BASIC SIMPLE SENTENCE STRUCTURES

The key to a successful phonics program is to lock in a program of basic simple sentence English. Then students can move ahead quickly with a systematic mastery of structures and not just words.

Words are important. I have watched teachers taking elementary students through spellings. Students chanted the spelling even tense by tense. They even read of the words in sentences.

But the big picture of the structures of English was missing. This made a ceiling to what could be achieved without a basic English structure course to be integrated by the teacher. Phonics should take students through to polished writing up to Grade 12.

So our course in the Eriku elementary school is pleasing the teachers, students and parents in that students are being taken through the basic structures pattern by pattern. Each pattern is designed for chanting and clapping. 

The initial aim is to teach patterns based on simple sentence how, when, where and why. Today the elementary students listened, read, chanted and clapped through where - when structures.

Where

I went to town

He walked away from the house.

He went into the house.
He walked around the house.
He sailed around the world.

She walked across the road.

Soldiers marched along the road.

He swam across the river.

They fell on to the floor.
He fell upon his knees and prayed to God.
He prayed unto the Lord.
Look into my eyes.
He was under the influence of drugs.
He looked across the room.
She looked out from beneath the blanket.

He started walking towards the house.

She looked through the window.

He walked between the two trees.

They sat among the trees.

Birds flew above/over the house.

He worked among the people of Papua.

They jumped on to the floor.
He drove his car outside the speed limit.
Drive within the speed limit.

He gave money to me.

They took the money from me

He sat beside me

The money was donated to the school.

The house was built for us.

The water level was below the mark.
It should be above the mark.

The ship sailed over/across the seas.
He escaped from the prison.

They swam in the river.
They dived into the river.
They swam under the water.

They sat in a boat on the river.

They sat by/beside the river


When

Come at 8 am on Friday.
Do not come before that time.
I will not be at the house after 9.00 am.
We will work from 9 am to 11 am.
Stay until the afternoon.
He watched TV while I cooked the food.
I will go to town during the week.
I will be happy when you come.
You will be sick for up to a week.
You will be in hospital for over a month.
He will be out of hospital in less than a week.
He stayed for under two weeks.
As he opened the door, the dog rushed in.


Verbs

Open the door.
Cook the food.
Buy some meat.
Check the water level.
Polish the floor.
Write a story.
Sing a song.
Enter the house.
Look at me.
Open your eyes
Buy the food
Cross the river.
Wait for me.
Do it again.
Buy more food.
Ask me again
Read the book.
Talk to him.
Walk to town
Find the chickens
Ask him again.
Wait for me.
Come with me.
Help your mother.
Go by boat
Buy a book today.
Close the door.
Open the window.
Clean the house.
Shut your eyes.
Sit over there.

You may think these patterns are very simple. But these demand a detailed understanding by children of basics. The students are 8 years old and most only begun to learn English from the start of last year. 

At this early stage there is no rapid expansion of vocabulary until the basic patterns are mastered.  Students should focus on one target at a time which at this moment is words within basic patterns. As the basic patterns are mastered, the difficulty of words will increase.

It has been a good week at the elementary school at Eriku. Every student in the 6 elementary grades and teachers have been clapping and chanting patterns. Patterns below are in weak-strong rhythm.

I go
I go
I go to town
I go to town
We go
We go.
We will go with you
We will go with you.
We will buy some food for you
We will buy some food for you
Do you want to buy some food?
Do you want to buy some food?
Don't go
Don't go
Don't go into the house
Don't go into the house
Don't go with him
Don't go with him
I will go
I will go
I should come
I should come
I can come
I can come
I want to come
I want to come
I want to come with you
I want to come with you
I would like to come with him
I would like to come with him
Would you like to come?
Would you like to come?
Yes. I would like to come
Yes. I would like to come
I think that I will come
I think that I will come
I think that I would like to come
I think that I would like to come

Some students listened to the next class through the wall and chanted patterns with them !! Teachers said that the standard of English has lifted in 5 days. Teachers can see a panorama of English patterns starting to unfold before their eyes.

I gave a chart to one teacher freshly written in felt pen. She came back complaining that one sentence was not in rhythm. That was true. My mistake.  I did the chart again.

The students giving me trouble are those in grade 1. Nothing seems to be too difficult. Today we did a story on sharks the predators of the ocean with chanting Q &A patterns. Not too difficult.

My only worry is that some students will race far ahead in literacy and drop into boredom on moving to primary school. They may finish their elementary school work two grades ahead. I am starting to give Q & A stories based on biology.