Need help with 4th grade English

[dispor]

The problem was:
"State four ways to respect creation."

My son's written answer was:
"You recycle."

The teacher made a note to use complete sentences. Would you consider it to be a complete sentence?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No.

 

[JEmaryland]

No, the answer would be "You can respect creation by recycling."
Please tell me this is a Christian school.

 

[NMAmy]

No. A different way to say it would be, "Recycling is one way to respect creation."

Frankly, I'm more confused by the "respect creation" part than the complete sentence part.

 

[SAHDad]

Yes. It is a simple sentence, but it is a sentence. (There are plenty of single word sentences which are considered complete in and of themselves, actually.)

Perhaps the teacher was looking for something else, along the lines of the following:

One manner in which people can respect creation (which is another word for the natural world) is for people to embark on a campaign of recycling materials in order to reduce the need for mining, deforestation, and other forms of invasive or polluting means of gathering natural resources, which would, as a natural consequence, maintain a more "natural" or "pure" state of the world, unless, of course, there is the unintended consequence whereby people have less reticence about using consumer goods, since they can be recycled, which would actually lead to a need for more natural resources, thereby defeating the stated goal of respecting creation.

(Or, put in its most succinct form - Recycle. By the way, the long sentence exceeds the 100 word limit for the Moms panel application.)

 

[joyjoy]

Technically, "You recycle." is a perfectly good sentence. It's no different than "Dogs bark." or "Jane runs." It doesn't really answer the question, though since the teacher clearly is asking for things one CAN do to respect creation, whatever that means. If he had written "You can recycle aluminum.", she probably would be fine. But saying that "You recycle." is an incomplete sentence is not correct.

 

[dispor]

Yes. It is a simple sentence, but it is a sentence. (There are plenty of single word sentences which are considered complete in and of themselves, actually.)

Perhaps the teacher was looking for something else, along the lines of the following:

One manner in which people can respect creation (which is another word for the natural world) is for people to embark on a campaign of recycling materials in order to reduce the need for mining, deforestation, and other forms of invasive or polluting means of gathering natural resources, which would, as a natural consequence, maintain a more "natural" or "pure" state of the world, unless, of course, there is the unintended consequence whereby people have less reticence about using consumer goods, since they can be recycled, which would actually lead to a need for more natural resources, thereby defeating the stated goal of respecting creation.

(Or, put in its most succinct form - Recycle. By the way, the long sentence exceeds the 100 word limit for the Moms panel application.)

Thanks. That's what I thought, too. Too funny on the rest of your response...! (JoyJoy, I would have quoted you also, but I can't figure out how to do it! LOL!)

Yes, it is a catholic school. I'd understand the teacher writing "Restate the question in your answer." or "Explain." I just thought it was strange that she said it wasn't a complete sentence. BTW, she didn't take off any points for his response.

 

[swald91]

Just a quick response here...my son is also in 4th grade-my daughter in 8th. When doing work in 4th I remember the teacher being firm on the students writing full sentences for answers..& this was math! I think they just want them to get into the habit because of state tests. (And yes, catholic school here too!)

 

[XYSRUS]

"Complete sentence" in Catholic school means to repeat the question in the answer. His sentence was a sentence in English it just wasn't a "complete sentence" in Catholic teacher-ease! (12yrs of Catholic school here)

 

[5 'LIL *TWINKERS*]

Noun and a verb.....sentence in my book

 

[mickeyluv'r]

This isn't just a Catholic school term. "Complete sentence" has two meainings. I reasonably sure that the teacher in this case gave examples of what they were looking for, but it is a very difficult concept for kids to understand and appreciate.

While the sentence your son wrote is a complete sentence in terms of being a sentence, it is not the other kind of complete sentence. The term, "complete sentence" is as another poster defined, a shorthand way of asking for a sentence that has a full subject and restates the essence of the question. Another way to understand the difference is that in order to understand your son's response you need to know the question. If a complete sentence is given then you don't need to see the actual question to understand the idea that is being addressed.

This is just one example of why standardized testing has a long way to go when it comes to English.

Another example: Instead of the generic term, "essay," our state now uses Brief Constructed REsponse and Extended Constructed Resonse, ECR and BCR for short. A BCR is one paragraph long, and ECR is one or two pages long. In both cases, students are expected to give a complete answer. (restating the subject over using a pronoun)

Still another way to see the matter is that learning to write complete sentences is a precursor to learning how to write topic sentences, topic paragraphs (essentially BCR's) and full essays (ECR's). You wouldn't start an editorial with the sentence, "You recycle." You would need to start an editorial fully including the topic you are adressing or else your readers would have no idea what you are talking about.

Hopefully I'm not going too far when I say that all too often kids will actually try to write high school essays in which they use the word, "You." It is bad form. Americans do it all the time in informal writing, and posts on the DIS are no exception. Indeed, I'm even guilty sometimes. We incorrectly use you, when we really mean, "a person in this situation" or something to the like. What's intersting, is that it frequently leads to real misunderstanding on the DIS. Folks will say something like, "You should ride on the bus if...." They don't really mean the you who is reading the post. English lacks a good word for 'you' in this sense. Other languages DO actually have four different words for you: singular and plural, informal and formal. As a result of this mis-use of you, the person reading the post takes offense, thinking the post was indeed directed to them PERSONALLY.
So the ulitmate fault is not the poor English teacher or the casual poster, but the English language itself. Phew! I'm done!

 

[mickeyboat]

FTR my DDs' non Catholic school teachers from 3rd grade forward require students to restate the question in their answers - even in math.

 

[golfgal]

Just a quick response here...my son is also in 4th grade-my daughter in 8th. When doing work in 4th I remember the teacher being firm on the students writing full sentences for answers..& this was math! I think they just want them to get into the habit because of state tests. (And yes, catholic school here too!)

Or, they are trying to get the kids to be literate and prepare them for high school, college and beyond by being good writers

 

[FireDancer]

It looks like a complete sentence to me. Subject and verb is all that is needed to make a " complete sentence".

If the teacher wants the sentence to restate the question that should be explicitly stated. It would be wrong to assume that anyone would interprit "complete sentence" to mean restate the question in the answer. I know I would never interpret it that way. I answer any question I am given with the least amount of words because I know that the CEO or board or whom ever asked it just wants the answer and not a dissertation.

 

[JEmaryland]

Or, they are trying to get the kids to be literate and prepare them for high school, college and beyond by being good writers

The way education is going these days, I would lean more towards the side of "standardized tests".

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Public school chiming in here and they expect completely written sentences too.

You recycle is technically a "complete sentence" but you know what the teacher means. She wants an expanded sentence.

 

[FireDancer]

You recycle is technically a "complete sentence" but you know what the teacher means. She wants an expanded sentence.

Shouldn't she have asked for an expanded sentence then? I would read complete sentence as just that, technically complete, I would not "know what she means". I would have never known that a complete sentence wasn't complete enough. The problem seems to stem from the ambiguity of the teacher's wording.

I don't doubt that some might interpret it that way, but I never would.

 

[laurie31]

"You recycle" is a complete sentence, but not a complete thought. If I read that sentence, I wouldn't know that the objective was to respect creation. I think the teacher wanted them to use a complete thought. Other posters have given good examples of this. "Recycling is a way to respect creation" is a good one.

The fact that the teacher didn't deduct points for his answer says to me that she realized he was technically correct (it IS a complete sentence) although it doesn't contain the whole idea of WHY one should recycle. After all, there are other reasons. Some people recycle metal or glass simply to make money, for example. I think she wanted each sentence to be able to stand alone as a complete thought. JMHO, of course, but that's my take on it.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

No--

Unless he was writing it as a command. Commands are technically sentences. Sit down! Go over there!


She probably would like something that restates the question and then he adds his response.

This is how my dd's grammar book instructs her to respond to topics/questions.

So he would write:

"We can respect creation by recycling."

"Recycling is a way to respect creation."

ETA: I agree with other posters that she expected an expanded complete sentence. If we trotted along in life arguing with teachers that a noun and a verb are indeed a complete sentence, what exactly does that teach our children?

 

[donnajon]

Maybe you could remind her of John 11:35. "Jesus wept."