Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/436829
her that this writing style extends to essays of college applicants. "I want students to know there's a time and place for that kind of language," says Shotke, who made the challenge mandatory for her students. They groaned initially, but she pointed out that writing without thinking often leads to trouble. To make it fun, she created online contests — with prizes such as gramMARCH T-shirts — for all students who signed up to participate via her website. While online donations were encouraged, Shotke ended up paying for most of the prizes herself. Participa- tion is free. Take the challenge Here's one of the contests: Post a word that is a noun, verb and adjective. Use the word in three different sentences showing your understanding of its meaning in all three forms of speech. "The gramMARCH challenge is designed is to make the shift back to intelligent communication. We forget that what we post, text, email and share is the first impression we make on the world. I ask my students to consider this: What is your writing saying about you?" She decided that gramMARCH should last for an entire month, in hopes it might stick. "Anecdotally, it takes 30 days for something to become a habit. And after 30 days, it's surprising how easy proper communication becomes." For students, it was not exactly easy. "There were many obstacles I faced during gram- MARCH," shares Sabrina Hsia in an essay written in April. "I would abbreviate words such as 'you' and 'are.' Punctuation was another difficulty I encountered because I would always forget to add periods or commas. GramMARCH got easier over time. As they say, practice makes perfect." In addition to better grammar, gramMARCH prompted Hsia to consider whether what she was writing was appropriate. "Before gramMARCH, I typed without thinking and would never make any sense in my messages," she confides, adding that her friends were surprised by her new style of communication, and thought at first that she sounded like a "robot" in texts and emails. Cindy Phung says gramMARCH helped her to see "flaws" in her writing. "I noticed some words I was having trouble spelling and how many words I spelled incorrectly. So I wrote slower to make sure my writing was spelled properly. I had to proofread everything I wrote or typed before sending it or posting it to social media sites. I sounded more official and intelligent every time I wrote accurately." Parents were on board with the program. "They thought it was funny and were very much into it," says Shotke. "It improved dialogue in families. Children began critiquing parents' grammar, which was interesting. Many parents said that they were happy that gram- MARCH encouraged students to use technology in a way that provided a fun learning experience." Shotke says this year's gramMARCH will be more of a student-run event, and that students are taking ownership of the program via social media. College students have asked to act as "gramMARCH ambassadors" and visit middle schools and high schools to encourage teens to sign up. Last year's event had a lasting effect on some students. "When kids see a misspelled sign or something, they will show it to me," says Shotke. "What's really funny is that eighth-graders on campus are now warning seventh-graders: Watch what you write. Watch your spelling. Think about your grammar. GramMARCH is coming soon." C O U R T E S Y P H O T O S Students form an M for March to show their support for using proper grammar during the month. Learning 45 V O L U M E 1 9 I S S U E 5