Even after you have taught your students how to write, there are always some who won’t submit their work in good form. You may decide that you need to step in and fix their writing, which is where the use of verbs comes in.
Verbs are a common stumbling block for students, especially when it comes to writing narratives. They will often use the present tense for actions that should be in the past, or the past tense for actions that should be in the present. This is a huge issue for students, because it means they are unable to write in a fluent manner. When students can’t write in good form, it can often be traced back to a problem with their verbs!
Luckily for your students, there is a simple and effective approach to fixing this issue. You just need to know when to teach them and when to leave them alone. Let’s look at each scenario and how you can approach it effectively.
Scenario 1: You Are Correcting Their Work
This is probably the most common scenario, and it occurs when you discover one of their assignments early. Maybe they haven’t turned in their work for a while, and since you are their teacher, you feel compelled to help them out. When you point out the error to them, they will often sheepishly admit it and promise to go back and fix it. This is your cue to teach them how to write a perfect sentence.
To teach them how to write a perfect sentence, simply follow these steps:
- Go back and reread the assignment. Make sure you did indeed teach them how to write a perfect sentence earlier in the year and that this is not a repeat incident. If it is, then you may have to start over again.
- Go back and reread the assignment. Check for any verb tense errors. Did they use the correct past participle forms for the words they modified?
- Make a list of the most common errors you found. You can start with the simple stuff like ‘did they use the correct verb form?’, and then you can move on to questions like ‘did they use the present tense when they meant the past?’
- Go back and reread the assignment. Revise the list you made. Sometimes there are so many errors that you will have to stop and start over again. That’s okay! You are only human, and we all make mistakes. It just means you needed to teach them how to write correctly before this assignment.
- Give them a little bit of praise. Tell them you are impressed with their effort, and that you believe this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, they will take pride in what they produced and will work even harder to produce more perfect sentences in the future.
- Finally, have them read the assignment out loud to you. This will engage them in the activity and let you check for any errors in pronunciation. Just make sure you are listening carefully and giving them good feedback!
- Once they have completed this task, leave them alone for a little while. Let them enjoy their accomplishment before you bring up additional issues regarding their writing. This will help them stay motivated and continue working hard. If you think of anything else that you noticed during the assignment, you can bring it up next time you see them. However, this will generally be at the end of the school year, so it’s best to leave it alone until then.
Scenario 2: They Have Not Submitted Their Work, And You Are Not Sure If They Have It
In this scenario, the students have not turned in their work for the semester, and you are not sure if they have it or not. When this happens, you have a couple of options. The first one is to ask them if they have submitted their work. If they say yes, then great! You can simply remind them to go back and finish the assignment. If they say no, then you have to find out why not. Maybe they lost the assignment, or maybe they just didn’t get around to it yet. In either case, as their teacher, you have the power to make them do their work. The alternative is to ask a classmate if they have seen their work. If so, they can point you in the right direction. Just make sure you find out why the assignment was not turned in and what you should do about it.
Scenario 3: They Turned In Their Work, And It Is Not Perfect
Now you know that the assignment was indeed turned in, but it is not perfect. When this happens, you know that there is some rewriting required. To make it perfect, just follow these steps:
- Go back and reread the assignment. Check for any errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Did they use the correct verb form for the words they modified?
- Make a list of the most common errors you found. You can start with the simple stuff like ‘did they use the correct verb form?’, and then you can move on to questions like ‘did they use the present tense when they meant the past?’
- Go back and reread the assignment. Check for any errors on your list. Did they use the correct past participle forms for the words they modified?
- Add any additional notes or concerns you may have regarding the assignment. Did they use any unusual words or phrases that you feel should be defined? Did they put too many adverbs in the text?
- Give them a little bit of praise. Tell them you are impressed with their effort, and that you believe this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, they will take pride in what they produced and will work even harder to produce more perfect sentences in the future.
- Finally, have them read the assignment out loud to you. This will engage them in the activity and let you check for any errors in pronunciation. Just make sure you are listening carefully and giving them good feedback!
- Once they have completed this task, leave them alone for a little while. Let them enjoy their accomplishment before you bring up additional issues regarding their writing. This will help them stay motivated and continue working hard. If you think of anything else that you noticed during the assignment, you can bring it up next time you see them. However, this will generally be at the end of the school year, so it’s best to leave it alone until then.
Scenario 4: They Turned In Their Work, And It Is Perfect
This is the ideal situation, and it occurs when the assignment is perfect. When this happens, you know that there is no need to teach them anything, because their brains will already be wired to write in a perfect manner. To achieve this perfect grade, simply follow these steps: