[Elmsprings]

Do you use them? If so, what do you like most about them?

I'm curious...thanks!

[choppie70]

I use them. I started with Jivey's resources, but then read Patterns of Power, and started making my own.

I started after I read the NCTE position statement about not teaching grammar in isolation.

I feel that my students are understanding the purpose of words more since I started 3 years ago.

I was observed during one of my "Notice" lessons. One of my third graders said, "Mrs. M, that must be a compound sentence because it has the conjunction and!".

I also like that they spend time examining examples of a great sentence, instead of picking apart what is wrong with a sentence. Looking at what works well in a sentence and imitating it in their own sentence really helps them transfer the skills over.

[nalaandathena]

I LOVE using mentor sentences. I bought a packet of TPT and have now started to pull sentences from the books I read. The students are becoming creative in their writing, they are better understanding parts of speech, and overall get a lot out of a very short warm up activity (once you have the routine implemented effectively). Plus they love showing off their silly sentences they created.