Text reordering, text rewording, text recording, and text researching offer students who must use prescriptive grammar books the opportunity to observe, analyze, manipulate, and enjoy language. (Author/RL)

During the first half-century of the existence of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), the teaching of grammar aroused furious debate among its members. In 1924, Charles C. Fries assembled a panel of six language scholars to answer three questions: (1) What should English teachers know about the English language? (2) Do the usual…