15 Ways to Unlock Writing Fundamentals with Diagramming Sentences

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I remember sitting in 8th grade English class and Mrs. Senator drawing these strange lines on the chalkboard. They looked like sideways trees and I wondered… what is she doing? She began explaining that one of the best ways to understand the fundamentals of the English language was to break down a sentence into its parts, by diagramming sentences. Doing so helps you to better understand the mechanics of sentence structure.

Disclosure: I received use of this online digital diagramming sentences game for free and am being fairly compensated for my time in reviewing and writing about the product. This post contains affiliate links to 3rd party sites where products purchased may result in paid compensation for me.

At first, the mechanics she was describing was difficult to understand. What purpose did diagramming sentences serve in the greater scheme of life? Like Algebra, many students couldn’t understand what purpose diagramming sentences would have in their lives. Many of the students began to grumble that the process was a waste of time.

But, I wasn’t grumbling. I found the process to be fun. In fact, I think Mrs. Senator’s 8th grade English class and another one in High School, Creative Writing, in 11th grade, also taught by her, which helped me to develop my love for the writing process.

Writing has been such an integral part of my life for most of my adult life. Which is why I had visions of spending school days sitting with my boy each putting pencil to paper writing.

I thought that teaching him the writing process would be easy. I was wrong.

It was presumptive of me to think that he’d be like me and enjoy the process. Quite the opposite is true. His mind is a math mind. He has the engineering mind of an architect. He couldn’t see that writing served any purpose in his life. For him it was a mundane experience and unnecessary because he already knows what he’s thinking… so why write it down?

That’s what it was like until I introduced diagramming sentences to his English lessons.

When I introduced him to the method of diagramming sentences he began to understand the architecture of the written word. He could actually see, for the first time, how the pieces of a sentence fit together much like the building blocks of how a skyscraper would be built. His engineering mind began to grasp the concepts that exist in the structure of a sentence or paragraph.

Thus, diagramming sentences has become the cornerstone for understanding the need to properly write sentences and foundational for building reading comprehension skills.

Diagramming Sentences reinforces what your child is learning in their English Grammar lessons.Click To Tweet

Breaks down parts of speech into an understandable format.
Builds skill & confidence with difficult to understand concepts.

Establishes a complex understanding of compound sentences.
Helps to demonstrate the relationship each part of speech has with the context of a sentence.
Builds logic & reasoning skills.

Helps to develop an understanding of individual writing styles.
Builds puzzle solving skills.
Develops an understanding of the use of conjunctions and the joining of subjects, verbs, and objects.

Builds writing skills.
Develops speech and communication skills.

How to Take the Grumble out of Diagramming Sentences

What if I told you that your kids can learn to diagram sentences while also playing a fun, interactive digital game?

Learn with Diagrams is just that!

This fun online game based interactive grammar course teaches the fundamentals of the English language while allowing users to experience sentence structure at their fingertips. But it’s not just a game it is a comprehensive curriculum with 44 grammar lessons and videos for grades 5th through graduate school ages.

Your middle schoolers or high schoolers can practice these language arts concepts while learning the principles of diagramming sentences:

Subject-verb agreement
Pronouns
Modifiers and Misplaced Modifiers

Verb Tense
Sentence structure
Verb Tense

Parallelism
Participles and Participle phrases
Idioms

Sounds too good to be true, but I promise you it’s not!

For just $19 you’ll get annual access to Learn with Diagrams. It is the perfect way to reinforce previously learned grammar, while also building knowledge of more difficult concepts. Because it’s hands-on and works through gameplay it works great for struggling learners, SAT or ACT prep, as a supplement to existing curriculum. It can also be used as a stand-alone curriculum because it has 44 comprehensive grammar lessons.

With an Annual Subscription to Learn with Diagrams, You Get

Hands-on learning for kinesthetic learners
Game-based interactive digital format
The game adapts to student’s skill level.
- Beginners have easier sentences, and second chances to work toward mastery.
  - When mistakes happen feedback is given so students can learn the concepts.
- Advanced students move faster and have harder sentences.

5 hours of lessons, games, and videos
One-year access for $19 (Look for the coupon code below!)

Get $10 Off using this Exclusive Code: Grammargame

Follow Learn with Diagrams on your favorite social media sites for more information about the game!

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram

How Learn with Diagrams Works

Students who find the process of diagramming sentences to be tiresome will discover that Learn with Diagrams can actually be fun. They’ve taken the tediousness out of that process. And we all know that when it’s no longer tedious, the grumbling will vanish.

They’ve resolved the struggle by providing a fun game for your child to play. Before long students forget that the process is tedious and instead they focus what part of speech goes where on the diagram. As they learn the system adapts to their skill level giving them more difficult concepts to try out.

As students progress they level up and are rewarded with digital trophies and fireworks.

I watched amazed. The speed at which my son progressed was just incredible. But more than that, I was stunned to see him slow down and read the feedback given when he made a mistake. That means, he really wanted to learn the concept because he knew he’d see it again and wanted to get it right the next time.

Seriously, I couldn’t get my son to stop playing! I heard him saying, “Yes!” when he completed a level. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times over our 9 years of homeschooling that grammar lessons ended in tears and frustration. So to hear excited exclamations is music to this homeschool mama’s ears.

I really like that throughout the lessons Learn with Diagrams utilizes complex quotes and paragraphs from writers like Mark Twain, Ben Franklin, Socrates, and even Shakespeare. Not only does this build reading comprehension skills it teaches individual style and structure. Which I think will help him over time to develop his own style of writing.

“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” – Aristotle

Do you have children who struggle with writing or understanding the concepts of English grammar? Learn with Diagrams is more than just a study aid. It’s a fun, hands-on way, to help a child grow in their understanding of how parts of speech work together to form cohesive thoughts and ideas, which then can be shared in written form to others.

That’s what it’s done for my son. While he certainly doesn’t enjoy the writing process, he now spends time story telling more than he ever did before. He’s even written a few pieces without me having to assign or without tears on either of our parts.

Which for me is a reason to celebrate!