Parent Tips: Lesson 1.10

When kids first learn about commas, it’s helpful to ask them to say the word “comma” out loud whenever they see a comma in a sentence that they’re reading out loud as part of a worksheet or other school work (not when they’re reading a book for fun). Noticing and saying “comma” helps kids hear where commas go in a text. Kids learn to hear how commas fit into the rhythm and pattern of sentences, even if they don’t understand all the details of that structure. We ask kids to use this learning technique in Lesson 1.10, but we encourage you to use it in other situations, such as when you are reviewing edits of one of their texts.

Of course, we don’t want kids to verbalize commas forever. Phase out the practice once your child has a pretty solid grasp on when to use commas, though you may find it useful to continue the habit when you are helping them edit one of their texts.