How's Grammar Rec. going?

[KF2000]

Okay folks, fill me in. I would love to hear how the Grammar Recitation program is going for those who have started with book I. This was one other thing that my third grader struggled with this year, which surprised me because she has a really good memory. She studies Catechism, and learns those really well, but she seemed to burn out on the Grammar. Any suggestions? I am not panicking, as I think we will simply restart next year, as I will have another third grader coming along then.

Also, Tanya, could you share a note about how the book is done in the clasroom at Highlands? I am looking for any ideas to make it work for her.

Thanks in advance!
AMDG,
Sarah

[tanya]

Sarah,

This memorization is difficult for the students at HLS also. We now put the rule on the board and talk about it, and then the students memorize it. At the end of the week, they recite together the rules they have learned that week. But we no longer require them to do a full cumulative recitation because it is just too much with everything else they have to memorize. So, when we want to do a full recitation, the students recite the rules together using the list of rules in the back of the book. So, they are continuing to review all the rules, but they can read them rather than recite them from memory. And we also take this time to ask the grammar questions and see if the students know the answers, without requiring the exact answer that is in the book. The students still hear the rules regularly as they all read them together, and we continue to talk about them throughout the year. We just are no longer requiring a cumulative rote memorization of them.

Try this, and see if it helps.

Regards,

Tanya

[KF2000]

Thank you Tanya!! I am so glad I asked...your suggestions sound really reasonable, and I think she would enjoy it better that way. I am going to jot this down, and adjust.

We shall see...
AMDG,
Sarah

[pickandgrin]

Sarah, Great question! And Tanya, great reply and information. My son will be glad to hear of this modification!

[Kargo]

Questions

Tanya,

We are finishing week 33 of third grade and I am reviewing all of the teaching guidelines just to make sure we have accomplished all the goals we need in third grade. I do have a question about English Grammar Recitation. We memorized all the rules and my kids can recite them well. I understand that application is not the goal at this stage with grammar, but as I was reading the guidelines it sounds as if capitalization and punctuation application should be mastered by the end of the year. Am I correct? We are improving in application but not at the mastery stage yet.

Also, after reading your comment in this post about changes in the teaching of EGR at HLS, is there a change in philosophy from memorization to just continued familiarity of the rules? I am trying to decide whether or not to continue memorization for EGR in 4th grade because it did take such a significant amount of time this year and am curious about how best to proceed.

Thanks!

[tanya]

Hello.

Congratulations to your students on their memorization of the grammar rules! It sounds like you have done a great job here. Don't expect mastery of capitalization and punctuation at this stage. These are concepts that students continue to work on all through their school years in every subject. When I was teaching, I insisted on correct punctuation and capitalization in everything my students turned in. I was always amazed that they seemed to think these requirements for correct grammar were only for English class! I'll never forget the time a student raised her hand in the middle of a classical studies test and asked me if I would count off if she didn't capitalize 'Paris.' In the time it took her to ask the question, she could have written an entire line of capital P's!

The goal for our English Grammar Recitation is for students to become very familiar with rules that will help them to make good grammar decisions in their writing at a time when they memorize easily. But these are a lot of rules, so if it is a better use of your time to let your students recite them on a regular basis using their list of rules, that is fine. And they will benefit greatly from this rapid, regular recitation, even if they haven't memorized the rules. Also, you can make a practice of doing a rapid-fire review of the questions like we do in other classes. This is a great way to start a class with energy, and students enjoy the game-like atmosphere in a rapid-fire question and answer session. Don't require exact answers - you are just trying to make sure your students understand the questions and answers.

I hope this helps!

Tanya

[Kargo]

Thanks, Tanya. Your response helped clarify what I need to focus on. My kiddos still ask if they need to answer in "complete sentences with capital letters and periods". My favorite response now is, "What do you think you should do?"

[KF2000]

Kargo,
Great to hear you had such a great year with grammar rec! Have a nice break!

AMDG,
Sarah