Homework Tribulations
Thursday, 1 March 2012
In anticipation of National Grammar Day (March 4), I share with you the following grammar exercise assigned to Poppyseed’s third grade class just this week:
Spelling Words
soarsore- wore
- form
- story
- warn
- bore
- sport
- glory
- force
- course
Sort the spelling words. Write them where they belong. Some words will fit in more than one group.
Common Nouns
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Action Verbs
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Anyone else see a problem here?
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Form can be a noun or a verb. May be others as well, but that’s the only one which pops out.
So can course, bore and force.
It would be a good assignment if it were open-ended-without numbered slots. How about course and glory?
Course – yes
Glory – yes although I imagine many would miss this one.
I agree. The numbered slots made young Poppyseed flip out just a little. I was finally able to convince her to write down all of the words that she felt were nouns, verbs, and both — and to add a note to her teacher that we had thoroughly checked her work.
Teacher said some can fit not more than one category. Would have been better without the numbers. I guess I agree with Irene.
Hey, at least they are teaching parts of speech. Kind of.
Not certain what was being taught here other than frustration. In defense of the teacher, she did not create the worksheet.
I think they need three more blanks in the verbs list. I count: sore, wore, form, warn, bore, force, course, and sport as possible verbs.
How are sore and sport verbs?
Sore is can be a noun, adjective, and, once-upon-a-time, an adverb. It is only a verb if it is the homophone (i.e. soar).
Sport can most certainly act as a verb. “She sported an outrageous hat at the luncheon.”
You’re right about sport.
And of course if we get into homophones we can have fun with saw(to see)/soar/saw (to saw.. wood)
Wow…this exercise made me glad not to be a third grader.
Good for Poppyseed for writing a note to the teacher, and good for you for helping to check her work!
Dear Frume Sarah,
I do not usually agree with doing homework for children but in the interest of creating harmony between home and school and as an exercise for my own brain please consider the following:
Common Nouns:
1. form+
2. story
3. bore+
4. sport+
5. glory+
6. force+
7. course+
Action Verbs:
8. soar
9. wore
10. form+
11. warn
12. bore+
I believe “sport”, “glory”, and “force” could also be verbs so Poppyseed should be free to pick the ones that she wants to list. I marked with a + those that are in both lists. After 35 years in schools as a teacher and an administrator this was a fun exercise; probably not so much for a third grader. It did get the child and the parent talking which is always a good thing. You said the teacher did not make the worksheet which can be the root of the problem as it might mean it is not an outgrowth of what the class is learning. It would have been a much better assignment if Poppyseed and her classmates had been asked to work with their parents and a dictionary to see how many they could use in sentences both as a verb and then a noun then students can exchange and identify how it is used in their classmates’ sentences. Please do not tell the teacher this; it might add to disharmony. You might take turns with Poppyseed making sentences with these and then identifying whether the word is used as a noun or verb.
And for others that might not know: “sore” can be a verb as in “to sore a horse”. This usage might only be known by those who know about Tennessee Walking Horses. I didn’t include this one because in you original post you typed “soar”.
While not an everyday follower, I do enjoy reading and catching up with your blog every week or so. Hope you and yours had a gut Shabbos.
I do not usually agree with doing homework for children…
In almost all cases, I agree with you. There are a few exceptions, related to our son’s developmental disability, that make it impossible for me to completely agree with you.
I didn’t include this one because in you original post you typed “soar”.
A mistake on my part, actually. “Soar” was the first word on Poppyseed’s original list but was used for later activity on the worksheet. I meant to type “sore.”
While not an everyday follower, I do enjoy reading and catching up with your blog every week or so. Hope you and yours had a gut Shabbos.
I’m so glad! And I’m so pleased that you joined the conversation.
It’s a nice, thought-provoking, 3rd grade homework assignment. Multi-meaning words are everywhere in English. Only a teacher who is a complete idiot would hold kids to the numbers. Any defensible explanation should and probably would be accepted by most teacher . . .
Exactly. If only there weren’t numbered lines…