Do I need to diagram too?

[LMD]

So I'm using MCT town and Classical Writing Aesop B with my daughter, who will be 10 soon.  It's all going well.  She loves to write, and picks things up (grammar, punctuation etc.) fairly naturally.  I have Harvey's Grammar on the shelf for when we start Homer (next January most likely).

 

In Classical Writing it says to start with sentence diagramming exercises.  We do the sentence analysis in Town and she does quite well with it.  I think she would enjoy sentence diagramming, maybe just a sentence or two a day.  

I've never done it before, we hardly did any grammar at school, so I have no idea what I'm looking for.

 

Any recommendations for bite size, easy to implement sentence diagramming?  :D 

[TerriMI]

Diagramming is an important way to teach sentences.  The study of sentences, how to write them, how to read them, is the study of syntax, which is thinking about how the parts of speech work in a sentence.  To write sentences well and confidently, it takes more than the knowledge of the eight parts of speech and how to label them in a sentence.  The parts of speech have a job, a function, in the sentence.  This is what diagramming teaches in a visual way.  Teaching syntax is essential and so using diagramming is one of the most important tools in doing that.

 

I would recommend Mary Daly's diagramming lessons for an easy start.  They are simple enough for those who know nothing but the parts of speech and how to recognize them in a sentence.  And there is enough of them to get good practice.

[Farrar]

Diagramming is an important way to teach sentences.  The study of sentences, how to write them, how to read them, is the study of syntax, which is thinking about how the parts of speech work in a sentence.  To write sentences well and confidently, it takes more than the knowledge of the eight parts of speech and how to label them in a sentence.  The parts of speech have a job, a function, in the sentence.  This is what diagramming teaches in a visual way.  Teaching syntax is essential and so using diagramming is one of the most important tools in doing that.

 

I would recommend Mary Daly's diagramming lessons for an easy start.  They are simple enough for those who know nothing but the parts of speech and how to recognize them in a sentence.  And there is enough of them to get good practice.

 

I have a feeling you're saying this without having seen or done the MCT sentence analysis. MCT sentence analysis is just as deep as diagramming. It's just a different tool. The MCT analysis is way beyond labeling the parts of speech. It's an "8 level analysis" and includes pretty much all the syntax you would learn in diagramming. Unless the OP wants to switch to a different system for some reason or unless her dd just loves grammar and would find it fun, then I think it's unnecessary to do diagramming.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think MCT's sentence analysis is enough.  If you happen to have a kid who loves grammar and you think your kid would enjoy diagramming then go for it, but I really don't think it is necessary.  Diagramming isn't even necessary IMO.  It's a tool to help understand grammar and sentence structure, but so is MCT's sentence analysis.

 

 

[Reefgazer]

Agree with the others - either diagram or do MCT analysis, but doing both seems overkill to me.

[wendyroo]

This is a long way down the road for me, but my plan is to do MCT sentence analysis with my kids and then in late elementary or middle school spend a few weeks playing around with diagramming just so they have a brief introduction to the topic.  "Diagramming sentences" does come up occasionally in books, movies and popular culture, so I would like them to have a general idea of the purpose of diagramming and what diagrammed sentences look like, but I certainly don't care if they know all the details of how to diagram gerunds or compound adjectives.

 

Wendy

[Bluegoat]

Something helpful to remember I think is that diagramming isn't some kind of universal technique with an age-old history.  It was developed in the Victorian period, which makes sense when you think about their facination with classification.  It was also largely an American thing.  And while neoclassical students tend to do it in one particular way, there are in fact a numer of different methods for doing it. 

 

My view is that it is useful if your student finds it useful as a method for looking at grammar - there is no real reason to learn it as a thing in itself unless you find it fun, like learning Klingon.  Kids that are very visual might find it a nice way to organize their thinking, but if you are using a different method, there is no good reason to double up.  It would be like teaching two different ways to parse Latin texts - if the first one works for you, why bother with a second? 

[SparklyUnicorn]

ack...having some browser issues will fix later...

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

I think it is important. I plan to use MCT with my oldest next year, and we have been using Shurley, but i do wish diagramming were included. However, I plan to get a supplemental book and go over it for a month or so after MCT, and I am considering doing additional advanced grammar in high school, such as Warriners. I think the sentence analysis is great, but I want them to know diagramming too. It does not have to be done at the same time as MCT though.