammar has been consolidated thanks to your simple explanations and hands on activities. Love your Rule of 3! Leanne Voss, Year 6 Teacher, St Mary’s, Northampton Locate the PIVOT and everything else falls into place. Sara Stancati, Year 3/4 teacher Thank you for a passionate and informative session. I loved the work on clauses, particularly the focus on the three types of dependent clauses. Staff of St Mary's, St Mary's, Boyup Brook Thank you, Greg, for your passionate presentation on grammar. As a school, we will take away many practical and hands-on activities to implement in the classroom. Nicole Reilly, Year 6/7 teacher, St Brigid's, Collie I finally have a workable way of teaching clauses, and my students should be able to understand the concept of what constitutes a sentence! Gail Bertolini, Teaching Aide, St Brigid's, Collie It was a great day with a different perspective on teaching children grammar. I feel that this would be great for under-achieving children. Jane Short, Year 3 teacher, St Brigid's, Collie A great deal of content presented. I loved the 1-2-3 approach. It will make writing and grammar much easier for all children. Thanks! Kate Price, Teacher, Our Lady of Fatima School I actually enjoyed learning about grammar, which I didn't think was possible! Excellent ideas and structure to help students make their writing more interesting and their sentences more varied. I feel like I have a much better grasp of main and dependent clauses. Jessica Hogan, Collier Primary School Very informative. I had to relearn a lot of information in regards to nouns, verbs, adjectives, but found the new info easy to learn and understand. I am excited to start the learning process with the children. Jen McKay, Collier Primary School Excellent PD. Made me view grammar in a new manner. Kids will love it and I can see children's writing growing. I love the structure and practical aspect of Shoebox Grammar. I would recommend it to all. Margot Salter, Collier Primary School Great PD. I have never enjoyed grammar so much and look forward to using Shoebox Grammar in the classroom. Belinda Beeson, Collier Primary What a great, useful PD. This is definitely what our students need to improve their writing and use of grammar. I can't wait to start Shoebox Grammar with my class. |