diaperjoys Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Soooooo, our 12yo is still using an incredible number of run-on sentences. Pointing them out and re-doing them helps a little. But only a little. He handed in a written narration today that was great as far as content.However, I don't think there was even one correct sentence as far as structure goes. I'm thinking of Fix-It grammar and Lost Tools of Writing for next year. I haven't worked with either of those programs before, though. Anything else I should consider?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 We found MCT to be excellent for teaching what a sentence is and what it is not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Is he reading his narration aloud after he's finished writing it? It can help to hear the problems with the sentence before correcting them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceseeker Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I agree with reading aloud. Sometimes humor makes things stick. When my daughter was doing this I would take a gigantic breath before reading her sentences and try to read it all aloud without losing all my breath. I was very dramatic and she laughed and her punctuation got better. I explained that punctuation acts as pauses and breaths for the reader. I begged her to let me breathe, lol.. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diaperjoys Posted February 16, 2017 Author Share Posted February 16, 2017 Is he reading his narration aloud after he's finished writing it? It can help to hear the problems with the sentence before correcting them. Now, why in the world didn't I think of that? See, that is why I need you guys! I had him read aloud today, and he corrected the passage perfectly... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaceseeker Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I had a college professor who taught me to read my papers aloud for proofreading. It was a very good teaching tool. I always catch more errors that way, particularly in longer papers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Always, always read aloud! You can catch so many errors that way. :hurray: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Reading aloud to proofread definitely helps. So does dictation--you dictate a passage to him (3-5) sentences, and he has to write it and punctuate it. This trains his ear to find the pauses. One other idea--between each new thought he must hit the enter key, placing the new thought on an entirely new line. Sometimes this helps the kid see the breaks between ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diaperjoys Posted February 25, 2017 Author Share Posted February 25, 2017 So, just to update - I had our kiddo read his narration aloud once. Really, just once, and showed him how that can help him find his sentences/phrases. And the problem is gone. He's doing daily written narrations, and they are all punctuated correctly. Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm amazed that, after struggling with this so long, it is corrected so painlessly and quickly. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 :hurray: Have him keep reading them aloud from time to time. Reading your work aloud is also good for finding errors in thinking, making clunky sentence structure visible, and finding where words were accidentally skipped or repeated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 Are his narration sentences run-ons because he has a sentence maximum and wants to fit too much information in? I also think MCT does an excellent job of explaining what a sentence is and what it is not (paragraphs too). I suggest you approach it from a grammar aspect. I would be gentle on his narrations while you do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diaperjoys Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Are his narration sentences run-ons because he has a sentence maximum and wants to fit too much information in? No, no sentence maximums. That makes me chuckle a bit. I've thought about assigning minimums, because my boys like to take short cuts. He's continuing to do his sentences correctly. I think we'll be good to go now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 I also think MCT does an excellent job of explaining what a sentence is and what it is not (paragraphs too). In which book are paragraphs explained? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.