teaching subject and predicate

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Home : 2003 : September : 5

teaching subject and predicate
By Deb

Yikes! I always wondered why grammar books place subject and predicates at the beginning of the teacher's year. The kids always seem to shrug their shoulders and are slow to catch on. Here are some things that I've done
(with limited success), that are fun.
I hand out words to a subject predicate song. I don't have those words now but I did a search. The search gave me a simpler tune that might work even better (www. suzyred. com/subjects. html.) Just do a quick search and you might get some real finds.
I was amazed to have a student request an encore performance of the subject predicate song

in May before she went to fifth grade. She had actually saved the words and many of the kids had remembered the words and verses. If nothing else when my fourth graders graduate to fifth the words "subject predicate" ring some kind of bell.

Additionally, I have a matching game that they play. This was an activity I also found on the web. I'm sorry I don't have the web address. I'll try to find that activity sheet next week. I start subjects/predicates in two weeks.

Also, toward the end of the year I just have them practice. We look at a sentece in workbook, etc and review what the subject is and what the predicate is.

My son is now in 7th and this week's assignment was subject predicate. Since they see it every year I'm no longer hard on myself when they don't get it. Tonight I had a mom of another 7th grader friend call me to ask me how to do the homework. So you see, in life we've all survived with mastery of subject and predicate.

Just have fun with it! Good luck.