How to Teach Sentence Diagramming
Start by teaching the basics., Begin naming the parts of speech., Help students determine what a subject and a predicate is., Discuss how certain words modify other words., Encourage the students to help one another.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Start by teaching the basics.
Talk about how words function; you don’t need to focus on the names of words right at the beginning of your lesson.
Help your students begin to see how words interact with each other.
For instance, you can have students act out short sentences to see what is doing the action (the subject/noun), what is the action (the verb), and how they relate to one another.
Try having them act out sentences like “Kelly jumps.” and “Carla writes.” Once the students learn those, move on to more complicated sentences, such as “Kelly jumps quickly over the blue desk.” and “Carla writes in cursive letters on the board.” -
Step 2: Begin naming the parts of speech.
Teach nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.
Make the connections for your students between the relationships you discussed and the formal names of the parts of speech. , This is the first step in formal diagramming; everything before this step is an attempt to lay the groundwork.
Find the subject.
Go back to your earlier examples, expanding on the exact nature of the subject, which is the thing that does the action in sentence.
For instance, in “Kelly jumps quickly over the blue desk,” “Kelly” is the subject.
Talk about the predicate.
Teach your students about how the second half of the sentence has the action in it, as well as modifiers to help make sense of what is going on, such as a direct object.
The predicate in this case is “jumps quickly over the blue desk.” , When doing this, link the discussion to your earlier talks on relationships in sentences.
Point out which words in the sentence are modifying other words.
Discuss how words like prepositions, articles, and conjunctions connect everything together to help the sentence make sense.
For instance, “quickly” is modifying “jumps,” as it tells how Kelly did the jump. , When diagramming, write the sentence down on the board so that all the students can follow along.
To reinforce the information, have them work in groups to diagram their own sentences.
You can also assign groups to learn about each part of speech and teach it to the rest of the class to help reinforce the lessons.
That way, they learn one part of speech really well themselves and help the other kids learn it, too. -
Step 3: Help students determine what a subject and a predicate is.
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Step 4: Discuss how certain words modify other words.
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Step 5: Encourage the students to help one another.
Detailed Guide
Talk about how words function; you don’t need to focus on the names of words right at the beginning of your lesson.
Help your students begin to see how words interact with each other.
For instance, you can have students act out short sentences to see what is doing the action (the subject/noun), what is the action (the verb), and how they relate to one another.
Try having them act out sentences like “Kelly jumps.” and “Carla writes.” Once the students learn those, move on to more complicated sentences, such as “Kelly jumps quickly over the blue desk.” and “Carla writes in cursive letters on the board.”
Teach nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles, conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections.
Make the connections for your students between the relationships you discussed and the formal names of the parts of speech. , This is the first step in formal diagramming; everything before this step is an attempt to lay the groundwork.
Find the subject.
Go back to your earlier examples, expanding on the exact nature of the subject, which is the thing that does the action in sentence.
For instance, in “Kelly jumps quickly over the blue desk,” “Kelly” is the subject.
Talk about the predicate.
Teach your students about how the second half of the sentence has the action in it, as well as modifiers to help make sense of what is going on, such as a direct object.
The predicate in this case is “jumps quickly over the blue desk.” , When doing this, link the discussion to your earlier talks on relationships in sentences.
Point out which words in the sentence are modifying other words.
Discuss how words like prepositions, articles, and conjunctions connect everything together to help the sentence make sense.
For instance, “quickly” is modifying “jumps,” as it tells how Kelly did the jump. , When diagramming, write the sentence down on the board so that all the students can follow along.
To reinforce the information, have them work in groups to diagram their own sentences.
You can also assign groups to learn about each part of speech and teach it to the rest of the class to help reinforce the lessons.
That way, they learn one part of speech really well themselves and help the other kids learn it, too.
About the Author
John Stevens
Enthusiastic about teaching crafts techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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