Remedial writing-- forming sentences for 7th graders

[Shelydon]

I am teaching 10 7th graders with IEW.  We meet for 1.5 hours once a week, then they do homework.  I have done this for years with great results.  My group this year is really low, significantly below grade level and most can't put together a grammatically correct simple sentence. They don't understand subject/verb agreement, can't use plurals, tense hop, etc.  I would like to add a 'how to compose sentences' each week to see if we can shore up some skills.  Any suggestions on a workbook style curriculum I can use?  Or something printable from teachers pay teachers?

[Rosie_0801]

Have a look at Killgallon's books.

[Shelydon]

17 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Have a look at Killgallon's books.

Thanks!  I have these.  I think they are too advanced.  Here is a type of sentences I am seeing

in Chinese peoples gives grilled Scorpions.

like in Japan. Or chocolate silkworms. with Freed aunts.

 

 

 

[HomeAgain]

I would start them off with beginning diagramming: subject/predicate.  Just make them a worksheet with several blank simple diagrams.  Play games where you split the class in two and half get a noun and half get a verb deck.  The first two turn over a card and walk to the front of the room.  If the cards agree with each other, they shake hands.  If not, they bow and walk away.  Or noun can stand there and wait for a different verb to appear.  Progress to finding the subject/predicate in a sentence and underline/highlight each one.  After they get it down, build with one part of speech/part of sentence each week.

I would not give them worksheets that were not tailor made.  You have 7th graders that are significantly behind in written English.  Not one or two, but a group.  It's not an ability issue.  It's a 'what's being done at home' issue.  Giving them more work that isn't fully dovetailed into the class isn't going to get done.

[ScoutTN]

Agree with diagramming. Show what works. 

[Clarita]

Writing Skills by Diane Hanbury King. A is super basic, workbook 1 or 2? Either use the workbook or use the workbook as examples of activities so you can tailor it to what you are working on in class.

[EKS]

15 hours ago, Shelydon said:

They don't understand subject/verb agreement, can't use plurals, tense hop, etc.

Do they not use these in their speech as well?

[Shelydon]

15 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

I would start them off with beginning diagramming: subject/predicate.  Just make them a worksheet with several blank simple diagrams.  Play games where you split the class in two and half get a noun and half get a verb deck.  The first two turn over a card and walk to the front of the room.  If the cards agree with each other, they shake hands.  If not, they bow and walk away.  Or noun can stand there and wait for a different verb to appear.  Progress to finding the subject/predicate in a sentence and underline/highlight each one.  After they get it down, build with one part of speech/part of sentence each week.

I would not give them worksheets that were not tailor made.  You have 7th graders that are significantly behind in written English.  Not one or two, but a group.  It's not an ability issue.  It's a 'what's being done at home' issue.  Giving them more work that isn't fully dovetailed into the class isn't going to get done.

Fantastic ideas! The games are perfect.

This is a group of previously public schooled kiddos. The  parents really have no idea what they were taught previously. 

[Shelydon]

1 hour ago, EKS said:

Do they not use these in their speech as well?

They do.  It is very normal to use correct forms in speaking but not in writing.

14 hours ago, Clarita said:

Writing Skills by Diane Hanbury King. A is super basic, workbook 1 or 2? Either use the workbook or use the workbook as examples of activities so you can tailor it to what you are working on in class.

Thank you! 

[SilverMoon]

I would also go back to grammar. I pulled out Junior Analytical Grammar (which is level 1 now) for a teen I'm helping. It's 4th-5th grade level but it's not babyish. They can remember some of the terms but have no conceptual understanding. Our attempts to discuss what's wrong with an incomplete sentence, when they don't have the vocabulary to say "it needs a verb," simply aren't productive. In JAG they're learning basic sentence structure while picking up the vocabulary (with comprehension!) we'll need to go further. 

Edited September 25 by SilverMoon

[historically accurate]

Some activities from the Giggly Guide to Grammar may help. It's definitely good for the age group, and I can't truly remember, but I think some of the exercises would help with sentence structure, etc.

[EKS]

3 hours ago, Shelydon said:

It is very normal to use correct forms in speaking but not in writing.

I understand this.  But remediation would be different if they were also using incorrect forms in speech.

[Shelydon]

28 minutes ago, EKS said:

I understand this.  But remediation would be different if they were also using incorrect forms in speech.

Yes. I'd refer to an SLP for that. 

[Clarita]

You may also want to check out a book called Mechanically Inclined if you want fun activities for middle school age students who struggle with basic mechanics. It's written by a middle school teacher on how to teach grammar and mechanics. The reason he wrote the book is because he encountered what you encountered for years and this was the solution that he found works for him. Might be good for you because a lot of the activities are group oriented. 

[mathmarm]

We use, love and highly recommend Reasoning and Writing at grade level. Both of my kids write superbly for their ages/stages.

 

Since you have an older class, I recommend you investigate the Older Student, remedial condensed version called Expressive Writing I and/or II.

You could give the placement test and then get the level that the majority of them need. If it's like the elementary series then it's a scripted program with very well done exercises for the students to practice and grow on.

[forty-two]

On 9/24/2024 at 5:57 PM, Shelydon said:

Thanks!  I have these.  I think they are too advanced.  Here is a type of sentences I am seeing

in Chinese peoples gives grilled Scorpions.

like in Japan. Or chocolate silkworms. with Freed aunts.

Killgallon also proved too advanced a starting point for my ds.  We had been doing Writing Skills A, and he was doing well enough, but his sentences were extremely basic.  I suppose I could have kept going - the series covers compound and complex sentences - but his sisters had so much better sentence structure at his age that I decided to pause and go do some of what I had done with them that I hadn't done with him.  They'd really enjoyed Killgallon at his age, but ds was unable to do the imitations without a great deal of help from me.  After a few weeks, I paused Killgallon and started doing Drawing Sentences from the beginning, having him do both diagrams and imitations, starting right from subj/pred.  That's been what he's needed, though it's been slow going.  (He gets blank page syndrome, even with imitating very basic sentences, though he's slowing building up the ability.)

So another vote for diagramming and building sentences from the ground up.  Grammar for Writers (a program I pink-sparkly-heart *love*, but too advanced for your students) focuses on first and foremost determining "who did what", and aligning that with the subject/predicate.  I use that a lot with ds; he often assumes the subject (because it was mentioned in the previous sentence) - it helps him figure out what is missing in his sentence.  (It wasn't missing in his head, and it wasn't missing on the page (just in the current sentence), so having to explicitly state it again really baffled him for a while.  He sometimes ends up repeating everything, because he's not sure which bits he needs and which bits he doesn't.  Relating it back to "who did what" is helping him identify the parts he needs.)

[Shelydon]

On 9/26/2024 at 12:34 PM, Clarita said:

You may also want to check out a book called Mechanically Inclined if you want fun activities for middle school age students who struggle with basic mechanics. It's written by a middle school teacher on how to teach grammar and mechanics. The reason he wrote the book is because he encountered what you encountered for years and this was the solution that he found works for him. Might be good for you because a lot of the activities are group oriented. 

This sounds great!

[Shelydon]

On 9/26/2024 at 2:06 PM, forty-two said:

Killgallon also proved too advanced a starting point for my ds.  We had been doing Writing Skills A, and he was doing well enough, but his sentences were extremely basic.  I suppose I could have kept going - the series covers compound and complex sentences - but his sisters had so much better sentence structure at his age that I decided to pause and go do some of what I had done with them that I hadn't done with him.  They'd really enjoyed Killgallon at his age, but ds was unable to do the imitations without a great deal of help from me.  After a few weeks, I paused Killgallon and started doing Drawing Sentences from the beginning, having him do both diagrams and imitations, starting right from subj/pred.  That's been what he's needed, though it's been slow going.  (He gets blank page syndrome, even with imitating very basic sentences, though he's slowing building up the ability.)

So another vote for diagramming and building sentences from the ground up.  Grammar for Writers (a program I pink-sparkly-heart *love*, but too advanced for your students) focuses on first and foremost determining "who did what", and aligning that with the subject/predicate.  I use that a lot with ds; he often assumes the subject (because it was mentioned in the previous sentence) - it helps him figure out what is missing in his sentence.  (It wasn't missing in his head, and it wasn't missing on the page (just in the current sentence), so having to explicitly state it again really baffled him for a while.  He sometimes ends up repeating everything, because he's not sure which bits he needs and which bits he doesn't.  Relating it back to "who did what" is helping him identify the parts he needs.)

Thanks-- that's a good idea

[Shelydon]

On 9/26/2024 at 12:53 PM, mathmarm said:

We use, love and highly recommend Reasoning and Writing at grade level. Both of my kids write superbly for their ages/stages.

 

Since you have an older class, I recommend you investigate the Older Student, remedial condensed version called Expressive Writing I and/or II.

You could give the placement test and then get the level that the majority of them need. If it's like the elementary series then it's a scripted program with very well done exercises for the students to practice and grow on.

I had not heard of this, thank you 

[mathmarm]

On 10/24/2024 at 3:42 PM, Shelydon said:

I had not heard of this, thank you 

Rereading the OP again, I think level 2 would be perfect.

 

Level 1 seems like a better fit for Remedial Elementary and ESOL students. Level 2 starts with 10 "pre lesson" on the essential sentence composing skills and then a 45-lesson program.

 

I heard that the pre lessons can be doubled up on--1.5 or 2 each day.

[Malam]

On 9/26/2024 at 10:53 PM, mathmarm said:

We use, love and highly recommend Reasoning and Writing at grade level. Both of my kids write superbly for their ages/stages.

 

Since you have an older class, I recommend you investigate the Older Student, remedial condensed version called Expressive Writing I and/or II.

You could give the placement test and then get the level that the majority of them need. If it's like the elementary series then it's a scripted program with very well done exercises for the students to practice and grow on.

Which materials do you need? Some of it seems very expensive, e.g.

https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/product/reasoning-writing-level-teacher-materials-mcgraw-hill/9780026849241.html

https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/product/expressive-writing-level-1-teacher-materials-mcgraw-hill/9780076035878.html