"Dora Learns to Write..." pages 59-71

In the article, "Dora Learns to Write and in the Process Encounters Punctuation" by Pat Cordeiro, we explore what one teacher does and does not do to help her students learn punctuation and syntax formation. The method the teacher uses to help Dora learn how to correctly punctuate the end of her sentences is first, she asks Dora to talk about her writing and read out loud what she had written down. The first time around Dora does not see anything wrong or awkward about her punctuation, so the teacher has Dora compare her writing to the writing she sees in her reading books. While looking at the book, the teacher points out the spaces between the words. Then both the teacher and Dora use their hands to frame the words in Dora’s story so she can physically see that each word should have its own place and be separated from other words. The next time the teacher has Dora read aloud, she introduces the idea of how punctuation sounds out loud by taking pauses for periods to show the end of the sentence.

Throughout this learning process, the teacher often relies on the reading books Dora and her peers use in order to let them gain a visual understanding of punctuation. By having the teacher point out the use of periods in the reading books, Dora and her friends notice on their own that there are too many “dots” in their writing compared to the writing in the reading book. They slowly start thinking of them as “periods” instead of “dots,” and start putting them in their writing fewer times. The teacher lets Dora consult her peers often, and allows them to formulate their own ideas together after hearing what the teacher has to say and looking at the books. Even if Dora and her peers all start doing something incorrectly, the teacher never demands to know WHOSE mistake led the group down the wrong path. She understands it is a collective working process and instead tries to correct them individually.  [NEEDED TO INCLUDE POSSESSIVE PRONOUN] The next time the teacher reads out loud with Dora, she points out how “we let our voice drop down” (Cordeiro 62) for periods. The teacher understands that punctuation is somewhat negotiable between the reader and the writer, so a learner’s understanding of the use of language is more important. Through this, they will learn when punctuation sounds right.

What the teacher doesn’t do during this learning process is hand out punctuation work sheets, tell Dora when she is wrong, or force her to follow certain syntax rules on day one. The teacher allows Dora to take her time and come to her own understanding of punctuation by guiding her through questions about her writing, comparing her writing to the writing seen in her reading books and reading aloud. The teacher understands that there are a lot of different ways punctuation can be used, and it is usually not right or wrong; the punctuation is just YOURS. The author’s unique writing style is not limited to what words they use but also the way they employ periods and commas. They own that punctuation, and the meaning it conveys is THEIRS. [NEEDED TO INCLUDE POSSESSIVE PRONOUN]

 It takes Dora awhile to start applying the concept of sentence-end-marking because she needed to develop a workable hypothesis that made sense to her – not a strict rule that seemed foreign or confusing – but something that she understood and appeared to devise herself.

At the beginning, Dora was concerned with the unit word, so she would mark the end of each word with a period. However, overtime Dora learns that writing concerns itself with larger units.

Learning about syntax is a long series of trial and error, and has important implications for language learning in general, so the teacher does not try to hurry the process. As Cordeiro said, “in the world of period placement, every sentence is a new experience” (65).