capitalization and punctuation help needed

[Donovans4]

I just gave my 4th grader the ITBS and he didn't do very well on the capitalization and punctuation sections. We have gone over and over these rules, but for some reason they just don't seem to stick. Any suggestions for books, games, workbooks, etc. that will help him remember these rules?

 

thanks,

LauraD in MN

[Lori D.]

I think that grammar mechanics (punctuation/capitalization/word usage) comes with time and practice. 4th grade is still in the thick of that time frame when students are *learning* those punctuation rules and learning how/when to apply them -- and often *forgetting* to apply them, whether in their own writing or in being tested.:tongue_smilie:

 

 

I don't think I'd worry too much about the standardized testing -- but that's a great idea about using a resource for practice. Here are a few ideas we've used to help practice punctuation and capitalization:

 

- Take Five Minutes: A History Fact A Day For Editing

- Editor In Chief

- Grammar With A Giggle

- Sonlight dictation worksheets

(I've made our own; I write out a paragraph from their reading with no capitalization or punctuation; they supply that, and then we go over various grammar points in the paragraph, including punctuation/capitalization rules)

- correcting their own writing

(Sometime after they've completed writing, I go over the writing and circle in red errors, or draw a little red arrow in the margin next to the line where there's an error, and have them correct and explain what correction is needed; as they've gotten older, I have them go over their work first and find their own errors; the key is to NOT correct immediately after writing -- their brains need time to move from the writing process to the editing process.)

 

 

And here's a resource for punctuation rules:

"Commas Are Our Friends" by Joe Devine is an entertaining book that covers punctuation rules through three stories. You can also get the optional test booklet. See it at:http://rainbowresource.com/search.php?sid=1209483523-394129

 

 

Patience and perseverance! BEST of luck! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Jean in Wisc]

My son studied R&S grammar rules over and over and over and over. We corrected his composition papers over and over and over. And then we added Editor in Chief to our school work, and the improvement was fantastically dramatic!!!!! Can't promise it to work for all kids like it did mine, but it certainly was a painless way to do it!

 

I started with the beginner level because there is some "learning curve" with the computer program--finding what to click on for each problem. The "helps" or "hint" key (whatever it is called) was very useful at first.

 

I recommend it.

 

:-)