Goal. Provide a novel practice opportunity with clauses and phrases. Goal. Provide opportunity for kids to collaborate. Goal. Minimize my role in the learning process. Goal. Provide a fun learning experience for kids.

Wednesdays are grammar days in 211. We are currently venturing into the realm of phrases (prep and and appositive), and I wanted to come up with an engaging way for kids to review clauses and practice phrases, so I invented Sentence Scramble (guidelines below). We have already had a number of practice and performance opportunities with simple, compound, and complex sentences, and we have just begun working with phrases. Last week I introduced prepositional phrases, and today I will briefly (5 minute mini-lesson) introduce appositive phrases. And then we will get our game on with Sentence Scramble.

I have begun using color as a means a to make distinctions among parts of a sentence. My hope is that it creates a more memorable anchor for kids when they are asked to perform. I still use worksheets for practice, but I also seek novel ways to create experiences. I believe kids better remember experiences, not worksheets, so I pursue those experiential moments.

For this edition of the game, I have only made distinct the things that we have covered. As time gets on and we add elements, I will include those in future editions. In the example above, there are two infinitive phrases, but we have not covered them, so I just “lumped them” into the clause category. For now, I am only concerned with having the kids practice what I have put in front of them. I am introducing appositive phrases for the first time today, so my expectations are realistic in that regard. I placed them at a higher point value to encourage risk taking. The kids may use whatever resources they choose (notes, handbook, internet, etc.), but I am not available for the twenty minutes of game play.

We will not have time to score and determine winners today, so we will do that tomorrow. My plan here is to have teams exchange and score each other’s stories. What I like about this is that the kids will have additional opportunities with sentences and phrases through different lenses; they will critique their peers’ work. Again, I look to create experiences, anchors.

 

As with all things in 211, we will see how it goes. Just another opportunity to do, reflect, and do better. On another note, I have a parent who has taken me up on my open invitation to attend class. However, in having to reach a compromise with her son, it will not be during his class. I tried to sway Nic, but he wasn’t having it. Maybe next time.

Today’s Trail

Along today’s trail we will…

…begin with Smiles and Frowns.

…play Sentence Scramble.

…reflect in our Journey Journals.

…end with a Sappy Sy Rhyme.

Happy Wednesday, all. Oops. Post-publish update. I just realized that I should have put the prep phrases in the the two appositive phrases in purple. I will point out my error to kids, and I will also tell them that I missed out on 2 points from my error. Dang. Gotta do better.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.