Is sentence diagramming required?

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  • May 20, 2009 at 5:54 am
    mama29
    Member

    Here in PA we have to test in the 8th grade and I was wondering if anyone familiar with the California Achievement Test knows if sentence diagramming is part of the test? I am considering Analytical Grammar, but the price is a consideration, especially since I have Simply Grammar on my bookshelf. My DS will be in the 7th grade, and I just want him to be prepared for the test in 8th grade. I just can’t settle on a grammar program.

    Kristi

    May 20, 2009 at 1:11 pm
    Inhisgrip
    Member

    I’m so in this boat right there with you!! I can’t wait to see the answers on this one. Analytical Grammar looks great – although it doesn’t look very CM to me. But, the price is also a consideration for us. I tried to justify it by splitting it by 3 years – and still have a hard time stomaching it. 🙁

    We are leaving for vacation tomorrow – maybe some rest and time to talk to hubby will clear my head.

    Blessings,

    Christine

    May 20, 2009 at 10:32 pm
    live2inspire
    Participant

    Hello Kristi.

    If you decide to use Simply Grammar, you could add diagramming with:

    The First Whole Book of Diagrams by Mary Daly

    http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/grammar-composition/first-whole-book-diagrams.htm

    and work through both using this as a guide ➡ http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/curriculum/grammar-syntax.html (you’ll need to scroll down a bit).

    In Christ,

    Rebecca

    May 21, 2009 at 3:06 pm
    Bookworm
    Participant

    I don’t know of any of the standardized tests that will have explicit diagramming, although I haven’t done the CAT. Diagramming is a very useful tool, especially for visual learners, but it isn’t the only way to get the job done. Very few public schools teach diagramming anymore, which makes me wonder if it is commonly covered on the standardized tests I have not seen or used yet, like the CAT. I do teach it, and I have used the Mary Daly book listed above, and also the grammar book I use in middle school years teaches it (Our Mother Tongue) And since I’m weird, we often pick hard or long sentences we encounter and diagram them for fun. 🙂 I especially like diagramming to help students “get” how the parts of a sentence relate to each other; this can be especially useful when studying other languages. And I find that diagramming is a part of grammar that my boys enjoy; it’s like a puzzle. Irresistible. 🙂 But any way you can find to teach how words relate to each other in a sentence will work well; I know of methods that use colored index cards, etc.

    May 21, 2009 at 4:24 pm
    Rachel White
    Participant

    Here’s another grammer program that was recommended to me for my kinesthetic/visual learners:

    http://www.winstongrammar.com/

    Rachel

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