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diagramming review...necessary or not?


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My rising 7th grader finished Get Smart Grammar (which is a one year complete diagramming program) last year.  She's doesn't retain information super well and I've been debating about whether to purchase Stay Smart Grammar, the review program by the same author, for more diagramming review.  Is it important for her to actually remember all the various parts of speech or is thorough exposure to them enough?

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If you are asking whether it is important in life to remember all of the little details of grammar (not just the names of the parts of speech) my answer is no.  The most important time in the real world where she will use her grammar knowledge will be when she edits her own writing (and that of others).  It is not absolutely necessary to know the names of things in order to understand their function.  Also, diagramming is a tool that works for some people and not others.  I love diagramming, but, frankly, if it is a total struggle for a person, it is unlikely they will use it in the real world (I don't actually use diagramming itself when I write, but I do use how it allows me to think about sentences.  More often though I use a version of MCT's four level analysis)

I write a lot of complex, academic text, and I read a lot of (graduate) student writing.  Here is where I use my grammar knowledge the most and where I see many students lacking:  

  • Ensuring that the subject and verb agree.  In the real world of high level writing, this is not necessarily straightforward.
  • Knowing where to put commas.  This primarily requires knowing about the different types of clauses and how to locate them.  But it requires an understanding of other things as well--phrases and how they are functioning in the sentence, series, etc.
  • Ensuring parallel structure.

(Again, the MCT grammar materials are a really good, low stress way to develop the habits of mind that lead to grammatically correct writing.  If you're going to do something , I'd highly recommend doing Magic Lens 1 and the corresponding practice book.  It would be easy to do over the summer or as a quick review during the school year.  I recommend doing it with her because MCT is best done as a conversation.)

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On 6/19/2018 at 8:02 AM, caedmyn said:

 Is it important for her to actually remember all the various parts of speech or is thorough exposure to them enough?

It will help her learn a foreign language more easily if she grasps basic parts of speech; on the other hand, some students finally understand and remember these BECAUSE of studying a foreign language. Diagramming is not necessary for understanding, but I encourage you to continue to review of parts of speech with her. 

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