[LIT] curriculum advice needed

[Stephanie Griffis]

Hi, everyone!  I lurk more than I post, but I need some advice.  My department is working on our Language Arts curriculum.  It was written ten years ago to our state standards, but it needs updating.  Yesterday we got into a discussion about the teaching of grammar, which is always a hot button topic.  One major issue another teacher and I have is that the way our curriculum is written now we are supposed to teach sentence patterns--transitive, intransitive, and linking verb constructions.  She and I want this gone; we don't see how it helps students with anything (no one is ever going to say, "This paragraph would be much more interesting if you used more transitive verb sentences!")  The curriculum coordinator thinks it should stay in.  What are your thoughts?  If there are valid reasons for it to stay, I'd love to know what they are.

Thanks!
Stef