September, 2009
The Printable KISS Workbooks The KISS Home Page
Background Essays
 
Vincent 
van Gogh's 
Mademoiselle
Ravoux 
1890, Private 
Collection, 
Switzerland
The Primary KISS Difference
— A Grammar with a Goal

     The trouble with grammarians is that they love grammar. They luxuriate in it. And they love to teach it. The fact that their teaching of it does not seem to be at all effective doesn’t seem to bother them. For fifteen years, as editor of Syntax in the Schools, I attempted to convince them that the traditional approach to teaching grammar does not work. But whether they try to teach traditional grammar, or one of the new linguistic grammars, they still take the same old, ineffective approach.
That ineffective approach is a focus on grammar as grammar. Look at any of their grammar books. You will find chapters on grammatical constructions – nouns and verbs, subjects and verbs, clauses, phrases, tenses, etc. Whole chapters! Filled with rules, exceptions, and extremely simple examples! Imposing, yes; practical, no. The chapters are not related to each other, and the whole picture is never put together. Students learn rules, exceptions, and more rules, and then, when they graduate from high school, they cannot even identify the verbs in their own writing. What good was all that instruction in grammar?
     The primary KISS Difference is a difference in approach. Instead of focusing on grammar as definitions, the KISS Approach teaches students how to identify a limited number of grammatical constructions, learned in a specific sequence, to analyze real texts – including the students’ own writing. Although this is the primary KISS difference, it results in additional major differences in what students can do with grammar. For example, once students can identify clauses they can understand questions of error, of sentence-combining, and of the length, complexity, and logic of subordinate clauses. No longer will students be dependent on someone else’s or some textbook’s rules. Students will be able to see and understand for themselves. This is especially true if students are introduced to some version of the KISS psycholinguistic model. The study of grammar then becomes the study of how human minds make sense of words and sentences.
     Seeing a problem in a new way is not easy, so I want to use as an example one of the many exercises presented on this KISS site. 
 

Aesop’s “The Ants and the Grasshopper,” 
translated by George Tyler Townsend

     The Ants were spending a fine winter’s day drying grain collected in the summertime. A Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The Ants inquired of him, “Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?” He replied, “I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in singing.” They then said in derision: “If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the winter.”
This is actually an 80-word, KISS Level Four exercise on verbals, but, as explained below, it can be used at Level Two. 

KISS Level One:
Identifying Simple Subjects, (Finite) Verbs. Complements, 
Adjectives, Adverbs, Coordinating Conjunctions, and Prepositional Phrase

     The following is the text as students might be expected to analyze it at KISS Level One:

     The Ants were spending a fine winter’s day (DO) drying grain collected {in the summertime}. A Grasshopper, perishing {with famine}, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The Ants inquired {of him}, “Why did you not treasure up food {during the summer}?” He replied, “I had not leisure (DO) enough. I passed the days (DO) {in singing}.” They then said {in derision}: “If you were foolish (PA) enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless {to bed} {in the winter}.”
The preceding analysis suggests that students working at KISS Level One might be expected to explain 64 of the 80 words, or roughly 80% of it. That leaves only sixteen words unexplained.
     Thoughtful readers should have several questions about the analysis. For example, why isn’t “for a little food” marked as a prepositional phrase? And why is “enough” marked as an adjective the first time it appears, but counted as unexplained the second time? And wouldn’t most students underline “drying,” “collected,” and “perishing” as verbs? These questions are addressed below. Here we need simply note that in KISS students are always expected to make mistakes with constructions that they have not yet added to their analytical toolboxes.
Progress Chart for KISS Level One
Total Words = 80 Words % Explained Total
% Explained
In S/V/C Slots 28 35 % 35 %
In Prepositional Phrases 19 24 % 59 %
Coordinating Conjunctions 1 1 % 60 %
Other Adjectives and Adverbs 16 20 % 80 %
Level One – Total Words Explained 64 80 % 80 %

KISS Level Two: Expanding the Basics

     At KISS Level Two, students are taught how to expand their analytical abilities to include a number of things that most grammars ignore. These questions all fall into two related categories—the complexities of S/V/C patterns, and the complexities of prepositional phrases. They include such things as palimpsest patterns, phrasal verbs, distinguishing finite verbs from verbals, the “to” problem, and alternate explanations. Not all of these appear in our sample text. The following is the text as students might be expected to analyze it at KISS Level Two:

     The Ants were spending a fine winter’s day (DO) drying grain (DO of "drying") collected {in the summertime}. A Grasshopper, perishing {with famine}, passed by and earnestly begged {for a little food}. The Ants inquired {of him}, “Why did you not treasure up food (DO) {during the summer}?” He replied, “I had not leisure (DO) enough. I passed the days (DO) {in singing}.” They then said {in derision}: “If you were foolish (PA) enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless (PA) {to bed} {in the winter}.”
KISS Level Two gives students a short sequence of questions that they can use to distinguish finite verbs from verbals (verbs that function as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs). At this level, the purpose of this is simply to teach students not to underline such verbs twice. In our text, these words are “drying,” “collected,” “perishing,” and “to sing,” (Remember that I said above that this text could be used at KISS Level Two to teach students how to distinguish finite verbs from verbals.) In the table below, these five words are counted as “negatively explained verbals.” It is possible to teach students more about verbals at this level, but clauses (KISS Level Three) are more important.
     At Level Two, however, students can easily understand that verbals can have complements, so I have marked “grain” as explained. In the analysis for KISS Level One, I marked “singing” as explained—as the object of the preposition “in.” In working with students, you’ll find that even at KISS Level One, students will have almost no trouble with verbals that function as simple subjects, complements, or objects of prepositions.
     In the analysis for KISS Level One, I left “by” (in “passed by”), “for . . . food,” and “up food” as unexplained. In their study of phrasal verbs in KISS Level Two, students can be expected to see that the “passed by” means “passed by them.” Thus “by” is a prepositional phrase with its object left out. “By” thus functions adverbially, just as the prepositional phrase would. (I might note here, that in analyzing texts, students should not always be expected to go into this much detail.) “For . . . food” and “up food” are two good examples of why students need to study phrasal verbs (although they do not really need to remember that term). “He begged for a little food” can be explained in two ways (alternate explanations). “Begged for” means “requested,” so students can consider “begged for” a verb (phrasal) and “food” as its direct object. Equally valid, however, some people will prefer to see “begged” as the verb and “for food” as a prepositional phrase. In KISS, either explanation is acceptable.
      I have left “up food” for KISS Level Two because some students will thoughtlessly mark it as a prepositional phrase. In KISS Level One, this kind of mistake should be expected and ignored. But in KISS Level Two, students should no longer have to focus on simple subjects, verbs, etc., and having studied phrasal verbs, they should realize that “up” in “treasure up food” is part of a phrasal verb, not a preposition.
     Another construction that students will learn in KISS Level Two is the palimpsest pattern. This is not a construction that you will find in most grammar textbooks, but most textbooks do not even try to analyze real texts. “Palimpsest” simply means that one pattern is written over another. In “you must dance supperless to bed,” I have labeled “supperless” as a predicate adjective. In essence, “you will dance” has been written over “you will be supperless.” Note that some people will see “supperless” as an adverb to “must dance.” That is an acceptable alternate explanation in KISS, but either way “supperless” is now explained.
     Although some are defined negatively, twelve words have been added to our progress chart: Only four words are left to be explained—“Why,” “If,” the second “enough” and “summer.”
Progress Chart for KISS Level Two
Total Words = 80 Words % Explained Total
% Explained
Level One – Total Words Explained 64 80 % 80 %
Negatively Explained Verbals 5 6 % 86 %
Complements of verbals 1 1 % 88 %
Palimpsest Pattern 1 1 % 89 %
Phrasal Verbs 5 6 % 95 %
Level Two – Total Words Explained 76 95 % 95 %

Having learned how to distinguish finite verbs from verbals, students are ready for the most important of the KISS Levels, Level Three—Clauses. A clause is a subject / finite verb / complement pattern and all the words and constructions that modify (chunk to) it.

KISS Level Three: Clauses—Subordinate and Main

     The study of clauses does not add many words to the number analyzed, but it does bring together many of the words previously explained into an understanding of sentences. In KISS, we put brackets [ ] around subordinate clauses and a vertical line | after each main clause.

     The Ants were spending a fine winter’s day (DO) drying grain (DO of "drying") collected {in the summertime}. | A Grasshopper, perishing {with famine}, passed by and earnestly begged {for a little food}. | The Ants inquired {of him}, [DO “Why did you not treasure up food (DO) {during the summer}?]| He replied, [DOI had not leisure (DO) enough]. | I passed the days (DO) {in singing}.” | They then said {in derision}: [DO [Adv. “If you were foolish (PA) enough to sing all the summer], you must dance supperless (PA) {to bed} {in the winter}].” |
Note that in KISS Level One, students are expected to be confused about the complements of words like “inquired” and “said” when those complements are clauses. This, of course, is easily cleared up in KISS Level Three. I have marked the “Why” after “inquired” as a subordinating conjunction. Within its clause, of course, it also functions as an adverb. In this passage, the only other word explained at Level Three is the subordinating conjunction “If.” KISS Level Three, however, is extremely important. (See the essay “The KISS Approach to Improving Writing and to Grammatical Errors.”)
Progress Chart for KISS Level Three
Total Words = 80 Words % Explained Total
% Explained
Level Two – Total Words Explained 76 95 % 95 %
(Negatively Explained Verbals) 5 6 % 95 %
Subordinate Conjunctions 2 3 % 98 %
Level Three – Total Words Explained 78 98 % 98 %

KISS Level Four: Verbals—Gerunds, Gerundives, and Infinitives

     As suggested by Jerome Bruner’s idea of the “spiral curriculum,” at Level Four, KISS spirals back to verbals, explaining them positively rather than negatively. Here students learn to distinguish gerunds, gerundives, and infinitives. They learn more about the subjects and complements of verbals, and they can study what verbals add to style. Obviously, all of the exercises in KISS Level Four include verbals. As for our progress chart, we can now turn the negatively defined into positive understanding. Overall, however, in the KISS sequence verbals to not add many words to our chart. In the version below, the only word that has additionally been explained is the second “enough.”

     The Ants were spending a fine winter’s day (DO) drying grain (DO of "drying") collected {in the summertime}. | A Grasshopper, perishing {with famine}, passed by and earnestly begged {for a little food}. | The Ants inquired {of him}, [DO “Why did you not treasure up food (DO) {during the summer}?]| He replied, [DOI had not leisure (DO) enough]. | I passed the days (DO) {in singing}.” | They then said {in derision}: [DO [Adv. “If you were foolish (PA) enough to sing all the summer], you must dance supperless (PA) {to bed} {in the winter}].” |
Many students can probably understand much earlier that the second “enough” functions as an adverb to the predicate adjective “foolish.” In the count, I have left it to Level Four because the infinitive “to sing” functions as an adverb to the adverb “enough.”
     At KISS Level Four, students will learn that “drying” can be explained in two different ways (alternatives). For one, it can be considered a gerundive to “Ants.” Alternatively, it can be considered a gerund that functions as a noun used as an adverb. (See Level Five.) “Collected” is a gerundive that modifies “grain,” and “perishing” is a gerundive that modifies “Grasshopper.” At this level, in other words, students learn what verbals are, and not just (as in KISS Level Two) what they are not.
Progress Chart for KISS Level Four
Total Words = 80 Words % Explained Total
% Explained
Level Three – Total Words Explained 78 98 % 98 %
“enough” 1 1 % 99 %
Level Four – Total Words Explained 79 99 % 99 %

KISS Level Five: Eight Additional Constructions

     The constructions in Level Five are here because they are generally less important (and less frequently used) than the constructions in the first four levels. Some of these constructions, like the Noun Used as an Adverb, can be taught much earlier. As noted above, our text does not include some of the important Level Five constructions, most notably appositives, post-positioned adjectives, delayed subjects, and noun absolutes. For more details on these constructions, see the “Overview of the KISS Levels.”
     Here all we need to note is that in our analysis we have one word still unexplained—“summer” in “all the summer.” It should be fairly obvious that in the phrase “to sing all the summer,” “summer” indicates how long one would sing. Thus “summer” is a noun used as an adverb, and we have analyzed 100% of our sample text.

Conclusion

     One of the things that you may have noted is that students are able to explain approximately 80% of the words in this text at KISS Level One.! In some texts, working at this level, students will be able to explain every word! With other texts, of course, the number may be lower, but at Level One students are usually able to identify more than 70% of the words in any text. Not only does KISS have a clear primary objective—it enables students to accomplish more than half of it very quickly and relatively easily. And nothing motivates students as much as success does.
     This essay has been an explanation of the primary KISS objective, but on the way to that objective, students can be taught all the important questions regarding errors, punctuation, logic, and style. How to do this is explained in some of the other “Background” essays. Especially when they get to KISS Level Three, students can analyze the style of their own writing and compare it to that of their classmates and/or to samples of students’ writing from state assessment documents. Are their sentences too long or too short? Too complex, or too simple? Well-punctuated, or full of errors? These are just some of the questions that students can intelligently discuss and use to evaluate their own writing.
     One of the major problems in the teaching of grammar is that most teachers themselves have not been taught how to identify prepositional phrases, subjects and finite verbs, clauses, etc. As a result, they are very nervous about even attempting to teach grammar. The KISS site, however, already offers hundreds of passages, with analysis keys comparable to those given above. Teachers (and parents) can thus start with some of these exercises until they themselves feel comfortable analyzing sentences. The KISS Differences are summarized in the following table:

KISS Traditional
Directly applies to students' reading and writing? Y N
Prepares students to be able to intelligently discuss the grammatical function of any word that they find in any sentence? Y N
Is designed as a logical sequence? Y N
Provides a cumulative approach that includes automatic review? Y N
Provides students with an identifiable goal and lets them see for themselves how far they are toward reaching it? Y N
Is free? (Does not require expensive, confusing textbooks?) Y N