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Beginner Sentence Diagramming: Intro. to Parts of Speech and Sentence Structure

In this course, students will learn about sentence structure and the basic parts of speech through sentence diagramming, which assigns a function to all words in a sentence.
Ms. Shannon Johnsen
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(100)
Popular
Rising Star
Class

What's included

4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks
of teacher support
1 year access
to the content

Class Experience

US Grade 5 - 8
Beginner Level
I must admit, I don't think I truly remembered what the parts of speech were or how to identify them until I took a Linguistics class as a freshman in college where I learned how to diagram sentences. When I learned diagramming, something finally clicked, and I understood many patterns and rules of the English language that I had never fully comprehended before. Fortunately, you don't have to be a college freshman before you learn sentence diagramming. Diagramming starts out very basic with two word sentences, and you build on the sentences and add new parts of speech from there. 

When I tried to teach 8th grade language standards to the students I worked with in public school, they had no idea how to explain or identify gerunds or how to use verb moods because they didn't know what a noun and a verb were! We started at the beginning with sentence diagramming, and within a few weeks my students could identify nouns, verbs, articles, adjective, adverbs, prepositions, coordinating conjunctions, and compound sentences. It was amazing to see the progress they made through diagramming sentences for 5-10 minutes at the start of each class. 

Each lesson in this course will consist of a video introducing a new part of speech or aspect of diagramming and some bullet points with the essential information from each video. In each video, I will spend a few minutes lecturing and showing students examples on Google Slides. Then, students will have the opportunity to practice diagramming sample sentences on their own. I will encourage them to pause the video while they try the sentences on their own, and then I will display the correct answers so they can check their work. There are optional assignments provided with the first three lessons. If students choose to complete the assignments, they will be sharing their new knowledge with someone at home. At the end of the unit, there is a quiz for students to complete. 

This subscription class contains the first four lessons of my Beginner Sentence Diagramming course. You can find the next 12 lessons AND my Advanced Diagramming course in live and self-paced formats by searching Ms. Shannon Johnsen on Outschool.

Students do not need any prior experience to join this class. Even if students understand what a noun and a verb are, they will still benefit from the slow but steady progression of adding other parts of speech and learning about important grammar rules. 

I am actually very excited about sentence diagramming! I know how much it helped me, and I have seen it work with many students.  Though it may be a dry topic to some, I think your learner will feel my enthusiasm throughout these lessons.

Learning Goals

Students will be able to identify and write complete sentences.
Students will be able to identify, diagram, and use articles / determiners.
learning goal

Syllabus

Curriculum
Follows Teacher-Created Curriculum
4 Lessons
over 4 Weeks
Lesson 1:
What Is a Sentence?
 In this lesson, students will identify the essential components of a sentence. Students will cover the definitions of subjects and verbs. Students will learn the base of a sentence diagram and practice diagramming 2 word sentences. 
1 assignment
11 mins of video lessons
Lesson 2:
What Is a Helping Verb?
 This lesson will begin with a recap diagramming 2 word sentences to ensure that students remember how to start a diagram. Students will then define helping verbs and discuss verb tense. Students will learn how to diagram sentences with helping verbs. 
1 assignment
9 mins of video lessons
Lesson 3:
What Is an Adjective?
 Lesson 3 will start with a discussion of article words, A, An, and The. Students will be shown examples to help them determine the appropriate rule for using “A” vs. “An.” Students will first practice diagramming sentences with articles before defining adjectives. Students will then discuss and practice adding adjectives into their sentence diagrams. 
1 assignment
15 mins of video lessons
Lesson 4:
What Is an Adverb?
 Lesson 4 will begin by defining adverbs and examining them as a modifier for verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Students will really start to see their diagrams grow with the addition of adverbs. 
Students will have time to practice all that they have learned so far. After this lesson, I will post a quiz for students to complete and send to me for feedback. This is the end of unit 1. 
1 assignment
13 mins of video lessons

Other Details

Pre-Requisites
Students do not need any prerequisite knowledge to take this course. Even if students know what a noun and a verb are, they will still benefit from this course.
Supply List
You will need something to write on and something to write with. A notebook with a pen or pencil is perfect!
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined August, 2022
5.0
100reviews
Popular
Rising Star
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Minnesota Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Master's Degree in Education from University of Missouri
I am a licensed English teacher for students in grades 5-12. I spent 4 years teaching in a public school, and I joined Outschool in the fall of 2022. I have used sentence diagramming with many of the students I've taught!

Reviews

Self-Paced Course
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$3

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4 pre-recorded lessons
4 weeks of teacher support
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