Willie J. Elder
Day One
: Objective Students should be able to combine a noun and verb phrase to create a sentence.
Materials: blackboard, chalk, eraser, composition paper, pens
Procedure
: The teacher provides the student with noun phrases and verb phrases. The student is taught to combine both phrases to create a complete sentence. This activity should be a group exercise.
Example
: The teacher should construct 15-20 examples like the following. The students should be able to complete the assignment after the lOth example.
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Who or What
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What happened?
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1. Tony
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fixed the tire = complete sentence
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2. The tall basketball player
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+
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dunked the ball = complete sentence
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The teacher must specify a rule is to be used to join the phrases together. A means to convey this idea would be to give them a basic math problem where they add two numbers to form a greater number. The rule is dictated by the size which indicates the operation. Similarly the + can be used as a rule to have students add the two phrases.
Rationale
: The students should draw an analogy between the precision of math and the precision required in the combining operation. This exercise should facilitate the development of basic understandings essential for later use of this technique.
Reinforcement
: A homework assignment can be a means of reinforcing this basic operation. Also, it may be helpful to make signs which forces students to distinguish the who or what’s from the what happened’s. Another student can be the rule and another the output or complete sentence. This activity should stress the concept of adding to form synthesis.
