RMSE-LA 3 before students write

The basic rules to follow are:

1. Direct students to repeat good sentences.

A good sentence is clear, concise and tells what happened. When a student says what happened, point out that it is good, repeat it, and have the entire class say it. Do not repeat sentences that are flowery, have unnecessary parts or that are not structurally sound.

2. Praise all sentences that are correct.

The teacher presentation book provides examples of acceptable sentences for all tasks.

3. Be positive when correcting poorly or incorrectly worded sentences.
When a student recites a sentences that expresses the correct idea but is pooryl worded, praise the idea but say the sentence so that it is worded correctly. Then, direct the class to repeat it.

4. When a student does not compose a sentence consistent with directions, explain why the sentence is a proble, and model an acceptable sentence. 

Then, direct the class to repeat the new sentence.

5. Offer adequate practice for any sentences the group cannot recite correctly the first time.

Model the sentence again and direct students to repeat it. Break the sentence into parts if students are not able to repeat the sentence after two or three tries. Present no more than five tries before moving on.
Turn to page 22 in RMSE-LA 3 Teaching Guide to review first day format, second day format and before students write.