Help me... Full sentences

[Shred Betty]

My DD 8 yrs old is having trouble motivating herself to answer in complete sentences. We are half way through WWE lvl 1 and FLL lvl 1 in our first year of homeschool. By how much she resists using full sentences in speech, it's now obvious to me that we've never expected her to speak in full sentences before... She always just defaults to say the answer only.

 

I have explained to her that it's an important step to help her be ready for writing, and I've also tried speaking back her fragments to her, showing her how they don't really "make sense" on their own without saying more: like who, or what you are talking about, not just the answer.

 

I still get whining. She can do it well but some days begs to skip the full sentence requirement. I know if I give an inch here I'll be asking for more begging and whining so don't like to let the bar lower. It's getting to the point where even if I rephrase it and ask her to repeat it in a full sentence she is refusing to say it again.

 

Anybody BTDT and have any insights here? Would you agree I need to keep firm on this, or would you let her drop the expectation?

[redsquirrel]

Do you model what a complete sentence is?  I always gave a helping hand with this.  So, that might look like this:

 

Me (reading from SOTW AG) "What language did the Celts speak?  The Celts spoke....."

 

Kid: "Celtic"

 

Me: "Please answer in a complete sentence. What language did the Celts speak? The Celts spoke...."

 

Kid: "The Celts spoke Celtic"

 

I swear I did that for every. single. sentence in WWE and SOTW AG, lol. 

 

I always required answers for school be in complete sentences. I didn't require it for every day conversation because that seems silly and artificial.

 

And I personally wouldn't back down, but my kids are easy to teach. They generally do what I ask of them so it's not a big deal for me to stop and tell them that we aren't doing anything else until I get the answer I asked for.  I'm pretty sure we had the complete sentence battle back in first grade and it didn't last long.  But, if I had the sort of kid who was challenging me at every step, I would pick and choose my battles with care.

 

And I do think it is an important requirement.  It's only going to get more common. As she gets older and moves into middle school, she is expected to write out complete sentences for her work, to show her math work etc. It's much easier to learn to do it now than to have to figure it out when older. And you are absolutely correct that it will help her later on in her writing. She will have an easier time understanding why a sentence is correct if she instinctively knows what one should sound like.

 

And aside, my elder boy went off to high school and one of the many things he found confusing was all the classrooms had signs in them saying things like "Yes, it does have to be in a complete sentence," And every teacher would mention that all work had to be in complete sentences. DS1 asked me "Maybe no one knows what a complete sentence is? It seems to be very difficult for them."  He was baffled, lol.

[Lori D.]

Sounds like she is getting the concept, as she is able to do it and remembers to do it sometimes, so it sounds like it is more of a "practicing to strengthen weak muscles" type of thing...

 

If so, and if DD does well with a bit of competition or challenge, how about doing it as an M&M or chocolate chip challenge (or whatever small treat that you both like):

 

Line up a row of the treats; explain that on the TV game show Jeopardy, the contestant can't just give the answer and earn the points, but must remember to phrase it in the correct way -- for Jeopardy it is in the form of a complete sentence question. (Maybe even watch part of a show so she can see how it works.) For your challenge, the correct form will be the answer in a complete sentence statement.

 

So, each time you ask the question, if DD gives the answer in the form of a complete sentence, then SHE gets the M&M or chocolate chip. However, if DD only gives the answer, and not in the correct form (a complete sentence) -- then YOU get the opportunity to answer correctly and in the form of a complete sentence -- and if you do, YOU get the M&M or chocolate chip.

 

Make it extra fun, and after DD gets so many in a row (like 3 or 5 or whatever works out with the number of questions in the book), then SHE gets to be the game show host and ask the next question of YOU. Sometimes you will forget to answer in a complete sentence ;), and then she has the opportunity to answer in the correct format. ;)

 

Making boring things into a game REALLY helped our DSs clear those picky detail things in the elementary grades. :)

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by Lori D.

[Shred Betty]

Do you model what a complete sentence is? I always gave a helping hand with this. So, that might look like this:

 

Me (reading from SOTW AG) "What language did the Celts speak? The Celts spoke....."

 

Kid: "Celtic"

 

Me: "Please answer in a complete sentence. What language did the Celts speak? The Celts spoke...."

 

Kid: "The Celts spoke Celtic"

 

I swear I did that for every. single. sentence in WWE and SOTW AG, lol.

 

I always required answers for school be in complete sentences. I didn't require it for every day conversation because that seems silly and artificial.

 

And I personally wouldn't back down, but my kids are easy to teach. They generally do what I ask of them so it's not a big deal for me to stop and tell them that we aren't doing anything else until I get the answer I asked for. I'm pretty sure we had the complete sentence battle back in first grade and it didn't last long. But, if I had the sort of kid who was challenging me at every step, I would pick and choose my battles with care.

 

And I do think it is an important requirement. It's only going to get more common. As she gets older and moves into middle school, she is expected to write out complete sentences for her work, to show her math work etc. It's much easier to learn to do it now than to have to figure it out when older. And you are absolutely correct that it will help her later on in her writing. She will have an easier time understanding why a sentence is correct if she instinctively knows what one should sound like.

 

And aside, my elder boy went off to high school and one of the many things he found confusing was all the classrooms had signs in them saying things like "Yes, it does have to be in a complete sentence," And every teacher would mention that all work had to be in complete sentences. DS1 asked me "Maybe no one knows what a complete sentence is? It seems to be very difficult for them." He was baffled, lol.

es, yes, and yes! My kid is usually very easy to teach too. Also I am not having to fight about every little thing thank God. Sometimes it's begging for a day off or begging to be done for the day but this just happens to bug her I think.

 

i haven't been modeling it first but will try it, thx!

Edited November 8, 2016 by Shred Betty

[Shred Betty]

Sounds like she is getting the concept, as she is able to do it and remembers to do it sometimes, so it sounds like it is more of a "practicing to strengthen weak muscles" type of thing...

 

If so, and if DD does well with a bit of competition or challenge, how about doing it as an M&M or chocolate chip challenge (or whatever small treat that you both like):

 

Line up a row of the treats; explain that on the TV game show Jeopardy, the contestant can't just give the answer and earn the points, but must remember to phrase it in the correct way -- for Jeopardy it is in the form of a complete sentence question. (Maybe even watch part of a show so she can see how it works.) For your challenge, the correct form will be the answer in a complete sentence statement.

 

So, each time you ask the question, if DD gives the answer in the form of a complete sentence, then SHE gets the M&M or chocolate chip. However, if DD only gives the answer, and not in the correct form (a complete sentence) -- then YOU get the opportunity to answer correctly and in the form of a complete sentence -- and if you do, YOU get the M&M or chocolate chip.

 

Make it extra fun, and after DD gets so many in a row (like 3 or 5 or whatever works out with the number of questions in the book), then SHE gets to be the game show host and ask the next question of YOU. Sometimes you will forget to answer in a complete sentence ;), and then she has the opportunity to answer in the correct format. ;)

 

Making boring things into a game REALLY helped our DSs clear those picky detail things in the elementary grades. :)

oh thank you I can already tell this will be so fun :) no more whining, yippee! Sometimes I read the WWE and when we get to the questions I have no idea myself of the answer! Haha

 

My only reservation is if I put the game away, will the whining come back in force and begging for more candy/games?

Edited November 8, 2016 by Shred Betty

[Lori D.]

Chocolate chips were my major friend in those elementary years. They are small so it's not like I was stuffing my kids with sugar, and yet the kids loved them, even if they were only getting a small handful enough to work for them. I guess Mary Poppins was right: a spoonful of (chocolate chips) makes the (schooling) go down...  :laugh:

Edited November 8, 2016 by Lori D.

[Lori D.]

oh thank you I can already tell this will be so fun :) no more whining, yippee! Sometimes I read the WWE and when we get to the questions I have no idea myself of the answer! Haha

 

My only reservation is if I put the game away, will the whining come back in force and begging for more candy/games?

 

No harm in doing it as a game for the rest of the semester, or into the spring semester if that's how long it takes to ingrain the habit. Then switch the game over to some other area you're having trouble with.

 

Mmmm, chocolate chips...   :drool:

Edited November 8, 2016 by Lori D.

[Shred Betty]

No harm in doing it as a game for the rest of the semester, or into the spring semester if that's how long it takes to ingrain the habit. Then switch the game over to some other area you're having trouble with.

 

Mmmm, chocolate chips...   :drool:

True, true! lucky for me I have a Costco sized bag of chips in my pantry lol!

[Tanikit]

It is not natural for people to respond to oral questions in full sentences - my child also fought me on this when doing WWE. I just insisted and she knows it is only for WWE or writing answers to comprehension questions now that she is in school. It would be very unnatural if I asked her: Where are you going? for her to answer "I am going to the shops." It is far more natural just to say "to the shops..." but writing does need to occur in full sentences - I see WWE as a step towards that.

[Guest]

Yeah it can really take some kids a while.

 

Think if it as something she's learning now, not something she should know already.

[lanalouwho]

I always thought that answering in a complete sentence felt very artificial. If someone asks me a question, I just tell them the answer. If I'm answering a written question, then the necessary information is already written. However, it makes sense to do it if I'm writing the answer to an oral question. In that case, a complete sentence is the only way it would make sense when you go back to read it.

Maybe she just doesn't understand the benefit of the practice. I would try having her write her answers in a composition book so she can see that it has to make sense standing on its own, without the question.

 

Of course, the chocolate chips thing sounds more fun.

 

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