FLL/WWE and complete sentences

[nikkid]

Has anyone else had issues with asking your child to answer in complete sentences? Not only does my daughter get frustrated when I point out it wasn't a complete sentence (no one likes to be told they didn't get it right) she has no idea what a complete sentence is except by how it sounds. Both FLL 1 and WWE 1 do not explain what answering in a complete sentence means. I feel at a loss for how to explain it thoroughly in words a child will understand.

 

For instance, the answer in the book might be something like "The farmer and his wife killed the goose." And she says "They killed the goose." (But I don't want to teach her about pronouns yet and the difference--maybe answering with 'they' is still okay?)

Or she thinks starting an answer with 'because' is a complete sentence.

Any instruction here on if this is okay to accept or how else to teach about complete sentences to a young child?

[Guest TheBugsMom]

If my dd does not answer in a complete sentence, I ask her a question or two to get the answers I need , then I tell her to say it all together.

Ex:

Me: How tall is the caterpillar?

DD: 3 inches

ME: Who is 3 inches?

DD: The caterpillar

Me: Say it all together

DD: The caterpillar is 3 inches.

 

I don't tell her she is wrong because she did not answer in a complete sentence. I just keep the questioning going. She keeps getting the answers correct and I lead her to a complete sentence. Win win.

[tullyfamily]

In my opinion, "They killed the goose" is completely fine because it is a complete sentence! Your child doesn't have to answer w/ the exact words listed in the books- they are just examples.

 

Hm- explaining what a sentence is.... well, FLL says "a sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought." That is the only definition I've given my children when they were using FLL 1-2. Modeling the correct sentences shows them what to do & they pick up on it quickly. Yes, they do not always like to repeat the complete sentences and, yes, it takes a long time & you'll be doing it for what seems life F-O-R-E-V-E-R! (I'm still working with my ds who is 8.) BUT, it is foundational & so helpful! It will help w/ their narrations & dictation.

 

Have you listened to any of SWB's lectures about this? She gives some examples & it was helpful to hear that my children are not the only ones that do this!

 

HTH!

Heather

[deeinfl]

Agreeing with the other poster that "They killed the goose" is a perfectly good sentence. My problem is that my son won't use pronouns, so he is constantly saying, "Patchwork girl jumped over the water" or Pathwork girl did that (just an example). I tell him it's okay to say, "She jumped over the water," but he refuses to use pronouns. Go figure...:lol:

[tullyfamily]

Have you covered pronouns? If not, don't sweat it. If you have, encourage it but I wouldn't stress if your child is young... maybe add pronouns to your copywork & dictation. There is more than one correct way to say a sentence- you just want to make sure that they know how to say the different ways.

[nikkid]

Thanks for the replies. I really like the idea of keeping the questioning going and then asking them to say the answers together. I knew someone would have a great idea like that!

 

I did see that definition in the book--about it being a sentences that express a complete idea or thought. That's hard to explain to kids though.

 

My question was mostly about my understanding of a complete sentence as the authors intended--I thought it wasn't considered fully complete unless you reference the noun in the sentence, so no 'it' or 'she' or 'they' etc. I don't make her answer word for word, but I had been trying to encourage to use the actual name of the noun, whether common or proper. BUT maybe the authors are okay with the pronouns being used instead. It's just that none of the suggested answers ever use pronouns.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[imhim]

My dd7 would use pronouns only if she could. But I always tell her - give more details, who is "they", there are many characters in the story, you need to be specific.

 

This was a while back.

 

Now I just say "no pronouns, please". And she corrects herself.

 

Yes, that is a complete sentence, using the pronouns, but it is not a clear sentence, or with enough detail. As soon as the story is slightly more complicated, then he, she, they become very confusing.