Ok so I have a problem with ds writing run on sentences, Does anyone have any suggestions, he is 13 yrs old
He could come HS w/my son or better yet we could come there. He is 13 yo and writes the shortest sentence possible. Maybe they could help each other. Sorry, I don't have any help, just bad humor.
To start with, I'd limit him to one idea per sentence. Of course, he'll start out sounding like a toddler, but that's a good way to begin reigning him in. At least IMO. I have a couple of friends who teach college comp. I'll ask them what they suggest.
Look at Jensen's Format writing. It goes through step by step of how to write a paragraph. They build it into different types of paragraphs and then into a 5 paragraph essay. It is a great program especially for struggling writers who need rules to follow.
Try having him read aloud what he just wrote... or better yet, you read it back to him. Don't take a breath where the pauses should be. Just plow right through so he can see where the confusion is. That's how I was taught. Sometimes the ear learns faster than the brain.
I do this with mine too, when his sentences don't make sense. I make him read it exactly as he has written it. He reads it as he wants it to read, but I make him go back and read it like he wrote it. Then he rewrites it and then rereads it.
I'm trying to teach mine that punctuation is like traffic signs. you have stop signs(periods) and yield signs(commas). when you don't have traffic signs you end up in a car crash!(run-on sentence) We also use outlines to visually teach the separation of ideas.
My 12 year old has to work on paragraph writing, too. When asked to summerize a story, he will put in minor things instead of sticking to the highlights. I just have him write the summary then go over it with him, making corrections but its not getting through to him. I think this week, when he does this I am going to get a highlighter out and literally highlight the main points of the story. Then try to explain to him how minor the other points are.
Is this a boy thing? My daughter has no trouble writing paragraphs or doing English work. It seems that everything language arts is hard for ds.
My son had a huge problem with paragraph writing. The book I used for him was "Jensen" paragraph writing and it was excellent!!! A very step by step approach.
This is why I liked the Writing strands, it has you break everything down. Ds is about to start back at that this week. Same age btw.
I have college freshman students who have problems with run on sentences! :-D As an English professor, I DO NOT recommend natural pause method at all, as it causes students to put comma EVERYWHERE, which leads to a miserable situation later in writing life! I recommend picking up a small, cheap writer's guide, or using this website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/ It is an online writer's guide. Just pick ONE element to focus on at a time, and for that week or so, whenever he writes, work on that one element. For run ons, there are several types. Look just at the comma splice to start, show a correct and incorrect sentence. Provide options for correcting the incorrect sentence. Then, when he is writing or revising any work, have him identify if he used any and correct them. Once he feels comfortable, move onto the next type of run on sentence. Or, start with comma basics, and do the same thing. HOWEVER, a comma usually is NOT the fix for a run on sentence. So don't teach him "just to stick a comma in" -- that will not work at all. Good luck and happy writing!
