Reco for 4th Grader Who Doesn't Know Where to Put a Period

[umsami]

I was surprised that my daughter has no idea where to put a period in a sentence.  Her Dad is the same way.... he'll write a run on sentence that last an entire page...so maybe it's genetic? LOL   Ideas for a good supplemental grammar/writing thing which may help?

[EKS]

How about MCT's language arts materials?  I'd start with Island level--so Grammar Island, Sentence Island, and Practice Island.  I found that MCT really helped my kids to understand exactly what a sentence was, its parts, and how to punctuate based on grammar (and not just how things "sound").

[8filltheheart]

A stronger foundation in grammar would help.  When my kids write run-ons, I have them search for subjects, verbs, and modifiers.  It will help them identify the thoughts of a single sentence.

[redsquirrel]

Have you done any dictation?  It helps kids get a feel for what a sentence is like, how long they should be etc. 

 

Also, do you expect her to answer school questions in complete sentences when she speaks?  Things like..... "Who was the King of England during the American Revolutionary War"  She might answer "King George" and that would be correct. But a complete sentence would be "King George was the King of England during the American Revolutionary War."  (And I know that is a stupid example but I am drinking my first cup of coffee and the kids are playing Hamilton, so forgive me)

If a kid can't think how to answer in a complete sentence I start them off.  I might say "Please tell me Newton's first law of motion.  Answer in a complete sentence. Newton's first law of motion is....."  If she says "Inertia."  You reply "That's correct, but I need it in a complete sentence. Repeat what I say next before you say inertia: Newton's first law of motion is...." I don't require this in every day speech because that is unnatural and weird. But, I do require it when we are doing narrations and any ask and response school work.

 

And what have you used for grammar? If you need to, go back and review as much as you need. Have you diagrammed sentences regularly?  Diagramming can really help a child to see exactly how a sentence works. And having to diagram a run on can help them see where they went wrong.

 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

My son had absolutely no problem with this until October.  The first of October, he woke up and could only write fragments and run-ons.  It was ridiculous.  

 

I had him do the following:

- Think up one full "idea".

- Say it aloud.

- Write it down on a (pre-made) strip of paper.  

- Number the strips as he uses them.  

 

Forcing the child to say the sentence out loud before writing it helps limit it to one idea.  Writing them on discrete slips of paper helped him see that each was its own sentence.  

 

We did this for a week, and then poof, the problem disappeared.  

 

I still don't know what that was all about, but give it a shot and see if it helps.  

[OneStepAtATime]

You might look into Fix-It Grammar since punctuation is worked on in every lesson, the lessons are very short so you wouldn't be burdening her with a ton of extra work on top of her homework from school, and you would only need to purchase the TM. That would give you access to the student book electronically so you could print out however many copies you needed (just thinking if you ran into similar issues with your other kids you could use it with them, too, without having to make an additional purchase). Plus it is a 100% money back guarantee if it didn't work out well.

 

And except for setting up the notebook at the very beginning it would be virtually NO prep needed for you or her before each lesson.

 

Give the placement test. She might be better off in book two.

Edited December 11, 2016 by OneStepAtATime