Oh that's awful. I do have some strategies that are fun for kids, and you could also mention the names of the parts of speech. This is from the book Interactions by Leif Fearn and Nancy Farnan. I'm taking Dr. Fearn's writing class right now, and he is wonderful. Very inspiring.
Given Word Sentences step 1: The teacher picks a word (any word) and asks the students to think of a sentence using the word: "Think of a word that contains the word rain. Write the sentence in your mind. Everyone have one?" Then ask for a volunteer to share his/her sentence. Have 5-6 students share their sentences. Write 2-3 of the sentences on the board. Step 2: This time, teacher dictates how long the sentence is: "Think of a sentence containing the word rain that is 5 words long." Step 3: Teacher dictates position of word in sentence: "Think of a sentence using the word rain in the first position" ex: Rain fell to the ground. Can also dictate position and sentence length. Each step requires more concentration at the sentence level. Variation: This time, have the sentence up on the board with a word erased. If you want to teach about adjectives, have the adjective erased: She wore a __________ dress. Solicit answers about what could go in the blank. Write them all up on the board in the blank (so after writing the answers, you will have a list vertically above and below the sentence) Then tell students: "All of these words fit in this hole. Do you know what these words are called when they are in this hole? An adjective." This gets the students thinking about parts of speech in relation to the sentencem, which makes sense since some words can be more than 1 part of speech depending on the sentence. I highly recommend this book, it is filled with practical strategies that can easily be applied. I also like Mechanically Inclined, and even went to a workshop with the author, but it was still overwhelming for me. Dr. Fearn's book has easy strategies that are quick and effective. On 4/5/07, May Dartez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi Heather, > > They have to know the actual names, although some questions address > usage as well. > > Typical questions read like: > > 1. Anyone may come to the party. > > Anyone is a > a. adjective > b. indefinite pronoun > c. demonstrative adjective > > > Or, > > 2. Which of the following sentences contains a predicate adjective? > > or > > 3. Jose and Sarah went to the store. > > Jose and Sarah make a > > a. compound subject > b. compound predicate > c. compound sentence > d. none of the above > > > or > > 4. Sarah gave the _________ to Jose. > > This sentence is missing : > > a. indirect object > b. direct object > c. verb > d. adjective > > > Some usage, for example: > > 1. I left the water running in the kitchen sink, while I ran to answer > the telephone. 2____________ I forgot to turn off the > water, the sink almost overflowed: > > Which transition word best completes the sentence? > > A. Therefore > B. Since > C. Within > D. First > > > or > > 2. Which word BEST fills in the blank in the sentence below? > > There's the girl ____________ books I found! > > A. whom > B. who's > C. whose > which > > > One practice question reads: > > 24. Which World Wide Web site would be a good source of information for > a paper on the history of Georgia? > > A. www.atlanta.com > B. www.europe.com > C. www.travel_georgia.com > D. www.georgia_history.com > > > This would seem like a straightforward question, except for one of the > others following it: > > 27. On which Web site would you most likely find the latest > presidential poll? > > A. www.cnn.com > B. www.ushistory.com > C. www.presidents.com > D. www.usgovernment.com > > I noticed while my students were taking their benchmark that they were > all marking > > C. www.presidents.com.....clearly, not the answer. > > But if you go by the logic of question 17, you would think it would be. > How confusing!! > > May > > > > > On Apr 5, 2007, at 4:07 PM, Heather Poland wrote: > > > On The Test, do they have to be able to identify the actual names of > > the > > parts of speech, or do they have to pick out a correct sentence, or a > > correct usage? > > > > On 4/5/07, May Dartez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> > >> > >> I am on spring break right now, but when we return to school on > >> Monday, > >> I will have one week to > >> finish preparing my sixth-graders for our state test. > >> > >> In Georgia, our kids are required to know an absolutely ridiculous > >> amount of grammar terms and skills: > >> > >> simple/complete subject/predicate > >> every part of speech, including SIX types of pronouns: indefinite, > >> demonstrative, interrogative, subject, object, etc. ) > >> compound/complex/simple sentences > >> punctuation > >> dependent/independent clauses > >> tone/mood > >> research skills (key words, which website will contain which > >> information, reading a bibliography, table of contents, index, etc.) > >> verb tenses > >> transition words > >> topic/closing sentences > >> unifying idea of a paragraph > >> predicate nouns > >> predicate adjectives > >> direct object > >> indirect object > >> object of preposition > >> fragments > >> run-ons > >> > >> etc. etc. > >> > >> My kids have done a great job this year with all of this stuff, but > >> there is SO MUCH of it. I need to review all of this stuff in 3-4 > >> 90-minute class periods and don't want to completely bore the kids to > >> death. Also, they are so squirmy and don't do well with a lot of > >> direct > >> instruction. > >> > >> Any ideas for preparing my kids for the state tests without just > >> making > >> them completely shut down (especially my one group of strugglers are > >> getting very frustrated with all the grammar) would be so greatly > >> appreciated. I want my kids to be prepared, but I don't want us to > >> have > >> a miserable week next week. > >> > >> May > >> _______________________________________________ > >> The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > >> > >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > >> > >> Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > - Heather > > > > "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of > > man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments > > fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; > > new races build others. But in the world of books are > > volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet > > live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were > > written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men > > centuries dead." --Clarence Day > > > > "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little > > good evidence exists that there's any educational substance > > behind the accountability and testing movement." > > —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds > > > > "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose > > funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase > > funding. " > > —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate > > _______________________________________________ > > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > > > _______________________________________________ > The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org > > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive > -- - Heather "The world of books is the most remarkable creation of man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out; new races build others. But in the world of books are volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men centuries dead." --Clarence Day "While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little good evidence exists that there's any educational substance behind the accountability and testing movement." —Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds "When our children fail competency tests the schools lose funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase funding. " —Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
